Hataraku Maou-sama! - Volume 9 - Chapter Pr

PROLOGUE 
The grand empire of Efzahan held firm control over all the land that composed Ente Isla’s Eastern Island. It was ruled by the Azure Emperor, the absolute font of all power in the land, and this emperor lived in a castle and surrounding city that visually expressed all of his majesty—all the glory that allowed a single nation to so effectively control such a great expanse. Such was the impression it gave visitors from all of Ente Isla that it came to be known as Heavensky—as vast as the blue sky that extended from horizon to horizon across the earth. 
This land, this Efzahan, once suffered just as painfully under the iron rule of the Devil King’s Army as the rest of Ente Isla. But even Alciel, the Great Demon General who had led the demon horde’s conquest of Eastern Island, found himself taken aback by the vast, sheer beauty of this city, enough so that holding Heavensky Keep and the emperor’s family within his grasp was a source of honest pride to him. 
“Like, is all of that true? I know it’s written in that history textbook they cobbled together after the invasion, but…” 
A castle as vast as Heavensky was all but doomed to be complex and mazelike inside. And within an upper chamber, one only the nobility was allowed to step into, a brawny man in a spotless toga over a cheap T-shirt with “I LUV LA” on it had his audience’s attention. 
“I mean, not to cast aspersions, but you don’t seem like the type of guy who’s into all this lavishness. Like, you really didn’t mind spending the fortune it must cost to maintain all this? This place has gotta have a huge cleaning bill.” 
An equally brawny companion in a full suit of armor accompanied him, but the person in the toga was addressing a third man, one who was currently using this armored companion’s shoulder for support. 
“…” 
The man, dressed in simple, modest clothing, showed no sign of responding to the question—or to much else at the moment, given his lack of consciousness. 
“Still not awake, huh? Guess we did ask a lot outta him… Hey, can you at least tie him back on the throne for me? And when he wakes up, try not to manhandle him again; call me instead. Let him have whatever kinda tantrum he wants ’til I show up.” 
“Lord Gabriel, may I ask who this man is? What does he have to do with the Great Demon General Alciel?” 
The man called Gabriel chuckled a bit as he shook his head. “It’s better if you don’t know. It’ll just make more work for me if you do. I’d have to transform him myself, and I’d really like to avoid that pain in the ass if I could.” 
The armored man furrowed his brows at this reply. 
“My lord, if I may, I am one of the proud Knights of the Inlain Azure Scarves, the most prestigious of the Eight Scarves of Efzahan. There is nothing you could tell me that would prevent me from carrying out my mission, sir.” 
“Oh? Well, if you insist. That guy draped over your shoulder? That’s your Great Demon General Alciel, so… Oh, see? See? Can you stand up properly, please?” 

Despite all the lofty words of a few seconds ago, the armored man was now on the floor, the unconscious man’s arm still around him. 
“I’ve got a safety valve in place to seal off his demonic force, but I think he’s gonna shake that off with a quickness once he wakes up. That’s why I want you to tell me first… Ah, this is no good. This is exactly why I didn’t want to tell anyone.” 
The courageous Knight of the Inlain Azure Scarves was racked with fear, his eyes darting and unfocused. 
“Man, I wanna show you guys exactly who you’re so afraid of. We’re talking about a guy who spends five minutes at the grocery store agonizing over whether to buy a six- or a twelve-pack of eggs. Here…we go!” 
Gabriel plucked the unconscious Alciel—known in another world as Shirou Ashiya—away from the incapacitated knight, heaved him over a shoulder, and stomped off and upward, farther into Heavensky’s higher reaches. It didn’t take him long to reach the castle’s throne room. Normally the Azure Emperor, the sole icon of power in this great land, would be conducting his political affairs in this chamber—instead, the throne was about to support Shirou Ashiya, the Devil King’s house-husband dressed from head to toe in discount off-the-rack UniClo clothing. 
“Bet this brings back some memories for you, huh?” Gabriel asked as he deposited Ashiya upon the throne in the middle of the vast, temple-like room, almost large enough to be a stadium. “But from here on out this joint’s gonna play home to an event you’re probably even more familiar with, so enjoy yourself, okay?” 
He grinned. 
“I’d love to mess around with that little situation a little, you can trust me on that. But nobody likes it when someone tries to clone a big hit, yeah?” 
Gabriel shrugged to himself. As he did, the ornate chamber, packed with furniture and décor from the world’s finest craftsmen, suddenly echoed with a harsh, electronic sound. 
“Oops, there it is,” he muttered as he reached into his toga. It was a ringtone—from an unlisted number, the screen said. 
“Who’s it gonna be—someone top-level? Or maybe the big man ’imself, huh?” 
He didn’t try to hide his excitement as he tapped at the screen. 
“Yello, do you have ten-pound balls? Oh, wait, I mean, is your refrigerator running? …Sorry, sorry, I just always wanted to say that. Yeah, this is Gabriel.” 
The joke apparently flew right over the head of the caller. His ranting through the earpiece could easily have been heard from an observer ten feet away. 
“Oh, hey, how’d you know I was on the Eastern Island? …Huh? Him? Hee-hee, nice! I always knew he had a good head on his shoulders… Hmm? Ohh, now you know I can’t say that quite yet. But, yeah, I’m definitely here, and… Ahh, I guess I might as well admit it: Emilia’s gonna be paying a visit soon, too.” 
Gabriel paused. There was no need to hurry this call along. He was too busy savoring the irate reaction from across the line.