Being with You in the Demon RealmPart 1Midnight came around, and Lucia appeared on time.
Jumping through s.p.a.ce and appearing before Basara and the rest—
“Thank you for waiting…is everyone ready?”
Her tone and liveliness were completely different from Maria’s – relatively cold.
“—We’re ready, please begin.”
Toujou Basara nodded his head and replied. For the past month, everyone had been preparing for this journey.
Other than Maria, they were all wearing their school uniform, including Kurumi who had changed into the uniform she had worn to attend Hijirigasaka Academy’s Sports Festival. Although Yuki and Kurumi had their Hero battle clothes, they decided not to wear clothes that could stimulate the Demons.
Because -- including Basara, their positions today are not Heroes -- but instead just purely Mio’s family and friends.
For their clothes and daily necessities, they had gone with packing for a short trip overseas. According to Maria, their clothes could be washed anywhere and their weapons could be summoned anytime, to there isn’t any personal concerns; both Yuki and Kurumi only needed to prepare the medicinal items needed for the Heroes.
Thus, Basara and Mio each packed a single luggage case, and Yuki and Kurumi two each, each and every one being of a different size; Maria has her own residence within the Demon Realm, so she didn’t pack anything.
“Alright, we will now depart.”
With that, a large magic circle appeared in the s.p.a.ce beside Lucia and slowly merged into the s.p.a.ce, turning into a pitch-black hole.
“My G.o.d…”
Kurumi became amazed.
Of course Kurumi would be amazed. Normally, humans needed to fulfil some conditions before they are able to proceed to the Demon Realm. The Demon Race are beings in a higher cla.s.s than Humans, and that the dimension the Demon Realm was higher than the dimension Humans are in; the principles in constructing a tunnel from a higher to lower dimension are complete different from that of from a lower to higher dimension.
One of the ways for to construct a tunnel was to make use of the overlapping between the Demon Realm and the Human Realm with its lessor numbers, to create s.p.a.ce instability in some places and the natural phenomena -- The 「Dimensional Boundary」. j.a.pan has some places where the Dimensional Boundary has occurred that are currently strictly controlled by the Hero [Village] – without their authorization, those like the exiled Basara and Mio who has Demon blood within her are not allowed to use it. Jin who had pretended to be going to Dubai when in truth going to the Demon Realm when Mio and the rest started living together had probably used a Dimensional Boundary overseas.
…My dad has got many connections after all.
Even if Jin has been blacklisted by the Heroes in j.a.pan, the Hero of the Great War is still very popular overseas, so finding a way to the Demon Realm wouldn’t be something difficult for him.
And right now, Lucia who is a pure Demon had just created a very stable Dimensional Boundary that even Humans like Basara can cross, showing a glimpse of her power to them.
…But since Lucia is the Right-Hand Man of the leader of the Moderates Faction, such power was to be expected.
Amongst the Heroes, there were some specialising in creating spells that manipulate s.p.a.ce, but Basara had never seen one that are as stable as the one before him right now. Of course, being able to construct barriers or manipulate s.p.a.ce does not equate to strong battle power. Just then—
“There’s nothing to be surprised about. Mio-sama has Demon blood, Basara uses a cursed sword, some of Kurumi’s contracted spirits relations to the Demon Realm; just by taking advantage of those demonic fluctuations, creating a Dimensional Boundary that you all can pa.s.s through isn’t that hard.”
Lucia said, as if seeing through why they were so surprised.
“…What about me? My [Sakuya] shouldn’t have any demonic fluctuations.”
“—Affirmative, Yuki’s spirit sword doesn’t contain any demonic fluctuations.”
Lucia slightly nodded in response to Yuki’s question.
“That’s why, I’ve used those demonic fluctuations within your body.”
“Within my body…?”
“The fluctuations from the Master-Servant Contract you had made with Basara. Yuki sis and Mio-sama are both linked to Basara with my demonic power.”
The intermediary Maria, explained to Yuki who was frowning from being unable to understand.
“So, it doesn’t really matter even if Mio-sama doesn’t have Demon blood; as for Kurumi, she recently has been through my succubus baptism a lot, so its fine even if she doesn’t have any demonic spirits, they all would be able to pa.s.s through one-sama’s Dimensional Boundary.”
“ ! …T-That was why you had done all those things?”
Upon seeing the red-faced Kurumi coyly [1] ask, Maria replied all smiles:
“You’re wrong. I was unable to hold back my succubus instincts, and vented my libido on you.”
“Y-You idiot! Why do I have to handle your libido!?”
“C-Calm down, Kurumi. If you start to Maria’s tone, you’ll fall into her trap.”
“ ! ….Big sis~”
Kurumi immediately plunged into Yuki’s arms after being warned by Mio, and Yuki began patting her head to placate her.
Yuki is showing such a happy face…such glaring big-sister’s-love radiance.
「…………」
Lucia quietly watched all this, her eyebrows not wrinkling even once. Even while standing still in a very natural way, she didn’t show any sign of any flaws or struggles, while maintaining the Dimensional Boundary. Her outer-appearances are similar to Maria’s adult form, and she could very well be a S-Cla.s.s expert.
“……Is anything wrong?”
Seeing Lucia sense Basara’s gaze, she replied [Nothing] and turned to Mio and the rest.
As if seeing what this meant, they became serious and stopped making a ruckus.
Toujou Basara thus said to the four of them:
「——Let’s go.」
They nodded -- and walked towards the Dimensional Boundary in a single file.
Part 2They were immediately enveloped by an abyss-like darkness, and they suddenly lost their orientation.
As if like they were in outer s.p.a.ce.
--However, that sensation was short-lived.
In the next moment -– they were all standing within an unfamiliar forest with the sweet smell of gra.s.s; as the wind blew, the rays of sunlight scattered on the ground also underwent some changes.
It’s just as Maria said, there was a time difference from j.a.pan.
“This place is—“
“--Oldora Forest.”
Lucia turned to face Basara, and answered his uncertainty. Just then—
“Oldora Forest…is this place?”
Kurumi asked while shrinking her body away, making Mio surprised.
“You know this place?”
“Yes. Although our knowledge of the terrain in the Demon Realm is limited – everyone will definitely know about Oldora Forest.”
For Basara, Yuki, and Kurumi, all of their knowledge of this place came from their elders who had partic.i.p.ated in the previous war. In the past, the Moderates Faction controlled majority of the Demon Realm, but then rapidly lost power and influence with the death of Wilbert, ending up in today’s state. Comparing from fifteen years ago during the war, the current power map must have already changed a lot. But the Moderates Faction probably never accounted for this forest, since after all—
“—This place is the forest closest to the Demon Lord Wilbert’s castle.”
This might have been a suitable place for Basara and the rest to land, having been invited by the Moderates Faction after all. However—
“Lucia-oneesama – why didn’t you directly bring us into Wildart City?”
Maria asked while frowning. The term Maria just said was also one that Basara and the other Heroes often heard – The city of the Demon Lord’s Capital back when Wilbert was still on the throne.
As the ones who were invited by the current leader of the Moderate Faction Ramusas and other high-cla.s.s Demons, it would usually be done as Maria said, sending them directly into the city to save trouble and simplify matters.
“From the viewpoint of crisis management, we have made the decision to try to avoid the areas near and within the city, to prevent any involvement and manipulation of a third party and be mistaken as an enemy invasion.”
“You might be right, but do remember that the Current Demon Lord Faction is also after Mio-sama’s life—“
“I am well aware of that, and that is why I had chosen Oldora Forest. This place is not far away from the city, it’s difficult to observe anything from outside, and it would be difficult for anyone in the surrounding areas to feel any Dimensional Linking.”
After Lucia replied without any change in her expression to the complaining Maria—
“Let us walk for a short distance, and there will be a horse carriage to bring us into the city – Please follow me.”
And proceeded to walk off in another direction into the forest.
“I’m sorry, everyone…”
Maria lowered her eyes while feeling bad, and Basara patted her shoulder and said:
“No need to say it like it’s your fault… I guess we better get moving then.”
“…Alright.”
Maria nodded, and Basara began following Lucia.
Much less a pavement, there wasn’t even an exposed path on the forest floor. Everyone walked in a single file slowly through the gra.s.s, and soon—
“Eh… When I had first about the Demon Realm, I had thought that it would be a dark and scary place; but in the end it was just as Maria said, it wasn’t much different from our world, and there’s even a sun… There’s so many different types of plants here, giving the forest so much fresh air, it just feels no different from the mountains in the countryside.”
Mio expressed her feelings to the view of the natural forest before her. As it’s their first visit, Basara consulted Maria on a few matters to gain some knowledge on things like cultures and customs; but upon seeing a view completely contrary to his expectations, everything felt fresh. It’s just—
“What fresh air… Really, you just don’t understand.”
“What do you mean, Kurumi?”
Behind her, Kurumi sighed, and Mio turned back to ask.
“You have Demon blood, so you might not have noticed… While the views and scenes within the forest are indeed beautiful, the concentration of demonic power within this place is completely shocking. With such strong demonic fluctuations, it really gives people of coming to the Demon Realm.”
Hearing Kurumi say tensely, Mio became surprised.
“Oh… Is it true, Basara?”
“Yes, the demonic concentration within this place are very strong. Remember Zolgear’s house? It’s similar to that.”
Such thick demonic concentrations will probably lower the immunity system of a normal human, but as ones who had underwent the training from the Heroes, that might not be too much of a problem. But as such strong demonic concentrations usually equates to a fairly powerful demon or evil spirit lurking around, they were unable to relax.
“Really…? In such a natural and beautiful place?”
Basara gave a bitter smile to Mio who muttered unbelievably, and turned his sight to another place.
“…Yuki, are you alright?”
“Ah, I’m fine.”
Beside Basara, Yuki nodded and replied, showing no hints of any stress within her expression.
…Probably because she’s the user of [Sakuya].
In short, the spirit sword can purify her body anytime, even weakening the demonic fluctuations from the Master-Servant Contract; it certainly is useful as a Hero, but it presents another problem in the Demon Realm. Being unable to use [Sakuya]’s original amount of power like within Zolgear’s mansion, the one most affected by the demonic concentration is undoubtedly Yuki.
Basara couldn’t see any abnormalities in Yuki right now. But before Yuki manages to get used to the demonic concentration, there would be a burden on her, so any repercussions appearing wouldn’t be strange at all.
“Yuki—“
Basara originally wanted to help Yuki carry one of the two luggage she was carrying, but instead retracted his words.
Yuki probably is already aware that the one most affected by the demonic concentrations in the Demon Realm will be her.
But yet she still agreed to go along with Basara and the rest. Basara’s worries, might be contempt in Yuki’s eyes.
“What is it, Basara?”
Replying, Yuki’s breaths became slightly faster.
“Nothing. It’s great if you’re alright – let’s go.”
Hearing Basara expressing trust and worry, Yuki became slightly surprised.
“…Oh.”
And happily smiled.
Just like that -- after following behind Lucia for a while, they saw an ancient-type wooden horse carriage with a window waiting for them in a more open area. The carriage would probably be able to easily fit more than ten people, and there were four black horses attached before it. However--
“T-The horses in the Demon Realm are very big…”
Mio said. The Human Realm had many horses like those used in agricultural activities, but they all pale into insignificance. The horses before them are at least three metres tall, its stature doesn’t seem heavy and seemed more like racing horses.
“No, these horses are especially different. Horses of this size are rare in the Demon Realm.”
Two maidservants then appeared at the front of the carriage, most likely to be Lucia’s subordinates. They approached them after opening the door, and said respectfully:
“Everybody, please enter the carriage, and leave your luggage to us.”
And then carried their luggage onto the goods rack at the trailing end of the carriage. Just then--
“Ah, no need, I’ll carry this myself.” “Me too, sorry to cause inconvenience to you.”
After handing over the luggage containing their clothes and sundry items, the other luggage contains their a.s.sist tools [2], which would naturally be better if they were to carry it themselves.
After the two of them entered the carriage, Lucia entered last, and a maidservant closed the carriage door. After ensuring they the maids had gotten onto the coachman’s seat and gripped the reins, she said:
“--Everyone, we will be departing now.”
At the same time, the horses attached to the carriage began to move forward slowly. Not long after leaving the open area, the horse carriage got onto a dirt path and began to gain speed. While observing the scenery pa.s.sing by the window, Basara asked:
“Um… How long will it approximately take to reach Wildart City?”
“--In terms of the units from your realm, it will be about an hour.”
Lucia answered without even looking at Basara from her position right at the edge of the seats.As they would all be under her care for the next hour, Basara had wanted to try to close the gap between them and her…but as her att.i.tude is that cold, everyone hesitated on whether they should speak or not.”
「……………………………」
The depressing silence went on and on. What could be heard in the interior of the carriage, was only the sounds of the wheels of the horse carriage rolling on the path.
“……Ah, everyone, please look to your left!”
Suddenly, Maria said as if wanting to dissolve the awkwardness within the carriage. When everyone turned towards the voice to the left -- the horse carriage left the forest, and wide and droad hills came into view; in the bottom right of the window is the view of the many many buildings of the city. Surrounding the city, is the outer wall that seemed to have been made by cutting from a large piece of rock.
“Wow…”
A very spectacular view it was. That is likely the previous Demon Lord’s royal capital -- Wildart.
“So the city with a castle at the centre of the urban is Wildart City?”
“Yes. That and the castle was governed by Mio-sama’s father, His Majesty Wilbert, and its governor right now is His Majesty Wilbert’s brother Ramusas-sama.”
“…………”
Listening to Maria’s explanation, Mio silently griped Basara’s hand while looking at the view through the window, and Basara held that cold and trembling hand.
As the scenery pa.s.sed by the window without stopping, they got closer and closer to that far-away castle.
Part 3After the horse carriage Basara and the rest were on followed around over half of the city’s wall, they finally arrived at the back entrance of the castle.
Mio was the spiritual leader of the Moderates Faction as Wilbert’s only daughter, and Basara and the others were Heroes. If they were to simply cross the urban district and be recognised, a large commotion would likely be created. Going around the urban district after entering the city was probably a good choice. After crossing the moat on the bridge let down, the horse carriage finally came to a stop. The door was then opened from the outside, and after Lucia alighted from the carriage--
“Mio-sama, and the other guests -- welcome to Wildart City.”
Lucia formally welcomed them with a serious bow, and the other maids also bowed. The main guest is Mio, while Basara and the rest were accompanying her, thus--
“Err… I am Naruse Mio, I’ll be under your care for the next few days.”
Originally planning to remain amongst her companions, Mio then stepped forward, unsure of how she should be acting, tentatively bowing first before saying that.
“……Well then, please come this way.”
Lucia said so, and the maids behind her bowed and went past them towards the horse carriage. They were probably going to get their luggage.
After handing their luggage over to them, Basara and the rest went into the city under the lead of Lucia. Even if they had entered through the back entrance, the ceiling was still pretty high, and the decorations were still very luxurious.
Much attention was undoubtedly given to the furnishings and lighting within the walkways and corridors, as they seem to tell many stories from the past. Of course, everything was spotless.
…As expected of the spiritual leader Wilbert’s Moderates Faction’s city.
The Royal Capital displays the prestige of the nation. Even though the Moderates Faction quickly lost power after Wilbert’s death, the urban areas were still very vibrant from what they could see from the horse carriage; probably because from the civilians’ viewpoint, this castle that symbolises the Moderates Faction preserves the vestiges of Wilbert when he was still alive for the sake of it.
Following Lucia, they crossed through the corridors filled with a solemn [3] atmosphere, and after a few turns -- they came before the door to the room at the end of a corridor.
“This is the room Mio-sama will be staying in during her visit here. The males’ room for Basara [4] is at another place, someone else will be coming later to show you the way.”
Opening the door after saying that, what they all saw behind the door turned Basara and the other speechless for a while. Not because it was stunning -- the truth was the opposite.
Opening the door after saying that, what they all saw behind the door turned Basara and the other speechless for a while. Not because it was stunning -- the truth was the opposite. The high and wide s.p.a.ces and high-cla.s.s furnishings that created a luxurious feel, are all completely absent in this room; the room only contained a plain bed, sofa, table, and otherbasic necessities of the lowest grade. After entering the room, it seems that the lighting is also poor, making the place fairly dim. Seeing a room like that--
“…From the furnishings seen on the way here and the decorations of the other rooms, this just isn’t a guest’s room but a warehouse for piling excess furniture. I’m fine with it, but is this really the room for the only daughter of the previous demon lord?”
Kurumi asked coldly.
“Ramusas-sama wanted you to use the rooms on this side.”
Lucia indifferently answered, not minding Kurumi’s gaze at all.
…I see, the same old trick.
Basara had heard from Takigawa that Ramusas held no goodwill to Mio. There were ill-will between each royal family members held over seizing power, just like from a long time ago in the Human Realm -- from all indications, there was no need to antic.i.p.ate the reunion between the so-called niece and uncle.
“…………”
Mio lowered her eyes, unable to hide the sorrow from showing up in her eyes. She was originally looking forward to coming to the Demon Realm, hoping to experience some warmth from her blood relatives, but yet now she is receiving the cold shoulder.
…Since it’s become like this.
There is no need for her to remain here for long. After thanking the maidservants who arrived to deliver their luggage, Basara then turned to Lucia--
“I understand… Since that is the case, we’ll go along with the flow for now. Right now, can we ask for you to bring us to meet with Ramusas-sama? We all have our own lives to live, and we hope to return as soon as possible.”
And said so very seriously. Only to see shake her head and reply:
“I’m very sorry. Ramusas-sama is currently out on business and is not in the city. He will be meeting you all tomorrow.”
“Not in the city? Wasn’t he the one who invited us here?”
Yuki asked with an eyebrow raised.
“Affirmative. If you had come when I had visited you, there would have been no problems at all with Ramusas-sama’s schedule. However, just like every one of you have your own lives to live, we also have our issues to settle. Especially now where it can be considered that we Moderates Faction is at war with the leader of the Current Demon Lord Faction Leohart.”
Lucia then continued:
“As the representative leader of the Moderates Faction, Ramusas-sama is very busy with his usual office work, and coincidentally today he had matters where he could not be absent from. We had complied with you delaying your journey by a month, so can you not wait for just a single day?”
“”………………””
Since Lucia had said it that way, Basara and the rest could find no words to refute that at all.
“…Then why didn’t you just wait until tomorrow to bring us here?”
In the end, Kurumi was only able to muster a complaint quietly.
“Thank you all for your kind understanding. Well then--“
As Lucia said that, someone knocked on the door and entered the room.
“…Please have some tea.”
That was a beautiful brown-skinned maidservant. The girl pushing a metal cart loaded with a tea set was one that Basara and the rest recognised. Thus, Basara couldn’t help but to say her name.
“Zest…!”
[h.e.l.lo.] Zest nodded at Basara, and then said:
“It’s been a long time since I last saw you, Toujou Basara -- no, Basara. [5]
Seeing her, Kurumi then leaned over to Yuki’s ear and asked:
“….So she is that Zest?” “Yes, she was previously Zolgear’s subordinate.”
Yuki answered Kurumi who had never met with Zest.
“You seem well… This is great.”
“Yes. Thanks to your care, Zest is very grateful to you.”
Towards the expression Zest showed when Basara expressed his relief, he was somewhat surprised. Because Zest faintly smiled. Seeing her smile for the first time--
…She can already smile…
Basara lamented. After defeating Zolgear -- the Toujou household temporarily took in Zest, until the one sent by the Moderates Faction brought her back to the Demon Realm, having agreed to find a place for her. Back then until when Zest was almost killed by Zolgear who had deemed her to be a burden, her expression was always icily inorganic. When if she received protection as a witness, there were some uneasiness in handing over Zest who was of the Current Demon Lord Faction over to the Moderates Faction; so considering Zest’s power and the possibility that she might escape from the Demon Realm, Basara had told her that she can return any time before she had left. On their way here and until they were brought to this room, there were still worries on whether did Zest receive any ill-treatment -- seeing that it was all himself over thinking, it was all great. However--
“……!”
Toujou Basara line of sight was drawn to another change in Zest, and he gulped.
--In Basara’s mind, Zest was a female with an extremely good body figure. It’s only been two months since they had defeated Zolgear and handed Zest over to the Moderates Faction, but yet Zest’s b.r.e.a.s.t.s had definitely gotten bigger. Not only Basara, this shock surpa.s.sed that of this sudden reunion in Mio and Yuki, causing them to stare at her in disbelief.
“………Ah.”
Seemingly having noticed their gazes on her, Zest gently twisted her body shyly red-faced. Even then, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s with a shocking amount of volume sensationally shook left and right.
“S-Sorry…!”
Basara hurriedly averted his eyes, and Zest shook her head and said [It’s fine].
“It’s not surprising that you’ll be surprised… Even I did not expect that my body would become like this. According to the doctors -- this change is due to the release from my previously repressed state, not due to something like an illness, so there is no need for any worry.”
“…--I see.”
Hearing Zest say that, Basara answered in a low voice.
Ever since they gained victory from Zolgear, even Zest along with Maria and Sheera had escaped from Zolgear’s control. Since this was the result, rather than saying [change], it would be more appropriate to call it returning to the rightful original appearance. Just then--
“Zest will be responsible for Basara’s[6] daily life while you are here, so please do not hesitate to call for her if you ever need anything. Zest -- you will be bringing Basara[7] to his room later.”
“--Understood, Lucia-sama.”
Seeing Zest bowing on receiving her order, Lucia said [Good.] and continued:
“You’re all probably become tired on your way here. There’s still some time before dinner, so please get some rest in this room. You’ll be notified when your meals are ready. I’ll be taking my leave now.”
And Lucia turned to leave after taking a bow -- but then stopped before the door and turned back to say:
“Maria -- remember to come to my room after drinking your tea, and give me a detailed report on all of your actions over there.”
“…….Alright, understood, Lucia-oneesama.”
After Maria nodded, only then did Lucia leave the room for real.
Getting some rest in this room before having dinner, actually has the same meaning as [do not leave this room].
As lamenting wouldn’t change anything, Basara and the rest then tentatively chose to drink the tea Zest had prepared for them. After sitting down on the sofa around the large table in the center of the room, Zest placed tea cups before them and raised the white porcelain teapot to pour tea into Basara’s cup first. Basara then raised his cup to have a taste.
“Ah… The aroma and taste is very similar to the red tea we usually have.”
The tea in Demon Realm very different, so considering that this is everyone first time here, I tried to choose a tea that has a taste very similar to the ones in the Human Realm… Is it to everyone’s tastes?”
“Yes, it’s very good… Thank you, Zest.”
“…Is that so, that’s great.”
Zest slightly smiled happily.
“You two seem to be very chummy… I haven’t drank any tea yet but why is it that I am getting heated up?” [8]
Mio said while shooting daggers with her eyes while looking at Basara and Zest talking.
“I’m sorry… I didn’t have that intention…”
Zest said with a pained expression, and poured tea into Mio’s cup.
Later -- the atmosphere in the room became tense. Mio’s adoptive parents who she had believed to be her real parents, were killed by the high-cla.s.s demon Zolgear -- and Zest was his subordinate.
Of course, Zest was only following orders from her master Zolgear, and was unrelated to the death of Mio’s adoptive parents; but emotions wasn’t something that could be delineated [9] , and it was for that reason that Basara had left Zest to the Moderates Faction. Even if Mio had given up on killing her sworn enemy Zolgear, immediately making her live together with the subordinate of her sworn enemy was just too cruel to her. It was for those reasons that Mio had practically not said anything to Zest when she stayed in the Toujou Residences temporarily, and Basara had left Mio as she is.
However -- when Zest stepped back after pouring Mio’s tea, Mio raised her tea cup and said:
“Really… For me to be worried that you would be abused, it was all for nought.”
Those words bringing a hint of snorting, caused everyone to be surprised, especially Zest who had become frozen. However, that couldn’t be helped.
“Eh -- W-Why…?”
Realising that everyone was now looking at her, she frowned in confusion. Most likely, she hadn’t realised -- what the words she just said really meant. Those words she had just said so easily, probably unloaded much of what’s on Zest’s heart. Seeing Mio become like this, it seemed very cute in Basara’s eyes, hence he brought his hand to pat Mio’s head.
“Oi, what are you doing, Basara -- why are you suddenly acting like that?”
“Nothing, it’s for no reason. I only suddenly felt the urge to do this.”
Basara said to the puzzled Mio who made no actions to stop him.
Yuki, Maria, and kurumi smiled bitterly, and Zest quietly held back her tears. The tense atmosphere disappearing, warmth filled the s.p.a.ce within the room.
Part 4While having tea, everyone talked about what they should be doing for their future.
Regretfully, it appears that they were not very welcome here, and all unanimously agreed that they should all return to the Human Realm as soon as possible after finishing what they needed to do. But right now, Mio was unable to decide whether she should hand over Wilbert’s power, and she only know that she can’t make a decision she would regret. Speaking of which, there were people like Ramusas who wanted Mio to hand over Wilbert’s power, as well as people who wanted to crown Mio as the new Demon Lord within the Moderates Faction; even though Mio had no intention of ever becoming a Demon Lord, she has to carefully listen to the views of both side and make an informed final judgement. As Ramusas is not in this city right now, they could only ask Ramusas to explain and clarify the consideration of both sides of the Moderates Faction. After discussing for quite a while--
“The report Lucia mentioned about… Is it referring to what happened when you were threatened by Zolgear?”
Basara impulsively turned towards Maria and asked something that caught his attention.
“That’s right… Even if it was my mother that was taken as a hostage, my actions would not be pardoned at all because of that.”
Maria showed a self-deprecating smile when answering Basara’s question.
“Speaking of which, I didn’t expect to find a cold-blooded woman much icier than my older sister. Why are you sisters so different…?”
“…Kurumi, what do you mean by that? Your older sister will not get angry, so please tell me.”
Kurumi’s words caused Yuki to become oppressive, pressing closer towards Kurumi with every single word.
“N-Nothing! W-What I wanted to say is, your coldness wouldn’t cause discomfort to anyone, but Lucia’s coldness will cause--“
As Kurumi frantically tried to explain--
“So you mean… [I’m very very sorry]?”
A sighing voice suddenly sounded out from within the room.
“----?”
At the same time, Toujou Basara felt a weight suddenly appearing on his thighs. Lowering his sights, a small young-looking succubus was already sitting on his thighs. Seeing the girl which seemed even younger than Maria--
“Ah--!”
The others also then noticed the presence of that small succubus and became shocked. Then--
“M-Mama?!”
When Maria exclaimed with surprise, the small succubus -- Sheera let out a wry smile and said:
“Arara~, why did you exclaim, Maria~? Are you that happy from seeing your beloved mother~?”
“Not that… I was only just shocked, seeing you suddenly appear from out of nowhere.”
But Sheera ignored Maria’s retort, and tilted her head back to face Basara and said:
“Sorry, little Basara… [10] Aunty also wants to apologise to Mio[11] and everyone else. Our Lucia seemed to have shown everyone some disrespect.”
The loli-succubus mother then giggled after saying that.
“I-It’s fine… It’s been quite a while since we last saw you, Sheera [12]. You seem just as lively as ever.”
The first time Basara saw Sheera was when she appeared before Maria who had lost all hope thinking that she had been killed. She probably cracked a joke sensing that the situation was progressing down the wrong direction. Sheera was also fairly serious when she apologised -- but her personality is even livelier and more mischievous than Maria. Before the emissary [13] from the Moderates arrived at their house, both Sheera and Zest had stayed in the Toujou Household, and those days were especially lively and noisy, they had almost died from being played around in Sheera’s hands.
…but then again,
Although Basara had only said his greetings at their reunion just now, he is right now especially anxious. Before Sheera had said anything, he had not sensed anyone sitting on his thighs, much less anyone entering the room. Of course, drinking some more tea might have made him relax a bit, but he had never once put down his guard. It appears that as Maria’s mother, Sheera was definitely no pushover. Just as everyone was becoming scared of Sheera’s unpredictability, unable to say anything--
“Really, just from who did she inherit her coldness from…?”
Sheera said while supporting her face with her hand:
“Lucia is indeed very serious person with a very strong sense of responsibility… But it further intensified after becoming Ramusas’s aide~.”
From her speech patterns, one can probably take a glimpse into what level the position she held within the Moderates Faction was.
Since Sheera had called the previous Demon Lord’s brother, the current leader of the Moderates Faction Ramusas without adding any honorifics, and even called Wilbert’s only daughter [little sister]. The reason why the emissary from the Moderates Faction had backed down in the past from Sheera’s smile when she had demanded for Maria who had a.s.sisted Zolgear to go with her was likely also for the same reason.
“She is indeed very careful and hardworking… But that personality of hers~~. The fear within Lucia’s subordinate’s hearts must be pretty abundant.”
“I see… The Zest must have had a pretty hard time as a junior.”
After listening to Sheera, Basara then expressed concern for Zest who was standing by the wall, and--
“…Not really, because I am not one of Lucia’s subordinates.”
“Is it so? Then just now Lucia asking you to look after me was…”
“Lucia-sama was only repeating the task that was pre-allocated to me.”
“ ? Then who was the one who ordered you to look after me--“
Just as Basara raised another question in response to Zest’s reply--
“Ara~, that would of course be me, little Basara~.”
The reply came not from Zest, but from his thighs.
“So Sheera is Zest’s…?”
“That’s right~. I felt it would be better if someone who had been working under Zolgear were to not immediately work under Lucia. Of course, Lucia didn’t give her special treatment just because of her origins… it would just be a little too much for her little sisters under her to separate work and personal matters just like Lucia; needless to say, asking Zest[14] to a.s.similate into them is also the same. So the best course of action, was to let me who knew what had happened to take care of her~.”
Behind them, Zest lowered her eyes and then said:
“I really don’t know how I should give my grat.i.tude to Sheera-sama… In my work as a maidservant, I am still lacking in many areas; it’s all thanks to the fact that I’m under Sheera-sama, that I’m able to continue working here until now.”
“Ah~, no need to worry about it. About the matter on you and Zolgear, I also have some stuff that I need to think about.”
“I see…”
Toujou Basara expressed his understanding of the situation. For Zest to be able to smile while working under Lucia, it had very much surprised him -- and it turned out to be his misunderstanding. The reason Zest was able to smile, was because Sheera had taken Zest in as her subordinate after considering her circ.u.mstances. That why--
“…I’m really thankful to you, Sheera.”
Basara lowered his head towards Sheera who sat on his thighs and expressed his thanks. Sheera did understand Zest’s circ.u.mstances and position in that incident, but there was also the thing about becoming Zolgear’s hostage. Normally speaking, she had no responsibility to be taking care of Zolgear’s subordinate, thus--
“Don’t worry about it. You all had always been taking care of Maria, and had even fought with your lives because of me… See it as my compensation to you.”
Sheera bitterly smile and said. Just then, Maria finished her tea in a single breath--
“--Now then, I guess it is time for me to make my atonement.”
After saying that calmly, Maria then got up from the sofa.”
“It’ll be fine. Would you like me to come along with you?”
“No need, Mio-sama. These things need to be accounted by me alone… I will report every single thing that I have done, and let myself be scolded by Lucia-oneesama.”
Maria shook her head at Mio who was worried about her--
“Everyone please continue resting -- I will be back quickly.”
And after saying that with a smile, Maria left the room with heavy steps.
Part 5After leaving the room, Naruse Maria lowered her head and sighed, then--
“------“
Taking off her smile, her expression became frozen. Taking slow steps, Maria then walked slowly towards Lucia’s office. Within the s.p.a.cious Wildart City -- Maria crossed the walkways alone.
--Maria had pa.s.sed countless ministers and maids, but she chose to not talk to them. All along the way, her sight remained fixated on the floor.
…It’ll be fine.
Maria was not worried about herself -- but rather, Basara, Mio, and the others. With the help from the Master-Servant Contract, Basara, Mio, and Yuki’s battle potential had underwent enhancements multiple times. With Kurumi adding to that, Zest also joined in now that they have come here.
Compared with Maria who could temporarily raise her battle potential by changing to her adult form, Zest already would usually have power similar to that of a high-cla.s.s demon. Zest was different from Maria who is only good at housework, having gone through the training for a maid and is able to provide Basara and the others with powers and help of a level similar to them.
…It’ll all be fine.
While walking slowing with her head lowered, Maria made a slight smile at the confidence within her heart. Soon -- Maria stopped. Raising her head, a door to a room was before her.
“…………”
Tightly clenching her right fist, Maria knocked on the door twice, and said:
“--Lucia-oneesama, Maria is here.”
From behind the door came a light…yet clear voice--
[…Is it enough?]
And raised a question to Maria. To which Maria nodded and said:
“Yes… That would be enough, thank you for letting me have some time.”
A few seconds later--
[I see -- then please come in.]
The icy cold voice that sent chills through one’s spine came through the door -- and the thick wooden door began to open by itself.
Part 6After the demise of Wilbert, the crowning of the new Demon Lord Leohart created a new force in the Demon Realm. And that -- is the merging of the Radicals and Conservative Factions to become a single Current Demon Lord Faction.
However -- the power of making the decisions in the highest levels of the Current Demon Lord Faction, was not held by Leohart.
Because of the existence of those high-cla.s.s Demons whose age was already uncountable.
The Council, the group that had elected Leohart to be the new Demon Lord, was made up of the seven deadly sins [15]-- that is 「l.u.s.t」「Gluttony」「Greed」「Sloth」「Wrath」「Envy」 and 「Pride」, symbolising the seven seats within the organisation. Right now--
“--It really was unexpected, for Zolgear to have died like that.”
“That’s right. Once I think about his playground that I can never go to again; I can’t help but to feel regret over it.”
“What’s the problem with that… He’s not the only one who can open a playground, so there wouldn’t be any problems if someone were to succeed him, right? If we were to lose the banquet and women just like that, it’ll be just way too wasteful.”
Those Demons, are currently within the Royal capital of the Current Demon Lord Faction -- in the lowest floors of the city, the high-cla.s.s conference room for the Cabinet that few knew about[16]. They were all sitting around the round table in the center of the room, casually chatting before the starting of the a.s.sembly, with the topic being about -- the death of the one who sat on the seat of 「l.u.s.t」, Zolgear.
“Speaking of which, Zolgear just had to die when his suspension was being looked into… His suspension was for planning to make a move against Wilbert’s only daughter, was it retribution?”
“You mean being cursed by Wilbert? Stop cracking jokes… What I think is, he probably caused his own death from playing around too much, since he spends most of his day playing around with those masterpieces of his.”
[Seems logical] As almost everyone began to smile--
“…………”
A certain someone had their eyes shut, remaining silent since the beginning. Sitting separate from the seven deadly sins, the young demon sitting in the eighth ranked seat -- with lean brows, that is the Current Demon Lord Leohart.
He listened to the endless chatting revolving around the death of Zolgear--
…A bunch of l.u.s.tful old thieves.
He very much despised them. For him to not say out his thoughts, he had his reasons.
--Right now, Cardinal holds authority equal to or more than Demon Lord Leohart.
Rhetorically on the surface, it was to prevent the over-concentration of power. Cardinal is not only the advisory body for the Demon Lord, if they determine that the Current Demon Lord is abusing the power, they have the power to remove someone from the throne. However -- in truth, that is not really the case.
Leohart’s track record might have been outstanding during the previous war, but him being able to sit on the throne was purely because to Cardinal, he was the best and most useful tool.
On one side, by pushing for the young Leohart for the throne of the Demon Lord, they are able to display the a.s.similating of the younger generation into the political core, attracting even more support for them; on another side, they will be able to exert political influence through Leohart who they had supported. Even if the power of a single member of Cardinal is below that of Leohart, they are able to instantly strip him of his throne should he ever oppose them.
So in truth, the political core has never a.s.similated the younger generation into it at all, instead reverting to the political system that of before Wilbert came onto the throne. So currently, if Leohart wants to preserve his position as the Demon Lord, he needs to be of use to Cardinal.
But at best, that was only enough to maintain status quo.
…Just you wait.
Demon Lord Leohart slowly opened his eyes, and gazed upon the members of Cardinal with eyes filled with enmity, and secretly vowed.
…I will definitely personally eliminate you, the leeches of the Demon Realm, thoroughly.
Leohart will not be willing to play as Cardinal’s puppet forever. For constructing a new order within the Demon Realm, peacefully suppressing the Moderates Faction and other opposing forces is of utmost importance -- but critically, he will have to eradicate the old vermin before his eyes first. Of course, having lived for a very long time in the Demon Realm, their influence is immense and immeasurable; if he were to make any missteps, he himself will be sentenced to death. Still, Leohart’s determination did not waver even one bit. Thus--
…Firstly.
Leohart looked towards an empty seat at the table, but it was not Zolgear’s seat representing 「l.u.s.t」. Including Leohart’s seat, only six out of the eight seats were filled.
That’s right -- there is still a person who still has not arrived.
--And just then, the coa.r.s.e thick door to the conference room suddenly began to slowly open, and then--
“I’m sorry everyone, for being late…”
A high-cla.s.s demon with a deep voice entered the room, and sat down at the seat for the highest ranked amongst the seven deadly sins. Belonging to the president of the unified management of Cardinal -- Archduke Belphegor.
“What was wrong, Archduke Belphegor? You came especially late today.”
A member of Cardianl asked Archduke Belphegor who has appeared long after the set time.
“Ah… I had lost track of time while settling the matter about Zolgear.”
Belphegor gave a dark smile while replying.
“Didn’t we agree some time ago that before we decide on his successor, I will be filling in the seat for the seat of 『l.u.s.t』? I hold no interest at all to his research and property…but that playground of his is another matter, it’ll be a pity to lose it. And so I was thinking, that I should take over the management of that place.”
Those words made another member of Cardinal smile.
“Hoho… That’s great. Handing over that place to Belphegor-sama is indeed proper, and now I no longer have to worry about finding a place to play.”
Representing [Sloth], Belphegor is currently the oldest living demon in existence and held a seat ranked higher than Zolgear. It has been said that his harem in the city is made up of as many as four.
However, the president of Cardinal will naturally be no pushovers. Standing at the pinnacle of the Current Demon Lord Faction, Belphegor is himself symbolises the Ancient Times.
“I’m really sorry for making His Majesty wait for these old bones… I’ve been busy turning those women into my property one by one, so my sense of time is not really that good.”
Hearing Belphegor say so without any heavy breathing or redness in his face at all--
“…Liveliness is a good thing to have, Belphegor.”
Leohart replied in a heavy tone. Compared to Wilbert’s power inherited by Mio or the leader of the Moderates Faction Ramusas, Leohart wanted to eliminate Belphegor much more. Thus, he must never let him realise the killing intent that exists within him at all.
After that, with a [Well then, everyone], Belphegor announced:
“We shall begin today’s meeting now -- first up, the topic will be about the conditions of the remains of the spirits excavated not too long ago in the Western regions.”
Part 7In this heavy atmosphere, a pair of succubus sisters were looking at each other.
Naruse Maria and the older sister Lucia.
Maria had come to Lucia’s office to report about the events of her being coerced [17] by Zolgear and the events related to that before and after it.
Although Maria had successfully rescued Mio from the high-cla.s.s demon Zolgear’s palm, her mother Sheera was instead taken hostage and had to provide her a.s.sistance through threats. Maria had originally desperately complied with Lucia’s orders to ignore Zolgear’s threats and put Mio’s protection as a higher priority; but she instead sunk deeper due to a misstep and obeyed Zolgear -- fooling Mio and the rest and pulling them into even more danger. That was roughly the report Maria gave, reporting each and every crime she had made.
And right now -- the heavy atmosphere of the room was created from waiting for Lucia to say something after Maria had finished her report. In the atmosphere that made people hold their breaths in antic.i.p.ation, Maria made no movements at all, and in the end--
“--Is that really all?”
Lucia spitted out in an extremely cold voice. After that--
“Maria… I am very well aware of your love for mother, and I’m not blaming you for that. I am able to somehow understand your feelings when you found out the news of okaa-sama being taken hostage and how you felt when you made your moves after that.”
“……I understand that.”
Maria quietly nodded.
“It’s been hard on you, Maria… You must’ve been through a lot of pain, and your heart must be in a mess now. You are a very kind child, and I believe that betraying Mio-sama and Basara’s trust in you to help the sc.u.m holding okaa-sama hostage must have brought unbelievable pain.”
And Lucia followed up with some kind words -- using not a warm tone, but one that could instantly freeze boiling water.
Thus, Naruse Maria then wordlessly raised her sight.
“------”
And looked into the Lucia’s eyes -- who sat on a chair opposite her behind the office table.
Her older sister’s eyes were as Maria expected, cold enough to send chills through her, and as for her expression -- it held even more oppressive pressure than Basara, causing Maria to gulp.
“However -- even then, what you should have been doing back then was to carry out your mission of protecting Mio-sama, not worrying over the safety of okaa-sama, much less defecting to help Zolgear. It’s just -- I had thought that you were not that foolish, so why were you?”
Lucia then asked again:
“If you were the kind of person that would make this kind of mistake, I would’ve already opposed you becoming Mio-sama’s guardian in the nomination stage, as Ramusas would. However, why did you do something so foolish where you even betrayed those close to you?”
“……”
To Lucia’s question, Maria already had an answer within her heart, but was unable to voice it out. Because she was didn’t want to believe that was the truth -- much less say that it was. However--
”Tell me, Maria -- just how did Zolgear even manage to delude you?”
Yet Lucia pressed her again. Her shrewd older sister before her is not someone who you can make it past by stalling with silence or with lies.
…Additionally.
If Maria remained silent, then it wouldn’t end with just Maria’s punishment. Either Sheera or Lucia may be viewed as the reason for Maria’s crimes. And for not stopping Maria, they might be investigated -- something that must not happen no matter what.
The two of them are family that Maria is proud id. The reason Maria committed those crimes, is because her power is insufficient -- there was definitely no responsibility on Lucia or Sheera. Thus--
“……He told me, about something.”
Maria decided to give up resisting and reveal the truth, and spitted it out:
“The reason Mama lost power and turned like that -- was because she gave birth to me.”
“------”
Lucia then stuttered with a shaking voice, slightly widening her eyes.
…I see, it really is the case…
Lucia now understood. Maria has a very soft heart, but her sense of responsibility is very strong. So even if the circ.u.mstances caused conflict within her heart, and that was why Lucia had deeply believed Maria would never go as low as helping Zolgear.
…I see.
In the s.p.a.ce out of Maria’s sight under the table, Lucia clenched her fist.
Trying to suppress the boiling rage without making any movements.
--What Zolgear told Maria, is indeed the truth.
Lucia and Maria’s mother Sheera was the first amongst the succubus race to become a high-cla.s.s demon, someone who was a well-known figure in the Demon Realm. In the past, Sheera possessed a lot of power, and rumours say that she was a close ally to the strongest Demon Lord Wilbert.
However -- that Sheera one day, for one reason, lost over half of her power.
That, was giving birth to Maria. Everything was fine when Sheera gave birth to Lucia, yet she lost over half her power when she gave birth to Maria -- even becoming unable to even maintain her own original outer appearance, and a.s.sumed an appearance even younger than the Maria right now.
However -- everyone else including Lucia were always very careful, not letting Maria find out about it.
The moment she finds out her own birth caused her cute Mother to lose her power and beauty, a heavy blow will undoubtedly be dealt to that child’s heart. As Sheera was someone very special to her, the aftereffects will definitely be very severe.
So as to not let Maria feel any guilt or trauma about her own existence, Sheera and Lucia teamed up with the people around them, protecting Maria from ‘’that’’ together -- by hiding its existence.
It would be impossible to hide the fact that Sheera lost her power, but it might be possible to cut all connections of that to Maria. Thus, everyone lied to Maria that Sheera had lost her powers before having Maria, and spent all efforts on supporting this cover-up. Amongst the people in the Moderates Faction that Sheera was close with, there were quite a number who knew the truth due to being present during childbirth and other reasons, and they felt regret and sympathy over the blow from losing that overwhelming power. Both Lucia and Sheera had went around asking people to not leak out the truth, to the point where Wilbert had even agreed to persuade people to protect the secret. With the cooperation of so many people, they managed to hide the cruel truth from Maria and let her grow up uneventfully.
…But he dared to…!
Lucia is already furious to the point where she was already gritting her teeth. Though she didn’t know where and how did Zolgear of the Current Demon Lord Fation got that info where only a small fraction of the people in the Moderates Faction knew -- for him to be still harming people even after his death, he is lowest and dirtiest sc.u.m. What Lucia wanted the most was to personally end his life, but from the looks of his psionic response suddenly disappearing when tracking him, he’s probably already dead.
“……”
While the frustrated Lucia tried to suppress her rage--
“……I’m sorry, Lucia-oneesama…”
Maria seemed to take Lucia’s silence as anger directed at her, and lowered her head and said:
“The mama onee-sama respected the most, was s.n.a.t.c.hed away by me…”
“That--“
Hearing Maria say monotonously, Lucia wanted to try to stop Maria train of thought. Perhaps, Maria thought Lucia’s strict att.i.tude was the result of her causing Sheera to lose her power. Or maybe she thought that that was her responsibility, and thus went down the wrong path of wanting to save Sheera alone. But--
…That’s not it.
The reason Lucia had been strict with Maria was that as the aide of the current leader of the Moderates Faction Ramusas, her responsibilities are now completely different from her previous post. Having to order her subordinates around and make judgements from time to time, she of course had to be partial and show no favouritism; even when her own little sister became her own subordinate, she must still stick to her princ.i.p.als.
And also, the responsibility of Sheera losing her powers didn’t fall squarely on Maria’s shoulders. Sheera had decided to have children despite knowing that there was that risk, and Lucia and even supported her mother’s decision; and Maria had not disappointed them, being born healthily.
Thus, Lucia very much wanted to say「You’re wrong」「It’s not like that」. You -- the succubus named Maria, had been born with blessings from many people.
However -- Lucia was unable to say it out loud.
Right now, she is not Maria’s older sister, but still Ramusas’s aide. She still had to hand down the punishment to her subordinate who had done wrong, and carry it out as soon as possible. Hence--
“…I now fully understand your reasons for your betrayal.”
Lucia stood up, putting aside her feelings as a family member -- as an older sister, and then frankly said with the expression and tone that of Ramusas’s aide:
“But even then -- your mission is to protect Mio-sama, and putting aside any personal reasons, being swayed by personal emotions and putting your protection target into danger is definitely not allowed.”
Lucia began walking slowly towards Maria, and continued:
“As for your err, Ramusas-sama had given me full authority -- are you ready?”
“…Yes.”
Maria nodded slightly and replied.
Thus -- Lucia materialised her weapon in her right hand, a whip specially made from the leather of the magical creature Behemoth. Standing before Maria while looking at her own little sister with cold eyes, Lucia slowly raised her right hand holding the whip--
“--Could you be more lenient?”
A voice suddenly came from beside them to stop Lucia.
“ ! --Basara!”
Maria’s shocked voice sounded out, naming the one who was leaning against the wall to the right of them.
“……How did you come in here?”
In contrast to the shocked Maria, Lucia only frowned and asked.
“Just now… Sheera suddenly appeared in the room you brought us to.”
Basara began explaining:
“When I asked her how did she suddenly appear on my thighs, I found out that it was just one of her usual pranks -- through one of the magical s.p.a.ce connecting tunnels made everywhere in case of an emergency. Thus I guessed that there should be one in your office too, and asked her to let me use it. As Maria seemed to be taking very long, I became worried.”
Basara looked at Lucia eyes, his eyes filled with coldness that seemed different from Lucia’s.
…I see, so this is…
According to past reports, Lucia somewhat understood Basara’s personality to a certain extent.
This former Hero teen while having a very warm and kind side, has a very cold side to him as well. Even when he was critically injured by Lars, he was still able to see his true side, and joined hands in the shadows.
Later, he had joined up with Lars to trick Zolgear and successfully managed to rescue the kidnapped Mio and Sheera -- even managing to defeat Zolgear. The first time Lucia met him was about a month ago when she had visited to invite them, and bringing them over to the Demon Realm will be her second time meeting him. As Lucia had only seen images of Basara, she has had some doubts about his other side, but now she can see that it was real.
……Speaking of which… Really, Mother?
Having closed the door properly, Lucia was temporarily unable to figure out how did Basara enter the room, but he had actually unexpectedly used Sheera’s s.p.a.ce tunnels. W