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

===Part 7===
Upon the stage, Nonaka Kurumi and the high-class Demon whom she would be duelling against confronted each other.

“My name is Admirath…a pleasure to meet you.”

The handsome young man smiled as he extended his hand, gesturing towards Kurumi for a handshake.

“…Trying to get along with an enemy before fighting, is there something wrong with you?”

But Kurumi felt that it was a boring joke, and so she turned around and walked away to distance herself from him.

“—Ah, you dropped something.”

“What are you saying…—!?”

Kurumi turned around to the voice that was behind her, but was instantly startled. Because as soon as she turned around, Admirath was right in front of her, and he had grabbed her hand as if it were his prey.

“Jin Toujou’s son still hasn’t returned yet after so long, it must be worrying and troubling for you.”

“……?”

Taking advantage of their forceful handshake, Admirath stuffed a certain hard object into Kurumi’s hand.

“!—”

When Kurumi looked down to see what the object was, she could not help but gasp. The object that Admirath had given her was a button from the uniform of Hijirigasaka Academy that belonged to Basara.

“You should understand what we want, right? Please make it seem as natural as you can, so as not to let anyone find out that you’re faking it…his fate depends entirely on your performance.”

After Admirath said that to the stunned Kurumi, he calmly turned around and returned to his starting position.

“……!”

On the other hand, Kurumi was shaken and her face had gone pale.

''…What can I do…!''

It was likely that a threat at such a time was nothing more than a lie, but it was also a fact that Basara had yet to return. For Kurumi, this meant that she could not deny the possibility that he had fallen into the hands of the Council. If what Admirath said was the truth—

''…If I don’t handle this well, then Basara will…!''

Basara had told them to disregard him if he was captured. The decisive battle was most important, and Kurumi and the others had agreed. Therefore, the correct choice for her right now was to overcome the opponent in front of her with everything that she could muster. Kurumi clearly understood this…so much so that it pained her heart. But—

“——!”

Kurumi instantly materialised her gauntlet for communicating with the spirits, and through the dark element, she asked the spirits of the Demon Realm to verify whether or not Basara was safe. Though in the end, the spirits’ response was that they could not complete her request.

Upon seeing that Basara had not returned even after dawn, Kurumi had tried several times, while Mio and the others who had a master-servant contract with him were not able to sense him either. Regardless of whether Basara refused to disclose his location or had been captured, the hope that the spirits would bring good news was nothing more than wishful thinking.

''…But, please, I’m begging you…!''

Nonaka Kurumi still asked the spirits to search for Basara until the end of battle. For the sake of Basara, as well as Mio, whose future life would be greatly affected by this battle, this was the most that Kurumi could do. —In any case, she could not afford to lose this battle. But even if they won the decisive battle but lost Basara, it would be similarly meaningless. It was because the youth called Toujou Basara was that much of an irreplaceable existence in their hearts. Yet no matter how many times Kurumi asked, the spirits were unable to find Basara.

The relentless sound of a gong to declare the start of the battle rang out, and the space that Kurumi and Admirath were to fight in gradually appeared.