Editing Shinmai Maou no Keiyakusha:Volume 8 Chapter 3 (section)

===Part 4===
Having reached the world heritage site, the first place that they chose to visit was the large shrine that a general who survived the Warring States period<ref>Warring States period: Period from the fifteenth to seventeenth century in Japan marked by social upheaval, political intrigue and near-constant military conflict.</ref> had dedicated to the gods for the sake of the unification of the country. It was a grand structure which had been designed with feng shui and yin yang<ref>Designed with ‘invisible forces and energy’ in mind which play a role in the luck and auspiciousness.</ref> in mind, but there were also many intricate engravings which depicted various animals and spiritual beasts. There were three famous monkeys and a sleeping cat, as well as a portrait of an enormous dragon painted on the ceiling of the shrine hall. There was also a string of hyoushigi<ref>Hyoushigi: A Japanese musical instrument made from wood or bamboo and connected by rope. When struck together or against a surface, they produce a clapping kind of sound.</ref> which hung underneath it and produced a mysterious reverberation when struck. The two of them enjoyed their sightseeing side-by-side in the place which was a popular tourist destination. And then — the next place that they made their way to was the shrine which had been built next to it. As they approached the next shrine via a straight path which was lined with cedar trees, they passed through a torii before they arrived at the shrine which had an old history of over a thousand years. Basara and Hasegawa then cleansed their hands and mouths with water at the site.

“…Sorry, but please accompany me for a while.”

Upon being asked that, Basara nodded in acknowledgement. The main deity of this shrine was known as the ‘god who relinquished the land’. They were also famous for a story where they helped a white rabbit which was in pain.

''…If I recall correctly, it had something to do with having many children.''

There were various different theories, although the most prominent one was that he supposedly had as many as a hundred-and-eighty children between six goddesses who were his wives. The number six was a strange commonality that Basara shared with this male god. Although they weren’t his wives, he did have a deep bond with five people — Mio, Yuki, Maria, Kurumi and Zest. …And, if Hasegawa was also included, that would make it six people who had a deep relationship with him, which happened to be the same number as this male god. Nonetheless, in some other texts and theories, it was stated that he actually had seven wives, and there were also some books which stated that the number was even higher. It was well within reason that this commonality they shared had no particular meaning.

Aside from Basara and Hasegawa, there were many other tourists present, though most of them appeared to be women or couples. The male god was famous for being connected to many goddesses, and also said to command the lands of the world. This was why he was also revered as a god of marriage. Since Hasegawa enjoyed the feeling of being lovers with Basara, perhaps this was the reason why she wanted to visit this place with him. Basara then arrived at the main hall together with Hasegawa, where there were two cedar trees which stood together like a couple. This was where they prayed to the married trees. In terms of desires, there were many things that he wanted to wish for, however—

“—”

Hasegawa’s facial expression as she closed her eyes and held his hand was serious as far as he could tell, so he decided to wish for Hasegawa’s wish to come true. And — once they finished visiting that shrine, they encountered a certain group of people. There was a wedding ceremony. In this world heritage shrine, a solemn Shinto-style wedding ceremony was being held. A male priest and a shrine maiden led the groom who wore a decorated hakama, as well as the bride who wore a shiromuku<ref>Hakama are traditional Japanese trousers, while a shiromuku is a traditional all-white bridal gown.</ref>. Following behind them were two pairs of men and women who seemed to be the parents. Hasegawa seemed entranced as she watched them, and she leaned her body against Basara’s as she uttered

“How enviable…”

There were many appropriate ways in which he could have responded to her. However, he did not want to say anything irresponsible to Hasegawa. Therefore

“…Indeed.”

Basara simply tightened his hold on Hasegawa’s waist just a little as he said that. As the two of them watched the wedding ceremony take place, it seemed as though the groom noticed them as he stared back.

[———]

The groom had completely turned his face toward them and looked like he was bewitched by Hasegawa. Noticing that, the bride sulkily pulled on the groom’s ear.

“—Well, since we’ve finished praying, should we move on?”

It was cruel that the groom was at fault simply for taking a careless look at Hasegawa. When Basara asked if she was ready to leave, Hasegawa seemed satisfied.

“Ah, you’re right…let’s go.”

After Basara nodded in response, they left the shrine. 

Afterwards, they made their way towards the other temples which were classified as important cultural assets, but they were unable to complete their tour as the opening times in winter were shorter. Thus, they gave up on seeing the rest and went back to the taxi which waited for them in the parking lot. They headed back towards the first lake that they visited. It wasn’t because they had forgotten anything. They went to visit a building which sat on the bank of the lake.

“This is an amazing place…”

Basara murmured as he marvelled at the scenery which he could see through the window of the taxi. After passing through the welcoming gate, the area which spread out in front of them had a land size of three-thousand tsubo<ref>A traditional unit of measurement. 3000-tsubo is approximately equivalent to a hectare or 106,750 square feet.</ref>. Built upon this site was an extremely luxurious inn which was run by a famous resort management company. In front of the entrance to the building, women in traditional Japanese clothing who seemed to be employees awaited them. As soon as the taxi which Basara and Hasegawa travelled came to a stop, they opened the rear car doors.

“—Welcome, we are pleased to see you even in this cold weather.”

Their actions and voices didn’t rest for even a moment as they immediately bowed. After paying and thanking the taxi driver for chauffeuring them around for the day, the female staff members guided them into the inn where they sat down at a sofa and table in the lobby. As soon as they sat down at the sofa, another woman brought them tea. It was an expensive-looking green tea set which was accompanied by a variety of colourful sweets. However, they hadn’t been brought there simply to have tea. As evidence of that, as soon as Basara and Hasegawa took a small sip of their tea—

“Welcome — sorry to interrupt your relaxation, but would you please be able to check-in?”

After saying that, the women presented a notebook with a leather cover and a fountain pen to Hasegawa. Hasegawa then elegantly wrote down her personal information. After Hasegawa finished filling out the required information and returned the notebook and pen, the woman respectfully bowed.

“Thank you very much. Now, we shall guide you to your room if you would like — this way please.”

After saying that, she invited them towards the back of the building. The quietness of the Japanese-style hall had a certain tranquillity about it, and only their footsteps could be heard as they slowly advanced over the tatami floor through the corridor. Soon, they reached a particular room. It was more spacious than the entire size of the Toujou residence, and the most luxurious suite in the entire inn. There were two Japanese-style rooms situated next to each other, along with a living room and two western-style bedrooms. There were also two wash areas, basins and toilets in the bathroom, which gave it the potential to accommodate up to six people at once. As they sat down at the Japanese-style chairs and cushions at the table, the lady who had guided them thus far poured them tea. She then placed a cup each in front of Basara and Hasegawa.

“Once again, we welcome your stay with us tonight. I am the proprietress of this inn.”

She said as she lowered her head with a deep bow while kneeling on the floor. As Basara looked at the proprietress, he thought

''…It’s good that I got some experience in the Demon Realm before this.''

Since Basara had received a similar level of hospitality in Wildart along with Mio and the others, he didn’t feel shaken by the luxurious rooms or the generous hospitality of the proprietress. Sitting calmly across the table from him, Hasegawa asked

“And our luggage that we sent ahead of time?”

“Yes. We received them earlier and they have been placed over there.”

The proprietress pointed towards the living room where they could see the luggage that they dropped off at the train station earlier. What the two of them paid for was not simply luggage storage — it also included a delivery service that could send their luggage to their accommodation. Indeed — this wasn’t simply a day trip. Basara and Hasegawa would be staying overnight at this inn.

“Umm…if you don’t mind me asking, is today an anniversary or a special occasion?”

“Yes. Please do allow us to treat it like one.”

After Hasegawa answered the proprietress’ polite question, she took out a small envelope from her handbag with a smile. It was most likely a gift envelope containing a tip. As soon as the proprietress noticed, she said

“No…I cannot receive something like that. The service of our inn is covered for by our accommodation fees, and we have already received more than enough from you, Hasegawa-sama.”

“This is separate from that. If you are confident in your services, then it should not be a problem. And, so long as you provide the best hospitality that you can, then it’s fine.”

When Hasegawa put it gently in that way, the proprietress conceded.

“…Then, I gratefully receive it.”

She said as she received it. After putting the envelope away into her pocket, her expression became serious again.

“Now then…as I mentioned earlier, I will do my utmost to provide our best service.”

The proprietress said as she began to explain the various facilities available at the inn.

“—Please feel free to make use of our facilities.”

After lowering her head towards the floor with her hands placed in front of her once again, she quietly exited the room. Thus

“Phew…”

Basara finally let out a deep sigh as he looked across the room. Not only was it spacious, but it also had a gorgeous view of the lake at sunset which could be seen through the window. That was why he thought

''…I’d like to bring them here someday.''

He suddenly thought about Mio and the others whom he had left behind at home. —When Basara told them about the fact that he would be staying overnight, as expected, Mio and the others seemed reluctant. It wasn’t because he had told them about Hasegawa. In the first place, his relationship with Hasegawa was a secret from them. He had told them that he would be spending a night away in order to take a rest from the fierce battles in the Demon Realm. Mio and the others were purely worried about his safety since he would be alone. From their perspective, they probably wondered about the reason why they couldn’t accompany him. However — Mio and the others didn’t say anything, and simply saw Basara off. The things that Takigawa said when they met in town the other day “And if you mistake the meaning of the word ‘worry’ for ‘shackling down’, he might abandon you” was probably stuck in their hearts. Although they could find each other’s locations using the Master-Servant contract in case of an emergency, Mio, Yuki and Zest hadn’t covertly done anything like following him. Although he did not have a Master-Servant contract with Maria and Kurumi — Basara was currently capable of discerning their locations as well.

''…It’s all thanks to Sheera-san.''

Basara dropped his gaze to the mobile phone which he had taken out of his pocket. Just like how Mio and the others were worried about Basara — Basara also cared for them and worried about them. Sheera understood his feelings, and among the souvenirs that she gave Basara back when they parted, one of them was a special chip that could track the magical energy of Maria and the dark elemental that Kurumi had received. Once inserted into a mobile phone, it became possible to track the two of them like points on a GPS. Currently, those five girls were definitely in Tokyo. Basara was able to confirm that with the GPS on his phone, and they were also able to grasp his location via the Master-Servant contract. In fact, he had also sent them a few emails whilst he was with Hasegawa. Since Mio and the others knew what his location was, and they also had correspondence from him, they probably weren’t worried. That was what Basara thought.

“—Even when you’re with me, you’re thinking about other women?”

Hasegawa playfully said as she leaned over the table.

“You spent a number of nights overseas with Naruse and the others over the winter vacation. During that time, I was thinking about you, all alone. Of course, I don’t mind if you contact Naruse and the others to give them some assurance while you’re staying with me like this…but you should otherwise think only about me.”

In response to her graceful and sensual smile, Basara simply said ‘yes’ as he nodded. And just as he was told — he thought only about Hasegawa during the time that he was with her.