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

===Part 4===
In another lounge for the representatives of the Moderates faction, separate from the one that Mio and the others were using.

“—It seems like the outcome has been decided.”

After Lucia saw the change that had occurred in the battle dimension that Mio was in, she stated the results of the first duel. At that time, the projection device in the lounge showed Luka, who knelt down motionlessly on the floor of the arena, as well as Mio, who had safely exited the dimension of the battle.

“………”

And Lucia’s master, Ramsas, simply watched the projection of Mio, and didn’t say a word.

“How wonderful…that makes it a win. It is important to defeat the vanguard in a battle.”

There was someone who seemed relieved as they replied in the place of Ramsas to Lucia, whose words had almost become a soliloquy. It was the girl who had voluntarily accompanied Ramsas and Lucia to the territory of the Current Demon Lord faction — the maid Noel. Noel was the childhood friend of Lars, with whom she had grown up in the same orphanage…she was still unable to believe that Lars had joined the Current Demon Lord faction, and so she begged Lucia to bring her along. Noel was the maid of another significant elder of the Moderates faction, Klaus; since Klaus was in opposition to Ramsas in the way that they treated Mio, Lucia originally had no need to allow this from her. But, the work that Noel did under Klaus was not something that she had a say in, the feelings she had for Lars were genuine, and in addition to all that, Mio and the others had also asked Lucia to take care of her — after Lucia obtained permission from Ramsas and Klaus, she brought Noel along as an assistant. Since they were both representatives of the Moderates faction in this war, Noel shared the workload for some of the tasks that were required for assisting Ramsas. Presently, Lucia was watching the projection on the wall, while Noel poured a new cup of tea for Ramsas in the corner of her vision. The display switched to show Mio returning to the lounge through the passageway as she gradually moved further away.

“My Lord, how about taking this opportunity to speak with her for a while…?”

Despite being aware that she would most likely not receive an answer, Lucia still asked.

“…There is no need for that.”

Although Ramsas’ reply was brief, the tone conveyed by it was serious. Indeed, perhaps from his point of view, he simply needed to continue staring at her performance. Even the tea that he liked the most was left untouched.
''
…It really is cruel.''

This was the path that ‘he’ had chosen. While Lucia was not present, Ramsas seemed to have spoken about a lot with Jin and Sheera — it was not known what kind of result this was in his eyes. Just as Lucia plunged herself into these deep thoughts, Ramsas watched the projection on the wall as he asked

“…Has that guy’s son returned yet?”

“Not yet…there has been no news so far, I’m afraid…”

Lucia had heard about Basara’s disappearance from Mio and the others rather early. When the format was changed to a seven-on-seven duel, Lucia was almost forced to compete on behalf of the Moderates faction, and under the circumstances of Basara’s disappearance, it was very probable that Ramsas himself would take to the stage.

“Is that so…of all the nice things he’s said, the result is that only his mouth is powerful.”

In response to Ramsas’ disdainful words, Lucia made a rare objection

“…Wouldn’t it be alright to delay your judgement of Basara-san until a bit later?”

Although Ramsas did not have a good impression of Basara, Lucia still said that for Basara.

“At the very least, that boy has protected Mio-sama until now…not only did he help her defeat Zolgear, he also repelled the spirits sent by the Current Demon Lord faction several days ago. It should be harmless to agree with him on this part.”

The reply that she received was—

“……Is that also the case for Maria?”

In response to Ramsas’ low murmur, Lucia said

“Yes…that child is also one of the people that Basara-san has saved, and I believe it is also similar for Yuki-san, Kurumi-san, and Zest. Basara-san’s movements are unknown for the time being, but they are still fighting for us as representatives of the Moderates faction without any complaints; Mio-sama has taken up the responsibility of being our front-runner, and they have successfully secured our first victory. Mio-sama only has her current fighting potential because Basara-san is partially responsible for that; I don’t think it would be too late to make your judgement of him until the battle is over.”

This time, Ramsas did not answer at all. He simply continued to watch the projected image on the wall in silence. After the defeated Luka and Mio both disappeared into the passageways of their respective rest areas — the Moderates faction’s next representative appeared. A full crowd of boos were directed towards that young succubus, but Lucia stared at the projection, and cheered for her in her heart.

''—Make it a good fight, Maria.''

After Maria set foot onto the stage — her opponent appeared very soon afterwards. The next representative of the Current Demon Lord faction was the youth who called himself Takigawa Yahiro in the human realm. Everyone present in the room knew who he was.

“Lars…”

For Noel, who knew him the most, she sadly recited the name of her childhood friend as she watched the projection.