Jahy-sama wa Kujikenai! – 16

「魔王様は遠慮しない！」 (Maou-sama wa Enryo Shinai!)
“The Dark Lord Doesn’t Hold Back!”

This week’s Jahy-sama wa Kujikenai! continues to show us the added consequences to Jahy’s state of mind now that Kyouko is a part of her friend circle. But three ends up being a crowd when Druj largely disapproves of her friendship with Kyouko, and Kyouko ends up being resentful of the Dark Lord’s freeloading nature.

FRIEND WARS

It’s hilarious to see Jahy having to be the adult in the room when Kyouko and Druj start to fight over who knows, loves, and understands Jahy more as their best friend. Even if it’s a hidden blessing because it means their immature squabble will net her double the number of mana crystals, she also has to start keeping them at a distance from that point forward.

Druj’s possessiveness won’t let Kyouko get away with stalking Jahy so easily. On the same coin, Kyouko won’t budge and will make life even harder by continuing to assert her position as Jahy’s best friend by sticking to her like glue. Because of this, Jahy is forced to deal with having Kyouko as a regular presence in her life, even if it means having to watch her writhe out of Saurva’s traps.

THE DARK LORD’S MOTIVES

That’s not to say that Kyouko’s insistence on being Jahy’s best friend isn’t detrimental to the magical girl’s life too. Because of her friendship with Jahy, the Dark Lord is included as part of a package deal with Kyouko having to babysit the Dark Lord for her new best friend’s sake.

But because of the menacing demon’s ravenous appetite, it compels Kyouko to want to know exactly what Jahy gets out of the Dark Lord. Even if she’s compassionate and self-sacrificing to a fault, even Kyouko winds up losing her patience with the Dark Lord when she’s only shown Kyouko the side of her that comes off as a small invasive pest.

Kyouko might believe that Jahy made her spoiled by catering to her every whim, but the Dark Lord seems to endear herself to Kyouko in a similar way after being lavished with so much food. It sounds like nonsense when Jahy says that the Dark Lord has her own reasons for behaving the way she does on earth, but it’s believable.

The Dark Lord goes out of her way to deliver her (already eaten) bento to Kyouko when she forgets it at the house, making her feel like she’s paying Kyouko’s gestures forward. Additionally, she uses her more intimidating powers to protect Kyouko and Jahy from a light spirit while they converse about her, giving her more of a watchful protector vibe. You might not have imagined her doing as much after seeing her mow through Kyouko’s food, but I have an inkling that the Dark Lord is biding her time before she can express herself fully to Kyouko or Jahy now that she’s on earth.