The Devil Is a Part-Timer!, Vol. 5 (11 page)

With Alas Ramus, though, the Yesod fragment that formed her core essence was apparently the crescent-moon design that occasionally appeared on her forehead.

If she used that fragment to attract other Yesod fragments to her, that’d require her to carry a baby around with a light-up forehead that looked as if it should be firing death lasers at giant movie monsters. It wouldn’t be very inconspicuous.

The Cloth of the Dispeller wouldn’t work, either. She didn’t know where the core of it was in the first place.

Given the alternatives, taking a fragment the size of a pebble on the street and walking around with it in her bag was not a problem at all. She could camouflage it in any number of ways, too.

There are tons of light-up key chains and other dinky little accessories these days, besides.

The only concern that remained was the potential for this Yesod fragment to bring Gabriel and his heavenly cohorts upon her if she used it. But the chances of that seemed slim.

Emi had unleashed the full force of her Cloth and Better Half over in Choshi. But despite the fact that Gabriel picked up on the woman in white and Alas Ramus immediately, there was no sign whatsoever of him showing up this time.

The fact there was one cheerfully hewn into the jeweled sword that Olba gave to Camio was odd, too.

She didn’t know who was on the other end of Ciriatto’s Link Crystal, but neither this mystery person nor the Yesod fragment that person presumably had showed any sign of drawing near her, either.

They might just be stringing her along, waiting for the right moment to strike. But even if they did, Emi was fresh from defeating Gabriel. She liked her chances against well near anyone right now.

“…I wanted to do this smarter. I wanted some peace in my life.”

As she left the building that housed her workplace, Emi regretted speaking to her coworkers like a bratty teenage bully as she headed for Shinjuku station.

There would normally be a stairway directly in front of the building that led to the subway. However, Olba and Urushihara had collapsed the tunnel through some method or another, and it still wasn’t back open yet.

It annoyed her for several reasons, not the least of which was because heading down there would bring her back to air-conditioning sooner. She stewed over that as she avoided the nearby eastern entrance to the rail station and headed for the New South exit, home to Shinjuku’s long-distance bus ticket counter.

Proceeding under the pedestrian bridge and passing by the eternally-under-construction southern exit, she passed by the stairs to the New South exit and walked on through the automatic doors of Takashima-daya, the high-end department store.

She breathed a sigh to herself as the cool air caressed her skin, ignoring the brand-name handbags, shoes, and other accessories lined up on the shelves as she dove deeper inside.

Then, before her unfolded a space quite different from the previous oasis of luxury—one done up in a deep green, with a great variety of merchandise crammed into a large number of aisles.

This new space was separated from Takashima-daya by the escalators, and while it was still in the same building, it was completely its own beast.

It was the Shinjuku branch of Tokyu Hand, a do-it-yourself store the size of a small city. When it came to anything you could call a tool or an accessory, there was practically nothing it didn’t have.

The selection began with wood and machine tools before moving on to construction equipment, clocks, leather goods, stuff for the outdoors, metals, project kits, party goods, character merchandise, and almost anything else they could get their hands on.

Emi rode up the escalator, heading for the floor where they sold a variety of crystals, minerals, and fossils. It wasn’t long before she found what she was looking for: a small bottle with a cork, meant for exhibiting crystals with. She also stopped by the accessory-kit section for a ball chain and a few other metal bits and bobs.

From there, she proceeded a very short distance to the Yoyogi Dokodemo Building. Evocative of the Art Deco skyscrapers that dominated the US cityscapes way back when, it housed the Yoyogi office’s primary business departments and communications hardware.

There was a Muddraker’s burger place on the first floor, which Emi swung into for some tea and a chance to lay out her goods on the table.

“…There we go.”

A Yesod fragment inside a corked bottle with a chain attached looked like nothing but a somewhat quirky key holder. She didn’t need to have it lit up 24/7, so as long as she could make up a quick story about it when anyone asked, it was all good.

It definitely beat carrying her unsheathed holy sword around, or showing Alas Ramus’s glowing forehead to the entire world.

The restaurant was largely deserted. Lunch was over, and it was still a tad early for the dinner rush.

Emi put her completed key chain back in her bag, then, taking a moment to ensure nobody was looking, infused the fragment with just a bit of her holy energy.

The Better Half, the Cloth of the Dispeller, and Alas Ramus all acted in concert with this infusion, making the fragment grow in strength.

She took pains to regulate the flow, remembering the dazzling glow her sword had emitted when she had set foot within Ente Isla’s Devil’s Castle.

Then she gave a light pump of her fist with her free arm.

“…Yes!”

The Yesod fragment inside the bottle began to glow a faint shade of violet, just like her sword and Alas Ramus’s head. Then, after realigning itself within the bottle, it shot a straight beam of light in a certain direction.

The beam was cut off by the inside of Emi’s bag, of course. But all she needed was the directional guidance.

The light was pointed southwest of Yoyogi.

One potential location immediately sprung to mind.

“…Ugh, Sasazuka?”

It was pointed right at the zone of Tokyo where Emi and Maou spent most of their lives.

“But…hang on a sec. It might not be there at all. Maybe it’s
past
there, even. …Might as well take this as far as it goes, though.”

Sasazuka would need to be on her list, of course, but all she had to go on right now was a general southwestern bearing. There was no guarantee this light wouldn’t guide her all the way down to Okinawa.

One thing was already for sure, though. The fragment in Emi’s bag, the Better Half, the Cloth of the Dispeller, Alas Ramus—and something else: There was another Yesod fragment in this world. Emi stepped out of Muddraker’s, a new sense of confidence fresh in her mind.

“…Which way would this thing turn if it’s reacting to something on the opposite side of the world, though?”

She knew the whole time.

That was what he had told her, after all. Having this be anything else would certainly not be her preference.

The other end of the relationship didn’t seem too conscious of its existence. And, looking back, she clearly acted out of sorts whenever they were together.

But…

“I was just thinking, you know…
what if
, am I right?”

“Pardon me?”

“Nothing, nothing.”

Rika grinned to herself, remembering that Ashiya was standing right next to her.

After agonizing over how dressy she should be for the big day, she opted for a tunic-style top, some short pants, and a well-worn pair of mules. Nothing too fancy, just your basic going-out gear. It proved to be the right answer.

Ashiya
was
standing next to her, yes. But in front of them was this guy, Sadao Maou—Rika still wasn’t quite sure if he was Ashiya’s friend, or ex-boss, or what—and Suzuno Kamazuki, Emi’s pal.

Maou and Ashiya were decked out in UniClo from top to bottom, not much different from before. They were reasonably coordinated, at least. Suzuno, meanwhile, was in a kimono as always.

Going full volume with her fashion choices today would’ve made the men in the group stand out like a pair of sore thumbs. Rika’s wardrobe was just barely casual enough to make the entire team look remarkably well balanced.

Upon meeting up at the western turnstile at JR Shinjuku station, the four of them took an underground tunnel to the Socket City in front of the station’s main bus terminal.

Rika had brought along nothing but a purse just large enough to fit her phone, her wallet, and a few cosmetics. Now, though, she was carrying a large, solid-looking plastic bag with one hand.

It was a set of
tsukudani
simmered fish from Choshi. A souvenir from Ashiya, who told Rika by phone about their trip beforehand.

Offering a selection of saury, mackerel, and European pilchard, it was nothing more, and nothing less, than a souvenir. The sort of thing you purchased robotically at the gift shop when you remembered you needed to bring
something
home.

“…Well, it works for me.” Rika grinned to herself, feeling a tad warmer for reasons besides the summer heat.

It was a very Ashiya-like present, to say the least.

And for someone living alone like she did, Rika would never turn down something to fancy up dinner a little.

She wasn’t a child any longer, besides. She was mature, and her emotions matured with the rest of her. In a distressing way, she was all grown up.

Rika turned toward Maou and Suzuno to shake off the bad vibes.

“So, what are all of you lookin’ to buy today, anyway?”

“I am merely here to purchase a television set. These other two, I cannot say.”

“Uh, hello? I need a TV, too?”

Maou shot it back at Suzuno. Rika looked up at Ashiya, who clearly wanted to voice his dissent.

“What about a phone?”

“…Perhaps, once we gauge the TV prices…”

“A phone? What’s that about?”

Maou turned around, picking up on their conversation.

“Well, I
told
you, I promised I’d help Ashiya find a cell phone for himself. It’s the twenty-first century, and he told me he didn’t have one.”

“When did you get to talking about
that
?”

Maou never knew—was never made aware—that Ashiya, Rika, and Chiho had been tailing him at Tokyo Big-Egg Town. That was why, just like with Emi, he had no clue why Ashiya and Rika were so suddenly friendly with each other.

“I dunno how much I can help you with buying a TV, though. I got an HD screen at home, but it’s not like I know a whole lot about them or anything.”

“Oh, not at all, Ms. Suzuki. The fact you own a television at all is vital to us. You made the purchase yourself, right?”

Rika’s apartment in the Takadanobaba neighborhood contained a flat-screen LCD set. It was the first major purchase she made with the money she saved up from working in Tokyo.

“Yeah, it’s from Toshina. It was pretty much one of the first HD-compatible models, so it’s kind of old, but it’s a twenty-sixer and it has all the component video and HDMI connectors and stuff. I just added a DVR and Blu-ray player to it not long ago.”

Rika found herself stared at by three pairs of eyes, all telling her that they had no idea what she was talking about.

“Um…?”

Suzuno cleared her throat. “I…imagine this may be difficult for you to believe, Rika…but our knowledge of home electronics begins and, sad to say, ends in the era of rabbit ears.”

“For
you
, maybe.”

Suzuno let Maou’s jab go unanswered.

“It was kinda the same thing when I bought a phone,” Maou continued, “but you’re talking as if we’ve got all the basics down pat already. It doesn’t really mean much to me if this or that’s installed on it if we don’t know what ‘this or that’ even is.”

“Yes,” Ashiya agreed. “And, Ms. Suzuki, I was hoping you might be able to teach us about all of this.”

“Ohhhh…kay?”

“So, this Toshina. Are they a well-known electronics manufacturer?”

“We’re starting from
there
?”

Ashiya’s question all but floored Rika. She stopped walking.

“Okay. Let’s rewind a bit. I think going to the electronics store right now might be
just
a little dangerous.”

Rika paused for a moment to think.

“Uhmmm, have, have you guys eaten yet? ’Cause how about we all have some lunch and I can at least tell you the bare minimum you all need to know?”

Maou nodded as he wiped the sweat from his brow. “Oh…yeah, it’s about time, huh? It’s been so hot lately, I haven’t had much of an appetite at all.”

“I have not eaten either…” Suzuno grinned and raised an eyebrow at Ashiya. “But the real issue is whether this compulsive miser here would allow a trip to a restaurant.”

Ashiya protested hautily. “Suzuno Kamazuki…you see me as nothing more than a close-fisted skinflint, do you?”

Then he turned to Rika: “As long as we can restrict it to three hundred yen or below per meal, I am prepared to make the outlay.”

“……”

Maou and Suzuno found themselves unable to respond.

Five hundred yen would be understandable enough, but at the three-hundred level, the pickings started to get slim. That would be just enough, maybe, to eat something off the main menu at MgRonald or a beef-bowl chain joint.

But Rika looked unfazed as she began walking forward.