Chapter 7: Rest Stop, Questions, and a Test

The car was quiet.

Only the engine's hum and the low, steady friction of tires scraping over asphalt filled the space. The car gradually left the city behind, while low buildings and residential neighborhoods streamed past outside the windows.

Eigo sat in the back seat. Buckled in, with his forehead against the window, he did not say a word.

He shifted only his eyes to look at Makima beside him. At a glance, she wore an expression that put people at ease.

Golden eyes whose pupils came into sharp focus whenever they caught the light. The corners of her eyes curved gently, yet there was such emptiness within them that it was impossible to easily read her emotions.

That faint upward curl of her lips was balanced precisely between kindness and intimidation. Makima smiled in a way that did not make the other person nervous, yet naturally placed her in control.

They merely watched the passing scenery. Not even a brief exchange passed between them until the car had completely left Kasukabe City.

Once they passed a sign announcing their entry into Tokyo, Eigo finally parted his tightly sealed lips.

"Makima..."

At the same moment Eigo began to speak, Makima spoke as well.

"I'm a little hungry. Shall we stop for a quick snack?"

"...That's what you were going to say, right?"

For the briefest instant, Makima's eyes widened. But she immediately regained her relaxed smile as if nothing had happened.

"That's right. How did you know?"

"I just... had a feeling."

The car briefly left the highway and headed for a rest stop. The three of them got out and walked to the convenience store set off to one side.

"Feel free to tell me if there's anything you want. I'll buy it for you."

At Makima's kindness, Eigo nodded.

"Then I'll... have this."

He picked out a bottle of cola and a package of cream buns.

Makima accepted the freshly fried croquettes she had ordered from the clerk. Just as they finished paying and were about to head outside, a woman clutching her bleeding head ran into the convenience store.

"H-help me...!"

Despite the woman's frantic state, Makima calmly took out her identification and showed it to her.

"I'm a Public Safety Devil Hunter. What happened?"

"A... a Devil... A Devil kidnapped my son...! It took my son toward the forest...!"

Makima looked at the woman once, then at the glass door behind her. As if proving that the woman's screams were no lie, the wire fence outside had been torn apart.

Makima looked once at her piping-hot croquettes, which had just come out, and once at Eigo. She touched a finger to her lips as though considering it for a moment, then looked up at him.

"Eigo. Since my croquettes will get cold, would you mind going to kill the Devil by yourself?"

"What? Me?"

"Yes."

"That? Why?"

Keeping her smile, Makima spoke with perfect composure.

"I told you just now. My croquettes will get cold..."

She lifted the paper bag slightly. Steam still drifted faintly from it.

"I like my food warm."

Eigo stared at her for a moment, speechless.

...Is this woman crazy?

But there was not the slightest wavering in Makima's expression that would let him dismiss it as a joke. She looked as though she were making a genuinely rational decision.

"No. If that's really the reason, then make that driver do it. He's Public Safety too, isn't he? I'm a civilian, you know? More importantly, why are you suddenly talking so casually to me?"

*

"More importantly, why are you suddenly talking so casually to me?"

This is... a little embarrassing. I released one of the Devils under my control in order to test the strength of this human named Eigo, and it was all well and good when the human attacked by the Devil asked for help, but...

Eigo. Born June 20, 1972, a freeter with no fixed address or occupation, earning only as much as he needed through part-time jobs as they came.

There was the fact that he had no surname, and the skill with which he had slaughtered relatively powerful Devils like the Skull Devil and the Landmine Devil in an instant. There were more than one or two suspicious things about him, and he was quite interesting.

Having met him in person, he seemed like the sort who tried to coast through everything and took little interest in those around him. He was even low enough to make jokes about panties to someone he had just met.

One of the common humans. A being clearly beneath me...

*

"...Or so I thought."

"Huh? Excuse me, but why have you been muttering to yourself nonstop?"

"Ah, I'm sorry. Where was I?"

"...And now you're back to being polite all of a sudden. Anyway, I'm a civilian. A ci-vi-li-an who's supposed to be protected while you Public Safety people kill Devils! Whether your croquettes go cold or not isn't any of my business. If you absolutely want to eat something hot, send that driver over there!"

Makima quietly set down the bag of croquettes again.

"A civilian who needs protecting..."

The bag sagged as the croquettes slipped out.

"That doesn't sound like something a person who exterminated two dangerous Devils should say, does it?"

Makima watched Eigo for a moment and tilted her head slightly. She wore the same smile as before. But this time, the temperature beneath that smile had subtly changed.

"And that driver may belong to Public Safety, but... he's basically my personal secretary. He's with the Work Support Division, so he has no combat ability."

She continued in an utterly calm voice.

"Still. Hmm... you're right, of course. Since Eigo is a civilian, there would be no problem if Public Safety were to "dispose of you right here," would there?"

"What?! What the hell is that supposed to...?!"

Smiling softly, Makima approached Eigo. The finger she gently placed on his lips slowly traveled down his neck, tracing a circle over the area of his heart.

Makima brought her face to Eigo's ear and whispered quietly.

"You have a very strange smell. Not the scent of a human, nor of a Devil..."

"I'm not sure what you mean."

Was he playing dumb, or did he truly not know? Eigo asked back in a puzzled voice.

Makima stepped away from Eigo and picked up her croquettes again.

"It was only a joke. It's uncommon for a civilian to be capable of exterminating Devils... Still, it is illegal for a civilian to make a Contract with a Devil. The penalties are severe, too."

"I see. But I've never made a Contract with a Devil."

"I believe you, Eigo. But the world isn't a place that runs on faith alone, is it? Public Safety would like to see you exterminate a Devil. Naturally, I'll accompany you. If it seems you are truly about to be in danger, I'll help you then. Would that be acceptable?"

Eigo tightened his grip on the package of cream buns, then slowly relaxed it.

"So, to sum it up..."

He continued, almost with a sigh.

"If I do as Makima asks and deal with the Devil, Makima will watch and decide whether I'm a law-abiding citizen or a criminal."

Makima nodded.

"And if I refuse?"

"Then Public Safety will investigate you in a little more detail, Eigo."

Her smile remained unchanged.

"In very great detail."

Eigo laughed. It was a short, drained laugh.

"Wow... You're threatening me while smiling."

"Oh my, I never threatened you, Eigo."

Eigo silently slung on his backpack and looked toward the broken wire fence.

"Let's go."

"I'm looking forward to it, Eigo."

*

Once he entered the depths of the densely tangled trees, the air became noticeably different.

A place untouched by the exhaust from cars or the heat of asphalt. When he reached the point where the smell of damp earth, moss, and rotting leaves stung his nose, Eigo let out a sigh.

"This place... feels like a bear could jump out at any second..."

He naturally suppressed his presence. His footsteps made almost no sound, and he was careful not to step on a single branch.

When he looked back, Makima, who had been following him, had vanished without him noticing. Had the test already begun?

Then he heard a child's laughter.

"Haha! Not there, here!"

Eigo stopped walking. Lowering his head, he pushed his gaze through the bushes.

In the middle of a small clearing stood what appeared to be the son of the woman who had been screaming in the convenience store. His clothes were a little dirtier, but he was neither crying nor visibly injured.

Rather, his face was filled with laughter, and he held a branch in one hand. A Devil stood before him.

It was only a little larger than the child. It had neither sharp teeth nor an intimidating build.

Its long body looked as though it had been crudely molded from black mud, and its enormous eyes held a vacant sort of light. The Devil tried to catch the branch the child threw with its mouth, but dropped it onto the ground.

"Ah! You failed again!"

The child clutched his stomach and laughed.

"It's okay, let's try again!"

The Devil looked down at the pinecone for a moment, then nodded. Eigo furrowed his brow.

...What is this situation?

The scene was so completely different from what he had expected that Eigo drew in an empty breath. At the sound, the Devil and the child noticed where Eigo was hiding.

"Ah."

And the instant the child spotted Eigo, he stepped in front of the Devil and cried out.

"Please! Don't hurt him!"

"...What do you mean? Can you explain why to me?"

The child slowly caught his breath before speaking.

"Well... my mom hits me whenever something bothers her.... She was hitting me in the parking lot today too... and he saved me, so..."

After hearing the child, Eigo looked at the Devil beyond him. It did not seem to have any intention of hurting the child.

"Please! Don't kill him!"

The Devil opened its mouth as though trying to say something to the child, but no proper words came out. Looking troubled, Eigo only scratched the back of his head.

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