Sadao Maou/Relationship (2024)

Unnamed Parents[]

Not much is known about Satan's Mother and Father. Only they died when Satan was just a young boy. He tells Emi that his first and last memory of his parents is watching them breathe their last breath.

Shirō Ashiya[]

The most devout and loyal of Satan's followers, Alciel was the leader of a major demon faction when they first met and became his first major ally in their quest to unify the warring tribes of the Demon World. Upon establishing a centralized government with Satan as their supreme leader, the newly christened Devil King appointed Alciel as one of the four Demon Generals during the razing of Ente Isla, acting as chief strategist and most trusted adviser to his Demonic Highness. As a result, the two have forged a strong bond through battle and conquest, with Satan trusting in Alciel's judgment while the latter faithfully protect and executes his master's orders.

While Satan initially viewed him as a servant, their relationship has become more familial than hierarchical due to their self-imposed banishment on magic-deprived Earth. Stripped of their superhuman powers and most of their pride, the two demons were forced to rely on each other for survival in modern-day Tokyo, living an impoverished life together in an apartment dubbed the "New Devil's Castle". In this new life, Maou trusts Ashiya to handle the household chores and finances while the former Demon King works to support their living expenses. Due to his subordinate's keen intelligence, he also assigned his former general the task of searching for sources of magic on Earth. Despite their former status as master and servant, Ashiya often lectures the Demon King on his sloppy style of dress, unhealthy habits, and excessive spending. This irritates Maou to no end, who feels his roommate has devolved into a troublesome parent. Despite these changes in their relationship, Alciel still holds his liege in high esteem and tends to heap praise onto his master even in public, even referring to him as "your highness" in mixed company, greatly embarrassing Maou. However, the two share a somewhat brotherly bond as they rely on each other constantly on Earth.

Emi Yusa[]

Back in Ente Isla, they were mortal enemies. The Demon King's forces had destroyed Emilia's village, and her father was presumed killed. To take him down, she took up her duty as the Hero. Satan first became aware of her existence during the invasion of the Eastern Continent, hearing that Lucifer (Urushihara) had suffered defeat at the hands of a Hero and his forces were eradicated. Though he initially saw her as a relatively minor threat and deemed that the remaining generals could end Emilia's resistance, he was forced to reconsider upon learning that Malacoda and Adramelech had also fallen. He then reluctantly acknowledged her as a viable threat and, at Alciel's insistence, recalled forces from the East to fortify the Central Continent, turning their campaign into a defensive one. His defeat at the Hero's hands forces the Demon King to retreat to Earth, resulting in the subsequent loss of his powers and much of his pride.

They first did not recognize each other when they met again on Earth. He was surprised when she revealed her identity, though he remained relatively impassive until she pulled a knife out to kill him. Strangely he does not fight back and instead chooses to run, the scrap ending in a draw when the police pull them aside and assume they had a lover's quarrel. While she begins to dedicate her time to spying on him in case he reverts to his demon ways, Maou remains more irritated by her presence than anything else, even displaying pity upon learning that she is all alone in Japan.

Though he still desires to return to Ente Isla and reclaim the lands there, he shows little antagonism or ill will towards the Hero and even begins showing her kindness and concern. This is first shown when they help each other escape an assassination attempt from an unknown assailant, and later when he orders Ashiya to bring the Hero some medicine and personally treats several of her wounds. Emi eventually confronts him over this personality change, noting he is much different from the Demon King she fought back home. When mourning her losses when his army destroyed her home, Maou admits that he never truly understood humans back then and genuinely apologizes, much to her confusion. Due to the loss of her father, Emi viewed Maou as a despicable person who thinks nothing of creating destruction and bloodshed. Seeing his kindness shocked her immensely, for she could not reconcile her idea of the Demon Lord with his human self.

While they remained a little antagonistic to each other, the two eventually came to a truce. They have since come to understand each other better and regularly join forces to combat the continued emergence of threats from Ente Isla that threaten their new home and friends. On occasion, they both acknowledge that the day may come when both will be enemies again, though as the story continues, this becomes less apparent. Due to how often he interacts with Emi, Maou has grown mostly relaxed around her, almost as though their enmity never existed.

The dynamic of their relationship improved when they began taking care of the sentient Yesod fragment, Alas Ramus, who took the form of a young child that believes him to be her "papa" and Emi her "mama". Since then, the two have steadily grown closer while being forced to act as a family, with both slowly falling into the roles of parents over time. After learning that her father is still alive, the Hero loses much of her bitterness towards the Demon King and begins questioning his true motivations. He also refuses to tell her the real reason behind Ente Isla's invasion, as he is worried this may cause her more confusion and make her lose her grounding as a Hero, while also feeling that her feeling bitter towards him for the war is a justified self-punishment for ruining years of her life.

While Emi is held hostage in Ente Isla, she finally accepts that Maou's personality as a human is not a ruse and he is genuinely a kind and caring person at heart. Although she cannot fully forgive him because his invasion had tragic consequences for the people of Ente Isla, the anger driving her outward hatred towards him is no longer there. After being rescued by Maou and company, Emi's demeanor with Maou changes drastically - she is not hotheaded but calm, openly shows her gratitude to him, and treats him more like a friend than an enemy. Her radical behavior change shakes Maou, and she does not know how to interact with her. He attempts to create a rise in her while secretly aiding her, but she sees through all of it and knows he is trying to hide his kindness behind harsh words and actions.

Maou becomes extremely concerned for Emi's mental health following her return from Ente Isla and the arrival of her long-lost mother, who has secretly been pulling the strings from the shadows. As Emi experiences a mental breakdown resulting from this, she openly clings to Maou for support despite how her actions might be misinterpreted. Throughout the Ente Isla incident and the events afterward, it becomes clear to others that Maou truly cares about Emi. However, he becomes highly defensive when confronted with this information and does not want to admit it.

While it is unclear whether Maou and Emi are harboring the beginnings of romantic feelings towards each other, it is worth noting that there have been hints of some level of attraction throughout the LNs. At their initial meeting in Japan, when they did not know each other's identities, Emi's radiant smile faded the dark feelings in his heart, and he felt awkward when he left the scene. This smile has a lasting impact on him, and he is reminded of it again during an event following Emi's rescue from Ente Isla. During the confrontation with Lucifer and Olba, Emi is shocked when she realizes that the smile on the newly restored Devil King's face is charming/adorable. When Maou offered to show Emi a new world after naming her a Demon General, he found her flushed expression very cute and wanted to see more of it. After Emi shows him a smile after seeking comfort, he feels that her smile is precious but does not know why he feels that way. In the epilogue, however, they harbor no romantic feelings for one another.

In the Epilogue (Volume 21), Emi becomes a principal shareholder and works closely with Maou in his restaurant.

Chiho Sasaki[]

A part-time co-worker at MgRonald's. The two are on excellent terms. Maou is a very friendly and helpful superior to Chiho, which initially baffled and surprised Emi. He also calls her 'Chi-chan', signifying their closeness with each other. During the incident with Lucifer, she gained knowledge of Ente Isla and Maou's true identities.

Chiho has an undeniable crush on Maou but has yet to respond to her feelings despite her confession. When Maou asked her how she felt about associating with a Demon Lord like him, Chiho stated that she would be lying if she said she didn't mind, but she already had feelings for him before she knew of that fact and wanted to choose to stop liking him herself. Maou was surprised by her bold confession, but they were interrupted when he tried to answer.

In the light novel, Maou states that he doesn't want Chiho to get closer to him than she already is because he's afraid she will get hurt. He is also against a romantic situation with Chiho because he cannot mature and age, and Maou is afraid that if they are together, he will never be able to live up to her expectations. Just as he realized the flaw in his thinking, his thoughts were interrupted by his boss, Mayumi Kisaki.

Maou also chose Chiho to be a Demon General in his new army. At the end of the series, Volume 21, Maou becomes a human and accepts Chiho's romantic feelings— discussing marriage after Chiho graduates college.

Miki Shiba[]

His landlady insists on having Maou refer to her as Miki-ti. Her presence somehow intimidates him, as well as Ashiya and Urushihara. She seems to have an idea of Ente Isla, as she knows Sonar and the Idea Link. However, the reasons behind her understanding are still unknown.

Mayumi Kisaki[]

His boss at MgRonald's. The two have the usual boss-and-worker relationship. Maou seems fearful of her sometimes, but Kisaki looks upon him as a capable employee and can entrust him with supervising the restaurant in her absence.

Hanzō Urushihara[]

Lucifer is a fallen angel and one of the Demon Lord's generals. After being defeated by Maou in Japan, he moved in with Maou and Ashiya to hide him from the police and help research magical sources with his internet knowledge. He often misspends Maou's money on online shopping and has caused Ashiya many headaches with the household finances. Despite this, Maou doesn't seem to mind, treating him the same as he always had. However, there were still exceptions, depending on how far Lucifer had gone.

Aside from Camio, Lucifer has known Maou for the longest since Maou was still a tiny goblin.

Suzuno Kamazuki[]

Suzuno was initially meant to spy and assassinate the Demon King under the orders of the Church. However, having spent time with his entourage and ultimately being saved by him, she realizes that Sadao is no longer the villain he once was since living on Earth and becomes a trustworthy ally and friend. She begins to question what she had been told about the Demon King in Ente Isla as she becomes increasingly convinced that the persona she sees in Japan is his true personality. Maou later appoints her, Chiho, and Emi as Demon Generals to replace the two who were killed during the invasion of Ente Isla.

In the 9th volume of the light novel, while traveling together on Ente Isla to save Emi, she takes his confession about why he invaded Ente Isla. She tells him that because of his actions as a human and Chiho, she eventually believes that the Maou she sees in Japan has always been his true personality, despite his denial of things such as his concern for Emi. While noting that the reason he had never spoken up about it was that no one had asked, he tells her the truth behind the invasion; with demons feeding on negative emotions and Maou's unification of the demon realm having removed them, the entire demon race would inevitably become extinct unless they found a new source of sustenance.

When she mentioned that the humans believed Maou had intended to exterminate mankind, he answered that doing so was undesirable. He intended to cause fear so the demons could survive, and he would govern humans and demons. He opens up and tells Suzuno that he had ordered his generals only to kill those who resisted and accept the surrender of those willing to. However, as evidenced by Maou's reputation in Ente Isla, not all followed his instructions. He tells her he envies humans because of food, which the humans need to ensure that they work together and not just fight and kill each other like how life was in the demon realm. Suzuno realizes that Maou had not wanted to attack the humans, but had to choose between them or his people, whereas as a king, the choice was non-questionable.

She believes Maou is a truly good person and is a just King, but he refutes it. He tells Suzuno that he is an idiot and causes suffering to humans and demons alike. The sin he feels he has to bear is how he led many of his people who believed in him to their deaths. She is happy to hear him say that the only way for him to atone is to live on as a king and officially admits that she forgives him for the war while giving him a smile that Maou describes as one of "the gentlest sights he had ever seen". The confession nearly leads Suzuno to confess her feelings to Maou, but she stops herself out of respect for Chiho at the last moment. She believes that Maou should tell Emi everything that he told her, believing it would improve their relationship if Emi knew how Maou truly felt about the war. Maou refuses, and Suzuno sadly realizes that he's refusing to do so as a punishment to himself for causing her so much suffering.

As one of the new Demon Generals, she uses her position to deliver an order from Maou to the Malebranche and Farferello to stand down and return to their previous positions, with their actions being overlooked by the Demon King.