The Devil Is a Part-Timer!, Vol. 1 by Satoshi Wagahara Page A

comprehended it.”
    After a sigh, Emilia continued, obviously crestfallen at this anticlimax.
    “This is just exhausting me… I don’t know if it even matters anymore. I’m going home.”
    She wiped her reddened eyes before shooting Maou another glare.
    “But I hope you don’t have the wrong idea. I don’t understand you at all, and I am definitely
not
going to let you run free. I still have some of my power left. I could kill you anytime I want. But if I do that, I won’t have any way back home. So if I want to get back home, then I won’t be able to kill you. And that’s how it is.”
    What did she hope to accomplish, admitting up to her own predicament? It puzzled Maou as Emilia laid it bare for all the world to see, as if nothing could be more natural.
    “It wouldn’t be fair if you told me about yourself and I didn’t return the favor, would it?”
    This threw both Maou and Ashiya for a loop.
    “Well, how wonderfully thoughtful of you.”
    “So…until I find a way to procure both your defeat and my pathway back home, I’m not going to take your life. But don’t let your guard down yet!…Ugh.”
    The fatigue was written upon Emilia’s face as she walked toward the door.
    “Also, my name here in Japan is Emi Yusa, all right? Try not to mess it up.”
    “Yeah, sure thing.”
    Emilia opened the door, then turned back toward the two men.
    “Also, what kind of name is ‘Sadao’? That’s, like, a grandpa’s name.”
    Then she slammed the door shut behind her, kicking up dust apartment-wide. Ashiya stared at the door, still reeling. They could hear her tramping down the stairway, and then all was silent.
    The Devil King spat at the unseen “Emi’s” back.
    “All the Sadaos in Japan are gonna make you beg for mercy!”

    “Hi there! Are you dining in today?”
    “I want to talk to you. Outside.”
    The MgRonald in front of Hatagaya station was staying fairly busy today. Enough so that Emi, dressed in a gray business suit instead of the morning’s casual outfit, didn’t even bother hiding her peeved annoyance as she stood in front of Maou’s cash register.
    “To go, then? Okay, what would you like to order?”
    “I want you where we were last night once you get out of work. I’m not taking no for an answer.”
    “Can I make that into a value meal for you today?”
    “Come alone.”
    “Just the sandwich? Certainly! If I could just have you wait one moment by the side here… One Big Mag, please!”
    “You better show up. This isn’t so I can fight you.”
    “Thank you very much! Come back soon!”
    Emi briskly paid for the current seasonal burger, accepted the bag, and left.
    All Maou could think, the businesslike smile never leaving his face, was
Dammit dammit DAMMIT
repeatedly. There was no way this little “talk” was going to go smoothly.
    “Maou?”
    A voice called for him from behind.
    “What’s up, Chi?”
    It was Chiho Sasaki, one of the new part-timers. She was a second-year high-school student whom Maou had mentored during her training period. Even now, as a full crew member, she still turned to Maou whenever something came up.
    She put her medium-length hair up during her shift, and her natural-born brightness and guileless smile made her a hit with the customers. Maou appreciated how quickly she soaked in all the knowledge she needed for the job.
    “That was kind of a weird customer, wasn’t it?”
    “You mean the…woman just now?”
    “Right. Kind of creepy, huh? And she kept on muttering, too.”
    “Yeah, well, we get all kinds in here.”
    “Do you know her? It sounded like you were having a conversation.”
    Yes, he knew Emi. No denying that. Thinking about it, he realized that Emi, at age seventeen, could be just as old as Chiho. It was funny how they made the exact opposite impression on people. Emi seemed far more mature than her years betrayed…or, more likely, she had a childhood that forced her to grow up fast.
    “Mmm, yeah, a little.”
    Maou hoped to