Hub World, Earth, Japan, Tokyo.
*Knock!* *Knock!* *Knock!*
"Just a minute." A voice that Tatsuo was not familiar with said from the other side of the door.
Then, Tatsuo heard the sound of footsteps approaching the door. It was not long before the door was cracked open, stopped from opening further by the chain latch.
"Yes, how may I help you?" The same voice asked as a brown eye peered through the gap in the door.
"Good afternoon." Tatsuo said with a small smirk on his face. "I'm here to see Maou-San. He asked me here to discuss an issue we're having. My name is Soramoto Tatsuo."
As soon as he mentioned his name, Tatsuo saw the eye, belonging to Ashiya, widen in surprise before...
*Bang!*
... the door was slammed shut.
"Sire! He's here!" Ashiya whisper shouted. "What should we do? Does this mean the Devil's Castle is under siege?"
"Well, maybe let him in?" Sadao said in a mildly amused tone. "I mean, I did invite him over."
"Oh, right." Ashiya said, continuing to whisper shout. "You did, didn't you?"
"Also, I'm pretty sure he can hear you, Ashiya." Sadao continued. "I mean, on top of having a lot of mana, these walls are crap at muffling sounds."
"Ahh!" Ashiya shrieked. And based on the slapping sound he heard afterwards, Tatsuo would bet that he clapped his hand over his mouth, too.
"Ashiya, are you going to let him in?" Sadao asked, his tone giving the impression that he was rolling his eyes. "Or will you make it seem as if the Devil's Castle has no decorum and does not know how to treat invited guests?"
"Ah! No, Sire!" Ashiya yelped.
In the next instant, the sound of the latch being taken off could be heard. Then, the door swung open to reveal Ashiya standing there with a slightly stiff, yet welcoming smile.
"Please, allow me to welcome you inside, Soramoto-Kun." Ashiya said while stepping to the side.
"Thanks." Tatsuo replied with a grin.
Tatsuo then stepped inside before Ashiya closed the door behind him. He then took off his shoes while looking around at the small apartment.
'Yup, it's just as small as I expected it to be.' Tatsuo muttered internally. 'I don't know how two grown men can live in such a small space together, though. I mean, doesn't it feel cramped. Ugh... And when they take Lucifer in... I can only imagine how hot it must get in here in the summer.'
"Thanks for having me." Tatsuo said once he slipped on the slipper Ashiya handed him.
Once Tatsuo was ready, Ashiya led him deeper into the apartment. A moment later, he saw Sadao, who was sitting at a low table opposite the door. However, what he saw made him feel a little weird.
Currently, Sadao was wearing his MgRonald's uniform, which was not all that weird. Neither was the fact that he was wearing the uniform's visor. He did say that he had to go to work after the conversation ended. No, what was strange was the fact that he was wearing a black cape while sitting with is arms crossed and his chin raised proudly.
Even weirder was the fact that Ashiya, after walking past the table and stopping behind Sadao, pulled a second black cape out of a drawer before slinging it over his shoulders and standing behind Sadao in the most menacing way his current human body could muster.
"Welcome to the Devil's Castle." Sadao said in an imperious tone. "Please, have a seat. Then, we can discuss the issue at the diplomatic table."
As his words ended, Sadao swept his right arm forward, gesturing to the low table as if it were a majestic table meant for discussions between kings.
In response, Tatsuo only scratched the side of his head before sitting cross legged on the side of the table opposite Sadao.
"So... Uh... What do you want to talk about exactly, Maou-San?" Tatsuo asked while trying to hide a hit of amusement at Sadao's actions. "To lower your caution towards me, I'll answer as much as I can."
'As much as he can, huh?' Sadao thought to himself while raising an eyebrow. 'That would suggest that there are things he can't talk about. Well, I guess that makes sense. I would not tell him all my secrets, either. But I wonder, is he aware of how he formulated that response, or not?'
"Very well, then allow me to reintroduce myself." Sadao said in that same imperious tone.
'My name is Hov.' Tatsuo thought to himself while grinning internally.
"In this world, I am known as Maou Sadao, a part-time employee of the Sasazuka branch of MgRonald's." Sadao said, unaware of Tatsuo's thoughts. "Yet, that is only an alias. For the sake of this meeting, you may refer to me as the Devil, or Demon King, Satan Jacob. And I have come to this realm---"
"Yeah, yeah, you came here from another world a little more than half a year ago, or so, right?" Tatsuo asked, deciding that he'd had enough of Sadao's performance by now. "So, let's get to the meat of the matter. Oh, and mind introducing your friend, too?"
Tatsuo gestured towards Ashiya as he finished. However, Sadao was too caught off guard to answer immediately. Unfortunately, Ashiya was in a similar situation, as well. So, the two demons turned humans only stared at Tatsuo for a few moments.
"How...? How did you know that?" Sadao asked. "No one from this world should have been able to pin-point the time when we arrived in this world. The humans of this world just don't have enough awareness of magic."
"Well, first of all, I wasn't the one who figured it out." Tatsuo replied while shrugging his shoulders. "I mean, I didn't even gain any kind of supernatural energy until about two months ago. It was my mom who noticed, actually. But when she didn't feel that you were a threat to the world, she decided to just let you be. That's the same for the others who followed you here, too. I think Mom said there were three more who came through from different portals."
That information made Sadao and Ashiya freeze for a couple different reasons. Firstly, the fact that they were detected and deemed non-threats. And second, that there were people who followed them to this world.
"Three people through two portals, huh?" Sadao muttered to himself, the first to snap back to his senses. "One of them is probably Emilia. There's no way that Hero would allow us to escape. The other two are probably from the church, too. But without more information, it's hard to identify who."
'He really is more intelligent than he usually shows.' Tatsuo thought to himself. '*Sigh* If he acted like this more often, he could have gotten a better job than a fast-food joint. But to each his own, I guess.'
"Anyway, are you going to introduce your friend, Maou-San?" Tatsuo asked, snapping Sadao out of his thoughts.
"Oh, right." Sadao replied nonchalantly. "This is Ashiya. He's one of the generals of my Demon Army back in my home world. Ashiya, say hi."
Ashiya did not respond immediately, instead, he only stared at Sadao with a dumbfounded expression on his face.
"Really, Sire?" Ashiya asked after a few seconds of stunned disbelief. "I thought we were both supposed to make dramatic introductions. But you... you just introduced me so plainly."
"Whatever, Ashiya." Sadao replied. "That's not important right now."
"Not important?" Ashiya asked, showing visible irritation in his expression. "Because of today, I even went to have my general's cape dry cleaned. Sire, do you have any idea how expensive dry cleaning is? It's much more expensive than doing regular laundry. But you tell me that it's not important?"
"Geez! Take it easy Ashiya." Sadao said, waving Ashiya off before he could work himself into a frenzy.
Unfortunately, that seemed to rile Ashiya up even more. So, the two bickered for a while longer before Sadao was able to calm his general. Then, they got back to the real topic of this visit. And Sadao began with his questions.
And just as Tatsuo said, he answered as many questions as he could. Though, he did not go into certain details.
For example, Tatsuo mentioned that he was only half human, and his mother was not human at all. But he did not go into what species his other half, or his mother were. He also mentioned that he and his mother had the ability to manipulate space. He even [Blinked] around the apartment a few times to prove it. Yet, he did not mention that both he and his mother had the ability to travel to other worlds, as restricted as that ability was for him.
Still, the fact Sumire was not from Ente Isla was enough for Sadao to drop his guard around Tatsuo. Also knowing that Sumire arrived in the world many years before him helped assuage his fears even more.
Though, Sadao was still interested to know who the other three people who followed him from Ente Isla were. But Tatsuo did not want to give the game away too early.
'Plus, I really wanna fight Lucifer when he starts causing trouble.' Tatsuo thought to himself as the conversation started to wind down. 'I think that happened around Golden Week in Chiho's first year of high school. But I could be wrong. No matter, I know it happens in Shibuya. And if I really push myself, I can stretch my [Perception] to cover the whole ward. So, I shouldn't miss it whenever it happens.'
"So, do you have any more questions?" Tatsuo asked while smiling at the thought of fighting the Fallen Angel from Ente Isla.
"Not for now." Sadao replied while shaking his head. "But I do appreciate the fact that you came here to put my apprehensions to rest. Oh! Actually, I do have one question."
"What's up?" Tatsuo asked.
"Do any normal humans know about any of this?" Sadao asked.
"Well, I would assume by normal humans, you mean ones native to this world, right?' Tatsuo asked and received a nod of affirmation from Sadao. "Well, yes. Mai-Nee and Kasumi-Neesan know. But they aren't exactly normal, as they can control and wield the [Energy] in their bodies. But other than them, I don't think so."
"Good." Sadao said in a relieved tone. "I don't think I'm ready to let Chi-Chan know just yet."
"Is that because she has a crush on you?" Tatsuo asked curiously with a mischievous smile on his face. "I mean, she would probably freak out a little if she found out you weren't human, right?"
"Huh? A crush?" Sadao replied, playing dumb on the subject. "What are you talking about?"
"Alright, keep playing dumb if you want." Tatsuo shot back while shrugging his shoulders. "Just don't lead her on, okay?"
Sadao did not respond to that statement. Ashiya, on the other hand, had something to say.
"This, 'Chi-Chan,' you speak of..." Ashiya said with a serious expression on his face. 'Is she the same one who works with you at the MgRonald's', Sire? How dare someone like that think of becoming the life partner of the Great Satan? Perhaps I should start to investigate her. She must be after your status, My Lord. And I will not allow a... what do the kids call them these days...? Ah, yes! A gold digger. I will not allow a gold digger to try and worm her way into My Lord's heart."
"Ah! Knock it off, Ashiya!" Sadao shouted after Ashiya once again got started. He then glanced at the clock before he continued. "Anyway, it's about time I get going. I don't want to be late for work. Oh, and there will be no investigating Chi-Chan, Ashiya. Got it?"
With that, Sadao stood up. Then, he strode towards the door.
"Well, Soramoto-Kun, it was nice to get this talk out of the way." Sadao said as he stopped to put on his shoes. "Honestly, I don't know why I took so long to do this. But I'll see you later. I gotta run>"
"Well, I guess I'll get going, too." Tatsuo replied as he, too, stood up. "I got school tomorrow. Don't want Mom to nag me about not getting enough sleep, after all."
Tatsuo then, like Sadao, made his way to the entrance. Then when he stopped to take off his slippers, he turned to Ashiya.
"And it was nice to meet you, Ashiya-San." Tatsuo said as he sat down to put on his shoes. "Next time we hang out, you should come along, too. Staying home all the time's gotta be boring."
"Perhaps it might be nice to get out from time to time." Ashiya said while lowering his head in contemplation. "I'll have to see if I can figure a day out into the budget. *Sigh* Even if that will be hard."
Knowing the two demon's financial situation, Tatsuo had no intention of letting them pay when they went out. But he would not mention that, not wanting to hurt their pride.
Meanwhile, Sadao had finished putting on his shoes. Then, he quickly left the apartment and rand downstairs to start his trip to MgRonald's.
'Hmm... I don't hear him yelling about his steed, Dullahan.' Tatsuo thought to himself while tying his shoes. 'I guess he hasn't bought the bike yet. Oh, well. I'm sure he'll get one soon.'
With that thought, Tatsuo finished tying his shoes. Then, he stood up and waved goodbye to Ashiya before leaving the apartment, as well. Then, after closing the door behind him, Tatsuo used [Return] to teleport back into his bedroom in the penthouse apartment.
"I'm back!" Tatsuo shouted when he arrived in his bedroom.
"How did everything go?" Sumire asked from another room.
Taking off his shoes quickly, Tatsuo carried them as he left his room. Then, he took them to the shoe rack near the elevator before he replied.
"Everything went fine." Tatsuo replied. "We don't have to worry about Maou-San for now."
"Good." Sumire replied.
Now that Tatsuo was by the elevator, he could tell that Sumire's voice was not coming from the living room like he expected. Instead, it was coming from her office. So, he decided to make his way there, curious to know what his mother was doing.
"Hey, Mom, I almost never see you in here." Tatsuo said once he arrived at the door of Sumire's office. "What's going on?"
"Tatsu-Kun, welcome home!" Mai, who was standing behind Sumire while she sat at her desk, shouted before running around the desk and throwing herself into Tatsuo's arms. "I missed you. You really shouldn't leave me home alone for so long, you know."
Tatsuo only rolled his eyes at Mai's usual antics while he waited for Sumire's response.
"You make it sound like I don't work." Sumire said while also rolling her eyes. "But I usually just take care of it while you're at school. That way, I can spend as much time as possible with you, Tatsu-Chan. But this was important."
"Oh, what's up?" Tatsuo asked while walking into the office with Mai clinging to him.
"The editing team sent back your song." Sumire said with a big smile on her face. "I told them to send it to me for the final review. I can't let just anyone do the quality check for my Tatsu-Chan's first song, now, can I?"
"And how did it come out?" Tatsuo asked.
"I haven't listened to it yet." Sumire replied. "They just called a minute or so before you came back."
"Well then, why don't we call Kasumi-Neesan and Tio to listen, too?" Tatsuo suggested.
"Not until I've had a chance to check the quality first." Sumire said as she opened a drawer and pulled out a high-quality set of headphones. "If it's up to my standards, I'll let everyone else hear it, too."
"Okay, if you say so." Tatsuo replied with a shrug. "I guess I can let Yakumo-Chan hear it at school tomorrow, then."
With that, Sumire plugged in her headphones. Then, she started the song and listened with a serious expression on her face, scrutinizing everything about the song down to the smallest detail. And lucky for the editing team, Sumire was satisfied with what she heard. Otherwise, no one could guess what would have happened if she was forced to listen to a subpar version of her baby's first officially recorded song.
After that, Sumire called for Kasumi and Tio. Then, she played the song on the speakers she had set up in her office. Needless to say, everyone congratulated Tatsuo on a job well done. Sumire then sent a copy of the song to everyone's phone before she went to the kitchen to prepare a feast to celebrate.
After the feast ended, Tatsuo decided to call it an early night since he had to go to school the next day.