The Masochistic Demon and the Convenience Store Jerk
I watched as Asmodeus writhed on the floor, letting out a coquettish scream. “Haaahng—! Please scold this lowly girl more, O Great Lucy—!”
“…”
Her entire body twisted in ecstasy as she cried out. The moment I used the skill Great Dictum, she began trembling violently.
“Haaahng…!”
“…”
She was the one who had begged me to scold her. I’d only done it to test the effect of Great Dictum, but her reaction suggested that continuing might cause some kind of disaster.
“Th-that’s enough. You can get up now.”
“No! Please continue to scold this girl for her insolence!”
“I said that’s enough. Stand up.”
“Huu… Understood, my lord.”
Asmodeus slowly rose from her dogeza position. For some reason, she looked disappointed. The wet spot on the floor was probably just sweat… right?
“Ahem. By the way, Lord Lucy. Is this place not the Present World?”
“The Present World?”
“There is no need for you to speak so politely to me, Lord Lucy! Please treat this girl roughly!”
She was obviously trying to bait me into using Great Dictum again. But if I did, the conversation would never move forward, so I held back.
“…I’ll decide how to speak to you.”
“To show such dignity even when dealing with this insignificant girl…! You truly are the Great Primordial Demon of legend. It is an honor to behold your exalted visage in person. This girl cannot contain her excitement! Haaahng…!”
Asmodeus twisted her whole body again, clearly enjoying something I couldn’t understand.
“You don’t have to go that far. Anyway, about the Present World?”
“The mirror realm opposite of Hell… is this not the Present World? The world where humans live…”
I’d heard that demons lived in Hell. So apparently, that’s what they called the human world—the Present World.
“Ah, yes. This isn’t Hell. It’s the Present World.”
“I see. Then, if I may ask, Great Primordial Demon, Lord Lucy… for what reason did you summon this insignificant girl?”
Asmodeus tilted her head curiously.
‘I just used the skill…?’
Honestly, I didn’t know how to answer either. I’d activated Demon Summon and she just… appeared.
“Aah… So that’s how it is…”
Suddenly Asmodeus nodded to herself. I hadn’t explained anything. I’d just been awkwardly picking at my pillow.
“Lord Lucy. Have you lost all your power and memories…?”
Her voice was full of sorrow. The way she looked at me was like she was staring at a rain-soaked kitten.
“Poor Lord Lucy…!”
Whoosh— Two massive melons suddenly filled my vision. My face was buried in her ridiculously ample chest, making it hard to breathe. Asmodeus hugged me tightly, letting out another breathy moan.
“Mmph— Mmph—!”
“Ah! Forgive me! Thinking of your noble sacrifice for the demon race, my tears clouded my vision and I committed this rudeness! Please scold this girl!”
When I flailed my arms, Asmodeus quickly released me. Then she dropped back into dogeza, clearly trying to provoke me into using Great Dictum again.
“Ahem… It’s fine. You can stand up.”
“Hiiing… Understood.”
She looked disappointed that I wouldn’t scold her. I had no idea why she was so eager for it.
“Anyway, what did you mean by that? Losing my power and memories?”
“As I thought… You truly remember nothing…”
Asmodeus wiped away her tears. I still couldn’t make sense of any of this. There seemed to be some complicated history among the demons. At least she wasn’t hostile toward me… that was a relief.
“In the primordial era long, long ago… Our demon race suffered defeat in the war against the angels and faced the crisis of extinction…”
“W-wait a second.”
This was clearly the start of an incredibly heavy story. I panicked and cut her off. The scale had suddenly gotten way too big. The primordial era? A war between demons and angels? What the hell? That sounded terrifying. Of course I didn’t know anything about it. Right now I was just a squishy weakling with a combined strength, stamina, and agility of three. And this definitely wasn’t going to be a short story. It felt like one of those long, unskippable world-building exposition dumps, and I didn’t have time for that right now.
Ring ring— Ring ring—
The reason was simple: my phone was ringing with an alarm. It was time for my part-time job.
“I have to go to my part-time job right now.”
“Part-time job… You mean an arbeit?”
“Yes. Wait, you demons even know what a part-time job is?”
“Of course. Part-time work is quite common in Hell as well.”
Part-time jobs were common in Hell? That completely shattered my understanding of the world. Wasn’t Hell supposed to be a terrifying place with boiling lava and endless torture?
“Hmm? Hell looks not so different from the Present World. Just yesterday I ordered chicken through a delivery app.”
Apparently Hell and the Present World were mostly similar. That was because they existed as mirror realms sharing a single surface. The romance of Hell was completely ruined. A Hell where people ordered chicken through delivery apps? This wasn’t some twenty-first century martial world.
“To think you’ve been struggling with part-time jobs in the Present World… Please scold this girl who failed to find you sooner. Sob sob. While you were suffering, we had no idea…”
Asmodeus was crying again for reasons I couldn’t understand. There were more important things to worry about right now.
‘How am I supposed to go to work in this body?’
Working part-time in this body was obviously impossible. My gender had completely changed, and with a combined stat total of three, there was no way I could handle the brutal work at the meat restaurant.
‘I should just quit.’
The decision didn’t take long. Just last week, someone had quit after only one day because they’d awakened as a hunter. The meat restaurant had plenty of part-timers, so it probably wouldn’t be a big problem.
[Boss… I’m really sorry, but I awakened as a hunter……]
I typed out the message carefully. After all, I’d worked there for quite a while, so I wanted to be polite.
[Oh? Congratulations! I’ll send your last paycheck soon. Come visit sometime~]
The boss’s reply was refreshingly cool. After all, the boss was a hunter too and only ran the place as a side gig. So that took care of the meat restaurant. I was able to quit the convenience store in a similar way. Even though I’d contacted them out of the blue, both managers were good people. Sorry, but I’d turned into a squishy demon with a combined stat total of three. What could I do?
‘Still, at least I awakened.’
I’d lost my part-time jobs, but I’d gained the ability to awaken. If I worked as a hunter, I could make as much money as I wanted. The problem was that actually fighting myself still seemed difficult…
“Hic… sob… Poor Lord Lucy… Please scold this girl with those soft, squishy feet… Haaang…”
I glanced at Asmodeus, who was fidgeting beside me. She was the 32nd ranked demon I’d summoned with my Demon Summon skill. As far as reliable fighting power went, she was all I had. She was a bit… strange, but she definitely seemed strong.
“Um, Asmodeus.”
“Please call me comfortably, Lord Lucy.”
“Asmodeus. Then do you also know what the Tower and Gates are?”
“I’m sorry. Just hearing the words, I cannot grasp what you mean.”
Even if Hell and the Present World were similar, it seemed Gates and the Tower didn’t appear in Hell.
“It is difficult for those from the other side to cross over unless a user in the Present World performs a ritual to summon them. Lately, humans in the Present World have been doing less demon worship and rarely need contracts, so I am not very familiar with the current state of this world.”
So deals and contracts with demons had actually been a real thing? Faust was based on reality? Apparently it was common during medieval times. But in the modern era, people didn’t believe in such things anymore, which was why Asmodeus didn’t know much about the Present World.
In that case, I’d have to explain this world’s setting first.
“Sit here for a moment.”
I sat Asmodeus down in front of the computer. It would be faster to have her read concept posts from the Hunter Gallery than to explain everything myself.
“Okay… This is how you click.”
“This girl already knows what clicking is. There are computers in Hell as well.”
Right, she had mentioned that. I’d forgotten and made a mistake.
“However, this site is new to me. Hunter Gallery…?”
“It’s basically a place where people share information. If you read these posts, you’ll quickly understand the situation in the Present World.”
“Leave it to me.”
The screen began scrolling at an incredible speed. Asmodeus’s hands moved so fast I couldn’t even see them. What the— She was more familiar with this than I was, a modern person. Just what kind of place was Hell?
Gurgle…
At that moment, a cute sound came from my stomach. Come to think of it, I hadn’t eaten anything since waking up. Between awakening and summoning a demon, I’d been too distracted. While Asmodeus was learning about Earth’s world, I rummaged through the pantry.
“There’s nothing to eat…”
The pantry was completely empty, as expected. I never cooked, so there wasn’t much in there anyway. And of course, I was out of ramen too. Ordering delivery wasn’t an option since I hadn’t received my last paycheck yet.
“Guess I’ll have to go to the convenience store.”
I’d run to the store while Asmodeus read the Hunter Gallery. We could talk more after I got back. Would it be okay to leave her alone at home? From what I’d seen so far, she seemed to worship me endlessly, so it should be fine.
“Asmodeus, I’ll be back in a bit—”
“I’ve finished reading, Lord Lucy. So such things have been happening in the Present World. How fascinating.”
“You already read all of that?”
Asmodeus had finished thoroughly reading the concept posts in less than a minute. It was an impossible speed.
“It wasn’t difficult. If that’s the case… does that mean you are in a similar state to the awakened ones of the Present World?”
“Something like that…?”
“Aah… How could this be… What hardships have you endured since the Fall… This girl has no excuse. Sob sob.”
I’d already lost count of how many times Asmodeus had cried. I’d been worried that after reading the red pill posts she might get angry realizing I was actually human, but instead her loyalty toward me had only grown stronger.
“Anyway, that means I need to earn money by working as a hunter. I just quit my part-time jobs.”
“Understood. If it were up to this girl, I would give you all the money I possess, but unfortunately currency from Hell is not accepted in the Present World. Instead, this girl will assist you in every possible way. I will devote this entire body to ensure you regain your power! Please scold me as much as you like!”
“Yeah. But I’m not going to scold you.”
At any rate, I’d successfully secured her cooperation. I had no idea what she meant by regaining my power, but whatever. For now, I’d work with Asmodeus to earn money through hunter activities. There were summoner-type hunters too, so I figured it would be something like that.
“First let’s eat and then head to the Tower. I’m going to the convenience store.”
“Understood. Actually, this girl has been curious about convenience stores in the Present World.”
Asmodeus hummed a little tune as we headed out to buy food. Since she was helping me, I should buy her something too. I didn’t have much money, so I couldn’t get her a lot, but still.
“Wait a second, but…”
I was about to slip on my slippers—which no longer fit my new foot size—and head out the front door when I caught our reflection in the mirror.
“We probably shouldn’t go out like this…”
Setting aside Asmodeus’s extremely revealing outfit, both of us had horns growing from our heads. We also had demon wings on our backs.
“Ah, I can hide my horns and wings if I wish.”
With a pop, Asmodeus made her horns and wings disappear. When I thought about hiding mine, they vanished as well.
“Then let’s cover this up too.”
I handed her my oversized hoodie to cover up her scandalous clothing.
“Lord Lucy’s scent… Sniff sniff… Haaah…”
“…Stop smelling it.”
“Understood. Haaah…”
“I said stop smelling it.”
“I-I’m sorry. I couldn’t help myself… Please scold this worthless girl!”
“…Let’s just go.”
I headed to the convenience store with Asmodeus, who kept subtly trying to get me to use Great Dictum on her. Come to think of it, I needed to figure out more about Great Dictum too. The skill activated based on how I spoke. If I wasn’t careful, I might end up using it without realizing. Asmodeus was a terrifying demon, so it had only ended with her moaning, but what would happen if I used it on a normal person? It would be nice if I could test it… but I couldn’t just grab some random person and use it on them.
While I was lost in thought, we arrived at the convenience store. It was the one right near my house—the same one where I used to work. The part-timer working the shift before mine obviously didn’t recognize me.
“Whoa, huuuh…? There are so many interesting desserts in convenience stores in the Present World…!”
“I’ll only buy you one. I don’t have much money right now, so I can’t get you a lot.”
“Th-that cannot be! How could this girl possibly use your precious money, Lord Lucy…”
“I’ll earn a lot of money from now on, so it’s fine.”
“Th-then, if you’ll forgive my rudeness… this girl would like to try this thing called Yonsei Milk Cream Bread…”
While Asmodeus and I were browsing the convenience store, a commotion suddenly broke out at the counter.
He was swearing at the part-timer. A total pain-in-the-ass customer. But his back looked familiar. This was the same middle-aged guy who used to come in and cause trouble all the time when I worked here.
The part-timer who had my old shift looked like she was about to cry from dealing with this jerk. He’d given me plenty of headaches too. I quietly glared at him.
Looks like I’ve found the perfect test subject.