Hataraku Maou-sama Vol.11 Prologue

Prologue

It was the same night that Maou, Suzuno and Ashiesu left for Ente Isla using the “Hell’s Gate” in the Ueno Onshi Park.

The silence of the night was cut off by the sound of an ambulance car as Chiho – who was not wasting a single thought of worry for Urushihara who likewise set off for a journey – looked timidly towards the person standing close to her. She had only seen that person once in a video clip before.

Shiba Miki. The landlady of Sasazuka’s Villa Rosa that even Maou and Ashiya dreaded. Facing this person directly like that, Chiho truly couldn’t deny the force she emitted. But she apparently did not cause the impression of overwhelming power, as opposed to angels and demons. Chiho merely held the image that the landlady was a gaudy in appearance but still commonly seen middle-aged woman.

If there was anything bothering her, it was probably the fact that she was left alone in the apartment with Shiba, who she had met for only the first time. Just now Chiho had been listening to her former employer, Shiba’s niece Ohguro Amane, telling her about something related to the “truth behind this world”.

Amane was apparently already well-informed about Maou’s true identity, the demons from Ente Isla and even Sephirot, the tree of life.

Chiho, in the place of Maou and Suzuno who set off towards the parallel universe Ente Isla to rescue Ashiya, Emi and Alas Ramus, was starting her investigations from there. That was when Shiba suddenly showed up. Urushihara, anticipating Chiho’s thinking and trying to eavesdrop on her conversation with Amane, suddenly fainted, interrupting their talk.

Spotting Shiba’s appearance Amane panicked, while Urushihara in the stronghold was already lying face down.

In the end under Shiba’s instruction Amane got into contact with someplace and not long after an ambulance car arrived, taking Amane and Urushihara away.

Thus, at around midnight two o’clock only Chiho and the landlady of Sasazuka’s Villa Rosa remained in the apartment.

“Amane, she”
“Ye, yes!?”
Not throwing the confused Chiho a glance Shiba said.
“Has always been a little sloppy. She hasn’t been discourteous, has she?”
“Thi, this … discourteous is referring to …?”
“Being a descendent of Sephirot, has she told you anything out of order?”
“Ah …”

Chiho was caught flat-footed. In their conversation a short while ago Amane had commented on Shiba.

“This apartment’s landlady Shiba Miki is a child born from the Sephirot”

“Eh, ehm, I …”

Concerning the truth at the heart of the matter Chiho desired to know, the knowledge the madam standing before her right now possessed was greater than the one Amane held. Just when Chiho was about to open her mouth, continuing the topic of the interrupted conversation with Amane,

“Sasaki Chiho-san”

She was called by her full name.

Even though Shiba hadn’t introduced herself at their first meeting, she was hardly held back by that.

Right then, Chiho swallowed her words and her spirit began to yield. The moment her name was called out, Chiho’s heart began to wane and submitted before Shiba. This feeling reminded Chiho of the times in her childhood when she was scolded by her mother after having done something bad. Her heart commanded her spirit to not allow her to do anything that disobeyed the existence standing in front of her.

“Let me confirm something first. You know about the truth, but can’t do anything to change it. Fully understanding this you still want to know everything?”
“I … I …”
“You are a person born in this world who doesn’t possess any special abilities; therefore making you a special being. It seems like you are not aware of the meaning behind the small amount of sacred power that is residing within your body. Once you know about the entire truth your heart won’t be able to bear with it due to your powerlessness – it might even break. Yet notwithstanding, you still desire to know?”

Chiho failed to comprehend the meaning behind this question. Nor was she supposed to. Because without knowing the truth it was impossible to understand the meaning of the words Shiba just said.

“I …”
“Mhm”
“Even if I will be tormented by the knowledge of my own powerlessness, by the dread of feeling the regret of knowing”

Her spirit rose up, determined not to pull back. Chiho knew fully well that she possessed no combat abilities, no combat wisdom and also no life for combat. However, knowing for the sake of knowing, that was Chiho’s way of fighting. Escaping because of being unable to do anything and sitting there carefully watching would make it impossible to remain at their sides.

“I won’t run away from the knowledge. If I ran away from it I would feel that everything was over.”
“…”
“Knowing, I may be unable to do anything myself, but … this situation called ‘the me that knows about this’ will come about for certain. I …”

In the silence of the night Chiho, with her slender body, was fighting the pressure on her spirit to yield with all her might.

“I have faith that the someone gifted with power, who holds me in high esteem will use ‘the me who knows’ as provision, as a chess piece in order to fight for the sake of changing the situation!”

In this instant Chiho felt the power that had tied up her heart loosen a bit. And then Shiba looked at her with a wondering expression.

“… how …”

Shiba tightly clutched her gold-chained handbag.

“Excuse me for using such brazen language … I neither possess any power, nor am I going so far as to say such things out of some noble sentiments. It’s just that …”

Chiho looked towards Sasazuka’s Villa Rosa while speaking.

“I want to always get along with the people I love. It’s for this reason that I am standing here.”
“No, there definitely aren’t that many people out there who are embracing and fighting for these kinds of feelings. I somehow understand the reason why ‘she’ has been keeping an eye on you, now.”
“… eh?”

Before she had realised it, the power that had bound Chiho’s heart had dissipated. Shiba then held out her hand in front of her.

“Today you are welcome to stay at my house. I can’t let you return to your home at this hour and with the tenants all absent I can’t arbitrarily enter the apartment.”
“O, okay …”

Indeed, right now she was unable to get into Maou’s room 201 and the caretaker of Suzuno’s room 202 during her absence, Amane, left riding on the ambulance car.

Chiho obediently followed Shiba’s suggestion, walking towards the western-styled house that was built next to Sasazuka’s Villa Rosa.

A large garden that was three times as big as Chiho’s home stood there. That probably counted as a palatial residence within the metropolitan area. Passing through an interior entrance hall that appeared as if out of a drama, Chiho continued through an elegant parlour-like room.

“It’s already late in the night, but there are also some things I would like to hear from you. Do you mind socialising with me for a little while?”

Shiba offered Chiho a seat on the sofa ornamented with silk embroidery. Then she proceeded to make a cup of warm steaming black tea for Chiho who appeared unsettled.

Slightly tense, Chiho drank a sip of the tender and sweet fragrant black tea and the pressure on her shoulders was lifted to an extent.

“Well then, you probably already heard it from Amane; this world, in other words the Earth, once also possessed a being called the Tree of Life. The Sephirot jewels the world is composed of were brought forth by the tree for the purpose of forming the foundation for mankind.”
“Ye, yes …”

Thereupon Chiho suddenly realised that she had forgotten her notebook and pen in Suzuno’s room,

“If you don’t mind, it is fine if you use this to take notes.”

And with that, Shiba pulled out a notebook and a quill pen, along with an ink pot from somewhere.

“Thank you very much.”

While Chiho, having a hard time finding a good starting point for her notes, was still struggling using the quill pen, ink pot and other stationery she had never used before, she was hit by the shock of the first words Shiba said.

“As a general rule, all Sephirot have to remain in the world they were born into.”

Understanding the meaning behind these words, Chiho involuntarily hid her right hand. But something like this couldn’t deceive Shiba. Shiba gazed straight at the finger that contained a shard of Yezod and said.

“Recently ‘Sephirot that are not beings of the Earth’ have come to this planet. There haven’t been any signs up until now, however, it doesn’t seem like they have returned to their world of origin.”

What that was. The ‘Sephirot that are not beings of the Earth’.

“Sephirot are the jewels of which the world is composed of. Missing those jewels the humans of that world are slowly drifting towards destruction. Even though this won’t happen today or tomorrow, but the sooner the Sephirot return to their world of origin, the better.”

As far as Chiho knew there were three who have taken human form. One was the boy the demon brought with him, Iruoun. Another one was the girl who bonded with Maou, Ashiesu Ahra.

And the last one.

Emi and Maou’s ‘child’; the baby that was such an irreplaceable being to Chiho.

Alas Ramus.