Shinmai Maou no Keiyakusha Vol 2 Chapter 2

Eating delicious Yakiniku with Takigawa and the school nurse Hasegawa.

Then made to play an erotic game by Maria, which Mio got wind of and fiercely scolded them for it. Now the next day.

At the Hijirigasaka Academy during lunch break, Toujou Basara was surrounded.

It took place at the deserted backside of the school building with the inner courtyard. With his back to the wall, more than ten male students stood so that he couldn't escape. Since Takigawa was absent from school today, Basara had headed for the school store alone at lunch break, where he was intercepted with "You're Toujou, right?" in the hallway, like a detective found his suspect. Before he could even nod, both his arms were grabbed and he was dragged away. Well, Basara himself wanted to confirm something, so he didn't mind that, but

"Uhm… Do you need something from me?"

Since they were his seniors, Basara asked with a polite tone.

…So I say, but,

He could mostly guess why it came to this. Naruse Mio, his little stepsister, and Nonaka Yuki, his childhood friend. Both his cla.s.smates as well, they were something like idols in the school, respectively called "Princess Mio" and "Princess Yuki". Since Basara only transferred here recently, he didn't know much about the affairs at school, but according to Takigawa, they even had some pa.s.sionate fans. And,

"It seems you're living together with Princess Mio… I hope you're not doing anything funny to her?"

"We heard our Princess Yuki hugged you, but are you really just childhood friends?"

Two guys, apparently each the leader of the Mio and Yuki factions, asked him that. These words were surely based on the fact that they considered Mio and Yuki to be theirs.

…Still, such guys were really around, huh.

The lively type, the serious type, the rustic type and the slightly frivolous type. There truly was a rich variation amongst Mio and Yuki's fans. But right now these guys were one at heart. The looks filled with hostility aimed at him told him, that hard and fast.

That said, these eyes weren't of someone, who was manipulated or lost one's sanity.

…A man's jealousy wasn't to be underestimated, but this should work out.

Extreme emotions gave openings that were easily exploited. Basara had once checked out what kind of guys were Mio and Yuki's fans, since it was thinkable that they were manipulated by the enemy devils that were after Mio, and at least the guys in front of him weren't a problem.

---Well, considering Mio's future, it would be safer to dissolve these groups.

And--- Basara, even in his current state, could overwhelm this number of ordinary guys.

Basara confirmed the position and breathing of the male students in front of him and simulated their action in his mind.

He would knock out the nearest guy by stepping one step forward and ram his palm into his chin, then he would make the dumbfounded guys on the right and left faint with a strike to the abdomen. During the opening due to the other flinching, he would move forward, where he would make use of the charge from the opponent, who finally started moving, on the very right and throw him to the left. There he would collapse into two others. Closing the distance to the remaining five at once with a top speed, he would use the knee of the stiffed up guy in front of him for a jump. Extending his jump by kicking the back of the guy's head with his sole of the foot, he would land behind the two leaders, who stood at the farthest back, and knock them out with a strike of the side of the hands to their necks. Seeing their leaders collapse onto the ground, the last two guys would lose their will to fight. With a light threat then, he could make them give up on Mio and Yuki. But,

…That's certainly going too far.

Basara was no longer a Hero that prioritized his mission over anything else. He had decided to protect Mio, but only as a family. And above all, Basara had no right to deny the love of these guys in front of him. No guy beside Takigawa would really talk to him, even under normal circ.u.mstances. If he were to make a wrong choice here, it wouldn't be as bad as in the game he played with Maria last night, but it would worsen his isolation and give his high school life that had only just started a BAD END, giving him the secret slogan "Forever Alone". Thus, staying docile without running away would be for the better. Knowing the att.i.tude he was supposed to take, Basara stayed silent, whereupon

"Hey, say something…!"

As expected, one guy, losing his temper, tried to grab Basara.

"Mh? What are you guys doing there?"

Suddenly a voice came from above. On a look, there was one male teacher looking down from the pa.s.sage on the second floor.

It was Sakasaki Mamoru, the homeroom teacher of Basara's cla.s.s. Seeing him, the male students

"Tch… We ain't doing anything."

saying so with a click of their tongue, then leaving together, leaving Basara behind. Apparently they would let him off the hook this time. Sakasaki watched after them, then

"Geez, Naruse and Nonaka's fan sure are out to get you, Toujo."

"Yeah, well… Guess so."

Basara looked up to Sakasaki after giving an agreeable response.

"But you saved me, Sensei. Thank you."

"I didn't do anything. Actually I should have given them a proper warning, but I wouldn't want your situation to get any worse because of it."

Sakasaki said with a wry smile.

"But if they do something to you… no, if it seems they'll do something to you, then tell me right away."

"…Yes. Thank you."

When Basara replied with a nod, Sakasaki said "See you" and disappeared into the pa.s.sage.

"Now then… I gotta hurry to the store."

He didn't really want to attend the afternoon cla.s.ses without having had lunch. He headed there in hope that something wasn't sold out yet.

"---Basara."

A calm voice called him to a halt. The girl appearing from the shadows of the tree in the inner courtyard was

"Yuki… I see. You called the teacher."

"Mm, because I thought it would be better than coming out myself."

Yuki nodded. Indeed, some of them were fans of Yuki. Before making things more complicated by having Yuki carelessly cover for Basara, it was better to have Sakasaki, a third party, to intervene.

"Thanks for the help… What's up?"

His childhood friend stared at him silently, whereas Basara asked.

"…Actually, I have a favour to ask, so I looked for you."

"A favour? Why so formally…"

"I want you to accompany me somewhere on the coming weekend… Are you busy then, Basara?"

"No… I have nothing planned."

Upon that, Yuki said "I'm glad" and grabbed the sleeve of his uniform tightly.

Then Yuki said with a quiet, yet clear tone.

"It's a date then, Basara--- with just the two of us."

And now it was Sat.u.r.day morning.

Leaving the house, Basara headed for the meeting place with Yuki under the sky with the perfect weather for a date.

The arranged time was 10 o'clock in front of the station. He arrived ten minutes early, but Yuki was already there.

"Morning, Basara."

Since it was a holiday, Yuki wore casual clothes. He had only seen her in her school uniform so far, so the casual clothes gave Yuki fresh novelty. That said, her personality was showing in the choice of her clothes. The plain arrangement, including a slightly dark cardigan, embodied Yuki's docile personality.

---However, Yuki's clear complexion wasn't something that could be subdued by plain clothes. In fact, a lot of the pa.s.sing by people were inadvertently captivated by Yuki for a while now. Amongst them, some even stopped. Basara felt a slightly bit superior.

"Morning, Yuki… I thought I would be the first here, but I guess I made you wait?"

"No. I only arrived here shortly before too."

Yuki shook her head to the sides.

"Shortly before--- Since when?" "…One hour ago." "Eh… that early?"

Man, that was too early. So much that he was no longer happy about her waiting for him, but felt guilty instead.

"At least give me a call. I would've come earlier too then."

"It's fine. I wanted to wait for you."

"Well, okay, if you're fine with it… But Yuki, call me next time when you're too early. Because I don't really want to make people wait for me."

"Next time…"

Mumbling a repeat like parrot, Yuki brightened up her expression a bit.

"…Okay. Will do so next time." "Yeah, please do. Okay, let's go then."

Saying so, Yuki and Basara started walking towards the ticket gate of the station. Their destination was the shopping district downtown.

Because it was a holiday, the platform was crowded with people, who wanted to go downtown like them, after they pa.s.sed through the ticket gates. They lined up in a relative short line and the train entered the station soon enough.

However, the train was already packed and when Basara and Yuki boarded the train, the pa.s.senger count naturally increased. All seats were occupied and there were no free handrails or straps either, but Basara somehow managed to get to the door that connected two wagons together with Yuki.

Yuki leaned her back against the door and Basara somehow got into a posture of standing s.h.i.+elding in front of her. Even so the available s.p.a.ce within the wagon was limited, which made their bodies get into direct contact if they wanted or not.

…Ugh, this is…

A lucky--- no, quite the unfavourable posture. A part of his true feelings were showing through.

But he couldn't help but feel the warmth and softness of Yuki's body and her sweet fragrance.

"Ehm… Are you okay, Yuki?"

Because the train started moving, Basara asked while turning a bit red.

"I'm fine. And you…?" "Me as we---ll!?"

On the clattering shaking of the train, the crowd leaning onto Basara's back pushed him forward.

"Ah…" "S- Sorry!"

Yuki turned red along with a short voice, whereas Basara hastily apologized. They were in direct contact anyhow, yet they got into an even more unbelievable posture now. His right leg--- more precisely, it's knee had gone between Yuki thighs, spreading them out.

And speaking of thighs, it was perfectly under Yuki's skirt. Actually,

…Uwah, is this…

The soft sensation that pinched his knee from the left and right were surely Yuki's inner thighs.

If so, then the soft sensation on his thigh was

"Mm… Basara, your leg… is touching…" "S- Sorry…!"

An outrageous "It's touching" situation. Every time the train shook lightly, Yuki released a nasal "Mm" voice and lightly trembled her body with a s.h.i.+ver.

It was an disturbance beyond awkward.

Basara tried to somehow pulled his leg back, but since someone was behind him, leaving no s.p.a.ce, it was pushed forward right away again. Not giving up, he repeated that procedure numerous times, whereupon Yuki tightly clung to his chest. While flus.h.i.+ng her cheeks embarra.s.sed, she had s.h.i.+fted her gaze downwards.

"B- Basara… all your movements… have been rubbing against it."

The words were declared with a frail voice. Understanding the meaning behind them, Basara's heartbeat accelerated at once.

"---S- Sorry! That wasn't what I… Wh- What should I do?"

"Just stay still… Mm, then I think… it'll be fine."

"O- Okay--- Anything else I can do?"

"…Put your arms… around my back… and hold me for a bit."

"---Eh? Wh- Why…?"

"Because my body is being pressed against the door… It's a bit painful."

Ah, right. Then he had no choice. He had no choice in this case… hadn't he.

"O- Okay, excuse me then…"

Like Yuki asked him to, Basara entwined his arms around her back and hugged her.

Upon that, there opened a small gap between Yuki's back and the door.

"A- And?" "Mm… A bit better."

On these words, Basara made a sigh of relief, but his heartbeat didn't calm down.

Yuki's body was warm, soft and gave off a sweet fragrance--- And above all:

Toujou Basara's right leg was still between Nonaka Yuki's thighs.

There were people spying on Basara and Yuki from the next wagon.

Right after Basara had left the house, two people had followed him secretly--- Mio and Maria.

"Hugging each other in the train, these two are already acting like a stupid couple."

"……………"

"What do we do, Mio-sama? For now we should keep--- Mio-sama?"

"……………"

"Mio-sa--- Oww!? Ouch. Mio-sama, that is not the handrail, but my wrist. My wrist, you hear!?"

"H- Hoho. He said he would go out with Nonaka, but he's doing that inside the train."

While cladding herself with composure as much as possible, Mio clenched her right hand as much as possible.

"Hiii. Please calm down, Mio-sama! At this rate my wrist will break!"

Maria cornered voice didn't reach Mio's ears.

After all, on the other side beyond two doors, Basara was embracing Yuki.

---Basara told her that he would go out with Yuki at dinner last night.

When he asked "May I?", she couldn't say no. Sure, Mio and Basara were family and he promised to protect her. And they even formed a Master and Servant Contract, albeit in a different way than intended. However, Mio didn't have the right to restrain Basara 24/7 just because of that. But,

…I, I have the right to worry.

It wasn't like she was planning to interrupt Basara and Yuki's date. A lot had happened between Yuki and Mio due to their positions, but through the battles on the rooftop and the park with the white mask, they came to understand each other a little bit.

However, Yuki was too a.s.sertive on the weirdest things. Like suddenly hugging Basara on their reunion or coming into their house in the morning and storming into the bath with Basara in it. It wasn't unthinkable that she would do even more unbelievable actions if she were to be all alone with him.

So her tailing was a justified pursuit. The other day, the curse activated from her jealousy when she thought about Basara being all alone with Yuki, but now there was no problem--- In other words,

"Yes… There's no doubt. I'm not jealous… or anything."

"Yes, I understand! You are only worried about Basara-san! So, Mio-sama, please relax your grip a bit, okay? My left hand is becoming congested and is turning purple, you know!?"

Mio said mumbling, whereas Maria pleaded with teary eyes. However, the train stopped at a certain station.

"Ah, they're getting off! Like I thought, they're changing trains here. We're going, Maria!"

Chasing after Basara and Yuki, Mio got off the train as well. She tightly grabbed Maria's left hand as not to get separated, whereupon she could hear a short "HGG!!?" shriek from Maria along with a "Crack" noise due to it, but she paid it no mind. With the Master and Servant Contract, she could locate Basara if she wanted, but it wouldn't tell her what he was doing at a different place.

For now, she couldn't afford to take her eyes off Basara and Yuki for even a moment.

Transferring once, the train arrived at the destination's station after the scheduled forty minutes.

It was just before noon. Yuki suggested to have lunch first and Basara agreed.

It wasn't like Yuki liked fast food. But she thought that there was no place more benefiting than this for a high school couple eating out.

---Nonaka Yuki, living her life so far as a Hero, didn't know what a normal high schooler was like.

The reason she currently attended a high school in Tokyo was that she had the task to observe the daughter of the previous Lord Devil: Naruse Mio. She simply was here for her mission as a Hero.

…But only for today.

At least only for today--- she wanted to be a normal girl.

It was a city full of youngsters and moreover a holiday, so the store was already crowded.

Yuki wasn't all too comfortable with crowded and noisy places, but the nearby seats were filled with young couples and above all, Basara was stuffing his cheeks with a hamburger across from her. Amidst this situation,

"…….." "Mh? Something wrong?"

He might have sensed her restless mood. Basara looked at her puzzled, whereas Yuki shook her head with "No".

She wasn't used to the taste of the hamburger or the fizzing carbonic acid of the cola, but even so Nonaka Yuki tried to savor the taste as an important memory with Basara and her high school self.

When they left the store after their meal, they headed for today's main event--- buying clothes.

Entering a fas.h.i.+on mall that was even famous as a landmark,

"Wow…"

Basara next to her mumbled overwhelmed. Because the mall was filled with girls looking for popular fas.h.i.+ons. The loudly playing BGM made it rather lively.

---However, a problem arose. While heading towards the elevators, they briefly pa.s.sed by the shops, but to be honest, Yuki had no idea where she should go.

…Careless.

She had thought for sure that by coming here, she would naturally find some clothes. The first floor technically had an information booth, but to be honest, she didn't even know what to ask for.

Wavering about what to do, Yuki showed a weakness for the first time here.

"h.e.l.lo~ Are you looking for something~?"

Suddenly the clerk of a nearby shop called out to her.

Mio watched that scene from a distant.

It must have been an unforeseen situation. Yuki was obviously panicking on the sudden happening. Towards her,

"Excuse me for suddenly calling out to you~ You looked troubled, so I just wanted to help you."

The female shop clerk said so with a carefree smile.

"What are you here for today? You seem kind of hesitant, so are you just looking around without a special aim? If so, why not take a look at our sales? We have stocked up on our new winter collection."

"Ehm… But"

However, Yuki showed hesitation. Because the one who had called out to her was a clerk from a shop that sold mainly street-style clothes in vivid colors.

It wasn't really the type of brand that Yuki liked. As far as Mio knew, Yuki was more of the docile type. She came to the holy land of fas.h.i.+on for youngsters on her date with Basara, but

…She must have been taken for an easy target.

Mio had guessed the aim of the clerk. Yuki obviously gave off an aura that she wasn't used to this place at all.

Like the clerk had said, right now it was the period where the new winter collections started to sell. For the shop it was the most profitable season, so the selling quota got harsher.

Due to that, some clerks wanted to score sales by persistently palming off customers. The female clerk kept talking on and on as to press for an answer.

"It is part of my job to help people dress up, you know? I am sure I can help you. For example, I believe this would suit you perfectly."

Quickly grabbing a hooded jacket from a nearby shelf, she held it up against Yuki's body.

"See~ Totally terrific. It fits with a lot of other clothes, so you can make all kind of arrangements."

Terrific indeed. The shop clerk recommended a shocking pink hooded jacket with lamé.

It was possible that she recommended it, because Yuki was rather meek. Moreover,

"It fits with other clothes, because you want to sell more…"

Starting with the hooded jacket, the clerk likely intended to sell various products as a whole arrangement. Seeing the persistent clerk, Maria next to her said.

"His childhood friend seems troubled, yet Basara-san is not helping her out at all, is he?"

In their field of vision, Basara was scratching his head next to Yuki, not knowing what to do.

"…No, he's trying to offer her help for a while now. But it seems he isn't used to such a place either. The clerk is a woman too, so he doesn't know how to deal with it."

It surely was too much to expect Basara, a boy, to do something that he couldn't even do with Yuki, a girl.

…Well,

Even if Yuki was troubled, it was nothing of Mio's concern. Basara wasn't any better. He was all over Yuki in the train earlier, so… a bit of trouble for him now was just fine.

Mio just watched them from a distance and had no plans to help them. However,

"……." "---Mio-sama?"

Mio heard Maria's question, who was supposed to be next to her, from behind.

Before she noticed it, she had moved forward. Briskly getting in-between Yuki and the clerk,

"Sorry for the wait, Nonaka~!"

she linked arms with Yuki and pulled her away.

"Okay, let's go." "---Eh?"

Yuki was surprised on her sudden appearance. Same for Basara next to her. However, Mio didn't care about that. Pulling on Yuki's arm, she tried to leave the place--- but her supposedly forward moving legs were stopped against her will. The clerk was grabbing Yuki's sleeve,

"Oh, are you her friend? How about you come in together? Your friend just took a liking to her new collection."

The shop clerk certainly was experienced. She wouldn't let go off her prey she got a hold off so easily. Even while her mouth formed a friendly smile, she pinned down Mio with her sharp look. However, Mio showed a friendly smile as well,

"No thanks." "But this" "No thanks" "Hey, at least take a closer look" "No thanks"

When she repeated the same words to the persistent clerk, the clerk let go off Yuki before long. She must have accepted that no matter what she said, she wouldn't sell anything.

How she sent them off with a smile and "Please come by again~" in the end, showed how much of a professional she was.

As soon as Mio got to the elevator area without any shops by still dragging Yuki on her arm,

"---Just to tell you, it's only a coincidence!"

She declared so shouting, after turning around to Basara, who leisurely followed after Yuki.

"Ehm… Mio?"

"It's just by chance! I was shopping with Maria, when I saw you guys by chance. And since you were troubled, I had no choice… Really! It's nothing else but that!"

"Please calm down, Mio-sama. If you get too ruffled, you will dig your own grave."

"---I, I'm not ruffled."

Mio shouted while turning bright red. Not good. Forcing her way in on the spur of the moment was all fine, but she had moved without thinking up an excuse, so she was saying nonsense now.

…But, I mean…

It couldn't be helped. Because her body moved on reflex.

---She probably didn't want to lose to Yuki.

During the battle in the park the other day, Yuki had helped Mio, even though she actually had no obligation to do so. That was the undoubted truth, even if she couldn't forgive that it could have killed Basara. Mio got the feeling that she would lose to her, if she were to ignore the troubled Yuki there despite that.

Yes, it surely was her nature. Naruse Mio didn't want to lose to Nonaka Yuki--- That was all.

"Anyway, thanks. At this rate we would have been persuading into buying… Right, Yuki?"

"……."

Next to Basara, who said so with a sigh, Yuki nodded wordless. Her slightly frustrated expression probably originated more from the negligence of needing help rather than from displeasure of being helped by Mio.

"So, how's it, Yuki? Did any shop catch your eye?"

When Yuki gave no clear answer, Basara softened his expression.

"I see… Then what do you want to do, Yuki? Look around a bit longer?"

Yuki stayed silent on Basara's question. It most likely was a silence of inner conflict, instead of pondering. Upon that,

"Uhm… May we accompany you?" "Hey, Maria!?"

Mio raised a fl.u.s.tered voice on the sudden proposal, whereas Maria stayed calm.

"No, I mean, you two are not used to this kind of place, correct? So with Mio-sama with you, you could easily get out of situation like the one earlier."

"Well, yeah, but…"

But Yuki would never give her consent to this, which would interfere with her date.

"What do you say, Yuki…?"

Asked for her opinion by Basara, Yuki stayed silent for a while, then closed her eyes.

"………….Okay."

Before long, she agreed with Maria's proposal like giving up on something.

And when Yuki peacefully opened her eyes, she said by staring at Mio.

"Naruse-san--- if you like, please help me find some clothes."

Mio accepted Yuki's request.

She wasn't all that opposed to helping Yuki. If she were, she wouldn't have saved Yuki from the female clerk earlier.

---Due to that, the shopping went relatively smooth after that.

After hearing her concept, Mio guided Yuki through shops with clothes in the design that matched Yuki's concept.

Skilfully handling the shop clerks, they chose Yuki's clothes together. In the end,

"…Here, what do you say about this?"

Since Yuki didn't know how to put on the clothes properly, Mio had come into the changing room with her and helped her try on the clothes.

Normally that would be the job of a shop clerk, but Yuki asked Mio to help her, probably still affected from the earlier incident with the persistent clerk.

"Yeah… Looks good, really."

While looking at her refined self, Yuki nodded. That her cheeks were lightly flushed was proof that she was satisfied with Mio's choice.

"---Basara, look."

Opening the curtains, Yuki got outside and spun in front of Basara.

"Mh? Hoo… Nice. These kind of clothes suit you too."

Basara inadvertently raised an admiring voice, whereas Yuki softened her expression with an happy "Mm". It was Yuki's expression as a normal girl, which she would never show to Mio.

Upon that, Maria approached Mio and whispered into her ear.

"Are you sure you should be so kind to your enemy, Mio-sama?"

"…Now look here, it was you, who suggested this."

"Well, yes, but… even so, why are you helping her so seriously? She will use these clothes to seduce Basara-san."

"Still, it's against my principle to be shoddy and recommend something ugly then."

A promise among girls. She didn't want to do a half-hearted job. And above all, if she were to make a coward move, it would mean she accepted being inferior to Yuki. There was no way she could do that.

After Yuki finis.h.i.+ng showing the clothes Mio chose to Basara, she returned to the changing room satisfied.

When she took off her clothes and was only in her underwear, the great style of Yuki's tall figure was rather prominent. Mio stood next to that graceful body and looked at it through the mirror.

…She's really pretty after all.

Mio once again became aware of Yuki's charm. Yuki's clear complexion was something Mio didn't have. Her body line drew different feminine curves than Mio's and while they were of the same gender, Mio was a bit captivated.

She also comprehended why she had a fan club at school like herself.

That said, she wasn't envious. Each person had it's own charm--- same for clothes. Mio had her own charm and believed she didn't lose to Yuki in that regard.

…More importantly.

What she was surprised about was that Yuki had asked Maria and her to accompany her. Yuki was supposed to be on a special date with Basara.

The persistent clerk had stolen her thunder, but actually Yuki should have wanted to go around some more with Basara on this occasion.

Even so she should have been opposed to ask Mio. Yet, Yuki honestly spoke out words of grat.i.tude.

"Thank you, Naruse-san."

"It's fine… I only helped you find some clothes with a shop clerk. It's nothing special."

When Mio answered brusquely, Yuki shook her head with "No". Dropping her gaze,

"That's not true. I never came to a place like this before… and only trained when I was in the village. So, I don't know what a real date is like."

"……I see."

"I'm just happy to be with Basara… But I think it's boring for him, since he's used to an ordinary life."

Being told that by Yuki in quiet voice, Mio once again realized that she was a Hero.

And--- that she herself had inherited the power and blood of the previous Devil Lord.

---However, the timing at which they found out about their own situation had decisively been different for Mio and Yuki.

Mio got to know about her own linage half a year ago--- On the day her foster parents, which she thought were her parents, were killed.

Until then, Mio had lived as a normal girl with a normal happiness.

However, Yuki on the other hand had known about her existence ever since she could remember and was trained for it.

Of course it would be insolent to call that misfortune. The Hero Tribe had the mission to fight to protect the world, but obviously they should have happiness in their life as well.

…But.

Even so, they surely experienced yearning for the natural happiness of average people.

When Mio inadvertently fell silent, Yuki said with a cold voice, as Mio's thoughts were showing on her face.

"It's not something for you to worry about. Thanks to you, I could buy clothes to seduce Basara."

"Seduce… Now you."

"I also learned about dates. Making use of today's experience, I'll go on a better date with Basara next time, with just the two of us."

Yuki said nonchalant. Mio certainly couldn't overlook this.

"Hey--- You plan to go on another date with Basara?"

"Of course. Now then, guide me to the next shop and choose some clothes for me."

This girl… for asking a favor, she was having a rather haughty att.i.tude. However,

"Fine--- Let's do this."

Accepting Yuki's challenge at once, Mio smiled fearless.

Once promised, she would go through with it until the end. And she wouldn't be half-hearted.

But Yuki would do better not to forget.

Buying new clothes--- prettying up, that wasn't something exclusive to Yuki.

Going around various shops then, Yuki borrowed the help of Mio and clerks.

Finally she decided what she would buy next.

When Mio and Maria started to choose clothes for themselves too, they tried on clothes in a compet.i.tion and all three showed their new selves to Basara one after another.

All kind of new fas.h.i.+on terms and unthinkable arrangements. All of it had a novelty--- But Yuki surely didn't even understand half of it.

Even so, she had fun, since she could spent a holiday together with Basara. And regarding Mio and Maria, she hardly considered them a bother, since they faced her upfront instead of interrupting her date.

Of course she would have preferred to be all alone with Basara, but it was a fact that the two helped her on numerous occasions. Therefore--- Yuki believed it was fine like this.

"…Okay, I'll go buy this." "Yeah. We'll wait outside."

Nodding to Basara, who replied so, Yuki lined up at the register. As they went around a lot of shops, the time had already changed from afternoon to evening upon a look on the wrist.w.a.tch.

It was hard to tell, since they had been in an illuminated building the whole time, but it would surely be dark when they got outside.

…Oh right.

Before going home with the train, she should go eat something with Basara. She wouldn't mind inviting Mio and Maria too, since they helped her with the shopping.

Showing a small smile, Yuki glanced behind her--- turning around to Basara and the others outside the shop.

"----"

The scene in her field of vision made her look inadvertently turn bitter. She couldn't hear their conversation due to the distance. But judging from their expression, she could clearly tell that Maria most likely teased Mio, who then got angry, and Basara watched these two with a wry smile.

Above all, Basara's side profile while looking at Mio and Maria was gentle.

Nonaka Yuki saw the happiness that she wanted at a place that she couldn't reach.

---Basara, no longer a Hero, lived with a new family in a new place and was fighting for the girls' sake. That was Basara's present and desired future.

And--- Yuki was merely a symbol of his past to Basara.

Yuki went through the tragedy at the five years ago together with Basara and she embodied the very past that still kept hurting him, so she was nothing but a bother to the future with Mio, which Basara was envisioning.

"…………."

So Yuki averted her eyes and turned her back to them. Because she could no longer look at it. Then she kept waiting in the line at the register for her turn with her eyes cast down.

"Next one please~" "….."

It was her turn now and Yuki was about to move forward--- when her arm was suddenly grabbed from the side.

She didn't sense anything until her arm was touched. She looked at the other party in surprise.

"---?"

Yuki's breath was inadvertently taken away. It was a familiar face.

A girl--- with the same cold eyes as herself.

"Kurumi…"

When she dumbfounded called her name, the girl said with an indifferent voice.

"The made an official decision. I came to tell you--- your new mission."

One breath.

"Enough with playing house… Big Sis."

"……Mh?"

Basara had been talking with Mio and Maria, but suddenly he felt something amiss and frowned.

The presence of Yuki, whom they were waiting for, had disappeared.

"Yuki…?"

He quickly s.h.i.+fted his gaze to the line at the register, but Yuki, who was supposed to be there, wasn't to be seen.

No matter how much he searched the shop. No matter how much he searched the surroundings.

Nonaka Yuki had unexpectedly disappeared from their sight, even though she was with them moments ago.

In the end, they couldn't find Yuki after that.

They asked the shop clerk, but didn't get a favorable response and even when they looked around the other shops in the mall and searched for her in the area outside, she was nowhere to be found.

All calls to her cell phone just resulted in the out-of-range announcement. She must have turned her phone off. Because of that the GPS function couldn't find her either.

"…Just what happened? Did she go home ahead of us?"

"Can't be… Us two aside, Basara's here. So that's impossible."

While listening to the exchange of Maria and Mio next to him, Basara was thinking about something else. It was something he felt when he was all alone with Yuki--- A glance.

…But.

Shortly after Mio and Maria had appeared and then he hadn't really felt it anymore. The timing was too good, so he had thought for sure that it were Mio and Maria watching them.

Could it be--- there had been someone else watching them?

After returning to their local area with the train, they headed for Yuki's mansion just in case, but

"…No good. She isn't there."

Calling her cell phone one last time resulted as expected in out-of-range. They were finally out of ideas, so they had no choice but to return to the Toujou House.

"…………." "…………." "…………."

The sky was clouded and the road at night was illuminated by street lights while the three of them walked home in silence. Even though they had so much fun earlier. Even though they spent that time together. The silence made it seem like a dream.

…At a time like this,

If--- he had a Master and Servant Contract with Yuki as well. Then he could locate her right away. However,

…What am I thinking.

Basara immediately discarded the cheap idea. He wanted to ease his worry so bad that his thoughts took a strange direction.

But, if anything had happened to Yuki--- Thinking so, Basara's chest tightened inevitable.

---Five years ago, a tragedy befell the Hero's village. On that day, at that time, lots of his comrades lost their lives and Basara's own power went out of control, causing even more destruction.

Even so, some lives were saved and one of them was none other than Yuki's. If something happened to Yuki now, he would---

"…Basara? What's wrong, Basara!"

Strongly pulled on his arm from the side, Basara came back to his senses.

"Are you okay, Basara-san…?"

"…Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry… I was thinking about something."

When Basara repeated a "I'm fine" with a powerless smile, suddenly the ring tone resounded from his pocket.

It wasn't the tone for a call, but mail.

Even so, Basara pulled out his cell phone reflexively and first confirmed the sender.

Regretfully it wasn't from Yuki.

When Basara shook his head, Mio next to him mumbled a quiet "I see…". But looking at the field with the sender name, Basara stiffened his expression a bit.

There was no name. It was blank. But for someone that sent him a mail for the first time, it should display the mail address.

Why it didn't do that was because Basara himself set it up to be like that.

It was the person, whom he secretly formed an alliance with and thus saved the number differently from the others for an absolute secretive exchange.

It was the very first time that this person sent him a mail.

"……….."

The written content was just like Basara had imagined. So when he read through it wordless, he pressed the delete b.u.t.ton to erase the mail right afterwards and the cell phone started to delete it--- In that very moment.

Suddenly the surroundings got darker. The moment he realized that--- an attack came from right above.

"---Get away, Maria!"

While giving an instant warning, Basara picked up Mio and jumped.

"H- Hey!"

Mio raised a surprised voice, but Basara had no time to care.

Because the attack hitting the ground gave off a fierce shock wave along with a roaring sound. Basara landed while still holding Mio.

"---You okay!?" "Yes, somehow!"

On Maria's reply from the corner of his vision, he made a sigh of relief for now.

---The reason he only warned Maria was that she was on his opposite side with Mio in-between them.

But Maria, a Hard Striker that specialized in close combat, should be good at sudden movements--- His judgement came from believing so. In response to Basara's instant judgement and choice,

"Hoo--- your reaction is quicker than I thought."

An audacious voice resounded from above, making somewhat fun of him.

When Mio looked up, a giant man was floating in midair.

An ominous black aura spread from his body.

There was no doubt. It was a devil from the current Devil Lord Faction. And a bit apart,

"…What is going on here?"

Maria slowly stood up and said. Glaring fiercely at the enemy devil,

"Your attack just now… If you had it aimed at just Basara-san and me, I could have overlooked it, but at worst, you could have dragged Mio-sama into it.

Is that what you, the current Devil Lord Faction wants?"

"Huuh? I ain't really wanting to drag her into it. It would be bad if I killed her carelessly and Wilbert's power gets lost. But a battlefield is always changing. Some things just happen--- accidents, ya know."

The floating giant devil let his body shake by laughing.

"Besides--- The top bra.s.s want Wilbert's power, but if this stupidly inherited power gets lost by an attack like this just now, it wouldn't be of any use anyway."

But, saying so, he looked at Basara.

"That retainer succubus aside, ya ain't half-bad either, Runt… Still, not so much that Lars would've troubles with ya."

He said so, then he scrunched his nose.

"Well, whatever--- I'm gonna kill everyone besides Wilbert's daughter anyway."

Basara listened to these words while still holding on to Mio's waist.

"……Is it your doing?"

On Basara's low and cold voice, the giant devil looked puzzled.

"Huh? Say what?"

"Is it your doing that Yuki disappeared?"

Basara asked again. Upon that, the devil finally seemed to recall.

"Ohh--- That Hero girl."

The moment he said so, Basara's appearance next to Mio vanished.

"Eh---?"

Mio raised a bewildered voice on the sudden happening. At that time--- Basara was already in front of the giant devil.

And in his right hand was Brynhildr, his beloved sword, already materialized.

He swung it.

The side-slash attack Basara swung went into the giant devil's torso like it was drawn there.

---In that moment, Basara felt a resistance.

But it was abnormal tough for a resistance of his attack.

CREEEEEAAAAAAAK!

"Kuh…!"

Along with a shrill metallic sound, Basara's right hand became numb. He was warded off. And moreover, not by a guard with a weapon or s.h.i.+eld. The torso of the giant devil took in Brynhidlr as it was.

"Hey, you're really short-tempered--- Are ya getting enough calcium?"

While laughing a Heh, the devil

"I'll break your body all over… so that you fit into my pocket, Runt!"

Saying so and launching his right fist towards Basara. Instantly Basara kicked the devil's torso and retreated a paper-length away from the fist's range.

However the launched fist of the devil produce a shock wave as it was,

"? Guh, Gaaah----!?"

Receiving a full blow of the invisible attack, Basara was sent flying backwards. Cras.h.i.+ng right into the border of the barrier--- the wall between normal s.p.a.ce and this isolated s.p.a.ce.

"Oh, what's wrong? Done already?"

There the devil approached. He wanted to give the finis.h.i.+ng blow. However, before the newly launched fist could reach Basara, the devil was engulfed in flames along with a roaring sound.

"Don't pop out of nowhere and act like you're some big-shot!"

Mio released more flames in succession.

"Hah… This shabby flame ain't even tickling me!"

Despite that, the devil's charge wasn't stopped. He broke straight through the flames.

"---Then what about this?"

Using the flames as a cover, Maria had gone in front of him and her fist rammed into the devil's torso.

BAM! A heavy cras.h.i.+ng sound. The attack from Maria, a Hard Striker relying on strength, certainly stopped the devil's charge.

"…That hurt."

"Eh--- Gah!?"

The back of his left hand blew Maria's small body away like shaking her off. Right before she crashed into the ground, Basara somehow made it in time to catch Maria's body, but

"What happened to your earlier vigor? Is barking all you can do?"

The giant devil swung down his fists one after another with over motions, sending shockwaves down from the air.

Basara and the girls split up and dodged them somehow, but they couldn't counter-attack.

…d.a.m.n, he's a perfect power type!

He looked like a simple brute, but a power type could fight perfectly with an excess of it.

Power was strength. A body capable of handling an enormous power obviously had a high defence from tenacity too and as a matter of fact, it easily blocked Basara's earlier attack.

He was most likely superior to even Maria, a fellow power type--- Moreover, he was a Shooting Fighter, even capable of attacking with shock waves.

The problem was not only that Basara's attack didn't work, but Maria's fist as well.

So even if they closed the distance, they had no way to effectively damage him.

So their last bet was the powerful high-cla.s.s magic from Mio, a magic type, but--- needless to say, the more powerful the magic was, the more mental concentration it needed. Thus,

…When he keeps attacking with shock waves like this…

He looked at Mio, but she couldn't afford any time to chant a magic, as she had her hands full with dodging the downpour of shock waves.

Judging by his stature, he probably had superior stamina as well.

At some point Basara and the girls would be unable to take a breath and dodge the shock waves first--- It was stalemate like this.

…Then,

Basara crouched down and concentrated.

What he estimated was the best and shortest route to slay the enemy in the air and his own speed needed for that.

And then--- Basara was about to attack by kicking off the ground. At that time.

"Such a pain… I'll finish you off all together."

Saying so, the enemy, who had been dealing with Maria, launched an unforeseen attack.

---The type of shockwaves so far that cut in a straight line were produced by a punch with the fist.

That fist stopped now midway. Upon that, the air was. .h.i.t--- As a result, the produced shock wave wasn't a straight line, but spread radially, coming towards Basara and the girls all at once.

"? Bastaaaaaaard----!"

Basara used the energy he had built up for his attack with high speed for a counterattack.

The attack released in front of Mio and Maria wasn't , but it succeeded in cutting apart the shock wave. The radial shock wave pa.s.sed by Basara's side to vertical behind him.

"Sweet. Now we're talking."

Even while his own attack was warded off, the giant devil was rather happy.

"Then--- try this!"

The moment he said so, the already thick right arm of the devil swelled up one--- no, two sizes larger.

…Not good!

Most likely the enemy tried to launch an enormous attack that wouldn't even compare to the previous ones.

---The old Basara would have surely gone out to the front immediately at such a time.

Without doubt he would close the distance with his utmost speed and prevent the enemy from attacking.

However, the current Basara hesitated.

He couldn't decide on the spot if he should charge into the attack or if he should devote himself to defense to protect Mio and Maria.

The enemy used the opening created by Basara's short hesitation to make his attack motion.

"---Huh?"

However, the giant devil stopped his movement, as he had suddenly realized something.

Just why?

Basara saw the answer to that at the torso of the devil. The floating devil--- had something pierced through his gigantic body.

"A spear…?"

Mio, looking at it from a different angle, mumbled frowning, whereupon there was a rapid change in the body of the devil.

It started to freeze up snow-white with a noise.

The giant body of the devil, solidifying all over in no time, stopped floating and fell down to the ground.

CLINK. Along with a noise like gla.s.s breaking, the devil smashed up into very small pieces.

All that was left was a single white long spear pierced into the ground.

Mio and the others couldn't react to the sudden happening. Amidst this motionless silence,

"-------"

A single young man appeared from somewhere. Looking at his side-profile as he was picking up the spear wordless,

"Takas.h.i.+…"

Mio heard Basara's sudden dumbfounded mumbling in front of her.

Having his name called, the young man s.h.i.+fted his sharp eyes from the spear in his hand to Basara.

"…Who's that, Basara?"

"Hayase Takas.h.i.+… My childhood friend, just like Yuki, from back then when I was in the ."

On Basara's answer to her question, Mio could guess the circ.u.mstances more or less.

…No wonder he was able to get into this s.p.a.ce then.

Mio knew of the tragedy that Basara was involved with back then when he was still in the Hero village.

She also knew what happened from Basara's power going of out control.

It gave many people never healing mental wounds and was the reason Basara was chased out of the village.

There probably weren't many people like Yuki, who were friendly to Basara after the incident.

At least--- the look the young man gave Basara wasn't one of a long-awaited reunion with a childhood friend.

"Takas.h.i.+, why are you… And that spear, don't tell me…"

When Basara asked still somewhat unbelieving, suddenly

"Yeah--- You're right, it's 'Byakko'." [1]

A chuckling voice came from behind. When Mio turned around, there was a slit-eyed young man.

"----!?"

As soon as seeing that young man, Basara changed his expression and moved with a jump.

He stood obstructing in front of the young man, covering Mio and Maria.

"H- Hey, Basara…?" "What is the matter all of a sudden?"

Mio and Maria were perplexed by the uncommon situation, whereas Basara didn't reply. Still wearing a stern expression, he was waiting for the reaction of the young man. Upon that,

"Geez. And here we finally reunited… Don't give me such a hateful look."

The slit-eyed young man shrugged his shoulders and made a wry smile. Towards him,

"s.h.i.+ba-san… Why are you here?"

Basara asked with an obviously different att.i.tude than towards the young man called Hayase Takas.h.i.+.

…Basara?

Looking at s.h.i.+ba, Basara's side-profile showed a great alertness and tension.

"Do you… even need to ask? The orders."

"Don't screw around. The would normally never let you go outside."

"---I wonder who's s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g around here."

said Takas.h.i.+ interrupting.

"Basara… Don't tell me, you're considering this situation normal?"

"What do you mean by that…"

"The girl with the inherited power of the previous Devil Lord is here. Can you call that normal?"

"…Are you saying it was decided that Yuki alone isn't enough to observe her?"

It was s.h.i.+ba, who answered Basara's question.

"No, Yuki-chan's enough for the surveillance. It's the opposite. It was decided that surveillance wasn't enough."

Then Takas.h.i.+ spoke out the decisive words, taking up on s.h.i.+ba's sentence.

"The changed Naruse Mio from a S- rank surveillance target to a S- rank termination target. This is an official statement. That's why we're here--- To fulfil our duties as Heroes."

Facing Takas.h.i.+, Mio was inadvertently taken aback.

Word-wise he had used the term termination, but Takas.h.i.+ basically was saying to kill Mio.

Mio personally wanted to avoid fighting with the Hero Tribe if possible.

One reason was that it was situationally tough to take on the devils of the current Devil Lord Faction while fighting with the Heroes.

…Moreover.

She was fighting together with Basara, a former Hero, and kind of came to an understanding with Yuki, a current Hero, through the incident the other day.

Precisely because of that it was possible that they went shopping together today.

But Mio realized that her thinking was too naïve.

For the Current Devil Lord Faction, she wasn't Naruse Mio, but the daughter of the previous Devil Lord Wilbert.

Same applied to the Hero Tribe. Mostly likely it was the same for Maria of the moderate faction.

"……."

Looking down, she wordless bit down on her lips, whereupon suddenly a hand was rested on Mio's shoulder.

It was from the only one here that saw Mio as herself.

Her big brother that tried to protect her as his family, as his little sister--- Toujou Basara.

"-----"

With calm, yet resolute eyes, Basara stared at Takas.h.i.+.

It was a declaration of his resolve. He was still holding Brynhidlr in his right hand. Therefore,

"Well, I knew you would be like that, Basara… You're Jin-san's son after all."

s.h.i.+ba behind him wearily made a wry smile.

"That said, we aren't here for fun either. Since you were chased out of the , you aren't treated as a comrade anymore, but just an ordinary human--- if you interfere with us, you'll be an enemy."

"Yeah… I'm prepared for that, s.h.i.+ba-san."

He would protect Mio, who couldn't be protected by the Heroes. He was here today because he had decided so.

"More importantly, let me ask one thing. The reason Yuki suddenly disappeared…"

"Mh? Oh, if you're looking for Yuki-chan…"

On these words, a girl quietly appeared from behind s.h.i.+ba.

"Yuki, you…"

On Basara's outcall, Yuki looked at him for just a moment, but cast down her eyes sadly right away.

Her emotions aside, she stood with them--- That spoke volumes for Yuki's standpoint.

"The wants Yuki to fight too…?"

"---What do you mean?"

Takas.h.i.+ narrowed his eyes and asked, whereas Basara replied somewhat irritated.

"Just like I said it. Yuki has always been docile and didn't like to fight. The appointed her to observe Mio, but forcing her to fight, that's---"

just wrong… Basara tried to say that, but couldn't.

Because a lightning ball drew near him from the side, interrupting his words.

"Watch out!"

Suddenly Mio got in front and created a magical barrier, but

"---? Kyaaaaa!"

The lightning ball, cras.h.i.+ng into the barrier, sparked and sent Mio flying.

"Mio-sama!"

Maria hastily rushed over, whereas Mio got up while scowling with "I'm fine", whereupon a girl appeared from the shadows of an alley, where the lighting ball had come from.

"Kurumi, even you…"

"Don't call my name so casually, you traitor!"

Kurumi shouted with a tone that gives the impression of hatred.

"Protecting the daughter of the previous Devil Lord? I'm impressed you can mess around like that… You don't even know what feelings my sister lived the past five years!"

"------"

Toujou Basara stood stock still on Kurumi's angry shout. Because she was right.

When they reunited at Hijirigasaka Academy, Basara was surprised at Yuki's change.

The five years, in which he hadn't seen her, had changed Yuki so much.

But Basara, having left the village and no longer a Hero, didn't have the right to worry about Yuki.

And since he chose to protect Mio, who had inherited the blood of the previous Devil Lord, he was nothing but an traitor to Yuki and his former comrades. But,

"Is that all you have to say?"

Maria slowly stood up, then suddenly jumped by kicking off the ground. With the start dash from the powerful legs of a power type, she closed the distance to Kurumi in no time and tried to strike at her like that.

"---Don't get c.o.c.ky, you measly succubus."

With a speed faster than Maria's, Takas.h.i.+ swung the spirit lance "Byakko" from the side.

That attack was stopped by Basara, who had gotten in-between Takas.h.i.+ and Maria, with Brynhidlr.

But something forcefully stopped the four, who had entered a full-blown fight with Basara vs. Takas.h.i.+ and Maria vs. Kurumi.

It was a roaring sound that shook the air. At the same time, the barrier that separated the s.p.a.ce was easily destroyed.

"Wha…!?"

Suddenly being returned to the normal s.p.a.ce, Basara and the others halted their battle.

"Okay--- That's enough. Don't get all fired up and start a battle here."

s.h.i.+ba declared with a peaceful smile. With a somewhat threatening tone,

"The devil, who erected the barrier, is already dead. Are you guys insane for starting a fight within a s.p.a.ce that so easily broke from my light attack? What if it causes casualties?"

Basara gulped on these words. It was no laughing matter. Sure, the devil had died, but the barrier had been still up.

The very barrier that easily took all these shock waves from the giant devil. Precisely because they knew that, they had started a fight.

"That's not good, Takas.h.i.+, Kurumi-chan… Sure you guys are the actors this time, but I believe that I told you not to get too emotional. I'm just an overseer and the forbid me any fighting with Basara and co. So spare me the trouble, okay?"

"……" "----Fine!"

Takas.h.i.+ and Kurumi jumped, albeit sullen, and landed next to s.h.i.+ba and Yuki.

Seeing that, Basara and Maria relaxed for now, albeit still wary. A distance between both parties was naturally formed.

"That's the deal, Basara, so we'll excuse ourselves for now. If we carelessly wrecked the city, the elders would pressure us again. We'll settle this in one week. We'll prepare a barrier s.p.a.ce that can withhold our fighting, so let's do it there--- What do you say?"

"…Not like I can say no."

"Yeah, guess so."

s.h.i.+ba said nonchalant, whereas Basara asked.

"About that barrier, where are you going to put it up?" "I want a place suitable for barriers, but sadly we don't know this city very well yet. I'll contact you when we have decided on a place."

"If you're an overseer, s.h.i.+ba-san, then we're going to fight Takas.h.i.+ and Kurumi?"

"And Yuki-chan. You're three too, so it matches perfectly."

"….."

Don't make Yuki fight--- Basara could no longer speak out that wish.

He looked at Yuki once more, but Yuki never met his eyes again.

"---Well, in one week then."

Saying so, s.h.i.+ba and the others turned their backs to them and left.

"Hee--- I knew they would come one day, but it's rather early for these obstinate elders."

After the chance meeting with Takas.h.i.+ and the others, Basara returned home and contacted Jin in his own room.

---Jin, the head of the Toujou Household, left the house and was infiltrating the demon realm.

He had said that he wanted to get in touch with someone, but Basara hadn't heard anything in detail. That Jin wouldn't tell him about it probably meant that it still wasn't the time for him to hear it.

Jin's cell phone had a special magic chip in it that allowed him to have a call like this, albeit depending on some conditions like time or place in the demon realm. And,

"But to think that the elders let Kyouichi out of the …"

Basara had told him the circ.u.mstances from start to end, whereas Jin said with an unusual serious tone.

"But s.h.i.+ba-san said he's only an overseer this time and won't fight."

"Well, they had to give him some kind of shackle outside the village, but… be careful."

"Yeah, I know…"

The aftermath of the tragedy five years ago. The reason it was suggested to throw Basara into prison right after his went out of control was because there had been a "Precedent Case".

Basara had been called a "Genius" by people, but the term to evaluate s.h.i.+ba Kyouichi was "Over talented".

His all too moody character in view of that superiority made him cause "problems" and as a result, he was confined to prison for various years.

To be honest--- They were quite lucky under the circu