Hub World, Earth, Japan, Tokyo.
Shortly after Sadao was interrupted, he told Mayumi about the broken frier, dejection heavy in his tone. And after Mayumi heard that, she thought for a second, shrugged, and told him that she would have people from corporate come fix it as soon as possible. Then, before she left, she asked him to come to her office after his shift was over.
Thinking he was going to be blamed for the broken frier, Sadao hung his head and agreed, leaving Mayumi somewhat confused. But since there was still work that needed to be done, she simply shrugged again and returned to her office.
Meanwhile, Sadao, with a mortified expression on his face, finished preparing the rest of Tatsuo's order. Then, with the bagged order, he walked over to the table where Tatsuo was sitting, explained that the Black Pepper frier was broken, and offered him a substitute.
Accepting the substitute, Tatsuo did not wait at the MgRonald's much longer before bidding both Chiho and Sadao good night and leaving for home carrying a bag with his four strawberry cream pies and an orange cream milkshake.
'So, this really was the beginning.' Tatsuo thought to himself after stepping out of the MgRonald's. 'Well, things are gonna get really interesting when Yusa-San finds out that Maou-San, Ashiya-San, and Urushihara-San are gonna be living in the same building. And with them living in the penthouse, I wonder how she'll end up stalking and spying on them. Should be fun.'
With those thoughts running through his head and an amused smile playing on his lips, it did not take long for Tatsuo to realize that someone was following him. However, unlike every other time he had found himself being followed, this time, the person was doing it without hiding themselves.
Turning back, Tatsuo saw a head of long fuchsia hair weaving through the crowd on the street to catch up to him.
"Yusa-San?" Tatsuo asked, pretending to be surprised to see an acquaintance.
"Soramoto-Kun, good evening." Emi said, her tone, though not unkind, was much more serious than he had ever heard. "I happened to see you in the MgRonald's while I was reading in the bookstore across the street."
"Oh, that bookstore makes some pretty good coffee." Tatsuo said with a smile. "you've got good taste, Yusa-San."
"That's not what's important right now." Emi said, not acknowledging Tatsuo's compliment. "Instead, you should stay away from that guy you were talking to in the MgRonald's, he's really bad news."
Knowing exactly what Emi meant, Tatsuo wanted to laugh. However, that would blow his cover. So, he only tilted his head in confusion.
"Are you talking about Maou-San?" Tatsuo asked in a tone that sounded genuinely confused. "Why would you say that? I've known him for more than six months by now, and he seems like a pretty good guy to me."
"You have to trust me on this." Emi said sternly. "He's not a 'good guy,' as you put it. Instead, he's a conniving, sinister, liar. And he likes to manipulate people to do his bidding. You can't let his appearance fool you."
The hatred leaking into Emi's voice was impossible for Tatsuo to miss. And knowing what he did about Sadao's and Emi's situations, he could completely understand why she felt that way.
'*sigh* I almost forgot, she's only a teenager, too.' Tatsuo thought to himself while giving Emi a strange look. 'I mean, because of Maou-San's actions in the past, her father was killed. Unfortunately, in Maou-San's eyes, what he did was necessary, even if his subordinates were not smart enough to interpret his orders correctly. Still, his thoughts, as the ruler of demons, were to his people first and foremost. And while the humans who were sacrificed were a tragedy, he cared more about the lives of his own people.
"You know…" Tatsuo said while thinking about the situation between Sadao and Emi. "You kind of sound like an angry ex-girlfriend right now, Yusa-San."
As he spoke, Tatsuo carefully took a few steps back, knowing that Emi would fly off the handle when he said something about her being involved with Sadao.
And just as Tatsuo expected, when Emi heard his words, she froze momentarily. Then, an expression filled with pure, unbridled rage appeared on her face.
"What!?" Emi shouted, her volume causing every head on the street to turn in her direction. "Why would you even think that? Me and that guy? Eww! Just the thought makes me wanna throw up in my mouth a little bit."
"I mean, can you really blame me?" Tatsuo asked while continuing to back away. "Out of nowhere, you stop me on the street and tell me to stay away from someone. Then, you give me a whole bunch of reasons why I should stay away. However, they all sound like something a scorned lover would say. So, what was I supposed to think?"
Once again, Emi froze. Tatsuo's words making her subconsciously think back to the warning she gave him. And as she did, she realized that he was right. Everything she said sounded like the lines from a woman who just ended a toxic relationship and was trying to keep the next girl from getting involved with her ex.
"Hey, chill out, Yusa-San!" Tatsuo shouted quietly, getting Emi's attention. Then, he gestured towards the people around them, who had begun to take out their smartphones to record the situation. "You're making a scene. And I really don't wanna show up on social media with you. It could ruin my career."
"Your… career?" Emi, completely mortified and confused, asked.
"We can talk about that later." Tatsuo said as he took a step forward, grabbed Emi by the hand, and took off running before any of the smartphone cameras were pointed at him. "For now, let's get the hell outta here."
"Uh… Okay." Emi replied without much thought.
'How is Soramoto-Kun so fast?' Emi could not help wondering as she ran along with Tatsuo to get away from the crowd. 'This is much faster than the average fifteen year old boy should be, isn't it? I mean, I don't even think I'm this fast without using my holy power. Just what kind of training does he do?'
Luckily for Tatsuo, during Emi's half a year living in this world, she had performed an investigation about people with abnormal powers. And the result was that magic did not exist here. So, she was only able to consider that Tatsuo was exceptionally well-trained or just had inborn strength and speed.
As for Tatsuo, while running away, he was cursing Emi in his mind.
'What's wrong with this bimbo?' Tatsuo thought to himself. 'I mean, doesn't she watch the news about celebrities? I'm kind of a big deal right now. Didn't she think yelling about stuff like that in the streets would draw attention to us? Damn it… If I end up on social media after this, Mom's gonna be pissed. Then, there will be more deaths than just those shootings Maou-San's and Yusa-San's old associates have been up to. And Yusa-San will probably be one of them.'
*Pant!* *Pant!* *Pant!* *Pant!*
Not long later, Tatsuo and Emi were able to get away from the crowd. And from what Tatsuo could tell, he should not have showed up on any videos. Though, just to be sure, he would tell Sumire about this and have her people check the internet, just in case.
While Tatsuo thought about how to save his career from any negative impact, Emi, while bending over and supporting herself with her hands on her knees, could not help staring at Tatsuo while breathing heavily.
"How are you not tired?" Emi asked through ragged breaths.
"I train hard every day." Tatsuo replied absent-mindedly.
"And what was this about your career?" Emi asked.
"I'm a music artist on my mother's record label." Tatsuo replied in the same tone. "My album will be released during Golden Week. But if I was caught on video with you yelling like that, it would definitely turn into a scandal."
Hearing that, Emi's eyes shot wide open. Then, a guilty expression appeared on her face as she looked down at the ground.
"I'm… sorry…" Emi said quietly. "I just didn't want you getting involved with someone like that. He's really bad news."
"Like I said, I've known Maou-San for months." Tatsuo sid, finally turning to look at Emi. "And with how protective my mom is after getting me back, you think she hasn't run some kind of background check on him? Hell, she's run a background check on you, too. And nothing like what you said popped up. So, it only makes me think that you've been dumped and are trying to get back at your ex."
"I… I… guess that's true…" Emi said with a mortified expression on her face while trying to figure out what Tatsuo meant by "after getting me back." "But… even the thought of dating that guy makes my stomach turn."
"Well, that's your business." Tatsuo replied with a shrug. "Either way, Maou-San has not done anything to me or my family. So, I have no reason to trust your words. If you wanna present an accusation like that, I suggest you get some actual evidence before you start mouthing off like that."
"Yeah… You're right." Emi replied while smiling wryly. "It seems I let my feelings get in the way of my rational thinking. I'm sorry."
As the last two words left her mouth, Emi performed a ninety degree bow to show her sincerity. Meanwhile, Tatsuo only shrugged his shoulders once again.
"Anyway, I gotta get home." Tatsuo said while holding up the bag with the strawberry cream pies and the orange cream milkshake. "Otherwise, Ayane-Oneesan is gonna get upset that I made her wait. So, I'll see you later, Yusa-San. Have a good evening."
With that, Tatsuo, without giving Emi a chance to respond, turned around and headed back to the apartment building, leaving Emi standing there with a lot to think about.
A few hours later, Sadao, after his shift ended, was riding his bike, a bike he named Dullahan, back towards his apartment, Villa rosa Sasazuka. All the way, he was shouting happily while pedaling vigorously.
"Hell yeah, I got a promotion!" Sadao shouted at the top of his lungs while riding through the nearly empty Sasazuka streets. "Did you hear that, Ashiya, I got a raise. I am now an A-List employee!"
As it turned out, Mayumi did not call Sadao into her office to punish him for the broken frier. Instead, she wanted to let him know that the promotion she had been working to get for him had finally went through, and she just wanted to give him the good news.
While continuing to ride along and shout, Sadao eventually came to an intersection. However, he had to come to a stop because the light was red. And because he was stationary, he decided to tone down his happiness. At least, until he was moving again.
"Hey." A female voice said from nearby, drawing Sadao's attention.
However, when he looked in the voice's direction, Sadao did not recognize the fuchsia-haired woman standing at the end of his line of sight.
"Uh… Can I help you?" Sadao asked in a confused tone.
"I don't get it." The woman, Emi, said as she approached Sadao. "After seeing you at this same crosswalk this morning, I had a feeling I had seen you before. So, I called out of work and followed you. And to my surprise, I saw you working at a MgRonald's."
"Well, I'm sorry if that disappointed you." Sadao replied, blatant confusion audible in his tone.
"By the time the sun went down, I was certain I had mixed you up with someone else." Emi continued, completely ignoring Sadao's interruption. "That is… Until I felt you casting a spell."
"A spell?" Sadao asked while going on high-alert. "Just who the hell are you, Lady?"
"Even so, I really can't understand it." Emi said, still ignoring anything Sadao had to say. Then, her calm expression morphed into one filled with rage. "So, I need you to explain it to me… Why is the Devil working part-time at a fast food joint? Tell me, what are you planning, Satan!?"
Hearing the tone Emi shouted his name in, Sadao's memories went into overdrive. A moment later, the fuchsia-haired woman overlapped with a silver-haired woman from Ente Isla. And to make things even worse, they both had the same face and the same blood thirsty expression when they looked at him.
"You! You're the Hero, Emilia!" Sadao shouted while pointing at Emi.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the Hero and the Devil, there were three people sitting on the roof of a nearby building watching the drama unfolding below. On top of that, both Emi and Sadao were familiar with all three.
"If you and Sumire-Sama hadn't explained it to me, I'd think they were both chuunibyō's acting out some kind of drama." Ayane said while resting her chin on her hands as she watched the dispute between Emi and Sadao.
"Yeah, they're both kinda dramatic, aren't they?" Tatsuo asked with a smile. "I guess overexaggerated expressions are common where they're from."
"Or… Maybe they're just too surprised to see each other." Kasumi said while watching with interest. "Even so, this is much better than that drama we were watching a little earlier."
"You've been corrupted by the secular world, Kasumi." Ayane said while shooting a disdainful glare at her half-sister.
"I suppose I can't deny that." Kasumi replied with her usual gentle smile. "But you're here watching the drama, too, Ayane."
"Hmph!" Ayane only snorted in response.
"Anyway, this is about to end soon." Tatsuo said as he noticed a police officer approaching the area where the two were talking. "So, let's get ready to go home soon. We've still got school tomorrow."
After Kasumi and Ayane nodded to Tatsuo's suggestion, the trio watched the end of the dispute between Emi and Sadao. However, what Tatsuo found most irritating about the whole thing was the way that Emi kept talking about how Sadao was corrupting a nice, polite young man, clearly talking about him. Meanwhile, Sadao was trying to defend himself by saying things like, "if you know what that kid really was, you'd be more worried for me," and "Even if I ever tried to manipulate him, his mother would kill me before you ever got the chance to."
Unfortunately, Emi had no idea about the identities of the people living in the penthouse at the top floor of her apartment building. So, she only chalked up Sadao's words as the lies that could be expected from a demon.
Not long later, Emi pulled a knife out of her purse, one which Sadao mocked for being from a crappy 100 yen store, before charging at Sadao to stab him to death. However, before she could even get halfway there, the police officer arrived and put an end to this farse. Then, he hauled both Emi and Sadao to the nearby police station for questioning.
"Well, that was fun." Ayane said as she stood up and stretched. "We should invite both of them over to the housewarming party. It should make for some great entertainment."
"You're bad, Ayane." Kasumi said with a giggle as she, too, stood up. "But Tatsuo-Kun was right. We should head home. It's getting late."
"Yeah, let's go." Tatsuo replied as he stood up, as well. "Grab on. We'll be home in a sec."
Following Tatsuo's instructions, Kasumi and Ayane grabbed one of Tatsuo's arms, each. Then, the trio simply vanished, bringing an end to the night's events.