The Devil Is a Part-Timer!, Vol. 5 by Satoshi Wagahara Page B

her completed key chain back in her bag, then, taking a moment to ensure nobody was looking, infused the fragment with just a bit of her holy energy.
    The Better Half, the Cloth of the Dispeller, and Alas Ramus all acted in concert with this infusion, making the fragment grow in strength.
    She took pains to regulate the flow, remembering the dazzling glow her sword had emitted when she had set foot within Ente Isla’s Devil’s Castle.
    Then she gave a light pump of her fist with her free arm.
    “…Yes!”
    The Yesod fragment inside the bottle began to glow a faint shade of violet, just like her sword and Alas Ramus’s head. Then, after realigning itself within the bottle, it shot a straight beam of light in a certain direction.
    The beam was cut off by the inside of Emi’s bag, of course. But all she needed was the directional guidance.
    The light was pointed southwest of Yoyogi.
    One potential location immediately sprung to mind.
    “…Ugh, Sasazuka?”
    It was pointed right at the zone of Tokyo where Emi and Maou spent most of their lives.
    “But…hang on a sec. It might not be there at all. Maybe it’s
past
there, even. …Might as well take this as far as it goes, though.”
    Sasazuka would need to be on her list, of course, but all she had to go on right now was a general southwestern bearing. There was no guarantee this light wouldn’t guide her all the way down to Okinawa.
    One thing was already for sure, though. The fragment in Emi’s bag, the Better Half, the Cloth of the Dispeller, Alas Ramus—and something else: There was another Yesod fragment in this world. Emi stepped out of Muddraker’s, a new sense of confidence fresh in her mind.
    “…Which way would this thing turn if it’s reacting to something on the opposite side of the world, though?”

    She knew the whole time.
    That was what he had told her, after all. Having this be anything else would certainly not be her preference.
    The other end of the relationship didn’t seem too conscious of its existence. And, looking back, she clearly acted out of sorts whenever they were together.
    But…
    “I was just thinking, you know…
what if
, am I right?”
    “Pardon me?”
    “Nothing, nothing.”
    Rika grinned to herself, remembering that Ashiya was standing right next to her.
    After agonizing over how dressy she should be for the big day, she opted for a tunic-style top, some short pants, and a well-worn pair of mules. Nothing too fancy, just your basic going-out gear. It proved to be the right answer.
    Ashiya
was
standing next to her, yes. But in front of them was this guy, Sadao Maou—Rika still wasn’t quite sure if he was Ashiya’s friend, or ex-boss, or what—and Suzuno Kamazuki, Emi’s pal.
    Maou and Ashiya were decked out in UniClo from top to bottom, not much different from before. They were reasonably coordinated, at least. Suzuno, meanwhile, was in a kimono as always.
    Going full volume with her fashion choices today would’ve made the men in the group stand out like a pair of sore thumbs. Rika’s wardrobe was just barely casual enough to make the entire team look remarkably well balanced.
    Upon meeting up at the western turnstile at JR Shinjuku station, the four of them took an underground tunnel to the Socket City in front of the station’s main bus terminal.
    Rika had brought along nothing but a purse just large enough to fit her phone, her wallet, and a few cosmetics. Now, though, she was carrying a large, solid-looking plastic bag with one hand.
    It was a set of
tsukudani
simmered fish from Choshi. A souvenir from Ashiya, who told Rika by phone about their trip beforehand.
    Offering a selection of saury, mackerel, and European pilchard, it was nothing more, and nothing less, than a souvenir. The sort of thing you purchased robotically at the gift shop when you remembered you needed to bring
something
home.
    “…Well, it works for me.” Rika grinned to herself, feeling a tad warmer for reasons besides the summer