Editing Shinmai Maou no Keiyakusha:Volume 4 Chapter 2 (section)

===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.