The next day Emi felt completely fine so Ashiya went home after lunch, only to find an incredibly clean and tidy apartment of theirs, called the 'castle' by the demons. It turned out Suzuno had cooked and Urushihara had washed the dishes. What a huge and incredible progression, Ashiya and Maou thought.

The next time Emi and Ashiya saw each other happened by accident, in a supermarket.

'This just cannot be...' Emi murmured when she noticed the tall, white haired man looking through a long shelf and studying his shopping list profoundly. 'What are you doing here? I didn't know you come here to shop,' she spoke as she stepped behind him, resulting in a loud yell from Ashiya.

'Hero! I could ask the same thing!' he turned accusingly.

'Nope. This is the supermarket where I shop, and it's quite distant from your 'castle' as you three call it. So how come you're here, Ashiya?' she sighed. 'If I want a single day without you three, then you just pop up somewhere near me.'

'As if you minded it. Otherwise you come and watch for us!'

'You think I like it that much? It's my job as the Hero. So why are you here?'

'Because the area where I do the shopping is under reconstruction right now, and this one is the only supermarket nearby where I can buy all the things I need, Urushihara looked it up for me on the Internet. But this arrangement of products is simply getting on my nerves! How can you find anything here?'

'Ah... well, you're so lucky I'm self-sacrificing enough to help you.'

'No!' Ashiya protested fiercely, surprising Emi. 'Sorry, Hero, but I cannot allow myself to become indebted to you again.'

'Stop it, Ashiya, you're the one who's getting on my nerves! I doubt you have been devoted to this concept of debt all along. It's a new mania of yours. I have helped you before, for example when Urushihara was involved in a fraud!'

'That time you helped all of us, not only me, and I think that action of yours was compensated when my lord saved you. More than once!'

'Technically, I am currently helping all of you to stay alive in this world. Sorry, I can't stand seeing my sworn enemy fumbling with a simple shopping list!' With that word, she snatched the paper from Ashiya's hands and started listing where he would find the items. He recoiled and covered his ears with an expression of terror on his face.

'No! Stop it, Hero!'

'Shut up, you unviable shame of all demons, I'll help you!' Emi shouted and hit Ashiya's head with the paper. All the customers were looking at them now, they were very loud.

'How dare you hit me...?!'

'Just take it!' she threw the paper into his hands. 'You have already heard it, a simple thanks is enough! Hurry up, because there's a serious discount for microwaves, if you need one, call me!'

She turned and stomped to the pay-desk. Ashiya sighed and turned in the opposite direction to start collecting the items on his list. Wait a minute! Did she just say... discount... for microwaves?

He froze. A microwave was what he had been craving for months and what would ease their lives...

No! What if she lied? But I must go and see... where is it?!

When he finally managed to find all the things written on his shopping list and left the supermarket, he noticed Emi's long magenta hair not too far. She was standing in front of a café and talking to a white haired woman. He stood there for a moment looking at them. Then the woman noticed him and he turned away. Ashiya knew who that woman was and was curious what Emi would choose in the end.

He could not ask her right now about the discount, so he phoned Urushihara to ask him to look it up on the Internet. To everyone's surprise, he didn't find anything, which was suspicious enough in itself but Ashiya decided to look around in the area, because that microwave was really important.

Half an hour later and a few streets farther, Emi's phone rang. When she saw who the caller was, a grin spread across her face.

'What do you need?' she picked up the mobile.

'You really like playing games with me, don't you?' she heard Ashiya's voice.

'Well, demons like causing chaos among humans, so I do the same to you. But the discount really exists. I just wanted you to need my help. It's more fun than I thought.'

'I don't have time for that! Just spit it out, woman!'

'Meet me at the park in three minutes.'

'What park?'

Emi sighed. Ashiya wasn't familiar in this area.

But when he got home two hours later, he was happier than ever – he managed to purchase a microwave cheaper than in his dreams! And somehow accepted the Hero's help, mostly because for her, seeing Ashiya so miserable was so much fun she considered it as payback.

Furthermore, shopping became a common topic between the two, and they ended up going shopping together regularly – mostly because it turned out both of them did their shopping trip on Saturdays and both of them knew useful shops for the other. When this topic came up, they couldn't stop – of course, the conversation turned into argument every five minutes about shops thought to be better and about beneficial ways of living. Emi said the demons did this in an extremely dull way and Ashiya said she did this like a mere human (what she actually was, but Ashiya intended to use this phrase as an offence), but later he admitted Emi knew some useful places and they agreed she would show them to him, and vice versa. So three or four hours passed with them being together, not in the most peaceful way, but loud spats became rare soon. However, it wasn't just because they slowly got along better after spending this much time together. Emi really seemed melancholic.

Ashiya felt this from the very beginning, and it actually started when they talked in her apartment. No, rather when they met that night, a few weeks before. He was almost sure her mood had changed because of the matter they talked about back then, but the whole thing was a bit suspicious for him. He wouldn't have thought the demons were so important for her, or at least, this important. And that could have meant that... maybe she really fell for Maou? Ashiya would have been the last person to consider this 'rumor' true, but now he felt that there was a chance it was. One day, he decided to talk about it.

'Not really my business,' he started while they walked through a supermarket, 'but you are not yourself since you started meeting that woman.'

Emi didn't respond immediately.

'No,' she said. 'Not your business.'

'I just decided to mention it because it is very obvious. At least, for me. I would say I felt something had changed you when we talked in your apartment, but no, you act differently when you meet her. I see you with her sometimes in that café when I come to our meeting spot. And you are always sad when you come here afterwards.'

'Look, not your business – I told you, okay?' she snapped at him.

'I am trying to understand you. But I cannot.'

'Why would you want to do that?' she sighed.

'Because of a potential danger.'

'Oh, I know now.' She rolled her eyes. This movement assured Ashiya that her assumed intentions weren't so serious. Or at least, she was hesitating. And that was all right now.

They didn't talk until they were heading to the demons' apartment. It was close to lunchtime, which the company always spent together on Saturdays. They almost arrived, the gate of the 'castle' was in front of them, but all of a sudden, Emi stopped.

Ashiya turned around to see what was up with her. She had been walking a step behind him all the way. She was glaring at the ground and on her face he saw mixed expressions of pain, thoughtfulness and guilt.

'She told me my father was alive,' she spoke before he could ask anything. Ashiya's eyes widened in surprise.

'What?'

'She managed to save him before our home village was burnt to ashes,' Emi continued, still not looking at Ashiya. 'My father is in Japan too.'

It was completely absurd that Emi told this to Ashiya.

'Does anybody else know?' he asked.

'No.'

Seconds of silence filled the space between them. His tension and surprise passed off.

'Then why are you sad?' he asked, and Emi looked at him. 'This way you should be happy. Your whole family is alive and safe on Earth.'

Emi reacted in a way Ashiya hadn't expected. Her eyes widened and she started shaking.

'H-happy? I SHOULD BE HAPPY?!' she cried out loud, and dropped all her bags to lift her hands to her face. 'How could I be happy if I don't know what to do?!'

This kind of behavior completely surprised Ashiya. He just stood there, looking at Emi.

'I don't know where I am standing!' she shouted. He saw the rolling tears between her fingers. 'Why are you acting like this anyway? WHY?! It doesn't make any sense! You're demons, aren't you?! You were all cruel on Ente Isla, slaughtering thousands, no matter who they were, men, women, children, no matter! And here, you help others, you act like normal humans, HUMANS you said you despised, that's not how demons act!! I can't bear it anymore and believe I only have to do something about it when you turn evil again! I don't know what I was thinking, having lunch with you, going shopping with you, and believing this situation was acceptable! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?!'

'Don't shout that loud, Emi,' another voice spoke. Both Ashiya and Emi turned towards the speaker. It was Maou who had just come home, he was standing behind them, next to his bike with a serious expression. Chiho was with him too, looking a bit afraid. 'Listen to me. You are absolutely right. I didn't understand humans until I became one. I couldn't imagine you live similar lives to us. Or... I didn't want to imagine it. But slowly I came to understand you all. I apologized to you once, remember? But I am going to stick to my purpose. I had my own goals that turned into a general goal for all demons. That's why I united them. And our goals were similar: we all wanted peace for our kind.'

Everything he said just confused Emi more.

'Did you just say peace?!' she shouted at him.

'Emi, please...' Chiho whispered vaguely.

'Stay out of it, Chiho!'

'Don't talk like that to her!' Maou said.

'Emilia, stop shouting and calm down,' Ashiya said. That could have been a deadly sentence, he saw it in Emi's eyes, but at that moment Suzuno appeared on the street.

'Could I ask what is going on here?' she asked. 'We could hear you all shouting in the apartment with Hanzo.'

'YOU!' Emi turned to her. 'You are the other one! How can you... you were the one against befriending them back then, am I right?! Then how could you give up all those things and act like you're a... like you're a couple with Urushihara?! Are you in love with him or what?! He is a fallen angel, how can you do that?!'

'The peace of Ente Islan people is still the most important thing for me,' Suzuno said. 'The only reason I didn't go back there is to keep an eye on King Satan and his companions. But back then, when Sariel attacked us, good Sadao convinced me that the most important thing for him is peace for his people. No matter if they are humans or demons – just comrades. Unless he turns against Ente Isla again, I won't consider him as an enemy. And about Hanzo...' She lifted one hand to her chest, and looked down. 'He became a good friend of mine. I am not really sure about my feelings. I think, yes, I could fall in love him. But the only thing I am sure about is that he's my friend, just like you are.'

Urushihara stayed inside the apartment at his usual place, but heard every single word. He didn't react to Suzuno's words but his whole body became tense.

'Emilia.' Ashiya broke the silence outside, and put a hand on Emi's shoulder. Emi just stood there with a terrified face, but now she pushed his hand away.

'Don't touch me! This is yours!' she picked the bags up and almost threw them at Ashiya (luckily he was fast enough to catch them without falling), and ran away.

'Emi! Wait, please!' Chiho shouted after her. Maou sighed.

'I guess we should leave her alone a bit,' he said. 'What happened, Ashiya? She just flashed out like that?'

'Not really,' Ashiya answered in a serious tone. 'She asked me not to tell you, but I think this is a business of all of us now.'