The Devil Is a Part-Timer!, Vol. 5 by Satoshi Wagahara

was prepared, in a way, for unforeseen events.
    The call from Emeralda Etuva had arrived the previous day, the evening after she had returned home from Choshi.
    With Villa Rosa Sasazuka ready much earlier than expected, Emi answered the call just as Suzuno was preparing to cart her belongings back to her apartment.
    “Looks like we’re gonna have a pretty big war over hereeee. I think you better not go hooooome for a while, Emilia~.”
    As Emeralda put it, the Central Continent was starting to see more demon sightings, and Efzahan, the empire that dominated the Eastern Island, had just declared war on the Federated Order of the Five Continents and every member country in a move to seize the central island. Even more surprising, there were apparently demons among Efzahan’s armies.
    The presence of demons among humans, of course, reminded Emi of what the Devil Regent Camio had told her: of Barbariccia, leader of the demon realms’ most potent forces…and of Olba, who drove him to the battlefield.
    Emi warned Emeralda of it all: the possibility that Olba was involved with this sudden declaration and how Efzahan might have beefed up its warpower with the Malebranche.
    The name Olba stopped even Emeralda cold for a moment, but the Malebranche seemed less of a shock to her. Apparently, they had already confirmed that on their side.
    “But why can’t I go back? There are demons among the Malebranche just as powerful as Malacoda, the general from the Southern Island.”
    Emeralda had a ready reply for the question.
    “Well, isn’t it ooooobvious? Because this war still hasn’t involved aaaanyone apart from human parties yet!”
    There were demons among the Eastern Island armies, yes. But the war was carried out under the name of the empire of Efzahan and the Azure Emperor who ruled over it.
    “Thaaat, and with our savior officially dead, if you started fighting for one side or anotherrrr… Even if you won, all the nations would start fighting again over you, so they could procure saaaafety for themselves.”
    “What am I, a nuclear bomb?”
    “Newkewler?”
    “Never mind.”
    “The Azure Emperor’s a slyyy one, too. They’re after the Central Continennnt, but—and I don’t know whyyy—but they want your holy sword, toooo.”
    Emi saw that coming to some extent. And if they just proved that Olba and Barbariccia were involved, her sword probably mattered a lot more than the Central Continent anyway.
    “They’re after your sworrrd, and they brought deeeemons over to do it, too. Can you guess whyyy?”
    Emi pondered over the riddle for a moment.
    The Azure Emperor ruled over a nation riddled with civil strife and conflict, but he was still emperor.
    Efzahan was part of Emi’s route as she journeyed to slay the Devil King. Some areas were dirt-poor, and some were in open revolt against the emperor, but there were also rich and bountiful cities, populated by vast crowds of citizens loyal to the leader.
    It was a sign of the influence the emperor wielded over his vast land. And now he was commanding a demon army as he took on the rest of the world. What was driving him?
    “I don’t know who came up with the idea, but whoever did must be rotten to the core.”
    “Oh, did you figure it oooout?”
    “If they win, it’s all good. Even if they lose somehow, it was all the demons’ doing, not theirs. That sort of thing, right?”
    “You guessed it!”
Emeralda’s light chuckle came across loud and clear.
    Efzahan’s strategy went something like this: If they could seize the Central Continent and bring the knights from the Northern, Western, and Southern Islands under their sphere of influence, they had nothing to worry about. Victory for Efzahan, fair and square.
    But even if they lost, thanks to Emilia the Hero or some other unforeseen element, they still had an out.
The demons made us do it! Those monsters took over our minds, our country.
Ente Isla hadn’t lost its fear of the demon hordes yet; any attempt to