Editing Shinmai Maou no Keiyakusha:Volume 2 Chapter 1 (section)

===Part 2===


Basara and Takigawa kept eating until the time limit and this Yakiniku day ended with full satisfaction.

Since their houses were in opposite directions, he split up with Takigawa right after leaving the restaurant.

And currently--- Basara walked home together with Hasegawa.

"But you really don't mind, Toujou?"

Hasegawa next to him asked.

"I asked you to let me sit with you, so I could have paid your bill."

"No, it's alright, really. I had to pay for it today."

It would've been meaningless if Basara hadn't paid for Takigawa's share. However,

"Still…"

As Hasegawa still couldn't agree, Basara made a wry smile, thinking what a duteous person she was.

"Then please treat me on the next occasion, at the restaurant of your choice."

"Mhm… Okay. If you're fine with that, I'll invite you another time."

Huh, she won't invite Takigawa. Well, I did pay for his share.

"But I must say… All this about 'Devils' and 'Loyalty', you two sure talk about strange things. I don't know if it's a game or 
manga, but is it popular these days?"

Apparently she had heard their conversation. Even so, Basara did not panic. Even if they were overheard, most people would mistake it for a game or something on their own, like Hasegawa did. In fact, if you openly responded, it would be no problem. 

Thus,

"Well, yeah… It's a game."

"I see. I have no clues about this, so I don't understand, but youngsters sure get hyped up on it. Is it that fun?"

"Well, depends on the person. Everyone has his own enjoyment."

"I guess so. But at least it seems like you're quite hooked on it, Toujou."

"What makes you say that…?"

"Because you sounded so serious when you talked about it with Takigawa."

Hasegawa pointed out with a teasing tone.

"…Yeah, you might be right."

While dropping his gaze a little bit, Basara declared.

"Even if it's a game--- I definitely can't afford to lose."

It wasn't like he was optimistic. The situation they were in was indeed severe. The new dispatched observer. The existence of Zolgear, who killed Mio's foster parents. The advantages and problems of the Master and Servant Contract. There were a lot of things he had to consider dealing with. Then,

"---Eh?"

Suddenly Basara was enveloped by a soft warmth. Then he noticed in what kind of situation he was.

Hasegawa, who had walked next to him, had entwined her arms around his neck and embraced him.

Her big breasts enveloped his face like they were burying it.

"S- Sensei…!?"

Not knowing how to respond to the sudden event, Basara was in a flutter.

"Don't move. It's okay, so stay still."

Hasegawa said with a rebuking tone.

"Geez… Out of the blue you fall silent, only to make such a worried face then. Think about how a teacher feels when her student makes such a face in front of her."

He thought he had suppressed it, but his irritation and impatience must've shown on his face.

"…Sorry."

"There's no need to apologize. Worries are a part of life. Specially for a boy your age. But remember that there are people, who can't leave you alone when you're like that."

Basara nodded lightly, then allowed himself to rely on Hasegawa's attention a little bit.

When he closed his eyes, he could feel her kindness and softness much better.

"……Thank you. I'm fine now."

Before long, he declared his gratitude, whereupon Hasegawa released Basara's head. But even though Hasegawa pulled away both her hands from around his neck, she now entwined them around his waist.

"Ehm, what… Sensei?"

"I told you that I can't leave you alone. You can consult with me now for as much as you can tell me."

"Well, but…"

Basara inadvertently uttered hesitation, whereas Hasegawa slowly brought her face closer.

"Or--- are you against talking with me, Toujou?"

He couldn't say no. It was none other than Basara, who made Hasegawa worried. Therefore,

"Actually… my father's currently out of the house."

Basara spoke of his own worries as much as he could afford to.

The feelings he couldn't speak out because he didn't want to worry Mio and Maria, or because it would be complaints towards Takigawa--- Toujou Basara's distress.

"I'm the only man in the house, so when something happens, I want to protect Mio and Maria--- Ah, Maria is Mio's little sister."

"Okay…"

Hasegawa's gentle nod urged him to continue, so Basara made a wry smile.

"But it's not that easy… to truly protect something. People are faced with all kinds of worries in life and some of them can't be told to others. When you want to protect them despite that, you also have to keep secrets. But it seems impossible to do everything by myself."

He bit down on his lips and tightly clenched his fists.

"I want to protect them. Whatever may be, I definitely want to protect them… But I once again realized how hard it is to properly protect something you want to protect. My own strength and existence seems so small and unreliable."

He didn't really think he could pull off everything just fine. But if he managed to protect them, even in whatever unsightly shape, he 
wouldn't complain. Because whatever might happen, he would just exert all of his strength.

"…But."

Being unable to protect them --- thoughts like these made Basara feel like going crazy. He never wanted to lose something precious again, to never repeat the regret and pain from five years again. There,

"……You're taking too much upon yourself."

Hasegawa, who had silently listened so far, opened her mouth.

"I somewhat could understand your worry. And also that you don't want to worry Naruse and her younger sister because of it… But, when you're treasuring your new family, your little sisters, then you should properly communicate with them."

After all,

"If it's something you absolutely don't want to lose, you need to properly grasp and understand the situation and position you're in. The most important thing for that is the cooperation and mutual trust between the protector and protected. Once you have that, you can start to come up with an actual counter-measure. But you know--- It's mostly impossible to accomplish everything perfectly. So you set your priorities and draw a line from where you won't back off at all costs, and just protect that no matter what."

"A line from where I won't back off at all costs…"

"Yes. For example, you certainly have to keep secrets, but it's not the secrets you're supposed to protect. Toujou--- closely think about what it is that you truly want to protect, once again."

What he truly wanted to protect --- He ruminated those words that Hasegawa spoke out in his heart.

"……I understand. I'll do so."

When Basara affirmed, Hasegawa nodded, satisfied, with a "Good".

---In the next moment, Toujou Basara was kissed on the cheek.

"Eh---?"

When his thoughts stopped due to this sudden event,

"…blessing and guidance…for the future of…"

Hasegawa removed her lips from his cheek and he heard her mumbling something. He inadvertently became dumbfounded.

"S- Sensei…?"

"Ah, sorry, it was a reflex… It's a little charm in the countryside I'm from."

Don't worry about it--- smiling with that, Hasegawa removed her hands from Basara and started to walk.

Even if it was on the cheek, a kiss was a kiss. He had thought for sure that there was something behind it, but apparently there really was no deep meaning to it, judging by how relieved he felt.

Therefore, Basara went after Hasegawa and walked next to her, matching her pace.

While thinking about--- what he truly wanted to protect and the line from where he wouldn't back off at all costs.