Editing Shinmai Maou no Keiyakusha:Volume 8 Chapter 1 (section)

===Part 8===
After leaving the balcony and separating from Ramsas, Basara walked through the corridors of the castle as he followed Lucia.

“Even at the end, you didn’t ask anything about Sapphire-sama — is that okay with you?”

Whilst Lucia was walking ahead of him, she suddenly stopped and asked that while she continued to face forwards. And so, Basara stopped as well when he walked up beside her.

“…Yeah. Mum — I heard about mother from my old man already.”

He replied to Lucia with a quiet voice. —Having said that, Jin didn’t tell Basara very much. What he told Basara was simply the story of how they had met each other on the battlefield, and that they had clashed as enemies at the beginning. And then, after tying the knot with each other, he had explained how it was difficult for them to live together due to their respective positions. And as for what kind of woman she was — a good woman apparently.

''…That old man.''

It was a silly-sounding story. But, that was enough for Basara. Perhaps Jin had told him everything that there was to say right now. After all, Jin was the man who had chosen his wife despite knowing that she was a demon. Moreover, whilst the other party was the Demon Lord’s younger sister, she had also made the decision to marry Jin even though he was a member of the Hero clan. She was also the younger sister of Wilbert who seemed to think and care so deeply about his daughter Mio. So as Jin said, she was probably a ‘good woman’. And then, when Basara learned that he also carried the blood of a demon within him, it was a surprise, but he wasn’t particularly shocked. It was probably because he had met Mio, Maria and Zest, and had deepened his bonds with them. Rather, when Basara revealed this to them, it was Mio and Kurumi who were visibly more upset about it. Yuki included, all of them began to hold complex feelings towards the subject, but Basara told them because he wanted them to understand. Even if he had the blood of a demon within him, nothing would change. Things like race or birth didn’t matter. To Toujou Basara, those girls were irreplaceable existences. …Well, thanks to Maria’s scheming, he had taught them all of that on top of the bed of course. However, even if it seemed like a selfish action, it was not a problem that one could simply run away from. And — when Basara told Jin about his feelings for Mio and the others, Jin acknowledged all of it. He had also decided to bring Zest with him back to the other side, and gained the acknowledgement to have her live together with him.

''—You can do whatever you like.''

But — Jin wasn’t going to return home together with Basara and the others — he chose to stay behind to search for clues on Sapphire’s whereabouts. Basara couldn’t possibly stop Jin from doing any of that. Even though they weren’t married, Mio and the others were still incredibly important people to Basara. If Jin didn’t discover where she was, he wouldn’t return home, and he’d keep looking until he found her. To Jin, the woman named Sapphire was a partner whom he couldn’t go without — she was an important existence. …Moreover, Basara himself wanted to meet his mother, just so that he could confirm with his own eyes that she was safe. However

“Of course, I’d like to listen to anything that was going to be said…but, it’s still difficult for Ramsas-san to tell me.”

Given the position and attitude that he had to maintain for the sake of his loved one, it was unfortunate, but it was difficult for Basara to have a good relationship with him. Even if time would eventually solve such problems — at least right now, it was impossible. That was why Basara spoke with a wry smile.

“……Indeed, you’re right.”

The tone of Lucia’s voice became gentle. As he looked at the side of Lucia’s face, a gentle smile could be seen on her face, one that seemed so rare and out of place to Basara.

“Instead…would you mind if I talked a bit about Maria?”

She asked him.

“About Maria…?”

When Basara turned to her and repeated the question, Lucia said

“—Maria and I, we actually have different fathers.”

“Eh…?”

Lucia peered at him, and began to speak slowly

“My father passed away shortly after my mother gave birth to me. To begin with, his body wasn’t particularly healthy…but mother still fell in love with my father, and she gave birth to me because they wanted a child together.”

“……Is that so?”

It was an unfortunate story. But Lucia’s father knew that he didn’t have long to live, and even for Sheera as the one who loved him, the existence of Lucia was like salvation. Even though they had said farewell because of his death — they were still joined together through their daughter Lucia.

“My mother has been all alone since then…after His Majesty Wilbert’s wife Ashe-sama gave birth to Mio, she died shortly thereafter. My mother went to His Majesty Wilbert so that he could consult her on how to raise Mio-sama in the human realm, but—”

 Lucia made a pause before continuing.

“—Just once, they had a relationship with each other.”

“Sheera-san did? With King Wilbert?”

Surprise could be discerned from Basara’s voice in hearing this revelation.

“As people who had both lost their loved ones, they were able to build a relationship with each other as equal peers…there must have been a gap in their hearts which could only be filled by each other. However, when mother found out that she was pregnant with Maria, she seemed really happy. She had wanted another child, and this also meant that Mio-sama, who had no siblings had now gained an existence that was akin to a younger sister.”

Lucia continued

“Just as Wilbert-sama decided to pass his power onto Mio-sama…when my mother gave birth to Maria, she gave that child most of her power.”

“The majority of her power…no way, so Sheera-san’s form is…”

In response to Basara, Lucia nodded as she said ‘yes.’.

“But, none of this has ever been said to Maria…she only heard from Zolgear that her mother had become like that because she gave birth to her.”

“What…why don’t you tell Maria the truth!?”

The only reason why Maria gave in to Zolgear’s intimidation and chose to obey his orders was because Sheera was an important family member to her. Maria felt guilty because she blamed herself for taking away Sheera’s power when she gave birth to her.

“Even in the case of Zolgear, didn’t you place protecting Mio as a higher priority than Maria’s feelings? At the very least, you should tell her about the truth behind Sheera-san’s appearance.”

It was something that should be done.

“Don’t you know how much she’s blamed herself and suffered…as her family members, you should be the ones to understand this the most.”

It sounded as though Basara was putting the blame on Lucia. Perhaps it was because Maria was the greatest sacrifice of all in the plan that Wilbert and the others had put into motion. As he thought of Maria’s feelings, he couldn’t help but lash out with indignation. Then

“……Yes, I agree.”

Lucia made a bitter expression as she said that. Her eyes were also tinged with sorrow.

“I thought of the same thing as you, Basara-dono…I’ve been telling my mother to tell her the truth for a long time now. But my mother has always refused.”

“Why would Sheera-san…?”

Basara had seen how fond Sheera was of her two daughters Maria and Lucia. And so, this was difficult for Basara to believe.

“My mother was once a renowned succubus in the Demon Realm…but because of mother’s nature, she also made a lot of enemies in the past.”

Lucia continued

“If they found out that there was a child who had inherited her mother’s great power, she would definitely be targeted…”

“…That’s…”

The danger that Lucia mentioned was understandable. It was just like how Wilbert chose to distance himself from his child after giving her his power, and chose to raise her in the human realm. Although he had given Mio the power to protect herself, there was no point in increasing the risk of being targeted.

“Moreover, she is also a child of His Majesty Wilbert…if this was ever investigated and the truth became public, she could be seen as a political tool of even greater value than Mio. My mother would have wanted to avoid such a situation.”

That’s why — they could not tell her the truth. Even if it meant that Maria would suffer because of that decision.

“Like Mio-sama, in order to reveal everything to Maria, it will be difficult until the situation in the Demon Realm has settled down a bit…”

However

“After having gone through that incident with Zolgear — that girl showed a really bright smile when she was reunited with all of you. I’m truly grateful to you all.”

After saying all of that, Lucia looked at Basara and made a deep bow.

“Basara-dono, please — continue to take care of Maria from now on.”

Rather than asking Basara, it seemed more like she was begging him to do so.

“Having inherited her mother’s power as well as the blood of His Majesty Wilbert, that girl’s true potential is obviously even greater than her mother’s…I think she will awaken to that power when she comes to fully accept her own existence.”

Lucia continued

“If you can make that come true, Basara-dono, then please…please guide that child.”

It was what Sheera and Lucia originally should have done — no, it was what they wanted to do. But Lucia had now stated that she wanted to entrust that to Basara. So — Basara accepted those feelings from Lucia.

“……I understand. But when she awakens her true power, I can’t guarantee anything after that.”

Basara continued

“I’ll tell Maria that she can be more accepting of herself from now on…just like how she’s a family member to both you and Sheera-san, Maria is also an important family member to us as well.”

“Is that okay?”

When Basara asked that, Lucia replied

“Yes, that’s enough…”

The expression on Lucia’s face as she responded with a nod was not that of Ramsas’ aide. It was the face of a gentle older sister — who only cared deeply for her younger sister.