Editing Shinmai Maou no Keiyakusha:Volume 5 Chapter 3 (section)

===Part 3===


After having dinner alone within his own room, Ramsas left the room, and came to a certain place.

A place that can allow one to look over the city with just a single glance – the top of the main tower, which is the city’s highest.

“………”

Having arrived at that place, Ramsas looked down at the illuminated streets quietly. About fifteen minutes later—

“You insisted on not seeing Mio-sama even once… Is this really for the best?”

Coming to place after a while, Lucia asked him. Hearing his faithful subordinate’s question, Ramsas then answered in a low voice while not moving his sight from the city areas:

“…Why should I go and see her?”

And with that, Lucia decided to not say anymore, and after giving a bow, she moved back and left Ramsas alone.

After that, Ramsas continued standing while the night wind continued to blow.

“<nowiki>------</nowiki>”

Suddenly, Ramsas’s eyebrow twitched slightly.

An unnatural change in the night wind’s currents just occurred, and it was at a degree where a normal person wouldn’t notice – there was a pair of eyes, looking at Ramsas from behind him.

--It was not Lucia, and not one of the maids serving under her.

After that, some more changes to his surroundings occurred. Sounds of footsteps as if announcing a person’s existence, slowly neared him. Then—

“—do you know? There is a place like this platform at where Mio and us live, a place that allows you to look over the nightscape of a city.”

Saying those words while standing beside Ramsas, was a youth – Toujou Basara.

Likely, Lucia wasn’t the one who had told this youth of this place; no matter who it was, someone was still being nosy. While looking at the view Ramsas, who had decided not to pursue the matter, was looking at, Basara said:

“This afternoon… The maid Noel<ref>Miss Noel</ref> had brought us into the city to look around. The view that can be seen from here, is what your younger brother – and you who had took over his work, protected to this day.”

“………”

Seeing Ramsas return silence as an answer, Basara turned around slowly--

“In what you want to protect, why did you not include Mio?”

And spit out those words filled with a dark shade.

“After your younger brother died – Zolgear killed his subordinates whom he had trusted to bring up Mio. Although Maria had managed to rescue Mio in a critical moment from Zolgear’s palm, Zolgear had taken Sheera, and then coerced Maria into following his orders…”

[But]. Basara said:

“According to Takigawa – Lars, you were well aware of this situation, yet you chose to remain quiet and observe, right? No matter how others asked you to prioritise Mio, you still chose to not provide more assistance. Other than Maria who had been coerced by Zolgear, as well as Takigawa who had infiltrated the Current Demon Lord Faction and could not make any obvious moves, you had sent no more help to assist the two with the mission of protecting Mio.”

''So why?''

“Mio is the daughter of your younger brother… In other words, she is your niece. So why did you choose to not make any moves despite knowing that she is faced with such clear danger?”

Being questioned with a firm gaze from Basara, Ramsas finally spoke to answer him – he bluntly said:

“—because there wasn’t a need to at all.”

“No need to…?”

Basara had already known Ramsas is cold towards Mio.

His reason for still doing all this, was basically just to clarify it all. The truth and reality was just as Lucia had said. Considering that Ramsas has his own set of difficulties and opinions, if Basara would be able to hear about them, he might be able to somewhat understand even if he can’t agree with it. However – Ramsas words just now, was still completely beyond Basara’s expectations.

“There was still no need even when Maria had no choice but to betray Mio after worrying to no end from being coerced by Zolgear? There was still no need even when Mio had been abducted and have who-knows-what done by Zolgear to her? After all these incidents, are you really going to say that there’s no need to increase her protection?”

“Since the reports have said that she’s completely safe, is there really a need to ask for more?”

“That was because we…!”

To be able to safely rescue Mio, they all had racked their brains and struggled with their lives. Viewing it from another angle, perhaps being able to save Mio before she was ruined by Zolgear, as well as safely rescuing Sheera who was taken hostage, was the best possible result. However – if back then Ramsas had accepted Klaus and his other subordinates’ views to take effective actions like increasing the amount of protection, then perhaps the incident of Mio being abducted by Zolgear might have never happened.

Additionally, Takigawa even knew where Zolgear was hiding, to the point where he even knew where Sheera was being kept hostage; if he had sent out his elite forces to launch an attack, the culprit known as Zolgear might have already been exterminated long ago. But he hadn’t, so he definitely has no right to speak about it – just as Basara gave his retort while becoming mad, Ramsas finally looked at him, and said:

“You guys – how was it? From what I know, the main reason Zolgear had retreated in his defeat was not because of you guys, but it was Wilbert’s daughter who let her powers go berserk, right? Even if the reason for it going berserk was due to thinking that Sheera had been killed, she would’ve put up a great opposition if Zolgear were to casually make any moves against her. With that, even if you and those girls you knew since you were small weren’t there, she would still be saved in the end. Would that way of thinking be wrong?”

“……Perhaps it might not have been wrong. Even if he hadn’t done anything Mio and Sheera might still be saved.”

''However'' – Basara then said wile heavily emphasising:

“Those kind of words, can only be said by the people like us who had taken real action to save Mio and the others – people like you who had just remained standing by the sides and did nothing better than try to score points now that that is already over.”

“………”

Basara seems to have hit a sore area, and Ramsas remained quiet.

“…I have no intention of questioning whether your decision was right or wrong. The result in the end was as you said: Mio and Sheera are safe, and Maria and Zest escaped from Zolgear’s control. What I would like to question instead, is if you had intentionally disregarded Mio.”

Basara then continued:

“But, that’s already enough – I already understand it. Originally, I had even speculated if you had given Mio this attitude because your views were different 
from your younger brother… but no matter what you say, I wouldn’t accept it. I have already made the decision to protect Mio – the one who had become my little sister, a person who is part of my family. So no matter how big or noble of a reason or excuse you give me, it’s not my business at all, and doing any of that would be completely meaningless.

“—so, do you want to follow Klaus’s words, and let that girl become the next Demon Lord?”

At the question Ramsas asked in a low tone, Basara shook his head and said:

“No… Klaus<ref>Mr. Klaus</ref> has been very sincere to us, thinking for our sakes at first glance – but he just wants to take advantage of the story that Mio is the only daughter of the previous Demon Lord who had inherited his power, completely ignoring if she has the qualifications to do so and her own will, treating her as only a political tool.”

All Mio wants is to be a normal girl, who lives a peaceful life.

And having sent her away from his side to live a peaceful life in the Human Realm that too is also all Wilbert wants.

And yet – Klaus who claims to respect and love Wilbert, disregarded his lord’s wishes, and is pushing for Mio to be a new Demon Lord. Reportedly, the current Demon lord also seems to have been given the throne to become a chess piece by the Council, so the two sides can be said to be equal.

''…Also,''

With his lord’s daughter, the one who had made a Master-Servant Contract with the son of the number one enemy in the Great War, Klaus was especially kind towards Basara to the point where it seemed completely unnatural. Who knows, even the matter of Mio who had no choice but to make a Master-Servant Contract might be taken advantage of; making it into a story where thanks to Wilbert sending troops to put a stop to the Great War, they finally managed to create good relations between the son of the scary [God of War] Jin from the Hero Tribe and the only daughter of the Demon Lord, turning it into another of Wilbert’s achievements.

''…Both routes are equally bad.''

To put it bluntly, all that side wanted are personal benefits – the reason Toujou Basara is unable to accept them.

Absolutely.

“I do understand that both you and Klaus have your own thoughts and plans, and that the subordinates within the Moderates Faction respect the opinions of you higher-ups. However – you all just want to take advantage of Mio, with no shred of consideration to the person in question. In Mio’s moments of great pain, you refused to lend a hand despite knowing about it, and Klaus followed that decision and stood by idly, both sides are the same. And so from my viewpoint, you all are just trash.”

Since the moment they were called to the Demon Realm to till now, Basara had submitted to the humiliation, but he could not take it any longer.

And so he spit it all out:

“I’ll put it bluntly. You guys shouldn’t have called her here, only to just put her aside. You guys had always been ignoring and snubbing her for so long… and now that in order to win against the Current Demon Lord Faction you demand for her presence or for her to hand over her inherited power to you? Stop cracking jokes. That power was given to the one he had not hesitated to separate with by your younger brother to protect herself. Because of her circumstances, Mio has already given up a lot of things; that has to stop.”

'''Listen carefully.'''

“We will no longer hold anymore hopes and anticipate anything more from you. So at least, stop taking things away from her. To Mio, that power is a gift from her own father, the only bond between them – you guys basically have no rights or authority to intervene in that!”

Ramsas silently listened to Basara ranting.

''…So this is the son of '''that man'''''

''I see.'' The report had said that he was exiled from the Hero's [Tribe], and now I can understand why. This youth, is really indeed not suited to be a Hero.

''…He’s far too naive.''

Ramsas wanted to let this youth carried away in the heat of the moment know of something called ‘Reality’.

“The lives of the Royal Family do not belong to themselves, they live for the people, and die for the people – not even a single person can escape from that blood tie. Since that girl is Wilbert’s daughter, she is part of the Royal Family, thus she has a duty to dedicate her life for the people.”

“I’ve said this already, you guys had cast her aside for so long, and yet now you want to use 『Because she is Royalty』 as a reason is just too—“

“—Originally living a civilian’s life, and then only to have that life taken away due to the sudden revelation of Royal blood ties; all that is not uncommon.”

''Additionally'' – Ramsas continued:

“Although Klaus and I think and do things differently, the both of us have a duty to protect everything here as the ones who stand over the people. Since you guys had walked through the streets in the evening, you should’ve already seen it clearly. In reality, you protecting that girl like that – could just very well turn all that you saw and everyone you have met on the streets into dust, do you understand?”

“Of course I d—“

And Ramsas bluntedly said to Basara trying to refute:

“Then why are you still being persistent… Then again, you just said that that girl had already given up a lot of things… but she was living happy days in a place unrelated to the political wrangling and fights; that, was thanks to her being Wilbert’s daughter. Now we have a need for her who had lived because of Wilbert’s death, so he called her back – it was just that her time ran out, and that it was time to say goodbye to the unneeded necessity to acknowledge her bloodline and the disregarding of her responsibility.”

“ ! ……”

Basara, whose expression, became complicated—

“What you said, was something I cannot completely agree with. You had said, that that girl doesn’t even know that she doesn’t have the qualification, and shouldn’t become the Demon Lord—“

And Ramsas resolutely replied:

“That is correct. That girl who had tied a Master-Servant Contract with a little brat like you who had been expelled from the Hero [Tribe], who had let herself become a lowly sensual bondage slave; someone like that has no right to become a Demon Lord, and that’s why I wanted her to just obediently hand over Wilbert’s power.”

With that, the atmosphere suddenly changed. Basara’s fighting intent aimed at Ramsas, became even more incisive and cold.

It became blatant killing intent. Then—

“Take it back… If not—“

Basara’s right hand went towards Ramsas, and at that moment—

“--That’s enough.”

[[Image:Shinmai_v05_095.jpg|thumb]]

Countless numbers of guns were then aimed at Basara’s throat, held by the maidservants who had surrounded them. Commanding these maidservants armed with weapons, Lucia came to Ramsas’s side—

“It’s already difficult enough to overlook the various insults towards Ramsas-sama – if you continue to show disrespect, you shall not be forgiven even if you are Mio-sama and Maria’s saviour.”

And said coldly.

“……………”

Basara remained quiet, and lowered his head. But—

『<nowiki>---------</nowiki>?』

The maidservants holding Basara at gunpoint suddenly received a shock, and their bodies tense.

Rather than decreasing, Basara’s killing intent further increased, and then—

“Insults… insults, you said? Those should be my words. Having heard Mio – hearing my own little sister receiving that kind of insult, do you really think this warning is enough to push me over and make me leave it as it is?”

As if ignoring the maidservants surrounding him, light appeared in his right hand.

And his own weapon appeared from the light—

“……It’s a shame. I had thought you were smarter than that.”

Lucia’s eyes narrowed, and just as she was about to give her orders—

“---Kay kay,   ~Th-a-t’s – e-nou-gh ♪”

An extremely hearty voice cut into the tense atmosphere from the side.

Ramsas’s head turned, and found Sheera with Zest behind her standing there,

“Mother-sama…”

Lucia frowned while looking at her.

“Lucia-ya… If you were to start fighting here, Mio<ref>[Chinese]little sis, she refers to Basara and the rest like her little siblings, like the previous chapters</ref> and the others would immediately find out, and what would you do if they were to come running over? Even if you are able to incapacitate Basara before they realise, the matter that you argued with him would still come to light. Mio and Yuki both had made the Master-Servant Contract with Basara, so throwing him into the dungeons would be useless.”

“Then—“

“—you’ll create a barrier, so that they won’t realise?”

Sheera smiled at Lucia preparing a retort and said:

“It’ll be useless. Doing so will only increase their suspicions, and you won’t be able to get Mio’s assistance in the end, are you fine with that?”

“<nowiki>------</nowiki>”

Seeing Lucia become unable to retort, Sheera’s line of sight turned to Basara and she said:

“Basara, you too should stop making a scene. If you were to start fighting now with Lucia or Ramsas, you won’t be able to make them back down even if you win. It’s great that you love your little sister Mio so much, but if she were to find out you got hurt when you flared up for her sake – she’ll blame herself. Are you still fine with that?”

“………”

Sheera’s words caused Basara to become silent – and he retracted his killing intent soon after, his weapon also disappearing. Seeing this, Sheera smiled and said: [Good Boy.] The maidservants also seemed to relax. Finally, Sheera looked at Ramsas and said:

“Well then, I’ll be bringing Basara away – is it fine?”

“……Do as you like.”

[Okay.] Hearing Ramsas say so, Sheera immediately brought Basara away together with Zest, disappearing into the house<ref>house/castle</ref>

“—Ramsas-sama, I’m very sorry, for my mother’s impertinence.”

Lucia lowered her head and apologised—

“It’s fine… It isn’t that person’s first time creating trouble.”

After that, Ramsas looked out towards the city once again.

Dots of light from the city was spread throughout the city, the stars illuminating the night sky.