I don't own Hataraku Maou-sama! This is a fan-based work.
Before reading, please know that this is a one-shot story. My goal is to start small with my stories, but to post frequently. My aim is to develop a habit, and to incrementally grow until I am comfortable with posting as well as writing longer works. So for now, the story will be all that there is now. It doesn't mean that I won't possibly develop this one-shot into a longer story down the line, but I'm not making any promises.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoy my first post here on !
Winter Vacation Discussion
Maou sighed as he leaned back against the couch. Today was fun, but exhausting. He could've sworn that his feet had swollen up from running around the winter resort with Alas Ramus.
Emi walked over and sat on the opposite end of the couch, also letting out a sputter of exhaustion.
"And here I thought that this vacation would be relaxing," she muttered gazing at the ceiling.
Maou chuckled.
"Expectations versus reality, am I right?"
Emi couldn't help the small smile that appeared on her lips.
"Right."
"So what do we do now? Alas Ramus is asleep, but I'm not too tired yet. Wanna watch TV?"
Emi shrugged, reaching for the remote.
"Sure. Why not?"
After a few minutes of browsing the channels, they settled on a run-of-the-mill fantasy adventure film. The plot was standard as it was to the genre: an evil lord that wanted to take over the world, with a young hero gathering a band of allies to stop him.
It didn't take long for Emi and Maou to note some parallels between the film and themselves. They unspokenly decided not to comment on the matter.
But, after about twenty minutes, something happened in the film that caused Maou to voice his annoyance.
"Oh, come on!" he said, his arm stretched out in disbelief. "He should've split the party up and overwhelmed each member with his forces, taking them down one-by-one! For a Dark Lord who's supposed to be cunning and have the world on the ropes, he's making such basic mistakes!"
Emi smirked.
"What can I say? Most Dark Lords are pretty stupid…" she drawled with malicious glee, eying Maou with narrowed eyes.
Maou harrumphed. He crossed his arms indignantly.
"Oh, puh~le~e~ease! As if you're one to talk! Almost every Hero doesn't fight the Dark Lord alone. Instead of challenging the Dark Lord to a one-on-one duel, the Hero just jumps him with all his friends! That's what you did!"
"May I remind you that my goal was to defeat you, no matter how? Besides, you had Ashiya helping you."
"Yeah, Ashiya was helping me," Maou conceded. However, he wasn't about to give up. "But you still outnumbered us two to one!"
"Because you were that powerful!"
Maou grinned, and puffed up all proud-like. "Heck-yeah, I was."
"That wasn't meant to be a compliment!" Emi retorted, picking up one of the couch pillows and throwing it at him.
The pillow hit Maou with a loud "thump!" His smug grin had been replaced by one of surprise. Emi couldn't help but laugh at his shocked expression.
Maou looked at Emi in absolute disbelief. He had no idea that she would do that.
"Why you-!" Maou picked up the pillow and threw it back at Emi. She yelped as she managed to duck in time. She grabbed another pillow and jumped off the couch.
Maou did the same and the two stood at the ready on opposite sides of the coffee table. They both held their pillows up, ready to attack.
"Surrender and I'll show you mercy," Maou quipped with a challenging grin.
Emi smirked back. "As if!"
Then they rounded around the coffee table, they ended up where the other had stood earlier. Maou bluffed that he would run back around, to which Emi fell for. She yelped as she skidded to a halt, realizing her mistake. Maou closed in for the kill, swinging his pillow at Emi with a triumphant laugh. Emi managed to block his attack with her own pillow just in time. Both reared back, telegraphing their targets and intentions. But neither one cared as both of their pillows made contact; Maou's with Emi's shoulder, and Emi's with his ribs. After that, any attempt to dodge or block was thrown out the window as both Maou and Emi slammed their pillows into one another without rhyme or reason.
Neither one of them noticed how they were laughing for the first time in a long time. They were both having too much fun.
Then Emi lost her balance, grabbing Maou as both of them tumbled to the ground. Both were panting and giggling.
They laid on their backs, looking at the ceiling. A lock of Emi's hair was strung across her upper lip, making it look like she had a long red mustache. She blew it off her face between pants.
"And here I thought-" Emi began, after she caught her breath. "-that you didn't know how to fight. That all you knew what to do was use magic."
"Back when I was building my armies, there were some demon tribes that I had to engage in melee combat in order to earn their loyalty. I had to adapt or else I would've lost everything. Needless to say, I'm glad I haven't gotten too rusty," Maou answered.
"Well, now I know not to mess with you when you have a pillow," Emi replied.
"You're not too shabby yourself. You landed some pretty good hits."
"Thanks."
They continued to lay on the floor, still riding the high of the pillow fight. The TV continued to play in the background.
"Hey, Maou?" Emi said suddenly. "I have a question for you that's been on my mind for a while."
"Yeah?"
"...Do you think that if you actually move up in the ranks at MgRonalds and make more money, you'll move out of that apartment?"
Maou scoffed. Easy question.
"Absolutely," he answered. "I've actually talked it over with Ashiya and Urushihara. Once I get to a proper managerial position, we'll start looking around for a proper apartment. We'll have the best of everything: a proper bathroom; a kitchen with appliances that actually work; and our own bedrooms. Heck, the best part is that Urushihara will finally start to contribute."
This made Emi sit up. That was weird, given the Fallen Angel's lazy demeanor.
"What?! How?!"
"Well, here's how Urushihara explained it to me: after we start making more money and move into a better apartment, he asked if I could buy him a proper gaming computer."
"Not surprising. He's always thinking of his own self-interest."
"At first, I said no. But when he said that he would make money with it, I decided to listen. Apparently, there's a lot of gamers who play games and 'live-stream' as they play. There's a 'live-chat' filled with people that comment and if you're popular enough, those people donate money to send a personal message."
"Ahhhh…" Emi said, understanding everything. "I see. I've actually heard about this. Yeah, depending upon how good at gaming or popular you are, you can get merchandise deals and sponsorships from companies."
"Yeah," Maou nodded. "Urushihara showed me on his computer. If that NEET can find a way to monetize his laziness, then I'm all for it. Means I could save up for the next phase of my plan."
"Next phase?" Emi asked. "And that would be?"
"Well, I haven't told anyone this…" Maou hesitated at first. "But I guess I could tell you. Just don't laugh."
Maou sat up, crossing his legs. Emi's curiosity peaked at his hesitation.
"I want to buy a house."
Emi blinked at Maou's statement. A house? Was he serious?
"Why would you want to buy a house? You've already said that you were going to move into an apartment."
"Well, yeah. We are going to move out into a better apartment as soon as we're able to, that's for sure. But down the line, I want to buy a house. A place that I own. I want it to have a big yard for Alas Ramus to run around and play in. A nice living room, with a fireplace to stay warm during the winter. And I also want Alas Ramus to have her own room for when she comes to visit; a place where she can keep her toys and a bed for sleepovers…"
Emi stared at Maou. A part of her couldn't believe what the former Devil King was saying. A house? With a yard? A fireplace? He was actually thinking of stuff that normal people desired.
But another part of her could believe it. Having spent a large amount of time with Maou (a good deal of it against her will), she came to realize just how much he had changed. There was still a part of him that was the Devil King…but he was much more than just that anymore. In the span of a year, he became a devoted worker, loyal friend, lawful citizen, and a father.
Maou's voice brought Emi out of her thoughts.
"Well, go ahead…"
"Huh? What?" she asked.
"You were holding in your laughter. You think me wanting a house is stupid."
Emi smiled softly, shaking her head slowly.
"No…" she answered. "I think it's a sweet idea. I think it's great that you want Alas Ramus to have a nice home."
"Really?" Maou perked up. "You do?"
"Yeah, of course." Emi nodded. Then her face took on a competitive expression. "But that means that I'm going to have to save up for a house myself. I'm not about to let the Devil King outshine me with a house."
Maou's expression fell.
"Seriously? You're gonna do the exact same thing that I'm going to do? Just to get back at me?"
"No, I'm going to do the exact same thing you're going to do to get back at you and for Alas Ramus. I want her to have a good home too."
"If that's the case then let's just buy a house together."
Emi sprang up from the floor to her feet.
"WHAT?!" she screamed as her face proceeded to turn as bright red as her hair. "Wha-what are you saying?!"
"What?" he asked nonchalantly. "If we both want Alas Ramus to grow up in a house, then we should combine our forces and resources to buy one. You spend half of your time at our apartment as it is. You only go back to your apartment to sleep. Not to mention you spend a ton of time and money just traveling back and forth between work, our apartment and yours. And you're always going on about 'keeping a close eye' on me. What's closer than the same house? And besides that, Alas Ramus would quit begging you to take her to see me because I'd already be there. It's a solution to a lot of our problems."
"I-that's-you're-do you even-!" Emi struggled to find some kind of reason to refute his claims. But every single one that came to mind was feeble against his ironclad proposal. Gah! Don't think about that word! Her mind screamed as her face turned an even brighter shade of red. Eventually, her racing thoughts presented only one response.
"HOW DARE YOU USE LOGIC!"
"What?" Maou asked, stunned.
But Emi refused to answer, stomping off to the bathroom.
"I'm taking a shower!" she yelled. Then she slammed the door.
Maou just sat there, completely confused by what had just happened.
"I will never understand women," he muttered to himself under his breath.
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