The Devil Is a Part-Timer!, Vol. 1 by Satoshi Wagahara

Isla.”
    “What?!”
    Emi—Emilia—could no longer hide the shock.
    Why would Ente Isla, the land returned to peace and stability by human hands, want her dead?
    “I…I’m afraid that we will be unable to provide an answer to that without further consideration…”
    “Heh-heh… Consideration, is it? I am keenly interested to see what the Hero and Devil King have left to consider, judging by the way they tucked their tails and fled from such a simple attack.”
    The voice seemed to echo ominously, as if rattling up from the depths of darkness. Emi recognized that tone. It could only come from the demon world. Suddenly her mind was cool, serene, as she regained her Heroic composure.
    “None of Satan’s generals survived apart from Alciel. What part of the demon realm are
you
from?”
    “… …”
    “You can try to shock me into submission with your lofty words about the ‘will of Ente Isla.’ But it will
never
faze me! I have no time for the prattlings of a monster.”
    “I see. A pity you choose not to believe me. We will meet again, soon.”
    The conversation ended earlier than she expected.
    With a heavy sigh, Emi removed her headset.
    Rika, in the adjacent seat, looked on incredulously, having little clue what Emi was talking about or what kind of conversation they were having. Emi turned back to her.
    “It takes all kinds in this world, doesn’t it?”
    “I…guess so.”
    Rika still looked skeptical, but apparently decided the topic wasn’t worth dwelling upon.
    Soon, their lunch break arrived. Rika smiled at Emi, her eyes still betraying her curiosity a bit.
    “Hey, sorry. So what did you want to do? Wanna eat lunch first? The bank’s gonna be busy right now anyway.”
    “Sure, Emi. If that works for you.”
    Heading for the locker room, she placed her phone, passbook, and seal inside a small tote. Just as she was about to leave, her phone began to vibrate.
    Her heart skipped a beat. She had put on a strong face, but that mystery call from earlier had unquestionably cast a pall upon her life in Japan.
    “Is that your phone?”
    “Yeah…”
    Checking the screen, it was from an unknown fixed-line number within Tokyo.
    “You gonna answer it?”
    “I dunno… I got a bad feeling about it.”
    The phone continued to ring. There was nothing else to do.
    “…Hello?”
    “Hello! Is this Emi Yusa’s cell phone?”
    Emi’s nerves loosened themselves a bit. It was a different voice, a friendly-sounding middle-aged man.
    “Yes! Can I ask who this is?”
    The man had unexpected news for her.
    “I apologize for bothering you. This is the Yoyogi Police Department calling.”
    “Huh?”
    Emi simmered silently inside the waiting room into which she had been led. Her eyebrows furrowed deeply into her forehead, as if chiseled on.
    The ill temper so plain in Emi’s eyes was enough to make even the female officer manning the front desk of the Yoyogi Police Department choose to keep her distance.
    “Sorry to keep you.”
    Eventually, a uniformed officer entered the waiting room andgreeted Emi, who lacked the psychological peace of mind to return the favor at the moment.
    “I really appreciate you taking the time to come here. There’s a whole process we have to go through, you understand.”
    “Yeah…”
    “Um, first off, if I could check your ID… Thank you. Now, if you could just write your name and address on this paper and place your seal right here…”
    She was starting to wonder why she bothered to bring her insurance card and seal with her today. They were
supposed
to help her obtain another bank card, but now here she was, waiting and waiting and waiting.
    Emi signed the document, almost applying enough pressure to rip the paper apart, then smashed her seal into the inkpad before practically stamping it through the sheet and into the desk.
    Slightly put off by this display, but not realizing what was causing it, the officer continued to smile as sincerely as he could at this law-abiding