Maou whined and stretched out on his futon, attempting to increase the surface area of his body as much as possible to let off his excess heat. He stared listlessly up at the ceiling and groaned, "So I'm either in hell, or the heater's been left on for too long."

Urushihara snorted from his place in the corner, but didn't look away from his computer screen. "Well, if anyone would know, it would be you."

Ashiya directed a cold glare at the fallen angel before turning to Maou. "My liege, as I'm sure you're aware, it is summer, and the heater has not been on for months. Doing so would be an utter waste of electricity, and therefore funds."

Maou shifted his eyes over to his friend, refusing to expend his energy on moving any other parts of himself. "Well, if the heat's not on, then how do you explain this melting temperature in here?"

The demon general narrowed his eyes and replied, "As previously stated, we are trying to conserve our energy usage in the castle, and therefore, the air conditioner has not been turned on yet today. And, as I also mentioned, it is summer."

"Ah! Summer! You mean the time when people use air conditioning?"

Ashiya sighed. "Perhaps people with more income than us, my liege. We, however, have to conserve our resources as much as possible."

Maou groaned loudly. "Ashiyaaaa, it's too hot to argue, just turn on the damn air conditioner!"

"As I have already said―"

"Geez, it's hotter than hell in here!"

Recognizing the voice, Maou decided this person was worth turning his entire head for, and flopped it to the side to take in Emi standing in their doorway. When he saw Alas Ramus in her arms, however, he bolted upright and held out his arms. She was worth lots of movement. "Alas Ramus, come see Papa! How are you?"

The little girl squiggled herself out of her mother's arms, and ran over to Maou. "Daddy!" she squealed in delight, throwing herself on him.

Emi, however, wasn't done with her tirade. "I brought Alas Ramus over here for a visit, only to find it's almost as hot in here as it is outside. Exactly what kind of environment is this for a child?"

Snuggling Alas Ramus, Maou spoke over her head to the hero, "Talk to Ashiya about it, he wouldn't let me turn on the air conditioner."

Emi rounded on the demon general, unleashing her wrath on him as he stood meekly before her, attempting to stammer in his defense. "And just what do you mean to accomplish by keeping the air off? You're living in human bodies now, and you can easily overheat and die. Do you really think that it's worth saving a few yen if it costs you your health? And how do you expect me to be able to bring Alas Ramus over here to visit in this heat if you're to cheap to even turn the air on? She's a child, she can't take temperatures like this for very long." She gave him a long glare. "Turn the air conditioner on, NOW!"

"Y-yes, Yuusha," Ashiya said, scurrying to do her bidding.

Maou smirked at him in triumph as he fiddled with the dials. That would teach him to defy his liege. Patting his daughter's head, he looked contemplatively at Emi. Well, at least it would teach him not to mess with a hero.