THE DEVIL FOCUSES ON HIS CAREER FOR MONETARY PURPOSES 5 page

?But, Your Demonic Highness? If you remember where it was dropped, I?m sure nobody?s touched it at this time of night??

?Yeah, I know, but we just got written up by the cops yesterday, you know? I don?t know who was targeting us, but if she winds up getting killed out there, we?re both gonna be the prime suspects. It wouldn?t hurt to let her sleep in the corner, would it? As long as she takes the first train outta here.?

Ashiya brought a frustrated hand to his temple.

?Here, c?mon in. Have a seat wherever you like. Hope you?re not expecting a futon or any other luxury goods.?

??I get it, all right?? Emi grumbled softly.

?Emilia! After the gracious pity the Devil King has bestowed upon you, is that how you repay him?!?

?Pipe down, Ashiya. The landlord?s gonna hear us. Hey, Emi.?

?What do you wa?oomph!?

Maou had thrown a bath towel over Emi?s face. ?You can use that if you want. If you need a pillow, go ahead and use those towels over there. I?ll spot you a thousand yen, so get out of here before the trains start up, all right??

Gritting her teeth, Emi reluctantly accepted the wadded-up bill, which Maou plucked from a plastic change purse he had clearly purchased from the hundred-yen store.

?Emilia! That is a royal donation from the Devil King?s personal meager resources! I order you to treat it with the respect it deserves!?

?Shut up, I know that! I didn?t ask for any of this, okay? Thank you for the money!?

?You little?!? Ashiya seemed angry enough that steam would be blowing out his ears at any moment, but Maou paid it no mind as he took his own bath sheet out of the closet.

Watching him, Emi wrapped her own towel around herself and took a seat on the floor. They may all be normal Japanese people now, but even so, she wasn?t so careless as to lie down defenselessly in the den of the Devil King. Pulling the towel close for protection, she found it to be freshly washed, with a surprisingly pleasant scent to it.

??This is the same detergent I use.?

?Don?t start whining about how stiff it is. Ashiya refuses to buy any fabric softener.? Maou turned over on the floor as he spoke, his ears having picked up on Emi?s quiet mutterings.

?I-I was just saying? It didn?t need a response.? And thinking she wasn?t going to get another, Emi turned her back to Maou, balling herself up even more tightly.

?Yeah, yeah. You go to bed, too, Ashiya. Hey, Emi, don?t worry about locking the door behind you, okay? Night, people.?

Within moments, Maou was sound asleep. For a moment, Emi was astounded at how fast he went under.

Ashiya, however, sized up the unlikely couple in front of him.

?Do note that I have not dropped my guard yet. Try anything underhanded, and it will be you who pays the price. A good night to you!?

With that rather bizarre farewell, he laid himself down and quickly fell asleep himself, one of the few ways the servant resembled the master. They had acted so cautious around her, and now they had left themselves wide open in their slumber.

She watched them sleep for a moment, but soon found the idea of remaining vigilant in front of these senseless, comatose corpses too silly to consider. Soon, she had lain down as well.

?I?m gonna have to cancel my Kakui credit card? My bank card, too. Oh, and how many rides did I have left on my pass??

Recalling all the life necessities she held in that purse made her feel even gloomier.

?Why am I even doing this???

Only she could hear herself whispering this final statement before her fatigue and emotions drove her to the land of dreams.

Around the time that Emi?s breathing grew slower and more rhythmic, Maou spoke up, his eyes still closed.

?We?re a team of two, but it seems she?s alone, huh??

?Indeed.?

?We were pretty miserable at first, too, weren?t we? And she had to deal with all of that by herself. You think about it that way?I?m not gonna be her friend, no, but I do feel bad for her.?

?You?ve grown complacent, Your Demonic Highness.?

?Just for the moment, Ashiya. I made her promise not to hang around me any further.?

?Well, so be it, then.?

?Exactly. So?huh??

From the corner of his eye, Maou noticed something glinting in the air.

?What is it??

?We got a text.? Maou scooped the phone up from where it was last tossed on the floor. The screen showed two new messages. ?Huh. One?s from Chi? Hey, stop looking.?

Maou wriggled away from Ashiya, who was also trying to peer into the screen. ?The other one?s from an unknown number. Weird.?

It was from an unregistered source, a mail address that seemed to be a random mishmash of letters and numbers. Either spam or the wrong number, Maou figured?at first.

?Your Demonic Highness??

Ashiya was moved to speak as he watched Maou?s eyes suddenly grow pointed, serious.

?Hey, Ashiya? This is kind of nuts, isn?t it? I got pretty much the same text at the same time?from someone I know and someone I don?t.?

The texts from Chiho and the unknown sender seemed almost to dovetail with each other.

The earthquakes will continue. Be careful.

Maou, there?s gonna be another earthquake. What should I do? Chiho

Date: 2016-06-12; view: 189