Shinmai Maou no Keiyakusha:Volume 4

Novel Illustrations

These are the novel illustrations that were included in volume 4

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Prologue: Crossing War of two Great Men

It's fine even if you don't or can't return the favour.

I will still stretch out my hand to you--...

Part 1

Demon Lord Leohart.

After the death of the previous demon lord Wilbert, dominating at the peak of the demon realm was the new young lord.

Although Wilbert, who was part of the moderates, had the reputation as the strongest, he had chosen to evacuate from the human realm in the previous war, choosing to have a stable and peaceful life. After the war ended sixteen years later -- loyal to their basic instincts, both the Conservative and the Radical Factions in the demon realm had a desire for revenge against the Gods, harbouring strong resentment.

-- Until about a year before Wilbert's death, when the state of affairs in the Demon Realm had a big change.

The Moderates Faction that gained tremendous power because of Wilbert fell apart, and the Radical and Conservative Factions gained momentum.

In the end -- the two factions merged, and crowned the new demon lord, Leohart.

Him having the blood of the immediate family of the duke house which has produced generations of demon lords since ancient times, and also with his display of valour in the last war, was the reason that he was chosen. Back then, Leohart was different from Wilbert, who was better than him at controlling the situation of the demon realm. He had led the elite forces in the forefront of the front lines, and achieved excellent military exploits. Although there was another demon on the front lines with a similarly splendid record, contact with that demon was lost in the war. Hence, the honour of a war hero was given to only Leohart -- it was with this honour, that had gained him the support of the Conservative and Radical Factions, thus earning him the seat of the Demon Lord.

However, Leohart was still very young, and since he was hailed as the successor of the strongest demon lord Wilbert, it just isn't so awesome. Thus for the symbol of the authority of the throne, he specifically chose the biggest, grandest, and the most stately palace in existence in the demon realm for his use.

-- But right now, Leohart's palace had suddenly received an intense shock. No, that's not a metaphor. It was an intense vibration that had originated from the throne chamber, literally shocking the whole palace. Immediately--

"--------"

Leohart escaped from the chamber from a hole made in the wall by the attack, and landed lightly in the the atrium. Looking up, he saw a shadow coming after him, jumping from the collapsing wall. The hem of the jacket flapped in the wind and with the strike of a sword aimed at Leohart, this was the strongest man, the [God of War] from the last war with the hero tribe.

Jin·Toujou.

Leohart immediately raised the demonic blade in his hand, barely managing to block Jin's strike. Thung!... The sound of their swords clashing instantly sounded out. Due to the strength of the strike, there will be after-effects. And so with a boom, the aftermath from the attack spread out in all directions, instantly destroying the floor of the atrium and the other facilities in the palace such as the fountain and the pool. Presently--

"Hahahahaha!"

Leohart then brandished his sword against him. Jin then quickly retreated backwards with a backflip and faced him. Resting his large sword on his shoulder, Jin bitterly smiled and said:

"Ah~ I've really dulled... Seems like imagining the actions and actually doing it are totally different..."

And pat his shoulder with the ridge of his sword. Just then--

"--Your majesty Leohart!"

"Are you all right your majesty!?"

Guardsmen hurried to Leohart's side, raising their magic weapons at Jin, at the ready to fire.

"Stand down. You are not a match for him."

But they were ordered to stop by Leohart's calm judgement. The elite troops guarding the throne chamber were all knocked out, so if the normal soldiers were to fight him, their aftermath could range from never being able to fight again to being a worthless sacrifice. However, when Jin looked around--

"...Is that so? Apart from you, there seems to be quite a few fitting the role of a hunter..."

Said like he has seen through the situation.

...Even his analytical surveying of the situation is so keen, this really is troublesome.

Right now, Balthier who was Leohart's trusted courtier should probably be awaiting orders, hiding in either the crowd of the normal soldiers or the nearby buildings. Following that--

「（Your majesty Leohart -- may I ask what would be the best course of action to take right now?）」

Balthier, unsure, asked for orders.

「（...None of you make any moves. I shall be the one to take care of him.）」

And Leohart ordered the courtiers to remain on standby, since this was a rare opportunity.

-- After all, he was the one known as Jin·Toujou, the strongest hero.

In the past year -- Leohart had already eliminated many old demons who wanted to use him as a puppet for their own desires. But there were still many traitors, like Zolgear, who were still not yet eliminated;if he was able to force Jin to retreat here and now alone, he might be able to force the remaining Cardinals to become restless.

However...

Whether was it sympathy, or that he had a chivalrous heart, he didn't know -- Jin had taken in Naruse Mio and her subordinate Naruse Maria, letting them live together with his son. He had sent Lars to survey the situation, and Leohart had learned much from his reports. Could it be--

"...Did you to came here directly to settle your score with me in order to protect your son and Wilbert's daughter, Jin·Toujou?"

"Nope, I've had no such intentions. The reason that I came to the demon realm, was to personally witness the changes that had taken place after Wilbert's death, and to just take a rest at your place on the way... Fine, fine, this is a warning to you guys, to not let anyone to bully and take advantage of my son's intentions."

Even while talking, Jin's eyes were focused intensely on Leohart.

"And here I was thinking that after taking Wilbert's position, you would be reluctant to have the orphaned girl who has inherited his power. The one who doesn't know that she has the blood of the demon lord and have been raised as a normal girl, and could possibly have been a potential demon lord, must have been played around with very well. And for the other party to be a rather unexpected chivalrous young male hero?"

"-----Shut up."

Leohart rushed towards the Jin who was wryly smiling, maximising his speed by lowering his body. he reached high speeds in just a moment, and slashed at Jin.

--In the war, Leohart's skill with his blade had taken the lives of many from the Hero Tribe.

However, every single strike from him was being blocked, and what's even more surprising was that there wasn't any sign of swordsmanship in Jin's movements of his sword -- it was just purely reflexive brandishing of his blade that was nullifying Leohart's relentless swordsmanship, and their swords clashed countless times.

"For you to have this much skill, it really seems possible for you who is still this young to be on the Demon Lord's throne...additionally, you still have a pair of eyes. Ah... If that's the case, you really are someone noteworthy."

Jin gave a smile, like he had just understood the truth. Even if he was from the hero tribe, one had to wonder whether or not he was a human; a human was weaker than a demon by several levels. And for a human, he was past his prime.

Yet Jin was able to match up with the current demon lord, possibly surpassing him.

...This is really unbelievable... So this is Jin·Toujou?

Amazing -- he really was worthy the title of [God of War]. Although he had participated in the wars that lasted until sixteen years ago, Leohart had never had the chance to fight with Jin--

...To think that he had such power.

Many high-class demons of calibre similar to Leohart, had suddenly disappeared in that war. And it was very likely that it was just like the rumours said: they had crossed paths with Jin. In the sixteen years that had followed, Leohart had studied to reach the even more advanced levels in martial arts. But still, it was likely that he would only be able to barely stand a chance against Jin.

After the war -- no. Even during the war, Leohart had never met such an opponent.

「----So what!?」

Leohart then let out a horizontal slash much faster and sharper than before, and made a different metallic clashing sound. Leohart's demonic sword, had broken Jin's gigantic sword.

"Ohoh--!"

Jin widened his eyes in surprise, and Leohart slashed at his back, but he jumped aside. Following that, Jin watched the cursed blade in Leohart's hand let out a black aura. [Hou~] He became impressed, and discarded his broken blade.

"I knew that wasn't just a normal demonic sword... But, should I say: [As expected from the Demon Lord's weapon]?"

"That's right -- you better not blame me."

Leohart's demonic sword Loki, was the currently known most powerful demonic sword. Since their combat prowess was at a similar level, their weapon would probably be the deciding factor between victory or defeat.

"--Devour him, Loki."

As Leohart said that quietly with a low voice--

「————————」

The cursed blade emitted a dark glow in response. After considering the cohesion and influence brought about from defeating the strongest Hero, Leohart decided that he must do it at all costs, even if it means leveling the city.

That's why -- Leohart released the demonic blade Loki's limiters on its dark fluctuations.

-- A loud sound accompanied the atmospheric vortex that formed. The space distorted in where the darkness surged out wildly.

This darkness could devour Jin whole, with the potential of leaving no traces of his body or spirit. A complete annihilation attack.

The battle has already ended -- at least, that was how it was supposed to be. Demon lord Leohart instead saw unbelievable confidence from Jin.

Before Jin·Toujou was devoured by the darkness, he let out an impertinent smile, and following that--

"Wooooooooooooaah!"

With a roar, green flames appeared on Jin's body, and he then concentrated it on his right fist.

With exaggerated movements, he used his right fist to ram into the darkness with seemingly brute force, shaking the area with a heavy bass sound, and rebounded the dark energy back to Leohart. Faced with the dark energy rebounding back to him at a much faster speed--

"-----"

Deciding quickly, Leohart sweeped his demonic sword upwards to the right, cutting into that darkness and splitting it.

In next moment -- an earth-shaking shock and [Boom] resounded.

The deflected and cut dark energy, smashed into the giant wall surrounding the city south of the palace..

The impact was so strong, that it forced the atmosphere in the atrium into a frenzy, with confusion and screaming everywhere. Just then--

All right... This should probably be enough.

It seems that his purpose for his visit was already accomplished.

-- No matter how ambitious Leohart is, or how dense the evil intentions and dark desires of those around him are, the expansion of the former demon lord's faction would not stop, and would eventually one day dissolve the Moderates faction.

The most effective way to stop this, would be to shake the trust of the demons in the new demon lord's ability and charisma, creating doubts within the subordinates. And that is the reason why Jin chose the atrium, which was teeming with normal soldiers onlooking, to have a 'meeting' with Leohart. With Leohart's attack just now, he had exhibited his power to the surrounding people -- but then he had instead received Jin's counter-attack.

Not only did Jin rebound Leohart's attack back to him, he had shown his existence of being a very big threat to the demons in the city.

This would probably enough to deter the higher-ups of the Current Demon Lord faction, and to create doubt and unrest in the subordinates

...I hope this would more or less scare them.

Just as Jin·Toujou was about to decide to slip away, something caught his eye.

"------!"

The next moment, he created a thunder-like shockwave.

In the explosive impact creating a confusion maelstrom, Demon Lord Leohart personally saw that.

Running across the atrium in an instant, Jin rushed into the falling rubble.

...Hoping to escape in the mess?

Beyond the city wall was a cliff, and under the cliff was a moat. It was likely that the water would ease the impact of the fall from jumping from the hole in the wall, so the chances of making it out safely was quite high. However, that was not accounting for the huge weight of the falling rubble. Based on his abilities, to scale the city walls was probably effortless, so why did he chose a rougher path? Just as he was thinking this, he saw it.

Jin, who was leaping into the air, reached out towards a small body within the falling rubble, and brought it into his arms. Wearing light body armour, it was probably one of the soldiers on the city wall. But rather, it seems like that he had taken Leohart's attack, and Jin who was an enemy had no obligation to help him. But--

...That is?

What Jin was hugging, was obviously a child. This caused Leohart to think, in the palace, there was a young soldier, who although was quite young, was highly praised and employed due to the power possessed.

Though young, he was still a demon, and since he was quite powerful, a mere moat couldn't possibly kill him.

But, if he was knocked unconscious from the large amount of falling rubble or from the shock from the explosion, then it was likely that he would die if he landed in the moat. Hence, the Jin who was in the air immediately took action.

"Woaaaaaaaaaaaahhh--!"

While holding the young soldier within his arms, he kicked upwards.

The huge pieces of the city walls above them then burst into smaller debris. With the explosion that had already echoed, Leohart was still in shock, unable to comprehend just what had happened. While still in the air, Leohart's eyes' met Jin's eyes.

"------"

Jin had was smiling like he was the winner -- and with that expression, they fell off the cliff together with the large amounts of debris.

"--Shall we pursue Jin, your majesty Leohart?"

Seeing the situation, Balthier asked from his side.

"...Don't bother. There isn't the need. Continuing the fight with him would be just a waste of energy."

But Leohart shook his head, and just ordered Balthier to check on the injuries of the soldiers and clear the debris.

Given the direction Jin and the young boy fell a last look, he turned around and headed back into the palace.

Part 2

Naruse Mio had woken up deep in the night.

Because in the dream that she had tonight, its contents were just too stimulating for her.

"...Why, why did I have that dream again...!"

Mio her face was already flushed with embarrassment. Under the blanket, there was an incredible amount of heat; that dream had given her a hot body and sweet warmness that caused shivering throughout her body. But this wasn't something she could control, since in her dream, she had came across an event which caused her body to become hot -- the other party in her dream was none other than her master, Toujou Basara.

-- The contents of that dream, was something that took place after the fight with Zolgear, after Basara had forced a kiss upon her in Basara's room.

The Mio in that dream, had been on the receiving end of much ecstasy and pleasure on the bed in Basara's room, and had continuously climaxed once after another. But, that was something that Mio had already experienced. The thing that was the main source of her embarrassment, was in fact--

...The fact that Yuki, Maria, Zest and Sheera was there...!

Just Basara himself was enough to make Mio yield, but yet even Yuki and the others had joined in on the fun. It was namely the shirtless Basara, and the remaining four that was wearing lewd underwear, that had slowly stripped Mio piece by piece, and had unscrupulously played with her breasts, butt, thighs and her other sensitive spots. Experiencing overwhelming amounts of pleasure, Mio had already lost control to the unthinkable extent, and had kept on shouting [Brother! Brother!] in her high times.

At the end, just as the lower portion of her underwear was about to be taken off, Mio had opened her eyes. Now, if she hadn't woken up, what exactly would've happened? When thinking about the dream--

" ! --Fuuuaaaaaahhhhhhhh! Eh... Wh-Why...!?"

A sudden sensation from her left breast caused Mio to raise her blanket to take a look, only to find Maria, who had sneaked under her blanket while she slept sucking on her left breast like a baby. Being able to undo the buttons on her sleepwear without her noticing, she is indeed worthy of being called a succubus...

Having caught the culprit responsible for her having that dream, Mio silently raised her hand to deliver a blow.

"......Mama."

Maria's mouth released Mio's breast, and muttered. Thus...

"............"

Mio released a small sigh, and cautiously got up from her bed so as to not wake Maria up, properly buttoned up her sleepwear, and after tucking in Maria, she quietly left her room.

-- Mio headed towards the bathroom on the first floor. Having just had a terrible dream, she had released quite the amount of sweat. When she reached the first floor, she saw some light coming out from under the door shining into the hallway from the dressing room. [Did someone forget to switch off the lights?] While thinking this, Mio opened the door and realised that someone was already there. With only a bathrobe on, standing beyond the door was a girl possessing some sort of transparent beauty -- Nonaka Yuki. Probably having just finished taking a bath, her hair was still wet, and there was still some sort of steam-like moisture emanating from her body.

"......Oh, please..."

Upon seeing Yuki, Mio said unexcitedly. She wasn't unhappy with her for taking a bath in the middle of the night, since she had come to do the same thing. the problem she had was--

"When taking a bath, please at least lock the door..."

After the fight with Zolgear, Mio who was unable to sleep probably due to receiving a blow from Basara forcing a kiss in the bed in his room, could never trust her own rationality again, and gotten locks installed for the bathrooms on the very next day. To prevent Maria or Basara barging in while she was bathing, and to prevent any misunderstandings caused by Basara.

In the end, Yuki didn't lock the door, and didn't even hang the [Bathroom in use] sign.

"You're lucky that it was me this time. What if the one who had barged in was Basara?"

"If it was Basara, him seeing me isn't a problem... Or rather, I had hoped that it would be Basara..."

Yuki continued dejectedly,

"--We hadn't taken a bath together in a long time. I was really hoping that it would be Basara."

"Didn't we just have had a bath together four days ago?!"

The fight with Zolgear aside, it would have been only just three days ago. Mio gave a helpless sigh, faced with the scene where Yuki was undoing the knot on her bathrobe, and with her hand reaching towards the basket hold the blue--

"Stop right there."

"...Now what?"

Mio couldn't help but to stop Yuki who held onto a blue T-shirt. And the other party had a reaction like that she didn't know what she had did wrong.

"Why did you take Basara's shirt from the basket containing the dirty laundry?"

"If I don't wear something immediately after coming out from a bath, I'll catch a cold."

"Then wear your own shirt! Don't you have anything else?"

"...........Fine."

Yuki replied apologetically:

"I'll share Basara's shirt with you."

"That's not what I meant!"

Mio snatched Basara's shirt away from Yuki's hand, and threw it back into the laundry basket. She then took off the only clothes she was wearing, her sleepwear and her faded panties, and also threw them into the laundry basket.

"If you say that you want Basara's to-be-washed shirt, at least get his permission first before coming to get it! Humph!"

And then Mio stepped into the bathroom.

"I can't stand it any more..."

Firstly, Mio began to wash away the sweat on her body, before checking the water's temperature. Fortunately, Yuki didn't forget to refill the warm water just now, so the water's temperature was pretty comfortable. And just like that, Mio lowered her entire body into the bathtub.

Just when Mio was about to let out a relaxed sigh--

...Ah, could she be...

Could the reason that Yuki came to take a bath right in the middle of the night, was that like Mio, she had released a lot of sweat -- having just had the same dream? Just as she was thinking this--

"Eh...!"

Uneasy, she suddenly felt a chill run through her. The contents of that dream with everyone drowning her in pleasure, that flashback suddenly returned to her mind.

...That dream, it couldn't possibly have happened in real life...right...?

The reason she began to get doubtful, was that whenever the aphrodisiac curse had activated, the sweet warmness would always blur her consciousness, and her rationality and sense of shame would always be eclipsed by the pleasure that Basara gave her, causing her sense of the line between reality and dreams to blur -- so, it wouldn't be strange if any dream she thinks she had were real.

However, Naruse Mio denied such a possibility. Reason being Zest who was left behind by Zolgear and Maria's mother had already left the Toujo residence and returned to the Demon Realm.

"..........."

After getting up from the bathtub, Mio washed her body, and thought about what happened on that day.

Two days ago -- on the day of the fight with Zolgear, they had quickly contacted the Moderates faction.

Yesterday, coming to the Toujo residence to fetch Zest and Sheera was the demon claiming to be Maria's elder sister, and an accompanying demon -- Yahiro Takigawa.

...Lars, was it?

At that time, Mio and Yuki had heard him introduce himself. The reason they had calmly accepted that fact was that Basara had already told them that Takigawa was a demon beforehand, and the cooperation they had before.

But...

The female demon that had come to fetch Zest and Sheera, had started a miniature war with Mio, Basara and Yuki. Even if it was for protecting her mother, Maria still had betrayed Mio, the demon lord and the moderates faction. That why, it was already expected that they would want them to hand over Maria.

They had already decided to reject that demand when it was made, and the female demon with the higher-ups orders had to unconsciously let it slide. The final demand that was made, was Maria's mother Sheera.

...It really was amazing.

The situation was resolved by just a smile. Even though Sheera's outer appearance was even more immature than Maria, when she had said that she would return just with Zest this time, the female demon had reluctantly let it slide, and showed signs that she would ask for further orders from the leader of the moderates faction for his judgement, the former demon lord Wilbert's brother -- Ramusas.

Also -- after Zest returned to the demon realm with the female demon, there was no objections from the Moderates faction for assistance to surveillance for protection. However, in the few days Zest spent in the house before she returned to the demon realm, she was very obedient to Basara; although they hadn't made a master-servant contract, it was like she had decided that Basara was to be her new master.

Not only was Zest very beautiful, her figure was also first class, and she also had the charm of maturity that Mio and Yuki didn't have. In addition, before Zest was taken back to the demon realm, Basara had told her: [If anything happens, you are welcome in this house any time.] Right then she was looking at Basara with emotional tearful eyes. If they were left alone back then, it was likely that Zest would've immediately kissed him. If Zest really lived together with them, something bad would've happened.

But -- speaking of maturity charms, there was a even bigger threat.

...To think that an adult Maria would be so beautiful...

Mio had seen the appearance of a transformed Maria in the fight with Zolgear, and she couldn't believe that that beautiful thing couldn't possibly be Maria. As it seems that the chances of Basara losing his rationality was getting higher recently, it wouldn't be weird if something bad happened if he was cornered by such a Maria. Having said that, to transform into that appearance, the amount of power consumed wasn't small, so it would be fine if there weren't any chances in this short period of time.

「What a perilous situation, I can't stand it any more...」

After washing her whole body, she washed away the foam produced before leaving the bathroom. Not seeing Yuki anywhere in the dressing room, Mio took a bathrobe from the cabinet to put on, and--

"............"

Only to realise that shirt was missing.

"That idiot...!"

It appears that Yuki really went to ask Basara. If so, she can't dawdle here any longer. Entering Basara's room in the middle of the night, no matter if it was Mio wearing only a towel or Yuki wearing his shirt, no one knew what could happen.

But seeing Yuki ramp up her competitiveness, this had somewhat put Mio's heart at ease. That was because--

...It's great that a jealous Yuki does no good.

Harbouring ill feelings towards one's master will activate the curse of the master-servant contract, basically not making any allowances for any jealously; but now that they had made the same master-servant contract with the same master, it wouldn't be like in the past any more, as a jealous Yuki will now trigger the curse. The chances of having envy or jealously from seeing someone other than themselves receiving praise from their master or from watching others being spoilt, was the smallest of the smallest. But if having such jealously will still activate the curse, then deepening their relationship with each other will be difficult, draging down a master if there were many subordinates. Therefore, in order to deepen the relationship between a master and servant ion such situations, the magic that was born had naturally considered avoiding such a problem.

However, even if the curse does not activate, she couldn't just let Yuki do as she pleases.

And hence Mio hurriedly chased after Yuki -- only to then suddenly stop her movements. Mio had then realised, that Basara's shirt was still in the laundry basket.

".........!"

The liquids that was in Mio's mouth suddenly spurted out. Thinking that she had thought that Yuki had taken away Basara's shirt, she then began to undo the knot on her bathrobe, and brought that shirt to her chest--

...I-Idiot...why was hugging Basara's shirt so comfortable...?

Mio had done it differently from Yuki, having just secretly taken Basara's laundry, thus bringing about a tiny bit of guilt into her heart. This caused the curse to activate at a shallow level, causing Mio to experience pleasure from rubbing on Basara's shirt.

With her breathing becoming heavy and her heart beating faster, she then put on Basara's shirt. Just as Mio began to fidget due to the rising pleasure from attempting to feel Basara--

"--Mio-sama~ Are you all right?"

The door suddenly opened. Mio and Maria's sight connected, and--

「————————」

They froze mid-action. Yuki didn't lock the door when she left, naturally. Having only just realised her blunder, Mio's mind suddenly went blank--

".................Ah."

Maria put on a big wry smile, and closed the door.

Immediately -- the sounds of panting and steps rushing up to the second floor could be heard through the door.

"Wh-What's wrong...?!"

The sound of running up the stairs with her full strength caused Basara to be shocked into wariness. He hadn't awoke from that alone, as he was woken not too long ago by the bathrobe-wearing Yuki who had wanted to ask to let her wear his shirt. Just before, the Basara had sleepily nodded his head without knowing what he was agreeing to, which prompted Yuki to immediately begin untying the knot, causing Basara to attempt to stop her with all his might and ask her to return to her room. Not knowing what happened this time around, Basara got ready for battle -- and heard through the door from the hallway:

"BasaraBasaraBasara! Listen to me, Basara! Mio-sama just had a wet dream! And not only that! She also kept babbling and letting out high-pitched sounds! She left the bed at a time that I didn't know, seemingly to wash off her sweat, and ended up doing unbecoming things in the bathroom! Mio-sama, right after her bath, had taken Basara's shirt that was in the laundry and was letting out lewd soun........................................................................

"Uh... Oi, what's with you, Maria?"

Just as he quietly left his bed at the sudden visit, there was a flustered answer from behind the door:

" No-Nothing, Basara. Maria, what a strange dream you had...did you sleep yourself silly?"

"Umm, but... I think I'm still hearing some strange muffled sounds--"

"Is there something wrong with your hearing? We still have classes tomorrow, don't go to sleep too late. I'll return to my room now. Maria, you should get some quality sleep, or you'll be sleeping yourself silly again."

[Good night--] With Mio leaving these words, the sound of her footsteps towing a great weight faded into the distance.

Although curious as to what was the scene behind the door, the sound of dripping beyond the door brought about the mood from a horror film, causing Basara to not dare to open the door.

Maria often made many jokes, and Mio often habitually meted out punishments to her.

"Well... Everything's probably fine, I guess...?"

No one would probably notice the sea of blood on the hallway when they open their doors next morning -- right?

Chapter 1: Doing what is Possible for You

Part 1

Today, within the grounds of Hijirigasaka Academy, a lot of people were gathered in a certain space.

Classes already ended, yet the audio-visual room was filled with noise and activity.

--Right now, a group of people charged with a task have gathered in the AV room

The sports festival will be held next month, and they are the organizing committee. Before the foldable table in front of the blackboard, are the seats for the students in the committee. The purpose of this meeting, was to plan for the preparations that have to begin before summer break begins, and for the consolidation of the information on hand that was to be handed to those who were at the table for the first time. With the meeting about to start --

「Say... The percentage of boys here seems to be much too exaggerated to be real... 」

Sitting near front left of the seats was Basara Toujo, who let out a sigh upon hearing that from the row before him.

Sitting with her legs spread apart while looking at Basara's back -- the one who had just said was near the back of the room, Basara’s classmate Aikawa Shiho. Following that, Sakaki Chika who sat beside her also nodded in agreement.

「Hmm... So it’s really because those two are here that they're here…」

With that, their sights moved towards Basara -- or rather, his left and right sides.

And the two that were the cause of it spoke:

「They're giving it too much thought. It’s not set in stone that we are the cause. 」

「Agreed, there probably isn't that much of a link between that and us. 」

The ones who spoke so indifferently, were the two「Princesses」adored by the male students of Hijirigasaka Academy -- Naruse Mio and Nonaka Yuki. However, their words seemed unconvincing in light of the situation; though the ones who would join the committee just to fool around were mostly boys, there was just too great a disparity between the number of boys and girls.

--At the beginning, it was Basara, Yuki, and Mio who volunteered to be the ones from class 1B in the organizing committee.

Originally, the ones to be on the committee was to be decided a the day before yesterday, but no one came forward. Sakazaki-sensei, wishing to respect the individual wills of the students, had in the end postponed the decision day after day until the morning of the first meeting. But still, the decision was still not made. Hence, the three of them saw it as an opportunity, and raised their hands.

Because they already had a discussion about the sports festival back at home.

And this matter should have ended right there, but calls of「ME TOO! 」and「I'll join too!」suddenly stormed the place. In the end, Sakazaki couldn't stand it any longer, and the matter was concluded after reducing the final number to five persons via balloting.

So, the ones who were chosen, are Toujou Basara, Naruse Mio, Nonaka Yuki, Aikawa Shiho, and Sakaki Chika. Although there was the problem of the proportions of the genders, the drawing of the ballots was fairly, and Sakazaki rejected the other students. Just like that, the ones to be sent were decided. But still --

The news had definitely spread too fast...

Through communications with phones and the internet, it seemed that within a few hours, the news that Mio and Yuki were on the committee had already spread around the school. Just then, Shiho said with a sly smile:

「Toujou, why don't you take a look behind you? 」

「…Please spare me. Since just now, the gazes that’s already on me will definitely cause balding on the back of my head. 」

The back of my head right now is definitely more sensitive towards the looks from boys than the sensitivity of the breasts of the girls. This definitely somewhat implicated the safety of my life. Basara said with the tiredness from the bottom of his heart:

「Ah haha, it sure is hard on you, Toujou…」

Seeing Sakaki trying to comfort him with drooping brows, he then released another sigh.

--Recently, Basara had been able to chat with Aikawa and Sakaki at close range like just now.

Both Aikawa and Sakaki had their minds controlled because of Zolgear's plan, now they had forgotten about what had happened during that time. But having part of their memories completely muddy had made them uneasy, and so on the next day when they had returned to normal, Yuki explained to them about the gap in their memories. With their number of chances for chatting increasing, the two who were close with Mio, closed the gap they had with Yuki.

But since Yuki wasn't the type to chat a lot, she was just reading her book while Mio was chatting and laughing together with the others. And since Aikawa and Sakaki knew clearly what her personality was like, they didn’t think that anything was wrong, and continued chatting. It wasn't too long after that Basara who lived together with Mio and Yuki began talk with with Aikawa and Sakaki. Thinking back on the changes in their relationships in the past few days, Basara couldn't help but to sneak look at Sakaki who was chatting with Mio.

「Please, Toujou... Notice me more... 」

When Sakaki's mind was controlled, she said some things that had showed her affections towards Basara.

It’s unclear if it was instilled into her during the brainwashing, or if it was really her hidden real feelings. While the situation truly bothered some people, it wasn't an easy matter to pursue. Basara only knows that Sakaki was a warm and kind girl; being able to rescue her unharmed -- he was satisfied.

--However, it seems that someone wasn't happy that Basara was looking at Sakaki.

A fine hand suddenly showed up, feeling up Basara's thigh under the table.

" ! ---?"

This sudden unexpected situation caused Basara to stiffen his body.

「? What’s wrong? 」

「No-Nothing... Really.」

Mio asked with doubt from his side, and Basara answered evasively. Though she felt that something was off, she turned back to continue chatting with Sakaki and Aikawa. Only then, did Basara turn to look at the one feeling up his thigh -- Yuki.

Not only Mio who was sitting on his side, Sakaki and Aikawa who was sitting in the row in front him had their sight blocked by the table. Thus, they didn’t realized what just happened under the table.

--After the battle with Zolgear, Yuki, Mio and even Maria had kissed Basara's.

Since then -- Yuki had become even more bold in her advances at Basara.

「-------」

When Basara tried using his line of sight to signal Yuki to stop, she moved her line of sight back to her book, acting like she didn’t understand. Just like that, she’s using a hand to flip the pages of her book, while her other hand wandered about Basara’s thigh.

…Oi! Stop playing around, Yuki!

Reading a book by J. D. Salinger, while secretly feeling someone else's inner thigh. Since when did Yuki become such a lustful bookworm girl?

--Oi, stop… If you continue, something will happen in my cornfield…

…Wait, what is my cornfield referring to?

He carefully grabbed Yuki's hand that was on his thigh, to not let the other three find out about it. Yet Yuki took the opportunity to cross her fingers with Basara.

「……!」

It certainly has turned into an even more dangerous situation. But if he were to let go of Yuki’s hand, who knows where she would touch next. Thus, Basara could only helplessly surrender his left hand to Yuki. Just then, -

"-- Hello, Princess Mio."

A male student suddenly said that to Mio, and just sat down at the remaining empty seat beside her. Mio gave him a glance, and coldly said:

"Donoue-senpai... Hello."

Basara also recognised that face. In the past when the supporters of both Mio's and Yuki's camp had surrounded him behind the school building, he was the leader of Mio faction. Right, his name is Donoue Shouhei.

"...Wasn't it because that the year threes had to prepare for their graduation that the committee was to be made up of only year ones and twos?"

Mio hadn't even bothered to look at him when she asked this question.

"Well, that’s how it is. But, it wasn't said that it was an absolute rule. Since Princess Mio has come, how can we not come – isn't that right?

Donoue turned his head to look behind, and behind him was a row of people from Mio faction whom he had met before.

"Princess Yuki --"

This time, another voice came from his other side.

So it's him this time...

Hozumi Kaiji, a year three and leader of Yuki faction, also one of the ones who had surrounded behind the school building back then. But this time, he seemed to have more respect than Donoue, standing at the side like the other Yuki supporters. Basara then carefully let go of Yuki's hand, in order to not be found out, and then --

"We have also joined the committee – Please guide us in our work."

Yuki took a glance at Hozumi who looked like a model student with a soft expression, and let out a 「Humph~」, expressing her displeasure, and ignored him. Yet after seeing her reaction, Hozumi had a happy face, and then returned to the side of the other Yuki fans.

On his other side -- in contrast to Hozumi, Donoue continued to occupy the seat beside Mio, refusing to leave.

"Of course I know that studying for graduation or for future education are all important; however, I value the time spent with princess even more.”

He is indeed handsome, and those were some pretty nice words, but why does it sound so ridiculous?

Basara thought while looking at Donoue, but he was glared back at by him. Hence, he then moved away his line of sight. Right now, , Aikawa and Sakaki was also present and they seem uncomfortable from being surrounded by fans from the Mio and Yuki factions, trying to avoid conflict with them. Just then --

"Oi, Donoue... It's about time you return to your own seat, or else how will we start this briefing?"

A saviour has appeared. It was one of Basara's teachers, Sakazaki.

"These are the seats for the first years, the ones for third years are behind. The school had respected your wishes in making an exception and letting you participate. But still, you have to follow the rules, being the role models for your underclassmen, okay?"

Donoue's face visibly changed, but he still maintained his hearty smile.

"Tch... Fine fine, I get it. See you later, Princess."

Smacking his lips together, he then left Mio's side. Hence, --

"Thank you teacher... You saved me."

"Don't worry about it... You didn't do anything wrong."

Basara expressed his gratitude, and Sakazaki had a bitter smile on.

"But teacher, what are you doing here? Wasn't supervising the committee the task of the second years' gym teachers?"

"That originally was the case... But it seems that teacher Gotou suddenly received a hip injury, and since the other gym teachers are busy with the Association Advisory, the task has then fallen onto me, who was free.

"Haish~... Taking upon himself a task which no one will thank him for... Good grief~."

Aikawa then jokingly said to the helplessly shrugging Sakazaki.

"It can't be helped. This sort of job was to be done by the rookies after all."

With that, Sakazaki headed towards the student council members who were currently organizing the documents. After that --

「You really were just saved back then, Mio... You too, Yuki. After all, those seniors…」

Upon hearing Sakaki who had remained silent up till now expressing her concern for the two --

「Don't worry about it. That person back then, while I do not know how much self-confidence he has, it seems that he thinks I'll hook up with him if he were to act like he’s a good friend of mine. Really, what an idiot... There's got to be a limit to stupidity, even him... 」

「I'm fine too. I’ve already told them that I have completely no interest in them. 」

「Woah... You two really are cruel. 」

「Am I? What I just said was just the truth though... 」

「Exactly. Isn't unwanted expectations from other people troublesome? 」

Just as Mio and Yuki, were cutting ties with Donoue and Hozumi in broad daylight.

A female student wearing the student council armband stood up from her position at the table before the blackboard.

"-- Please take your seats now. The briefing for the first-time organizing committee members of the sports festival will be starting now."

With the announcement, the other council members also began moving, passing out notes for the briefing. After confirming that everyone had received a copy of the notes --

"I am the vice-president of the student council, Kajiura Rikka, and the chairperson of the organizing committee for this year's sports festival. Nice to meet you."

Finishing her portion, applause filled the room.

--In Hijirigasaka Academy, the school celebration was held in spring, while the sports festival was held in autumn. The school celebration is the biggest event for the students, and it can be said that it was the brainchild of the student organizing committee. Setting the Cultural Festival in the spring, was to let the third year students in the committee organise themselves an unforgettable celebration. And the sports festival can be said to be practice for the smooth preparation for the school celebration. Hence, the third years will not interfere in that, to allow the second years to gain experience. Thus, the vice-president Kajiura Rikka is the one responsible for overseeing this sports meet.

"Firstly, I'll be talking about the committee member list that the teachers have given me. It would seem that the number of volunteers this year have almost doubled from last year. However --"

Kajiura said seriously, as if giving a warning:

"Although having many people will make things easier, I would like to give everyone a reminder. If there seems to be too many people in a department, the student council will transfer some people to another department. And due to the number of volunteers, it will be more difficult for the persons-in-charge of each department to take command of everyone, increasing the overall difficulty of coordinating various departments together."

With her serious announcement, a small commotion started in the room.

...Heh, it can't be helped after all...

Kajiura should already know that the majority of the people had impure motives in coming. This time, the third years Donoue and Hozumi even came, adding to the abnormality of the situation; this also means that the third years will be ordered about by second years. Thus, the overall-in-charge, Kajiura, will definitely need considerable mental preparation and determination to perform her duties well.

"-- We shall now start with having everyone choosing their desired departments. On the second and third pages of your notes are the details on the various departments. You have ten minutes, so please take this time to learn about the responsibilities of the departments, and decide which one you would like to volunteer in"

Sitting down after saying [You may begin now], an uproar started in the room.

「-- So, what shall we choose? 」

Aikawa who was in the row in front turned back and asked, and Mio who was beside Basara raised her sight from the notes, and replied:

「Um... What shall I choose... What about you, Basara? 」

「That... 」

Being asked that question, Basara flipped through the notes again.

<Overall planning and management> In charge of planning the competitions and the itinerary

<Advertising> In charge of the production and updating of the information on the flyers

<Equipment management> In charge of preparing the applications for the equipment needed for the sports meet

<Accounting> In charge of the management of the budget allocated, and the auditing of all transactions

<General Auxiliary> In charge of the making of the archway over the main entrance, setting up of the decorations, and assisting in the assembly operations of the equipment

Logically speaking, the ‘hottest’ department would be <Overall Planning and Management>, followed by <Equipment management> that has the least work, which is then followed by <Advertising>.

And giving the top management headaches are the <Accounting> and <General Auxiliary> departments, that will undoubtedly be the ones lacking enough manpower. Thus, most of the people will probably be transferred to either of the two departments. To Basara, he would be fine with it if he got transferred to a department in need of manpower, but --

...If any trouble were to come up.

While knowing that some people would come just because Mio and Yuki came, he had never expected Hozumi or Donoue from the third years to be one of them. If he were to be sent to the same department as one of them, it will result in a bad atmosphere. But if he were to be in the same department as with either Mio or Yuki, while they were in some other department, it will undoubtedly bring about resentment.

But what Basara wants to avoid most of all, is both of them being in the same department with either Mio or Yuki, while he himself was in some other department.

If anything comes up, it'll cause the whole committee a lot of trouble. While he was thinking seriously,

"Umm... May I interrupt you for a while?"

A voice suddenly came from beside him, causing Basara to raise his head confusedly, and --

...Huh?

When Basara saw the owner of the voice, his mind suddenly went into a state of confusion. The person, was a considerably cute female student -- sporting short hair, with big eyes under her glasses and giving off the feel of a timid puppy, inducing the instinct of protecting someone. There were no problems from him with this.

The problem was that the uniform the person was wearing was the same as Basara's, a male school uniform. Four more people also had the same expression as Basara – filled with doubt and confusion. While everyone had no idea on how they should respond --

"Eh... Why are you wearing the boys' uniform?"

Aikawa bluntly said aloud the conflict in everyone's hearts that had silenced them.

"About that... I apologise if I caused any misunderstandings. I am really a boy."

That person answered while scratching his face in embarrassment:

"I am Tachibana Nanao from the student council. Umm, you are Toujou, you are Naruse and you are Nonaka, right? Sorry for disturbing you while you're trying to make a decision."

No matter which angle you at it, Tachibana has quite the feminine charms.

"Our vice-president would like to talk to you three about something… if it is fine with you?"

After that, they followed Tachibana to the preparation room next door.

The room was approximately four square metres large, with the shelf by the wall densely packed with devices and documents -- Vice-president Kajiura, was standing in the center of the room waiting for them.

"Um, vice-president… I have brought them.”

"...Thank you, Tachibana."

After thanking Tachibana, Kajiura then looked at Basara and the others coldly, and let out a slight sigh.

"There isn't much time, so I'll be blunt -- are you not planning to leave the organizing committee?"

And told them her reason for wanting to see them without a shred of hesitation.

...Aah, I guess so too.

Basara wasn't particularly surprised. When Tachibana said that Kajiura wanted to see them, he had already guessed what it would be about. Kajiura suddenly lowered her eyes, and said:

"Sorry... I had no intent to blame you. But as I've said before, there are too many volunteers this time, and there are already enough problems brought about by the number of people. The motivation of majority of the volunteers are completely unrelated to the sports festival itself, and even the third years are present. While there isn't a way to not let everyone go out of control, we can't really afford to expend the extra effort doing that."

"......I see."

Originally, the organizing committee should be comprised of only year one and year two students. This is because the sports meet was organised and executed under the directive of the second years, in order to create an environment to ensure the smooth handover of orders within the organizing committee, to smoothly integrate everyone into the committee as a whole. But if the third years join in, and with ulterior motives to boot, it would cause anomalies in the chain of command within the committee, leading a collapse.

Kajiura and the other members of the student council were different from the organizing committee members, having started on the preparations before the summer vacation began. For organizing a successful sports festival, they wouldn’t hesitate working on this even over the break.

...While I had really wanted to stay, it just doesn't seem possible.’’

Basara’s thoughts are that he doesn't want to bring about trouble to the people around him, and Mio and Yuki likely felt that way too. Hence --

"I understand. Although it would be a pity, --"

When Basara was about to voluntarily leave the committee, the door of the room opened. The one who came in, was Sakazaki.

"What's wrong, Kajiura, it is almost time... --Wait, what's wrong?"

He felt the strange atmosphere in the room, and asked surprisedly.

"Sensei, I apologize... It’s regarding the students from your class."

Kajiura showed no intention in hiding it from the teacher-in-charge Sakazaki, and told him of her request for them to withdraw. Sakazaki remained in thought for a while, and said:

"Perhaps this may cause those who came just because of Mio and Yuki to leave too... But as the organizing committee is also one of the extra-curricular activities, it would be problematic for me to allow them to withdraw."

"But if this continues..."

"Additionally, this may also give the others an excuse to quit the committee."

Kajiura raised objections from a student's perspective, and Sakazaki raised points from the perspective of a teacher.

"Amongst the members of the organizing committee from the various classes, there are many who volunteer because they wanted to; they are here as a result of methods like voting and balloting. If an opportunity to withdraw were to show up, they would immediately take it."

"Then at least... --! ...Nevermind, forget that I had said anything."

Kajiura suddenly held back with what she wanted to say, and lowered her head while biting her lip. What she wanted to say was probably [Then at least we could ask the third years to withdraw?]. But Donoue and Hozumi were the leaders of the Mio and Yuki factions, and they would undoubtedly bring about trouble from sabotage because of the resentment brought about if they were to be too coarse in trying to get them to leave.

"If it's like this..." Basara chimed in:

"Umm, Kajiura-senpai... If there's problems with us withdrawing, how about making use of us instead? It would more or less make the preparations smoother..."

".....That would bring about some situations that are against you though."

Kajiura said worriedly.

"It can't be helped. After all, we didn't join the committee to have fun."

"I’m... mentally prepared for that."

Listening to the bitterly smiling Mio and the indifferent Yuki's answers, Kajiura lowered her head for a while, before mumbling "All right..."

"Then I would like to request for Naruse to join <General Auxiliary>, and for Nonaka to join <Accounting>, would that be fine? These departments are those where it’ll be better the more people there are, and there would definitely be enough manpower if you are there. If I remember correctly, there are two more girls from your class, right? I'm afraid that something will happen if there’s only one female in a department, so I'll need to trouble you to ask them to join these two departments. I will be appointing people from the student council to be in charge of the two departments, and will definitely not allow the third years to do as they wish."

Mio and Yuki nodded to show their agreement, and Kajiura then said apologetically:

"Sorry... I will be keeping an eye on them and will try not to put you into any troubling situations.

One could see from her expression that her original request for them to withdraw was not so that they could easier manage the committee, but in fact for their well-being. Thus, --

"I will join another department in that case, to avoid any unnecessary confrontations."

Basara said to Kajiura, but --

"There is no need for that, Toujou. I would like to invite you to join the student council and assist in the management of all the departments."

"Joining the student council and giving my assistance, you say...?"

Basara responded with repeating the question. Kajiura nodded and said:

"That’s right, joining the student council I said. If anything comes up, there won’t be the problem of interfering in a department’s work. When the time comes, I will tell you what to do, so put your mind at ease and give your assistance to Naruse and Nonaka.

Part 2

After that, the assignment of the volunteers to the departments went as anticipated.

Mio had joined <General Auxiliary>, and Donoue and the others from the Mio faction followed her to that department; Yuki had joined <Accounting>, and Hozumi and the others from the Yuki faction followed her in; Aikawa and Sakaki and listened to their explanation when they got back, and had readily joined the two departments. As most of the volunteers who had joined the committee only cared about the fate of only either Mio or Yuki, the announcement of Basara joining the student council to help had apparently went unnoticed. With that, the first briefing for the organizing committee for the sports festival came to an end.

Basara then separated from Mio and Yuki and went towards the infirmary alone. It was because he had an unfulfilled promise. Although they wanted to walk home together after he was done with his work, however --

...Today's been really inconvenient.

Making enemies at the briefing, letting the two of them into the limelight, and not knowing how to go home together with a low profile? Such behaviour that stimulates their surroundings, definitely needs to be avoided.

...After all, we had only managed to remain in the committee with difficulty.

In Basara's heart, there are <special reasons> that made him to want to make the sports festival a success.

Although he had wanted to be friends with more people, this was only his second try. His only friend right now is Takigawa.

Thus, he wanted to be on the organizing committee no matter what, and work hard until the end of the sports festival. Reviewing his determination while walking through the corridor, he then arrived at the door to the infirmary.

"--Sorry for interrupting."

After a voice telling him to come in came through the door, what greeted him immediately was a burst of refreshing soft air.

--No matter how many times Basara came here, he felt that the infirmary is the place that he can relax the most in.

Was it because that the air here is especially fresh? -- Of course there’s equipment for air conditioning and filtration installed in the infirmary, as the main purpose for the infirmary is for the treatment of injuries. Still, this is the place where the people that were sick or were down with injuries gather, so the depressing mood that’s supposed to be here should bring about a heavy atmosphere, just like how most people feel that the atmosphere at the hospitals were not good. However, this infirmary managed to maintain a sanctuary-like atmosphere. But --

“Weird....?"

Looking around the room, the person in charge of the room wasn't at the office table by the window; the person was at the sick bed by the door instead, and had pulled aside the white curtain a little.

"--This voice, is it you, Toujou?"

"Yes, it is me... Sensei, you can tell?"

"Is that strange? I had talked with you quite often, so it should be normal for me to able to recognise your voice, right?"

"Eh, if you say so...."

That was different from a homeroom teacher remembering the voices of their students... A teacher in the infirmary had to take care of all the students in the school; it’s scary how good her auditory memory is if she’s able to recognise a person just by hearing the student's voice through the door. Additionally, --

"…Are you thinking of indecent things?"

"No, why would I?"

Her intuition is unbelievably accurate... As Basara was thinking this, --

"Actually, you came at just the right timing -- Toujou, there’s something that I need your help with. I'm sorry, but could you come over for a moment?"

"? Eh, okay..."

He originally thought was that his help was needed in taking care of an injured student -- but that doesn't seem to be the case.

Hasegawa appears to be alone on the other side of the curtain. If that's the case, didoesd she need my help in changing the sheets? Once he went past the curtain,--

"Ah---?"

He froze with a stupid look on his face the moment he saw Hasegawa.

"--Eh? What's wrong, Toujou?"

Hasegawa had a dazed expression on after seeing Basara’s reaction -- she was wearing a one-piece swimsuit, with a white coat over it.

He had seen Mio and Yuki both wearing dazzling one-piece swimsuits countless times, and had already developed a considerable degree of resistance to it. But still, the get-up Hasegawa was in still managed to halt Basara's thoughts.

-- Toujou Basara, had never seen Hasegawa wear anything other than her usual clothing.

Still, he knew clearly how beautiful Hasegawa was, with her breasts grander than Mio's and butt fuller than Yuki's. In short, her body proportions were definitely amazing.

Yet – he hadn't understood just how strong the charms of a beautiful mature woman was. With his paralyzed mind, he then barely managed to understand the situation --

"Se-Sensei! What are you doing!"

Excitement and confusion caused Basara’s voice to be raised.

"Well... There’s a class having a swimming class in a few days, apparently there is a student who has a relatively weak body in that class. I will be going with them to observe the boy.."

Hasegawa said truthfully.

"I had advised him to not participate as usual, but he had insisted on joining in no matter what. Since the student had wanted to join the class so badly, I as a teacher attempt to fulfil his wishes. And so I had given him permission to do so, on the condition that I'll be observing at the sides."

But still --

"It seems that there are currently no school swimsuits in my size... While I might have been able to fit into a two-piece, it seems that the dean had said that it wouldn't be good to wear that during a class. And so, I could only have one custom-made for me from outside the school. As for the product..."

Stopping here, Hasegawa then moved her hand towards the zipper that was only done halfway in between her cleavage --

"Unluckily, the zipper seems to be stuck, not budging even after I pulled on it. Sorry, Toujou -- can you help me undo this zipper?"

"Eh... That probably won't be good. While ignoring the status as a teacher or student, it would be better if this kind of task was done by a female..."

Only a teacher will ask a male student to take off her swimsuit in a pornography, right? No, one should already be surprised when she said that her swimsuit had to be custom-made since her breasts were too large.

But right now, Basara could only tentatively bring his sight to the side, trying to avoid looking at Hasegawa.

"----!"

Only to see another thing which he shouldn't see. Her clothes that had been taken off to put on the swimsuit were folded nicely on the sick bed by the side; while that would still be fine by itself, what’s problematic was the small stack beside it -- the black lacy lingerie that’ll instigate indecent thoughts. With all these in this small confined space, it just seems too unreal. Just then --

"I understand that. Just like you said, I should be asking another female for help... But as I already have great strength amongst of the females, I doubt other females can do it if I can’t. Therefore, I can only ask a male for help, right?"

“But…”

Ignoring a protest, Hasegawa continued:

"It’s a good thing that you appeared at this timing. I was originally even considering calling for you for your help."

"Ah...? Wh-Why me?"

"For no special reason... When I was thinking about asking for help, you just naturally came to my mind."

Can't I, Toujou?

"Well, I'll say it from my viewpoint then. Since it's a request of this nature, of course I'll prefer someone I'm closer with."

"You do have a point there, but still..."

Just why did it have to be me? Upon seeing Basara's confused and fearful look, --

"It's okay if you really don't want to..."

Concealing her disappointment, Hasegawa then said while pressing her hand against her breasts:

"Then can you help me find another male to help? I don't really want to use scissors since I've only worn this once."

Hearing these words, Basara finally gave up on declining and made up his mind --

"……I understand. Please allow me help you."

He replied after taking a deep breath. Basara had borrowed the infirmary every time Mio activated the curse of the master-servant contract and Hasegawa had helped him multiple times when he had trouble with his school life; receiving a request from Hasegawa was honorable regardless of the circumstances, and since he has a chance to repay her kindness, he couldn't voice it out even if he wanted to reject her.

Besides…

Hasegawa had specifically asked for Basara’s help, and thus finding another male to help her can’t really be justified. Hearing Basara’s reply, Hasegawa smiled and said:

"Is that so? It’s really great that you're willing to help."

"...It's nothing. After all, there isn't any other way other than doing it myself."

Basara moved beside Hasegawa who had a smile on, and said:

"I’ll try not to touch you in any other places..."

"Thank you for your kind thoughts, but I'll prefer it if you focus on zipper. It'll all be for nought if the situation turns worse when you hesitate too much, so just focus on the zipper for now."

Basara nodded, and let her sit on the bed.

He then stood in front of her, observing the structure of her swimsuit.

...I see.

While it had the appearance of a one-piece swimsuit, it had no shoulder straps; the material was supposed to cover the area around her neck and shoulders like a standing collar, with the zipper in the centre. From the looks of it, it might not be possible to first pull down the top opening to her shoulders, and then removing it entirely by pulling it downwards.

"Umm... Sorry, but could sensei release your arms? I'll like to see the condition of the zipper head."

"Like this...?"

Hasegawa slowly released her arms that were holding up her breasts. Seeing its overwhelming volume and softness, his heartbeat rose wildly; he continued honestly, inspecting the zipper head that was now visible, trying not to touch her breasts while moving the zipper about to test it. The zipper head was really stuck, not moving at all. To try resolving this situation --

"...Please wait for a moment."

Basara left the side of the bed after saying that, and brought over the bottle of milk soap by the sink.

"May I use this? I would like to try lubricating the zipper."

"Of course you can... You can do whatever you want to do."

Obtaining her permission, he pressed on the pump, squeezing the soap around the zipper head.

The whitish viscous liquid stained Hasegawa's breasts bit-by-bit just like that. Not only on the outer visible surface, Basara also brought the head of the pump into the swimsuit, and squeezed it carefully. Just then, --

"Nnn...!"

As if she felt an itch, Hasegawa twisted her body a little while breathing heavily.

"! ...I-I’m sorry..."

"Ah, don't worry about it, I was just a little surprised. Speaking of which, Toujou... While this will give the zipper lubrication, wouldn't the head also become slippery?"

Her question was to be expected. And so Basaras replied:

"Yes, but it wouldn't matter -- because I'm not pulling it."

"Is that so? Then how do you plan to--"

Hasegawa stopped here as both of Basara's hands had then grabbed the parts above the stuck zipper on both sides. After that --

"----I'm pulling it now."

Without waiting for a response, Basara forcefully pulled the two sides apart, as if wanting to pull the swimsuit into two pieces.

Because he had applied forces equally from both his hands, the stuck zipper moved downwards with a sound effect -- Hasegawa's breasts to her belly button revealed itself, her overflowing breasts popping out boldly to celebrate their freedom.

Ah...

At the same time, a sweet aroma filled his lungs. It probably accumulated within the swimsuit, the scent of Hasegawa’s body – Hasegawa’s feminine scent.

"----!"

Thus he had forgotten to close his eyes in that moment, and found himself staring at the large breasts in front of him while his mind was overwhelmed. At that moment --

"...Your method appears to have been slightly more aggressive than I had expected."

"I-I’m sorry!"

She said nonchalantly while letting her breasts be looked at. Basara panicky turned his head, and turned around so that his back was facing her.

"I wasn't blaming you. I was the one that had asked for your assistance, and you had done what was asked of you. There were just some mishaps along the way, that’s all."

Hasegawa’s giggling voice came from behind him, and she quipped:

"And to think that you would be so rough in taking off a girl's clothes."

"I wasn't, and I didn't mean to..."

With conditions like the state of the zipper, saving time, and avoiding touching Hasegawa, he thought it through and chose the method he deemed most suitable.

"Well, thank you. Thanks to you, I don't have to cut up this new swimsuit anymore."

"Well... I guess it's good if I managed to help you."

“You did -- speaking of which, Toujou, help me with one more thing."

"Wh-What is it this time...?"

Hasegawa said to Basara who had an eyebrow raised tensely:

"It's nothing big. I just wanted to ask you to help bring over the wet wipes from the medicine cabinet and towel from the drawer underneath it from the other side the room."

She smiled and continued:

"Well, I am on a bed right now with a whitish viscous liquid on my breasts, it's as if like I had helped you『Do it with my breasts』. It just feels inappropriate."

"I-I'll bring it over immediately!"

Saying that -- Toujou Basara panicky moved to get the requested items. A few minutes later --

"--Sorry to keep you waiting."

Hasegawa pulled the curtains apart and got off from the bed after cleaning up and putting on her clothes.

Wearing high heels, she walked to before the small movable stool Basara was sitting on – and sat down on the chair by her office table, putting her leg up on the table and turning towards him.

"Well then, what did you come over for today? From your looks, there doesn't seem to be any uncomfortableness, right?"

"Yes. It's about... It's the promise I had made with you before."

Basara extended his left hand. On the ring finger, was the bandage Hasegawa put on due to the injury from the basketball game during last week's gym class.

"After sensei helped me with the injury, I hadn't experienced any pain since then. My reason for coming here was to ask you if it would be fine to take it off already."

Hearing Basara's explanation, Hasegawa took his extended left hand and examined the affected area, and said:

"...I see. It appears that you had listened to me and didn't move it too much."

"Well, I did promise you after all..."

To tell the truth, the only reason the bandage is still on was that it was unexpectedly tough. After Hasegawa dressed it, it had survived through the abduction by Zolgear, the fight with Takigawa, the event with Maria, and finally the fight with Zolgear; the bandage was undamaged after going through so many events and remained on his finger.

Perhaps Hasegawa’s skills was just that great.

"—So, is it fine to take it off yet?"

"Well... It'll be fine to take it off already, since its purpose has been served."

With that, Hasegawa undid the bandage on his finger and used wipes to clean the area, and asked:

"There isn't any pain with this, right?"

Basara nodded.

"I see... Then there shouldn't be any problems with it. However, it doesn't mean that it has completely healed even if there isn't any pain, so don't go putting too much a burden on it."

She then released his left hand.

"All right -- thank you teacher."

Just as he was about to leave after giving a slight nod --

"Ah, Toujou... Do you have anything on later?"

"No, I'm planning to go straight home after this."

It was already almost six when he had come over after the organising committee briefing ended.

As it’s October right now, and the sun had already set, so it should already be dark outside.

"I see... Then please accompany me later, if it’s all right?"

"Accompany you, teacher? To where?"

Hasegawa giggled, looking at Basara having a misunderstanding, and said:

"—Have you forgotten? There was another promise between us."

Part 3

After organising committee briefing ended, Naruse Mio and Nonaka Yuki did as Basara asked and returned home without waiting for him.

They stopped by a nearby supermarket on their way home as Maria had called, asking them to buy some groceries while on their way back.

"Right... That should probably be all."

"It is. Everything in Maria's text message is already here."

Yuki pushed the cart alongside Mio, and nodded after checking her mobile phone screen.

Finally leaving the supermarket after waiting in line at the checkout for a long time, their phones received a text message at the same time. They originally thought it was Maria asking for them for get some more groceries, but the sender turned out to be Basara. Thus, they checked its contents – only to fall silent at the same time.

"Is the sender Basara on your side too?"

"…...It’s probably the same message."

Something cropped up, thus he would be home late, no need to prepare his share of dinner, and ending it with an apology. Having looked at the contents, Mio and Yuki looked at each other and sighed. Just then --

"—Hi, good evening to the both of you."

A familiar voice caused them to turn around and look, and standing there was a male wearing the same school uniform as them.

"Takigawa..."

Mio said out the youth’s name, her voice sounding stiff; Yuki's expression visibly thickened, and became slightly nervous. Seeing their reactions, Takigawa smiled bitterly and said:

"You need not look at me with those eyes. After all, I am not your enemy."

With Zolgear as his predecessor, he is currently Mio's observer; His name is Lars, and his real identity is that of a spy sent by the Moderates faction into the Current Demon Lord faction -- that is all that Mio and Yuki knew about Takigawa. They were told that Takigawa had provided a lot of help from the shadows during the events with Zolgear. He had also given Basara information about the characteristics of Zest's magics, helped him infiltrate Zolgear's lair, and helped Maria save her mother; he protected Mio while keeping her in the dark, similar to Maria. Hence, to Mio and the others, Takigawa should be called a saviour. However --

"I have already said this before – I am very grateful to you, but I still cannot forgive you."

Takigawa had attacked Mio and Basara in the past. Basara was just a hindrance in his eyes back then, hence he killed him before Mio, forcefully awakening Wilbert's power that was sleeping in her body which pushed the Moderates faction to increase Mio's protection.

Of course, Takigawa was protecting Mio from the shadows as a demon from the Moderates while being a spy in the Current Demon Lord faction responsible for observing Mio. He has his own viewpoint and concerns.

But still, Mio and Yuki hadn't forgotten that Takigawa had bedevilled Basara about his past while playing the enemy – forcefully reopening the wound in his heart and giving him major injuries. And so --

"If you ever hurt Basara again, I will definitely never forgive you and kill you a hundred times, even if it means returning kindness with ingratitude."

"Ah haha... to be hated so much..."

Takigawa shrugged while facing Mio's murderous intent.

"So... what are you here for? Didn't you say that you will think of a way to report to the Current Demon Lord faction about Zolgear, and hence left for the demon realm?"

She continued with a fierce expression, paying no heed to the people that would be entering and leaving the supermarket. There weren't a lot of people who would eavesdrop here, so even if there were people who would, they would guess that they were talking about a computer game.

"Yeah, you're not wrong about that..."

Takigawa said:

"But for everyone's safety, I'll like to give you some advice first before I return."

"...Advice?"

Yuki raised an eyebrow and asked, to which Takigawa nodded and continued:

"Yes. It's something about Basacchi..."

Those words caused Mio and Yuki to become silent. Since he mentioned that name, it must be something very important.

Takigawa continued solemnly:

"His ability to eliminate... It’s especially unique and very strong; it can eliminate anything and everything completely. If used well, it would be an even larger threat than you training to use the power inherited from the previous demon lord Wilbert."

The points raised by Takigawa were things that they all clearly understood. Basara's [Banishing Shift] has astounding power -- to the point where it could defeat the enemy and cause damage to their own side, it is a double-edged sword. Basara had lost control of that power in the past once and created an irreparable situation, causing his exile from the <Village>.

“Naruse was the one who lost control of her power when we fought... Hypothetically, if Basacchi was the one who lost control of his power, would you be able to save him?"

"I...!"

"......"

Mio became speechless, while Yuki remained silent with a pained expression. Takigawa had hit the nail on the head.

Helping Basara while his [Banishing Shift] was out of control -- if they couldn't do it, the tragedy five years ago will happen again. And they currently wouldn’t be able to help him.

"He had grown up in the <Village>, an isolated place. It was only until recently that he had used it a few times and since I hadn't reported it to the Current Demon Lord faction or the Moderates faction, the number of people who know about it should be small. The ones who know about it are Zolgear, who isn't in this world anymore, and Zest, who was taken by the Moderates faction, but she would probably say nothing about it to them."

It's just--

"If the news that he has that sort of ability spreads -- there will be many people going after Basacchi's life. He is a threat to the current demon lord faction who wants to take you and the Moderates faction who wants to protect you; and amongst them might be ones who are like Zolgear, wanting to take you for themselves. I will spin out a story on the matter with Zolgear, making his death unrelated to you; but Nonaka -- the spirit lance user from the Hero tribe killed the demon that was sent by the Current Demon Lord faction as reinforcement before, right? The Current Demon Lord Faction will increase the surveillance, and it will be just a matter of time before someone makes the link with you to the events before and after the matter with Zolgear. On the Moderates faction side, there is also the matter about Maria, so a change in the current state of affairs would be inevitable."

So--

"Basacchi seems to be aware of these dangers, and I have warned him about it just in case... But he will probably use that ability if it’s the only way to protect you – just like the past few times."

Mio and Yuki remained silent. What Takigawa had said was completely true. If either Mio or Yuki is in danger, Basara will use [Banishing Shift] without hesitation even if it means putting himself in danger.

"I've heard, you two have made the master-servant contract with him already, right?"

But do you know?

"The ones waiting for protection from the master aren't subordinates -- they are a burden. Let’s say that you wish to remain by his side in the future or to maintain status quo; but as the one who got him involved in this and made him use that ability, you should probably think of some way to get stronger if you have any sense of responsibility -- just in case, you have to be strong enough to eliminate your enemies."

"----!"

Both of them gasped after hearing him say it so ruthlessly. With that, Takigawa turned and left with a [Bye~].

Mio and Yuki only stood there, unable to say anything

Part 4

To be actually sitting in such a high class car.

It was a Yama sports car that had enthusiasts worldwide.

--After Basara and the infirmary room teacher Hasegawa left the school together, they had gotten into her car.

The two of them had encountered each other at the Yakiniku restaurant in the past, and an agreement was made when they parted -- to let Hasegawa treat him to a meal.

After going onto the highway for a while, the car then stopped at their destination. Basara who was in the passenger seat had remembered Hasegawa saying that she wanted to show him her favourite place, and had been thinking of the possibilities while on the road. As it’s Hasegawa, and what he had gotten into was a high-class sports car,

Would it be a restaurant operated by a renowned chef, or would it be high-class kaiseki-ryōri?

If not, then could it be a high-class sushi restaurant? Or how about thinking about it from another direction... Did she want to drive an expensive high-class sports car to a public restaurant or a ramen shop? --It seems possible... From what she seems like, Hasegawa looks to be like a woman who wouldn't think too much over formalities like the time and place; she would just show off her beauty no matter the location.

--In the end, Hasegawa who seemed to not care about the time and place had brought Basara to her home.

It appears Hasegawa didn't intend to bring him to a restaurant as she wanted to treat Basara food that she had personally put together. A high-rise apartment building -- she lived on the highest level of the building, and there doesn't seem to be anyone living with her. Arriving at the living room used also as bedroom --

...Is this really fine?

Basara drank the tea Hasegawa gave him uneasily, while waiting for the dishes to be done.

Just having dinner with Hasegawa alone was already enough to make him nervous, but he was also invited into her home. Having such a close relationship between a teacher and a student, was it really fine?

"-----"

From the kitchen, a melody being hummed mixed in with the sounds of food being cooked.

He had saw her take off her usual white coat and putting on an apron, which gave off a new feel to her, like another charm.

...I've never seen her like that.

Hasegawa had seemed quite excited about it. For her to be looking forward to their meal together, it was indeed a honour; but after giving it more thought, he could no longer calm down.

Just what does she want? Unable to grasp her intentions, Basara became more nervous. Just then --

"Sorry for the wait, Toujou. Come and have a seat."

"Oh, okay..."

Upon hearing her calling him, he finished the red tea and got up from the sofa, and took a seat at the large dining table. Hasegawa then served the dishes--

"...Sensei, you are really skilled..."

He couldn't help but to give praise. While the food was being made, good smells kept wafting from the kitchen. Adding on that Hasegawa was the chef, it made one not only nervous, but expectant of the food. And the result, what Hasegawa had served had far exceeded what he had expected.

-- What Hasegawa had made for Basara was what one could normally find on the table in households, but from the dishes used to the seasoning used, the quality was clearly of high quality. What had made him even more surprised was the quantity of the dishes, which was definitely not made with balanced nutrition in mind. Radish patty, curry rice, potato stew, caesar salad, ginger roast pork, beef omelette rice, chicken nuggets, and miso soup. That had occupied most of the space on the table. Please, she has overdone it... Other than the salad and miso soup, four of the dishes was meat, and additionally, there were curry rice and omelette rice. Was she really an infirmary teacher? It was totally unbalanced nutritionally.

"—Come, please begin."

"All right... Then I'll start now."

Basara put his hands together facing Hasegawa who sat opposite him, and asked:

"Umm... Where should I start...?"

Every dish seemed to be a great option, though she may have more attachment towards a particular dish, so it would probably better to ask first. Then--

"These dishes were made for you, so just start from wherever you want."

She replied as such, smiling shyly.

"To tell the truth, this is my first time cooking for someone other than myself... As I didn't know what I should prepare, I just made what I thought what young boys like you would like to eat."

"------"

Listening to her words, he then realised how the unbalanced nutrition meal on the table came about. It was because that these were made with one thing in mind. Not dishes that she was good at, not dishes she had wanted just anyone else to eat, but dishes to make him eat happily. And so--

"...I'll start now, then."

He then gave his thanks once more, and then started with the radish patty. Cutting it into bite-sized pieces, the juices immediately emphasised how tasty it is, so Basara then put it into his mouth. While the flavour was spreading in his mouth--

"...How is it?"

Hasegawa asked with a slight trace of uneasiness, and with that, Basara couldn't help but laugh foolishly with food in his mouth, with only one answer to that.

"Sensei... This is ssooooo delicious."

This made Hasegawa calm down, and smile.

"Is that so... It's a good thing. Don't stand on the ceremony, and have some more."

Basara nodded, and began eating.

--The dishes Hasegawa made for Basara, every single one of them was extremely delicious.

A large variety, coupled with a large quantity, were the reasons that originally made him think that it wasn't possible for him to finish everything. But unexpectedly, he couldn't put down his chopsticks, and just like that watching the smiling Hasegawa, the various dishes were finished clean within an hour.

His stomach was full, and he was satisfied with his meal. He had wanted to help wash the dishes but was rejected with a 'If you want to thank me, I want you to help me with another thing'. Hence, he agreed. And right now--

"Umm-- Is this really okay?"

"Yes, just do it."

"Uh... then here I come."

After confirming with Hasegawa who was currently washing the dishes, Basara wrapped his hands around her from behind.

--She had wanted to experience the scene commonly seen in TV series, where after cooking for a man, the man would give the woman a sweet look from behind her back.

To not restrict her movements, Basara had his arms around her waist and their body close together. Immediately, he felt her softness, warmth and fragrance. But what's dangerous wasn't this...

...It 's too dangerous from this angle...!

Originally, the difference between Hasegawa and Basara's height of their line of sights were not so big as she usually wears high heels. But now in her home, she obviously wasn't wearing her heels, and she is now slightly shorter than him. What he saw -- between two of the buttons on her shirt that weren't done were her top halves of her overflowing breasts and her bra.

"Ah ha, this is quite nice. It's a breath of fresh air to hear Toujou's voice coming from a different angle."

Simply continuing washing the dishes, Hasegawa happily smiled and said:

"What is it, Toujou? You seem very nervous... Since you live together with Naruse Mio and Nonaka Yuki, I guess that this isn't your first time doing this, right?"

"Ah, well... You're not wrong."

Correct. This wasn't his first time doing this sort of action. Yuki had often forced him into doing so, and the unyielding Mio would also have the same request. Maria who often did the cooking had also prepared a step chair to make up for their height differences, making it easier for him to also do it to her. But still, those were for Basara and them to lay the groundwork for bringing their relationships to the next level. He was not so close to Hasegawa to the degree to start doing that kind of stuff, since they have a student-teacher relationship after all.

"How it feels when you are doing it with Naruse and Nonaka, could you tell me that for me to think about it?"

"Feel? ...What do you mean?"

Hasegawa stuck out her hip, as if to say 'This is what I mean' . Her soft buttocks were then touching his crotch area, which caused his body to become stiff.

"For someone of your age to be thinking about such things, it probably wouldn't just end with just some dishes being washed, right?"

"! -- ...No, nothing of that sort."

For now, it really ended with just some dishes being washed. But sometimes, the washing was also brought to Mio's or Yuki's body.

"Is that so... All right, since you say so, I'll just believe you. A good teacher should always believe what her students say after all."

"A good teacher shouldn't joke around with her students... Really, something might really happen one day because of this."

"Hehe... Just you wait and see"

She let out a cheeky smile, then turned back to face the dishes, and said:

"--Well then, Comparing with the dishes that I made, how does it fare against what Naruse and Nonaka usually makes?"

"Eh, well..."

Since the topic on hand had somehow turned back to normal, he then started to compare what he had just ate with what he normally ate everyday in the Toujou household. What Maria usually makes, was comparable to Hasegawa's dishes; Yuki and Mio sometimes also cooked and while it also tastes great, the best chef in the Toujou residence was still Maria. However, the dishes were still worlds apart from what Jin could cook up in terms of flavour and variety. Thinking nostalgically about the tastes he are familiar with, Basara himself would occasionally whip up something simple as supper; the Nonaka style steamed egg or miso soup whipped up by Yuki, would sometimes stir up memories from his childhood. In comparison, what Hasegawa made were standard dishes in households, with each and every one being made with much care. Although the quality of the ingredients used had somewhat helped, it was still her preparations of the ingredients that had brought out the authentic and great flavours of each and every ingredient. The level of the careful control of the fire and the seasonings were superb, even to the extent of the appearance and presentation of the food. So--

"Sensei's dishes... Every single one of them are exquisite, just like the food from a restaurant specialised in making this sort of food. They are definitely very well done and delicious. So..."

"......Is it not to your tastes?"

Hasegawa hadn't looked back while doing the dishes, and her voice was slightly lowered.

"No, it is indeed to my tastes... Towards the exquisite and delicious dishes sensei cooked for me and you, saying such words are definitely inappropriate--"

Recalling the flavours of her dishes, it also gave him the feeling of being reborn, and he said it out.

"It was obviously my first time eating dishes cooked by sensei, but for some reason, it somehow is [nostalgic]... The only tastes that I should know of are those done by my father, and those of what I had eaten in my childhood friend Yuki's home..."

"............."

"May I ask... Is sensei's seasoning learnt from a relative or your parents?"

Basara noticed that Hasegawa had remained silent up to now, and thus he fearfully thought that he had made her angry. However, her answer was--

"......Yes. In the kitchen related stuff, it was learnt from a distant relative who had lived with me -- she was just like a sister who was a lot elder than me."

"I see..."

"Ah, I had really liked her at that time, just like how I liked what she cooked up. And so, knowing that you like it too, it really makes me happy..."

Hearing her words which carried much meaning, it gave Basara the feeling that that relative was no longer in this world, and so he dare not ask. Just then--

"—I'm sorry, Toujou."

Hasegawa suddenly closed the tap and said:

"Just one more time would be fine... Hug me even tighter."

Having taken off her white coat and heel, and now in Basara's embrace, she seemed no different from just like Mio and the others, just like a delicate woman. Hence, Basara listened to Hasegawa's request, and proceeded to hug her even tighter -- in his own way.

"Ah--..."

Hasegawa let out a sound of surprise. He turned Hasegawa who had her back facing her around, and hugged her tightly intimately. After a brief silence--

"...Remember that the relationship between us is still that of a teacher and a student."

"Don't think about that for now."

She felt uneasy and said, but after Basara's hand went towards her back to hug her even tighter, she let her hand go towards his back, and proceeded return his hug. Thus, he decided continue hugging her, until she felt satisfied.

Just like that, the second hand on Hasegawa's watch carved out a period that belongs to only the two of them.

".....It's fine already, Toujou."

Hearing this, he released both of his hands guiltily. And she began smiling wryly.

"Sorry... I got your shirt dirty."

"Just some foam is noth--"

He then realised that there were some red marks too.

It's lipstick. Looking at Basara who just noticed himself not noticing it, she smiled and said:

"Allow me wash it. It wouldn't take much time to just wash and dry one piece. Why don't you make use of the time to also take a shower?"

And attempted to take off his shirt. Basara hurriedly retreated in surprise,

"It's fine, there's no need to help me wash it. It shouldn't be visible with a jacket on."

"But after you reach home, how will you then explain it to them?"

She's right... He could never tell them the truth, or there will be much trouble. If he confesses what had happened, their curses could activate from the jealously that they will have. If so--

"Then I'll say it had got on in the train while on my way back, just like the perfume--"

"—Hey, that is my perfume. Naruse had come to the infirmary quite often, so she will definitely recognise it."

For real? He became speechless, making her giggle.

"Don't try to push it, hurry up and go have a shower, Toujou -- don't worry, I'll just send you home if it gets too late."

Worrying over it for quite a while, he finally decided to accept her kindness and entered the bathroom.

It was because, he had a worry.

--Around four days after the fight with Zolgear, Basara had made an attack on Mio in his room.

Mio has always been very important to Basara, and he had always been able to manage his self-control. But upon remembering that Zolgear had almost taken Mio away from him, his rationality disappeared. If he hadn't gained back his senses in time, the one who would've violated Mio would be him instead. Having lived a normal daily life together with Mio, subjugating her when the contract was made and releasing her from the curse multiple times after that -- he is already at his limit.

...Under these circumstances,if both Mio and Yuki both simultaneously trigger the aphrodisiac curse,

What that happens, he would very likely cross the line. Even though Mio says that it would be fine, it's still something that couldn't be joked about -- even if he did cross the line, he hoped that it wouldn't be because of Hasegawa.

White mist was rising about in the Hasegawa's bathroom, and Basara who was soaking in the bathtub while staring upwards--

"...I really need to find time to relax and let go of some stress."

He said so in a depressed mood. Just then, a voice came from behind the door to the bathroom.

"Toujou – It'll take about one and a half hours to remove the lipstick stains and the perfume and to dry it. Eh... you should be able to catch the last bus back."

"S-Sorry, I caused sensei trouble... Thank you."

With this, he'll probably wouldn't attack them. No, it wasn't for certain that it'll be like that...

"Umm, you're welcome... Also, I'll like your help with another thing. Is it all right?"

Oh... Yes, it's all righ-- "

Basara sat upright in the bathtub, thinking about what Hasegawa's request would be this time, when the door suddenly opened.

She had already taken off her clothes, and wasn't wearing her glasses any longer, wearing only a bath towel.

"Is that so. That's great..."

And Hasegawa walked into the bathroom while giggling.

" ! --Ho-Hold on for a moment, Sensei, why are you coming in?!"

He quickly turned the other way in panic.

" ? Didn't i ask for your help with something? To tell the truth, probably because that I'm the infirmary teacher, students would very often talk me about some things very close to them... Like when the vacation period ends, there would be a lot of them coming to me with questions about love, giving me a lot of headaches."

"Oh... Then, what does that have to do with what you're doing now?!"

"It makes me a little guilty saying it... Up till now I haven't dated anyone, so I am unable to give those students some useful advice, causing me some regret. So, today I had invited you over to my home to have dinner, in hopes of experiencing their feelings. It was thanks to you, that I had the chance to cook for a man and experience being hugged while washing the dishes. I really am grateful."

"So that is your reason for doing things that seemed like they were from a dramas site..."

He said, suddenly understanding. She continued quietly:

"Yes. I had originally thought that that would be enough. But you hugged me so tightly that in the end, I washed a man's shirt, and finally, you even came into my bathroom. And so I was thinking, why not just also experience the feel of bathing together with a man? I guess there should be no problems with that, right...?"

"Of course there is a problem, and a big one too! Isn't our relationship that of a teacher and a student?!"

"But when I said that just now, you told me to not think too much about that..."

"Ah! That...!"

Teacher is also a human, she has some worries in her heart and is in need of support, it would be too sad that one would need to endure the <torture> because of one's position. Like how Mio thought she wouldn't be able to get anyone's help just because she was the former demon lord's sole daughter; like how Yuki had to face a painful decision to give up her mission as a hero; like how Maria was constantly worried alone because her family was taken hostage. In order to save these suffering women, he had always been worrying his mind, and the one who was lighted his way at crucial moments, was Hasegawa. How could he just leave her as she is just because of what their relationship should be? Just then--

"Is it really not fine, Toujou?"

From behind his back, came the disappointed voice.

"Who knows, you might really be the last man to be allowed into my home..."

"Eh... It probably wouldn't progress to that stage, right?"

Refuting, he suddenly then remembered what happened in the school infirmary after school.

--When she couldn't take off her swimsuit, he had wanted to reject her request. But then she wanted to ask for other men to help. Her actions would probably be the similar as inviting him into her home, which was probably to try to quickly resolve those love issues. But--

...To think that Sensei would have such a delicate side.

He had thought Hasegawa was a woman with no flaws, but if she had never dated, it can be explained. She was so beautiful to the point where other men wouldn't dare to get close to her. Also, she drives an expensive sports car and lives in a condominium, which shows that she was likely to be the daughter of a wealthy business person. If her masculine way of speaking was picked up from the disciplining from her strict father, it would be reasonable to say that she would be relatively inexperienced about love between a man and a woman.

--And yet Hasegawa was a serious teacher who gave much care to her students, even to newly transferred students, and was someone who would probably be the type to worry about someone else. Hence, right now, it was likely that she really wants to accomplish something on the issue of the students' love. If that's the case, if for some reason he rejected bathing with her here, she would likely invite other men to do it with. But having tasted the marrow, the longing for its savouring grows, and they might take advantage of her weak point--

Having thought up the worst case scenario, Basara then shouted:

"..........~ ~ ~! I'll take a bath with you!"

And he turned his body around slowly. God knows what kind of man she would ask, and he decided not to take that risk. She brightened up, answering with a [Thank You].

"Well then, Basara. I'll start with your back first. I'll like to try washing a man's back."

"Oh, please do..."

And so, he got out of the bathtub, and sat on the plastic chair with his back facing her.

From behind his back, came the sounds of squeezing of liquids. It probably should be the soap. Following that--

"...Sorry to keep you waiting. I'll begin now."

And after finish her words, both of her hands appeared from both sides of his body.

...Eh?

Wasn't she going to wash his back? Why did she did her hands go past his body? While he was thinking this, she then hugged him from behind, applying pressure while pushing her breasts up and down her back.

"Wh-Wh-What are you doing, sensei?!!"

"Do you still need to ask that question?... I'm currently washing your back, using my breasts."

Hasegawa using her breasts to rub against his back, as if like it was a normal thing to do--

"S-Shouldn't you be using a towel instead?!"

He had shouted while in a panic, which caused Hasegawa to smile and say:

"What are you saying?... Only after experiencing how it feels to do this, then I'll probably be able to help resolve their love problems... Would there be any meaning in just washing using the usual methods?"

"Um, it might be just like you said... But ---- WHAT Happened To The Towel On Your Body?!"

"It was unnecessary, so I took it off. Naruse and Nonaka have also done the same thing with you, right?"

"That--...!"

She was spot on. But, Mio was Mio, and Yuki was Yuki, and Maria was Maria. Their feelings, those mutually shared feelings between them and him, and their reasons for doing those stuff, were totally different from Hasegawa.

...This is bad...!

Between them and Hasegawa, there was a crucial difference -- Hasegawa was the first mature woman to do this kind of stuff to him. Mio and Yuki were of the same age, and they were just like sisters to him; even if Maria with her child-like appearance were to change into her amazing adult form, he wouldn't lose his rationality since he clearly knew what she's like.

--But, Hasegawa is different. She was clearly older than him, and she was someone who can be generous and mature.

She claimed that she has had no love experiences, but since the relationship between the two is that of a teacher and a student, he was not daring enough to resist due to hierarchy. In addition, in order to make Mio and the others yield, he usually had a proactive stance, rarely being passive.

...This isn't good. I need to quickly seize the initiative...!

Something might really happen if this continues. Just as he was wrecking his mind in thoughts, --

"Toujou, does it feel good? ...Comparing with Naruse's and Nonaka's, how does my breasts' movements fare?"

It was with luck that he found an opportunity to seize control of the situation in her question.

"...There's a big difference ...They have much better skills."

That was the decisive push. And the result--

"There is a very big difference? Then -- can you give me some suggestions on what I should do?"

"--! Su-Suggestions? ...Um ...Well, firstly--"

It was all just to seize the initiative. Compelled, he could only teach her the knack in using her breasts in washing someone.

Hasegawa followed his instructions, and was no longer just sliding them up and down, but was moving them about in various patterns and ways, also varying the pressure applied. Basically following his every word, she was incisively using them to rub against his back. Soon after, there were some swelling at the tip of her breasts, emphasising their inappropriate presence on his back.

"Ah! Toujou... Amazing, my body is getting hotter and hotter...!"

Her voice was beginning to fill up with feminine sweetness, and he could feel parts of her body attached to him rising in temperature.

...Sensei, she...!

That Hasegawa had gotten so excited from using her breasts to rub, and he could begin to feel a woman's excitement -- this fact gave Basara some conflicting excitement. If he turned around now, he would see -- Hasegawa who had her makeup off, her face filed with pleasure that had hardened the tip of her breasts. So, while clearly knowing that he shouldn't--

"....!"

Toujou Basara gave in to the temptation, and slightly turned around to look. As a result--

"Ah--?"

As she was only thinking about using her breasts to wash his back, it was difficult for her to process any changes in the situation. And so, she toppled into Basara's arms. He quickly caught her in panic, and they toppled over together as a result.

"........"

"........"

Seeing each other at close proximity, Basara finally saw his longed-for desire.

--Hasegawa was naked, her body hot from womanly pleasure. She was stunning.

That bright red skin of her body dyed from pleasure was totally different from the usual her in the infirmary. Those cute wet flirtatious eyes, and her hot breaths. The Basara who saw this, involuntarily swallowed.

In the next moment, Hasegawa showed Basara the expression Mio and Yuki definitely wouldn't have in this situation.

She smiled. Feeling womanly pleasure for the first time, she was also showing everything of herself to him in this situation. Following that--

"------"

She slowly moved even closer to him, put their lips together, and kissed him.

He didn't make any movements, and showed no resistance.

"Ah! ...Fuah.. Ah... Fu! ...Ahh... Hahh...Ahha!"

When their tongues crossed, their kissing got even more ferocious as time passed by. After quite a while, she parted, and while looking straight into his eyes, she said:

"Ohh... To think that I would also experience my first kiss at this time..."

Following that, she gave another charming smile. That expression – caused Basara to let loose his self-restraints.

He immediately forced his way into Hasegawa's mouth, grabbing and rubbing her large breasts. Her breasts overflowed obscenely through his fingers.

"Haa~~! Chi... Ahah, Toujou... ChiFfuuu.. Haa... AAAA!"

Just pushing around her breasts on his back had already made her this excited, and she cried out again and again from the unforgettable pleasure caused by him. Her reactions filled with ecstasy increased Basara's desires, which in turn made her be on the receiving of even more pleasure.

It doesn't even matter if they were covered with foam -- Basara's mouth latched onto Hasegawa's right breast. Just like the food from before, the taste and flavour of her breast spread within his mouth. He didn't use his teeth to stimulate them, but the moment he found the tip of those large breasts, she quickly raised her voice.

"Haaaaaaaaa.... No... Toujou... Don't... use... so ..much ... strength... Ah--...?"

Hasegawa wrapped her legs around his waist and arms around his head and suddenly stiffened, trembling. She obviously wasn't under the effect of the aphrodisiac curse -- for her to climax when he had only made his moves on her breasts, it showed just how sensitive her body was.

"Ah... W-What was that... Ah! ...Did I just... reach orgasm...?"

Now, Basara wanted to let her who is now in a trance due to her first-ever orgasm to experience the ecstasy from her butt. While continuing to suck her breasts, he grabbed her buttocks, and began kneading them violently.

" ! --Ahhh. Wa-Wait... Tou...jou... If you do that........Aaahhhh---!"

Hasegawa who had already become more sensitive due to already climaxing once -- her waist began trembling violently. However--

...Not done yet.

You want to understand a man more? Allow me to teach you in full depth. Basara continued to have his arm tight around her waist while bringing up his other arm to make contact with the tip, to clean away the foam--

"Aah! ...W-Wait, Toujou ...Ah! I-I still want to help wash you..."

She kicked away the plastic chair, and pushed Basara towards the floor.

After that, she brought her foam-covered body towards his body--

"Be a good boy and don't move... I'll also use my breasts to help you clean this place..."

Hasegawa said while smiling, and then applied pressure. She began using her breasts to rub against the top of his body.

Compared to just now, the movements of her breasts can now be felt even more clearly.

".......!"

Basara quivered a little. Hasegawa's soft breasts moved about provocatively on his chest; with every movement, the foam on her breasts would create obscene sound effects. Soon, she moved lower and lower -- until finally, she reached the edge of the towel on his waist. However, the particular part of his body that was already standing up due to a psychological reaction--

".....----!"

Hurriedly slid out from under Hasegawa -- with that, Basara was sitting at the edge of the bathtub.

He had managed to keep his last shred of rationality and not cross that final line. But--

"Do you really think that I, as the infirmary teacher... would really let you go with that sad look on your face?"

Hasegawa let out a wry smile at the sight of him testing his self-control, and unscrewed the head of a soap bottle, pouring its contents onto her breasts; the high viscosity liquid smoothly covered her foamy breasts, and a small pool formed in the center of her cleavage. She then knelt down in front of Basara and said:

"Come, Toujou... You have to know, having a older sister's love is really blissful."

Those lovely words captivated Basara, robbing him of capacity to make any movements.

...Ah...

His vision suddenly blurred. Blood was probably rushing to his head due to staying too long in the bath. It appears that Hasegawa hadn't detected it and on her face, emerged the wryest erotic smile since she entered the bathroom.

"--The joke made in the infirmary, is about to come into reality."

Hasegawa then supported her soap-covered breasts from below, and began to slowly advance inwards under the towel around his waist -- into the depths.

--Hasegawa's breasts, brushed Toujou Basara's body part under the towel.

"! Uh----?"

His strength suddenly left his body. Just like that, Hasegawa propped up the towel with her breasts and began moving her upper body up and down, robbing Basara of any capacity to think -- he could sign himself over, handing his all over to her.

When he opened his eyes again -- he realised he wasn't looking at the bathroom's ceiling anymore, but the changing room's instead.

...Str-ange...When did I...?

His consciousness was still blurry, and his thoughts were in a mess. Just then--

"--Are you okay, Toujou?"

As a voice entered his ears, a patch of white came into his view.

"Sensei....?"

Recognising the voice but unable to see the person, Basara began to look around, and then understood the current situation.

He, was using Hasegawa’s thighs with only a towel on as a pillow, and the white patches he had thought was the ceiling, were actually her breasts.

"---S-Sorry!"

He rolled over in panic, and jumped up. Suddenly--

"Woow… Oh!"

The towel around his waist loosened, and he then hurriedly pressed it down, hiding his important parts that he had never shown to anyone before. Only then, did he pat his chest, feeling ease.

"I'm really sorry… I'm supposed to be the infirmary teacher, but yet I didn't notice your condition."

Hasegawa then apologised profusely while sitting beside him.

"It's fine. I should be apologising instead, since I laid on your thighs for so long…"

He then kneeled down on the floor, and kowtowed.

"...............Um, Sensei?"

"Mnn? What is it?"

She answered with her usual tone upon hearing his question. Thus--

"Did I... really just have had a bath with sensei?"

He slowly raised his head, hoping that it was all just his imagination. She then said it as-a matter-of-factly:

"What, Toujou… Was your memories jumbled up when up fainted?"

"! ...Haha, how could that be? …How could I ever forget that sort of thing?"

Smiling while twitching his mouth, he realised that his hopes of it being just a dream was just a disillusionment.

"......So, just now, where, were we, when we, stopped?"

Basara asked choppily, praying heavily.

"Ah, that's right… You probably won't remember what was happening in the final moments when you lost consciousness. What happened was that I used my breasts to wash your body. Thanks to you, I managed to gain some valuable experience."

"----! T-That's great…"

His facial muscles twitched, and he thought -- it's not over yet, there’s still hope. Thus--

"T-Then where was the last part that sensei was washing…?"

He specifically asked for the location. If it had stopped at any point before that place, everything might still be fine. He sent out his last glimmer of hope and--

"Well… Do you remember the incident with the soap this evening in the infirmary?"

"--Eh? Y-Yes… It was to lubricate that stuck zipper…”

Basara only squeezed out such an answer with the sudden change in the topic. Hasegawa then pressed her hand against her large breasts, and said while teasingly smiling:

"So, comparing the you back then and the you from just now -- who do you think released more white viscous liquid onto my breasts?"

Hasegawa's words, completely obliterated Basara's last glimmers of hope. Only just understanding that it was all real--

".............................................Nevermind."

Saying that in a very small voice, Basara heavily put down his head once more.

Part 5

Later, Basara waited without anything on his upper body while waiting for his clothes to dry.

He once again thanked Hasegawa for the delicious meal, but decided to remain silent about the chain of events that happened in the bathroom.

By the time Basara left Hasegawa’s residence, it was already past eleven.

...It's already so late.

He couldn't help but sigh while waiting in line on the platform at the nearest train station.

Hasegawa wanted to drive him back, but he strongly rejected. While waiting for his clothes to dry, he watched Hasegawa who was dressed in a sexy bathrobe going about while worrying over whether what Hasegawa said had really happened; if the two of them were to be alone in that narrow space in the car, he wasn't sure if he would be able to suppress it.

Additionally...it's already dangerous enough going along with her this far. If Mio and the rest were to see him being dropped off, things will become very troublesome -- the aphrodisiac curse will definitely be set off from the jealousy towards Hasegawa. And so he fiddled with his phone--

"......All right."

Basara had already sent a message to inform them that he was going to be late while his clothes were being dried, and now he sent another one saying that he was currently on the train on his way back.

He kept his phone, and looked towards the arriving train.

...Ah, it's likely to be crowded.

After nightfall, this service line would already be filled with commuters returning home from work, and the amount of people boarding at this station were a lot; right now, he was part of a very long line. It was likely that Hasegawa, who used this station everyday knew this, and thus wanted to send him back herself. But even if he was to be packed into this [sardine can], accepting her offer was definitely not a viable option.

Just then, the announcement that the train was arriving sounded out. However--

『The express train will be passing through the station via platform 2. Commuters pleas--』

I see... So the express train doesn't stop at this station.

Just as he remembered that the workings of this station are different from the one nearest to his home, something happened.

--The whole station suddenly became dark. All of the lights in the station had suddenly went out.

Basara originally thought that the sudden change of events was a blackout, but--

"----Oh?"

He tilted his head to the right and redirected a punch directed at him from behind by sweeping his left hand.

"What the hell is going on...--?"

Basara had originally wanted to turn around to face the assailant that he thought was a drunkard or a robber taking advantage of the darkness, but he was forced to jump aside. It wasn't just behind him, but all of the commuters on the platform rushed towards him with their eyes appearing abnormal.

...! Could this be...!

Just as he thought of a possibility, the dim emergency lights suddenly disappeared, along with the sounds from the nearby streets. It appears that he was caught in a space distortion barrier.

Hence, Toujou Basara believed -- he was under attack.

...Damn! Just who, had even dragged civilians into this...!

Along with Basara, those commuters who were attacking him were also within the barrier; but he couldn't harm them as they were just under manipulation. Even though he had to face the barrage of punches and kicks while surrounded, he made use of the space he had to dodge the attacks, and retaliated when they missed him by hitting their necks or torso with enough force just to make them lose consciousness. Then--

"------!"

Many dots of light suddenly appeared, making Basara gasp. Its impossible to restore the electricity within the barrier, so there shouldn't be any light at all; around Basara appeared countless points of light, illuminating the darkness -- it's magic.

...No way! The people manipulated by magic can use magic too!? While this feat stunned Basara -- the barrier was suddenly dispelled, returning the space to normal.

"What----!"

Basara was rendered speechless. The people under manipulation are casting magic. If it is an attack magic and if it were to successfully activate, much damage caused to the station itself.

...Shit...!

The lights approaching from the other side of the track gave Basara much anxiety. Although there was a blackout in the station, the express train was originally supposed just go past this station in the first place. If these people here were to release the magic and cause damage to the tunnel or make a direct hit on the train, there will definitely be many casualties.

Thinking about the outlook, Basara stiffened his body -- using this opening, three of the bodies around him rushed towards him. Basara couldn't react in time, and the three bodies that kept very close to the ground grabbed his waist and legs and propelled him into empty air.

Crap -- When that thought came up, they were already falling towards the tracks, right in the path of the oncoming train. In that moment, the barrier was put back, as if the enemy doesn't want a catastrophe happening. Temporarily dispelling the spell was probably to make him show an opening. However--

...! Even dragging the train in this time...!

Even within the barrier, he could still see the train moving towards them. Casting a space dislocation type first, then a space replication type? It replicates every thing within it, and the incoming train wasn't an exception. When Basara and the three under manipulation landed on the tracks, the train was already right in front of them. Hence--

“Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

He decided quickly and gripped Brynhildr in reverse, sweeping it outwards with all his strength, forcefully throwing them off into the emergency evacuation space under the platform; since he couldn't avoid the train, he crouched down -- and jumped upwards at the train.

"----!"

He stepped lightly on the windshield, and proceeded to do a somersault upwards. In his sight, he saw the express train rushing past under him. As he was about to make another step and release the breath he was holding in--

Arrows of light shot out towards him from the magics on the platform.

...Shit! So they were aiming for this right from the start...!

His actions were completely predicted. He was in a position in mid-air where he was unable to dodge the attacks.

Thus -- facing the countless points of lights, he made the decision to engage the incoming attacks.

[I'll just deflect all that I can manage...!]

Readying himself, he assumed a stance to engage them--

"......Huh?"

But before the attacks entered Brynhildr's range, a wall made from water suddenly expanded out in front of him, deflecting all of the attacks. Following that--

"I had came over to take a look after sensing a space-distortion, but I wasn't expecting to find such a situation..."

The moment he heard that familiar voice -- a gust of wind wrapped around Basara, holding him in the air. Turning around, a young girl was in front of his eyes. She was wearing the combat attire of the hero tribe, with her left hand wearing the gauntlet needed specially for using spirits. This girl is very cute, but her expression showed unhappiness. This girl was--

"Kurumi...?

Yes, the one in front of him was Yuki's sister, the spiritual magic user Kurumi.

"Really... Having to save someone who had managed to defeat me..."

Sighing, she flipped her finger, and the wall protecting Basara scattered into droplets, wetting the entire platform. Changing the element for the gauntlet from water to wind, she stretched out her hand towards the ground, and large-scale magic burst at the target's vicinity.

"Hold on, those people are under manipulation--"

"I can see that. Don't worry -- I'll control my power."

She calmly responded to Basara asking her to stop and after that, thunder and wind filled the station, with lightning being channeled over the wet platform.

The people being manipulated, were then instantly paralysed.

Part 6

--It was unexpected, that Kurumi would use area type magic to paralyse those people that were being manipulated.

But it was thanks to her showing this card in her deck, that dealing with the aftermath wasn't so complicated.

The incident happened in a space created by the barrier, and thankfully the entire station had a blackout before he was attacked, causing the security cameras to stop working. Even if the cameras cannot record magic and the other abilities, it can still record what happened before the spell was set up. It was really a good thing that it had went the way it had.

Soon -- the civilians regained consciousness, and no one could remember what had happened while they were being manipulated. The normal people who didn't know about the existence of magic -- basically will not remember anything that happened while under the control of magic. Still, Kurumi had also brought along the forgetting incense for normal humans who had seen a battle and could remember it. But right now, it seems that it wouldn't be necessary.

--However, there was something that quite worrying. The people being manipulated, could use magic.

In the past when Zolgear had abducted Mio, using the case of Aikawa and Sakai, the people who were being manipulated by magic can temporarily see the fluctuations of magic, but they definitely cannot use magic. As a precaution, he had asked Kurumi to evoke spirits to check for traces of residual magic on their bodies, but there wasn't any positive results. Because of the lack of clues, the two of them would only leave the station just like that.

Hence, Basara asked Kurumi to send him home with flight magic. Once a magic barrier was set up, there wouldn't be any danger of being seen by normal people. Right now--

"...I see. So it was because of the periodic reports that Yuki gave the village."

Hugging Kurumi's waist whilst flying in the night sky, he listened to her reason for coming back here this time, and he said while showing his comprehension of the situation:

"So those elders couldn't just ignore it..."

"Of course. Not after causing such an incident with two S-class high-class demons -- such an incident had never happened even once after the war had ended."

She said snappily.

"Although you had stabilized situation for a bit by defeating the high class demon Zolgear...it'll probably be too much for just my sister alone in the future, so they wanted to send reinforcements."

「I see...」 He murmured. If the hero tribe wanted to eliminate an S-class demon, would normally send a team of five like last time instead of just Kurumi. With only Kurumi coming alone, it shows that--

...So those elders want to wait and observe till the end.

They probably wanted to see what would happen if they let no harm come to Mio while not getting themselves involved in the dispute over her between the Demon Factions. In other words, after they found out that a S-class demon had gotten involved, they sent Kurumi on a surveillance mission while clearly knowing that surveillance will be difficult to maintain, in light of their position as a bystander changing.

If that's the case,those elders would probably ask the Nonaka family to take responsibility over Yuki's past actions if Kurumi didn't voluntarily accept this mission. Anyway--

"So that is why you came... Thanks to that, I was saved. Thank you, Kurumi.

Basara had became nervous when he saw Kurumi use thunder magic, but it seems she had controlled its power. Hearing Basara's thanks, she then said unhappily:

"Make no mistake. I had come for my sister, not to help you or Naruse Mio."

But still, her cheeks had become slightly red. Hence, his answer was a [Alright, I understand.] whilst nodding his head and smiling.

"--Ah, that's right. Basara, do you know anyone who might manipulate ordinary people to attack you?"

"Well... After you appeared, the other party retreated. It feels as if like they don't want to be involved with the hero tribe, so it might be another demon who wants to abduct Mio..."

According to Takigawa, the Current Demon Lord faction and the Moderates faction will not make any movements for now. When Zolgear was killed, the current demon lord faction, who has much power and determination, must've increased their monitoring of the situation to prevent anyone acting unconscionably on their own -- if so, their odds won't change much even with Kurumi here. Also, attacking Basara while he was alone instead of directly going for Mio was something to be concerned about. Was it to eliminate him, or was it an attempt for his [Banishing Shift]?

...Currently, Takigawa was on his way back to the demon realm.

He had returned to make his report to the current demon lord, so it would be best to not make careless contact him now. Of course, if the one Basara was looking for was his classmate Takigawa to have a chat with instead of the demon Lars, there wouldn't be any problems; but since he didn't know his whereabouts and who would be listening in, he can't contact him just because he wanted to know of the demon's movements.

...Having said that, I can't just sit around and do nothing...

This time was different, since the other party involved innocent civilians without reservation. This was the situation that Basara was the most unhappy with. Apart from just the psychological shocks that it would bring, once there would be any sort of adverse impacts on ordinary people, there was no guarantee that the [Village] wouldn't turn Mio into an elimination target. Even if Basara was the enemy's target, predicting the decisions from the [Village] would be equally difficult; it would be great if their decision were to designate the Basara who they had exiled as a target for protection, or to continue protecting the dangerous element Mio. Hence--

"All in all, let's return first to ask Maria. Right now, there are too few clues."

Part 7

A few minutes later -- they arrived in front of the house.

The [Village] is currently aware that Yuki is living in this house together with Mio and Maria; even if Mio is a demon, she is also a protection target, so Kurumi likely wouldn't attack her for no reason. Just as the two of them opened the door and were about to take a step inside--

"Ah, welcome back, Basara~"

Maria left the dressing room and came to them with a hearty greeting. In that moment--

"----!"

A gasp filled with misunderstandings came from behind Basara, causing him wrap his hands around his face with a [Crap].

That was because, Maria was donning the look of being-naked-with-only-an-apron-on look again.

"Oh? Isn't that Yuki's sister? ...What did you come for this time?"

Seeing Maria running over with small steps, Kurumi's face was already pale.

"Yo-You... Why are you dressed like that?!"

"--Not really, Kurumi. This situation isn't really what it seems to be. Maria, turn around once to show her."

"? Like this?"

Maria spun around once on the spot and contrary to Basara's expectations, her side boobs, side belly, and bare butts were visible; needless to say, her back was also completely bare. Basara froze for a moment, and then--

"Oi! Why are you not wearing anything underneath?!"

"It's to make you think that I'm posing and pretending to be naked with only an apron on, when the truth is that it's a psychological trap to make you think that. Ahaha! Basara completely fell for it!"

What the hell are you even doing... Can't you just take a look at the situation you're in right now? Just then--

"S-So it's really like that! What the hell are you even trying to do, dressed like that?!"

Kurumi was already at her limit, and had shouted out with her face totally red.

"Oyaya~?" Could it be, that this is your first time seeing someone dressed like that~? Ah...then look as much as you want. After all, this will forever be a man's dream -- a naked apron!"

"You're an idiot! Who would even want to see such a thing!?"

Maria put her hands on her hips and swaggered , causing Kurumi to uncontrollably shout at her. This is bad... They had just came in through the door and the air is already thick with gunpowder, all it would take is just a single spark. He needs to quickly defuse the situation. Just as Basara began to panic--

"Ah, that's right. Maria, where's Yuki? I haven't heard from her and Mio so far...?"

He hurriedly asked this. Since it has already come to this, he could only ask Yuki to placate Kurumi, and ask Mio to dispose of Maria. But still, they had already made such a ruckus, and yet both of them had yet to show up.

"Ah, that's right, I almost forgot. Both of them are waiting for you in the living room, so quickly go over."

"? In the living room? I got it."

Was there something that they need to talk about? He then took off his shoes, and said:

"Kurumi, you also should make yourself at home. Quickly come in."

".........I'm coming in."

She gave him a dirty look, and proceeded to take off her shoes.

"--Ah, that's right. Basara, please take off your socks here too."

Maria said while stretching her hands towards him. Since Maria just came out from the dressing room, she's probably doing laundry now. Although he felt that it was a little too late at night to be doing laundry, all of the housekeeping stuff was managed by Maria; thus he decided to not touch that matter, and obediently handed his socks to her. He then opened the door to the living room and said:

"Sorry to keep you waiting for so long -- well, is there anything yo--"

you want to talk to me about...Basara suddenly froze mid-action.

In their underwear -- with only a single vest on, both Mio and Yuki were on their hands and feet, shyly looking up to him.

At their neck and butt area, a dog's collar and tail were there.

Nonaka Yuki, and also Naruse Mio, had dressed themselves up together as a pair of dogs, awaiting his arrival home.

-- After Takigawa had gave them advice, hoping that they wouldn't become a burden to Basara

The both of them had been silent on their way home while thinking -- how can they supplement Basara's power while staying by his side. Of course, as Takigawa said, increasing their power was most important. When fighting Zest at Zolgear's place, the both of them had attacked simultaneously. Since then, the both of them had tried practicing combining their powers, but they definitely still need more practice and experience. However, just that wasn't enough. All possible methods need to be utilized.

After reaching a consensus in the discussion, they had decided to let themselves be subjugated by Basara. Under their master-servant contract under Basara, deepening their trust and dependence to each other can increase their battle potential -- that was what they can do for him.

Once they got home, the both of them had a discussion with Maria. From that, she had proposed what they are currently doing and wearing now.

Before Basara reached home, Maria had even done the fine-tuning: how they should crawl, how they should shake their butts to make men excited, how they should do their licking to make it sensual, etc.

In addition to these, she also made them completely understand that being able to obey this orders is something to be really happy about. Just like that, the both of them had become Basara's dogs. So--

"Sorry to make yo--"

In the moment Basara entered the living room, Yuki's heart filled with happiness.

...Master...

She suppressed her urge to rush up to him. She definitely cannot be so rude, doing things without her master's orders. It was for Basara, that she had become a dog.

"! ...You....?"

He had shouted in surprise upon seeing them, then suddenly stopped.

"-----------"

The both of them began to slowly crawl towards him. wagging their butts all the way, which also made the tail shake and rub against their thighs and butts. They were doing it so naturally and comfortably.

Reaching the position beside his leg, the both of them raised their eyes to look at him.

...Ah...

There was such a big gap. Basara's face seemed so far away. From this angle, Yuki understood what the relationship between the current her who had became a dog, and her master Basara. Then, the both of them began rubbing their heads against his knee, all while thinkin--

...With this, that from today onwards...

Just by putting on this pair of ears and tail, the both of them could anytime become real dogs.

Oh god... The pleasure even made their butts shake even more, and those actions brought her own self lower and lower to a real dirty dog's level.

Upon self-realization of what they have become, the sights of Mio and Yuki met, and bringing their heads lower--

"..........................."

The both of them began licking Basara's feet. This action, made the both of them into real dogs. With the saliva-covered tongue, the texture, warmth and taste of his foot, were all transmitted to them. So--

"! ----"

Nonaka Yuki shuddered, with a sweet feeling running through her body, raising her body temperatures. What just happened, was that just by licking his foot, gave her a small minor climax.

Similarly, by her side, the same thing also happened to Mio. A light then covered the three of them.

The contract had recognised that they had advanced another step, and raised their battle potential.

Their master Basara had became stronger, and this has also increased their combat power.

Which also means that the chances of Basara being under life-threatening conditions has also reduced. Hence--

...God, to think that I could yield to this degree...

This had made Mio get a sense of accomplishment.

-- Originally, she had wanted to entrust her all to Basara. However, the reason that Zolgear had created Zest was to own the power in the virgin demon girls. So similarly, right now Mio couldn't do that particular act with him.

Reason being...

Before Zest returned to the demon realm, she had said that Mio had inherited Wilbert's power because he wanted to protect his child before he died. And so, the instant she loses her virginity, that power may deem that she has already become an adult, and just vanish from existence.

On Yuki's side, in the hero tribe, there was also something similar. The spirit sword [Sakuya] that had chosen her, was just like the [witch] in Shinto; once a girl loses her virginity, the [witch] would also deem that she has lost her qualifications. Which means that if Yuki were to lose her virginity, [Sakuya] would reject her as it's user. While for men, they were the ones that had to battle regardless of whether they had a family, so whether they were still a virgin wasn't important. However, after Yuki's mother had given birth to her, she practically couldn't use her original amount of power anymore.

And so, if they were to lose so much power in a moment's error, there will definitely be heavy consequences. With the current relations between the Current Demon Lord Faction and the Moderates Faction, they definitely can't lose their power in the heat of the moment and become a burden to Basara.

The only one who could possibly do the [act] with Basara without losing their power might only be the succubus Maria. However, her ability to turn into her adult form seems to use a magical <key> to transform her to give her a large amount of power. Doing the [act] could be the equivalent of causing her to be an adult, causing her to be unable to turn into her adult form ever again.

-- But then again, as long as they do not lose their virginity, they could do anything.

And that was the reason why both Mio and Yuki decided to push aside their feelings of embarrassment, and to turn into dogs.

To maximise their yielding to Basara, to raise their powers. Just then--

"Oi oi oi, you two...that's enough already!"

He then managed to put together why the both of them are doing this. But, despite Basara trying to get them to stop, Mio still kept licking his leg while Yuki kept sucking on his toes. Yuki was even letting her tongue run over every corner of his toes, making lewd sounds while having a deep lustful look.

I don't want to lose to her Hence, Mio also moved towards his toes with her tongue out--

...Eh?

She then saw an unfamiliar pair of feet behind Basara's. It wasn't Maria's, as she had seen her's while learning how they should crawl. If it isn't Maria's, then whose feet was it? When Mio looked upwards in puzzlement--

"-----------"

She realised that that pair of feet belonged to a girl which she had seen before.

Nonaka Kurumi, who was completely stiff, met Mio's eyes. And this caused Mio's determination to become a dog to intensify, to be one in front of Maria, Basara and Yuk--

" ! --------Yyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!"

That high-pitched scream turned them back into humans.

Dressed as a dog, Mio then turned to run, and locked herself in her room.

" ! ...Oi, this situation, hurry up and give me an explanation!"

After that, they were scolded by the very annoyed Kurumi. Sequentially from the right, Yuki, Basara and Maria were all kneeling in a row.

...No wonder she's so angry.

Even Basara who knew what was going on now, had only understood after seeing the light to signal the increase of battle potential. And so, first was a general introduction about the master-servant contract, followed by a detailed explanation on why it was done and necessary.

Even though Kurumi had some knowledge about magic, she was unable to accept it, but she still tried to understand.

"In other words -- all that just happened was to deepen the relationship with Basara as the master and raise their battle potential?"

"...Yes. Because Mio and I dressed up as dogs and expressed our subjugation to him, we managed to become stronger together again."

By his side, Yuki explained the attire. From the start, she was the one who gave her the explanations while Basara and Maria remained silent. Considering Kurumi's personality, it was best if Basara and Maria remained silent and leave it to Yuki. However--

"W-Wait... What do you mean by [again]? ...Don't tell me that this isn't the first time you have done this sort of thing...?"

She then nodded towards Kurumi who seemed to be misunderstanding something.

"That was my second time being strengthened. The first time was when the contract was made, when Basara subjugated me while I was under the effects of the aphrodisiac curse."

Oi... Could letting Yuki explain be a mistake? Kurumi's anger level was clearly rising without any sign of stopping. Sure enough, she became even more furious and shouted:

" ! --What the hell were you two even thinking! How could you use the demon's magic to just get stronger?! What would you do if [Sakuya] rejects you?!"

"Um, about that--"

"Ah, no need to worry about that."

While Basara was still thinking on what to do, Maria interrupted from the sidelines and said:

"When [Sakuya] chose Yuki as its user, did it happen after the both of them here separated in their childhood? So, the spirit chose her because it saw her strong will to help and protect Basara, and gave its strength to her. The Yuki right now only wants to help Basara, and she linked her soul to his, so the spirit basically wouldn't reject her."

" ! ...Even if it's like that, you being like that... It's just too weird!"

Maria then squinted both her eyes, and said towards the red-faced Kurumi:

"Weird in what way? If the both of them hadn't done that contract, then we all would probably already be dead in that fight. Our opponent Zolgear was classified as an S-class high-level demon by you Heroes, he had a lot of power. Let me guess, you want both Yuki and Basara to die?"

"That...!"

Seeing her exposed pained expression--

"Maria... The decision whether to support it or not was made by the elders, you can't solely blame Kurumi."

Basara then continued:

"Additionally -- I had also said that something happened on my way home. When I was attacked, it was Kurumi who saved me. That was separate from the decision of the village to send her as reinforcement in the surveillance mission, it was of her own free will."

So you can't blame her too much, since--

"Even I was shocked when I entered the living room... For Kurumi who didn't know what it was for, her being able to remain calm must be weirder."

Hearing Basara trying to keep her calm, Kurumi's attitude somewhat softened a bit. However--

"Ah ah, so that's what it's all about... Actually, what we are doing, it is just too shocking to the kid so new to things between adults, and the reason why she was so angry was to hide her embarrassment, right?"

Maria's provocation once again set fire to the atmosphere.

"D-Don't treat me like a kid... I will be in high school next year!"

"Hahaha, was there any relation to age in my words? What I'm talking about is you, your mentality. It's just like a kid's. Really, such a big difference from the mature Yuki...are you two really sisters?"

" ! ...A kid's?! Speaking of which, my development began earlier than my sister's, so I'm already mature! Even for that special day for a woman, it would definitely come earlier for me!"

"-----"

Strange, did Yuki just tremble? Just then--

"Hoho... Even more mature than Yuki? Since you said so, then let me actually see it for myself."

"S-See what... Why even bother about you."

"O~ya~ You have no confidence? Yayaya~ then I think that you better give up hope. The city is for mature women, so the kids better go back to that [Village] in the countryside for a few more years."

"Who's the one that has no confidence! Fine, I'll prove it to you!"

Basara could only watch as Kurumi shouted in front of him, thoroughly taken the bait.

"Oioi, Kurumi--"

"! --Basara you remain quiet!"

And she just tyrannically stemmed Basara's protest.

...Come at me! What's there to be afraid of about you...!

How can a hero make herself as a joke in front of a demon over such a trivial matter... Even if she has no experience with men, after she had returned to the village after fighting with Basara in the past -- Kurumi's body had undergone changes. In these past five years, a corner of Kurumi's heart was frozen from that particular tragedy. After she found out she wasn't that different from him -- no, that he was even more tormented than her -- that part of her heart finally thawed.

That's why, recently those aunts close to her in the [village] had suddenly told her that she had suddenly became more mature and that she may have even more feminine charms than Yuki, and things related to that.

"Come, just do whatever you want."

"Alright, I'll help myself then--"

Maria stood up and came to Kurumi's side, and began to grope her left breast, closing her eyes to carefully analyze its shape and size. She then opened her eyes. What Maria looked at -- wasn't Kurumi's breasts but her eyes instead.

"W-What are you planning to...?"

She couldn't help but to ask.

Just then, demonic magic suddenly appeared in Maria's eyes--

"................Eh?"

In the next moment, Kurumi suddenly found herself with her butt to the ground. What just happened -- when she thought this, a wave of sweet numbness suddenly flowed over her, rushing over her from her lower abdomen.

And that -- was the shocking pleasure that Kurumi had never experienced before.

" ! ...Yaaah! W-What is this... Aaaooo! W-What did you do!"

"Nothing much. I only just slightly used my succubus power's baptism to let you enter into that state."

"D......Didn't you just only wanted to only check my breast size?........Aah!"

Red-faced, Kurumi raised her wet eyes, but Maria answered without even lifting an eyebrow.

"What's wrong? What I was expecting was a Kurumi that had an even more mature image than Yuki; so of course what I wanted to check, was whether or not you can be even more lewd than Yuki.... Come, Basara, come and check if Kurumi is really even more mature than Yuki."

"W-Why me...?"

"What why? Kurumi here claims that she is even more mature than Yuki, so if we don't get the same person to test it, wouldn't it be unfair to her?"

The sudden order caused Basara to be in a mess, while Maria then said as-a matter-of-factly:

"As tonight isn't a full moon, the master-servant contract can't be made tonight. But still, I can set the intensity of her state, as well as the method to lift the current state to be like it. When I groped her breast just now, it wasn't to check its size but to check her body's sensitivity to pleasure, and properly set its intensity so as to let her feel the same intensity. If we start from Yuki's level, a beginner to this won't be able to take it. However--"

She put on a devilish smile, and continued:

"Since Kurumi has already said that she was more mature than Yuki, I guess that this level shouldn't be enough to see it. It isn't enough to make you grit your teeth yet, right?"

"Y-You... Ah! Wh-..ahh!"

At the sight of Kurumi trying to talk while gasping, the sound of Basara's sigh was heard. Following that--

"You said that the method to lift it is the same as the others...so what you mean is...that I have to subjugate her, right?"

"That's right -- but then, Basara, why not also ask Yuki to help you? A younger sister claiming to be even more mature than her, it must've made her unsatisfied with you.... Isn't that right, Yuki?"

Hearing Maria's words, Yuki suddenly stood up and walked towards Kurumi.

Unnoticed from just now, the collar-like markings were already on her neck. It seems that the curse was already triggered from the events just now.

Yuki slipped behind Kurumi's back, and said:

"As my little sister, you are nothing special... I'll let you know right now that I'm the more mature one now."

"Ah! ......Big sis?"

With that, Yuki mercilessly took off Kurumi's shirt. Although she tried to resist, Kurumi couldn't due to the sweetness of her climaxes, and she was then left with only her underwear.

"Hurry up, Basara....let us see which of us is the more mature one."

"! .....Nooo.........! -Fuaahhhh!"

Although she wanted to resist, her climaxes' sweetness yet only allowed little movement to do it.

"Don't worry, Kurumi...very soon, we will make you yield..."

With that, Basara then stretched out a hand, towards the breast still being held up by the bra. That moment--

"-------------"

The sweet feeling which then burst out over her, told Kurumi what it really feels and means to really orgasm.

From then onwards -- Kurumi was unable to believe what followed actually happened.

Yuki and Basara, the two of them then worked together to roam and explore every corner of her body. What Maria had done to her had raised her body's sensitivity by a lot; even through her underwear, she still climaxed multiple times just from being rubbed there violently, and soon enough, her mind began to blur. When the both of them stripped off her bra and directly caressed her breast, and her ability to feel embarrassment was also almost eliminated. Following that--

"Ah! ......Ahhhaa... Brother, Basara......... Ah......ah! ......Aahhh...!"

"Ah..... Basara..... Don't focus on Kurumi only and forget about me.....!"

Basara's caressing of Kurumi had caused the strengthening of Yuki's curse from jealousy, which then caused the entanglement of Yuki and Basara's limbs. Seeing her sister's lustful look, Kurumi suddenly remembered a scene with the three of them playing from their childhood. Unconsciously, she began to feel happiness from starting to be tangled with the three of them together--

"Kurumi, put both your hands together above your head..."

"! ...Ah, like this...?"

Kurumi then straddled Basara waist who was lying down facing up. After that, Basara put his hands into her panties to directly rub her butt. At the same time from behind Kurumi, Yuki began to rub and massage Kurumi's breasts that has already become as sensitive as hers. Additionally, Yuki also brought her tongue towards her right armpit. In that moment--

"! --Aaahhhhhhhhhhhhh! Aahh! Sis.... That place, don't........!"

"What a cute armpit....ah...this taste..."

As Kurumi started quivering, Yuki then began licking her armpit again, satisfied at her reaction. Wanting to avoid the overflowing pleasure originating from her armpits, she tried to twist her body; but then Basara suddenly raised his upper body and took her breast into his mouth--

"Ah! ....Basara... W-Wh—Ah... Ah,Ahhh! --Aaahhhhhhhh!"

The tip that has already become very sensitive from all the sucking -- when she tried to call him while gasping, she suddenly trembled strongly. From the sides while holding a camera, Maria said:

"The hero sisters drowning in pleasure..... Ohh~, what a beautiful scene... Oh feast your eyes on this!"

"...........Say, Maria, once I subjugate her, it will be lifted, right?"

While giving pleasure to Kurumi, he asked the excited succubus.

"Normally when removing Yuki's and Mio's curse, it didn't even take this long..."

"Aahh... I would guess that it's probably that Kurumi's weakness isn't her breasts or butt. But then, seeing the reactions caused by Yuki, I would guess that it would be--"

".........I see."

"? Basara, wh-........-A,Ahh!"

With a sudden change of their positions, Kurumi was lying on the ground, and Basara came up above her.

"Yuki... Help me to hold her hands in place."

"Ah.... I got it."

Yuki grabbed both of Kurumi's wrists, and brought them above Kurumi's head. With her movements restricted, Kurumi saw Basara looking at her while stroking her cheeks--

...Ah...

Seeing the tenderness and determination in his eyes, Nonaka Kurumi finally understood.

Her intuition told her -- from now on, she will be subjugated forcefully. With that--

"--I'm starting, Kurumi."

Those words made Kurumi swallow her saliva in anticipation and nervousness. But--

"Mnn... Let Kurumi be subjugated, Basara..."

Upon hearing Kurumi saying it with her tone she used specially for Basara in their childhood, he then immediately brought his mouth to her defenceless armpit.

「! ----------------」

A tsunami hit Kurumi in the next moment, and the pleasure almost swept away her consciousness.

Toujou Basara witnessed the moment her whole body shook.

Having tasted enough pleasure to break up her consciousness, Kurumi was both intoxicated and happy.

But nevertheless, her breathing remained stable, which let Basara let out a sigh in relief.

"Thanks, Basara... Leave the rest to I."

After subjugating Kurumi, Yuki's jealousy seems to have subsided and the curse seemed to have already faded. After watching Kurumi carried by Yuki into her room--

"--Maria, what were you even thinking?"

With only the two of them left in the living room, Basara gave Maria an accusing look.

"The master-servant contract hasn't been done between Kurumi and me...was there a need to do that?"

With that, Maria then smiled bitterly and said:

"Sorry... But since Kurumi coming here was to help Yuki, doesn't it mean that she will be living here from now on? And so, I was thinking that it would be better for her to know what sort of thing the contract was. If she could accept it like Yuki did, then things would be simple... However, as expected, her reaction to seeing it was really sharp and sudden."

"Uh, isn't that supposed to be a normal reaction...?"

"About that... Kurumi being shocked and then resisting is just like Basara said, normal. But from my viewpoint, she actually wants to be on the stage. And so I thought that it would be for the best if she were to join us. I had no intention to emulate uncle Jin, but this will make Kurumi see me as the enemy and accept all of your decisions."

"Perhaps what you said is logical..."

Hearing Maria's intention, Basara had a solemn expression and said:

"Since it's like this, there isn't a need to just collar everyone up, right? Regretfully, we need the assistance of the master-servant contract, and this is a problem for all of us. Unless... you feel that you might be sent back to the demon realm, to be a scapegoat?"

"How can that be? I hadn't thought that... It's just, I also have a sister too..."

Maria then continued:

"Just like how I had explained it when the Demon Realm sent people to fetch my mother back, my sister is currently the subordinate of Ramusas, the current leader of the Moderates Faction. She has a strict and stubborn personality, so she will definitely never forgive me for doing those things for Zolgear... So at least, I was hoping that the Nonaka sisters could at least maintain their good relationship together."

".................."

"Just kidding you... I was just following my instincts was a succubus--"

Suddenly, Basara tightly hugged Maria who had a smile that seemed to be hiding something. While in his grasp--

"...Haish~ , Basara is such a lolicon."

The immature succubus then chuckled.

"How am I one... I'm just only showing you my love."

With that, Basara applied even more force in hugging that petite body.

[Haishhh~]

Maria then smiled and sighed again, and returned the hug.

With no one else in the living room -- the two of them just silently hugged each other.

Chapter 2: Caught Between Deepening Friendship and Mystery

Part 1

“…It’s true. It looks like we’ve been swept pretty far away.”

Toujou Jin said as he sighed in a dark cave. —While he was fighting against Leohart, in order to save a teenage soldier, he carried him and fell into the palace’s moat. Since he could be prone to arrows or magic attacks if he surfaced, Jin decided to leave the scene quickly. He waved his fist in the water, opening a hole through a rock wall and drifted into a river — an underground cave below the river gave in; thus the strong current generated by the connection of the river moat and the cave swallowed Jin and the teenaged soldier together, and they were swept into the depths of the underground river in an instant.

“However, swimming down here may be to my benefit…”

Although he was swept quite a great distance away, Jin hadn’t yet lost his sense of direction. Looking at the area around the Demon Lord’s palace, it was only necessary to follow the flow of the water, and it should then be possible escape from the area around the south’s Dark Sea. So—

“—That’s possible right, Fio?”

Toujou Jin turned to the other side of the campfire to ask, and a voice which sounded reluctant replied

“It’s up to you…is there a need to ask me?”

It was the teenaged soldier who was rescued from the palace. To prevent getting a cold, Jin had taken off Fio’s lightweight armour and uniform, then lent him his coat. Seeing his reaction, Jin wryly smiled to himself. …His mood should have calmed down a little. After all, when Fio woke up, he took his sword out and came over to kill as soon as he saw Jin. This teenage soldier was able to become a member of the palace guard at a very young age, his skill really wasn’t too bad, but he was no match for Jin as an opponent; after experiencing the gap in their strength by crossing swords, he gave up on resisting. It was just that Jin’s actions to remove Fio’s wet armour and clothing were rough and hard — which made him react even more exaggeratedly than before, loudly cursing [Hentai]. After which, Fio maintained a high degree of vigilance, and when Jin asked his name or other questions, he reluctantly murmured, but his replies were honest answers. Jin asked Fio who was a member of the palace guard about some first-hand information that was limited only to people within the palace. Of course, an ordinary soldier like Fio wouldn’t know about any political information, and he wouldn’t say it even if he knew. However, he replied about the Palace’s environment and Fio himself as well as his colleagues had great respect for Leohart — he also made a few remarks without hesitation about the group in opposition ‘The Council’ who were unsatisfied about Leohart taking the seat of Demon Lord.

However…

According to what Jin overheard from the conversations of other soldiers when he snuck into the Palace, recently the Demon’s were excavating the ruins of an ancient Demon God in the Western region. If they could find the sleeping spirits of war and awaken them for battle, the dispute with the Moderates Faction could soon come to an end. …That was somewhat bad. The situation was gradually getting worse. If this continued, even the truce between humans and the Demons could follow suit and collapse. Of course the solution would be, but— …Well, how can you make everything go smoothly? When Jin was thinking deeply about this—

“…Can you answer one question of mine? You’re Jin Toujou right? You went on a rampage in the Great War, and you’re the War God of the Hero Tribe right? So someone like you coming to kill His Majesty Leohart — means that the Hero Faction wants to start a war with us again right?”

This was a question filled with unease. The Great War ended sixteen years ago, peace and prosperity followed in the Demon Realm; but after the previous Demon Lord Wilbert passed away, the Demon Realm became divided into several forces, and they were killing each other. But there was no doubt that, under such circumstances, Fio would be convinced that after the current Demon Lord Faction and Moderates Faction end their dispute, peace would be restored to the Demon Realm; but Jin infiltrated the Palace and fought with Leohart, so it would make him feel as though the end of the war was nowhere in sight and he would be filled with feelings of anxiety. So —

“Don’t worry…I came to the Demon Realm completely of my own accord, sneaking into the Palace was just incidental, the other Heroes won’t be coming over to fight.”

“You said your fight with His Majesty was just incidental…so what did you come to the Demon Realm for?”

Toujou Jin smiled as he said to Fio whose eyes were wide open in astonishment

“Ah, that — I came here to look for someone important to me that I separated with.”

Part 2

Unexpectedly, even Kurumi had also succumbed the next morning. Besides preparing breakfast, the people in the Toujou household began discussing a certain topic. It was because they suddenly became rather busy after coming home last night so they didn’t have the chance to talk about it, about when Basara had passed by at the station gates.

“Speaking of which, it’s really quite strange…”

While making breakfast in the kitchen, Maria tilted her head. She used one hand to crack the eggs into a large bowl, added milk and fresh cream, and then used chopsticks to whisk it together as she said

“The current Demon Lord Faction should have found out a while ago that we’ve had contact with the Moderates Faction. Lars-san said that he would keep your ability a secret Basara-san, as when he was in the human realm, he also reported to them about Zolgear’s attempt to capture Mio-sama; so the higher-ups should’ve warned those below them not to act rashly, and the people from the Demon Faction shouldn’t approach Mio-sama for now.”

“…So it seems.”

Basara who was beside Maria expressed his agreement as he was making a salad dressing, following her recipe, he combined several types of vinegar and olive oil together.

“Even if they aren’t united, I also don’t think that there’d be anyone stupid enough to attack you at this point. However, since Zolgear was an irregular presence, I certainly can’t guarantee that there won’t be another person who does something like that.”

“…Well, could the Moderates Faction be behind it?”

Contributing to the various possibilities was Mio who was placing cutlery onto the table.

“If they are, we won’t give Maria to them right? The Moderates Faction isn’t very cohesive, so it would be quite normal for some people to dislike us right?”

Mio’s tone of voice carried a sense of slight concern. She was like this even last night, it seemed like she noticed that the danger was not only to herself, but also to Basara as well.

“But, we defeated the Demon Faction’s high-class devil Zolgear, so the Moderates Faction would judge our strength very highly; furthermore, Mio-sama is also His Majesty Wilbert’s only child, and there shouldn’t be anyone who would come to cause trouble with Basara-san right now, as they don’t want to lose Mio-sama’s trust…”

After Maria had said that, Yuki opened the door and came into the living room.

“…How did it go?”

Yuki, who had went to get Kurumi, shook her head and said

“She’s wrapped in a blanket and doesn’t want to come out, she said that she doesn’t want to eat breakfast.”

“Oh, she shouldn’t do that. Breakfast is an energy source for the day. For a growing girl like Kurumi-san, breakfast is the most important meal of day.”

“Please…it’s still your fault alright, saying such things…”

Mio said as she sighed, her cheeks suddenly turned red. She seemed to be thinking about what she did when she herself turned into a dog, subconsciously holding her own body; Yuki’s face was also slightly flushed, and she looked at Basara with passionate eyes. Basara couldn’t help but make a small cough to clear his throat to say

“A-Anyway…no matter what the possibility might be, this attack is the result of someone acting on their own.”

“Yes. Also, their motive is rather confusing. As soon as Kurumi-san appeared, they immediately released the barrier and withdrew, so it could probably just be some kind of warning.”

“A warning huh…”

“—Maria, I have a question.”

After Basara reflected about it for a while, Yuki came to the kitchen and said

“I want you to tell me if you have ever heard that the Demon Faction is not only able to control normal people, but also able to allow them to use magic. Of the demons that I’ve fought in the past, there wasn’t a single one who was capable of doing this.”

“Hmm~ I also don’t have any ideas…”

Maria worriedly said

“High-class demons are able to turn humans into their own kin and give them demonic power, but that would be permanent…Whether or not if there is a workaround for it, I do not know.”

“……Indeed.”

After Yuki replied softly, she mused about it silently, and seeing this, Basara —

“This incident, is it possible that [The Village] will make a move?”

“…I don’t think so. Looking at the way things are now, there’s a high chance that the Demon Faction will make a move, so it should continue like before until the Demon Faction intends to fight Mio, just observing.”

Yuki then said “but” before continuing

“For ordinary people with nothing to do with this to be manipulated, this is already a sufficient reason for [The Village] to intervene. This time Kurumi alone was sent to handle things, no one was injured, and also considering that it was only a warning, they will probably just order me and Kurumi to be more vigilant. But—”

“—If ordinary people are harmed, [The Village] will immediately take further action.”

[The Village] would take action for the purpose of assisting Yuki or Kurumi, so there naturally wouldn’t be any problems, and it would actually be a big help; but they previously regarded Mio as a target for elimination, so even if this time the person attacked was Basara, they might put the blame on Mio. No matter whether it was for Mio, Yuki or Kurumi, they still needed to prevent this from happening. It was also uncertain — whether the enemy was targeting this. In this way —

“As a precaution, it would be best if we didn’t go to school for a while…”

This enemy didn’t care about the involvement of innocent civilians, and in a place like a school where there were students and teachers, the surrounding area was likely to be affected. But—

“No…when we don’t know what the enemy’s motive is, I think it’s better if you continue to attend school normally Basara-san. If those behind the attack on you were Demons — it may also relate to the Moderates Faction, the current Demon Lord Faction or another faction.”

Maria continued

“They don’t want the Moderates Faction and the current Demon Lord Faction to continue expanding, whether the current Demon Lord Faction gains His Majesty Wilbert’s power, or the Moderates Faction take back Mio-sama, they’re trying to prevent that. In order to achieve that purpose, killing Mio-sama would be the quickest way. However, taking action directly would be the same as declaring war against the two largest factions in the Demon Realm—”

“So causing the casualties of ordinary people by my side, that won’t be solved by having the Hero Tribe with Mio right?”

“No…”

Basara explained the speculation that Maria made, and Mio quietly whispered.

“Of course, that’s only one possibility. The one attacked was Basara-san, not Mio-sama; and when they also harmed ordinary people, that’s when it started. But—”

Maria spoke again

“We still don’t know what the other side’s objective is, so we should consider various possibilities, and take necessary action. If the enemy is really going after Mio-sama’s life, the most effective way would be to take action with the people most directly related to Mio-sama at school; if last night’s attack was an attempt to lure you, Basara-san, and you don’t go to school but instead stay inside the house because you’re worried about involving ordinary people, it will actually make it easier for the enemy to set traps. Moreover, if something did happen at school, you wouldn’t be able to take immediate action. So we might as well maintain our current state, and at the same time try to investigate the enemy’s objective.”

“…Understood. Until we know what our enemy’s purpose is, we’ll try our best to maintain our normal routine.”

Basara then followed that with a “but”. In order not to cause damage to their surroundings he forcefully said

“At school, we need to be more cautious than before, so we should definitely go home together when school ends — do you understand?”

There were no objections to that, and everyone nodded firmly.

Part 3

In the end — whoever seemed to be following Basara became more alert and pulled back, thus there were no longer any attacks. Due to the addition of extra-curricular work for the sports festival as part of the organising committee, these three people were always extremely busy, and it was as if the attack at the station never happened. —However, Toujou Basara did not let his guard down. Because since that day, he felt that someone was always watching him.

Currently—…they’re watching me again.

During gym class, among the boys of the two classes who were lined up in the schoolyard, Toujou Basara felt that someone was secretly watching him again, and his body tensed up slightly. It wasn’t like what Yuki did previously, or what Takigawa did to Mio, nor what Zest did to Basara; surveillance which avoided the victim from detecting it. It was unknown where it was coming from, and as if deliberately wanting Basara to know, it purposely emphasised its own existence. Of course, Basara was also trying to follow that feeling in order to find the other person, but it didn’t leave many traces of itself behind, and its identity remained unknown. With nothing to do against being watched, the days went by — but, Basara didn’t achieve nothing.

—Firstly, it should be correct that the opponent’s objective was Basara. By feeling watched, Basara could only deduce that the opponent didn’t want Mio who had inherited Wilbert’s power like previously, nor was it too likely that it was the third faction of the Demon Realm attempting to take Mio’s life. And…secondly — it was highly likely that it was someone related to Hijirigasaka Academy. That was because whenever Basara was in the school, he would always get the feeling of being watched only when there were other people all around watching him, thus he couldn’t make a move.

In order to avoid endangering innocent people, Basara was on high alert against anyone who might sneak into the school, but it came from close by within his surroundings. Thus, they were a member of this school to begin with. But—…was such a thing really possible? Within the school, Yuki and Takigawa had snuck in to observe Mio, and they often monitored the surroundings, paying attention to whether there were any threats. Of course, like Takigawa who had come to the school first, he wasn’t detected by Yuki, as those who came first had the upper hand over those who came later which made it a considerable advantage to have a hidden identity. If the opponent’s skill was so extraordinary that even Takigawa who defeated the high-class demon Zolgear couldn’t tell — what was happening now was unimaginable. Considering that there were no other students who transferred in after Basara, it wasn’t someone who was already at the school before Basara and the others came, but rather they disguised themselves as someone already at the school afterwards. —It’s just that they put so much emphasis on their own presence, which would inevitably cause Basara to be more alert; this way, it didn’t seem like they were interested in taking Basara’s life or [Banishing Shift].

So — as Maria said, the attack at the station was just a warning, and this current surveillance was a continuation of the warning, which should be more appropriate. But no matter how it was considered, even if the opponent was stupidly emitting their presence and watching within the school, there had to be some other meaning besides a warning. Could it be that as a long as they had the intention, they could involve innocent people at any time — and this time, students and teachers?

“………!”

Regardless of who it was, it was too low…while the PE teacher was marking the roll, Basara grinded his teeth. If this was only a provocation, that would be even more lowly. The opponent should know that the most effective way to provoke Basara would be to cause harm to innocent people. But — he definitely couldn’t let them do that. With the situation surrounding the Demons related to Mio and Maria, as well as looking at the Hero Tribe who had Yuki remain, followed by Kurumi; as soon as an irreparable situation occurred, he would be caught in a predicament. As Basara was clenching his fist, the presence watching him suddenly disappeared as if mocking him, allowing Basara to relax and sigh.

“Good, now work in pairs to do stretching exercises.”

After the PE teacher marked off the roll, he gave out instructions, and the students partnered up to begin their stretches, but only Toujou Basara stood there alone. It was such a depressing situation because his usual partner — Takigawa Yahiro had returned to the Demon Realm. It was already the later half of the second trimester, so the students already had fixed partners for physical education. For Basara who transferred to this school after the break, he couldn’t simply partner with anyone just because his partner Takigawa was away. There was nothing that could be done — he could only have the teacher as his partner today. But just before that —

“U-Uh, Toujou-kun…”

When Basara turned to look in the direction of the soft voice, he realised that an Angel was in front of him—no. Although he had a lovely slender figure, after wearing his sports uniform, he seemed as if he was a girl. But—

“……You’re Tachibana. Sorry.”

“Eh? …W-Why do you need to apologise?”

Basara went ‘Uh…’ as he scratched his face, and replied to the puzzled Tachibana who had approached

“Although we see each other every day in the organising committee, this is the first time I’ve seen you in your sports uniform — and I didn’t recognise you for a moment.”

“Ah, that’s no surprise. Umm, I…look good?”

Tachibana was embarrassed to raise his eyes, and Basara couldn’t help but gasp.

…Uh, what am I nervous about…? I’m not a pervert, but looking at him closely, Tachibana really has the feeling of a bishoujo. He seems shy, innocent and cute, which when combined makes him a perfect traditional Japanese girl.

So—

“Ah, you’re really cute…no, you look really good, Tachibana.”

Oops, I accidentally said too much. In the end, Tachibana happily replied

“Hehehe…thank you. I-In fact, Toujou-san looks very handsome wearing that.”

“R-Really?”

Thanks, it’s rare to be praised like this by girls — but he’s not a girl.

“You’re saying…that you’re actually in class A?”

Class A was next to Basara’s class B, and those two classes did their PE lessons together.

…Strange?

Basara had never seen Tachibana before in physical education classes. Just because they were in the same PE class together, the majority of people wouldn’t remember the faces of all the male students in the class, but Basara was different. When he was young — while he was still in the Hero Tribe’s [Village], Basara had undergone strict training to develop the ability to never forget a face. So from the perspective of Basara, when Tachibana came to Basara during their work for the sports festival organising committee, it was the first time that the two of them had met, and they shouldn’t have had a PE class together yet. Seeing Basara’s puzzled frown —

“Ah, in fact…my body hasn’t been very good since I was young, and during the break, my condition became a bit worse, so I haven’t been to PE classes since school resumed. So—”

So, only now did he see Basara in class — Tachibana said with a lonesome smile. Basara looked at his slender body and white, near-transparent skin, and then replied

“……I see.”

Basara now understood why the PE teacher never called Tachibana’s name even when marking the roll. Knowing that he couldn’t attend class, even if the teacher bothered to call his name, the students repeatedly informed the teacher that ‘Tachibana isn’t here’. The teacher didn’t force him to watch from the side, probably because it happened too many times, so he didn’t want him to become depressed because he was always just watching.

“Ah, maybe I’m already a lot better now? So when I asked the teacher, he allowed me to attend class with everyone else from now on, after all, the sports festival is rather soon now. Probably because I rarely attended class, there was no one around to help me with stretching exercises…but it looked like Toujou-kun also didn’t have a partner, so I came over to ask.”

Then—

“I want to do stretching exercises together with you…c-can I?”

“! ——Sure, my usual partner is away today, so this is great.”

Seeing Tachibana who looked up at him with a pair of moist eyes, Basara couldn’t help diverting his gaze as he blushed.

…W-What is this…?

Indeed, Basara had girls like Mio, Yuki, Maria and Kurumi by his side, but not the weak, shy type like Tachibana, which actually seemed quite refreshing now that it was brought up. No matter how he looked at him, he still seemed like a girl, but in reality he was a male just like Basara, and he didn’t have that kind of interest anyway — so he hoped that this inexplicable increased heart rate was just a result of the bright autumn sun. But it was currently cloudy.

“Alright, let’s start doing some exercises — I’ll help you first.”

If this continued, things could head into a bad direction, so Basara starting the stretching exercises as soon as possible; he pressed against Tachibana’s back as he was sitting on the ground to help him bend forwards.

“…………”

Uh…it feels so soft. It isn’t just soft, it’s the sensation of Tachibana’s body.

“Umm…Toujou-kun, perhaps you could use a bit more force?”

“R-Really? Well, is this enough?”

The physical difference between Tachibana and Takigawa was quite large, and for a moment, Basara didn’t know how much force to use.

—Besides, that felt too soft, where did the muscles go? Tachibana, you need to eat more meat, you can’t be a picky eater.

Stretching exercises had to be done, so every time Basara used a bit more force on the shoulders, Tachibana breathed heavily with ‘Nnn! Nnn!’ noises continuously. Of course, he should be concentrating when doing stretching exercises—

“……………”

The sounds which were made were not as they seemed, and the atmosphere became more and more awkward. After spreading out his legs and stretching from side to side a few times, Tachibana had pretty much finished stretching, so—

“Okay, now it’s my turn to help you, Toujou-kun.”

Tachibana moved behind Basara, and pressed down against his back.

“Wow…Toujou-kun, do you participate in any sports clubs?”

“No, I don’t participate in any clubs.”

“But your body is quite strong…it’s not visible with your normal uniform though.”

I-Indeed.

Tachibana’s discovery caused Basara to nod ‘Uh…’ and then say

“I trained for a while in the past, and I’ve been training again recently.”

Basara didn’t have any more to say, he just skipped over the parts that he couldn’t say.

“So that’s how it was…right, I never got the chance to ask you, why did you want to be in the organising committee for the sports festival? From what Sakazaki-sensei said, you volunteered for it.”

“Are there really very few people who would volunteer?”

“There aren’t none, it’s just very few people…based on what the senpais said, the classes each year could only produce one male and one female, which is the minimum requirement by the school. Compared to the cultural festival, doesn’t it feel like the members of the sports festival organising committee have to do more work? So as long as there are enough people, the other people don’t particularly want to participate.”

But—

“It just seems like there’s a bit of an exception this year…”

“—I’m sorry, to give you so much trouble.”

Seeing Basara in front who had bowed with an apology, Tachibana quickly pushed him back up.

“I-It’s not the fault of Toujou-kun’s and the others, it’s just that there’s no helping it…”

However—

“Naruse-san and Nonaka-san are really popular…ah, you wouldn’t have come because of them as well right?”

“—Well, that could be. Originally, no one in my class B wanted to do it, so the three of us decided to do it.”

“I see…because the three of you live together. So you did it for the sake of the entire class?”

In response to Tachibana, Basara replied

“No, I don’t really have that kind of sentiment.”

“In fact…I’m ashamed to say it, but I stirred up some things on the first day that I transferred over to this school—”

“Ah…I know about that. That is, you were hugging Nonaka-san while you loudly declared that you were living with Naruse-san?”

“Hold on — I never did such a bad thing.”

Did it turn into this after the rumours spread to the other classes? No wonder people come to take a look during and after class.

“There was actually this kind of misunderstanding…so when I wanted to do something for the class, I was hoping to restore my reputation. And after I joined the organising committee, I would also be able to get to know the students from other classes.”

Since I don’t have any friends in my class other than Takigawa, it would also be important to look outside the class.

“Because of that, I’m currently able to talk to you like this…it seems like that was a good decision.”

“It’s not just you who feels that way, Toujou-kun. In fact…to be able to be your friend, I’m also very happy.”

“…Indeed. Tachibana, thank you.”

But can you not blush? It’ll make people nervous.

…However, it wasn’t just for this reason. Basara didn’t lie, he really did want to take this opportunity to make a few more friends, but that was only one of the reasons that he wanted to join the sports festival organising committee. He also wanted to fully enjoy the fun of the sports festival. In reality, for Basara whose strength exceeded that of a normal person’s, he couldn’t find any enjoyment in the sports festival’s events which relied on reaction time and physical ability. He always had to pretend to be an ordinary person and thus could never be serious, so as not to cause any trouble. So if Basara wanted to get a greater sense of participation in the sports festival, the only way was for him to become one of the behind the scenes staff. As a result, he didn’t have worry about his physical ability which had been honed by fighting since he was young, he would just be an ordinary member of the class with the identity of an ordinary high school student attending a sports festival. So after discussing this with Mio and Yuki, they decided that the three of them would join the organising committee given that the circumstances were permitting. Also…for ‘a certain reason’, Basara also wanted to join the organising committee.

It’s probably just a bit for my personal satisfaction, and I didn’t mention it to Mio or Yuki.

“……Toujou-kun?”

Not knowing why Basara suddenly became silent, Tachibana asked.

“Ah, sorry…anyway, that’s why I volunteered. It shouldn’t be a big deal.”

There was nothing surprising nor special about it, and Basara then said

“On the other hand, it’s actually surprising to me that you joined the student council. Although it’s the general affairs department, it’s really like a student council member, always having to do this and that, doing things as a leader.”

Considering Tachibana’s personality, he didn’t seem like he would voluntarily do such things; even if he was invited to join, people like him would most likely decline.

“…Toujou-kun, do you find it strange that the student council has someone like me?”

“Uh, it’s not really that strange…”

Hearing Tachibana’s tone drop a little, it caused Basara become anxious as he wondered whether he may have said the wrong thing.

“It’s okay, I myself also find it quite strange.”

Tachibana smiled as he said

“I said before…my body is quite weak, and I often had to take days off; and even if I came to school, I would often spend most of the day on a bed in the school infirmary. There was no way for me to attend class, and of course I wasn’t able to participate in extracurricular activities either. One day, Hasegawa-sensei gave me a suggestion…”

“—Hasegawa-sensei?”

The name which suddenly came up surprised Basara.

“Mmm, she said ‘people like me should be in the student council’. It was different from normal extracurricular activities, and the other members would help me; even if I was only able to do a few chores, it was very useful work; so as long as I helped out a bit as one of the student council members, the school would be able to provide me with an active student life…sensei helped me talk with the student council, and in the end, the third year organising committee senpai and second year Kajiura-senpai really agreed to me join the student council.”

—Thus

“Although I was rather depressed…everyone agreed, so I gathered up the courage to give it a try.”

“I see…”

If joining the Student Council was Tachibana’s own decision, it would have been quite surprising, but it was more reasonable given that Hasegawa was involved. Not only treating wounds or colds, she sincerely listened to the students’ concerns, and guided them towards a solution — this was the true skill of Chisato Hasegawa. She wanted to open up another world for Tachibana outside the infirmary, but because what happened after dinner at her house was too stimulating, Basara was too embarrassed to enter the infirmary again, and he didn’t thank her for the meal. But since the theme of the sports festival was exercise, he would inevitably require the assistance of the school nurse. When he needed to speak to her or ask for her assistance as a member of the organising committee in the coming days, he intended to go together with Tachibana, and thank her for her past advice while he was there. Since it was rather odd for him to be invited to her home, he wanted to thank her while he was accompanied by someone else.

—But he didn’t imagine that this opportunity would come so soon. For the upcoming sports festival, the focus of that day’s PE lesson was practice for relay races and baton passing. After class, Basara and Tachibana returned to the school building one after the other, following the other students, and changed their shoes at the student entrance. At that time —

“—Ah, Hasegawa-sensei.”

Looking around after hearing Tachibana’s voice, he noticed that Hasegawa had just walked out of the cafeteria which was next to the student entrance; she had also noticed them, so she walked towards them.

“! —”

Basara swallowed his breath, and his face reddened. He had clearly been looking for an opportunity to thank her, but in the end, just seeing her face to face made it impossible. The promiscuous image of Hasegawa’s naked body was still vividly embedded in Basara’s mind. Hasegawa glanced at Basara who was blushing as he looked down, and then asked Tachibana

“It looks like there’s no problems…you haven’t been to PE classes for a long time. How do you feel, Tachibana?”

“Ah, yes…thank you for your care sensei, this PE class went quite well. So, umm…”

After Tachibana nodded in response, he peeked at Hasegawa’s face; Hasegawa gently laughed and said

“Were you talking about swimming classes? Looking at your appearance, you should be fine. I should also get ready.”

To Basara, these words caused him to recall certain memories as he asked Tachibana

“So your body condition isn’t very good, which is why you’re the student that sensei needs to supervise during swimming classes?”

“Hmm, that’s me… —but that’s strange, how did you know about it Toujou-kun?”

In that moment, Basara could only vaguely answer ‘Uhh, umm…’ He simply couldn’t speak about the incident where he forcibly removed Hasegawa’s swimsuit in the infirmary. While Basara was troubled over how to answer Tachibana’s question —

“Don’t worry about it — Toujou, I have something to say to you.”

“Eh…s-something to say to me?”

In response to Basara’s sudden reply, Hasegawa said ‘Yes’ as she nodded her head

“I’ve been waiting for you to come — you haven’t come over to the infirmary since that day, why is that?”

“! —No, I…!”

Hasegawa’s slightly resentful tone of questioning caused Basara to sweat anxiously. Not just Tachibana was around him, a bunch of his classmates were also nearby. But Hasegawa seemed not to care, and said

“Also…whenever we encountered each other in the corridor, you seemed to be avoiding me. Have you thought about how I feel when you use that attitude towards me?”

No matter what, this kind of responsibility problem was entirely the conversation between a man and a woman. So—

“U-Uhh…?”

“S-Sorry, Tachibana, wait for me. Sensei, come over here!”

Basara’s entire face was red, and after saying that to Tachibana who was looking on curiously at him and Hasegawa, he pulled Hasegawa’s arm along as he walked all the way to the other end of the corridor, turned a corner to a place that was devoid of people and then said

“T-There are a lot of people over there, what are you trying to do, sensei?”

“…I just wanted to ask you.”

Hasegawa discontentedly replied, before approaching Basara and hugging him. Their bodies pressed against each other, causing her large breasts to be squeezed into a lewd shape, and her legs entwined around him.

“T-This isn’t good here…!”

“You’re just naughty. After selfishly doing that to my body, you pretended as if nothing happened…it’s the same as regretting what we did together that night.”

“N-No, it’s not regret…it’s just that I didn’t know what to do…”

Eventually Hasegawa replied ‘what to do…’ She smiled as her face moved so close that her breath could be felt —

“Didn’t I say before — you know, having the love of an older woman is something you should be very happy about.”

She then took Basara’s left hand and placed it on top of her large breasts, and pressed her lips onto Basara’s mouth. With the soft feeling spreading through his mouth and hand, as well as the sweet fragrance which enveloped him, his resistance was instantly taken away. Hasegawa passionately kissed for some time, until she was finally willing to let go of Basara’s lips, and then said

“Kissing like this was what you taught me.”

After she said that, Hasegawa held Basara’s head with both hands — and continued kissing. Despite knowing that they shouldn’t, Hasegawa’s kiss was intoxicatingly sweet; after realising that, their tongues were already intertwined together.

“Chu…mmm, fu, chu…mmm……!”

The sound of two people passionately kissing had started in a corridor of the school. Then—

[Hasegawa-sensei, please immediately head to the faculty room. Hasegawa-sensei, please immediately head—]

“……That call is really at a bad time.”

The school-wide broadcast caused both of them to separate their lips, after which Hasegawa said

“Toujou — you know what to do now, right?”

“! …I know, completely.”

Basara moaned.

Damn it, there really is no way to deal with this person.

After Hasegawa lightly kissed Basara’s bright red cheek, she walked towards the faculty room with a satisfied smile.

—Afterwards, Basara and Tachibana returned to the boys’ locker room, which was already empty. PE class was in fourth period, so everyone had already changed quickly and headed off to lunch. However, Hasegawa’s surprising outburst created a rather awkward silence between the two people as they changed. Basara turned his head to glance over at Tachibana who was changing with his back turned to him. His pale skin and the curves of his hips under that tight, low fitting underwear was really quite feminine —

…Damn, it’s because of Hasegawa-sensei.

Doing such a thing in that place, it caused his heart to race even now, and even his thoughts seemed to have been infected. Basara felt that it would be dangerous so he quickly turned back around to continue changing, but Tachibana was unable to bear the silence any longer —

“……U-Umm, Toujou-kun.”

“W-What is it, Tachibana…—?”

Basara asked after preparing his resolve, before turning around to find Tachibana in front of him.

“I-I’m sorry…to say such a thing, I’m also really embarassed…”

“…What is it?”

The combination of his unbuttoned shirt and tight fitting underwear really didn’t make him seem like a boy. Then, with moist eyes like a puppy, Tachibana said

“…Y-Your face has lipstick marks…?”

“—!”

Basara hastily covered his own mouth, which made Tachibana blush even more.

“! —Not that side…that, I mean your cheek…”

“……………”

“……………”

Ah, I’m digging my own grave…I’m dead. I look so embarrassed.

At that time —

“D-Don’t worry…I’m actually very good at keeping secrets. Really, Toujou-kun…!”

Tachibana quickly showed his sincerity, comforting the dejected Basara who seemed as though he had stepped on a landmine.

“Umm…this thing, it’s better if Naruse-san and Nonaka-san don’t know about it, right?”

“………You can really help me keep this secret?”

Many things in various different aspects would otherwise become quite dangerous — the actual situation really couldn’t be spoken about. Just as Basara dropped his shoulders in disappointment, a soft piece of cloth had suddenly been pressed onto his cheek. At some point, Tachibana had taken out his handkerchief and was gently wiping Basara’s cheek.

“Don’t move…I’ll help you clean it off.”

“! …S-Sorry for the trouble.”

Before his eyes was Tachibana’s chest and dangerous underwear, which caused Basara to avert his eyes when he replied. Not long afterwards —

“…Hmm, its clean now, it looks fine.”

“I’m saved…thank you, Tachibana.”

Tachibana took a step back after wiping it off, after which Basara thanked him.

“D-Don’t worry about it, this is nothing…we’re friends, right?”

This is the worst way to reaffirm friendship: while lipstick is being wiped off.

Seeing that Basara was becoming more gloomy, Tachibana raised both of his fists with his elbows bent and said

“…T-Toujou-kun, don’t mind!”

With a wide smile on his reddened face, Basara was given encouragement. With a radiant smile on his face, Tachibana seemed like the incarnation of an angel, which almost caused Basara to become his follower. So —

“Tachibana — I will definitely work hard to fulfil my role as a member of the organising committee, so that we can have a successful sports festival.”

After Basara said that as he wanted to help his friend Tachibana, Tachibana blinked in surprise, then replied

“Mmm…I will also work hard. Toujou-kun and a lot of the other organising committee members have been working hard to help me, so won’t we be able to have a sports festival where we can proudly think ‘it was good to be part of the preparations’?”

A natural smile finally returned to my face.

“Although I’m not as good as Kajiura-senpai at handling a lot of work, and I’m just a half-baked general affairs member, but—”

Tachibana’s gentle eyes were filled with determination as he said

“As a member of the Student Council and organising committee for the sports festival — I will definitely do my best.”

Part 4

The concerns that there were ‘too many people’, and ‘abnormal participation by the third years’, had become like a bomb. The sports festival organising committee began operating with these two risk factors; fortunately, the preparations had gone smoothly, so there wasn’t any major confusion. The majority of this was all thanks to the leadership of student council vice-president, and organising committee president Kajiura Rikka. She tightly controlled significantly more people than the previous years. Supervising and coordinating each of the departments, she had turned the large organising committee into an organisation that was manageable. As for the third year students who were difficult to handle, also according to the original plan, with Mio and Yuki as the leaders of their respective departments, those people like Donoue and Hozumi were split into two departments, assigned to helping the student council; the plan seemed to be effective, and it had somehow succeeded in controlling them.

Basara also assisted the student council members like Kajiura and Tachibana from the sidelines, and was responsible for negotiating with each department, consulting with faculty staff, clubs, confirming that messages were conveyed; he was always busy after school as the days went by.

“—Well I’m going now, thanks you all for your help.”

After school on a certain day, Basara returned to the corridor after delivering some documents to the news club and happened to meet one of his male classmates, Shimada Taichi of the broadcasting club.

“Hmm, did you come for the news club Toujou?”

“Yeah, it was related to the sports festival organising committee…what about you?”

“The senpai in the club asked me to borrow some publications from the news club. As you know, we of the broadcasting club are responsible for the commentary on the day of the sports festival, right? In order to liven the up the atmosphere of the competition, we need to borrow some things from the news club’s previous reports to use.”

During his job as a member of the sports festival organising committee, Basara often had the opportunity to discuss the use and management of equipment with the broadcasting club. As the opportunities for him to meet Shimada outside the classroom increased, the two of them became more familiar with each other. As with Tachibana, he was one of the people who he became closer with since he joined the organising committee.

“After all, for the broadcasting club, events like the sports festival are even more important than the cultural festival. For a literary/arts club like ours, this is a very valuable practical experience, but we have very few members…just assigning which members will broadcast what is really nerve-wracking, even us first years have to broadcast a few things, so it really feels like total war.”

Well, this kind of thing also makes people motivated

…Shimada said with a wry smile

“It doesn’t seem like you’re worried about being short on people. This year seems to have an unexpectedly high number of people, so it should proceed smoothly right?”

“……I guess so.”

Due to the increase in the number of people in the organising committee, along with Kajiura’s serious and conscientious personality as the president, the preparations for this year’s sports festival were particularly thorough. Minor unnecessary things were removed, everyone’s workload was reduced, and majority of the students who volunteered for the organising committee had given mostly positive feedback. However, where there was light, there would also be shadows, some people felt that Kajiura’s streamlined method was boring — that was Donoue of the Mio faction.

Like Hozumi, the male students who came to assist Yuki were placed into the accounting department and there were only a few who were unsatisfied; but those guys from Donoue’s group wanted to have fun with Mio on the ‘stage of the organising committee’. Among those people who thought that they could do whatever they wanted, the majority of them thought that the general auxiliary department was too boring, and Kajiura’s strict supervision was even more of a reason for them to complain. Although Kajiura knew about the dissatisfaction of Donoue’s group, she didn’t agree to the unreasonable requests such as ‘let the people from different years also join Mio’s faction’, or ‘the establishment of competitions which are open regardless of year or gender’, which would turn the sports festival into a mess.

“It’s best if there’s no trouble…”

Basara murmured after separating from Shimada and walking down the corridor. That group worked diligently in front of Mio, but were clearly full of resentment behind her back. The flame that was always beside the bomb in the sports festival organising committee was constantly burning.

Part 5

As the days went by, the operations of the organising committee gradually became more chaotic. The cause was the inter-class girls cheerleading completion — in order to rehearse their routines, Mio and Yuki often couldn’t attend the organising committee on time, and the days that they had to take off gradually increased. Thus, the people in the Mio faction and Yuki faction of the committee began to skip work. Yuki’s faction was fine. Although they would leave when they knew that Yuki wasn’t coming, they were still people who were willing to do things, and at the least, they would finish their assigned jobs according to the schedule.

—The problem stemmed from Donoue’s group who were in the general auxiliary department. They often hung out together, and would simply gather in the audiovisual room and become rowdy, not doing any of their work. If it was only up to this level, then things were still fine. Although there began to be delays in work, Kajiura was able to reorganise people from other departments to help out, and then transition Basara or Tachibana to assist the student council. The jobs and schedule would then be changed, so that the troublesome jobs could be completed successfully.

However, on a certain day one week before the sports festival.

“—What the hell is this!”

After school, the roar of Kajiura Rikka’s voice echoed within the AV classroom which had become the headquarters of the sports festival organising committee. She slammed a piece of paper onto the desk, as she angrily glared at the leader of the Mio faction, Donoue. In fact, today the people of the Mio faction were being noisy and fooling around because Mio was absent, but now the attention of the entire classroom was focused over here.

“S-Senpai…”

said Tachibana worriedly as he followed behind her. Because Sakazaki, who was responsible for supervision was absent from the classroom due to staff meetings, he was afraid that there would be a conflict between Kajiura and the third year Donoue in the classroom.

“Ah? Why are you yelling for no good reason, Vice-President?”

Donoue asked after he looked up from his phone’s LCD as he was playing games with his friends on their phones.

“I’m asking you what this debit invoice is!”

What Kajiura had brought over was a purchase debit invoice that didn’t exist in the records of the accounting department. It had suddenly appeared in the mail today.

“I just called on the phone to ask, it was your purchase, Donoue-senpai.”

That debit invoice was from a fireworks shop — every year, the school used a well-known supplier of fireworks. In order to purchase materials for the sports festival, the person first needed to consult with the accounting department beforehand, and then after getting a receipt for the purchase, they would present the receipt to finish the procedure. If it wasn’t urgent, not even one Yen couldn’t be spent without permission. Thus, since Donoue didn’t get permission from the accounting department, it was already a major violation, and —

“Two hundred thousand… using that much money to buy fireworks, what were you thinking!”

Kajiura’s voice was trembling with anger, yet Donoue still lazily smiled as he said

“I was surprised, I didn’t expect that fireworks were that expensive. But we fire off several fireworks at the evening party after the sports festival every year anyway, so buying a little more for us doesn’t matter, right?”

“Stop saying such stupid things! The fireworks at the evening party have always been the responsibility of a factory which has a long relationship with our school; they sell us their remaining stock from the summer fireworks season at a lower price!”

“Ah? I didn’t know about that thing…since it’s so important, why didn’t you say so earlier?”

“! …In short, please take this invoice and cancel everything immediately!”

“It can’t be cancelled. That shop’s jisan said that it can’t be cancelled.”

“W-Why can’t it be cancelled?”

“Because their shaped fireworks are completely custom-made per order. He said that the kanji for [Mio (漆)] was too complicated, so it needed to be changed to [MIO]; it looks like that famous old shop had nothing that they couldn’t do. They had time to say that they were some pure fireworks masters, so how couldn’t I help myself from trying to make some progress?”

Seeing Donoue in front of her, smiling with contempt, Kajiura’s anger flared up again, and she shouted

“Don’t fuck around! Since you can’t cancel it, you, senpai, will be responsible for paying for it!” “Huh? What kind of reasoning is that…I didn’t understand it at all?”

Donoue stood up, and unrelentingly stared into Kajiura’s eyes as she shrunk back while he said

“Right now, shouldn’t the organising committee president be responsible? I bought it with the good intention of making the sports festival more fun, and yet you’re evading responsibility already? In order to help you prepare this super boring sports festival that you wanted, we’ve stayed back every day for a significant amount of time, put up with your little tantrums, and helped you do your work, ok? Also, this the last sports festival for us third years, so if the result isn’t ok, then it isn’t ok; whatever I say, you disagree to…aren’t you second years too authoritative? Just because you’re a part of the student council, it doesn’t mean all these school activities are for yourselves.”

Donoue’s words, which Kajiura couldn’t understand momentarily, left her stunned speechless. …For ourselves…? As the vice-president, and president of the organising committee, she had to make sure that it was a successful sports festival — Kajiura thought that she was always dedicated and hardworking with this kind of passion, but Donoue’s words completely denied her efforts and passion. Kajiura really wanted to retort, but was unable to speak. It was because she was afraid that it wouldn’t be words which left her mouth, but whimpers. But at that time —

“—Excuse me senpai, can you take back what you just said?”

It was a quiet voice, spoken towards Donoue in Kajiura’s place — the owner of the voice, was already standing in front of Donoue.

Toujou Basara regretted his own judgement. Kajiura had hoped that aside from when he would interact with Mio or Yuki, he would avoid having to get close to Donoue or Hozumi, so as to avoid unnecessary problems. As for this matter, the organising committee president who was responsible for the sports festival should have stepped forward to restrain them, but Kajiura herself had spent a lot of effort just to deal with the third year Donoue, so Basara had held himself back as he observed the situation.

…But I was wrong. I should have known that this would happen; when we were behind the school building before, I should’ve taught them a lesson. If I could’ve stopped them from giving Mio bad ideas back then, Donoue wouldn’t have joined the organising committee, and Kajiura wouldn’t have had to suffer from these hateful insults.

Moreover…Donoue’s stupidity made it difficult not to doubt his mental state. If he really was being manipulated, it could be related to the attack from the other day. The enemy had the ability to manipulate the consciousness of others, and there was also a possibility that they were someone related to Hijirigasaka Academy. Although they only used surveillance to signify their presence since that day, there was no guarantee that they weren’t using Donoue as a trap or to stir up trouble. —Of course, the enemy could also be Donoue. Hasegawa had mentioned before; human jealousy — especially men, could be complicated enough to cause problems. Their favourite Mio was living together with Basara, which was already enough to turn their jealousy into hatred, and they wanted to cause harm to Basara. In any case, in his mind, there was undoubtedly a malice which couldn’t be ignored. So —

“Hey…what kind of nonsense are you saying out of nowhere?”

Basara faced Donoue’s fierce, intimidating glare and said

“Didn’t you hear it properly? — I told you take back what you just said to Kajiura-senpai.”

This caused both Kajiura and Tachibana to gasp, as the atmosphere within the AV classroom suddenly tensed up. While the followers of the Mio faction were all stunned in silence, the sound of laughter erupted within the classroom — it was from Donoue.

“Ha! Haha! Hahahahahaha! Ah, so that’s what it was—”

Donoue suddenly swung his right fist out across the desk. He seemed to have some fighting experience, and planned to strike first, as he aimed a surprise attack at Basara’s face. But—

“!——?”

Basara caught his fist with his left hand, and Donoue’s expression was frozen in surprise. Basara then narrowed his eyes, as he silently gripped Donoue’s fist.

“Uh! Aaahhh! Y-You guys…!”

Donoue’s face suddenly went pale as he groaned in pain, but Basara didn’t loosen his grip, then —

“This damn guy…!” “Very well, Toujou!”

Two people from the Mio faction came at him from the left and right. Basara relaxed his upper body, then evaded the punch coming from his right and swept his foot out — that person instantly tripped past Basara as he flipped around in the air.

“—Ah!”

“Kuhh!”

Then his heel slammed into the shoulder of the person on his left, and the two of them fell onto the ground together. A crowd gathered from all over the place to find out what had happened, and in the process of all this, Toujou Basara’s ice cold eyes didn’t leave Donoue for even a moment. Finally, he said in a low, but clear voice

“—Take it back.”

“Hm…bastard…”

Although his face had reddened from his fist which was being clenched, Donoue still didn’t back down. Suddenly, Sakazaki, who seemed to have finished his meeting, opened the door and walked into the AV classroom.

“Hm — what are you guys doing?”

“……Nothing.”

After saying that, Basara slowly released his hand, with his eyes still fixed on Donoue.

“——!”

Donoue then withdrew his right hand as he glared furiously at Basara, but he didn’t dare to cause trouble in front of Sakazaki, and very quickly led the group of people from the Mio faction out of the AV classroom. Watching them, Sakazaki sighed helplessly, and then reverted to his cheerful smile to say

“All right, quickly get back to work. The sports festival is only in one week, so there’s no time to play!”

This caused the people who were watching on the sidelines to disperse and return to doing their own thing. Sakazaki should have known about what happened, so he turned around —

“Ah…Toujou, could you come over with me?”

With a wry smile, he called Basara.

After exiting the AV classroom, Basara followed Sakazaki up to the rooftop.

“Autumn really has arrived…”

Sakazaki said while his back was against the railing as he turned his head to look out at the distant scenery. In the park next to the school, the maple leaves bathed in the soft light of the setting sun appeared a brighter shade of red. Gazing downwards, the various sports clubs could be seen exercising in each corner of the school, working up a sweat.

—Before leaving the AV classroom, Basara apologised to Kajiura in the stiff atmosphere of the room. Her reply was “Nevermind…” However, Donoue’s words would have been no small blow to her; her expression was miserable, and tears could be seen from the corners of her eyes. Seeing Basara with his head lowered in silence since he came to the rooftop, Sakazaki said with a wry smile

“I didn’t call you over to yell at you. I just saw that you weren’t calm like you usually are, so I wanted to ask why. Did you want to use the opportunity of an argument with Donoue — to sacrifice yourself, and also expel them from the organising committee?”

Basara didn’t have a reply; he remained silent, which caused Sakazaki to sigh.

“Last time when you were surrounded by Donoue and Hozumi in the schoolyard, you remained calm, why did you get fired up this time?”

“I’m sorry…I knew that senpai disliked me, but—”

Basara looked down as he said

“This time, it wasn’t directed against me, but towards other people and the work of the organising committee…although it just looks like another insult at Kajiura-senpai, I couldn’t stand it.”

“Even if that was the case, letting it out like that isn’t the way.”

“It’s because I think that Donoue-senpai and the others won’t understand so easily…”

That’s right, Hasegawa had told me before.

Basara recalled it as he said

“Everything has a limit…there is a line that cannot be crossed. The sports festival is almost here, if they’re allowed to do as they like at such an important time, everyone will just be dragged down by them. Does sensei want me to silently allow them to cause havoc?”

Hearing that, Sakazaki couldn’t help shaking his head and saying

“I’m not saying that, but a confrontation may not necessarily resolve the situation. You stepped forward to help Kajiura, you have a heart which cares for others, and that really should be encouraged, I can’t say that it’s wrong — but under these circumstances, I can’t say what the most correct approach is.”

You can’t?

“If you really fought, a lot of people would have been suspended, including you; if someone was seriously injured, the sports festival may have even been postponed.”

“But I…”

Even if he said that he calculated things very carefully, and things like that wouldn’t happen, he wouldn’t believe it. So—

“…Then what should I have done?”

Sakazaki replied to Basara’s question with a calm expression

“Let them participate, that’s my decision as a teacher. School doesn’t just focus on an individual’s education, it also needs to teach students the importance of community activities; so the matter with Donoue’s custom-made fireworks this time, it’s something that we teachers didn’t supervise well, so neither you nor Kajiura are responsible, and you shouldn’t blame yourselves for it. Using your own ability to resolve problems aren’t a bad thing, but things which are inconvenient for a student to do should be handled by a teacher…teachers exist for the sake of helping students.”

Sakazaki’s words caused Basara to become silent again. Indeed, he may have lost the composure that he should have had at that time. The attack at the station the other day — the target may have been Basara, and it showed that the people near Basara were at risk of getting caught up in it at any time. Also—

…I still haven’t found out who the culprit is.

Under these circumstances, even if the other party really was taking advantage of the fact that Basara was at school or planned take action when the nearby residents would be around for the sports festival, the magnitude of the casualties that would be caused was unknown.

When Basara thought of the worst possible scenario and felt a moment of extreme anxiety —

“—There’s one thing I’ve always been quite concerned about. Toujou, have you been affected by [her]?”

He suddenly heard Sakazaki’s low voice.

“Her…who do you mean, sensei?”

As his thoughts returned to Basara who had replied in front of him, Sakazaki sighed, and quietly said

“You often go to the infirmary. Toujou…be careful of that woman, Hasegawa Chisato.”

“Eh…be careful of Hasegawa-sensei? What do you mean…?”

The unexpected name aroused Basara’s doubts.

“With the position of the infirmary sensei, it often gives her the opportunity to answer the students’ concerns. She has a calm atmosphere, and is also beautiful; there are a lot of people that have been affected by her words…have you ever talked to her about your problems, sought her advice, or anything like that?”

“Hm, I have…”

…Indeed.

Seeing Basara nod, Sakazaki sighed as he said

“Her advice has a very strong influence…it’s already more than helping people solve problems or counselling, it’s strong to a point that it’s almost like hypnosis or brainwashing.”

“That’s too exaggerated…”

Sakazaki immediately replied to Basara who didn’t believe so.

“No, it’s really not an exaggeration. Of the students who have gone to her for advice, some of them have completely changed their personalities, and some of their parents have even asked the school what happened.”

“That…after having their troubles resolved, they became more confident and cheerful; there’s nothing strange about that is there?”

Basara refuted Sakazaki’s words with a slightly dissatisfied tone. —Till now, there were already several occasions where Basara had listened to Hasegawa’s advice and felt more at ease as a result. Thanks to her advice, he was able to protect Mio and Yuki, and in several difficult fights, she was the reason why Basara was able to survive. So speaking ill of Hasegawa really made people feel unpleasant, but…

“If it was a positive change, then parents wouldn’t be so worried that they’d call the school up, right? The students which have made their parents worry all have a few things in common; such as being extremely over-confident, justifying their own actions, trying to do everything on their own, and completely ignoring the words of their family—”

Or—

“—Ignoring everyone around them, and showing an abnormal obsession for some people.”

“Obsession…that still doesn’t mean…”

“Correct…this is something that happened before you transferred here. Donoue and Hozumi have both approached Hasegawa-sensei and asked her for advice. They call Naruse or Nonaka [Princess], and have made an idol group fan club in recent years, which only happened after that.”

“There was such a thing…”

Basara couldn’t help saying that as he was shocked.

“Let me ask you…the previous times that you’ve spoken to her, has anything backfired or been unacceptable? If my guess is correct, I’m afraid there’s none, right?”

Basara answered Sakazaki’s question with silence. The answer was certain. Indeed, for all of Hasegawa’s advice so far, Basara never refused it, and tried it out. Sakazaki then said with a serious tone

“So far, you’ve naturally done as she’s said…which is very strange. No matter how popular a teacher is, they’ll still have experience in dealing with students’ problems, this is a teacher’s fate. After all, our school has so many students, so there’ll definitely be some personality conflicts, and it’s impossible to satisfy everyone.”

Sakazaki continued

“But only Haswgawa-sensei doesn’t have any negative complaints or gossip. Of course, there are actually some people who are loved by everyone, but her beauty is incredible, and her body is good as well…someone as striking as her will surely attract a group of fanatical admirers, and at the same time will also generate a lot of criticism by others, right?”

A god with absolute authority; although each religion worshipped differently, it was impossible for someone to obtain everyone’s favour.

“She’s a little older than you, so she should be quite attractive in your eyes. Attraction in that regard can very easily lead to problems between students and teachers, but Hasegawa-sensei hasn’t had any of these problems. Everyone thinks that she’s a peerless beauty, and also a kind woman who’s willing to help students with their problems; but it doesn’t seem like there’s anyone who has any strong feelings against her.”

Sakazaki adjusted his voice, a continued

“Toujou, the biggest problem is…no one feels that there’s anything strange; it’s almost as if she’s using some kind of magic to prevent anything disadvantageous from happening to herself.”

Basara couldn’t help but gasp. Not allowing anything disadvantageous to happen to Hasegawa — if that was true, he needed to avoid letting the incident where the two of them crossed the boundary between student and teacher at her house from being exposed, as that would prevent her from teaching; Basara would be the problem that she would eliminate first. Also — it was after leaving Hasegawa’s house that day that Basara was attacked.

“………”

Seeing Basara’s face turn pale, Sakazaki scratched his cheek with a wry smile as he said

“Ah, sorry…I didn’t mean to scare you. I carelessly took it too far.”

“……It doesn’t matter. I just did something that made sensei worry, I’m sorry.”

Basara managed to squeeze out a quiet voice as he lowered his head to apologise.

“You don’t need to apologise — it’s just that, Toujou, you’re one of the students in my class; so I want to protect you as a teacher, and I don’t want to see you getting into any unnecessary trouble. I hope you can understand.”

Sakazaki’s hand went *pyak* as he put his hand on the silent Basara’s shoulder, then said

“Leave Donoue and the others to me for now — I definitely won’t let them mess around.”

After saying that, Sakazaki cheerfully smiled again.

Part 6

Following the argument involving Kajiura Rikka and Toujou Basara, the rest of the members of the Mio faction left the AV classroom. The figure of Donoue Shouhei appeared inside the gaming centre in front of the station, along with two of his buddies, playing a fruit bowl game in a familiar corner.

“………Damn it.”

Even after numerous tries, he couldn’t get a pattern right, the LCD display showed his points quickly dropping down to zero, and Donoue angrily kicked the bottom of the machine. …Normally Donoue would have fun when playing, but today he was rather agitated. That was because not long ago, he was unbearably humiliated by Toujou Basara.

Donoue tightly clenched his right fist, and that strength still caused his hand to tremble with pain. Looking down, he saw that the area which was gripped by Basara had a clear red handprint. It was truly an incredible grip strength. Also — it wasn’t just Donoue, Basara had easily flipped over the two people who tried to help him at the same time. At some point, the other first and second year members of the Mio faction might have been intimidated by Basara, or perhaps they thought that Donoue had gone too far. They still followed him to leave the AV classroom, but on the way to the video game centre, they all made excuses and left one after the other. …It was all that guy’s fault. Living alone together with Mio was unforgivable. He was also so arrogant — he wanted to give him a piece of his mind, but he instead ended up like this in reverse and everyone scattered.

Seeing Donoue angrily gritting his teeth, his classmate who was sitting beside him said

“Don’t worry about it, Donoue. Just by looking at Toujou…he’s definitely learnt martial arts or something.”

“…What? Don’t worry about it? But—”

Donoue stared with hatred at the LCD display as he said

“Toujou and Kajiura both look down on me, I won’t forgive either of them — I’ll definitely make them regret it, definitely.”

“You want them to regret it…how are you going to do it?”

Hearing the other person ask that, Donoue laughed ‘Ha!’.

“I need to destroy them — I’m going to ruin the shitty sports festival that they spent so much time preparing for.”

There was a method to do it discretely. It seemed like they just had to destroy the equipment that was set up at night, or order a truckload of unnecessary things to undermine the budget, or send anonymous blackmail letters to the school; two or three of those would cause the sports festival to be cancelled. While Donoue was thinking of those things—

“U-Um, Donoue-senpai…”

A girl suddenly called out to him from the side. No, it wasn’t a girl. Standing beside him was a boy who was wearing the same uniform as them. He managed the organising committee along with Kajiura, an executive of the student council, a first year student called Tachibana. Looking at his timid appearance, Donoue couldn’t help saying to Tachibana, who had fear written all over his face

“Can you not make your voice sound like neither a boy nor a girl? —What did you come here for?”

“I just…hoped that senpai could return…and then…”

“Ha! …So that’s what it is, you don’t want me to go back and apologise, do you?”

Donoue stood up, and Tachibana shrank back in fear. When he said that he was going to destroy the sports festival, it may have been heard by him, so he needed to shut his mouth up. Tachibana’s body was as petite as a girl’s, and his personality was also quite effeminate, so he thought threatening him a bit here would cause him to do anything. Donoue suddenly pulled Tachibana up by his collar, and forcibly pushed him into the wall, knocking his glasses off in the process — they then saw that Tachibana’s pupils shone bright red.

“You-You’re eyes are like that…?”

A momentary inexplicable feeling caused Donoue to gulp.

“……………Sorry.”

Tachibana said gently — his eyes which were redder than blood stared into Donoue’s eyes.

Part 7

Basara returned to the AV classroom from the rooftop. The classroom was quiet, and everyone was expressionlessly doing their own work. It should be due to the trouble that Donoue provoked, and Basara’s conflict against him which affected everyone’s mood. Basara also felt that his own presence caused the atmosphere of the classroom to tense up a bit. He quietly walked towards his own seat, and arrived in front of Kajiura, who was working at the same long desk —

“I’m sorry, Kajiura-senpai…”

He apologised for his conflict with Donoue that had happened before he left the room.

“Didn’t I say it before…it’s not your fault Toujou-kun, you don’t need to apologise to me.”

Kajiura lifted her head and smiled as she replied. It seemed like she had already calmed down during that time.

“Ah, Toujou-kun. On your way back, did you see Tachibana?”

“No, I didn’t see him…has he gone missing?”

“Yeah…I don’t know where that boy would go.”

After Kajiura sighed lightly, she returned to checking through her documents, and Basara then returned to his seat to continue doing his work — after about an hour, the organising committee meeting for that day came to an end. After tidying up, Basara looked at Tachibana’s empty seat and said

“In the end, that guy didn’t come back…do you need help finding him?”

“No need, I’ll just wait for a little longer and send him a message on my phone. Thanks — see you tomorrow.”

“You as well, see you tomorrow.”

Basara bowed as a respectful courtesy to Kajiura, and then returned to the first year class B classroom to meet Mio and Yuki, finding that there were also some other female students who had stayed back in the classroom. It was probably to discuss the cheerleading competition’s dance that they stayed until now. Sakaki and Aikawa were also present, and everyone was laughing and talking.

“Basara…has today’s organising committee meeting finished already?”

“Yeah, that’s about it for today.”

Basara nodded in the doorway of the classroom, and after replying, he realised that the person who asked was Yuki.

“Well, this is where we’ll stop today, we’ll be going now.”

After saying that, Mio and Yuki left their seats together.

“Okay, bye bye~”

“See you, Mio, Yuki, and Toujou-kun.”

Basara then left like that with Mio and Yuki, and stepped into the corridor under the gaze of Aikawa and Sakaki.

“You guys were talking quite happily…”

“It was okay. Today we were discussing what kind of costume we were going to wear for the cheerleading competition; we heard that Aikawa-san’s onee-san had connections, and that they could rent us some nice costumes for a low price. Look forward to it.”

Mio then said

“You need to keep this a secret from the other boys — if things go smoothly, we’ll definitely be the champions.”

“Basara will definitely like it.”

“I see…then I’ll wait till for you to wear it at the sports festival for me to see.”

Basara was also infected by their confidence, and they laughed together. Just when they were about to reach the student entrance —

“Basara, how are things with the committee?”

“Donoue-senpai was causing a ruckus again…sorry, we’ll definitely go over there tomorrow.”

As soon as Mio and Yuki asked about the organising committee’s situation, Basara’s expression became slightly stiff.

“……Basara?”

Yuki curiously looked at Basara, so—

“………Actually—”

Basara decided to tell them what happened at the organising committee — but at that time

“—What’s the matter? You guys still haven’t gone home yet?”

The voice which came from the other end of the corridor caused Basara to become speechless. Turning his head around, as if slowly emerging from the school building which was gradually darkening, it emphasised her beautiful white presence. Hasegawa Chisato walked towards them.

“I almost forgot, you guys are also members of the sports festival organising committee…I know that the accounting department will be especially busy, but staying too late isn’t good.”

“Yes~”

“…Sorry.”

Mio and Yuki both replied.

“…………”

Basara could only stare silently at Hasegawa.

“? What is it, Toujou…your face doesn’t look too good.”

Hasegawa seemed to have noticed that something was wrong with Basara, and slightly worried, she reached out to him, but —

“I’m fine, really — thank you sensei.”

Basara said politely, and naturally avoided her hand.

“……I see, that’s good.”

Hasegawa returned her hand which had lost its place to go, and as if nothing happened, she said

“Say, sometimes you guys seem to get too serious…I don’t want you to slow down, but be careful so that you don’t push yourselves too hard.”

After listening to her advice—

“……I know, I’ll keep it in mind.”

Basara lightly nodded. That was from his heart.

“If there’s anything you need, feel free to find me in the infirmary…at any time.”

After saying that, with the hem of her white coat fluttering in the air as she turned, Hasegawa walked off towards the other side of the corridor.

Part 8

When Naruse Mio, Basara and Yuki returned to the front door of their house together, it was already past 8pm.

“We’re home~”

After Mio opened the door and announced that they were home safely, the living room door suddenly opened.

I thought that it would definitely be Maria, but it seems that I’m wrong.

The person who rushed out to the corridor was —

“Kurumi-chan…?” Seeing Kurumi’s face blushing bright red, Mio held her as she called her name, and in the end —

“——!”

When Kurumi saw Mio and the others, her face became even redder.

“…W-What is it?”

“! — I-It’s nothing…you don’t need to worry about me!”

After Kurumi cried that out loud, she quickly rushed up the stairs.

“…Don’t worry about it, I’ll go see.”

Yuki took her shoes off, and then followed Kurumi upstairs.

How is she doing?

—The day after Basara and Yuki forced her to submit, Kurumi shut herself inside her room; but at night she reluctantly came out of the room after being persuaded by two people, and seemed to act rather normal recently. Because she was monitoring Mio, who was the former Demon Lord’s daughter and Maria was Mio’s follower, Kurumi maintained her distance towards her; but since they lived under the same roof, they inevitably saw each other every day, and they also spoke to each other every day. But like this, it had basically reverted to how it was that day. At that time—

“Oya oya, welcome home, everyone.”

Seeing Maria come out of the living room, Mio narrowed her eyes. That was because Maria seemed to be laughing about something in a corner of her mouth.

“Maria…you didn’t do anything to Kurumi-chan while we were gone did you?”

“I didn’t do anything special…I just invited her to have a bath together, and she also agreed.”

“Having a bath together…how would she agree?”

Maria couldn’t help smiling as she said

“Of course she would. While Mio-sama was busy attending school, Kurumi-san and I had already become good friends.”

“…You didn’t threaten her with anything weird, right?”

“How would I…it was absolutely mutual. Kurumi-san is a lot cuter than I imagined, and surprisingly straightforward.”

Maria playfully giggled as she said

“—Just then, we were happily watching a video together.”

“Video…uh, could it be…!”

With a nervous sense of foreboding, Mio pushed Maria aside, and stood in the doorway of the living room.

“……I knew it.”

Seeing the image displayed on the TV, Mio sighed as her shoulders dropped. The large LCD screen was currently playing a video of Basara and Yuki carving an immense pleasure onto Kurumi’s body; it was an image of her first experience of female pleasure and ecstasy. After being seen by Kurumi in her dog cosplay, Mio barricaded herself in her own room upstairs; although she heard the occasional cries of Yuki and Kurumi from downstairs, and asked what happened the next day…but she didn’t expect it to be so intense. Maria, who followed her into the living room, said with a glittering tone

“Look, Kurumi-san is really gifted. These days, sisters who have such a close relationship with each other that they’re able to make such incredible movies are really rare. Ah, this makes it really hard for me suppress the feelings in my heart, even my tears are going to flow out…”

“I really can’t supress the feeling of sympathy in my heart…”

Mio didn’t even have the energy to get angry. Truly pitiful — even for Mio, who was the first to make the master-servant contract with Basara, she pondered in her mind about the how chaotic the shameless relationship between her and Basara had become; Kurumi only had the experience of that night, but engraved in her mind and body, it was probably a new, and extremely intense pleasure.

“This isn’t any good, now she’ll stay in her room for a while again…”

After Mio helplessly murmured that, Maria suddenly realised—

“Strange, where’s Basara-san?”

Mio also turned around to look — but at some point unbeknownst to them, Basara had disappeared from the entrance.

Basara returned to his own room, and then after placing his bag onto the desk, he lied down on his bed. While staring at the ceiling, he thought about the all the connections between the information that he had received until now, and the current situation.

The current scope had already been narrowed down; it was determined that the target was Basara, and that it was someone related to Hijirigasaka Academy. It could be inferred that regardless of whether that attack was a warning, or if it had any other significance, there was definitely a reason behind it, and that would be an opportunity for the enemy to take action.

Firstly…the first probability was that the reason behind the attack and the cause for it were initiated simultaneously at that time. The day that Basara was attacked at the station, two unusual things had occurred. The first was that it was his first time attending the sports festival organising committee, and the second was that he visited Hasegawa Chisato’s house. Currently — the possibility of that incident being related to the sports festival organising committee was higher. That attack could have been a warning to Basara to withdraw from the sports festival organising committee.

—The ones who hoped that Basara would withdraw from the organising committee consisted of two factions. One of those factions wanted the sports festival to be successful — in other words, the people who were dissatisfied because they saw that there were problems due to there being too many people in the organising committee. Of the leaders, most of them had tried to encourage Kajiura and other student council members to reject Basara. Although reluctant to think so, in their position, rejecting Basara and a few others was rather normal. But the ones who wanted the sports festival to succeed didn’t just include the few who were members of the student council; so not only students, but also teachers could be suspected.

The other faction had nothing to do with the sports festival, as they simply wanted to exclude Basara — the faction who just wanted to get rid of Basara. This faction naturally consisted of the fans of Mio and Yuki who were led by Donoue and Hozumi. The one whose hostility towards Basara was the easiest to understand was Donoue of the Mio Faction. Ever since the attack at the station, looking at the enemy’s selfish attitude that involving innocent people didn’t matter, unlike the people who wanted the sports festival to succeed like Kajiura, Donoue seemed closer to that. Although, at the time when Donoue and a few others took Basara behind the school building, Sakazaki interrupted to break it up, and nothing had happened since then; but since the very first organising committee meeting when he saw Mio next to Basara, there was no guarantee that his hostility wouldn’t resurge. The problem was — Basara living together with Mio and Yuki was something which was long known by the entire school, on the other hand, it was unlikely that Donoue would organise such an attack just because they were attending the organising committee together; but by explaining Donoue’s out of control behaviour being ‘caused by the manipulation of that attack’, it would be more reasonable.

…However. If the enemy always had ill intentions to Basara — attacking Basara at that time was really a good choice. That was because the intelligent Takigawa had returned to the Demon Realm. When Takigawa returned to the Demon Realm, it was just a few hours before Basara was attacked — just after he was advised by Mio and Yuki that they had finished shopping at the supermarket. It was the day after the attack that Basara began to feel that he was being watched at school, it could be said that all of this happened after Takigawa took leave from the school. …Also, [The Village] had now sent Kurumi over. If the enemy knew about this information beforehand, it was possible that it was an attempt to make the [Village] believe that Basara had the risk of involving innocent people, thus they timed their attack so that Kurumi would make it there in time. As soon as [The Village] determined that the situation was too serious, simply leaving the organising committee wouldn’t be enough to resolve things, and he would quickly have to face the fate of either leaving Mio or Yuki.

—However, up until now, it still lacked any decisive evidence. So today, Basara changed the passive stance that he had adopted until now, and tried an active stance — using the conflict with Donoue and the others as a reason; if he used that opportunity to amplify the situation, it would also force them to leave the organising committee together. At the time, Mio and Yuki were absent because they were rehearsing for the cheerleading competition, so if they decided to attack Basara out of jealousy, it would provide an excellent opportunity for them to reveal themselves. Also — Basara had thought about it, in the slight chance that the faction which wanted him out of the organising committee so that the sports festival would succeed really didn’t exist, then it was possible that they were the culprits. Under such circumstances, Basara’s departure would appease their discontent; in the process, he would also be able to remove Donoue, who had purchased expensive fireworks and wasted two hundred thousand. In addition to achieving this compensation effect, it could also be considered his final contribution to the sports festival organising committee. But — due to Sakazaki’s appearance, he wasn’t able to successfully lure the other side into making their next move, so it was a failure in the end.

For Basara, time was of the essence, and he needed to immediately find a method to discover the enemy’s true motive — But he didn’t think that…with what he heard from Sakazaki, the situation was once again plunged into a mysterious fog.

“……Be careful of Hasegawa Chisato?”

If Sakazaki hadn’t said so, Basara really wouldn’t have realised that he had been influenced by her ever since he met her; after faithfully trusting her advice, it was almost to the extent that he blindly followed it — but that itself was a strange phenomenon. The biggest taboo in combat or a mission was [belief]. An overly strong subjective sense would undermine composure, narrow one’s vision, and prevent people from making correct judgements. That was why Basara underwent extremely rigorous training while he was in [The Village], and fought battles in which he didn’t think that he would be able to win so that he could develop the habit of seeing things from different perspectives.Therefore, he was able to discover Takigawa’s true identity, and was also able to find an unexpected way to put an end to Zolgear. Given that he was like that, why did he fully trust only Hasegawa — or rather, why didn’t he suspect her? This enemy was able to create powerful barriers, and was also able to control people’s minds. As Sakazaki said, the situation around Hasegawa was quite unusual, and even Takigawa had never mentioned anything against her. It seemed as though everything around Hasegawa would change according to her needs.

But — around Hasegawa, two irregular people had appeared. One of them was Basara himself. Obviously, Hasegawa got closer to Basara on her own. If she was behind the attack, the time when he treated Takigawa to yakiniku and met her probably wasn’t a coincidence, and she had an ulterior motive to inviting him over to her house. It was frightening…in the case that Hasegawa was the culprit, the reason why she was so interested in Basara was — [Banishing Shift]. Supposing that Hasegawa was able to control the minds of everyone around her — perhaps in some way, since Basara was able to eliminate any physical or magical attack, it may have caught her interested or posed a threat her, so she wanted to know if it was possible for him to eliminate her mind control. Thus, she designed various experiments, such as taking her swimsuit off in the infirmary and eating or bathing at her own house in an attempt to cloud Basara’s emotional judgement, and when she finally saw Basara as a threat, she attacked when Basara left — thinking about it that way, it seemed far more reasonable than Donoue attacking out of jealousy.

But…she didn’t deal with the problem that she couldn’t ignore — that was the other irregular person, Sakazaki. Neither Basara, Yuki nor Takigawa detected anything wrong with Hasegawa, yet Sakazaki did. Supposing that Hasegawa eliminated those that were aware of her by manipulation, Sakazaki should have been before Basara. Also, Sakazaki chose that time to tell Basara about the problem with Hasegawa — what was the reason behind that? Sakazaki said that he saw Basara under the influence of Hasegawa, did he tell that to Basara just so that Hasegawa would know about Sakazaki’s suspicions? Could it be that this was the other side’s trap? What Sakazaki said, could it just have been a made-up story so that Basara’s focus would be directed towards Hasegawa who was unrelated to everything, and he would then show an opening? That way, Sakazaki didn’t intentionally say that, but was instead subjected to the manipulation of the true culprit. …No. At the least, Basara’s trust towards Hasegawa was an undisputable fact.

I don’t think it was all a lie.

It’s just that — regardless of whether he believed Hasegawa or Sakazaki to be the suspect, the clues he currently possessed were not enough to decide, and he didn’t know who among Donoue, Hozumi, Tachibana, or Kajiura was the attacker, or being manipulated — no, even if the attacker was one of them, it was impossible to determine whether they were being manipulated. Under these circumstances, determining the next move was —

“…! No, how can I think like that…!”

Toujou Basara sat up on the bed, and looked straight ahead.

What am I worried about?

After he cheered himself up, he calmed down a bit.

Discard prejudice, and suspect every possibility. And then — come up with a countermeasure for each possibility. …It should be fine, because…

He himself had the ability to be sure of things. At that time, someone knocked on the door.

“Basara…?”

It was a person that he could definitely be sure of — Naruse Mio asked from outside

“Ever since we walked home from school, you’ve been acting a bit strange…is there anything wrong?”

Her voice indicated that she was concerned for Basara.

Really, I made her worry.

So Basara took a deep breath, and said

“Sorry…I’m just a bit disturbed, I’ll think of a way to deal with it.”

But, I’m already fine.

“Help me call everyone to the living room, I’ll tell everyone about what I encountered today, and also everything that I’ve understood recently. Also—”

Toujou Basara continued

“For an enemy whose identity and motive is unknown — this is how we should deal with it.”

There were still far too many suspects at the moment; the people he had suspicions about couldn’t be counted on one hand. But the knowledge they possessed was not zero. The enemy’s objective was Basara, and they didn’t care about bringing chaos to the surroundings. They couldn’t lose to such a despicable enemy. That was enough. Hence, they would start with what they had available. Perhaps the sports festival would be an important key. The outcome would decide whether they could get through that day. If they had to fight, then so be it. Although he was reluctant to suspect his classmates or teachers, they didn’t have a choice right now. Regardless of what torment the heart suffered — they needed to fight right now so that they could believe in everything once again.

Chapter 3: To Share Uncompromising Feelings

Part 1

The Sports Festival of Hijirigasaka Academy. Today, the twenty-fourth, is a cloudless, clear sunny autumn day.

As the nine o’clock bell rang, Toujou Basara was currently by the school gates together with Tachibana Nanao. They were the ones responsible for serving the reception for guests like the parents of the students and the people living nearly.

Before the reception table covered with all sorts of introduction leaflets—

“I guess most of the guests have already arrived by now…?”

Hearing Tachibana say at a time where there was no one around, Basara nodded with an ‘I guess so’. After that, while wearing sports attire and exuding a cute feminine air, Tachibana said:

“It’s about the time where the students would be entering the field, and to a parent, this would be the first opportunity to capture an excellent-timed photo; they’re probably doing the final checks on their cameras and recording equipment now.”

“Ahaha, that might really be the case, you know.”

Tachibana smiled cutely while scratching his cheek, and—

“……Anyways, it all started smoothly.”

For the rest of the week since Donoue’s outburst, the atmosphere in the organizing committee fell to an extreme low, but everyone managed to smoothly welcome the beginning of the Sports Festival.

On the day after his outburst, Donoue returned to the organizing committee and apologized to Kajiura. It wasn’t clear if Sakazaki’s words at the rooftop were true, or if there were any other reasons behind Donoue’s change in attitude, but even if his apology wasn’t sincere, the organizing committee got back on track, and did the final sprint for the preparations for the official day.

…Surely, I had thought that Donoue-senpai would try to bring down the Sports Festival.

But ever since he apologized, Donoue never pestered Mio every time he saw her again; even if there seemed to be some dissatisfaction in his attitude, he still fulfilled his responsibilities.

As for the matter about the fireworks he had brought up, it appears to have been completely settled by Kajiura and Sakazaki. All of the departments had hurried to complete their preparations on the day before, but no one will know what will happen after.

Thus until the Sports Festival starts, Basara will not leave the Organizing Committee alone, which shows that it wasn’t necessary to take into consideration attackers taking any chances as he tried to make the Sports Festival a success – even if it wasn’t [completely] and just [almost], it was the sight of Tachibana by his side with a shallow smile that made Basara understand that he didn’t have to suspect his new friends.

“…What’s the matter, Toujou-kun?”

When Tachibana asked him this, Basara shook his head while saying ‘It’s nothing’. At that moment, a new guest came to the reception table, and upon seeing the young girl wearing not the uniform of that of Hijirigasaka Academy—

“Hai – it appears that you didn’t lose your way here.”

Basara smiled and said while presenting some leaflets to her.

“Are you an idiot… My older sister studies here, so I can’t lose my way.”

Snappily returning a 'Hmph', the young girl -- Nonaka Kurumi accepted the leaflets handed to her.

“Could it be… Toujou-kun knows this girl?”

“That’s right, she is Yuki’s – the younger sister of that Nonaka from my class. Kurumi, this person is Tachibana, a member of the organising committee, just like me.”

“Um, I… I am Tachibana, Toujou-kun’s friend… Nice to meet you.”

“……Hello.”

Kurumi walked towards the field after giving Tachibana a short glance.

“Could it be, that she hates me…?”

“No, no, you’re just thinking about it too much.”

Basara smiled bitterly while answering Tachibana who looked towards him worriedly – and his expression suddenly froze.

“ ? Is something the matter, Toujou-kun… Ah.”

Tachibana’s doubts did not last long, since she very quickly realized the reason behind it. Two members of the organizing committee were heading this way from the field – it was the changing of the shifts for the reception staff. After Basara nodded as a greeting—

“……Time for changing shifts.”

One of them – Donoue coldly said while not looking into Basara’s eyes.

“Alright… Then I’ll be leaving the rest to you.”

After handing the reception table over to Donoue and the others, Basara and Tachibana did not directly return to their respective classes, but instead head towards tent assembled in the field as the headquarters of the organising committee. As they got closer to the field, the heat and noise from the crowd gathered grew bigger. Very soon, they saw many tents and equipment that have been set up – as well as the crowd that was packed into the audience area and the field that was already set up for the various events.

When Basara and Tachibana entered the headquarters, all of the other members of the organising committee not in charge of directing guests and reception had gathered.

Mio, Yuki, Aikawa, and Sakaki were present. Kajiura who was at the center of everyone, noticed the two of them and looked down at the list she was holding.

“Thanks for your hard work, with this, everyone is now here.”

And she began to speak while looking at everyone.

As the Sports Festival was mainly an inter-class competition, everyone was wearing headbands of various colours like white, red, and yellow. Of course, they were competitors while out in the field, but – the committee members gathered here were all important comrades who worked to make the Sports Festival a success. Hence—

“The time has come – let us start the Sports Festival now.”

On Kajiura’s face, there wasn’t any traces of the frustration from having too many members, as well as the worries of the humiliation caused by Donoue’s outburst; showing the dependable leadership on her face that had reunited the organising committee in the last week and managed to let the Sports Festival happen on schedule, everyone naturally gathered into a circle with Kajiura in the center. Just then, Mio and Yuki pushed themselves to Basara’s left and right side.

“…Basara -- Kurumi?”

“She’s here, she probably reached the agreed place before I came.”

Yuki had quietly asked, to which Basara replied, and Mio also asked, a little serious:

“I see… That moment, is finally here.”

Toujou Basara nodded and answered ‘Indeed’.

“Let us begin too – our own Sports Festival (Battle).”

Part 2

It was time for the students to gather in the field. Following the music, the students wearing their sports attire ran one round around the field in order of their years, and lined themselves up neatly by classes in the field.

In the audience area, virtually everyone’s eyes and all lens were pointed towards the field—

“…………”

Except for Nonaka Kurumi, who was doing something else while in the crowd – to check on and confirm the suspects behind the attack incident on Basara that he was mentioned while explaining.

Especially the few whom he had a strong causal relationship with on an emotional level, as well as their positions.

So far, she had looked at Tachibana who was together with Basara at the school gate, Donoue Shouhei who Basara had passed, as well as Kajiura Rikka who had stayed in the headquarters tent.

Since the Sports Festival started on time, the threat posed by Kajiura and Tachibana who wished for the Sports Festival to be a success was lower compared to Donoue who held a personal grudge against Basara – but yet Nonaka Kurumi did not relax. The hopes of the two of them not being the culprits, was due to Basara’s positive emotions amongst peers; if Basara had an obligation to believe them, then what Kurumi had to do, was to suspect them.

Right now, Maria was not allowed to leave the house because of the incident with Zolgear, and Mio and Yuki couldn’t make any big actions, so as to not give the Moderates Faction, as well as the Hero Tribe an excuse to take actions deviating from Basara’s expectations.

Hence, the only one who could move out in the open for this incident, is only Basara who had experienced an attack…

…As well me who had intervened after witnessing the scene…

Just watch as I pick you out. Kurumi thought. Not only just Yuki, Mio and Maria holds feelings for Basara, the Kurumi now was still the same as in the past, seeing Basara as someone irreplaceable. At this moment – Kurumi found the figure of Hozumi Kaiji, an avid supporter of Yuki in the headquarters tent amongst the many students.

…With this, that makes it four persons.

Making a mental note of the number, Kurumi panned her line of sight, and at the right side – she found the last two suspects in the staff tent.

One of them was Sakazaki who was looking out towards the students on the field with a hearty smile.

Next…

The other person, was the infirmary teacher who wore a white coat – Hasegawa Chisato.

That makes it six persons. The task Kurumi had taken on today, was to keep surveillance on all the suspects of the attacker who had attacked Basara. After adding on the other organising committee staff, the number would be in the thirties-zone, but that wasn’t a problem to Kurumi.

After the principal began on his speech in the stage, Kurumi closed both her eyes, and—

“————————”

Gathering her consciousness, she opened a magic circle with herself as the centre, and in the glow of the magic circle that couldn’t be seen by ordinary people—

…Please, everyone…

Calling out to the spirits in the surrounding area in her heart, asking them to watch over the entire school grounds and report to her of any suspicious things. Sensing the spirit’s agreement, Kurumi then opened her eyes, and her sight unexpectedly met with Basara’s. It was probably because Kurumi had used magic that allowed Basara to locate her within the crowd.

Also – this also meant that the culprit lurking on the school grounds to sense Kurumi’s presence and magic.

Once the other party makes any moves, she and Basara will immediately move to take that person down.

Under Kurumi’s and the spirits’ sights, the principal ended his speech in stage, and next up was the athlete’s oath.

A female student walked up onto the stage, and said out loud after raising her right hand up towards the sky:

“—oath. We, the students, hereby pledge to use all the knowledge and experience we have gained at school, along with the healthy bodies and minds cultivated at school, to compete fairly and honourably with each other. On behalf of the entire student body, student representative – Kajiura Rikka.”

When the speech ended, applause immediately covered the entire field.

With everyone having being that of the same mind, Hijirigasaka Academy’s Sports Festival started.

Part 3

To the organising committee as a whole, with sports as the stage, today was a war.

First, they had to prepare the equipment for the various track and field events, and guide the participating students. Next, they had to record down the current progression and results, and report it back to the headquarters. When the event ends, they had to immediately prepare and change the equipment for the next event.

Other than preparations for the various events, there was also the need to co-operate with the broadcasting club, with the playing of music and commentating during the events. If there were any injuries or anyone feeling unwell, there was a need to help send them to the first aid tent; if there was any malfunctioning with the equipment or delays in the events, they had to follow the instructions Kajiura gives them through the walkie-talkie, and rush to sort out the abnormalities.

Also, no matter if it was the audience or the contestants, they could become agitated due to the results and have an outburst, so there was also the need to send out a warning and suppress it at the suitable times. If there were any situations the students couldn’t deal with, they would request for the teacher’s assistance – that, encompasses all of the organising committee’s responsibilities, thus—

“The tallying of the preliminary results for the Hundred Meter Dash is almost done, so the ranking for the first round will be announced soon!”

“Has that Class 2A boy still not reported yet? Send out the announcement one more time!”

"What’s up with the PA system!? There's no sound from the equipment at the north side!”

“The pace of the shot put event slowed down? But all they have to do is just throw an object!”

Even if the events for the first half of the Sports Festival had went smoothly, the headquarters tent became very busy after one hour into the Festival, and the various department ran around working hard according to the constantly-changing situations.

“Are there any free hands in the General Auxiliary Department, someone seemed to have been injured at the high jump event.

Hearing Kajiura accept the request for help and give out an order—

“—I’ll go and take a look.”

Basara who was beside Yuki helping her tallying the numbers immediately took the task.

Right now, the only ones doing their tasks in the headquarters tent were the second year female students of the General Auxiliary Department, and tasks like these that were like errands were usually done by the first year students. Additionally, males would generally be more suited to have the task of sending an injured person to the sick bay.

“…Be careful, Basara.”

While leaving, Basara answered the Yuki reminding him with [I know]. With that, he then went to the high jump area while going around the track.

“Ah, Toujou-kun… Over here!”

Tachibana was beside the male student who seemed to be injured, and shouted while raising a hand.

“He was too enthusiastic when jumping, and he landed on an area that was not cushioned… I wanted to help him to the sick bay, but this event still needs my help, so I can’t leave. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it, you have the things which you need to do, so leave things like this to me.”

At any rate, the male crouching by the mat is a third year student, so his physique is even bigger than Basara’s, so the thin and small Tachibana probably can’t help him move.

“Hold on to me… Are you able to stand?”

Just as Basara was about to leave the place while helping the injured move, he suddenly said, as if suddenly remembering something:

“—ah, that’s right, Tachibana. If I remember correctly, you have to take part in the 400 meter race in a while, right?”

No matter how busy one was with the organising committee, they can’t not participate in the events; the members had to find time with doing their tasks and be present at the meeting place before the event starts like the other students.

“After I send this person to the sick bay, I’ll help you ask Kajiura-senpai to find someone to take over your shift.”

Though Basara himself doing it would be an easier way, he can’t do so, as the event he was participating in was immediately right after the 400 meters race.

“………Umm, Toujou-kun.”

“ ? What’s wrong…?”

Tachibana called Basara in a low voice, but—

“…Nevermind. I’m sorry, it’s nothing.”

After Tachibana said that, he continued: [See you later], while smiling and waving at him.

After Basara returned with a nod and ‘Oh’, he brought the injured student to the sick bay.

There was still quite some time before his event would start, so other than Basara who was helping the third year student, there were still quite a number of students in the headquarters tent. Upon seeing basara, a female student manning the station asked:

“Disinfection? Or would treatment be needed?”

Broadly speaking, disinfection is also a part of Treatment, but this question was distinguish the nature of the work needed. If it was only just scratches requiring disinfection, then the female student at the station could do it; if it was problems requiring treatment like bruises or physical discomfort, then Hasegawa would be taking care of it. After Basara said that it was the latter, the senior was then sent to Hasegawa who was currently treating other students.

“..Alright, then I’ll be leaving the rest to you.”

Basara slightly bowed respectfully as he got ready to leave, but he unwittingly stopped, and took a look at Hasegawa’s appearance. He gazed at the side of Hasegawa’s face as she wrapped the injury on the senior’s knee with a bandage. Soon—

“What’s wrong, Toujou… Are you injured too?”

Hasegawa asked without turning around. After Basara shook his and and replied with ‘No’—

“……Please excuse me.”

He said that and left the place, taking the same route as just now. The bell also rang at this moment – normally, this would signal the start of the third period.

…For now, everything seems to be going smoothly, with nothing big happening.

As he recalled the schedule for the competitions lined up, he thought about the current status.

Everything was still so busy despite the number of members in the organising committee being almost double from that of last year. The reason for that was probably because the competitions they were participating in were all scheduled in the morning. In order to ensure the participants and events go smoothly, they had to frequently account for the organising committee members changing shifts, and even organising the data from the various competitions was also quite labour-intensive; and as the event in the afternoon was the competitions by classes and groups, everyone’s workload was generally lower. It would be the current time where everyone was tight – as long as just one detail was overlooked, the success of the Sports Festival would disappear from everyone’s eyes.

“………”

Basara suddenly stopped, and looked around the whole field. It was an area that was in a frenzy. The participants, the audience, the teachers, the students… All of them had gathered and were enjoying the Sports Festival Basara and the others had prepared.

As one of the members of the organising committee, this was something that made him feel proud.

But…

The enemy who was instantly cause all of it to disappear, was somewhere in this crowd of people. There was also the possibility of the person being an acquaintance of Basara’s. Thinking about this again, caused Basara to tightly clench his right fist.

Perhaps due to Kurumi's spirit magic, the other person still hasn’t made any moves yet.

But still, Basara never forgot to keep his guard up, and began walking back towards the field.

Part 4

It seems that deciding factor in almost all the competitions was one’s physical fitness. Amongst all of competitions, there was only one event, where there wasn't any objections in having Basara, Mio and Yuki participate.

That event, was one where a strong bond between participants was also required in addition to luck – the three-legged obstacle race.

『Now, we have come to the Grand Finale Event for the morning – the unisex three-legged Obstacle Race! 』

The excited voice screamed from the loudspeaker. Basara was quite familiar with this voice, since after all, the one doing the announcements is Shimada Taichi of the broadcasting club, from the same class as Basara.

『This event, where every class will be sending out a male and two females, and they will have to break through three obstacles while racing against other classes around the track with only three legs, is known as the event most anticipated by all the male students! However, the lucky guy will only be the one chosen by the two participating female representatives! First up, will be the first years, and everyone’s attention will of course be on lane six, Class B, the two girls who had captivated all of the males in the school upon their admissions, Naruse Mio and Nonaka Yuki! 』

The males in the audience also cheered with the pace of Shimada’s speech, but—

『As for the lucky guy chosen to compete with the two idols of our school – Toujou Basara! 』

With his left leg being tied to Mio, and right to Yuki, Basara then lined up at the starting line while being showered in boos. This was something that couldn’t be helped, though. Since after all, this was an event which would earn the jealousy of the males who did not participate; and now, even the males from the same class as him was also booing along with the others—

…Huh?

Is it me, or are they booing at just me only…? Um, do your best, give your all, Toujou Basara! While completely showered in boos, Basara could only attempt to give himself encouragement in such a way.

As members of the organising committee, Basara and the others had priority in the evens they chose to participate in; and what Mio and Yuki had chosen, was this event, that was the three-legged obstacle race.

Thus – they would naturally nominate Basara to participate with them.

—to tell the truth, it was Maria’s idea to have Mio and Yuki join such an event. However, this was not a result from consulting with the loli-ero-succubus whose instincts liberated her imagination about the events that they should chose. The reason why the three of them had chosen this event, was to deal with that attacker. That person’s target is Basara, and the easiest way to lure out the attack by exposing Basara was the competition events.

If, Mio and Yuki came along with Basara and helped him in observing their surroundings, the attacker would have a hard time to be able to make a move on him; if the person still decided to attack, the three of them present would probably make the attacker easier to deal with.

…But

Donoue and Hozumi was also amongst the list of suspects, so he had originally planned to not join an event as intimate like this to avoid stimulating them – but if either one of them is the culprit, they probably wouldn’t want to hurt either Mio or Yuki. Since there was such an advantage, attracting the ire and jealousy of the other male students would be fine, all he had to do was just bear with it. Just then—

“Don’t think too much about it, just treat those was incomprehensible hollering.”

“Don’t worry – I will definitely protect Basara.”

Saying that, Mio and Yuki when pressed closer against Basara on purpose, letting the others see.

“……Well, everything’s fine.”

Basara put his hands around the waist of the two persons pressing against him, and sensed the warmth and softness of their bodies in his hands, in a situation of embracing the girls clinging to him; despite the amount of boos skyrocketing now, Toujou Basara didn’t care – because he had just realised something new.

“To be able to be with you like this, I’m – already very blessed.”

After Basara said that, the crisp sound signalling the start of the race rang out.

『The race started, and all the contestants dashed out from the starting line – Oh! Class D already fell down with their first step, and they dragged Class C and E down too! Seems like the other classes managed to dodge a bullet… Oohh! Amazing, the highly anticipated Class B already managed to draw distance from the other classes, and they’re only getting faster and faster!』

Hearing Shimada’s voice commentating, Naruse Mio and Nonaka Yuki thought that three of them taking first place was something that was supposed to be natural. That said, ever since the three of them decided to take part in this race, they have been spending their time in the house and even the bath in a three-legged state, and the bounds were only undone during bedtime or going to the toilet.

Originally the two of them had restrained themselves and had decided to not go into the bath together with Basara, they lifted that ban on the night Kurumi begun to stay with them. At the start, bathing together with their legs tied caused them much confusion. But gradually, the need for them to coordinate and work together became fun, they they soon got used to it; Mio and Yuki had split the job of helping Basara wash his body, and Basara would also help them wash some hard-to-reach areas.

To Mio and Yuki who had deepened their understanding and bonds in this way, the very first obstacle, the balance beam, wasn’t that much of an obstacle; the three of them lined up sideways, and synchronising their footsteps, they successfully got past the obstacle. When the already begun to run, they have already left the other classes far behind in the dust.

『Class B arrived at the second obstacle very quickly – and this is the part that makes the males most sour – squeezing the balloons!』

“The three of you, over here~.”

Aikawa who was manning the station waved her hands, and—

“Here, these two balloons are for you.”

Mio and Yuki received the balloons from Aikawa, and squeezed the balloons against Basara, with Mio putting it between Basara’s and her belly, and Yuki putting it between their backs – but no matter what, the balloons still wouldn’t pop. As Mio and Yuki were also members of the organising committee, they would of course know why; the pink balloons Aikawa had picked for them had the [Love Pink] nickname, and it was the one that was the most difficult to pop. In order to cut down on the disparity on the progress between the classes and produce a hyped mood, the Members had specially prepared both tough and easy-to-pop balloons. Hnce—

『Oh—! Class B was originally going very smoothly, but now they are stuck! Taking the opportunity, the other classes passed the first obstacle and are now catching up, and the lead Class B has is shortening! 』

Mio and Yuki felt the situation worsening and became anxious. But no matter how they squeezed, they only pressed they breasts and butts up against Basara, acting rubbing up Basara and acting sultry.

『Ooh! This is overwhelming! It as if the Sisters of Hijirigasaka Academy is using Toujou-kun’s body to dance! 』

“That idiot…!”

Basara retorted against Shimada’s provoking of the audience, and the males of Class B glaring at him also booed. Mio’s and Yuki’s eyes met and after that—

『…………』

They nodded their heads lightly, and begun rubbing their bodies up against Basara, as if putting up a show for the audience – just like when they were in the bathroom, with Mio using her breasts and Yuki using her butt to wash Basara’s body.

--before the race, Naruse Mio and Nonaka Yuki had made an agreement.

And that was to use this race, to announce to the whole school on who they belonged to. Their fan clubs would usually harass them, but they could still ignore them; but with their influence now reaching into the organising committee and affecting Basara, it is about time to make their stances clear.

They had to tell them, that Naruse Mio and Nonaka Yuki is no longer their idols – they belong to the one and only Toujou Basara.

Hence, with Mio and Yuki wrapping up Basara’s figure, the two of them expressed their message to the audience.

Basara seemed to be at a loss while embarrassed at the start, but he soon realised their intention and began to smile bitterly, and while he pulled Mio’s waist towards him even more, he pushed back with his full force towards Yuki.

When two classes behind them caught up to them, Mio and Yuki’s balloons finally popped – and the three of the once again ran forwards at full speed in unison to the last obstacle – Net Crawling.

Part 5

The figures of Basara and other two crawling along under the net, was all captured by a certain someone’s camera.

The one operating the camera in the audience area, is the one who had requested the spirits to keep lookout on Hijirigasaka Academy’s grounds for any suspicious figures, Kurumi.

“……Really, why do I have to do something like this?”

Kurumi helplessly sighed. The reason why she was doing this, was due to Maria who was watching the house requesting her to record down the events Basara and the others were in. Originally, Kurumi had no obligation to do as Maria wanted – but she couldn’t refuse her. Since her bickering with Maria in the past, she had grabbed a handle on her. When she was hit by the succubus baptism, her body had experienced a profound and very deep pleasure as she was put under an aphrodisiac effect; in just a single night, the values she had built up to that day was toppled over. Additionally – things did not end on that night. After Basara and the others left for school, Maria secretly ‘held’ some ‘lessons’ for Kurumi, in no small quantity no less.

…That’s all because of…

Kurumi’s face slightly reddened. With Yuki and Mio both having had intimate kisses with Basara, when Maria asked her [Would you like to catch up to them?] – of course she couldn’t put up a resistance.

—this time, Kurumi leaving the Village to assist Yuki, was not due to the Elders’ instructions.

If anyone asked who had sent her, she could only say she had volunteered to. After reuniting with Basara last time and returning to the Village, Kurumi saw Yuki becoming very happy with returning to his side – and her heart was filled with envy. After meeting Basara whom she had not met for five years and learning of his suffering in these past five years – Kurumi could no longer conceal her own feelings. Thus she began to hope to be able to return to be by Basara and Yuki’s side, and have the three of them return to the times where they played around together. But right now – Basara and Yuki, as well as with Mio and Maria have already built up a new bond; if she wanted to receive Basara and Yuki’s loving care once more, she had to follow Maria instructions to chase after Yuki and Mio, to enter Basara’s world.

That’s why…

Kurumi recently started to go over the films Maria provided her, and observed the various situations of Basara subjugating Mio and Yuki. While hiding it from the others, she then experienced those situations one by one. Although she knew that as a Hero, getting closer and closer to one of the Demon Race like Maria wasn’t appropriate—

…But, with this, I can…

On these past five years – since separating with Basara, her older sister had become a completely different person, causing Kurumi to become lonely; but during that night, with Basara and Yuki doing various things to her, it felt as if they had returned to their childhood days. Although bodily pleasure had to come along too, as long as it could fill the hole with her, Kurumi was fine with it. Because things that Yuki and Mio could do, there wasn’t any reason that caused her to not be able to do it too.

At that moment, while lingering within that thought, Kurumi’s expression suddenly tight.

「————————」

The spirits keeping watch had sent out a warning, and then—

“Are you recording Toujou-kuna and the others…?”

A polite question came at her. Turning to look, Tachibana was standing beside her, and she asked back with an indifferent expression:

“…You have business with me?”

“Nn… I’m here to ask for some help from you.”

Tachibana answered while looking straight into Kurumi’s eyes.

--The spirits only reported about Tachibana drawing near, and there was no mentions of any magic power whatsoever.

That at least showed, that the people in this area was not under any sort of manipulation.

But…

As Basara and the others are still in the competition, Kurumi right now was completely alone. Taking into account that she and the people around her might come under some form of manipulation, Kurumi raised her vigilance, and while keeping her guard up, she said:

“Help, you say… You mean there is something that you must request of me?”

“Nn… But, this is not just for me, it also concerns Toujou-kun, and Nonaka-san – your older sister.”

“Basara and onee too…?”

This is a deal, as well as a trap – after Kurumi asked back with an eyebrow raised, Tachibana said after nodding:

“That’s why, for the Sports Festival—“

As Tachibana was speaking mid-way, his expression suddenly froze. He was not looking at Kurumi, but instead to behind her. ‘’Just what did he see behind me’’ – turning around to look, Kurumi also saw it too, clearly.

A human figure was standing on the rooftop of the central building, looking over the field.

“That is…”

Kurumi recognised that the person on the rooftop is Donoue, and at the same time the all spirits sent her a warning in unison, causing her to become shocked.

Donoue’s right hand raised up towards the sky, and a magic circle expanded from it. In the next moment – a large tornado appeared and began moving straight towards the field where the Sports Festival was still in progress. With a rumble and blast, the dust in the field was sent flying into the air. This sudden unexpected situational change, caused both the students and general guests to begin screaming.

“Why…”

In the moment Tachibana saw the tornado take shape, Tachibana Nanao said, stunned.

“————!”

With an imposing expression, Kurumi turned her clothes into her battle attire, and leapt into the air with flying wind magic – flying straight towards the rooftop.

The moment Kurumi turned into her battle attire infused with magic, normal people wouldn’t be able to see her anymore; even if she uses wind magic, it would only seem to be a sudden gust of wind to normal people.

--However, all of Kurumi actions was captured cleared by Tachibana’s eyes.

And the reason why she was still frozen in place, was because something that must not happen had happened.

“Why…!?”

Tachibana couldn’t comprehend it. Donoue was able to use magic – this was something that should be impossible.

…Because of my demonic eye, shouldn’t Donoue-senpai be…

At that moment, something caused woke the stunned Tachibana.

That, was the sound of things breaking. The tornado that came from the sky, demolished and sent flying the equipment and tents set up in the field. In the countless screams that accompanied that—

“A-Ahh…”

Tachibana let out a groan. In Tachibana’s eyes, the Sports Festival that was Tachibana’s hard work, was being destroyed in front of her in that moment. Even if it was a human, it would still be devastated by its onslaught – the hard work everyone had put in, was gradually being turned into dust.

--something like that, however, did not happen.

Within the howling wind, *Shinn——————!* the sound of a slash suddenly sounded out.

And immediately after – the tornado near it suddenly disappeared without a trace.

“Eh—…?”

Tachibana who was once again stunned, saw that in the moment when the tornado landed – in the middle of the field, a young male youth was standing there. His right arm was covered with armour, and it appeared as if he had just slashed with the large demonic sword in his hand – it was Toujou Basara who was currently participating in one of the competitions.

...Toujou-kun, why...?

Before Tachibana had even thought of the reason why Donoue could use magic, this scene threw Tachibana further into confusion.

--But what really surprised him, was not because Basara could use abilities. During the Opening Ceremony, Tachibana had seen Kurumi use magic. Tachibana was afraid that she was a Hero who had come to exterminate him.

It was that to make sure that the Sports Festival could successfully end, Tachibana had used his magic eye to control Donoue’s consciousness.

Tachibana had approached Kurumi, to ask for her wait until the Sports Festival had ended.

And from there, Tachibana had speculated her older sister Yuki, her childhood friend Basara, as well as Mio who lived together with them were likely to be Heroes. In Tachibana’s sights, Yuki and Mio who just caught up to Basara’s side, their faces had no confusion or panic due to unfamiliarity of the situation; but what stunned Tachibana even more, was the speed at which they had dealt with the situation, as well as the order in which they did things.

--Donoue using magic, was without any warning.

When dealt with any sudden changes in the situation, anyone would be shocked still, just like Tachibana was just now.

But – Mio and Yuki, as well as Basara who was participating in a race, how were they able to react to the situation so swiftly?

Another thing Tachibana had doubt over, was the action Kurumi had taken after the tornado appeared. Under that situation, Kurumi did not first help the civilians around her, but instead choosing to fly straight towards Donoue.

As a Hero, there wasn’t a possibility for her to overlook the people in danger before her. Thinking from this angle, she probably knew that Basara would dispose of the tornado and thus did so.

In other words – the reason Basara had reacted so swiftly and for Kurumi overlooking the civilians around her, was because they had known in advance that this situation would happen beforehand, and thus orchestrated this together.

…But why would they…

If they were really intending to exterminate Tachibana who was controlling Donoue, how did they know that Donoue would leave Tachibana’s control and use a magic like that? As Tachibana was pondering over this—

“Could it be…”

Tachibana remembered something his mother had told him before. During the Medival Ages in Europe, there was a period of time where Witch-hunts took place – reportedly, their leader was the Heroes who was responsible for defending the European Region back then; the Heroes had sentenced anyone born with Demon blood or had inherited their blood as part of the [Witch-Hunt]. There were some who had escaped from the one-sided oppression and its remnants to this day, and Tachibana was one of them. But back then when the witch-hunt happened, there were some Heroes who also exterminated those who were supposed to be under their surveillance, not even hesitating to frame others if needed.

--Were Basara and the others doing something like that? In order to exterminate Tachibana, they purposely manipulated Donoue to discharge powerful magic, and quell the trouble before any harm was done – taking the credit of saving the innocent and putting the blame on Tachibana?

Because Basara and the others had foreseen something like this happening, and so, luckily, they were able to put a stop to it. Thus—

“…………”

Tachibana Nanao’s eyes gazing at Toujou Basara turned colder and colder, Basara was no longer a friend in Tachibana’s eyes – not the first friend he had made since entering school, but instead he was now an enemy. After that—

“————————”

As if Basara had felt his gaze, he slowly turned his head around.

Part 6

After Basara’s [Banishing Shift] eliminated the tornado, he quickly looked up towards the rooftop.

After the gazes of the two of them met, Donoue disappeared to the other side of the rooftop after giving a crooked smile, and Kurumi who had activated wind magic quickly chased after him – mid-way she glanced back at Basara, and he gave her a nod. Up till now, both him and Kurumi could still observe the surroundings and act accordingly. At that moment, amidst the noise in the field—

“……Basara.”

Yuki and Mio reached his side from the race track of the obstacle race.

“That person just now – was Donoue-senpai, right? Is he really the troublemaker behind it?”

“That’s hard to say. He was obviously acting provocatively, so he might be controlled… But even if that’s the case, if we can track the source of his magic, we’ll probably be able to get clues about the mastermind.”

So we can’t let him escape. Basara tightly held Brynhildr’s grip, and said:

“Right – let’s still follow the plan. Kurumi and I will go after Donoue, and you two remain here and don’t let the mess grow bigger. I’ll leave it to you, then.”

The tornado just now must’ve scared many people, must the worst injury sustained from that must be only light scratches, probably nothing serious; regarding the structures, a portion of the PA equipment and tents must’ve been damaged, and if nothing else happens, it probably wouldn’t cause the Sports Festival to be ordered to a halt. Hence, the priority right now is to not let the panic and disorder amongst the students and visitors grow into fear; and the ones responsible for this support work, is Yuki and Mio. The two of them nodded. To gain control of the field, the two of them then separated. At the same time, Basara also went to take a look at the area around the headquarters tent, and seeing Kajiura giving instructions to the organising committee members before the teachers had even begun to react caused him to feel admiration in his heart. Just then—

“————————”

Feeling a gaze on him, he turned around and looked. Amongst the confusion and noise in the audience area –amongst the crowd, his gaze met with someone’s.

“Tachibana……”

Basara looked into the cold eyes of his friend, and murmured his name.

--Right at that moment, a barrier opened up, and everything turned dark.

Everyone else other that Basara also disappeared at this moment, leaving behind only the buildings. Probably, Basara was the only one trapped in here. As this sudden change caused him to gasp—

“————!”

But he reacted just in time, immediately jumping to the side horizontally, and a gust of wind blew past his side – no, to be accurate, it was not wind. In his view, those five fingers had sharpened, and the silhouette with the right hand thrust out turned around and said:

“……You really are amazing, Toujou-kun.”

It was Tachibana. His glasses probably dropped off somewhere, and he stared into Basara’s eyes, while giving off a red glow while in the barrier. Hence—

“I see…”

Finding out about Tachibana’s real identity, Basara murmured out in understanding. The enemy this time was adept in manipulating human consciousness, and could make the controlled use magic. Thus, when Maria mentioned about [kin], other than the Demon Race forces, Basara had also considered another possible race.

…And that was the Vampires.

Hundreds of years ago, the demon race occasionally copulated with humans while in the Human Realm, giving birth to people and beasts of mixed races from humans having their paths of evolution crossed with those of the Demon Race from the Demon Realm. The news of them attacking human nowadays were very rare, but that’s because those who attacked humans have been exterminated by Heroes long ago. Some survivors from that extermination chose to hide themselves and live in this Realm; part of the hybrids chose to breed with humans, causing the thinning of the ancestral bloodline, and now no longer had any special abilities. Thus unless they violated the laws and raised the stakes high, the Hero Tribe would not chose to exterminate them, since the Humans would also go after them.

But…

Everything has an exception. Though they may appear no different from a normal human, atavism occasionally happens. The reason the Hero Tribe had not found out about Tachibana’s real identity was because Tachibana had kept her powers hidden, and lived as a normal human. Yet—

“…Tachibana, it’s really a pity.”

Even if Tachibana is the one who had attacked Basara, Toujou Basara could turn a blind eye to it if Tachibana’s intention was to make the success of the Sports Festival a reality. Really.

The ones who had brought Donoue and the others into the organising committee and broke into Tachibana's peaceful life were Basara and the others themselves. Basara himself was fighting to protect Mio’s everyday life, and he knew very well how the ‘everyday life’ found everywhere was so precious and difficult. However – the tornado just now had already crossed the boundary of what Tachibana needed to do to secure his own everyday life. That tornado would only destroy the Sports Festival everyone was looking forward to, and could also destroy the everyday school life together of those around him.

--That’s why, to protect all of it, Toujou Basara, made the decision to swallow the pain in his heart.

Raising Brynhildr and forgetting about the word [Friend], he looked at Tachibana.

“——————————”

In the moment the sights of the two persons met – both sides began moving simultaneously.

In the moment the both of them raised their foots, the full power of their first atacks crossed.

Part 7

As Basara and Tachibana began to fight.

Before Nonaka Kurumi had even caught up to Donoue, she had already suppressed him and his companions.

When Donoue and the Mio Faction rendezvoused at the back of the roof, they planned to confront Kurumi who caught up together, but they were not a match at all for Kurumi who was an Spirit Magician.

There was the possibility that this group of people who adored Mio harboured jealously enough to attack Basara, but—

“…Isn’t this too easy?”

As Kurumi looked over Donoue and the others who laid on the roof unconscious, her expression was imposing.

Indeed, when Donoue released magic towards the field and when fighting with Kurumi who chased after him, he showed strength far surpassing that of a normal human.

But their level, was way too different from those passengers who had attacked Basara on the platform. Taking into account the barrier that had come up covering Basara and Tachibana—

“They were just being controlled… Also, this feeling…”

Kurumi felt the air of a bad premonition enveloping the entire school grounds.

There’s no mistaking it – right now, there were two barriers. Not only was there a barrier covering the school building and field, there was another one covering the entire school grounds. The fluctuations of both were similar, showing that the barriers were not put up separately by different people, but instead put up in multiple layers by the same person. But—

“Even me and onee, cannot undo a double-layered barrier…”

Those in the Hero Tribe who could do something like that were only the very few persons who specialized in barrier magics; and yet the mastermind behind the current situation was able to put up a double barrier and control Donoue and the others.Since that is the case—

“………!”

Thinking about the opponent’s level, an ominous foreboding quickly grew within her heart and a drop of sweat trickled down her neck.

…I have to quickly let onee and the others know.

The spirit magician Kurumi only noticed that it was a double barrier through the spirits at her service. Although Yuki’s spirit sword [Sakuya] had a spirit, she could only send her intentions to [Sakuya] as a technique-type fighter, unable to clearly understand [Sakuya]; while Mio was someone who was a wizard-type like her, she utilized the demonic energy carried within herself as a high-class wizard and since it wasn’t even a year since she had begun using magic, asking for her to maintain sensitivity towards the energy fluctuations in her surroundings continuously was really difficult.

“—No, what’s more important is—“

The mastermind was probably Tachibana who was at the other side of the school when the barrier went up and whom she had lost contact at the same time as Basara.

Thus, Kurumi asked for the spirits to trace the source of the magic power within Donoue’s body. If she wanted rendezvous with Basara on the other side of the barrier(s), searching Tachibana’s magic power to look for a gap was the best choice. However—

“…Eh?”

The reply the spirits hurriedly returned, instead caused Nonaka Kurumi to be stunned speechless.

In the trace, the magic power controlling Donoue was indeed from Tachibana Nanao; however – there was a different power hidden in Tachibana’s magic power, also controlling Donoue.

“What is this…”

As the undiscovered fluctuation caused Kurumi to be puzzled with the trace results—

“—Eh?”

She suddenly felt someone behind her back and hurriedly turned around – but she couldn’t.

Without even the chance to let out a sound, Nonaka Kurumi lost consciousness, just like that.

Part 8

The Vampire Race was relatively difficult to deal with, especially their foremost representative.

Not only could they suck blood or transfuse blood causing their opponents to turn into their own kin, their, physical abilities far exceeded that of a Human’s, and they could utilize abilities with magic; additionally, with their demonic eyes, they could forcefully induce hypnotism and control a target’s consciousness, and they could even turn their bodies into mist or bats or other things at will.

--In other words, they were an opponent one must be very cautious about. Ever since the battle started, Basara had been forced to be on the defensive under Tachibana’s many various offensive attacks, but the tide of the battle was slowly turning in Basara’s favour.

Tachibana’s aptitude was really surprising. If it was the Basara who had just met Mio and reunited with Yuki, he would probably not be able to win; but – the Basara now was different.

Although the gap of those five years of his life had not been completely filled up, the senses of a real battle had already almost recovered, and adding on that he had done the Master-Servant Contract with Mio and Yuki and had deepened their relationship, his battle power has received a considerable power-up.

Also – experience from training only wouldn’t win a battle. Basara had fought against the high-class demon Zolgear with Maria who turned into her adult form and desperately broke through the death perils which came one after another, raising Basara’s strength to the next level.

--Right now, in the dark space replicating barrier.

The battle that had started in the field, had already moved into the school buildings. The sharp metallic clashes rang out in the second floor corridor – that is the sounds of Brynhildr and Tachibana’s claws striking each other in the battle. Amidst the two of them clashing—

“——————!”

Tachibana jumped far backwards and with a hand on the floor, he expanded a purple magic circle. Instantly, countless large conical pikes thrusted up from the floor, aiming to bore holes in Basara’s body.

But Basara was already a step ahead, having evaded it. Utilizing the speed from a Speed-type fighter, he rushed up to the ceiling from the left wall, and then circling to the right wall, he began running towards Tachibana; the pikes followed him closely, chasing him along the walls and ceiling with large sounds.

Just as the pikes appeared before Basara as if to block his path, he kicked off the surface, jumping straight towards Tachibana. Seeing Basara coming towards him in a straight line, the action Tachibana took was to simultaneously fire out all the pikes on the floor, wall and ceiling, and Basara readied his posture to slash with his sword—

“Haaaaaaahhhhhh!”

Twisting in mid-air while slashing out with Brynhildr, shattering the countless pikes coming from behind his back, before twisting his body again.

Smoothly transitioning from defence at his back to attack at Tachibana before him, he slashed out without a drop in speed.

Tachibana changed his state while retreating backwards, and Brynhildr brushed past his body which had changed to mist—

“……!”

But Tachibana’s expression still distorted from pain. He was late in transforming, so he had sustained injury from not being able to escape Basara’s attack. Despite that—

“Ku – Aaaaaaahhhhh!”

At the moment Basara touched the ground, Tachibana rapidly thrusted out his right hand, but the claw’s speed and path was already seen through by Basara. He pushed the tip sideways a little, utilizing minimal movements to evade Tachibana’s claw, and used Brynhildr’s hilt to impact lower jaw; Tachibana, whose brain received a shock, had his movements come to a stop momentarily.

Basara immediately slashed at his body with his sword – with the back of the blade.

With the sound from the impact, Tachibana crashed through the door of the classroom on the right back-first, and fell to the ground.

“Kuu… uu…!”

Despite having a face distorted with pain, Tachibana still tried to stand up.

“ ! …Do you really look down on me that much…!?”

Tachibana glared at Basara with eyes filled with hostility. Those blood-red eyes, showed that Tachibana’s hostility was undiminished. While receiving that hostility head-on, Basara thought—

…What is going on?

Going y the situation, Tachibana who was actually a vampire was very likely to be the culprit; but perhaps due to hiding his identity and powers for a long time, he clearly never had any real combat. If it was just that, it didn’t matter—

…His movements are too direct.

Every attack of Tachibana’s was like an emotional outburst, it was very simple. Indeed, The Tachibana Basara had known had a very frank personality; in a tight situation, attacks of someone like him would also be easy to guess.

However – Tachibana’s attacks was already direct right from the start. The enemy this time had no qualms in getting innocent people involved, the attack at the station and the tornado just now was the proof of that; at the same time, the enemy was someone very cautious, causing Basara to not be able to guess the enemy’s identity. The above characteristics, were completely different from Tachibana who was before him. Hence—

“…………”

Thinking of a certain possibility, Basara grabbed Tachibana’s wrist and forcefully pulled him up, and pressed him against the blackboard, and then tried something that could not be done in the middle of a fierce battle.

“W-What are you doing…!”

“—don’t move, keep quiet first.”

Basara brought his face closer towards Tachibana’s alarmed face, and concentrated on gazing at Tachibana.

In order to activate [Banishing Shift]’s banishing ability, the target’s root of existence, [Origin], needs to be severed. Since a very long time ago, Basara was able to see the [Origin]; and recently, as if due to the deepening of his relationship with Mio and Yuki after their kiss, his strength was considerably higher than before, and he could now see the manifestation of the fluctuation of magic powers whenever he just concentrates.

Indeed…

Basara did not find any foreign fluctuations in Tachibana’s body – which shows that his consciousness is not being controlled by someone. However, Tachibana’s fluctuations was completely different from the barrier around them.

In other words – the culprit was someone else, not Tachibana. Then, the reason Tachibana attacked Basara, was probably—

“…Tachibana, could it be, you are thinking that I was the one responsible for the tornado just now—…?”

“What are you saying this late!? You’ve already put up a barrier like this, why are you doing something so bad…!”

Pressed against the blackboard, Tachibana’s shouted angrily with tearful eyes.

"Involving innocent people, and even messing up the Sports Festival! Just kill me inside a barrier if you wanted to kill me, there wasn’t a need for something like that!”

Hearing the shout with emotion poured into it—

…Damn it, I got tricked!

Basara finally realised that both of them who was within the barrier, were led on by the real mastermind. Basara and Tachibana hoped to be able to trust each other, so when they think that the other party is the traitor, they’ll be even more unwilling to forgive. The real mastermind used these feelings and tricked the two of them who had become friends after much difficulty, using the meaningless battle to break down the trust built up between the two of them.

…But, even then…

It great that the worst case scenario did not happen, and the both of them are still safe. So, when needs to be done now is to not let the mastermind have their way. Thus Basara kept away Brynildr.

“W-What are you doing…?”

The unexpected action, caused Tachibana to become wary.

“Tachibana – look into my eye with your demonic eye, this way you’ll be able to find out why I kept my weapon.”

“Eh…?”

“As you know, we Heroes have some resistance against magic; if we concentrate to defend, controlling our consciousness would have no effect unless it’s a really strong power. The demonic eye able to control consciousness disrupts the subconsciousness through the eyes, so you’ll be able to see through my intentions.”

Then—

“If you do that – you’ll understand why I chose to quit the battle.”

What Basara said was [Quit], not something like [Stop], displaying his intention to no longer fight. However—

“…Just what are you planning? You've come up so close to a vampire and chose to keep your weapon, so even if my demonic eye can’t control you, I can still suck blood to make you into my slave…”

Tachibana kept his guard up. That was for sure, since no matter what Basara says now, his trust cannot be regained again.

“Because I hope you’ll see for yourself clearly…”

Yet Toujou Basara said out a truth – his own real intentions. And that is—

“Tachibana… I had really hoped to make the Sports Festival a success together with you, and that holds true even now.”

Those words caused Tachibana to shudder unconsciously. The subconsciousness is affected by the words the person says, so Tachibana would be able to immediately know if what he said were lies or not by using his demonic eye to look into Basara’s eyes.

“…Alright then. If you lie, my teeth will definitely pierce your neck."

Saying that, Tachibana then looked into Basara’s eyes.

With his red eyes that can read thoughts, he gazed intently at Basara. Not long after—

“……!”

Those two eyes widened, and what immediately appeared them, were tears.

“How can that…be…, then… we were…”

Tachibana who found out the cruel truth, then murmured while at a loss. His head hung feebly, and large tears flowed down his face. Thus, Basara released his hand that was holding Tachibana, and Tachibana slid down the blackboard and fell into a kneeling position, both shoulders shaking. To this reaction of his friend—

“Tachibana…”

Toujou Basara, other than saying out his name softly, did nothing else. He clearly understands, that this was just a misunderstanding.

But despite that – what has been done, has been done. What has been broken, cannot be recovered completely, ever.

No amount of consoling would be able to undo the current status, and he could not stay here forever.

Since Tachibana was not the mastermind, the real enemy is still somewhere out there.

…The enemy couldn’t have closed us in here to deal with them, or not?

An uneasiness grew within him.

“ ! ————…?”

At that moment, Basara suddenly felt a certain air, which caused his hairs to stand on its end and his whole body to stiffen up.

“ ? Toujou-kun…?”

Not knowing what happened, Tachibana raised his tearful face and asked.

“Tachibana, wait here for me… ——understand!?”

Shouting those words, Toujou Basara rushed out of the classroom as if he suddenly received an electric shock.

Where Toujou Basara was headed to, are Mio and Yuki’s location as the reaction from the locating ability of the Master-Servant Contract gave him.

--If the two of them are outside the barrier, Basara who was inside the barrier wouldn’t be able to find their location.

However, the Master-Servant relation with them and Basara had been strengthened significantly. With that, would he be able to find their locations through the barrier? …Thinking that, Basara is going to try using that to try to locate Mio and Yuki.

And then, he really got a reaction from them – but it was not outside the barrier, but within it.

…Damn it! Could it really be related to that person…!?

As Basara ran towards their location, his expression gradually became bitter.

He had already eliminated possible suspects right to the end, and he had already prepared his heart to face the truth; but in a certain corner in Toujou Basara’s heart, there was still trust – that this is not that person’s doing. Yet—

“That is…”

When he ran down the stairs and saw his destination around the corner, Basara saw a scene he did not wish to believe.

It was a brilliant white. It was the coat that was like her trademark, and she had her right hand directed at the door to the room she was in charge of – and a golden glow was around her hands.

“ ! –Hasegawa-sensei!”

Basara shouted the person’s name, and she must’ve heard it, but—“

“——————”

Hasegawa Chisato ignored Basara, and in front of the raised right hand – a magic circle appeared on the door. The infirmary room’s door and wall then turned into gray with a sharp sound, and Mio and Yuki’s reaction then disappeared. This scene, was similar to when Mio was trapped into a special barrier that was at Zolgear’s nest.

--Only after that, then did Hasegawa Chisato turn around.

While still exuding the usual peerless beauty, she gazed at Basara with silent and calm eyes. Hence—

“…Sensei, please leave this place.”

Basara stopped around ten meters before Hasegawa, and said while facing her.

The bundle of reluctant hope that was in Basara’s heart had vanished, and what’s left is the acceptance of the truth before his eyes, and the thought of accomplishing his goals no matter what. So despite seeing Hasegawa using magic, Basara who held Brynhildr was not surprised, and had no desire to ask how. Knowing that Hasegawa had closed Mio and Yuki into some kind of barrier – was sufficient enough.

“Please leave that place… Mio and Yuki are inside there, aren’t they, please hand them over to me.”

Basara held Brynhildr’s hilt tightly, displaying the intention that if Hasegawa is not willing to leave, he’ll settle this with his weapon. However—

“…My apologies, I cannot do that.”

When Hasegawa lightly shook her head – Toujou Basara already began moving his body.

…Screw that barrier…!

No matter how strong a barrier is, [Banishing Shift] will be able to eliminate it.

--Sure, [Banishing Shift] can only be activated when the opponent attacks.

But right now, Basara is confined within the barrier covering the school and field, so the condition to activate [Banishing Shift] has been fulfilled. With that—

…If I activate it and set the target as the barrier confining Mio and Yuki…!

It was a somewhat direct brute-force attack. Basara as of now is still unable to clearly see the Origin of two targets, so it might not really be possible to completely eliminate the barrier; but even if that if the case, it should probably be able to eliminate part of it. Once there is a hole in the barrier, breaking of the barrier can proceed from there. Hence—Toujou Basara moved.

“Ooooooooohhhhh!”

Basara who began moving in the corridor and almost immediately reached a speed amazing even for speed-type fighters, directly swung Brynhildr horizontally at Hasegawa; in response, Hasegawa only gently raised her left hand. Hasegawa’s choice is not to avoid, but to defend, probably planning to use a magic barrier or materialise a weapon to receive the attack – no matter what it is, Basara will be able to use the momentum from this attack as a pivot to further increase his speed. Brynhildr’s blade moved towards Hasegawa’s raised left hand—

“Wha…!?”

But Basara who already prepared to increase his speed, stopped and stood there, stunned.

Reason being, Brynhildr’s large sword blade, was being held in place by Hasegawa’s slim arm; forget about gaining speed, even movements had been sealed.

“—looks like you miscalculated.”

Saying that, Hasegawa began moving her right hand towards Basara, and dazzling golden light emitted from within that hand—

“—get down, Toujou!”

A shout came from behind him at that time.

“ ! ——…!?”

Toujou Basara reflexively kept Brynhildr, and hurriedly moved away.

At the same time, a pillar of fire enclosed Hasegawa within it together with a boom and a shockwave.

Basara who was still safe while facing intense heat, looked backwards. The one standing there, is someone who Basara is familiar with – homeroom teacher Sakazaki Mamoruda.

“Why is sensei…?”

“What are you staring around for, quickly run!”

The teacher's sudden appearance, caused Basara to stand there, stunned. Sakazaki then grabbed onto Basara’s hand and ran, aiming to bring him away from this scene, but Basara forcefully put strength into his legs to stop, and said:

“W-Wait! Mio and Yuki is still…”

Just as the words left his mouth, the air around him suddenly swirled with a boom, and the fire pillar enclosing Hasegawa opened.

“————!”

It was not wind. What undid Sakazaki’s flames, were many three-dimensional magic circles forcefully twisting the space. Hasegawa emerged from the intense flame attack unharmed—

“You damned…”

Saying that in a low voice, a golden aura surrounded her body. Sakazaki’s attack seemed to have enraged her, and she looked this way with hostility that wasn’t there when she faced Basara.

“……!”

The pressure she released, was bigger then what Zolgear or Maria in her adult form had released. What kind of joke is this, this means that she was way past the level of an S-Class. At this mment, Sakazaki shouted towards basara who had gasped:

“Winning against her head on is not possible, we better retreat and think of a countermeasure first!”

“…You really think you can run away?”

Sayng that, Hasegawa raised her right hand towards them.

But before she attacked, a bundle of black surrounded her thickly, and—

“—quickly run, Toujou-kun!”

A shout came from the other end of the corridor. It was Tachibana Nanao who he had told to remain upstairs.

Tachibana’s tone and anxious expression, were all trying to persuade him to immediately retreat.

--he can’t leave Mio and Yuki behind, but what Sakazaki said was also the truth. Going up against Hasegawa without a plan, would mean that their chances of winning were super low. Hence—

“Damn it…!”

Basara tightly gritted his teeth, and ran away from the scene with Sakazaki.

Part 9

Basara and the others who had chosen to temporarily retreat, ran into a certain special classroom on the third floor. It was a space with cooking tables with sinks, stoves, drawers and lined up, the home Economics Classroom that had no equipment inferior to a culinary school.

“—are you guys alright?”

Sakazaki asked after taking a deep breath.

“Nn… I’m fine.” “…Me too.”

Basara and Tachibana nodded while answering.

“But, why did sensei…?”

And asked Sakazaki. why did he help them – and at the same time, why could he use special abilities. Tachibana too also had the same questions, and quietly waited for Sakazaki’s answer. Sakazaki only put on his usual bright smile and said:

“Actually, Jin and I are old friends. He had asked me to look after you while he went to the Demon Realm, and that is why I am here.”

"You are my dad’s…? Then—“

Basara remembered the words Sakazaki had told him on the day he transferred in, and Sakazaki gave a bitter smile.

“That’s right. On the day when we first met, you had asked me if I knew who was Jin’s acquaintance in this school, and that acquaintance is actually me. I am not one of the Heroes, but I have some special abilities, as you had seen.”

Sakazaki’s words set off some visualizations within Basara’s mind. The Heroes were an organization founded to deal against the Demon Race, and there were some who dealt with various supernatural beings like Tachibana who is a vampire, choosing to act without any limitations from an organization, people like retired magicians, exorcists and onmyōji. Sakazaki was probably part of them.

“I see…”

"Sorry to have kept it from you. It was to conceal my identity so that I can move about in the shadows, and give you a helping hand whenever there is a need. To tell the truth, I had wanted to help you deal with those Heroes and Demons who had bad intentions for Mio, but…”

Sakazaki’s expression became serious.

“I’m very sorry, I am a teacher of this school; I have many people to protect, including you. After Hasegawa came here, practically everyone related to the school has become her hostage; if I get caught moving carelessly, who knows just how many people she will use as meat shields – please forgive me.”

“No need for that, you helping us just now is sufficient enough… Thank you, sensei.”

The problem between the Heroes and the Demon race, is something Basara and the others must settle personally, and not be handed to them by someone else. However—

…I got helped again by dad.

Yuki not receiving punishment from the [Village] is probably a result Jin mediating in the shadows, and who knows just how much more he had planned. As Basara was once again reassured by the reliability of his father—

“However, Toujou, didn’t I tell you before – you need to be careful of Hasegawa Chisato.”

“……I’m sorry.”

Sakazaki’s scolding, caused Basara to lower his head.

“Um, Sakazaki-sensei… Just what kind of a person is Hasegawa-sensei?”

Tachibana sheepishly asked from the side, and Sakazaki shook his head while replying:

“I’m not clear about that either… What I know is as you have seen, she possesses a terrifying amount of strength. Thank goodness that up till now, nothing serious has happened. Probably because she wanted to avoid trouble, she had moved everyone’s consciousness away from herself. That is the reason why I have been maintaining my secret observation, to avoid stimulating her… but lately the situation has changed.”

“Then, could the reason Donoue-senpai suddenly turned strange be…?”

Sakazaki nodded with s [Yes], and Tachibana who had asked murmured [How can that be…] while shocked.

But it’s no surprise. It was Hasegawa who had convinced Tachibana to join the Organising Committee, and finding out that she had been planning to do damage to the Sports Festival would give Tachibana a big blow.

“……Sakazaki-sensei, how long do you think the barriers you created can last?”

“I am not able to give you a precise answer. Each of them will last around five minutes, so all of them will be about thirty minutes.”

“I see. Then—“

Basara suddenly swung out Brynhildr. There wasn’t any preliminary actions, a complete surprise attack. Normally speaking, I is completely unavoidable. Right now—

“ ! –T-Toujou-kun?”

“Tachibana was at a loss, shock filling his voice.

But – Sakazaki was different. He jumped backwards, deftly landing on the ground after avoid Basara’s attack.

“Toujou… I can understand that you have been through many things and can’t easily trust people. As you can see now, I am not being controlled by her.”

“That’ right… I know that sensei bringing us here, is completely of your own free will. But—“

Basara held Brynhildr towards Sakazaki and said:

“This, is the irrefutable evidence that shows that you are the true enemy.”

“W-Why…?”

“Listen closely. I had transferred to this school because my dad said that he has an acquaintance here, and Sakazaki-sensei claims to be that acquaintance… that is definitely impossible.”

Because—

“The pressure Hasegawa-sensei had released is extremely shocking… Undoubtedly, it is far above Sakazaki-sensei. And from Sakazaki-sensei’s words, you had known of Hasegawa’s existence for a long time; if Sakazaki-sensei is really the acquaintance of my dad, normally speaking, my dad would’ve stopped me from transferring here, by right.”

“Ah…”

As Tachibana exclaimed as he suddenly realised something—

“Haven’t I already said it? Hasegawa’s strength is really powerful, but it wouldn’t be a big threat if she isn’t stimulated. And you coming to this school of to protect Naruse—“

“An enemy that couldn’t be dealt with if the enemy gets mad isn’t a threat? Usually under this condition, it shouldn’t be me transferring here, but instead Mio transferring to the school I was originally studying at.”

“Basara cut off Sakazaki’s explanation, and then continued:

“And my dad has also said before, he had already done some investigating about Mio and the others; so in his investigation, he will definitely have realised Hasegawa’s presence.”

“Right now both Nonaka and Takigawa who is in charge of Mio’s surveillance have not uncovered Hasegawa’s real identity… You and Jin who have left the Heroes for so long, would be even more difficult to uncover, no?”

“If that is really the case, the fact that you have not warned my dad about Hasegawa-sensei’s presence, is even weirder. And, a short blank five years basically cannot cause my dad’s senses to degrade; even me, can still see through and estimate the strength of an opponent. From what I can see, you do indeed have much strength—“

Basara said while directly looking at Sakazaki:

“But, my apologies – I do not see that you are above my dad. Since you already have found out about Hasegawa’s true strength, my dad cannot not miss it. And my dad clearly knew of the strength Hasegawa possesses, yet gave me no warnings at all… Why is that so?”

There was only one answer.

“Because there was no need at all. My dad knew of Hasegawa-sensei’s strength, and knows that it will never become a threat to us.”

Hasegawa’s powerful strength, instead had revealed the truth. And that is—

“My dad’s acquaintance is not you at all – it is Hasegawa-sensei instead.”

The irony is that, only after mistakenly thinking that he had been saved by the true enemy Sakazaki, he could be so certain. With this, Hasegawa closing Mio and Yuki into the Infirmary, must have her reasons.

They must be fine – so what’s next is to defeat Sakazaki, and things will end.

…Thirty minutes, huh.

He didn't know just how much the words of the enemy can be trusted. If that is the truth, if they just waited innocently, they would need to spend thirty minutes before being able to rendezvous with Hasegawa; if they rendezvous with Hasegawa, they’ll probably be able to defeat Sakazaki easily, and Sakazaki probably also knows that. Then—

…Eh?

Basara’s train of thought was suddenly broken. He saw Sakazaki still having his usual bright smile on in this situation, gazing at him. This gaze, was the same as the gaze he had felt after the attack at the station late in the night and the one he had felt often within school.

“My, my, looks like there’s no other way…”

In the moment Sakazaki said so with the same smile—

“Gh——…!?”

An attack that couldn’t be seen hit Basara’s abdomen, sending him flying backwards, crashing back-first into the blackboard, flattening his lungs. Just as the force of the impact cause Basara’s body to bounce from the wall—

“ ! –Toujou-ku—“

Tachibana’s shout was suddenly cut off. It was an attack exactly like the one that hit Basara, that had directly hit Tachibana. Probably because that attack had also taken his consciousness, he laid on the floor, not moving at all.

This scene, caused Basara who had difficulties breathing due to the impact and whose vision ois still blurry—

“————!”

Who had barely landed on the ground feet first – to kick the ground hard at the same time, suddenly moving forward.

Since Tachibana is now unconsciousness, the option of escaping the Home Economics Classroom and getting to Hasegawa’s side after wrecking Sakazaki’s barrier is now cut off. Even if he were to carry Tachibana and run utilizing the speed of a speed-type fighter, they would be stopped by the numerous barriers Sakazaki had set up on their way here, and Sakazaki would catch up in an instant.

Those barriers were not just to delay Hasegawa, they were also probably to prevent Basara and Tachibana from escaping. Since they can’t escape… they can only fight.

“ ! –Oooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhh!!”

With the roar fuelled by anger pushed out from the stomach and forcefully pushing his lungs to restart themselves, Toujou Basara attacked.

While holding Brynhildr in front of his eyes pointed at Sakazaki, Basara kept his posture low and dashed in between the lined-up cooking tables. This action, to deal with attacks that couldn’t be seen by the eyes, can block attacks that come from the front as well as the sides.

Most likely, there won’t be any attacks coming from his back. He had already locked on to have Sakazaki in front of him, and if an attack really comes from behind him, he’ll just have to immediately adjust his posture and continue going straight to attack. His expectations were quickly fulfilled, as an attack came at from in front of him, and Basara immediately increased his speed; in less than a breath, Basara had already closed in on Sakazaki, and swung the raised Brynhildr downwards at Sakazaki. He probably won’t be able to avoid this attack – but if he does manage to avoid it, Basara will use Brynhildr to destroy the floor of the Home economics classroom, opening a way down to the second floor. Since Sakazaki wants to prevent Basara from rendezvousing with Hasegawa, this will probably be the situation he wants to avoid the most. Thus, Basara thought of various countermeasures to the actions Sakazaki might take, and got ready to forcefully slash through any defence or struggle put up.

“—So that’s it.”

Sakazaki kept his smile unchanged, and used the unseeable attack to meet Basara’s attack; but as Basara’s slash had superior power, Sakazaki’s attack bounced off with a ‘Clang!’. Basara did not stop just from that, and continued swinging Brynhildr downwards – but clashing with that attack just now had caused him a very small delay, enough for Sakazaki to retreat backwards. Yet—

…Don’t even think of escaping!

Basara immediately followed. Even if Sakazaki can send out attacks outside of Basara’s attack range, there was the danger of him injuring himself when the distance between them is close to zero, and that would naturally reduce the number of attacks Sakazaki let loose. There is no weapon in Sakazaki’s hands, so he could very likely by a mage-type fighter -- once the distance between them has been shortened, the very fast swordsman of a speed-type fighter like him would be able to suppress him within a few strokes.

In other words, a close-ranged battle was Basara’s only way of victory – and that was exactly what he did.

“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!”

Basara immediately pulled into Brynhildr’s effective range, and released a slash.

As any errors in dodging would cause Basara to destroy the flooring, Sakazaki casted a barrier, defending against Basara’s countless criss-crossing attacks—

“What a headache… She’ll be here very soon, so don’t waste too much of my time, understand?”

In the moment he said while having a frustrated smile on, he released a shockwave.

However – its target was not Basara, but Tachibana who collapsed at their side. It was an attack released downwards, with its strength controlled in order to not destroy the flooring. Tachibana who possesses the robustness and recovery power of a vampire probably won’t receive a very serious injury, but—

“……!”

Seeing his unconscious friend unable to unable to defend and receiving the attack, Basara’s heart was unconsciously shaken and the speed of his attacks decreased. Sakazaki took the opportunity taking a step back, he said with his right palm aimed precisely at Basara:

“Hahaha – Toujou, you really are a kind-hearted person.”

In the next moment, the attack Sakazaki released hit Basara’s shoulder.

"Ga—aaahhh…!”

Sakazaki who had been on the defensive up till now, attacked Basara who was in mid-upturned as the target, and as if to vent his anger onto Basara’s body, released countless relentless attacks at Basara’s body which crashed into the glass case by the wall.

“Ggaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!”

As the attacks pounded him, the broken glass shards carved countless scars into Basara’s body. Despite that, Basara still clashed Brynhildr at one of the attacks and immediately left the wall. Yet—

“————!”

When he tried to dash towards Sakazaki once again, he suddenly stopped and gasped. That was not due to taking injuries, but instead by Sakazaki’s side – there was a young teenage girl floating in mid-air.

" ! ...Kurumi!"

Basara reflexively shouted her name, but Kurumi gave no reactions. Then, Sakazaki said:

“Don’t worry, she is only unconscious – no matter what, she is after all my precious hostage. But right now she is just merely unconscious, so if don’t wish to see her lose her life, Toujou Basara, you better do the sensible thing. Alright—“

Sakazaki’s smile got even brighter.

“My apologies, I don’t have much time left – can you please put down your weapon?”

“………………………..!”

Despite how Basara gritting his teeth could be heard audibly, he had no choice but to listen to Sakazaki’s demand in the end, since after all, Kurumi’s life is irreplaceable. But—he can’t give up just like that.

…It’s not over yet…!

Sakazaki’s target is Basara, most likely due to [Banishing Shift]; then, he probably won’t kill so easily, so there will probably be a chance to retaliate. Thinking that, as Basara was about to throw Brynhildr into the air – he suddenly heard a [Hyun] sound.

“——————”

Taking a closer look, Sakazaki had raised his right hand and was pointing his index and midle finger at Basara.

--next moment, Basara’s body tilted right along with a metallic ‘Clang’ sound.

Basara immediately put strength to right himself, thinking: [What is going on?] before seeing it.

Brynhildr had fallen onto the floor – together with armoured right arm.

…Eh?

In the moment his thought stopped, at the leftover part of the severed right shoulder – a large amount of blood poured out from the shoulder region.

There was no feeling of pain, only the visual of seeing blood pouring out, and his consciousness thinning out.

…! This is…!

Basara became significantly anxious. This clouding of his consciousness is not due to significant blood loss, it was probably Sakazaki taking the opportunity when Basara was realising he had received grave injury causing a break in his consciousness to control his mind.

No matter what, I have to scrape by – the moment he thought that, his whole body rapidly lost energy.

When he realised it, what was before his eyes was the flooring of the Home Economics classroom, and it turned into black in the turn of an eye.

…Shit…!

How can I be defeated here? Basara used his remaining right arm to fumble for Brynhildr, but with only black in his vision, his hand could only feel the flooring.

Very quickly, Basara could no longer muster up this much resistance. Just as he was about to give up trying to retain his consciousness—

…Who, is it…?

Toujou Basara vaguely heard a certain someone’s voice.

And his consciousness being swallowed by the darkness – is what happened next.

Part 10

After Sakazaki confirmed the collapsed Basara had lost consciousness and is no longer to battle—

“Now then… I better move quickly.”

During the time when he fought with Basara, two of the barriers had already been broke through, and it won’t be long before ‘’she’’ arrives. Before that happens, he will have to leave this place.

“—but, I better clean up before I leave.”

Saying that, Sakazaki looked at Tachibana and Kurumi who was unconscious. Since he had already obtained Basara, hostages no longer have any use. Bringing a burden along with him will not only just slow him down, it’ll be much easier to leave behind traces if he decides to jump through space; why not just kill the hostages now, to not give him any troubles? Hence, Sakazaki raised his right hand towards Tachibana and Kurumi – in the corner of his eye, the figure of Basara lying on the ground suddenly disappeared.

“What…Guuaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

The surprise Sakazaki let out while turning around suddenly turned into a scream. An attack he did not see from the front had sent him flying, followed by a series of booms. It was the sound of Sakazaki who was sent flying breaking through the wall of the Home Economics Classroom, as well as the walls of the classroom behind him.

Sakazaki continuously broke through five classrooms, sending the hard blackboards, lecterns, chairs and desks dotted around the room, storage cabinets, etc. flying everywhere in pieces – before finally stopping back-first on a large machine in the Crafts Classroom. Then—

“Gu… Uu… Ha…!”

Sakazaki who let out anguished moans vomited out large amounts of fresh blood, clearly showing there were ruptures in his internal organs. Even the damage to his ribcage was not simply just fractures, it was already in pieces.

…J-Just what…?

The pain distorted his vision, and as Sakazaki tried to focus his consciousness, a golden aura covered him, rapidly repairing the damage to his body. Despite that, Sakazaki still wasn’t able to move, only able to slightly raise his head.

“ ! ……?”

And in the direction he had come from, he saw something like green flames casting flickers of light on the surroundings, and gasped. In the dim barrier, the bright light slowly approached Sakazaki.

That, is unmistakably Toujou Basara. From the classroom Sakazaki was knocked out from – on the many chips and shards of the broken rubble, he slowly took steps towards him at a steady pace, causing Sakazaki to unconsciously widen his eyes. he bleeding of the severed arm had been stopped, but not just that—

…how is the right arm I severed…!

Basara’s right arm that was supposed to have been severed, had been restored, and was tightly gripping onto Brynhildr.

No, to be exact, it was not restored. Previously, when Brynhildr was materialised, there was armour only on the right arm; but the Basara right now had his torso and back covered up by armour too – as if the armour was eroding into him.

Next—

“————————”

Basara’s eyes, viciously turned towards Sakazaki, as if locking onto its prey, looking at Sakazaki with a gaze that was different from usual. When their eyes met—

“ ! ——Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!”

Sakazaki who seemed to have finished healing himself raised a scream as if trying to get rid of his spiralling fear.

As something called fear overcame his rational instincts, Sakazaki forgot that he had originally wanted to capture Basara alive and materialised countless golden glowing spheres and released them in one swoop of his arm, and those spheres flew very fast towards Basara while leaving a trail behind like a meteor—

“——————!?”

Yet with a slash through the air, those golden spheres suddenly disappeared. A high-pitched ringing sound then rang out, showing that what Basara had just activated was undoubtedly [Banishing Shift], but—

…He had activated that move successively…!

Impossible, how can something like this be happening… Taking into account the conditions to successfully eliminate, successively activating it is something impossible at a basic level. The surprise, caused Sakazaki’s mind to turn blank.

Basara’s silhouette then disappeared from Sakazaki’s eyes, leaving behind only some flickers of light. Immediately—

“————!?”

A sudden twisting of his body on reflex saved Sakazaki’s life. The glint of Brynhildr appeared, sweeping through where Sakazaki’s head was just a moment ago. But this dodge did not manage to keep him completely safe, and his the hearing from his left ear disappeared, causing the thought that his left ear had been cut off to appear in Sakazaki’s mind.

…No.

Merely cutting off the ear wouldn’t be enough to cause hearing loss. As Sakazaki’s continued evading, he touched the place where his left ear was supposed to be. There was no pain or blood, but yet the hearing of his left ear had disappeared. As if – the existence of its hearing ability had disappeared from the world.

“Could it be, it could not only just stop attacks…!?”

Amidst the unprecedented shock, Sakazaki tried to quickly draw distance between himself and Basara.

Not only could he activate [Banishing Shift], the ability to completely eliminate in succession, he could also use it to attack? How is that possible? The activation condition of [Banishing Shift] is mainly to limit its overpoweredness after all.

If it was possible to override the conditions—

“Then, it’s just as if…… Gu—aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!?”

Basara almost instantly came around to before Sakazaki – and with a sweep, the right of Sakazaki’s abdomen was taken.

Next moment, Basara grabbed Sakazaki who staggered from the pain by the throat—

“! …Uh… Haa……!?”

And held him up by force, his hand pinching a ring around Sakazaki’s neck. Sakazaki who currently had difficulty breathing, saw it at this moment.

Basara’s face as he was releasing a green glow while holding Brynhildr in his hand, that was carrying a dark smile.

--This view caused Sakazaki to want to say something to stop him.

Anything is fine, even if it were lies.

Someone had to say something to quickly stop Basara. Yet, Basara had the strength to take his neck at any time, making him not able to make any sounds. Then—

“————————”

Basara raised his eyebrows, and put more strength into gripping Brynhildr – and just as he was about to release [Banishing Shift] and eliminate Sakazaki’s existence—

“—that’s enough.”

A calm voice was suddenly heard – and in the next moment, golden chains ensnared Basara, stopping of all of his movements.

Right in the nick of time, Sakazaki’s life was saved.

“ ! …Haah… Haah… To think that something like this, caused me…!”

Kneeling on the floor while at a loss, Sakazaki whispered while staring at Basara who was trapped in mid-air. Just then—

“—I see that even you have these kind of days, Ornis.”

That tart voice stated out Sakazaki’s real name. Turning around to look, he only saw her walking slowly this way.

“How are you able to enter here…”

“Is it something weird? Those barriers you created to obstructed me, were destroyed when Basara let loose with Banishing Shift.”

After saying that, Hasegawa Chisato gave a cold smile.

“Why do you think the Hero Tribe had decided to simply just exile Basara who had already lost control of his abilities from the Village? Even if he was trapped into barriers like these, was once the strongest Valkyrie who hunted for many souls in the name of the chief god and had sacrificed her body and soul to seal an evil spirit.”

“ ! …To think that even after being sealed, it still has so much strength.”

Probably because of the period of time Brynhildr was stuck upright in the earth and the sealed evil spirit fusing with Basara who later on became its user, the container that was called a sword was able to preserve its strength and part of itself. Basara’s right arm regenerating and his chain of out-of-control actions, was definitely due to Brynhildr who was severed and separated from Basara, in order to preserve its own existence and return to its host body no matter what, rousing its instincts to kill Sakazaki who would be a threat to its preservation of its existence.

However…

Even if Brynhildr had forcefully suppressed Basara’s consciousness and manifested itself on his flesh and controlled it, for her who had combined with Basara’s body, what she will be able to do won’t exceed the abilities of the host. To tell the truth, [Banishing Shift] is not Brynhildr’s ability.

In other words – the continuous and successive use of [Banishing Shift], ignoring the condition of it only able to counterattack, as well as the swift speed which Sakazaki wasn’t able to react to, were all Basara’s own abilities.

Sakazaki had been trying to treat the injury dealt to his left ear and the right of his abdomen, there was no effect at all. It was due to [Banishing Shift] severing the origin of its existence, causing those parts to have never existed at all. As Sakazaki once again felt shock and awe at that power—

“But still… Why did you not choose Naruse or Nonaka to be your hostage, instead choosing Nonaka’s sister?”

“It’s because that I knew, that if I made a move at Naruse or Nonaka, you would see through it.”

Sakazaki replied to Hasegawa:

“You had enclosed the both of them into the infirmary with a double barrier – it was to protect them so that I can’t harm them, right?”

Thus, he had conversely used that fact. When Basara who harboured suspicions against Hasegawa saw that scene, his suspicions would be on the mark and Sakazaki would intervene with the excuse of saving Basara, taking the opportunity to mention Jin’s name, creating the opportunity for Basara to become careless.

“I see… So in order to obtain Banishing Shift, you made use of Tachibana’s and Donoue’s emotions and lied to Basara that I had changed Donoue’s personality, to make him become suspicious of me, right? You had originally planned to use this to incite Basara and trick me… only to be seen through by Basara and have your plan fall through in the end.”

Hasegawa continued saying to Sakazaki who expression was increasingly becoming entangled:

“—but there is still something I don’t understand. Why did you attack Basara when he was on his way back from my home? Doing something like that, wouldn’t it cause him to become cautious? If you wanted to obtain Banishing Shift, avoiding rousing his suspicions would be better, so why did you lower your chances of success on purpose?”

Hearing that question, Sakazaki – Ornis spoke:

“…Isn’t it obvious, Afreyja-sama”

He called Hasegawa by her real name, and said:

“It’s because Toujou Basara – that damned brat, received a favour from you”

Hasegawa listened as Ornis spoke with a tone of hate:

“Since you had put up an invisible barrier at the infirmary and your apartment, I am no able to look in… but from the state Toujou left your apartment, it’s not difficult to see that something had happened.”

Ornis trembled from anger while saying [Just why?], and asked:

“For someone so important like you, why did you do that…!”

“I see… so that is why you wanted to forcefully extract Banishing Shift, and then kill him”

Hasegawa raised her eyebrows, and said:

“—just like when you killed the real Sakazaki.”

Ornis's mouth curled – and at this moment he returned back to his original posture.

“Indeed, is there anything wrong with that? That human who did not know just how lowly he was dared held delusions of becoming close to you… All I did was just doing away with a dirty pest, was there anything wrong with that?”

A smile appeared on his face, clearly showing some arrogance, becoming insidious.

“That unmatched beauty of yours, is an absolute sanctuary that no one can dirty; even if you sealed your power and came to this Realm, that face still remains unchanged. And the one to protect the sanctuary, would naturally be none other than me who was ordered to guard you as a mission.”

Ornis’s words, caused Hasegawa Chisato to be disgruntled.

--not long ago, Hasegawa had opposed the knotty implications of [Jealousy], and had once spoke to Basara about that.

Back then, she had said that jealousy is something that was just as it appeared to be, but it would become messy once it crosses a certain stage. That was not her speculation or generalization, as Ornis who is near Hasegawa had such complications; yet Hasegawa had not dealt with him at all, until today. For Ornis’s convenience, Hasegawa had turned a blind eye when Ornis had killed the real Sakazaki; the reason was that Sakazaki was a scum who secretly does all sorts of nasty things to female students, so even if Ornis had not done it, Sakazaki would die one day from someone’s plot.

After that, to prevent the other male teachers from assaulting Ornis, she had diverted their consciousness away from him. It was only when their minds became relaxed from drinking alcohol then did they let loose on their clamped-down emotions.

--as far as Hasegawa is concerned, Basara is the only exception. Hasegawa had originally planned to look over him from afar, but under Jin’s arrangement, Basara had come to this school to study.

Thus – whenever she saw Basara, she couldn’t hold it back any more, since after all, the last time she had interacted with him this close, was when he was just a baby that was just born. Hence when Hasegawa saw Basara who had grown into a strong young teenager, her suppressed emotions rapidly expanded; and when Basara spoke to her about his troubles that couldn’t be discussed with Mio, Yuki or Maria, her emotions ran wild, to the point where it flooded to even push her to invite Basara into the bathroom in her apartment and give her affection to him using her breasts. Yet, Ornis who obsessively loved Hasegawa was unable to accept something like that happening, and so on impulse, he attacked Basara. At that moment, Ornis looked at Basara with vicious eyes—

“I will definitely not allow anyone to tarnish you. Not just humans who are just inferior versions of us—“

And said out the hidden major secret.

“—even that taboo, abomination of 『Three BredsBlood of Three Races』 too.”

Hearing that—

“————————”

Hasegawa Chisato emotions immediately exploded, and unlocked all the power she possessed.

Dazzling golden aura rapidly poured out, her hair and eyes then turned into golden and blue colours, regaining the air from back when she was called Afreyja.

“Mind your words, Ornis… In that child, in Basara’s body, flows『Her』blood, and to protect the honour and glory of that person, no one is allowed to slander Basara’s existence.”

“ ! …Even if you say that, wasn’t『Her』death due to this youth?”

Receiving Hasegawa's murderous intent, the shaken Ornis tried to rebut, and despite how his expression distorted from fear, he felt pure joy from once again seeing Hasegawa’s true self.

“To you, Toujou is probably your enemy, no? But yet you abandoned your position for this guy, and even sealed your power and came to this Realm… and even protecting him. Actually, I know about all of it—“

“Ornis continued:

“Before when he had a battle against his childhood friends – you had hugged him after leaving the Yakiniku shop, and kissed his forehead to give him a blessing; that’s why near the end of the battle, Toujou hadn’t fallen into deep sleep from inhaling Nonaka’s drug and was just in time to settle her danger.”

And then—

“Previously before the battle against the high-class demon, you had tied a bandage that could act as a holy talisman on Toujou’s injured finger, warning him to absolutely not take it off. Right? That was the reason why despite the damage sustained from the succubus in her adult form and Zolgear left no lasting effects.”

Seeing Hasegawa’s silence showing affirmation, Ornis said:

“Why? Why are you so obsessed with this youth…?”

This question, caused Hasegawa to touch her earing with a fingertip, and reply:

“Because this child – is the proof that『She』had once lived.

What Hasegawa said while gazing at Basara, were emotions that she could never give up – Hasegawa Chisato’s true feelings.

Toujou Basara, is the child she wanted to give birth to even if it means sacrificing herself. She, was a special woman who was far older than Hasegawa, whom Hasegawa held a sister-like admiration for.

To protect this child, Hasegawa Chisato had resolved to do anything for him.

It was fifteen years ago, when she had sworn to herself on the day Basara was born.

“Is that so – then, it seems that I have no other choice.”

At the same time Ornis announced that, a radiance surrounded Basara who has in the air.

That radiance is similar to a magic circle, but in fact, dissimilar – just like Hasegawa, it radiated the sacred golden glow.

“As long as Toujou exists, you will continue sacrificing for him – in order to set you free, I will have to kill Toujou.”

Ornis said:

“This is the holy circle I had constructed to extract the power of Banishing Shift. Although I had not expected that Brynhildr would go out of control, Toujou Basara right now is bound by you, so disposing of him wouldn’t be a problem. I, who exists to follow and serve you, knows of the nature of your power, has always been looking for ways to serve you, so – I wouldn’t cause and rebounding or repulsing of our powers.”

These words were not lies. The golden glow gradually seeped through Hasegawa’s binding, flowing towards Basara’s body.

“I see… However, do you really think that I will continue watching as you cause trouble?”

“Toujou’s Banishing Shift, is an ability that can eliminate my flesh at the level of the soul. No matter what I do, once [the people up there] know of this, this guy will be as good as dead.

Ornis continued with ‘since that is the case’, and said:

“Why not let me first extract the ability of Banishing Shift? Once I bring back this ability, I will be able to send you back to that position high up there. This place, isn’t somewhere you should be staying at.”

Come.

“Return back to the God Realm with me – Afreyja-sama”

Seeing Ornis extend a hand, Hasegawa gave a bried moment of silence before speaking in an enraged tone:

“…You really think I’ll let you kill Basara, and return with you?”

“You are free to become angry. The situation right now is different from the past, you can no longer stop me. Other than for self-protection, [the people up there] had sealed virtually all of your power; that was the condition of you coming to this Realm, is it not? So—“

Ornis tried to continue speaking – but was cut off by Hasegawa, literally.

Simply swinging her right hand, she completely smashed Ornis’s saint circle.

“ ! ————?”

After that, Hasegawa said to the stunned Ornis:

“Fifteen years ago… when I had decided to abandon everything, I received a lot of condemnation, especially from the rest of the [Ten gods]; however – there were still a few, who was willing to stand by my side.”

And in the end, Hasegawa reached a [Compromise].

“Indeed, majority of my power has been sealed, but if I meet a certain situation – for [A Certain Goal], I can release as much power as in the past.”

Do you know why?

“—if I find a time where I must protect Basara, my seal will be cancelled temporarily.”

Announcing that, Hasegawa began walking slowly towards Ornis.

Perhaps finally realising just how close to death he was, Ornis suddenly became flustered.

“T-This is a joke right, Afreyja-sama… Didn’t you just stop Toujou from eliminating me? If you really wanted to protect Toujou, you only just had to watch him—“

“—I had stopped Basara, not to save you.”

Hasegawa coldly smiled – and then said out the truth.

“If I had not intervened, the barriers you and I had put up could’ve been completely eliminated; moreover, if Basara had killed you in that situation, things would’ve happened like you said, with those people finding out of his power. No matter what, I must prevent that from happening.”

“Afreyja-sama had also put up barriers…? How? What did it even happen…”

“It’s no wonder you didn’t realise it… after all, it is the special barrier that not even the rest of the Ten Gods focusing can sense.”

“Y-You’re lying, right…? If what you said is true, then back when the situation about Toujou and Takigawa and those childhood playmates happened, you should have used the power of the Ten Gods to protect him, no!?”

“Of course, I had prepared some insurance. However, the conflict arising from the Demon Race fighting over Naruse, as well as the problem concerning Nonaka and those childhood playmates, were all hurdles Basara will overcome by himself. I was just holding back myself from intervening, to stop myself from protecting him too much.”

However—you are different.

“Since you from the God Race wants to get involved, it no longer concerns Naruse or Nonaka, it’s a problem that I must not push to someone else, and eradicate it personally.”

Hasegawa added an ‘Also’, and said:

“Just wanting to kill Basara is enough to make me not let you off alive… You even made use of me, making Basara suspect me. If not for you, I would not even need to look at myself with such cruel eyes. Say, jusy how should I make you compensate me… Ornis?”

Saying that, Hasegawa then gathered golden aura in her right hand, releasing a multi-layered holy circle.

“In Basara’s place, I shall thoroughly eradicate you until there’s no trace of you left.”

And she extended her right hand towards Ornis.

“Afreyja-sama! …I-It was for you that I—“

Those words that he blurted out, became his last words.

The power Hasegawa released was as she said, wiping out all of Ornis’s existence. Then—“

“………What you wanted to say at the end, couldn’t be that you want me to let you live, could it?”

Hasegawa sighed, and said:

“If you say that you wanted to kill Basara for my sake – that would be no different from asking me to kill you.”

Part 11

After eliminating Ornis – Hasegawa Chisato still had to do something.

“Next…”

Hasegawa turned to face Basara who was bounded by chains and currently hung up in mid-air.

And after that said to the demonic sword that had regenerated Basara’s right arm, controlled Basara’s consciousness, and expanded the armour to his body:

“Thank you for saving me the time needed to regenerate his right hand, but regretfully, I cannot hand him to you. As for the soul of the one who foolishly attempted to harm you, you have have him – so please accept it.”

Hasegawa touched Brynhildr lightly—

“——————”

With some ringing sounds of steel, Brynhildr which was embodied melted into nothingness, and his body and the armour on his right arm regained their original appearance. Hasegawa then released the chains, and Basara landed within her arms through the air.

“It’s great that you’re fine… Basara.”

Hasegawa sat down on the floor, tightly holding on to her beloved youth.

--to tell the truth, I really want to tell you everything.

Tell you about my identity, Basara’s life, what Ornis had meant when he said [Three BredsBlood of Three Races].

As well as – just how much Hasegawa Chisato loved Toujou Basara. But—

“I’m really sorry – I still can’t tell you of everything about me yet.”

After taking a breath—

“And – the matter about your two mothers.”

Hasegawa hasn’t even revealed that matter yet to his father Jin, so naturally she can’t tell Basara about it yet.

…Really, why am I even bringing this upon myself?

Caressing Basara’s cheeks, Hasegawa couldn’t help but to smile bitterly. Since she can’t reveal her own identity, Hasegawa needed to modify Basara’s memories and pretend that she herself is unrelated to this matter.

When she sent Mio and Yuki into the infirmary, she had already done the necessary preparations with only some fine-tuning left, and only Tachibana and Basara were left – just in case, it is probably best that Kurumi’s memories were also checked through. There probably won’t be any more problems with that.

Besides, Hasegawa still had to deal with the aftermath of some matters. Firstly, is to let the disrupted Sports Festival that Ornis had controlled Donoue to create a tornado continue. Basara and his companions had joined the organising committee and put in a lot of work over a long period of time, so she can’t let Ornis’s twisted love for her to cause the Sports Festival to be halted.

Next is to deal with Ornis – Sakazaki’s whereabouts. Basara had properly disposed of him, so he’ll probably be treated as a missing person in the end, but the problem caused by the tornado still remains. If the testimonials aren’t appropriate enough, the school and police would conclude that Sakazaki’s disappearance is linked to the tornado, and the Sports Festival this year will be halted. To avoid that situation, the memories of the student dean or other related personal has to be modified – for something of this degree, it would be a breeze for the current Hasegawa.

Next up…

Lastly, the most important one, is to erase his memories of letting loose with [Banishing Shift] at Sakazaki from basara’s mind. Although his consciousness was seized by Brynhildr at that time and probably wouldn’t remember it – his subconsciousness would still remember it. If by coincidence one day he remembers it, it will undoubtedly increase the pain of Basara who has yet to be free from the pain from the scene of the tragedy five years ago.

Thus, to modify Basara’s memories, Hasegawa laid atop Basara. Although just making contact with her hand would be sufficient to modify memories, and she will be doing that to the other people – but to Basara, she just wanted to use this way. At a distance the both of them could feel each other’s breathing, Hasegawa Chisato who was looking at Basara’s sleeping face suddenly an emotion rushing up to her head—

“————”

She kissed Basara, unable to hold back anymore. A compensation of this level, is probably fine. Fully experienced the sensation of the lips, Hasegawa then slipped her tongue into his mouth.

“Nn……”

And Basara who was supposed to be sleeping had a reaction, entwining his tongue with hers, and even started caressing her breast.

…Fufu, you’re still the same as always.

Not only did Hasegawa not resist, she even returned the kiss even more sexily.

Entwining with his tongue, saliva flowing into each other’s mouths, letting out sounds as they stimulated each other’s mouths.

At that moment – Basara’s mobile phone fell out from his pocket.

“Oh my…”

Hasegawa stopped her movements, and began reaching a hand for the floor – and then stopped.

Because she saw what was displayed on the screen of the phone that fell to the ground.

The phone is currently doing a sound recording. From the duration of the recording displayed, the recording was probably started after being trapped within Ornis’s barrier. It was his insurance, taking into account that he might be manipulated by enemy that could control consciousness.

He only had to listen to the recording after things settled down to be able to understand the whole truth. Hence—

“Fu…ahaha! Ahahahaha!”

Hasegawa couldn’t hold back her surging laughter. She knew that Basara and Takigawa had joined hands to bring down Zolgear – but she had not expected that she herself and Ornis would also be set up by him.

This young man, really is something. Despite how Toujou Basara is still a far cry from the Ten Gods’ Afreyja on the battlefield; his mind is much more exquisite. Hasegawa noticing Basara’s phone, is just purely luck; if she had released him directly after modifying his memories, everything she had been hiding would be found out by him. But—

“Even if you are so smart, you probably never thought that my feelings for you are so deep, right?”

Hasegawa giggled. Basara’s strategies and thinking are really amazing, but this time, Hasegawa’s emotions had won with a kiss. To continue that action, Hasegawa Chisato brought her lips closer towards Basara—

“I really look forward… to the day where I can tell you of today, understand?”

And after murmuring that, their four lips once again made contact.

And suddenly, a dazzling golden light warmly covered the two of them, as if gently giving blessings to their future.

Epilogue: The Scenes Caused by the Dream

Part 1

When Basara regained his consciousness, he noticed a pair of worried eyes looking down at him.

"Tachibana…?"

Hearing him calling his name, his cute friend responded as if finally being able to relax…

"It’s great... It seems like you finally returned to normal."

"? What do you mea-"

Basara suddenly sat upright upon remembering what happened.

"Where’s Kurumi? What happened to Sakazaki?!"

"D-Don’t panic… Kurumi's fine, look over there."

Tachibana looked towards the wall of the room where Kurumi was leaning on. Seeing that she had no injuries and that her breathing was normal, Basara released a sigh of relief, and only then did he realise that the space that is the domestic housekeeping room had returned to its normal state. So, that means--

"The barrier already disappeared… Which means that Sakazaki--"

"You couldn't have forgotten everything, right?"

Tachibana then continued:

"As you should know, after Kurumi was taken by sensei, your hand was severed by something like his magic. You lost a lot of blood, and I thought that you were done for already… Do you remember that much?"

"Yes… I do remember to that point. But--"

In the part of Basara's memories that are blurry, he seemed to remember hearing the voice of someone else. And after that, his memories were blank.

It’s like there was a fog in that part of his brain, making him unable to recall those memories.

"After that… Your body then suddenly released a light, and your arm then regenerated. And then, as if you had become another person, you went for Sakazaki and--"

"It was me…who defeated Sakazaki…?"

The opponent was someone who had no qualms in dragging unrelated people into unrelated situations and had even taken Kurumi as a hostage. If he had let him escape, he might have also made a move against Mio, Yuki or Maria, taking innocent people as meat shields. Thus, he was similar to Zolgear, someone who must be taken down. However--

"………………."

Basara looked down at his right arm that had supposedly been severed, and tried to materialise Brynhildr.

Brynhildr possesses the valkyrie who hunts spirits on the battlefield, holding the spirits of everyone who died from it, and indeed, Sakazaki’s spirit was present. Which means that what Tachibana said was correct.

…Which means, that things have probably come to an end for the time being.

This realisation allowed Basara to put his heart at ease. With such a strong spirit, it shows that Sakazaki had considerable power. Additionally, it seems that the spirit had something else mixed in, meaning that the spirit wasn't from just a human. It brings about the possibility of the procession by evil spirits. If that was the case, then it might explain how someone like that had slipped under the radar of Takigawa and Yuki.

Having said that -- it still brings about a crucial question.

…Just how did I even win?

Like Tachibana said, Basara had the feeling of having fought with Sakazaki. However -- even if the recovery rate of heroes is faster than the average person, instantly regenerating a lost limb was still impossible; while it might be a possible feat for high level healing magic, it was something that even Kurumi, who was a spirit magic user and much better versed with magic than Basara, can even think of doing. Then, the next most likely explanation would be--

"Brynhildr…"

"? Did you say something, Toujou?"

"…It's nothing." He shook his head to answer Tachibana’s question.

--The weapons used by heroes were named according to the spirits residing within them.

As [Sakuya] and [Byakko] had spirits residing within them, they were known as a spirit sword and a spirit lance respectively. Similarly, weapons like [Brynhildr] who sealed evil spirits, were known as cursed weapons.

Since [Brynhildr] could suppress the S-class evil spirit that caused the tragedy in the [village] five years ago, regenerating a human body part would not be difficult for it at all.

…It couldn't possibly be that, right?

Like how Yuki was chosen by Sakuya as its user, when the person and the spirit in the weapon had the same will, and through pure-hearted training, the person would be able to use the spirit’s powers. But for people like Basara and Takashi who only see [Brynhildr] and [Byakko] respectively as weapons, they wouldn't be able to use the powers of the spirit. Additionally, the voice he remembered hearing before losing consciousness was also a cause for concer—

No…

Since Sakazaki was able to manipulate the consciousness of many people at once and that he saw his arm being severed, it might perhaps be only illusionary magic at work here. He might have also created the voice he remembered. This way, it would all make sense, with nothing else that was out of place--

"…What are you thinking about?”

"Tachibana… Do you remember what had happened after we were shut in by the barrier?"

"? At the beginning, the both of us were fighting each other. But I was no match for you…"

"…And after that?"

"After that… We both realised that we were only fighting each other out of a misunderstanding--"

Taking a breath, Tachibana continued:

“Right at that time, Sakazaki-sensei took that opportunity to attack us. I was defeated right from the start, but you just kept on fighting him… In the end, he took Kurumi hostage. And what happened after that was just like I have said before.”

"…...I see."

Tachibana’s explanation had no abnormalities and there were no signs of lying, and it matched what he could remember. So it was likely that what Tachibana said was the truth.

It’s just -- what was this weird feeling? It was like he had forgotten something important, yet the situation and his memory dictated that he was the one who defeated Sakazaki.

Just why -- why was the feeling of having been protected by a certain someone, so strong?

Could it be…

Basara took out his phone from his pocket and tried manipulating the screen. But unfortunately, there was no response.

It seems like his insurance he made as a precaution had broken down from the battle.

But the audio recordings might still be there, so he would have to try to retrieve them when he got home. Basara kept his phone, then via the master-servant contract's locating ability, he tried to ascertain Mio and Yuki's safety. The result was that the other party was faster than him, as he felt the response of his location being ascertained. They must be worried about him right now. Although this made him happy, there were still some things that must be settled before they get here.

"Tachibana -- can you listen to what I have to say?"

And so, he decided to call over Tachibana. Ten seconds later--

""Basara!""

The door was slammed open, and both Mio and Yuki rushed into the room.

--What Basara had asked Tachibana to do, was to pretend to be unconscious.

Although he wanted to tell them both the truth of what had happened, Tachibana wanted him to help hide the truth of Tachibana being a vampire, hoping to continue living peacefully as a human. As a friend, he had naturally happily accepted his wish. Both Kurumi and Tachibana hadn't met each other within Sakazaki's barrier, so, as long as he keeps quiet about it, the secret would be kept. So, when Mio and Yuki arrived, he would help Tachibana with a made-up story: Tachibana was trapped within Sakazaki's barrier, and he had fainted immediately because of that.

"--So, are both of you fine?"

"We're alright…"

Yuki immediately answered Basara’s question, while Mio said apologetically from the side:

"It’s just… We found Donoue and the others unconscious just now. They had probably been knocked unconscious by Sakazaki behind our backs, and they had only just started to wake up."

"…...I see."

They had lost consciousness before Mio and the rest had arrived. So, what should be taken care of was Kurumi.

It was a bit weird that Sakazaki hadn’t taken Mio or Yuki hostage too. But it might be to not arouse his suspicions.

Just then, screams came from the direction of the sports field.

"! What’s it this time?!"

"Don't worry… The Sports Festival is still going on, and that must have been a cheer."

Those words made the 'unconscious' Tachibana have a reaction, but it seems like Mio and Yuki didn't notice, which made Basara release a sigh of relief, and said:

"You said that it was still going on… So it wasn't suspended?"

"That's right. Although some tents and equipment were spoiled from the effects of the wind, no one was hurt. Since it appears that the wind has stopped, the school deemed that there probably wouldn't be any more problems, and let it continue. Right now, I would guess that the class cheer leading competition is starting…"

『--Firstly, let us welcome class A! Please give them a round of applause!』

And that announcement came after that. Which means, the time for class B to report was soon. Hence, --

"I see… Then you two should probably go first. We might be able to make it."

"Uh, but--"

"Sakazaki is already defeated, and if we were to make the class forfeit just because we weren't there, I wouldn't be able to accept it. We had already spent so much effort, and just what was it all for?"

Basara continued:

"If the Sports Festival was called to a halt in the middle of the obstacle race, then I guess that I would have been able to accept it. But right now, that isn't the case. Didn't you tell me to [wait for it]? If you did, then let me see the fruits of your labours. I'll re-join you later after taking care of Kurumi."

The both of them first looked towards each other, before turning back to him nodding with smiles.

--He then waited until they had left the room and the sounds of their steps had faded.

Taking Kurumi onto his back, he then began to secretly move towards the sports field together with Tachibana.

Tachibana seemed to be very happy. After all, he and Kajiura were part of the organising committee and were one of the core members. Knowing that the event he had helped organise wasn't cancelled must have brought him much joy, surpassing Basara’s.

“Well then… I guess I'll be leaving for the headquarters first.”

Tachibana said after they left the school building. During the period of time that they were within the barrier, they were likely assumed to be missing outside of the barrier. Thus, it would be for the best if they were to avoid returning back together. Otherwise, it would probably lead people to believe that they were doing 'something' together.

Tachibana then began to walk, but stopped after only a few steps, and turned around to say:

"Toujou…"

"…What is it?"

Drooping his two eyes, he said:

“It appears that I still haven't formally apologised to you yet… Having suspected you of sabotage, I sincerely apologise to you.”

"……. Don't worry about it. I'm sorry too, for not trusting you."

"Don't… I know that I'm being thick-skinned, but I would like to ask you about another thing."

That--

"Are the two of us…still friends…?"

Tachibana’s two hands were gripping the hem of his sports attire tightly, while looking at him with tearful eyes.

Basara strongly nodded, and gave an affirmative reply. Although his words were coincidentally covered by the cheers from the field, he was sure that his feelings had been communicated to Tachibana’s heart.

Tachibana was smiling happily with tears rolling out of his eyes, while nodding furiously.

Just as Basara entered the field, Class A’s performance just ended.

…..Looks like I've made it just in time.

Relaxing for a bit, he then went towards the headquarters with Kurumi on his back.

Sure enough, Kajiura had a few words to say about his AWOL. But it seems that Tachibana had said some things to her about Kurumi, so there doesn't seem to be any anger in her words. In addition, Tachibana who had returned first seemed to have volunteered to care for Kurumi, requesting for him to go to the front seats for the performance.

[Since it seems that you had already promised each other, how can you not properly enjoy their performance?]

Under the urging of Tachibana who said that, he was now poking his way through the crowd, and soon enough, he arrived at the front row.

After managing to find a place to watch the performance--

『Alright! Next up, let us welcome class B!』

Upon hearing the announcement, the first year class B girls enthusiastically ran onto the stage.

--And at the same time, the crowd immediately went into an uproar, undoubtedly because of their clothing.

What the class B girls were wearing was race car girls’ costume. Its workmanship was solid, with no signs of sloppiness at all. With colourful umbrellas in hand, it appeared to be a prop used while dancing. According to rumours, the reason why they were able to procure this clothing, was because Aikawa’s elder sister had contacts. But still--

"Just what does Aikawa’s sister work as…?"

When the simple question came out, the music began, and the performance of class B started.

This piece of music wasn't one of those that had recently came out and if his memory serves him right, it was a prestigious award winning song by a western singer. Perhaps to stimulate the atmosphere, the song was also sped up a little.

Basara had immediately found Mio and Yuki. Actually, there wasn’t even a need to look for them. They were at the front of the stage, leading the rest in the dance.

"--------------"

The girls moving vibrantly under the autumn sun, had instantly hyped the crowd to a boiling point.

An amazing performance. With the help of the umbrellas, their movements were very lively. And what's most surprising, are the uniformity in all of their movements and timings.

The two teams first split to the left and right, occasionally using the umbrellas to enhance their movements. There was no sign of chaos in their movements, and their coordination as a team was definitely not something that could have been achieved overnight. At the resolution from this performance, the hype-level of the crowd had exceeded its limits, and everyone had also began to move along. With the audience being so into this--

"…Haha! Amazing!"

Basara couldn’t suppress his inner excitement anymore.

What Mio and Yuki hoped to show and had hoped for Basara to see, is right in front of him now.

--They must have practiced a lot after school before the performance. Although Mio, Yuki, Aikawa, and Sakaki were in the organising committee, the other girls had also put in a lot of work. And yet they were hiding their exhaustion, smiling broadly while performing.

Just then, even though he was surrounded by people, he felt Mio and Yuki looking at him.

It wasn’t an illusion. Those two had just looked towards him, and even winked at him.

…Really.

They must've used the ability of the master-servant contract, making Basara smile.

Hadn't they agreed to try not to use it, for each other's privacy?

Nevermind… Today’s a special day. And so, Basara slightly raised his hand to give them a response--

"----------"

The two of them then became even more happy and energetic, and even more passion could be felt in their movements.

At this scene, a feeling welled up in him.

…I had almost forgotten about it. I myself should also work hard too.

Under the conditions of exhibiting superhuman-like abilities, they had experienced the joy of the sports festival after working behind the scenes.

And they had even made a few more friends… Wait, among the many reasons, that must have been the most important.

And that was why, he himself had boldly raised his hand, volunteering for the organising committee.

--Within Toujou Basara's heart, there was a wish he desired to fulfill at all costs.

And that was a wish made for Mio, who was the daughter of the former demon lord, and Yuki, who was a hero.

Unfortunately, they wouldn't be able to enjoy everyday life and peace.

And, being able to enjoy that was something he wanted to never give up. Thus, Basara hoped that those two would be able to enjoy school life.

That was all that Basara wanted. His ascription for this isn't clear cut right now. Other than fighting side by side, he had thought that there wasn't a lot they could do together.

But now, he believed that wasn't the case.

--The fruits of his labour is right before him now.

In this moment now, both Mio and Yuki are part of a performance in a normal school life.

It is neither an illusion nor a misconception. It wasn't just Basara alone, everyone else here is also currently witnessing it now.

The rhythmic clapping along with the song, the high spirit of the crowd, and everything here right now was proof of that.

Just the word [youthful] wouldn't be enough to describe the situation now.

Everyone's hearts here now seemed to be linked together, and it feels like that this moment might last forever.

But soon enough, the changes in the tunes signaled the end.

The moments of happiness seemed really short. Although there was still the performances of other classes, the next one would only come up onto the stage in the afternoon. And from tomorrow, everyone's daily life would begin again.

And that is why, this moment will not be forever remembered by a lot of people that are now here.

--But for Basara, he will never forget it. No matter how difficult his future battles will be, these memories will definitely be cherished at all odds.

After that, he must accompany everyone here back to the same place next year.

Part 2

After a busy afternoon of competitions, the games have come to an end.

Way too many events have happened, and the snowballing fatigue is beginning to have an effect on him.

But today -- amongst the many events, his pride to be part of its organising committee bloomed when he saw the smiles and heard the cheers of the students, teachers, and audience.

Having tide over many problems including the tornado that had temporarily suspended the event, it finally came to the last stage. Seeing the closing ceremony starting, Vice-President Kajiura and Tachibana from the student council had tears in their eyes. This mood subsequently spread throughout the countless members of the organising committee, including Mio and Sakaki.

--On the other hand, Sakazaki's disappearance caused some disturbance amongst the teachers. But as someone saw him after the tornado, it wasn't believed that he was caught up in an accident back then. He was assumed to be just missing, and it was believed that there would be news from him in the future.

Only -- what genuinely made Basara surprised, was coming to know about Tachibana’s past and truth. Vampires are very rare in Japan, and upon asking when he found a good opportunity, he found out that Tachibana’s mother was related to the lineage of the feared [Red Lotus] Remilia Scarlet, known as the two strongest vampires in history along with [Pitch-Black]. While having such great powers inherited from his mother’s bloodline, Tachibana is totally inexperienced with battles.

When the closing ceremony ended and the students began to return home, the teachers and the members of the organising committee began to pack everything used for the event. When it was done, it was already dark.

Since the celebration for the organising committee was set at a later date, everyone scattered and returned home.

The Sports Festival had ended safely after a bumpy ride, and the assailant in the shadows has also been defeated. Thus, it can be said that things have settled for now. At least, that was what he had thought…

"......How did it even turn out like this?"

He couldn't help but to sigh. The bathroom of the Toujou Residence was filled with moans and gasps.

In front of his eyes, Mio, Yuki and Kurumi were lying side by side on an inflatable plastic mattress on the bathroom floor. Mio and Yuki were wearing the racing girls’ clothes worn at the performance and Kurumi is wearing the previously used vest and pair of dog ears and tail.

What the three of them have in common is that they have wet eyes, red blushes, and they were releasing hot and sweet breaths.

On Mio and Yuki’s necks, were the collar markings from the curse.

And now, the three of them were deep within their aphrodisiac state. And from the bathtub--

"—Come, Basara-oniichan ~. It's time to administer paradise. Please show off all your techniques and experience!"

The culprit that had created the situation – Maria, who only had a towel on her, said so while extending her hand holding the periscope-like camera.

--As for the starting point of all this, one has to go back a few hours before Basara returned home.

Even after Basara had called beforehand to tell her that the attacker Sakazaki has been defeated, Maria had still come out of the door to welcome them happily.

After all, she had remained at home alone. When he apologised for making her worry, she only smiled warmly while saying [Don't worry about it], and served up the prepared dinner.

But after dinner, everyone had gathered in the living room and while enjoying every moment captured by Kurumi's filming of the event, disaster struck. It seems that Mio and Yuki’s performance that hyped the audience hadn't been filmed. She can't be blamed, after all, she was unconscious at that time even after defeating Sakazaki. The problem was that that particular event that happened was a hot topic at the dinner table, and their choreography and attire that had became the main focus of the discussion at the table.

In the end, Maria lost it, shocking every one of them while telling them that she was so looking forward to looking at the recording of that.

This made Mio and Yuki feel guilty, and they performed it one more time in the living room for Maria. But as it was an older piece of music and that the effects of the umbrellas weren't as good in their home, they couldn't achieve the hype from that time. And so, the unsatisfied Maria made a proposal to give Kurumi the same succubus magic that was administered on her the last time. And the grounds for that was that the agreement between them was also a form of contract, and it was a punishment for the breach of the contract.

Although there were signs of Maria being vexatious , the moment that she said [the high and mighty hero broke a promise], the rule-abiding justice-based Kurumi immediately agreed to it, accepting the succubus’s baptism. After Basara began to help lift it, as per Maria’s plans, Mio and Yuki tripped and activated the curse. And so, the situation has evolved into him subjecting the three of them again. But when he tried to remove their clothes, Maria said that this was a rare opportunity, and he should just leave their clothes as it is, and thus--

“---It would usually be done in the living room, so why does it have to be the bathroom this time?”

"Does it really matter? I only wanted to test out this inflatable mattress I bought online. And compared to the living room, wearing clothes in the bathroom just totally feels wrong, thus bringing about more excitement. Well then, Basara, please use this."

"…..What’s this?"

He asked after Maria passed him a jar filled with a pink liquid.

"Don't think about it too much, Basara… Of course this is an excitement-raising lubricant! Since a 'mat' has already been laid, it wouldn’t be the same without this!"

"What are you trying to do this time…? Also, applying lubricant while they're still wearing those clothes, wouldn't that…"

"Don't worry about it. Not only their underwear, I will definitely clean their clothes thoroughly and even iron them. So for now, don't worry about those little things, and start playing with them!"

And Maria’s talking became even bolder.

"Comecomecome, Basara~. Who should we start with first? Shall the first one be Kurumi again?"

"Well…"

Though Basara seemed to prevaricate , after thinking about it carefully, Kurumi should indeed be the first one again this time.

Seeing Basara subjugating Kurumi who wasn't bound with the master-servant contract first, both Mio and Yuki will strengthen the curse with their jealously. If he were to subjugate either of them first before Kurumi, they might trip the curse again from jealously.

Hence, his line of sight went towards Kurumi. Just then--

"! …..W-Wait!"

A voice suddenly sounded out to stop him. It wasn't from Kurumi who was nervous from being the first one, nor was it from Yuki who was normally aggressive towards Basara.

It’s Mio.

Due to the effects of the aphrodisiac curse, her whole body seemed to be possessed by the sweet heat.

...Why, why did I…

Seeing Basara turn to look at her, Mio then realised what she had done.

---The usual Mio, would've chosen to be subjugated after both Yuki and Kurumi.

It wasn't that she had wanted to wait until the end. Mio who was ashamed to admit that she was in love with the body-shaking pleasure, still wanted to quickly absolve herself. She had given herself the excuse of not wanting to lose to Yuki and Kurumi to make herself accept Basara’s caresses.

And so, even if she had to wait until the end as the last one, she had to endure it.

But…

Just this time, she was unable to endure it. Why? That day when Basara was attacked and Kurumi had come to this home – in order to express her yielding to Basara, she had dressed up like a dog and licked Basara's leg. But when she realised that it was seen by Kurumi, she ran away to hide from the embarrassment.

And in the end while she hid in her room, Yuki and Kurumi had abandoned her, to be subjugated by Basara’s hand. Although it’s not such a big matter to her, since she already had Basara's exclusive attention on her in the school shower room. But then, following the same logic, it was possible that Basara might have subjugated Yuki behind her back.

The both of them weren't in the wrong at all, as after all, the both of them had already made the master-servant contract with Basara.

However, the two of them had the same master. So even if Mio had jealously over finding out that Yuki has had Basara’s exclusive attention, it wouldn't set off the curse. So in the end, it would only leave behind envy.

Which then made Mio think. If she waited until she was the last one this time again, watching as Yuki and Kurumi receive Basara's attention and 'treatment', problems might occur over trying to suppress 'it' too much. And that is why--

"Please, brother, let me be the first… Let your family be the first in line this time, okay…?"

She decided to let go of her embarrassment this time, and pleaded Basara. She wouldn't care if the rest have any complaints and only wanted to be the first this time. Which made Maria become surprised.

"Well, this is indeed really rare, to think that Mio-sama would raise such a request of her own accord. But then, Mio-sama… If you were to be appeased first, I wonder how you would feel when you see Kurumi’s turn?"

"! …..That, I……!"

She wasn't able to say that she would feel jealousy, and could only show her feelings through her tearful eyes. But then--

".........I understand. I'll start with Mio first."

Saying that quietly, it even made Maria shocked.

"I won't stop you anyway… But then, it'll happen twice."

"If it’ll have to happen twice then so be it. As long as it makes Mio happy, the number of times doesn't matter as after all, it'll be because of the curse of the master-servant contract… Doing these sort of things is for deepening the relationship between us. If the calculations for efficiency were to be brought in into these things, then it’ll have already lost its purpose."

And hence--

"Yuki, Kurumi, both of you wait for a while first… After Mio’s turn is done, what you'll receive won't be inferior.”

"! ………Ah…..Understood."

"…………………………..!"

Yuki nodded strongly at his words, while Kurumi shyly averted her eyes.

At that moment -- it has already been decided between all of them that the first one to be subjugated would be Mio. Following that, Basara embraced Mio's waist while she laid on the mattress.

“'nn! ………….Ah……….'

Arching her body with her two breasts shaking, she watched as Basara unscrewed the bottle. Then in a position where they were facing each other, he poured its viscous contents directly onto her body.

"Ah! ……Aaa…. Fu…ah… A! ………….Aaaaaoooooooo…….!"

The lotion flowed down the sides of her neck and gathered in a pool in the uneven area that was her clavicle , which then slowly flowed onto her breasts. The smooth natural liquid pulled by gravity did indeed made Mio feel a sensation, that of being caressed by the lotion.

From the moisture, the race girls’ attire turned slightly transparent, revealing the tip of her breasts that were slightly pink.

Soon, Mio's sensitive breasts were completely wet and slippery. Emphasised by their weight and size, Mio's breasts displayed heavy panting at a level never-seen-before.

……Oh god…..

Previously, Basara had used maple syrup as a lotion and caressed her breasts violently. The Mio back then had reached levels which she couldn’t believe she had. From that day onwards, when she had felt pleasure from time after time when he had subjugated her, her body’s sensitivity had been raised a lot. Of course, she had been slightly prepared for what was to come just now.

However, she quickly realised that she still wasn't prepared enough. The one who had changed wasn't only her – compared to that day, it seems that Basara had learnt many more techniques to stimulate her. Thus--

"I’m beginning…"

With that, he then began caressing her breasts through what she was wearing--

…………Eh?

Suddenly – her vision turned white, and she wasn't able to hear any anything anymore. And even though she had experienced orgasms to the point where her sight and mind went blank before--

…W-What is this…?

This time, the paralyzing of her senses lasted especially long, and she could only feel a weird sensation of floating.

With her senses not returning, her uneasiness gradually turned into fear, and she couldn't help but to scream for Basara.

"!----"

But she couldn't make any sound. No, that might be the problem from her hearing not working.

Soon – her hearing began to return from a faraway place, and what she could hear began to get louder… That was--

…..The sound of waves crashing……..?

The volume of the crashing of the waves suddenly increased, and what she could hear suddenly became surging powerful waves. She could also instinctively feel something massive approaching, and with that, she finally understood what was going on.

….No way, this can't be………..?

There's no mistake. What Mio was hearing, was the sound created from the explosive climax exceeding her pleasure capacity.

Shit – It’s already too late to think about that. That sensation is about to catch up to her consciousne—

「～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～！」

The incandescent wave of pleasure suddenly swallowed her, and she suddenly became violent in the midst of her climax.

"Ah! …..Ya…aaaa…..HaaaaaAAahh! ……..Ahhh! Aaaahhhhhhfffffu….!"

Her whole body became paralysed, while she then leaned on Basara, her breaths were coming very fast. That amount of pleasure was already enough to make her yield twelve times. But then, the Mio who was hugging Basara's chest while totally immersed in her climax, suddenly realised that Yuki and Kurumi were staring intently at her face--

"Ah! …….No, Aahh…. Ah! Don’t…. Look…..!"

She then buried her face into Basara's chest from the shyness.

"Ohoh~…. What should we do, Basara? Mio-sama seems to be embarrassed in her current self being seen by others…. Hmm~?"

Basara remained silent at Maria’s giggles and suddenly raised her body from her waist, changing their positions.

Unable to summon any force, Mio now had her back facing Basara.

"Yaa~! Brother… Why, did you do thaa….Ah!"

In the position and posture as if to show Mio to Yuki and Kurumi, it made her shyly turn her head back.

"--Sorry. It’s because I think, that this would be the best way and method to subjugate you."

Finishing his line, he then grabbed Mio's breasts through the clothes, in preparation to rip the clothes apart.

"Wait…. That’s something borrowed, you can’t… What will happen if it’s ruined…"

"I'll reimburse Aikawa when the time comes...right now, subjugating is of utmost priority."

Basara then forcefully ripped apart her top, exposing her huge breasts.

"……..A…Aahhhh……….."

The shiny breasts covered in the lotion felt incredibly sensational and provocative. The tips of her breasts were already swelled to their limit, and just having them in contact with the air was already able to make her lose her mind.

It wasn't only just Mio; Yuki, Kurumi and Maria all clearly saw it. Basara then brought his hand up to caress the sensitive tips. And in the next moment, the actual event of subjugating Mio then finally began.

Basara's hands began to massage her breasts, and lewd sounds followed.

" ! ………..Aahh..Ah! –Fuuaaahhhh…. Woa…. Haahhh… Fuaaahhhhhhhhhhh!"

Mio shook violently while she sat on Basara’s thighs, completely immersed in pleasure. Basara’s every movement created lewd sound effects with her lotion-covered breasts, bringing her even more stimulation and pleasure from the auditory stimulation. Not only that--

"Ya, What's this…. Haaa, it's so pleasurable… So scary… Aaahhhhh!"

"Of course it's pleasurable, Mio-sama… Maple syrup can never even hope to compare with the succubus-made excitement raising lotion. But don't worry, Mio-sama, you can put your heart at ease."

She smiled towards the Mio writhing in pleasure, and said:

"This stuff has aphrodisiac effects. When coupled with the aphrodisiac effects of the curse, you won't be able to think about anything pretty soon."

"Y-You – Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!"

After only managing to utter a word, an overwhelming wave of pleasure then made her body convulse again, and shake non-stop.

" !..........." "Oh, God…….."

Both Kurumi and Yuki who were looking at this scene, swallowed their saliva in high anticipation. And that was just how shocking Mio’s state was.

Following that, Basara released Mio’s breasts and as she was unable to put any strength into her spine, she fell forward from her position on Basara’s thighs, lying flatly face down on the mattress. After that, she felt the hook of her skirt being undone, and then the sound of the zipper being pulled down came to her ears. After that--

"No….. You can’t……….."

She then tried to wriggle and crawl away to escape. But in the eyes of those watching from the sidelines, it was interpreted as sexily swaying her hips. Immediately, Basara's hand grabbed onto the skirt, and he pulled it off her forcefully.

Feminine scents immediately filled the bathroom. As her underwear was already wet from the lotion, it had already became transparent – her crotch area was also even more wet with her own hot lotion.

"A..h! …..Aaaahhhh!"

The facts have already been placed in front of everyone’s eyes, and it couldn't be denied at all. From behind her face flushed red from embarrassment, he whispered into her ear:

"--Don’t worry. This is all the fault of the curse."

His voice was unbelievably gentle… This made Mio who heard it immediately obey him, giving up her last shred of modesty, letting go of all of her resistance to the pleasure. And with that, she was then moved back to the original position – face to face. Even though Yuki and Kurumi were looking at her, with Maria’s camera being pointed at her, she didn't try to resist Basara’s actions anymore – frankly exposing her all.

The lotion has already made Mio’s body sensitive everywhere, and each and every unimaginable area was able to make her climax, sparking off a new chain of erogenous zones.

Following that – in her current condition, Basara then began again, attacking her erogenous zones. Right now, he had his mouth on Mio’s right breast, his hands violently caressing the left breast and her butt. Her breast that was being sucked by Basara gave her so much pleasure, that it almost made her mind collapse, causing her to pant heavily. Her hips twisted obscenely, due to the hand in her panties, with the five fingers deeply digging into the flesh. This gave Mio so much pleasure that she was shaking while her butt was moulded into various shapes--

"A…….aahhh, Ah…. Fuahh…Woo! …Fuah… Aahh, Haaaaaaaahhhh!"

Her gasps and shaking hadn't stopped all this while. And at this moment, he suddenly released her right breast.

"………….Mio."

Changing the position of supporting her body slightly, he brought the tip of that breast to beside her mouth.

Those watching from the sidelines held their breaths, and Mio immediately understood his intentions --

"No… That’s too… Brother, don’t……….."

Her lips shook from the pleasure, causing her speech to be impaired. Basara’s action -- meant that he wanted her to suck her own breast, which flushed her face even redder.

……………! ….Definately, cannot…. N-no… If, I did that…………..Ah………!

She began to tell herself that, but the moment she saw him having those eyes he had during that time when he was alone with her after the battle with Zolgear – her lips betrayed her will and obeyed Basara. Mio's lips got closer and closer to that tip, wanting to suck the tip that was covered with the lotion and his saliva; it was as if kissing Basara's lips in this insanity again. That strong reaction within her body--

「————————！」

The pleasure that was as overwhelming as just now – once again immediately pushed her to its peak.

--Later, Mio was laid down on the mattress, letting her assume back her original pose.

Mio, who was brought to a whole brand new world by Basara--

"Ah....aahh....ahha, Brother....aaa......ah..ah...ya..."

Immersed in the waves that refused to subside, her breasts continued to quiver while she laid down, and moans continued to escape her mouth. Basara then took a deep breath, attempting to calm his mind that was already at the brink. Just then--

“ !.............” “…………A-Ahhh……………”

Yuki and Kurumi, who had watched the whole event then swallowed their saliva again for the umpteenth time, mostly in the anticipation of thinking that it would be them in that position soon…

Maria, who had recorded Mio in that state, turned around to the two. And said:

“—Alright, you two are up next. Basara… Yuki-sis and Kurumi just saw Mio-sama’s state and are now reasonably prepared and waiting for you now… Please do what you need to do now!”

“……….I got it.”

They had waited for so long while under the effect of the aphrodisiacs, and must be wanting to be free of it as soon as possible. Just when he turned towards the sisters leaning their sensitive bodies against each other--

“--Ah, please wait for a moment. Basara had just been somewhat merciless with Mio, and had just used up over half of the lotion… I’m afraid that what’s left won’t be enough to use on both Yuki and Kurumi. If they were to use an amount less than Mio-sama, they would think that you’re stingy, making them harder to subjugate, right?”

“Is that even the case….?”

Even if the emotions over the amount of lotion used didn’t exist, still--

“How could Basara be so oblivious to a woman’s feelings? Yuki-sis is the same as Mio-sama, they both are your slaves in name only… Also, what about Kurumi who is her sister? If they’re treated unequally, it’ll create jealousy between them. And since they have already waited for so long, you have to use even more stimulating methods just to be able to subjugate them.”

“Even more stimulating… How should I go about doing that?”

As if saying [Good question] with her expression, she then nodded at the clueless Basara and said:

“Please leave that to me, Basara. I know of a very dependable one for these situations. Come, be at my side now – Sledge!”

After putting down the camera, a magic circle appeared on the ceiling, illuminating the bathroom.

And within it, a large blue sphere with a eye in its centre appeared.

She stretched out her hands to catch the ball in its descent, and said:

"Come forth, Sledge… Show off your power, and devastate those two thoroughly!”

After rubbing what’s likely to be its head and saying that, the spherical monster called Sledge seemed to become happy and squinted its eye, and pink slime then flowed out from all around its body.

“……….!” “What…. What the hell is that?!”

At the unexpected situation and scene, both Yuki and Kurumi seemed to misunderstand and shrank back their bodies from it. Unable to stand it any further, Basara then said:

“Say, Maria… Taking the play to the level of using Slime is taking it a bit too far…”

“What are you even talking about, Basara? Having heroes who have noble spirituality being abused by the low-level monster Slime – isn’t having such guilt great?”

“Why would I even care about guilt… What I don’t want to see is Yuki and Kurumi being humiliated by a Slime.”

"I see – So you mean that the only one who can humiliate them is only you, right?”

“……………Please do.”

What’s with your arrogant way of speaking, are you trying to emulate a certain someone? Maria then smiled and said:

“Rest assured, Basara. Sledge is something from my arsenal, it has no other ability other than inducing oestrus . Additionally, don’t make any assumptions from its appearance – this child here is a girl. Ah haha!”

“It’s a girl…”

Who would even be able to discern that… Also, a monster like Slime doesn’t even have any genders, right?

“Although this may seem shocking, the lotion Basara just used generously on Mio was made with the Sledge’s glial , you know? Since the final results will be the same, there wouldn’t be any difference in using either the lotion or Sledge to play.”

"Hold on right there, how can you say that so easil--"

Basara stopped his sentence mid-way. Sledge had already expanded to an unbelievable state. Seeing this, Maria then moved her hand to her face and said:

“Ara ara, Sledge, is it because that I haven’t you called you out recently, that you’ve become so excited already? Becoming so big after sucking in the water in the Bathroom… I guess even dried kelp buds would even get shocked at you, right?”

“You idiooooooooooooooottttt! What are you going to do now, now that it’s about to spill out from the bathtub?!”

Basara took a step back while scolding, to which Maria clicked her tongue and replied:

“Since it has already become like that, then there’s no other way – let's all give up any resistance, and be happily abused by Sledge, isn't that right?”

When she finished saying her words, Sledge’s body immediately expanded to several times its size. Seeing her about to make her attack, Basara made a defensive posture. But then, Sledge’s body suddenly froze over, and then exploded into pieces.

“SS-SSledgeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee----------------!”

Suddenly seeing her scatter into pieces like diamonds, Maria’s scream sounded throughout the bathroom.

“Boohoohoo, s-so miserable…. It was such a miserable death! Just who would be so vicious!?”

Just as she trembled with anger at the miserable death of one of her magical arsenal, --

“--Maria, you are currently on probation… Shouldn’t you be more diciplined?”

A cold voice suddenly sounded out from within the bathroom, and from a teleportation magic circle on the wall, a woman walked out slowly from it. She was wearing a maid’s dress, and looked very beautiful.

Seeing a beautiful woman with beautiful body proportions, Basara couldn’t help but gasp. ………Strange, she….

That face, it was familiar. And the answer to that then came from Maria who had a white face.

“L-Lucia-oneesama……..!”

“Oneesama…….?”

He couldn’t help but to say that, and the beautiful maid whose gaze seemed to be able to freeze hell looked over at him, seeming with something to say.

And following that, that cold voice once again sounded out from within the bathroom.

“I am here to convey a message from our Moderate faction. We cordially request those present to make a journey to the demon realm.”

Translator's Notes and References

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