Editing Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume16 Chapter6 (section)

===Part 2===

&mdash;Thus it came to be.

Although Kamito had agreed to play the role of the Demon King&mdash;

"Kamito-kun, do your best at playing the Demon King."

"Since you act like a real Demon King every now and then, surely it will be fine."

"Hmm, I think all you need to do is behave as usual."

"Just act natural, Kamito."

"...What the heck does that mean?"

Carrying the Demon King outfit in his arms, Kamito narrowed his eyes and retorted.

...Looking at the creepy skull mask, thoughts of regret were surging in his heart, though a little too late.

To Claire and the girls who were acting like they were uninvolved, Rubia said:

"Do not jump to the conclusion that this has nothing to do with you. I have prepared roles for you all."

"...Huh?"

Claire and the girls instantly froze, looking at one another.

"...U-Us too?"

"Indeed. You four will play the Demon King's concubines."

Hearing Rubia's sudden words&mdash;

"Ehhhhhhhhhh!"

Claire and the girls cried out.

"Rubia-sama, w-what do you mean by that?"

"According to legends, Demon King Solomon was served by numerous concubines. With the four of you present, the Demon King's resurrection would become more convincing, of course."

Rubia replied to Fianna's question without any change in expression.

...Indeed, Kamito had seen a history book from Rubia's study which recorded how Demon King Solomon was served by a huge number of concubines, even including illustrations of all kinds of unmentionable poses.

Perhaps recalling the book she had seen in the flying ship, Claire's face went red instantly.

"Wait, isn't that clearly unacceptable!?"

Kamito hastily objected. These were noble young ladies with plenty of self-respect. Even if playing a role, asking them to act as the Demon King's concubines would be totally unacceptable&mdash;

"N-No helping it..." "No other way." "Hmm, indeed, the Demon King's concubines are necessary roles." "Yes, authenticity is very important."

...Huh? Why does it feel like all of them were fairly motivated...

Rubia nodded briefly then said:

"There are four outfits, already prepared in each of your respective rooms. Go get changed."

"H-Hey..."

Despite Kamito's objections, Claire and the girls were completely compliant.

At this moment, a light cough was heard from a corner of the room.

Kamito looked, only to see Velsaria's ice-blue eyes glaring coldly at Rubia.

"What is the matter, Velsaria Eva?"

''Yes'', Kamito raised his hopes.

Given Velsaria's straitlaced personality, surely she would object.

However, what she said turned out to be&mdash;

"Uh, are my services not required...?"

Unexpected words.

"What, Velsaria!?"

Kamito could not help but exclaim.

...Indeed, what Rubia had said just now was "you four."

In other words, the Demon King's concubines did not include Muir or Velsaria.

Was there some kind of age restriction&mdash;

"Velsaria Eva, do you wish to become the Demon King's concubine too?"

"...O-Of course not!"

Hearing Rubia's question, Velsaria shook her head vigorously.

"I-I merely seek confirmation. As a knight of the Fahrengart family, how could I possibly engage in such shameless behavior, even as an act?"

"Uh, my esteemed sister, I disagree on finding this shameless..."

Ellis protested in a small voice.

"Velsaria, you will undergo adjustments from Vivian Melosa at this Demon's Fist facility. The Revenant is not sufficiently equipped for complete fine-tuning, but since this place is a military facility, that woman ought to succeed in stabilizing Juggernaut's output."

"...I-Is that so? Understood."

Recovering her usual glacier-like expression, Velsaria nodded.

...Kamito wondered if he was imagining the faint disappointment he heard in her voice.

Then Rubia walked over to Muir who was sleeping, hunched over the table.

"Muir Alenstarl&mdash;"

She grabbed her by the back collar.

"...Uwah? W-What?"

Sleeping soundly, Muir suddenly woke up and glared at Rubia.

"Wait, what are you doing?"

"I have a special mission for you and Lily. Go scout out the Theocracy's capital of Zohar and locate Saladia Kahn's whereabouts."

"Ehhh, another scouting mission? I still wanna play with Onii-sama more..."

Hearing that, Muir pouted unhappily.

"Why do you think I brought you two back from the Holy Kingdom? The success of the Saladia rescue mission depends on your results."

"...O-Owwwww, got it, got it. Stop grinding my temple with your fist!"

Muir cried out with tears in her eyes... It looked quite painful.

"That's Nee-sama's killer move. She used it on me once when I was small."

Sitting next to Kamito, Claire explained quietly with cold sweat breaking out on her forehead.

"Heh, so you had sister quarrels?"

"Yes, because my sister was carefully growing a peach tree but I accidentally turned it into charcoal."

"...Then you were the one at fault."

Released by Rubia, Muir walked unsteadily over to Kamito and said:

"Onii-sama, I'll be back soon. Let's play when I'm back."

"Yeah, take care."

Kamito placed his hand on Muir's hand and petted her lightly.

"Huah, Onii-sama..."

Muir closed her eyes partially in bliss then walked out of the conference room.

"Now then, the Resurrection Ceremony will take place this afternoon. Please make sure your are prepared before then."

The meeting concluded with Rubia's solemn declaration.