Editing Shinmai Maou no Keiyakusha:Volume 7 Chapter 3 (section)

===Part 11===
“…There’s something strange going on.”

At this time, Leohart also noticed that something was not quite right with the battle. Aside from Admirath’s overly rapid avoidance of Kurumi’s magic attacks, he occasionally used his giant scythe to slash, while pursuing with his mount at the same time. Yet each time he only missed by a slight margin, allowing Kurumi to narrowly escape. It was as if—

''…Is he deliberately allowing his opponent to escape that narrowly?''

If he and his mount were to seriously assault, his speed and power would not be as simple as it was now.

''…But.''

Kurumi’s performance was even stranger. Based on Admirath’s fighting style, she should have first tried a strategy to reduce his mobility, but her only target was on Admirath himself; moreover, all of the magic she used was flashy, but quite monotonous. An ordinary audience would not be able to see through such contradictions, it was something that only people with a certain level of power would notice. Generally speaking, Kurumi was a member of the Hero Tribe who had come to the Demon Realm to help Mio, so she shouldn’t bear such a negative attitude. If this was justified—

“—Most likely, Admirath has made up a story about Toujou Basara’s absence to scare her.”

Lars presented a possibility.

“Something like that could be possible…Leohart-sama, do you need someone to deal with it?”

Balthier hinted to Leohart that he could take the opportunity to suspend the duel, and hold the Council responsible for it. That was a possible move to make. This decisive battle was nominally managed by the Council, so if it was revealed that their side had threatened and coerced the other side into holding a false battle, the public’s trust in the Council would surely collapse. When Leohart considered this and compared it to his original plan, the one which was easier for him to achieve his objective was—

“There’s no need — it’ll be better to watch and see how this plays out.”

Lars chuckled and then said

“We don’t have any evidence of the Council’s foul play. Even if that really is the case, this isn’t a sports game; this is a fight where each side bets on their future and justice. The desire to have an honest showdown is something that I can understand, but a psychological battle is also part of the fight. No matter what she and her opponent have said, and no matter what plans the Council and Admirath have made, if she’s been affected by something like this, then it simply means that that is her weakness. We don’t have to have too much sympathy for our enemy’s weakness, do we?”

Moreover—

“That guy is a dog of the Council, so the psychological battle that they’ve arranged may actually be there to lure us in. If we act rashly, we may fall into their trap.”

“Indeed…but, I want to know what kinds of plans the Council has first.”

“I understand — I’ll go and scout the situation.”

After hearing what Leohart had to say, Balthier nodded and said

“After all, judging by the current situation, it will still be some time before I head on stage.”

When he stepped out of the room — a change occurred in the battle between Admirath and Kurumi. Both of them were originally exchanging blows in the air, but they had now dived into cracks that existed throughout the vast and rocky canyon.