Editing Shinmai Maou no Keiyakusha:Volume 1 Chapter 3 (section)

===Part 1===

The Master and Servant Contract immediately activated the curse when the Servant betrayed the Master.

After almost a month--- On the next full moon, it was possible to annul it.

At first they believed it to be hopeless, but they somehow managed to overcome the first week.

---Regardless of how it came to be, the contract was bound, so they had to deal with the situation.

To successfully avoid the curse from activating, they persuaded Mio now and little by little they confirmed the activation conditions for the curse and other effects.

And as of now, they had a good understanding about the contract magic.

First--- The servant wasn't forced into absolute obedience and could defy an unreasonable order. Apparently it was done, so that the contract wouldn't be used one-sided, but interactive.

Consequently, the master needed to reward his servant with an adequate attitude as a master. It was close to the "Reward & Service" relationship between the Shogun and Samurai, which takes it origin during the Kamakura period.

That said, even if the Master makes an unreasonable order, the curse will not activate for him due to the superior stance in the contract. Still, the fact that the servant could disobey a strange order was a salvation for Basara and Mio.

---Then what determined a betrayal from the servant, leading to the activation to the curse?

It was a bit complicated, as the condition for the curse's activation was "a mental betrayal".

That said, the servant wasn't forced into absolute obedience. He had the right to "oppose" an unreasonable order.

Also, actions that appeared like a "rebellion" or "betrayal", but were for example to "correct" a mistake, meaning an action for the sake of the master, were apparently forgiven.

But on the other hand, if the Servant disobeyed a legit order or took an unreasonable attitude, the curse activated without mercy. 

And it seemed that the power of the curse was determined on the Servant's feeling of "guilt"--- in other words, his "mental betrayal".

When the curse activated, a mark appeared on Mio's neck like a collar as proof.

But--- Basically the curse wouldn't activate as long as she trusted and believed him.

Because the contract between Basara and Mio was conducted uncommonly, there had been confusion in the beginning, but originally it was a magic that strengthened the trust between Master and Servant, allowing them to keep track of each other's positions.

Therefore there was no problem. A week passed while desperately convincing themselves like that.

And then--- summer vacation came to an end.



That said, even with summer vacation ending, it was not the end of summer.

On sunny days, the temperature easily crossed 30°C.

A day with boiling heat from the morning on. Toujou Basara walked the street to school for the first time.

The second term from today onward. The start of his new school life.

"Aw, so hot… Damn."

He was wearing the summer uniform, but that didn't mean that his trousers were shorts. Additionally the surroundings were full of students with the same uniform. He hated crowds.

"Girls have it good… They get to wear short skirts."

"---Hey, could you stop being so egoistic? In exchange for that, it's cold in the winter."

A cold voice beside him answered the grumbling Basara. It was Mio, wearing the same school uniform.

Since they had mostly made sure of the activation boundaries of the curse, making an impudent remark in the middle of a normal conversation was no problem. 

Malice or a guilty conscious were the problematic ones.

"But, in winter you can easily wear shorts or at worst tracksuit pants under your skirt, right?"

Each of them cold-blooded spoiled a boy's pure heart. Upon that,

"That goes without saying. What's the point of letting yourself freeze?"

"Then, in the end, you're warm in winter!"

Not good. He inadvertently retorted, but what good was it to even get hot-blooded himself? There,

"Right, please calm down, Basara-san."

A young voice was heard from behind. When he turned around, Maria was following behind them.

Needless to say she didn't wear a school uniform, but a refreshing dress.

"It's hot, because you think it is hot. At time like these, just look at me."

Saying so, Maria searched through the convenience store bag in her hand.

Then she pulled out a pet bottle, drinking it down with big gulps.

Next she ripped open a popsicle wrapping, taking a mouthful. Narrowing her eyes, pleased, she faced him with a smile.

"How is it? When watching a refreshing scenery, you feel refreshed yourself, right?"

"As if!"

"Muh, I just wanted to cheer you up a bit, since I am asking you to guard Mio-sama at school."

While feeling despondent, Maria licked her popsicle. That appearance looked unnecessarily erotic.

In casual moments like this, he was reminded that she was a succubus.

"…I'll just be grateful for the thought."

Basara wearily faced forward again. Upon that, his gaze fell on the wave of students wearing the same school uniform that was flowing through the gate. Shortly thereafter, Basara and the girls arrived there as well.

"Oh, so this is it."

Basara stopped in front of the gate and looked up at the big building.

Private [Hijirigasaka Academy]. That was the school Mio attended and which Basara would also attend from today onwards.

"Well then, Mio-sama, I will be on standby nearby."

"Yeah, thanks."

On the night of the screwed up Master and Servant Contract, she had been filled with rage, but after a week, Mio's anger had certainly subdued. Mio and Maria had returned to their quite close sister-like relationship.

When Maria showed a smile on Mio's "Yes", she suddenly looked at Basara.

"Okay, Basara-san, I leave Mio-sama to you. Though I doubt there will be any troubles in a place with so many people."

"Yeah, if anything comes up, I'll let you know right away."

However, suddenly doubt arose in him.

"But… You said you would be on standby nearby, but it's a weekday, you know? Won't it be troublesome if the police find you loitering around here?"

Upon that, 
"Fufufu. Do not worry. It will be completely fine."

Maria pulled out a single card from the pouch she was carrying over her shoulder.

"Look, in preparation for such cases, I have a fake ID that testifies me as 18 years old. 18 years, you hear? With that I can loiter around during noon all I want."

"Oh really…"

Basara lost his strength. Just because she was 18 didn't mean she could loiter around all she wanted.

Or rather, normally anyone would doubt that age from her appearance--- even when she was smiling so radiantly.