Shinmai Maou no Keiyakusha
Book 7: Chapter 2: Tangled-Up Thoughts and Desires

A few days later — Basara and the main representatives of the Moderates Faction departed first, and they headed towards the location of the decisive battle designated by the Current Demon Lord Faction. The six representatives comprised of Basara, Mio, Yuki, Maria, Kurumi and Zest. As they were unable to determine where the endpoint for teleportation magic would appear, the risk was too high, so Basara and the others chose to travel over land by a horse-drawn carriage. However, under the current state of war, the roads to access enemy territory were dangerous and unpredictable; but the person who solved this problem was the Spirit Master Kurumi. The black elemental that Lucia gave Kurumi so that she could interact with the spirits in the Demon Realm — the elemental contained part of a high-class Spirit in it, so there was a powerful blessing from it; after forging a solid bond of trust with Zest a few days ago, and after she became honest with her own feelings and troubles, she became able to use it.

“—Leave it to me. I’ll try asking the Spirits to help us look for a safe route.”

After Kurumi communicated with the Spirits through the black elemental, they immediately answered Kurumi’s request, and prepared a route that was less susceptible to an enemy ambush. In the dimensional gap that they resided in — they built a route that could not be interfered with from the outside, directly towards the border of the Lundvall territory where Current Demon Lord Faction was. Thanks to this route made by the spirits, they were able to safely arrive at their destination two days prior to the day of the battle.

“There are a lot of soldiers…”

“…Yeah.”

As they looked out of the carriage window while it continued to advance, they could see the area surrounding Lundvall Castle, and Mio couldn’t help speaking up nervously, while Basara echoed his agreement while sitting next to her. Along the main road that the horse-drawn carriage carrying Basara and the others went through, a countless number of the Current Demon Lord Faction’s soldiers lined up magnificently; aside from the soldiers, another large group was composed of onlookers, and perhaps because the Current Demon Lord Faction had a greater proportion of those with different genetics, there were more beast races and irregular-looking demons. Looking at this crowd of people, it was almost as if the entire city was holding some kind of grand parade, but all of the eyes directed towards the horse-drawn carriage belonged to the enemy. As if to rain down upon the morale of the Moderates Faction before advancing into the Royal Palace that Leohart was in, the massive crowd likely would not dissipate.

“If all of those people outside charged over at once, I don’t think we would survive…”

Even Maria’s heart sank when she thought about it.

“Indeed…but there’s no need to worry about something like that.”

Basara replied. Since they were advancing into enemy territory, they did of course make preparations for situations like what Maria had described, but it was highly unlikely that that kind of thing would happen. Basara and the others accepted Leohart’s invitation, coming here so that they could fight; hence after entering the territory of Lundvall, they would be under the meticulous supervision of Leohart’s subordinates. If anything were to happen to Basara and the others in Lundvall territory before the decisive battle, though it would be favourable to the Current Demon Lord Faction, Leohart, the one who proposed this battle would be greatly discredited, so they were probably trying to avoid this.

…His vision is probably also set on what comes after the decisive battle.

If Leohart was attempting to use this battle as an attempt to boost the unity of his side, then it would be necessary for him to participate himself; so it was only necessary to be wary of unknown attacks whilst on the road, and once they entered Lundvall, their safety would actually be guaranteed. —At that time, the crowd of onlookers gradually decreased, whilst the number of soldiers gradually increased. It was a sign that they were getting closer to their destination — the horse-drawn carriage did indeed stop shortly afterwards, and Zest moved from the driver’s seat into the cabin, and said

“Basara-sama, we have arrived.”

“Okay…let’s go.”

Everyone then looked at Basara and nodded, before getting off the horse-drawn carriage one by one. Awaiting them outside was Lundvall Castle, where Leohart resided — the main gate. A young demon waited as he stood in front of a line of soldiers, he appeared to be a representative there to receive them. Although he was just standing still

…Strong, he isn’t just on an ordinary level…

Basara was able to feel that the demon standing before him was certainly of a high rank.

“Distinguished guests of the Moderates Faction…welcome to Lundvall Castle.”

The young demon smiled gracefully towards them as he continued

“I am His Majesty Leohart’s aide Balthier, nice to meet you.”

Then—

“Ramsas-dono…will be arriving a bit later, is that right?”

“Yes.”

Basara confidently said that in confirmation to Balthier question.

“As the leader of the Moderates Faction, of course he did not oppose the decisive battle between representatives from both sides…he will be departing later because he wants to minimise the risk of any accidents.”

“It’s also because I and some other people need to become familiar with the Elements and Spirits in this area before the decisive battle…you were already notified of our early arrival so that you could prepare, there are no problems, right?”

“Yes, of course there are no problems…well then everyone, please come with me.”

After saying that, Balthier lead them into the castle.

Basara and the others then followed Balthier down a long corridor that was lined with a red carpet. Only the minimal number of guards were present inside the castle, which was a stark contrast to its exterior.

“Those soldiers outside seem to be there just to scare people, and once we’re inside the castle, they’re nowhere to be seen.”

“…Yeah.”

After Yuki softly agreed with Kurumi’s thoughts, Balthier smiled as he walked ahead of them and said

“I’m very sorry…to allow you to see us in such a laughable state. Those soldiers are not there to intimidate you guys, please understand.”

However—

“Although the interior of the castle is under our control, the city outside is another matter entirely, there is no guarantee that some enemies will mix into the crowd, and act adversely against you.”

“Yeah…I understand.”

Basara nodded as he replied, after which he stared closely at the other end of the corridor and said in a low voice

“…It looks like it isn’t just you who’s come to welcome us.”

Mio and the others had the same feeling as Basara. There was a yet unseen person — but Basara and the others felt that there was undoubtedly someone waiting for them as they advanced through the corridor. There was an extraordinary aura that could be sensed from their presence, and that declared their position even while away from them. Then, Balthier turned around and said

“Of course. Since you’ve made such a long journey here, this is a necessary etiquette — our commander in chief insisted on personally greeting you all.”

As he said that, Basara and the others stepped into an open space. It was tall and vast, a large hall adorned with beautiful artworks and a dome-shaped roof. There — stood a young man. Despite being young, his entire body emitted an overwhelming aura that didn’t match his dignified clothing, and he also exuded a deeply calm and confident demeanour. There was no need for any introduction to see — that the man standing before them was the young Demon Lord, Leohart.

“You’ve come…Wilbert’s daughter, Naruse Mio.”

His clear eyes glazed over, and the voice that came out of his mouth was deep and powerful. Standing beside Basara, Mio answered

“Yes, I’ve come…so you’re the current Demon Lord Leohart.”

Mio didn’t seem to be overwhelmed by his presence, and she stared sharply back at Leohart.

“We finally meet…”

Underneath their voices filled with emotion, a shade of anger was present.

“Thank you for taking care of things all the way up until now…I came to return the debt to you.”

While she said that, a swaying red aura slowly drifted out of Mio’s body, as she pressured Leohart.

“…I’m happy that you have such eager fighting spirit.”

Leohart accepted Mio’s hostility unwaveringly, and then moved his sights towards Basara.

“You’re Jin Toujou’s son…”

“…Yeah.”

After Basara said so quietly, Leohart frowned slightly as he said

“He didn’t travel together with you, did he want to come later with Ramsas?”

“I don’t know…he simply said that he didn’t plan on participating in this battle.”

Basara continued

“In fact, I don’t know what my dad is thinking.”

“…I see. And I thought that we would be able to continue our interrupted duel…”

“—Are we not enough?”

Basara was not angry. In order to improve the morale of their team, he had hoped that Leohart would say something disdainful. However—

“That wouldn’t be the case…I’ve heard about your abilities from Lars and Gardo, all of you are formidable opponents.”

This young Demon Lord didn’t have any trace of carelessness.

…It appears that he’s more downright than I expected…

Basara calmly revised the odds of winning in his mind to an even lower figure.

“Oh? — I didn’t think that I’d be entering the city at this time, I really picked the right time it seems.”

A tired voice suddenly drifted down into the hall. At some point, several other demons came down from the grand staircase leading to the second floor.

“!——”

“……”

Kurumi gasped, and Zest also made a serious expression, causing the atmosphere to become tense. It was a skeleton-like male demon with four arms and long horns on his head.

…This guy…!

Basara couldn’t help swallowing. Looking at this demon, he was different from Leohart — and not only that, he was fundamentally different to all of the demons that they had seen so far. He exuded an extremely dangerous aura, an unfathomable deep darkness, and without any particular reason, he made people feel an instinctual sense of fear and intimidation, causing Basara and the others to stop moving momentarily.

“Belphegor…”

Leohart addressed that demon with a stiff expression, which allowed Basara and the others to understand that the high-class demon standing there was equivalent to the underground king of the Demon Realm. Then—

“I really am…how could I speak so condescendingly to His Majesty, I’m sorry.”

After Belphegor said that without any sense of remorse, he slowly walked down the stairs, and the scent of his strong perfume wafted into the room.

“I’ve recently offended His Majesty again when summoned, but I simply cannot help it, I’m very sorry. I was disciplining those women in Zolgear’s playground, so I got a little too carried away.”

“——”

When he mentioned a high-class demon that they had once fought against, Mio, Maria and Zest, who held a grudge against Zolgear immediately tensed up their faces, because they had once been in a situation of plight when they were persecuted by him. Perhaps because they found out that Belphegor was involved in the same dirty activities as Zolgear, the eyes of Mio and the others were filled with hatred and hostility, but Belphegor was completely unmoved as he continued

“I also heard…that in our battle against the Moderates Faction, that we will be sending out representatives for each faction, is that not so?”

“That is correct…as you can see, they are the representative team of the Moderates Faction, and they will be fighting against us the day after tomorrow. This is something that Ramsas and I…the leaders of our respective factions decided.”

Leohart firmly said

“You are the leader of the Council, and I originally would have sought your opinion on this, but it was unfortunate that I was unable to contact you…so I had no choice but to make the decision after discussing with other members of the Council.”

“I understand, so that’s how it was…”

Belphegor immediately grasped the situation and smiled as he said

“Hmm…doing that is actually a good decision.”

“…So this means that you aren’t against it?”

Leohart didn’t seem to expect him to answer in such a manner, and frowned.

“Yes. Since the Moderates Faction wants to hold onto the former glory of Wilbert until the end, we can allow the entire Demon Realm to recognise Your Majesty as the new Demon Lord of this world, so fighting against them is most effective.”

“…………”

Belphegor’s words rendered Leohart speechless. Based on the conversation which occurred in front of Basara and the others, it was evident that they didn’t have a good relationship with each other.

…It’s the same as what dad said.

Basara recalled the night of their training session, about what Jin had told him. The Current Demon Lord Faction was not currently unified, one part of them were the younger generation who supported Leohart, while the other part were the old generation of the Council who supported Belphegor. They were able to confirm now — that even if they were able to defeat Leohart in this battle, it would not solve any of their problems. In order to stop the demons from continuing to use Mio against her will, in order to destroy their selfish plots and desires, there was no other way but to exterminate the mastermind where the root of the problem was. Just when Basara became even more determined, Belphegor’s gaze shifted towards Basara and the others, causing them to suddenly become more wary, and ready to respond at any time.

“It is nice to meet you all…I am the leader of the Council that assists His Majesty Leohart with politics, Belphegor.”

After saying that, Belphegor’s smile suddenly became more sinister.

“I heard that our adversaries in this showdown would include the great legends Wilbert’s and Toujou Jin’s children, and when you actually called each other brother and sister, I was rather shocked…but I then understood. The boy is indeed handsome, and the girl is pretty.”

As if his gaze was considering something, his eyes crawled up and down their bodies, causing Basara’s and the others’ hairs stand on end.

“Your Majesty. Regarding the battle, I understand it…but would Your Majesty be able to elaborate some more on the details?”

“For example, how the battles will be conducted. How the arena will be set up, and so on — let us find a place to talk about it slowly.”

“……Of course.”

After hearing that, Leohart expressed his agreement to Belphegor. The young Demon Lord’s cloak then fluttered as he turned around, after which he looked back at Basara and the others once more.

“There is still some time until the battle…all of you have come here through a safe route, and it is inevitable that you will have some fatigue from riding in a carriage for so long, so please take the time to rest first.”

And he then left behind one final sentence.

“—The next time we meet, it will be in the arena of the decisive battle.”

After Leohart and Belphegor left.

While Basara and the others followed the lead of Balthier, they continued to advance through the corridor that seemed much longer than it looked. A path to the side opened up, and it lead outside to a large courtyard with a fountain and fruit trees.

“—This way please.”

Balthier then exited the corridor, and stepped into the courtyard. It seemed to be a patio. Everyone marvelled at the size of Lundvall Castle which was next to the courtyard as they followed Balthier ahead. After a short while, they stopped at a building that appeared to be built of stone; there was someone leaning against a stone pillar, quietly waiting for them. It was the youth who had appeared in Wildart city a few days ago to notify them that Leohart had an invitation for them — Takigawa Yahiro. A smile was painted on his face as he lightly waved his hand and said

“Hey, Basacchi, you came rather early…don’t you feel like it’s a bit too hasty?”

“Takigawa…”

Basara’s face tensed up upon seeing him. —Basara and Takigawa had forged a secret cooperative relationship, and that had even killed someone together in the past. But now, Basara wasn’t sure if that was still in effect. Before — Takigawa had invaded Wildart city, gotten past the prison guards, and rescued the high-class demon Gardo that the Moderates Faction had captured; Basara and the others were unable to fight back, and could only watch him succeed. Takigawa was a spy who was sent into the Current Demon Lord Faction by the Moderates Faction. Based on his position, it was possible to imagine that there were often times when he would have to obey the orders of both sides. At the time, Takigawa was also playing the role of a messenger, and had told them about the battle format that would occur in this showdown against Leohart. Decisive battle, it meant that this could very well be the last battle between the Moderates Faction and the Current Demon Lord Faction. If Takigawa stood on the side of the Moderates Faction, he wouldn’t have brought Gardo back to the Current Demon Lord Faction since it caused so much trouble; it would have been better if he returned to the Moderates Faction after he completed his undercover mission. However, Takigawa did not do that. After rescuing Gardo, Ramsas and the other high-ranking members of the Moderates Faction had not yet told Takigawa to end his undercover mission, but he no longer sent them any periodic reports, and he was even uncontactable.

…Does he plan on being undercover on his own until the very end?

So, what was his intention right now by being in contact with Leohart’s aide Balthier? Unable to guess what Takigawa’s true intentions were, Basara remained silent for a moment, while he maintained an air of caution; finally, it was Balthier who spoke for him, using an accusatory tone

“Lars…didn’t I tell you not to be in contact with the guests from the Moderates Faction as much as possible?”

He then sighed.

“Even if you are a comrade in the Great War, your position is still very delicate…if you continue to play this double-spy game, it will make things very difficult.”

“!——”

As soon as they heard Balthier say that, their expressions changed from being tense to serious. If he was saying that, then it meant that he was fully aware that Takigawa was a spy sent to them by the Moderates Faction. However, Balthier’s words did not end there.

“Don’t forget…you’ve been hiding it from us and the Moderates Faction, the person that you secretly teamed up with to finish off Zolgear.”

What he went on to say was what Basara and Takigawa had done, the greatest secret that they accomplished together.

“Moreover…didn’t you let him see you take Zolgear’s last breath?”

[——!]

“………”

Upon finding out about the truth, Mio and the others stared in amazement, but Basara was currently unable to answer to them right now. Until now, Basara had not given them an explanation; but right now, Balthier knew about Basara and Takigawa’s cooperation, that was the bigger problem. Since he knew, it probably meant that Leohart also knew. Even though they knew this…no, it may have been because of this that they truly accepted Takigawa, and allowed him to stay in the stronghold of the Current Demon Lord Faction—

“In this battle, I will also need you to represent our side, so please recognise your own position as soon as possible.”

While Basara was considering such possibilities, Balthier finally said the words that determined the current situation. In response, Takigawa shrugged and reluctantly said

“I know that…but I was originally staying here, and it was you who brought them over, so how could you say that I contacted them?”

“Didn’t I tell you beforehand that their accommodation arrangements would be here? It’s not that you didn’t know, and coming around here makes it quite easy to arouse suspicion, you know?”

Balthier said, as if it were troublesome. Seeing the two of them speaking like old friends, the serious expressions of Mio and the others did not change.

“…………”

Only one person allowed their eyes to cool until their eyes became ice cold, and that was Basara.

—Takigawa may not necessarily have joined the Current Demon Lord Faction.

If that was the case, then there wasn’t a need for him to meet Basara and the others like this. Moreover, doing such things in front of Balthier would only increase his risk of being suspected, so it didn’t make sense. However, there was no way to guarantee whether or not he had betrayed them yet. The one who killed Zolgear for revenge was Takigawa Yahiro — the biggest goal for the one named Lars. The problem was that…if Wilbert didn’t send people whom Lars regarded as brothers and sisters to act as Mio’s foster parents, he also wouldn’t have had to seek such revenge.

It could be interpreted that the Moderates Faction caused the people that were important to Takigawa to die.

…Noelle asked me to take care of that guy, so what now?

Noelle and Takigawa had grown up in the same orphanage ever since they were young, and she still trusted Takigawa to this day. ‘Lars definitely has his own reasons!’ ‘So please, I beg you to bring him back alive!’ she had pleaded sorrowfully to Basara. Basara could understand her feelings, and he wanted to continue his cooperative relationship with Takigawa himself. Regardless of whether it was an emotional…or strategic consideration. However, unstable factors could not be used as an indicator; otherwise one would end up in a dead end with regret, in an unavoidable situation.

…Perhaps.

When Mio’s parents were killed, Takigawa’s loyalty and sense of belonging to the Moderates Faction also disappeared…until he completed his revenge against Zolgear, he saw hope in the future that his former comrade Leohart pursued, so he chose to leave the Moderates Faction that indirectly caused the people that he loved to be killed. While Basara was trying to imagine what Takigawa was thinging—

“I’m sorry, I knew the location was here, but the arrival time kept fluctuating…so considering security issues, the shorter these Moderates Faction people stay in this city, the better. Although they’re already here, I thought that they would arrive tomorrow at the soonest, so I’m sorry.”

After Takigawa apologised to Balthier as if surrendering, he finally directed his eyes towards Basara and the others.

“So, that’s how it is…please be lenient in the battle the day after tomorrow everyone.”

After saying that, Takigawa turned around to leave, while Basara and the others could only silently watch him leave. Since Takigawa was on the enemy’s side, it was going to become more difficult.

If asked whether I could relax against such powerful enemies, then I’m afraid the answer would be a definite no.

The final place that Basara and the others were brought to was a guest house located within a large atrium. There was plenty of space within the house, it could be described as large even for six people; there was a single large living room, many bedrooms, and the kitchen was already filled with many lavish ingredients; the laundry room was set up with a large, magic-operated washing and drying machine, and there wasn’t a shortage of daily necessities in the bathroom either; all of the items that were necessary for a comfortable life were present.

“…This is good, we should be fine.”

For the sake of safety, Kurumi used her Spirits to check whether the house or any of the food ingredients were suspicious, but she luckily did not find any problems. The size of the Current Demon Lord Faction was much larger than the Moderates Faction, and they were also the largest faction in the Demon Realm at the moment; as Leohart was the Demon Lord who was the leader of this faction, he brought out the appropriate generosity to welcome Basara and the others who belonged to the enemy faction. After checking everything, Basara and the others gathered in the living room for a brief meeting.

“And here I thought that they would be somewhat troublesome…”

After Zest spoke out about her own doubts, Basara voiced his own opinion.

“This is the pride of the current Demon Lord. He wants to show that he can beat us even without any little tricks.”

It wasn’t just a matter of Leohart’s reputation, it also showed his generosity, one of the necessary qualities of a king. However, he did not seem to generously give them the freedom to go out. He had arranged for two maids to wait outside the guest house on standby. Although he had said that if there was anything missing or anything that they needed, they could ask for it at any time; the truth was that they were there to monitor them.

…Also.

Based on the conversation between Leohart and Belphegor before, it could be confirmed that the influence of the Council was indeed quite powerful. In spite of this situation, if they were able to pull off some trick before the battle to win, Leohart’s influence in the Current Demon Lord Faction would not be able to rise any further. Currently, it was still unclear what Belphegor’s stance on the decisive battle was. The plan that Leohart was counting on was a method of settling the dispute between the two factions whilst having the least possible interference from the Council, thus pulling the popularity that easily swayed towards the Council to himself instead. Well, perhaps—

“To him…fighting this battle with us is likely to be one of his moves to weaken the Council.”

And they had originally thought that Leohart sought to take Mio, who inherited the power of the strongest Demon Lord Wilbert, so that he could secure the cohesion and influence that he should have as the Demon Lord…however, this was just the process, as his true objective was the Council.

…In this way, it really is a pity…

If they had known about Leohart’s objectives earlier, he could’ve taken advantage of the time when he was cooperating with Takigawa to directly — and in a situation without involving any outsiders — hold a conversation with Leohart. Perhaps — it could’ve been possible for them to fight alongside each other. After all, the purpose of Basara and the others was simply to help Mio, and remove her from the political struggles of the Demon Realm.

…No.

He had been overthinking things, and it was impossible. The current Leohart had decided to use his victory over Basara and the others to declare his absolute power and influence both internally and externally, thus reducing the influence of the Council…perhaps, he actually planned on eliminating the entire Council. And up until now, he had to cooperate with them?

When Basara met Mio — her parents had been killed by Zolgear. From that moment on, everything was too late…no matter what, it was inevitable for the two factions to clash.

—Everyone’s encounters and circumstances were based on their own tragedies or pains.

Basara had suffered from the tragedy which occurred five years ago, he was expelled from [The Village], and only then was he able to meet Mio. Naturally, when he reminisced about it in his mind, and imagined his life away from all that tragedy and regret, it was very simple; everyone would be able to enjoy a happy life, understand each other, and develop their future relationships with each other. However — everyone who was here only existed in this present time. The reality was that everyone had experienced almost heartbreaking tragedies, they had met each other in their most painful state, and there was no longer any escape route. Even so, everyone still reached out with their hands to grasp the best possible situation for themselves, and before they knew it, they were all standing together here. The emotions that had built up like that, although they weren’t entirely happy…they were able to confirm that this was something that couldn’t be easily discarded.

So, we must also combine everyone’s efforts this time to overcome these difficulties — when Basara thought of this, he noticed that Mio was silently watching him, so he asked

“…What’s wrong?”

“…What that person said before, is it true?”

Mio lifted her eyes which were tainted with restlessness, and then asked her question.

“When Takigawa killed Zolgear…were you also there?”

The question that Naruse Mio asked brought silence to the room.

—Basara and Takigawa secretly teaming up, Mio and the others also knew about it.

When he fought against Zolgear, Basara was able to infiltrate Zolgear’s hideout and rescue Sheera thanks to Takigawa’s help. Afterwards, both of them explained this.

…Moreover.

When he explained it to them, Mio and the others simply understood that they would no longer be threatened by Zolgear. Basara and Sheera never mentioned the details of who killed Zolgear, but based on their explanation, it could be deduced that it was either Takigawa, or someone who worked for the Moderates Faction. Hence, Mio and the others did not pursue the matter any further. That was because, at the time, when Mio’s hatred towards Zolgear erupted, Basara said to her — that he would not allow the actions of people like Zolgear to continue. That was also the same for Maria and Zest…so, after Mio and the others found out that Zolgear had died, they just assumed that things had ended.

…But.

They had never imagined — that Basara was present to witness Zolgear’s death. The question that Mio asked in order to seek the truth…was also a common question in the minds of the others. Under the solemn gazes of everyone present, Basara’s lips formed a straight line. It was almost the same as taking this silence as an acknowledgement. Shortly afterwards—

“……Yes, that’s true.”

Basara clearly admitted the truth that he had concealed from Mio and the others until now. The three people who had the deepest relationship with Zolgear — Mio, Maria, and Zest couldn’t help gasping as their entire bodies trembled.

“—Basara, why did you do that?”

After Yuki spoke for the three people who were left speechless, Basara replied in a serious tone

“No matter what, I did not want Mio to soil her hands for the sake of revenge, constantly living in the shadow of that person; but, when it came to my own feelings…I could not forgive that guy.”

Basara tightened the grip of his right fist, and his eyes darkened as he looked down.

“I know it’s very selfish of me to say such a thing when I was the one who stopped Mio…however, to kill Mio’s parents, and to take Sheera as a hostage all for sake of getting his hands on Mio, and making Maria suffer for such a long time. In the end, he also denied Zest’s existence and efforts, and wanted to kill her without a second thought. If I allowed him to keep on living, it was certain that he would hurt the people that I care about again…”

Basara’s tone gradually became filled with a sense of strength. The origin of it could be attributed to his anger.

“I absolutely won’t allow something like that to happen again…so when Takigawa and I worked together, I put down one condition — he could kill Zolgear, but I also had to be present, so that I could personally watch his last breath.”

“Basara…”

Finding out about the truth caused Mio to whisper his name out of surprise. She understood that Basara cared about everyone, and she also knew that his will was incredibly strong; doing something like that was definitely for the sake of all of them, and he didn’t have any other motives. However, it was the first time that she had seen Basara so brazenly show his anger due to his personal feelings. It was the other side of Toujou Basara that Mio and the others did not know. Witnessing the surging anger within him caused Mio to feel a trace of fear, and at the same time—

…He actually got angry like this because of us.

As soon as she thought that, a violent sense of sympathy — worry arose from being the one to cause Basara to feel such bitterness, her chest tightened briefly, and she was unable to say anything.

“Keeping it a secret for so long…I’m sorry.”

Thus, when she saw Basara solemnly apologising with his head down, Mio was no longer able to restrain herself. She lightly pressed Basara’s head against her bosom, and said sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ ɴ0velFɪre.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

“There’s no need to apologise…I’m sorry for making you bear so many burdens on your own.”

What Naruse Mio wanted to know — it was already enough. She believed that it was also the same for the others. So, Mio said that phrase.

“Please, Basara…let’s start.”

“Mio…uh, but—”

Mio’s wish caused the Basara against her chest to become surprised at first, such that he asked in a slightly puzzled manner

“Why don’t we have dinner and the take a bath to eliminate our fatigue from travelling, and then come back…?”

Maria seemed to speak for everyone present, as she said to Basara while everyone looked at him

“There’s no need to. All of our emotional states are very high right now…so there’s no time more suitable than now; having dinner, a bath, and sleeping are all things which can slowly be done afterwards. While our emotions have not settled down yet, we should start just like this right now.”

“………!”

After listening to what Maria said, Kurumi gulped with her face dyed a deep red, because she clearly understood what Maria meant. Mio’s face had already become so hot that she could feel it herself, and not only that, her entire body was becoming unbearably hot. Looking around, both Yuki’s and Kurumi’s cheeks were bright red, and their eyes were hazy. That was — the face of a young girl who knew how she would be treated next. Before they came to Lundvall, Mio and the others accepted the training of Sheera and Lucia in Wildart City so that they could fight against Leohart’s side, while Basara also received training from Jin. However, after arriving at the base of the Current Demon Lord Faction, the enemy’s eyes and ears were everywhere, so they could no longer test each other’s abilities out in the open. Each of their abilities and tactics had to be kept confidential, as they could not allow the enemy side to know about it.

…But.

In order to defeat Leohart, Mio and the others had something else that they could do besides fighting. Due to Basara becoming their master through a contract, Mio, Yuki and Zest were now his servants. After borrowing Maria’s power as a succubus who allowed lust and pleasure to enhance her strength, and after Lucia’s black elemental awakened, Kurumi could also turn her own desires and pleasure into strength.

Thus—

“……Please, Basara. Make us submit.”

When Basara saw Mio with her arms around his waist and begging at him with moist eyes, as well as the expressions of Yuki, Maria, Kurumi, and Zest successively, he understood their intentions. Every one of them nodded with an expression like Mio’s.

“I see…then come.”

After Basara said that in a soft voice, the footsteps of Mio and the others seemed to become entranced by some sort of attraction, and they followed him into another room.

The place that Mio and the others were brought to was the largest bedroom in the centre of the guest house. Within the room was a particularly spacious bed. When Basara arrived at the bedside, he extended his hands out to take Mio’s clothes off. This uniform was going to be worn during the decisive battle, so it couldn’t be crumpled or dirtied. However—

“—Basara-san, please wait.”

He was stopped by Maria.

“The goal this time is to have Mio and the others who have pledged a Master-Servant Contract with you display their absolute obedience towards you even further. Basara-san should command them, and they must obey those orders, so that they can demonstrate their submission to Basara-san.”

“……I understand.”

The young succubus’ proposal seemed to cause Basara to immediately decide what course of action would lead to the best results; after he replied like that, he allowed Mio and the others to remain standing, while he himself sat on top of the bed.

“Take it all off — no, take if off for me.”

As he blurted out that command, he amplified it with the cold expression in his eyes.

“………Yes.”

The blushing Mio nodded, and then proceeded to slowly untie the ribbon in front of her chest, and take off her uniform. Yuki, Maria, Kurumi and Zest; each of them leisurely, eagerly, shyly, and naturally took off their clothes.

“………!”

After their movements stopped, all of them were wearing only their underwear. All of them were wearing seductive lingerie which had been carefully selected by Sheera. It was because Sheera wanted to allow them to begin their submissive behaviour for the Master-Servant Contract as soon as they entered the city, so she made them put it on beforehand.

“———”

Basara gazed at the girls who stood there one by one. Upon becoming aware of Basara’s gaze upon them, their bodies gradually became numb and feverish, until their entire bodies experienced the so-called sensation of ‘inextricably linked shame and submission’.

“………”

Basara still did not utter a single word, and removed a red vial from the breast pocket of his uniform, unscrewed the cap, and gulped it down in a single motion.

“…Mmm…!”

Mio knew what Basara drank, and mirrored the motion of his throat, as she also swallowed the sticky saliva that her mouth was filled with. What Basara drank — was a strong succubus-made aphrodisiac that Sheera had made for Basara just for this moment; not only was it effective on Basara when he drank it, it would also have a powerful effect on Mio and the others beside her. It was the same as the baby-doll negligee that Kurumi previously wore, with ‘aphrodisiac’ and ‘charm’. At the same time, it showed that he would spend a very long time in making Mio and the others thoroughly submit. In this way, a temporary effect of Sheera’s drug was that Mio, Yuki, and Zest would not have their curses activated, and as for Maria and Kurumi who had not forged a Master-Servant Contract with him, they would also be able to fulfill their desires and enhance their strength as much as possible.

“—Get ready, I’m going to begin.”

After declaring that, Basara stood up. Mio and the others obediently nodded as they gradually closed in, and the five of them worked together to take off the clothing that he was wearing piece by piece.

…Ah…

Yuki unfastened Basara’s belt from behind, Mio undid the front zipper of his pants, and by that time the strong aphrodisiac seemed to have already taken effect, as Basara’s zipper couldn’t even be pulled down.

“…Mio-sama, do you need help?”

After Zest took Basara’s socks off and saw Mio struggling for a long time, she couldn’t resist trying to help. But—

“No need…please let me do this myself.”

Mio refused to let go of the zipper, and after a bit of effort, she was finally able to move it, and she slowly pulled it down. After removing his trousers, only a pair of trunks was left, making it even more obvious to see what kind of state that part of Basara was in.

“No way…compared to before…”

“…Mmm, it’s even fiercer.”

Kurumi and Zest, who had once seen Basara in this state for a long time, murmured in both excitement and surprise.

“!……”

How could I lose to you two — when Mio hastily began to grasp Basara’s underwear with her hands, she was dissuaded by the young succubus.

“Mio-sama, please wait…being proactive is a good thing, but if you begin to get too hasty, you’ll make it difficult to continue later on. After all, we’re not able to do everything with Basara-san.”

Then what should I do…Mio sent a puzzled look towards Maria.

“Well, at the very beginning, since the day that the two of you entered into a Master-Servant Contract, Mio-sama has done it nine times, so how about thinking of those experiences first? There’s plenty of time, so you can slowly recall those past experiences, and then you’ll understand that you’re already completely different from the way you were back then, and that step by step, you’ve deepened the extent of your submissiveness.”

After Maria finished saying that, she climbed onto the bed, put her thighs together to act as a pillow, and she smiled as she urged them

“Come, Basara-san, Mio-sama, please…”

“…………”

After Mio and Basara looked at each other for a moment, both of them sat on the bed.

“Onii-chan…I’m yours.”

Mio lay on top of Maria’s lap pillow, and without reservation, she revealed her breasts, after which Basara straddled on top of her abdomen.

“…Mmm, ahhh…”

Perhaps due to the effect of the strong aphrodisiac’s ‘aphrodisiac’ and ‘charm’, Basara’s weight on top of her made her feel lightheaded.

…Ahhh…

As Mio watched Basara’s large hands approach her own ample breasts, she recalled that day, how she had unwillingly become Basara’s servant, how she was afraid of the pleasure that she had never experienced before, and how she repeatedly resisted with both of her hands. But now, regardless of whether it was Basara’s hands, or the pleasure that he gave her…she no longer rejected it. Even when Yuki, Kurumi and Zest were watching from the side, she didn’t mind at all. Anything and everything, she was willing to embrace it…because she was Toujou Basara’s slave. —And both her mind and body were more than ready for it. The sensitivity of Mio’s prided breasts was simply incomparably to the beginning, and they had also become so enormous that the shirt and bra she wore at the time no longer fit. Not only her breasts, ever since the formation of the Master-Servant Contract that night, her body had been imbued with a countless number of pleasures and climaxes by Basara, and every corner of her body had developed into an erogenous zone. Thus, as soon as she thought that Basara’s hands were going to touch her — a comfortable tingling sensation gushed out from the depths of her chest, she couldn’t stop that pair of obscene breasts from trembling, as if she could already no longer wait. The powerful ‘charm’ that the Basara in front of her felt amplified the effect of the ‘aphrodisiac’, causing Mio, who was in a dream-like state when Basara’s hands reached for her breasts — just before that, she tightly closed her eyes —

“Ah! Ah! Aahhh! …Aaaaaahhh — ♥”

The very instant that Basara moved his hands down to begin kneading them, she released a sharp cry which reverberated throughout the room; the arch of her back trembled during that climax, even lifting up Basara, who was straddled on top of her.

“Mmm…haa…ahh…mmm…!”

Mio slowly opened her eyes after being immersed in the lingering pleasure that Basara had given her, wanting to see what kind of shape he had squeezed her breasts into helped to make herself become more submissive.

…Eh…?

However, after the white mist dispersed from her vision, Mio couldn’t believe what she was seeing with her own eyes. She thought that he had already kneaded her breasts quite deeply, but his hands weren’t even there.

“!…How could…”

The stunned Mio thought that her dramatic climax must have caused Basara to loosen his hands.

“Hoho…that isn’t the case, Mio-sama.”

Maria touched her red cheeks while a teasing smile was revealed on her upside-down face, as she told her how she had just climaxed.

“But please don’t worry — this is something to be proud of.”

Maria gently stroked Mio’s face, and while Mio’s face was flushed crimson from feeling greatly ashamed, she said

“You actually climaxed without even being touched…this clearly shows just how obedient Mio-sama is to Basara-san.”

“To Basara…obedient…”

“Indeed, today is most suitable for Mio-sama to take the initiative to raise her level of loyalty to Basara-san. Also — did you perhaps forget — that you’re currently the last in the line?”

Yes…how could I forget?

Amidst her hazy consciousness, Mio remembered something very important. In the Master-Servant relationship between her and Basara, she was actually lower than Yuki or Zest. At that time—

“Alright then, Mio — let’s begin.”

After Basara waited for Mio to calm down, he quietly reminded her.

“Yes…”

Mio nodded with an obedient smile. This time, Basara actually grabbed her breasts.

“! ———Mmm~~~~♥”

In an instant, Mio climaxed once again as Basara positioned himself on top of her entire body and silenced the cries of pleasure that leaked from her mouth with his lips — next, Basara continued to knead her breasts intensely, causing her to continuously climax. Not long after the two of them entwined with each other on top of the bed, Mio continued to feel constant pleasure like she did on their first night; but for them as they were right now, that was just foreplay.

“———”

After Naruse Mio returned to her senses, she realised that the others had already gotten onto the bed, and she also saw—

Yuki was on all fours on the bed, as she lewdly twisted her ass whilst she sucked on Basara’s lips. Zest had become intoxicated with Kurumi’s most vulnerable armpits as she licked them with lewd noises. Kurumi was sitting on top of Basara’s right leg at the same time, and she constantly slid her hips back and forth. Maria’s mouth was on Mio’s right breast, sucking hardly on it.

As for Mio herself — under the sensations from Maria and Basara’s actions, her two breasts were feeling an unparalleled heat.

…In front of everyone, I’m actually…!

It was truly hard to believe. What she was doing right now was something so lewd that she absolutely would not think about it normally. Yet, she was indulged in it right now, and without thinking about anything else, she was demonstrating the inextricable pleasure of the situation. Contrary to her sense of immorality, the forbidden pleasure was bringing tremors to Mio’s body — causing the last remnants of rationality in her mind to melt away. After coming to this point, there was nothing left which could stop them.

“Onii-chan…mmm! Fuwaa! Aahhh! …Haaa! Onii-chan…!”

Due to the vigorous pleasure that she was experiencing, her wet nether regions were becoming increasingly hot, causing Mio to instinctively twerk and lift her hips; the female juices which leaked out of the side of her panties continuously gushed down in waves, while Basara’s hard thing was being rubbed against by the pleasurable sensation of her legs, which further propelled Mio’s excitement to another level.

“Mio…”

Yuki seemed to have heard Mio’s panting and intolerable cries for Basara, and she let go of Basara’s lips; Basara then grabbed Mio’s chin — and pulled her head towards him.

“Mmm! Onii-chan…chu, gu chu…haa, mmm…mmm chu ♥”

For the current Mio, she was no longer able to control herself as soon as she saw Basara’s face before her eyes, and she instinctively began to kiss him. As soon as their lips made contact with each other, the two of them immediately began wrapping their tongues around each other’s as they kissed. Under Basara’s intense kneading of her breasts, Mio felt the pleasure of his tongue stirring around inside her mouth. The sweet climax of their two tongues wrapped around each other caused Mio’s entire body to tremble as she climaxed on top of Basara’s body, and a golden glow — indicating that their Master-Servant relationship had been enhanced also enveloped them at the same time. But Mio didn’t stop yet, she turned around to face Basara while keeping their lips together, and sat on his lap as they continued to kiss for a while before slowly separating; a string of sticky saliva lewdly stretched between the two of them, and then disconnected, and dropped down.

“Haa…mmm…ah…”

As if in a trance, and at the same time that she felt their emotions deepen again, Mio locked eyes with Basara who was in front of her, and Basara also returned a soft smile to her gaze. However, today would not be over after just enhancing Mio alone.

“…Keep going.”

After Mio and the others naturally nodded at Basara, the true love session between those six people finally began. Everyone fully indulged themselves in that manner, immersing themselves into their longest, most intense, and hottest sensual feast so far.

“You mean that…you want me to change the rules of the battle?”

Within the high-ranking ministers’ meeting room that was located in the lowest floor of Lundvall Castle, the sound of Leohart’s voice was heard. Leohart came to this meeting room after meeting with Naruse Mio, Toujou Basara and the others in the lobby, and was explaining the decisive battle against the Moderates Faction in detail. At the other end of this question, acting as the leader of the Council, Belphegor smiled.

“Don’t say that, I don’t want something as excessive as that.”

“Your Majesty…Belphegor-sama simply asked you whether or not you could make an exception, and increase the number of entrants in the showdown.”

The next person to speak was another member of the Council who was sitting beside Belphegor. He was the high-class demon who held the seat of [Greed] amongst the Seven Deadly Sins — Mardones. Among the Council, Belphegor possessed absolute leadership, and like the seat of [Sloth] that he represented, he was often missing at meetings; during those times, the one responsible for leading the Council was Mardones. To put it bluntly, he was the second most powerful person among the Council members.

“In the decisive battle that Your Majesty has planned, both sides send out five representatives from their faction…but as of now, Gardo was injured recently during the attack on Wildart City, and of the people chosen from Your Majesty’s confidantes, although their strength is sufficient to fight on behalf of us and Your Majesty, the problem regarding the number of people is an indisputable fact. So, we want to provide a few of our subordinates to help out, please consider this, Your Majesty.”

Mardones said. Indeed, amongst the people that Leohart was able to trust, the only ones who were able to partake in the battle were Balthier, Luca, and Lars, a total of three people; because Luca was a scholar who didn’t normally fight, the heroic spirits or demonic beasts that he was contracted with would take his place. Even so, there were only four people including Leohart, so they were still short one person. However—

“There’s no need for you to go out of your way so far, Mardones. Luca will soon be able to arrange a high-class spirit no lesser than the one used in the previous attack, so it’ll be fine as long as we use that spirit to take Gardo’s place.”

“So to say, two large spirits will be used, in place of the boy called Luca and Gardo-dono…? In the previous attack, the spirits were eventually defeated; don’t you think that the risk is too high if we rely on those things? The citizens are likely to voice their concerns, and it may cause a panic.”

After saying that, a thin smile was still painted on Belphegor’s face.

“Belphegor, the risk that you speak of…wasn’t it caused by your subordinate who sneakily attacked Gardo during the attack on Wildart City?”

In return, Leohart resorted to using Nebula’s betrayal as an accusation against Belphegor.

“I really am ashamed to say it…Nebula was indeed one of my subordinates, for something so regrettable to happen, it truly is due to my lack of discipline…although he has already paid for it with his life due to the curse of the Master-Servant contract, I am still partly to blame for the injury that was done to Gardo-dono. That’s why I really hope that Your Majesty will accept the assistance of the Council, to give us a chance to make up for this blunder.”

That cunning Belphegor had shifted his own responsibility into a weapon, and was unwilling to budge.

“…If you think that the spirits are unreliable, then we can call back the Eight Demon Generals.”

Leohart brought up the Eight Demon Generals. It was the name that belonged to the eight military generals. They each led a large army, and each of them guarded the vast territory of the Current Maou Faction’s east, south, west, north, southeast, northeast, southwest, and northwest; each of them were similar to Leohart, and were mighty warriors who had made major accomplishments in the previous Great War. Hence, the Council was afraid that leaving them in the capital would leave Leohart with too much power, so all of them were sent to the frontier, but the situation had now changed.

“This decisive battle is key to determining who will hold supremacy in the Demon Realm, so we should naturally summon our greatest combat force.”

“You cannot, Your Majesty. That will actually do more harm than good.”

A cheeky smile was revealed on Mardones’ face.

“The combat strength of the generals is indeed undoubtedly high, but precisely because they are at the borders containing the other factions at the moment, in our capital — peace can be secured in Lundvall. Even if we call for a single one of them to return, one region will be without its leader…if we weaken our military strength at one of the frontiers just for this showdown, it will give rise to an opportunity for another faction to swoop in, so wouldn’t that be equivalent to putting the cart before the horse? Additionally—”

Mardones continued

“In a decisive battle for the sake of the future of the Demon Realm, seven is more suitable than five as the number of representatives, right?”

“………”

Leohart was speechless. In the Demon Realm, the number [seven] had a special significance, one of the best examples were the [Seven Deadly Sins]; Leohart had wanted the citizens to avoid thinking about the politics of the old demons, and deliberately chose to have five representatives. Without including Gardo in the four members, or no longer including Luca who had no combat ability on his own, there were still three members left, and taking into consideration the Council and the other opposing factions, it was possible that they would say ‘Leohart is trying to pursue his own interests during such an important situation, and is acting stubborn despite historical traditions’ for the sake of finding faults with him; that was why he reluctantly decided on five participants in light of Gardo’s absence, in order to avoid this kind of risk.

…But it is truly surprising that they could actually turn things around to take advantage of the problem of the absence that they created.

Although they had lived longer and were more thick-skinned, they were able to justify their own selfish interests, pitch it well, and appear inspirational to other people. In order to defeat this sly Council, it wouldn’t be so simple. However — also because of this, he had to defeat this bunch of old bastards no matter what.

…If I continue to insist, I’ll probably lose.

Based on the flow of the current situation, even Luca’s place would be lost as soon as he got careless. Thus…

“Very well…the number of representatives will be changed to seven. For the two newly added places, as well as Gardo’s third place, I agree to have your candidates as participants.”

“Oh, that is excellent…wise indeed, Your Majesty.”

“But — I have a condition.”

However, Leohart didn’t plan to give in so plainly, and said so softly to Belphegor who had a thin smile on his face.

Even though the opponent was the Council that secretly controlled the Demon Realm.

Even though he was the puppet Demon Lord that they had elected.

He couldn’t — continue to allow the bunch of old bastards in front of him to play with the Demon Realm in the palms of their hands.

In front of the main entrance to the guest house that Basara and the others were using, stood two maids. Officially, their job was to cater for any inadequacies that Basara and the others might have during their stay there, but they were in fact there to monitor them to see whether or not they had any suspicious activity. Even so — Leohart emphasised his honour in upholding his reputation, so he still ensured their privacy. Hence, the guest house was surrounded by noise cancelling barriers; any sounds on the inside would not be transmitted to the outside of the barrier. The only limitation that Leohart set was ‘No one is allowed to leave the guest house’; they were free to do whatever they wished inside the guest house. In the few hours that Basara and the others had been inside the guest house, they had not left, nor had there been any signs of trouble. Anyhow, they had come to the enemy’s stronghold — they were also staying within the Royal Palace, so one could only imagine what kind of fate would await them if they were to act rashly, so it was assumed that they were unlikely to act foolishly. Amongst the maids of Lundvall City, these two belonged to the group that had exceptional combat abilities, which is why they were selected by Balthier to monitor the guest house; however, monitoring the battle representatives of the Moderates Faction did indeed give them a lot of stress. Fortunately for them, it would soon be time for dinner, and they would be able to change over with the next group of supervisors. Because Leohart permitted Basara and the others to take care of all three of their own meals, the maids didn’t need to cook anything for them, nor send any meals inside.

“…………”

“…………”

Perhaps the two maids were thinking of the exact same thing, and after silently staring for a while, they let out a sigh, slightly relaxing their edgy mood and the excessive tension in their bodies. It was just at that time that the door to the guest house was opened from the inside.

“! ——-”

They immediately tensed up again, and turned around to look.

“Umm ~ Excuse me.”

The cute face of a young succubus stuck out from the gap of the door and said

“We have some things that you two could help us with — would you be able to do that?”

“……Please, what orders do you have?”

One of the maids warily asked.

“I think it’s almost time to prepare dinner, but aside from me, all of the others are too busy to help me…so could you two help me cook dinner?”

After Maria said that with a smile, the two maids looked at each other.

“This…”

“That important guy called Balthier told us that we could ask you two for help if we needed anything…is that inconvenient for you?”

“…Of course it is not inconvenient.”

Balthier had instructed the maids that if Basara and the others had any inconveniences within the guest house, that they should do their best to accommodate them. Thus, despite the negative attitude of the maids, they expressed their agreement.

“That’s great…then, sorry for troubling you.”

And so, Maria opened the door fully — the next instant, the maids couldn’t help standing frozen on the spot as they looked blankly ahead. Maria originally just stuck her head out, and it was not possible to see that she was actually wearing a sensationally unbelievable set of sexy lingerie. It shocked them to the point that they momentarily retreated.

“…Come, please enter, please enter.”

Maria’s invitation caused the two of them to reluctantly follow her into the guest house. They were led directly into the kitchen.

“Firstly, please tell me what is in here.”

Standing before an array of cooking utensils and ingredients, Maria turned around to say

“I am not familiar with this kitchen, so it’s not too convenient for me to use. Since you two are the first group responsible for receiving us, you should know what is here quite clearly, so you would be ready to answer my questions at any time, right?”

What Maria said was indeed the truth. They weren’t only good at fighting; as maids, they considered themselves to be good at all housework, and they had a considerable degree of knowledge of everything in this guest house. After all, from preparing meals, to cleaning, managing the items in the house, making the beds, and so on; all of the preparations to make Basara’s and the others’ use of the guest house convenient was done by their hands.

“…Understood.”

“Then, I shall introduce them one by one in order.”

After the maids agreed in that manner, the young succubus in front of them lit up her face with a smile. She said

“Good…do tell me a bit more.”

“They want to change the number of representatives in the decisive battle against the Moderates Faction from five to seven?”

In Gardo’s treatment room, Balthier repeated the news that Leohart had brought along. After Gardo was wounded in the operation to attack Wildart City a few days ago, he was hospitalised within this medical tower — currently, the three person group composed of Balthier, Luca and Lars had come here to visit him; and after Leohart had finished talking about matters related to the battle with the two key members of the Council, Belphegor and Mardones, he arrived here not long ago. Then, everyone heard about the newly changed rules from Leohart himself.

“To take advantage of the betrayal during the attack on Wildart City by making such a request, they truly have no sense of shame…moreover, they’re going to use their own people? To have the audacity to play such games in a situation like this, they really do live up to the reputation that they’ve built up over their long lives.”

“Indeed. But on the contrary, it also means that they’ve been forced into this and that they have no other choice.”

After Leohart calmly analysed the situation after dealing with them himself, Luca also nodded beside him.

“That’s right…it has already become a well-known fact that the members of the Council attempted to assassinate Gardo amidst the attack operation that they themselves advocated.”

Luca tensed up his childlike fa

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