“You’re the most reliable, hardest-working Devil King we know.”
“You sure you wanna be caught saying that?”
“But in exchange for that, I’m not giving up the number one spot. I won’t, and so I’m fine if you have lots of wives! Like the Devil King of another world should!”
“Being an ex–Devil King isn’t a get-out-of-jail-free card. When I picked my number one, I knew what I was getting into.”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
“Besides, now isn’t even the time for that. Why’re you painting me like some polygamist? There’re times when I can’t even devote time or money to you already. I can’t think about anyone else.”
“Well, give that some serious thought. Because realistically speaking, you’re Alas Ramus’s guardian. You’re thinking about putting her in a Japanese preschool or elementary school, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, I did mention that we gotta talk about that soon, didn’t I? …Man, the work just never stops. There’s no way this company’s gonna go smoothly if Emi and I are running it… Hmm?”
Maou’s whining was stopped by his phone vibrating. He took it out. It was a notice from his main bank’s smartphone app, notifying him about a withdrawal from his account.
“Oh crap… The account for my petty cash is gonna be empty by the end of the month.”
The bank account had been wrung completely dry. The reason couldn’t be simpler: He had used up all the money. What on earth? Well, first, there was the “entrepreneurial spending” on that meeting in the soba restaurant. That, and transferring Alas Ramus’s child support payment to Emi. And the payment on the card they used for little day-to-day purchases. He had a lot of expenses this month in particular, business and private, and so the account was looking pretty lonely.
Then, like it was aiming for that moment, a voice rang from the top of the stairs.
“Can’t you plan your spending a little more carefully?”
Maou scowled in the voice’s direction. Chiho gave it a joyful smile.
“Oh, you want my work to get tripped up? You want me to fall behind on Alas Ramus’s child support?!”
“That’s not what I am talking about,” the calm voice said as it traveled down the stairs. “Even if you’re short on that account, you got a company off the ground, and you’re making good earnings from it. You’re guaranteed an income from next month forward. Couldn’t you have paid that off in installments?”
The overbearing voice belonged to Shirou Ashiya, former Great Demon General and current Devil King, who had just come back to Japan.
“Look, you know I hate taking out loans…”
“No, listen to me…”
“And I already got enough monthly payments. Emi’s been pretty merciless about making those deposits on time lately. She’s already my chief stockholder—I don’t want her griping any more than she is about money.”
“But…”
“I hate having debt, all right? If I can pay something off, I do. And this is the result.”
Here, in this old apartment building like any other, Maou and Ashiya began the same argument about money they had conducted a million times before.
“Well, Your Demonic Highness…”
Even after assuming leadership over the many demons residing in Ente Isla right now, Ashiya still addressed the powerless Maou like royalty.
“If that is your financial approach, how you will ever save enough money for the wedding?”
“Wha-what, you…!”
“Ms. Sasaki has taken that tone with you precisely because she sees you as reliable, my liege. For us demons, if Emilia is keeping quiet because she thinks you are tied down by your company, I couldn’t feel more relieved…but I predict a long journey ahead for you otherwise.”
“Hey! When did you eavesdrop on that?! And don’t say stuff like that around Chiho!”
“You must have a different sense of time from before. A human being’s lifespan is far below that of a demon. Earning enough wealth to enrich your life is a difficult task! And there is not that much time before Chiho graduates from college. Have you made any plans at all along those lines?!”
Ashiya was bearing down on him more than ever before. In his current position, taking the Azure Emperor’s place in managing affairs across Efzahan, he couldn’t find much good to say about Maou’s financial situation. But that’s just how it was for now. In Maou’s current plan for his life, he would achieve a bare minimum of stability within five years of Chiho’s graduation.
“Look, I had bad timing with my bank account this month! It’s just one of those things!”
“Such a wretched state of affairs!”
“Why are you two screaming at each other after dark? Sadao, where’s my curry?!”
“Ah! It’s Al-cell!”
“Why are you people arguing about money outside? I can hear you up in my apartment.”
“Yeah, dude, y’see? When you use a credit card, it doesn’t feel like you’re spendin’ money, right? Everybody’s like that.”
They must have been loud indeed, because Emi from Room 203, Alas Ramus from Room 101, and Urushihara and Suzuno from Room 201 all came outside.
“…Hee-hee-hee!”
Chiho, seeing this unfold, smiled from the heart once more. Here was the man she loved the most in the world, alongside the friends and companions she cherished the most. This view—featuring everything that was number one in her life—made her happier than anything else.
“Hey, Sadao?”
Chiho took up the flustered Maou’s hand.
“It’s all right. I’ll be earning money, too.”
That only added fuel to the fire.
“Ms. Sasaki! That is not the issue here!”
“You better not spoil Sadao too much, Chiho!”
“Oh, man, Maou’s gonna go on a downward spiral…”
“That lucky dog…”
“Stop, stop! What are you doing?! …Whoa!”
Maou, unable to withstand any more of this, rather deliberately took out his phone and put it to his ear.
“Oh! What’s up, Ohki? Shoji and Yoshiya? Wow, that’s bad. Okay, I’ll be right there!”
✦ ✦ ✦
