Shinmai

Maou no Keiyakusha

SWEET!

by Namekojirushi

Novel Updates

Translation Group: Shinmai Maou Translation Project

Epub: Trollo WN/LN EPUB

Prologue
It was another day in early February; the moment he took a step away from
his warm home, he found that his breath had manifested in puffs of white smoke.

“Looks like it’s going to be cold day again today, huh…” Basara said, his
hands tucked within the pockets of his coat. His posture was slightly slumped
that day, and the cold did not spare his own masculine features.

“It really is cold…I wish the weather would just be warm already, considering
spring is also fast approaching.” Naruse Mio was beside him, letting out breaths
that also came out in white puffs upon her gloved hands. The girl’s hair was as
red as blazing flames; she shivered from the cold as she took in yet another icy
breath.

“Yeah.” Yuki, who was beside Mio, said in affirmation. She held her usual
composed, tranquil gaze on her face, and around her neck was a scarf that
complemented her fair features and azure hair well.

Basara, Mio and Yuki were wearing thick coats over their Hijirigasaka
Academy uniforms given the cold season; the three held a gloomy look as they
gazed at the road they would take toward school, anticipating the cold journey
they were to take.

“…Come on, Basara-san, can’t you just admit it’s a good idea?”

The abrupt, bitterly given comment came from a certain silver-haired young
girl who suddenly emerged from the door and rushed toward the entrance, her
lips curved in a dissatisfied frown

—Naruse Maria.

“You got a chance to go to the hot springs, I want to go to the hot springs
too!” Maria’s hand curled itself into a fist as she said so, “And then we’d have
peeking play, the standard hot spring play, or even the stuff of legend the
yakyuken*! I wanna help myself to the hot springs just like any other succubus
would! Even though I’m asking just for such a little wish of mine to come true…
eek, it’s cold!” The cold passing breeze sent shivers across Maria as she shuffled
her body inward in response.

“That wouldn’t be the point of going to the hot springs in that case, now,
wouldn’t it?” Mio mumbled, appearing irritated over Maria’s usual attitude as
always.

Basara could only wordlessly scratch his cheek; he had indeed gone for a trip
to the hot springs last month as Maria had mentioned earlier, having done so
with the school nurse, Hasegawa Chisato. They had initially planned the trip to
further deepen their bonds for the days that were to come…or so they thought,
when in reality a certain succubus really only wanted to use the hot spring
facilities for her own peculiar affairs.

“I think we can just leave Maria behind, as usual.”

“Mio-sama! Aren’t you just being too mean to me?!”

“More importantly, if we don’t get a move on now, we’ll be late for school.”

“Now that you mention it, we really should

get going.” Mio raised her hand gestured for Basara that it was time for them
to leave.

“Please have a safe journey.” It wasn’t Maria who said those words, but Zest;
dressed in her everyday maid outfit, she bowed her head respectfully as she
came toward the front gate to see them off.

“Have a good day!” And beside Zest was the lively Nonaka Kurumi, her
ponytail bouncing behind her as she waved the trio farewell.

“Yeah. Well then, we’ll get going now.” The trio waved back in response as
they headed out from the Toujou household.

A typical morning scenery flourished before them as they headed toward the
bus stop; the crowd seemed to be moving in the opposite direction as students on
bicycles passed by them, their noises blending in with the yawns of working
adults donned in their suits.
 “Hold on a minute, Yuki!” Mio suddenly exclaimed, raising her voice. She
definitely wasn’t pleased with the fact that Yuki’s arm was intertwining with
Basara’s.

“We’re about to go to school. Do you intend to walk in with him like that?”

“You’re doing it too, Mio.”

“————!?”

Upon realizing that she was tugging on Basara’s arm, she quickly withdrew
her grip from him. Amidst her embarrassment, her gaze darted to her own arm
momentarily before returning to Basara’s.

“I’ll take his left arm, and you’ll have his right, Mio. I suppose this is alright
for you?”

“Yeah, I’m fine with that.” Mio said, circling her arm around Basara’s. “

—Wait, no!” She then abruptly stopped in place.

Basara reflexively creased his eyebrows as he looked at Mio and Yuki; he

wasn’t concerned about Mio’s arm not being around his nor Yuki actually doing
so, instead pondering over the various obstacles he would face just through
going to school with Mio and the others like this; he wondered how much
happiness and agony they would have to go through and whether it was going to
be worth it.

After returning from the Demon Realm, the group had since carried on with
their daily lives peacefully; the fight between the Moderate Faction and the
Current Demon Lord Faction

—the fight over Mio—

had come to an end. Nevertheless, Basara was still well aware of the danger
he and his group were still in even after that incident. He knew that sitting by
and worrying about their situation would accomplish nothing, and he had
acquired a new power during this trip with Hasegawa

—
 something that he could use as a trump card when the situation demanded it.

Everything’s not over yet.

And at the same time, Basara knew that he couldn’t forget and let go of the
daily life he currently shared with the others

as well as the battles he would need to face to continue on with it. Harsh,
unyielding battles where he would need to put his life on the line, battles that he
needed to win no matter the cost

battles in the near future where he would need to fight to protect their ability
to live like this.

“Is something wrong, Basara?” Mio’s voice returned Basara to his senses.
Before he’d even realized it, Mio had already linked her arm around Basara’s;
even through the embarrassment of her upturned eyes, it was evident that
Basara’s state of dwelling over his thoughts had worried her. Yuki, who was
clinging on Basara’s other arm opposite her, was also staring at him.

“No—

it’s nothing.” Basara shook his head in response. As Mio and Yuki returned
their gentle gazes to him, the three set out for school.

They were to fight for the sake of their daily lives in the future; that said, they
would live and enjoy their daily lives to the fullest until that day came.

“Let’s go, then, shall we?” said Basara, such thoughts popping into his head
yet again as he did so.

Such begins the story of another ordinary day in the Toujou household.

Note

*Yakyuken: A Japanese rock-paper-scissors esque-game whereby the loser has

to strip a part of their clothing.
The Valentine’s of New Sister Devil
It was an evening in February; not even ten days had passed for the month.

“I’m heading out for a while; I’ve arranged to meet someone.” Basara said,
preparing to head out shortly after finishing dinner.

“I promise you, this is a really sexy series! Given how experienced you are
with your carnal desires nowadays, Basara-san, this book’s absolutely perfect for
letting out your youthful pleasures! Please don’t miss this! ” It was another
instance of Maria suddenly speaking and tailing Basara just as he was about to
leave, a common spectacle in the Toujou household.

Things were different that evening, however.

Usually, Mio and Kurumi would be there to stop her and her antics and
subsequently punish her with their respective electrical and spiritual attacks;
however, Maria was allowed to have her own way that day, with the absence of
anyone to stop her a seemingly deliberate one.

Only Mio, Yuki, Kurumi and Zest remained in the living room of the Toujou
household; Mio ensured that the door was locked and sought out signs of Maria
before she returned to the living room. The three remaining girls were seated
around the table. A heavy silence enveloped them, interrupted only by the
conspicuous sound of a vehicle exhaust in the distance.

“Well…” Mio wore a tense look at her face, while Yuki’s gaze circled around
the vicinity; the girls had yet to put themselves at ease as someone finally spoke.

“—Let’s begin the meeting for the girls’ of the Toujou household. We’re going
to discuss Valentine’s Day today.” Mio’s voice was grave as she pointed at the
calendar on her mobile phone, signifying that the day in question—February 14
—was no more than a week away.

“We should hurry, though. It’s not every day we get to do this without Maria
around the house.”
 “If Maria ever hears about this, she’s definitely going to scheme something.”
No one seemed to have any inclination to deny what Kurumi just said.

“At any rate, we have our chance now. That said, what do you guys plan to do
for Valentine’s Day? Do we give our own individual chocolates, or should we
give something that we’d make together? I really don’t want us to mess things
up.”

“Um, excuse me…” Zest suddenly said, raising her hand.

“Ah, yes, Zest. Please, go on.” Mio reflexively responded Zest as if she were a
teacher allowing a student to ask a question. After carefully thinking about what
she wanted to say, Zest finally spoke.

“…May I know what kind of event Valentine’s Day actually is?”

“Ah…That’s right. You’re not familiar with it, Zest. It’s not an event we
celebrate in the Demon Realm, after all…”

“I’ve come to understand the gist of it somewhat through the news channel
this morning. It’s just what I know is—” Zest’s head tilted slightly in thought,
“It’s a day where you give chocolates to someone, be it for someone you love, a
friend, or even just buying it for yourself…and the gift in question—chocolates
in this case—can be given through either chocolate on its own or things like
chocolate cake and other various kinds. I’m still having trouble making out what
Valentine’s Day is for, though. My sincerest apologies.”

“Ah. I understand now,” Mio nodded.

“It’s quite complicated nowadays.”

“Looks like we have a lot to go through, huh?”

Yuki and Kurumi also spoke in understanding of Zest’s ignorance over the
event.

“Well, let me give you an alternative explanation. It’s true that Valentine’s
Day first originated from the Roman Empire, where Saint Valentine performed
weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry and ministering to Christians
who were persecuted under the Roman Empire and whatnot. There are other
tales and explanations regarding the day’s origins, though.”

“The custom of giving chocolate is limited to Japan. Other countries usually

settle for a gift of any kind.”

“I see.” Zest was paying close attention to the girls’ explanation.

“The custom of giving friends’ chocolates is something that’s only picked up

recently on the occasion of Valentine’s Day, so…for the time being, Valentine’s
is primarily celebrated as a day where you give chocolates to someone you love.
That said, I thought it was a good idea for us to think about it. The truth is, I had
such plans of giving chocolate myself, after all.” Mio’s eyes turned downward
in embarrassment as she said so.

“I understand it better now. Thank you very much.” Bowing, she then
appeared as if she were lost in thought for a moment.

“If that’s the case, then I, too, should participate in such a custom as well. I do
indeed wish that—” Zest took in a deep breath as one could detect faint
movement from her hands, crossed upon the skirt of her maid uniform, her
downcast eyes putting on a certain warmth. “That I’ll be able to give Basara-
sama a gift of my own creation as well.” Zest then raised her head, her cheeks
visibly flushed.

“Quite proud of yourself, aren’t you?”

“Mhm, we feel the same way too. I haven’t bought the ingredients I need to
make the chocolate with, though.”

“I intend to make something for Basara.”

“As do I.”

Kurumi’s hands piled themselves atop Zest’s, the latter’s neatly seated upon
her knees.

“You guys…”

The three other girls nodded reassuringly at Zest.

 “Well, that settles it then; we’ll each make our own individual Valentine’s
chocolates and give it to Basara on the fourteenth of this month.”

The other girls of the Toujou household agreed with Mio’s words.

“Hoho…I see, I see…”

Maria had overheard the entire private conversation under the cold winter sky;
she had accessed their conversation through her mobile phone she held in her
hand, directly connected to the conversation that was unfolding in the living
room.

“Hee hee hee…you’re far too naïve, Mio-sama. “You think you can keep
secrets from this erotic loli succubus? You can try, but I just so happened to
install a listening device right inside the living room that you were discussing
your plans in. And with a third device, too!”

The first and second devices had fallen under Mio’s lightning attacks.

“In any case, taking a hit to the head after following Basara and being
immediately discovered was all well worth it in the end! All according to this
little succubus’ master plan!” Maria laughed, “You can’t fool a succubus like me
with such a devious scheme!”

She curled her hand into a fist and thrust it toward the night sky.

A sneeze from her followed after that; the realization that Feburary nights
were truly cold then came to her.

Part 2

Mio involuntarily let out a distressed noise; the way her eyebrows were
creased meant that there was no denying her troubled expression.

She was in a special corner set up for Valentine’s Day in the department store.

Amidst an assortment of Valentines’ goods and products, Mio had been drawn
to the homemade chocolate corner. All the items she needed to make an original
homemade chocolate were available before her; apart from the quintessential
ingredient, the corner also provided items such decorations and sets, all of which
possessed a wide selection for her to choose from.

Naturally, there were also finished products on display, and as one would
expect, Mio struggled to make a decision amidst the vast variety of choices she
was presented with.

“Even if I’d like to make some homemade chocolate, I’m nowhere near as
good at cooking as Yuki is…” Mio sighed. She thought of the various instances
of Yuki making food for them such as stew, fried oysters and the like in the past,
and she knew that Yuki’s food tasted absolutely delicious.

I really want to make Basara some homemade chocolate and give it to him
personally…Mio then found herself hesitating at the thought.

“I guess I should just stick to the branded ones.” “I guess the chocolates on
display do look good.”

Mio’s voice overlapped with another’s that she was all too used to hearing,
and she turned toward the source of the voice to find Kurumi right next to her.
Mio found herself surprised, while Kurumi found herself staring in wonder at
Mio’s presence. A moment passed before the two realized that they had arrived
with the same idea, and exchanged wry smiles with one another.

“I see you’ve come here to buy supplies too, Kurumi-chan.”

“Mhm. …I know what you’re feeling all too well.” Kurumi said, creasing her
eyebrows. “My sister’s really good at cooking, after all. I’d thought about
making my own meals ever since she left the Village…but I guess you could say
I’ve always held an interest in cooking since the very beginning.”

“Even during your time in the Village?”

“Well, I used to make dinner from time to time. Besides–”

Kurumi narrowed her eyes.

“I’ve always wanted to make something for Basara to eat…even now I feel
that way.”

Kurumi held a kindly expression, and Mio could feel the warmth in it, as if
Kurumi had took the words right out of her own mouth.

“Well, even if Yuki is good at cooking, it’s not like this whole chocolate
giving business is supposed to be a competition, is it? Well, even if I’d like to
say that’s the case…”

Mio and Kurumi’s gazes returned to the mountainous selection of chocolates

set out before them.

“It’s just so hard to choose, isn’t it?” The two girls sighed simultaneously.

“Naruse-san?”

Mio turned toward the voice that suddenly called out to her. The sight that
came into place caused her to blink; before her stood a girl her age with her
raven hair tied into a braid, one whom often struck Mio as having an intellectual,
wise look in her eyes.

“Kajiura-senpai?” Mio exclaimed, surprised.

She was Kajiura Ritsuka, the student council vice president of Hijirigasaka
Academy for the term. To Mio, she was an upperclassman who had taken good
care of her during the school sports festival. In a contrast to her usual uniform,
Ritsuka was now dressed casually in shirt and pants without much accessories to
complement them, and Mio found the practical form of dress to fit her quite
well.

“Hello.”

“Yeah. Hi. Um…” Ritsuka paused as she turned toward Kurumi, who was
standing beside Mio.

“Ah, this is Nonaka Kurumi. She’s Yuki’s younger sister.”

Kurumi hastily lowered her head. “Oh, thank you for always taking care of
my sister…I guess?”

“Likewise.”

After exchanging their introductory greetings, Mio, Kurumi and Ritsuka

stopped talking for a few moments.

Mio and Kurumi had been fully focused on surveying the chocolates on
display up until just a short moment ago.

After examining the variety set out before them intently, they discovered
Ritsuka beside the assortment of chocolates as well. Their meeting had not been
sheer coincidence; Mio had not met her while the latter was in the middle of
shopping.

Mio and Ritsuka could only guess why the other was present there: somehow,
they knew the other had intentions of giving chocolate to someone.

“So you want to give someone chocolate as well, Kajiura-senpai.”

“…Yes.”

Ritsuka averted her gaze. The faint red on her cheeks laid bare the reality that
she was now a young woman in love.

Mio appeared surprised at the notion, however; Ritsuka did not strike her as
someone who was interested in love through their previous conversations.

Nevertheless, she was still of the appropriate age, and it wasn’t surprising for
her to have changed her mind; Mio deduced that Ritsuka had found someone
whom she wanted to convey her feelings to.

Much like herself.

“As I thought, it’s for Toujou-kun, isn’t it?”

Ritsuka’s abrupt question almost caused Mio to jump. She could not resist the
flush of warmth and color that came to her face.

“Eh….Um, well…Y-Yes.” Amidst her greatly flustered state, Mio found

herself admitting the fact without restraint; the school was already well aware
that Mio and the others were living together with Basara.

Ritsuka stood wordlessly as if she were thinking about something, eyeing her
surroundings; her gaze turned first to the homemade chocolate corner set up in
the store before it then turned to Mio and Kurumi, and finally on her own hands.

“Kajiura-senpai?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. That’s right…”

After hesitating for a few moments, Ritsuka spoke again.

“Listen, Naruse-san. If you’d like…why don’t we make our chocolates

together?”

“Huh? You mean with you?”

“Yeah. This would be my first time making chocolate, so I actually don’t

know how it would turn out if I were to work at it alone.” Ritsuka let out a
strained smile.

“We’d be more than grateful for your offer. Still, where would we be making
our chocolates, then?”

“We could use the school kitchen. It’s technically available for students as a
venue for community contribution activities. That said, we should be able to use
it as long as we make a proper reservation. Nonaka’s little sister can join us,
too.”

Kurumi pointed at herself as she was mentioned, blinking in disbelief.

“I see. That’s true…”

Mio realized that she should not overlook the fact that she needed an available
space for her to make her chocolates; she would clash with Yuki if she decided
to use the household kitchen, and she had to consider Basara being present when
it came to when she would make them.

Kurumi seemed to share the same considerations as the two nodded in

agreement.

“We’ll be counting on you, then.” The two then turned to Ritsuka and lowered
their heads, saying those words simultaneously.
 Part 3

“Chocolate truffles and namachoco (Japanese ganache) can be made easily

from commercial chocolate. The coating and arrangements should be easy, too.”

Ritsuka had read the statement monotonously from the book she was holding
in her hand, one with title of “Valentines for First-Timers: An Extra-Elementary
Edition—Beginners’ Ease Guaranteed!” that aimed to reassure its readers on the
front page.

A few days had passed since they’d met at the department store; after
officially gaining permission, Ritsuka, Mio and Kurumi managed to access
Hijirigasaka Academy’s kitchen for themselves. They had arrived to use the
kitchen on a holiday; there was thus no sign of any students present in the
academy.

Donned in aprons, Mio and Kurumi stared earnestly at Ritsuka, the manual
still their upperclassman’s hand. With slightly nervous expressions on their
faces, they continued talking with Ritsuka, who was also dressed in an apron like
they were.

“So the first step is to mix chocolate and fresh cream together to make a
ganache. I see…”

The materials and ingredients they needed were already set upon the kitchen
counter: apart from the ingredients needed to make their homemade chocolates
they’d bought from the department store the other day, the required cookware
such as bowls, bats and kitchen knives had also been prepared.

Ritsuka held a kitchen knife in her hand as she faced the chopping board
before her; Mio and Kurumi also reached for their own kitchen knives.

The three exchanged glances with one another and nodded.

“Well, let’s get started. The first step is to chop up the chocolate.”

Ten minutes had since passed.

The three exchanges glances with one another once more, eyeing the
mountainous pile of chopped chocolate on their respective chopping boards.
 “I think it’s a little unbalanced …” Mio said, looking rather concerned.

“Maybe it’s better to say that the size between pieces is really off…” Kurumi
found it hard to look at what they’d made.

The three ended up chopping their respective chocolates into pieces of

different sizes; it was such that there had been even thumb-sized pieces
remaining, to which Kurumi chopped up with feigned ignorance and added into
the pile of chopped chocolate.

Ritsuka cleared her throat as she stared at the pile of chocolate pieces before
her.

“I think it’ll be fine when we melt the chocolate. That happens to be our next
step anyway.”

“That’s right!” “That’s decided, then!”

The three found themselves nodding in agreement once more.

“Next, we need to heat up the fresh cream until just before it comes to a boil.”
Ritsuka was now paying attention to her pot filled with cream.

“Ahh!! It’s already bubbling!? What do we do now?!” Kurumi, who was

standing next to her, cried out.

“Kurumi-chan, the fire on the stove’s too big. Turn it down a bit.”

“M-Mhm…Um…I’ll use magic!”

“Hold on! You can’t! You absolutely can’t!”

The very moment Kurumi’s Hero Clan aura began to flood her surrounding,
Mio quickly responded by manually turning off the gas.

“S-Sorry!”

Mio and Kurumi patted their chests in relief.

“Thanks. I guess I got nervous…”

 “Naruse-san! Your pot is burning!”

“Kyaah! Why is this so hard?!”

This time, Kurumi was the one who hurriedly put the fire out.

“Just like that, we now melt the chopped chocolate from earlier into the heated
cream.”

As the chopped chocolate was mixed into the cream, it slowly began to melt;
the mixture was then stirred with a whisk, the black and white of the different
components of the mixture slowly blending together to fully coat the cream in a
chocolate hue.

“Mmm,” Mio grimaced, and Kurumi and Ritsuka also looked dissatisfied.

“It seems that we have some lumps of chocolate left in the mixture…”

“It’s because we left such big chunks when we were chopping it earlier,
huh…”

Even so, they couldn’t give up over such a small detail.

“Why don’t we make chocolate accents instead?”

“I don’t see why not. I like the idea.”

“You read my mind. I was thinking about making chocolate accents as well.”

“For the truffles, finally shape the finished ganache into balls. As for the
namachoco (Japanese ganache) I’m making, I need to place the chocolate into a
mould…”

“Ah…that was close. You’re right…”

Part 4

“I can’t believe we managed to finish it somehow…”

“It was really a pain, though.”

 Ritsuka let out a sigh, while Mio and Kurumi hung their heads apologetically.
Their faces, their hands and the clean aprons that they wore before they started
working were now stained all over with chocolate.

“Nevertheless…we did our best.”

Atop the cooking counter before the three were carefully and painstakingly
wrapped boxes, with their completed chocolates already stored inside them.

The girls eyed the products of their hard labour with satisfied expressions on
their faces.

It was that moment that a knock resounded on the school kitchen door. A
familiar woman then entered, replying “Sorry to interrupt.”

She had lustrous, long black hair, and wore an impressive, white doctor’s coat;
the glasses she wore only added to the intellectual aura she exuded.

It was the school nurse, Hasegawa Chisato.

“Hasegawa-sensei. Thank you for giving us permission to use the kitchen for
the day.” Mio and Kurumi lowered their heads.

“Fufu. It’s nothing at all. It’s part of my duties as a teacher, after all.”

“I assume you girls did a good job?”

“We did…is what I’d like to say, but I’m not really sure.”

“It was mostly thanks to Kajiura-senpai that we managed to make our

chocolates.”

“Well, I…didn’t really do anything. I was a beginner when it came to this in

the first place, after all.”

“Still, you were the most composed among the three of us.”

“I ended up freaking out a lot during the whole process, though.”

“Well…I can’t say I can deny what you’ve just said.”

 Mio and Kurumi laughed awkwardly at the statement, their smiles wry.

Hasegawa watched the three girls with a kindly gaze.

“I’m glad your efforts were a success. Regardless—”

Hasegawa took a step forward, turning towards the boxes the girls had made;
she knew that they had taken great effort when wrapping them.

“I’m sure your recipient will be very happy.”

The trio stared in wonder for a few moments before their cheeks reddened at
their realization; each of them wore an expression that was equal parts happy
and embarrassed.

Eyeing the three girls one more time, Hasegawa turned away, the hem of her
white doctor’s coat lightly fluttering as she walked toward the door.

“Well, please remember to clean up the place properly before you leave. Good
work today.”

Hasegawa then left the kitchen; after the girls saw her off, they turned toward
their boxes which contained their homemade chocolates one more time.

“I’m sure Yuki’s chocolates are going to look and taste a lot better, though.”
Mio muttered quietly.

“Still–” There was a pause before she continued. “I’m glad we managed to
make them.”

They were words from the heart.

Kurumi and Ritsuka were also tenderly holding their own boxes in their
hands.

Part 5

“I should just make some. Even so…”

Yuki was standing still in the kitchen of the Toujou household.

 She then unfurled an apron, an extreme seriousness on her face. The next
breath she let out was heavy as she oversaw the chocolate and the cookware that
was already prepared on the kitchen counter.

“Yuki-san, is everything alright?”

In response to the voice that just called out to her from behind, Yuki turned
around to address the presence that she hadn’t detected for a while.

Zest, dressed in her maid outfit, was eyeing Yuki was concern. She did not
press on with more questions, instead waiting for Yuki to answer.

“I can make chocolates. I can make arrangements as well. It’s just…”

Yuki shook her head.

“I just don’t know what to make…what to give him to eat so that he’ll be
happy.”

“I’m sure our gentle Basara-sama will happily accept anything from you.
Nevertheless, I presume that this isn’t your concern, is it?”

“I can get a bit half-hearted when it comes to my cooking. I guess that’s why
I’m in a bind right now…I’m being a bit conscious about myself.”

Yuki let out another burdened sigh.

“What of chocolates…what of love? What of the heart? What of the world?

And what of the universe?”

“Those are indeed a great concerns you have there. I can’t say my own
worries can compare…” Zest said, her eyes downcast.

“Are you worried too? About Valentine’s, I mean.”

“Yes. Though I’m sorry to say my concerns can’t really match up to your own,
Yuki-san.” Her expression remained listless.

“You’re better at me at cooking, Zest. Even when it comes to sweets.”

“Yes. Nevertheless, I do not know how to make Valentine’s chocolates at all.”

Zest’s head tilted to one side.

Even as a Demon, Zest was familiar with making almost all kinds of cuisines;
even then, one would not assume that she would be worried over making
homemade chocolates after the extensive research she’d done via reading books
and browsing the internet.

“Are you intending to use cocoa?”

“I was indeed considering it, but nothing more than that.” Zest shook her
head. “I can make the Valentine’s chocolates themselves, no doubt, but…I still
don’t understand the essence of making some for the particular occasion.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean to make chocolates meant to convey your feelings toward someone

seemingly so dear to you. I guess it’s better to say that I’m thinking about what
kind of chocolate would be appropriate to deliver as much as of my own heart to
that special someone along with the chocolates themselves.” Zest let out a sigh
that was not any less heavy than Yuki’s.

“I suppose the very question that stains me now is rather impure.”

“I see. So you can think of it that way…I’d expect nothing less from you,
Zest.” Yuki’s expression implied that Zest had just given her a profound
impression. “Still, I suppose you’re right that you should rid yourself of such an
impure…huh!?”

“Yuki-san?”

“Thank you very much, Zest.”

Yuki now stared attentively at Zest; her previously despondent expression

disappeared immediately, and her gaze had also calmed.

Her eyes were now that of one who was now confident that she could climb
over the mountain that stood in her way.

“I understand it now. The way to convey your feelings toward someone…”

 Yuki and Zest were visiting a particular place for a while.

Yuki stood still, her apron long removed and forgotten; Zest was beside her in
her maid outfit.

The two were at a convenience store, where a variety of items such as

stationery, DIY supplies, and car parts were available—they were at a hardware
store in their neighbourhood.

“We discussed that we would be making our own chocolates. However,

cooperating to make them isn’t prohibited in itself.”

“Of course.”

“I guess—it would be quite arrogant to think that one could do anything by

themselves.”

Yuki and Zest extended their palms.

“Let us combine our efforts.”

“I guess I’ll be in your debt, then.”

Yuki and Zest shared a tight handshake.

Standing side by side, the Hero and the Demon set out toward the hardware
store together, the bag from the bookstore they dropped by earlier swaying in
Zest’s hand.

Part 6

“Welcome home, Basara!”

“Yeah. I’m…back?”

It was February 14th ; the moment Basara returned home, Mio was the first to
greet him, and she took him by the hand as she led him through the house, taking
him to the living room after diligently washing her hands and rinsing her mouth.

Yuki, Kurumi and Zest were already waiting for him in the living room;
everyone except Maria was present. And upon the table were three beautifully
wrapped boxes.

“It’s Valentine’s Day today.” Mio said shyly, her gaze trailing away slightly.

“I see you’ve all already prepared specially for the day.”

Two of the three boxes were decorated rather amateurishly with ribbon and
wrapping; one look was all it took for Basara to tell that they were homemade.

“Thank you.” His eyes narrowed as he petted Mio on the hand, evidently
moved by their thoughts. A smile began to break out on Mio’s face.

Suddenly, a knocking sound came from the second floor, presumably from
something that fell to the floor.

Basara turned toward the ceiling momentarily, before he surveyed the faces
within the room once more.

“Where’s Maria?”

“She’s definitely up to something, so we decided we’d lock her up until you

opened our chocolates.” Mio’s face straightened itself again.

“Ah,” Basara said, acknowledging the possibility after pondering on it for a

few moments, and thus he did not press the matter further.

“A-Anyway, go on, open them and have a look inside!” Mio urged, and
Basara took a seat on the nearby sofa.

He first reached for the two wrapped boxes, carefully untying the ribbons
surrounding them.

“T-Those are the ones that Kurumi-chan and I made.” Mio said, averting her
gaze in embarrassment once again, as Kurumi stood close by Basara, watching
closely.

As he opened the lid, spherical chocolate truffles as large as the common

candy were revealed to be generously stored within the boxes. The truffles were
also coated in a vivid display of different colours and flavours, the variety
including brown chocolates, white chocolates, powdered matcha chocolates as
well as strawberry pink chocolates.

“They look beautiful.”

“Y-You think so? Well, I’m glad…” Mio could hardly contain her excitement.

“We made a lot of these, but we aren’t really sure if they taste good or not. We
did taste them ourselves, of course.” Kurumi said, looking rather flustered.

“May I have a taste?”

Mio and Kurumi nodded nervously as they waited for Basara to try one of
their chocolates; in time, Basara selected a chocolate of the orthodox color
among the various others in the box and began to taste it.

There was an audible biting noise as he took a bite, and the first sensation that
stirred within was the fragrant taste of cocoa powder. As the faint bitterness of
the cocoa began to settle in, the surface of the bite of chocolate had already
began melting in his mouth, the combination of cocoa and chocolate producing a
bittersweet flavour.

He assessed the crunchy exterior, and following that the thick texture of the
chocolate ganache filling within burst out unknowingly. The sweet and rich taste
spread across his tongue, and he could feel lumps of chocolate mixed within the
ganache; chocolates accents had been added into the filling of the truffle.

Savouring the combination of scents and flavours all at once, he eventually

opened his eyes, feeling satisfied with what he’d tried.

“This tastes pretty good.”

“Thank goodness.”

“Well, can I open that other box, as well?”

Yuki and Zest nodded.

“Zest and I made this.”

“We hope that it is to your tastes.”

 The two watched on motionlessly as Basara opened their remaining box,
which was wrapped more intricately and neatly that Mio’s and Kurumi’s; it was
no surprise given that Zest was well-versed at things like this given her work as
a maid.

“Wha—!?”

Basara involuntarily swallowed a breath as he opened the box; neither Mio

nor Kurumi could also hide their surprise as they peered into its contents.

What was inside the box was, of course, chocolates; unlike the colourful
chocolate truffles Mio and Kurumi had made, however, these took a single-
colored hue that was a lighter shade of the chocolate’s original dark color.

What surprised them, however, was their shape.

Basara and the other members of the household were within the box; perhaps
it was more apt to say that they were chocolates with their exact likeness.

Although they were of a size where one could easily hold one in the palm of
their hand, the amount of precision put into making the chocolates was unreal.

One of the chocolates was a mirroring replica of Basara’s appearance, shaped

to the last and most delicate detail from his exterior, to his contours of his hair,
and even the scars on his face.

The chocolates were so elaborate even their attires were included; Basara and
the girls who went to school were dressed in their uniforms, Maria in a lovely set
of western attire, and Zest in her maid outfit.

They were made with such finesse that it would not be a stretch to call them
chocolate figures.

“Such extraordinary detail…no, what are these, feelings made from

chocolate? And how in the world did you manage to make these?” Basara asked,
utterly bewildered.

“I was the one who made these chocolates…I simply blended the chocolate in
a bain marie, so I didn’t add much into them.”
 “You made the right choice.”

A sweet aroma wafted in the air as the box was opened, one that suggested
that the chocolate used was of a high quality.

“After we melted the chocolate, we poured it into the special moulds Zest
made.”

“You can do that, Zest?”

“I used magic, of course.”

Zest withdrew a small white piece—a circular piece that was no bigger than
the palm of her hand— from the pocket of her apron, before placing it on the
table. Channelling only a slight amount of magic into the piece caused it to
pulsate.

“I used my earth magic. This allows me to be more delicate with the shaping
compared to if I’d used my own hands to shape the moulds. First, I used my
magic to make the models with clay, followed by plaster, and refined the
finished product with my magic once more…once the moulds were completed, I
eliminated the lingering stench of the clay with my magic as well to ensure that
the chocolate made from the moulds would be safe to eat.”

“I…I see…”

“I’d note that Zest also did a lot of research.” Yuki said, placing several books
on the table. They appeared to be authentic hobby-related books, ones that were
self-made rather than from an pre-established kit.

“We wanted you to enjoy our chocolates.”

“At the same time, we also wanted to convey that we would be offering our
feelings to you…”

“—Is…that so…”

Basara still couldn’t understand why such an ideal would prompt the two to
make chocolate figurines of the household members in such intricate detail.
 Nevertheless, he reflexively let out an unfinished laugh. Such a reaction did
not go unnoticed by Yuki, who stared at Basara following it; Mio and the others
also appeared doubtful about the way he’d laughed.
“Well, that’s….I’m really happy about that, really. And I’m happy that you guys
went out of your way to prepare these chocolates for me.” He said, overseeing
the individual chocolate figures that were neatly arranged within the box.

“Mio and Kurumi made a lot of chocolate truffles, didn’t they?”

“Eh? Eh…”

Basara couldn’t possibly finish all of the colourful chocolate truffles Mio and
Kurumi had made all by himself.

“You were thinking about having us all share them, weren’t you?”

Mio and Kurumi blinked in confusion.

“Come to think of it, you’re right…”

“Yeah. One way or the other, we figured that we wanted everyone to have
some, right?”

Basara nodded with a satisfied look on his face.

“Yuki and Zest also made chocolate figures for all of us too…”

“Now that you mention it…”

“You’re right.”

“Even if we hadn’t noticed it, we all had each other kept in mind, didn’t we?
For you all to actually value each other as a family so naturally…it makes me
really happy.”

Basara reached into the box and selected Zest’s chocolate figure.

“Well…I guess I should eat Yuki or Zest’s model first? To go with that logic,
anyway.”

“Very well. Still, I’d like for Yuki to go first…”

 “It’s fine.” “You were the one who came up with the idea, Zest, and you were
the one who saw it through to the end. You have all the right to have yourself
eaten by Basara first, Zest.”

“Yuki-san…”

“That sounds rather misleading, actually…”

Basara now held Zest’s chocolate figurine in his hand.

“I’m digging in now,” He said, drawing the chocolate close to his mouth…he
then realized the connotation that he would be leading Zest into his mouth, and
he felt rather embarrassed at the thought. His awkward demeanor did not
diminish as he crunched into the surface of the chocolate.

He slowly wrapped the chocolate from the tip of his tongue, licking its surface
all over in a rolling fashion, and the flavour and odor of the chocolate began to
spread within his mouth.

In contrast to the variety of flavours and textures of the truffles he’d tasted
earlier, this was a polished, perfect sensation of the common chocolate; a rich
aroma spilled forth from his nose, and the gradually melting chocolate delivered
a mix of bitterness and sweetness that tantalized the tip of his tongue.

As expected from a blend Yuki made. As he found himself commending the

chocolate’s superb taste, he suddenly returned to his usual self.

He found focused on licking the chest of Zest’s chocolate figurine; perhaps it

was better to say that he looked as if he was sucking on one of the figurine’s
breasts as he held it in his mouth.

What is this…Basara thought, finding himself incapable of stopping himself

from savouring the extremely tasty chocolate.

“Nnn…”

There was a noise; Zest was suddenly facing the floor.

Her dark skin began to flush with color, and her body began to shake.
 “Zest? Are you okay?”

Her mouth opened in an attempt to respond, but she only found herself
moaning instead as her body began to writhe miserably.

Her hand reached to shut her mouth to prevent her voice from spilling, but she
could not contain her hot breaths. Her eyes dampened as she gazed at Basara, her
free arm collecting her ample chest.

Something strange was happening; Basara’s tongue pressed on the half-melted

surface of the chocolate to release his bite on it.

“Aaah, aaaahhhn…♥”

Zest collapsed onto the floor, her hand that was covering her mouth now
reaching to suppress her ears, moaning with a raised, agonized voice as she
struggled.

“…But why? Why is this…Nnn, ah…Basara-sama, my ears are…ahhh…”

With her back hunched as she remained on the floor, Zest’s jaw was open and
her body was conspicuously and violently shaking. Saliva began to trail from the
corner of her lips, but she did not seem to have the strength to wipe it off.

With her face flushed and her gaze entranced, she wore in every inch the
expression she would elicit whenever she would be assaulted by Basara.

“Aaah, aaaahn~”

“Don’t tell me—” Basara’s gaze turned toward the chocolate figurine that was
made in Zest’s likeness; he had already tasted it through the figurine’s chest, and
he’d also brushed his mouth against the ears when he’d released the figurine in
his panic.

“It’s likely the case.” Yuki gently reached for the chocolate.

“Ah…Yuki-san, that’s—”

Yuki’s fingertips caressed the ears of Zest’s melting chocolate figurine.

 “Ah, fuaah, ahhhhhh….♥ ”

The way her voice elevated was undeniably coquettish. Subjugated, she
leaned her exhausted body that was still shivering lightly onto the sofa. The
fervent breaths she let out were a sign of the pleasure she was drowning in, and
the way she slowly stripped herself was a rather bewitching sight.

Basara’s gaze met Yuki’s first, and then the two’s eyes met Mio’s and
Kurumi’s; they all knew full well who was responsible for this without having to
say anything further.

“Maria….”
 “Kukuku…you got that right.” A voice suddenly called as a certain someone
entered the living room—it was the succubus that had been locked up in her
room on the second floor.

A smile turned the corners of her lips as she entered the room laughing
extremely salaciously, her silver hair dishevelled. In her hand was a video
camera.

“Valentine’s day…did you girls honestly think you could deny this succubus
from celebrating one of the top two erotic events of the year alongside
Christmas!?”

“Okay, no, Valentine’s is not an erotic event for you to—” Basara said with a
straight face.

Maria tossed what seemed to be a rope that had evidently cost someone all
their strength to tear apart.

“What a pathetic excuse for a rope. Then again, I’ve gotten so much stronger
since we lost fought in the Demon Realm, I’d surprised even myself.”

“I’m more surprised you’re actually impressed over such a trivial detail.” Mio
said, her callous expression returning again.

“At any rate, I’d like to say that this little succubus also happened to get to
know all about your little plan with the others for Valentine’s, Mio-sama. From
the very moment you started that meeting with me, too!”

Yuki was taken aback by Maria’s revelation. In a flash, she then removed the
multi-adapter plugged into the wall socket and called upon her spirit blade
Sakuya, reducing it into dust.

“Ahh! My third listening device!”

All eyes were now fixated on Maria, and she hurriedly cleared her throat in
response.

“As I was saying, I knew all along. From there, spiking the defenceless
chocolates that Yuki and Zest were too careless to take care of with this special
succubus technique passed down to me was child’s play.”

Maria laughed heartily once again.

“It was easy for me to put a curse that links the chocolate models they made to
their respective real lookalikes. Combine that with how I tweaked it to activate
with the magic of the Master-Servant contracts, it was just all too simple for me.
In other words—”

There was a short pause, and the childish, satisfied expression of the succubus
emerged once more.

“Whatever lewd acts you perform on these chocolates will be transmitted to

the respective people they were modelled after! And don’t worry—even if you
do dig in, the curse is set such that all it’ll do is trigger the safety measure and
cause them to feel as if though you’ve bitten them instead!”

“I guess you’re expecting me to applaud you for how thoughtful you are!”

“Let’s get this started! Our dizzyingly hot and sexy Valentine’s Day begins—
huh!?”

Before she could revel in her certain victory, she suddenly writhed in agony.

“So it really does transmit these sensations.”

It was Kurumi who next spoke; she was holding Maria’s chocolate figurine in
her hand.

And Kurumi began to lick it.

“By the way, Maria, I think my sister made a chocolate figurine specially for
you as well, right? We’re a family after all, so she couldn’t have left you out.”

As Kurumi said that, she twisted the chocolate figurine in question in her
hand, displaying the act in front of Maria.

“Hau!? H-Hold on…Kurumi-san?”

“Don’t you think a certain little succubus needs to be punished for meddling
her dirty hands into my dear sister’s hard-made chocolates?”

“W-Wait a minute. That’s not fair…”

With a smacking sound, Kurumi slapped the butt of Maria’s chocolate

figurine.

“Fuaaah!?”

There was another smacking sound, and another and another.

“N-No, you can’t…it doesn’t hurt because of the safety measure, but this…
ah…mmph! ♥ No…”

Repetitive moans resounded from Maria.

“Kurumi-san, this…this form of play is…”

Tears leaked from the corner of Maria’s eyes as she writhed on the floor in
agony, having been subject to the same situation Zest had experienced earlier.

“Ah, ah…even more than I’d expected, this is…already…ahn! ♥”

Yuki eyed Maria’s current state and sighed lightly. “And so the hunter
becomes the hunted,” She mumbled. “…Still, what are we going to do at this
rate…”

Maria aside, Zest was breathing wildly as she squatted on the floor; the
sensations transmitted from the chocolate figures had yet to cease, and she
looked up toward Basara with a suffocated gaze.

“Basara-sama…”

“Are you okay? What should I…”

“I want you to eat me up.” Zest let out, her voice uncontrollably intense and
wet.

“No, I…”

The way Zest clutched her chest as she sunk further onto the floor and made
her request made for an extremely sultry sight.

From there, Basara could not find himself taking his eyes off Mio, Yuki and
Kurumi; the girls were now looking at Basara expectantly.

“Basara…” Yuki mumbled, her cheeks stained red. In her hand was the
chocolate that she’d made that shared her uncanny resemblance.

Mio and the others also gazed at their own chocolate lookalikes.

Basara scratched his cheek, evidently troubled by the dilemma before him.

“I understand. Don’t expect me to be able to tend to all of you at once,

though.”

A smile emerged on Yuki’s face.

—And so several nights passed by, each of them sweet in the literal sense of
the word.
I Can’t Be Honest With You
Kajiura Rikka had been behaving quite odd recently.

It was a day in the student council room of Hijirigasaka Academy, where the
forthcoming of early February also heralded the arrival of Valentine’s Day with
it.

Even as Tachibana Nanao was occupied with student council affairs, she
would occasionally lift her head in doubt, revealing their features, adorable as
such that her current reputation as a male student would otherwise be easily
mistaken for that of a female, riddled by evident concern and doubtfulness.

Her gaze drifted off to thinking of something concerning Kajiura Rikka. The
change in the latter was clear as day to Nanao; having known her for quite some
time as an excellent student and student council member, she had been prone to
uncharacteristic, unbelievable mistakes as of recent.

The unsettling atmosphere concerned Nanao, knowing that nothing in

particular had sprung up yet as of today.

“Kajiura, you’ve left off the official documents we need to promote our club
activities for next year. Is everything going to be okay?”

“Ah, I’m sorry…I’ll get to work on that immediately.” After answering thus to
Kano

—another member of the student council

—she quickly attempted to leave the room, only to forcefully bump into the
door without managing to open it.

“Rikka!?” “Rikka-senpai!?” Kano and Nanao raised their surprised voices in

unison upon witnessing the accident.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.” Staggering and clutching her nose that was
sore from the impact, she left the room, looking as if she were hiding something
—

only to knock herself upon the door once more, and at such close proximity, at
that.

Kano and Nanao reflexively exchanged glances with one another.

“Good grief…” Kano let out a sigh. She stared at the door left ajar after
Kajiura had left the room and could no longer be seen, as if she were in a daze;
her eyes held some semblance of warmth and kindness to it.

“What’s wrong with you, Kajiura-senpai…” Nanao murmured.

“Eh?” Kano turned toward Nanao wearing a puzzled look, “You don’t know
what’s going on with her?”

“You know something about it?”

“I see you don’t know about it at all.”

Nanao could not understand why Kano had responded that way; while Nanao
had been largely under the care of Kajiura Ritsuka in the student council and
wanted to repay her for all her efforts, they were not close enough as such that
they could understand each other without exchanging a word…at least, that was
what Nanao thought.

Kano looked as if she were lost in thought for a moment; she then clapped her
hands together as she remembered something.

“Kajiura’s worried about something, Tachibana.”

“She’s…worried about something? Well, I do indeed get that vibe, I

suppose…”

“Yeah. That’s why she’s been acting quite strange lately. I’m sure you’ve
noticed how clumsy she’s been recently?”

“Now that you mention it, you’re right about that…”

“Go and give her some advice.”

 “You mean to say I should do it?”

“Of course. Who else is there?” Kano said, as if it were the natural answer.

Nanao could not stop her eyes from widening at Kano’s response.

“I do want to talk to her, but…” Nanao wasn’t displeased by the idea of

talking to Kajiura; she was hesitant.

She could not repress the doubt in herself as to why she was the one that was
best suited to do so; at the same time, she could not deny that she had been
harbouring feelings that she herself couldn’t understand.

She didn’t want to leave Kajiura alone, and wanted to listen to her if
something was truly weighing on her fellow student council member’s mind.
That said, she had been keeping a close eye on Kajiura for the past few days.

She now felt rather surprised at her actions as she recalled them now.

“But why?” Nanao muttered, the question not being directed to anyone.

Part 2

“You think I’m bothered by something?”

“Yes. Kaijura-senpai, you look as if you’ve…been having something on your

mind lately. Just maybe, perhaps, possibly…”

Several days later, having found themselves alone in the student council room,
Nanao finally spoke her mind; Nanao herself had doubts toward her own
feelings on the matter of Kajiura feeling troubled, so she didn’t seem very
confident when she asked Kajiura about it.

Her concern was met with a composed gaze by Kaijura, and she stated her
answer clearly. “I’m not worried about anything.”

“I—

Is that so…” Having heard her confident response, Nanao struggled to find
any other words to say.
 The student council room fell into silence after that as the two members went
about their work wordlessly; only the sound of Kajiura’s fingers fiddling on the
keyboard echoed across the room. It was only after a while that Kajiura abruptly
stood up from her seat.

“Tachibana-kun,” Kajiura turned toward Nanao as she addressed him, “I’m

well aware that I’ve been inconveniencing you and the others with my recent
blunders lately. I just want you to know that I’m really sorry about them. I’ll pull
myself together, so don’t worry about me anymore.” She switched off the power
of her PC as she finished.

“I, that’s…I don’t mind at all, really.” Nanao could only respond awkwardly,
as Kajiura picked up her things during the exchange.

“I’ll be heading home now.”

“Alright. Good work today.”

“Good work as well.” With that, Kajiura left the student council room.

“Kajiura-senpai…”

She really was behaving odd; it felt as if she was forcing herself.

What’s more…she forgot to bring a certain bag with her. It was a bag left on
one of the chairs, where a neat stack of textbooks laid within it.

It wasn’t something that she would leave behind carelessly

especially given the excellence of a student of Kaijura’s caliber and how she
usually behaved. Her supervision of the finances of the student council was
usually very efficient, with any signs of error from her being few and far
between.

“This is…as I thought, something’s really wrong with her…”

Was she troubled by the way she even dared to assume that? She wondered.
 At any rate, Nanao decided it would be best if she went after her, and she
rushed out of the student council room.

There were many routes for Nanao to opt for to reach the shoe shelf; even if
she carelessly gave chase right now, she was certain that Ritsuka would be there
waiting for her. Even then, Nanao knew that she could always just give Rikka a
phone call if the latter had already left.

As she moved forward slightly, however, she suddenly heard Rikka’s voice in
apparent conversation with someone. Turning around the corner, Nanao could
notice her figure from her current distance.

“—!”

Nanao reflexively hid herself. Rikka was there; and she was indeed talking
with someone.

She was talking with Toujou Basara.

“Toujou-kun…”

Kajiura and Toujou must have just met there by coincidence; for the two them
to have conversation such as this was commonplace and nothing particularly out
of the ordinary. There was thus no need for her to conceal herself.

However, for a moment in time, Nanao detected an expression on Rikka’s

profile that she had not seen in a long while; her composed countenance that
usually came across as cold was instead replaced with a bashful, happy
expression.

“—I see, Kajiura-senpai. So you do feel that way about Toujou-kun.”

And Kano was well aware of it; perhaps it wasn’t a stretch to say that even the
rest of the student council members knew about it.

And then Nanao remembered that she herself had nominated Basara as a
candidate for being the student council representative

—s
 omeone who would be the face of the student affairs

under the grounds that she had interacted with Basara the most.

So that’s why Kano asked me to speak her earlier,

Nanao thought. She abruptly clutched her chest with her hand, realizing it had
gotten larger.

Nanao, who had been passing her days as a normal human student in
Hijirigasaka Academy, was in fact a half-vampire; half-vampires possessed no
stable gender and biological sex until they reached adulthood, and Nanao had to
go through periodical gender changes. It was because of this that Nanao had
been incapable of reverting to his original form since the end of last year.

She was unable to understand the prickling, somewhat painful feeling that
suddenly surfaced in her chest; she froze in place, unable to move as she held
Rikka’s bag in her hand.

Their conversation ended before long, and Basara turned to leave. Kajiura
waved him goodbye as he left, seeing him off.

“…Valentine’s, huh? It’s so strange thinking about it…” Rikka muttered,

staying until she could no longer see any traces of Basara.

And Nanao finally understood what was going on after hearing those words.

That was what Ritsuka had been worrying about; and Nanao had all the reason
she needed to fully understand Rikka’s feelings.

Nanao had yet to consider giving chocolate to Basara; however, before Nanao
transformed into her current state as a girl, she had enrolled into the school as a
boy.

That said, it would be strange if Nanao were to give Basara chocolates on

Valentine’s Day out of

gratitude
 ; that was why it was impossible for Nanao to actually give Basara chocolates
for the occasion.

Such was why Nanao felt her chest twist uncomfortably when Rikka had
muttered those words earlier.

“Tachibana-kun?”

“Ah…”

Before Nanao realized it, Kajiura had took notice of her.

“K-Kajiura-senpai. I wanted to give you something you left behind…”

“Don’t get the wrong idea, okay?”

“Eh?”

Rikka was frantically shaking her hands before Nanao in denial, as the latter
stared at her in wonder.

“Sure, I said something about Valentine’s and all, but if I’m going to be giving
Toujou-kun chocolate for that occasion, it’ll be only for nothing more than to
thank him for what he did during the school sports festival. Nothing more than
that. I don’t have any intentions otherwise. After all, he’s living together with
Naruse-san and the others, isn’t he? And he’s also really close with Nonaka-san
as well…if I were to give him chocolate for any intimate reasons, don’t you
think it’ll just come across as weird and cause him trouble? I really shouldn’t
trigger something that might end up causing Toujou-kun and the girls to fight
amongst one another…that said, it would be best if I just decide not to give him
any chocolate, right?”

Never before had Nanao seen Rikka pile on excuse after excuse for her
current predicament, and she found the spectacle to be quite adorable.

“Also, all my mistakes recently have nothing to do with this. Nothing at all!”

Nanao felt the spiralling whirlpool in her chest that stirred her gradually fade
away.
 She understood very well what it meant to feel that way Rikka did right now.
That said

“Rikka-senpai…”

Nanao’s eyes lit with an ominous glow behind her glasses as she used the
power of her magic eyes; it was a power that vampires possessed that allowed
them to see through the hearts of people and control them at will.

Rikka abruptly stopped speaking, and she could not take her own eyes off
Nanao; however, Nanao did not do anything of the sort to manipulate her.

Nanao only used just a little bit of her power to sway Rikka to open her own
closed heart; she used her power if only to let Rikka to be the slightest bit honest
with herself.

Rikka let out adorable breaths as she hung her head; the shackles that were
weighing on her heart had finally been lifted.

Now you understand what your true feelings are, Nanao thought.

“You don’t intend to give him some chocolate?” Rikka asked Nanao.

Part 3

Valentine’s Day was just around the corner.

“Ah! Why is it frothing all over?!” “Kurumi-chan, turn down the heat!”
“Naruse-san, your chocolate’s burning!”

Sounds of business echoed across the kitchen of Hijirigasaka Academy.

Nanao wasn’t involved, though; he could only hear the sounds of Kajiura, Mio
and Kurumi from outside the kitchen, and none of the girls seemed to have
noticed him.

“Good luck, senpai.” He said silently, peering into the kitchen.

While Mio and Kurumi were working on a chocolate truffle, Kajiura was
making a plate out of a ganache mixture…it was more appropriate to describe it
as a piece of

namachoco

(Japanese ganache), which was a piece of chocolate shaped like a brick. After
shaping the chocolate, she wrote a rather large “Obligatory!” on it using
confectioners sugar.

Stepping out of the campus, his gaze turned toward the chilly winter sky,
welcoming it with a dazzling smile as he withdrew a single basket-like box;
apart from Nanao, no one else knew the contents of the box hidden beneath the
beautiful wrapping

chocolate. His hand extended itself toward the nearby trash can in the
courtyard, attempting to throw it away.

“What a waste, don’t you think?”

He turned toward the voice with the chocolate still in his hand; standing below
a tree of falling leaves was Hasegawa Chisato.

“Hasegawa-sensei…”

The school nurse’s keen gaze pierced through Nanao through her glasses, as if
she saw through the student’s very heart; Nanao made herself alert at her gaze.

Hasegawa, however, didn’t seem intent to ask him about anything; Nanao thus
felt it was safe to put her guard down, but he remained silent regardless. His
shoulders involuntarily relaxed upon processing the situation.

“It was just a hypothetical statement.” Hasegawa finally spoke again. “It
seems you did want to give that chocolate to someone. And I suppose you’re
wondering that when the time comes and that person finally knows that you care
about him in some way…you’re scared at what they’ll think of you, that they’ll
be creeped out by you after that?”

“Ah…” was all that Nanao could let slip.

 It was just as Hasegawa had described; Nanao had wanted to give that
chocolate to Toujou Basara, someone who wholeheartedly accepted his status as
a half-vampire. Despite hailing from the Hero Clan, he had not looked upon him
with scorn like the rest of the clan, and he neither pursued him nor condemned
him.

That was why Nanao had wanted to give chocolate to him.

“Sensei, how did you know what was going on with me…”

“Someone’s been worried about you.” As she said so, she turned around and
walked away without glancing back at Nanao.

“Someone’s been…worried about me?” Nanao had been unable to finish what
he wanted to say before she left; in Hasegawa’s place came another distant
figure walking toward him the very figure that Nanao had pictured in his mind
earlier.

Toujou Basara.

“Toujou…kun…”

“Yo,” Basara said, waving at Nanao.

Slightly scratching her cheek in hesitation, she steeled herself and raised her
head. Her eyes looked at Basara directly in the eye, staring at him intently as if
to pin him down, unafraid of him knowing of their magic qualities.

“Have you been worried about something, Tachibana?”

“Eh?”

“I’m sorry if I’m mistaken, but…you just seem to have been behaving quite
odd recently.”

“Me…?”

Nanao had indeed been troubled by something, but he didn’t let it show; it was
only natural that Basara would have noticed it.
 “Do you really think I’ve changed that much?”

“No….I just felt that way, that’s all. If I really am misunderstanding it, I’m
really sorry.”

“Oh, no, I–” Nanao could not continue after that. Her vision became blurry,
since that she could not make out Basara’s face clearly. It was then that Nanao
realized that tears were welling up in her eyes.

“Tachibana!?”

Nanao shook her head. The tears that streamed down her cheeks did not come
from sadness; it was none other than warmth that now welled up in her chest.

Nanao had put all of her attention on worrying about Rikka upon noticing that
the latter was troubled by something; similarly, Basara had realized that
something was troubling Nanao and had been worried about her too. And even
now he was still looking at her, worried about her.

She was truly happy from the bottom of her heart.

“Toujou-kun!” Nanao presented the chocolate she held in her hand to Basara.
“T-This is…it’s a little early, but here, have my Valentine’s Chocolate!” The red
on Nanao’s flushed face spread to her ears, and her flow of tears were never-
ending.

Basara received the scene with a momentary look of surprise, but he accepted
Nanao’s chocolate just as anyone normally would, nonetheless.

“Can you hear me out for a bit…?” Nanao lowered her head and unwrapped
the wrapping of the package, exposing a large, heart-shaped chocolate within it.
Truth be told, Nanao overdid the heart-shape somewhat, though she knew full
well it was already too late to think about it now.

“U-Um…I’ve been in your care during the school sports festival and a lot of
other things since…and besides, my body’s that of a girl right now….So please!”

With a plopping sound, Basara gently patted the top of Nanao’s head, eliciting
an affectionate smile in response.
 “Thank you.”

“Mmm!”

Wiping away the unceasing flow of her tears, a genuine smile lit itself on her
face, one born from the bottom of her heart.
Lost Valentines Day
“It’s obligatory, alright! Obligatory

! You’ve always been helping me out so much, so I simply thought that it just
wouldn’t do to not give you an

obligatory token in return…”

Kajiura Ritsuka’s face was already bright red before she could finish speaking
as she handed Toujou Basara some chocolate; contrary to her own words,
however, she smiled and gave Basara a fondly look as he received it.

It was noon on Valentine’s Day; Hasegawa Chisato, the school nurse of the
Hijirigasaka Academy, had witnessed such a scene from the infirmary. She took
a sip of her cooled coffee and let out a sigh as she remained seated within.

“…Really, now. Tachibana and Kajiura too? I’m really overdoing the whole
teacher role here.” She muttered, the crooked shape of her lips stemming from
not just the bitter taste of the coffee. “I envy their innocence somewhat.”

Her thoughts then went back to events that had occurred not long ago; Basara
had invited Hasegawa over to his place to celebrate Valentine’s Day a week
earlier with her so that he would celebrate on the real day with Mio, Yuki and the
rest of his family. The two rendezvoused on a rather precise day, a day where
Mio and the others were occupied with a secret meeting.

There, she had given him her own handmade chocolate, shared a meal with
him and expressed her feelings to him as their bodies overlapped with one
another.

Moreover, she had also shared a trip to the hot springs with him in January,
where she had spent an unusually long time with Basara even as the actual time
ticked by and deepened her bond with him even further.

That said, she would be satisfied like any proper adult would when it came to
Valentine’s Day—or so she thought.
 “It’s not that I’m unsatisfied, but…”

An unshakeable, suffocating feeling still stirred within her; a feeling that even
Hasegawa herself could not comprehend or sort out.

Reflexively, she turned toward her laptop meant for work.

She then opened a news page, her eyes narrowing behind her glasses as she
read its contents. A moment passed before she withdrew her cellphone and
began typing a message to a certain someone.

Part 2

A few days passed; it was a holiday that day.

Hasegawa and Basara were walking in a shopping mall. The visitors were
manifold there despite Valentine’s being over; apart from normal couples,
families and other middle-aged couples were also present, contributing to the
vast and diverse clientele of the mall.

“We’ve come quite far out today, haven’t we?”

“Yes. This mall was under renovation for the past few months. I took an
interest in it,” Hasegawa said, entwining her arm onto Basara’s.

“S-Sensei! This is…”

“Inappropriate in public because we’re teacher and student?” Hasegawa let

out a mischievous expression at Basara’s shocked response. “Don’t worry; the
students of Hijirigasaka Academy generally don’t come to this place.”

“I guess you’re right.”

Hasegawa was right; in light of how such a shopping mall was quite some
distance away from the nearest station of Hijirigasaka Academy, the students of
the academy generally found it too troublesome to take a trip here.

Hasegawa had learned of this place through the news she found on the internet
the other day.
 “That said, we don’t need to show any restraint in this case, don’t we? Even if
we are teacher and student…”

“Well, you do have a point, but…” Responding inarticulately, Basara took a

fleeting glance at Hasegawa.

“What’s wrong?” Although she somehow knew what he wanted to say in the
back of her mind, she asked thusly nonetheless, squinting at Basara’s state of
being at a loss for words.

Basara was paying attention to the attire Hasegawa was current wearing; it
was distinct from most of her usual clothing that emphasized her ample adult
appeal, such as her usual white coat and tight skirt she typically wore at school,
and the elegant coat she wore during their trip to the hot springs together.

She was giving off a very different vibe than what she usually exuded; she
was wearing a half-coat and a lightly flaring skirt, and she was decorated by
many accessories, each of lovely designs. Apart from the coat and skirt, the rest
of her attire seemed to be an ensemble.

It was a different look from usual, her clothing wrapping her original adult
appeal in a composed, girlish sweetness.

“You think this doesn’t suit me?”

Basara quickly shook his head, visibly flustered. “I don’t know much about
fashion at all, but…” He then took on a more bashful expression as he replied. “I
guess I could say that it’s a good look for you, I suppose.”

“That’s a relief. I’m glad I didn’t pick something you wouldn’t like.”
Hasegawa said, loosening her expression.

“By the way, why did you choose to come here of all places? Is there an event
here today or something?” It was a holiday following the mall’s renovation, and
something reminiscent of the likes of an event stage seemed to be under way.

“No, I didn’t choose to come here for that.” Hasegawa abruptly stopped in her
tracks, her gaze scanning the vicinity of the unfamiliar shopping mall.

She then turned to Basara with another playful look on her face.
 “I suppose you could think of this as a test of sorts? One from your teacher, so
to speak.”

“A test?”

“I thought I’d have you escort me for today.”

“Eh…? I really haven’t decided anything for today, you know?”

“And that’s exactly why I’m giving you this test. I’ve always been the one
between us to decide where to go during our outings, after all.”

“That’s true…there are times where I do get the feeling that I’m not taking the
initiative well enough once in a while.”

Am I being too unreasonable?

Hasegawa thought as she glanced at Basara with a rather troubled expression,

though she didn’t say it out loud.

“Let’s think about it over lunch, then. Let’s see…” Surveying her
surroundings once again, Hasegawa then pointed at a particular shop in the
distance.

“Why don’t we start there?”

It was a completely ordinary fast food restaurant that possessed a nation-wide

chain.

Part 3

“Something like this also tastes good once in a while, huh?”

Hasegawa was boldly helping herself to a hamburger with three meat patties;
licking away some of the sauce from her lips, she held a satisfied expression on
her face.

Basara was staring at Hasegawa, looking rather puzzled as he held a standard

teriyaki burger in his hand.

“What’s wrong? Is there sauce somewhere on my face?”

 “No. I’m just surprised. I never thought you be the type to enjoy hamburgers.”

“That’s where you’re mistaken. I’m quite casual when it comes to eating
alone. It’s not like I dislike dull food such as this. Don’t you remember us
meeting up at a yakiniku diner previously?”

“Now that you mention it, that’s true…”

“I won’t deny that it’s quite rare for a member of the Ten Gods to enjoy
something like this though.”

“Quite right.” Basara said, relaxing slightly at Hasegawa’s joking remark.

“Well, have you decided where you want to take me yet? You have until we
finish eating to decide.”

“Whoah, hold on a second—” Basara abruptly raised his voice in surprise as

he turned to Hasegawa, who was still enjoying her hamburger; he himself had
yet to finish his own meal, as he creased his eyebrows in thought.

“You’ve given me quite the unreasonable task today…I don’t have a lot of
experience when it comes to things like this.”

“But you have enough experiences with me, don’t you?”

Basara turned away, now even more troubled following Hasegawa’s

counterattack; his gaze suddenly stopped.

Behind Hasegawa was a cinema complex right outside the fast food restaurant
they were eating in; the posters advertising the movies that were on screen that
day along with a conspicuously large “POP” sign had caught his eye.

“How about a movie?”

“Ah. So that’s what you’ve decided.” Hasegawa turned around, ascertaining

the fact that Basara had decided as such due to the cinema complex that was
right behind her. “That’s a good idea. I’ll give you a passing grade for that. If
you would have suggested this with someone you’re going out with for the first
time, though, keep in mind that two of you may not necessarily share the same
interest.”
 “Is that so?”

“However, this is you and me we’re talking about. In a sense, we’ve already
been together for quite some time.” She giggled, turning toward the interior of
the cinema complex.

“Do you have a particular movie that you want to watch?” Basara said,
examining the available movies through his cellphone. “There’s some hero
movie based off an American comic. It’s not a continuation or sequel or whatnot,
so it won’t be difficult for us to watch. There’s also this sci-fi movie that looks
particularly interesting. It’s about Mars—”

“No, let’s go for that.” Hasegawa pointed toward a particular poster. The title
of the poster read “Lost Day Memorial”, a Japanese film. It was different from
the action and sci-fi movie that Basara had pondered over, with only a simple
illustration of a man and a woman holding hands decorating the poster. The tag
line of “Remember everything of me” gave off a vibe that it was going to be a
somewhat tragic tale.

Regardless of whether or not the movie was popular at present, Basara had
never heard of the title.

“A romantic film?”

“All the more befitting of a date. Is it too cliché? I just thought that it would
be best if we didn’t go for anything childish.” Hasegawa smiled sweetly

a devilish, smiling face that caused Basara’s heart to reflexively throb ever
faster in his case.

Part 4

“Sensei, are you really okay?”

“I’m alright. However, give me a few more moments…just a few more

moments…I’m sorry…”

Fifteen minutes passed since the two finished the film “Lost Day Memorial”
and went out into the lobby.

Hasegawa’s eyes were red; she had removed her glasses and was wiping her
eyes with a handkerchief, but her tears had yet to cease despite the handkerchief
already being quite damp already.

And although it may not appear as such, she was in a better state than what
had previously transpired; Hasegawa had been sobbing throughout the latter half
of the movie.

Basara and Hasegawa now settled at a corner of the lobby so as to not disturb
the wave of customers coming and going.

A moment passed before Hasegawa finally put on her glasses again before
letting out a deep breath; it wasn’t a sigh, but more of an effort to let out the
feeling of satisfaction that had welled up in her chest.

“It was a good story. Thinking about it now, I honestly shouldn’t have
assumed that it might’ve been a childish film,” She said, earnestly. “The heroine
must embark on a journey she must take to pursue her dreams. And even
knowing that the two may never see each other again once they part, the male
protagonist, that young man…he saw her off all the same.” Her tears flowed out
again, “How painful it must’ve been for them. And to think how much they
longed for one another…it was really fine acting. ….And then there was that last
kiss. How it expressed their hidden passions toward each other. What a
performance.”

“I have to admit I was amazed by how it turned out too. I’m glad you enjoyed
it,” Basara wiped away another wave of Hasegawa’s tears with his own
handkerchief. “I must say I didn’t expect you to be the type to get emotional
over something like this, though.”

“You said something like that earlier with the hamburger, too. What type of
woman do you think I am, then?” She said, pouting a little.

“I’m a girl too, you know.” Her expression suddenly changed to that of a light
smile as Hasegawa took Basara by the arm. “Well, sorry to keep you waiting.
Let’s continue our date, then.”

“Y-Yeah.”
 And Basara went about the shopping mall, his arm tugged by Hasegawa as
they walked together.

“Ah!” Hasegawa exclaimed, suddenly running up to another outlet.

“What do you think of this?”

It was an optical shop. She took a sample from one of the available pair of
glasses on display at the storefront; it was distinct from her usual under-rimmed
glasses, one that placed particular emphasis on the frame.

“It gives off quite the distinct impression—”

“Let’s go here next.” Hasegawa did not let Basara finish his reply as she
returned the sample and briskly walked toward another shop.

She had chosen an apparel shop this time.

“What about this…I guess maybe it’s a bit too much?” Hasegawa now held an
attire in her hand that was similar to the one she was wearing at the moment, one
that possessed even greater emphasis on its adorable design. The large amount of
frills decorating the attire gave off would prompt one to think that it was rather
childish.

“What do you think?”

“It’s cute, but—”

“Ah! Let’s go to that shop too!” Hasegawa then headed toward a shoe store
next as Basara hurriedly chased after her.

“Wearing sneakers doesn’t seem so bad at all. How about this? These boots
too…”

“Please wait.” Basara finally stopped Hasegawa before she could head off to
another store again without giving him time to respond.

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling tired already?” Hasegawa turned to Basara
with a wry smile, pausing upon noticing his expression.
 “Did something happen?” He asked, taking her hand.

“What do you mean, ‘did something happen’?”

“You appear quite fresh today, Hasegawa-sensei. I think it’s a good look for
you. And I’ve got to see so many unexpected sides of you today as well. It’s
just…I can tell that you’re forcing yourself to lighten up.” Basara’s expression
was now serious.

“Toujou…” Hasegawa’s eyes were now downcast. “But of course. That’s just
the kind of person you are. That’s why Tachibana and the others—”

“Tachibana?”

“No, that has nothing to do with today. I get it now…” Hasegawa appeared to
be wavering a little, as she finally raised her head and stared at Basara intently.

And then she finally spoke.

“It’s just last month. I got to spend such a long time with you. We were able to
build a very deep bond between one another. You don’t know how happy I am to
have managed to share that with you…”

“And throughout Valentine’s, I’ve been watching your surroundings as your

teacher…no. After all, I live in a flow of time that’s different from yours…one
that’s not decided only by age.”

“I’m a member of the Ten Gods. I’m no normal human being. I’m incapable
of passing time the same way you and the other students do in this world. Well,
your circumstances are a bit special in this case, but it doesn’t change the fact
that you and I are different.” Her expression appeared to be somewhat resigned.

“That’s why…one way or another, somehow, I just wanted to live in the same
time you’re living in right now. I wanted an experience like that. Not as teacher
and student, but through a date where we’d explore a shopping mall we’re
visiting for the first time…odd, isn’t it?”

And it now defied some semblance of loneliness as well.

“And then there’s…” Hasegawa continued, “The fact that there might come a
time where I would have to part with you.”

“But that’s—”

“Thinking of something like that just scares me, pains me. That’s why I was
so taken by that film earlier…”

“Hasegawa-sensei.”

Hasegawa abruptly widened her eyes in surprise.

Basara had forcibly brought her into a tight embrace.

“I’m not letting you go.”

“You dummy…we’re still outside today, you know? Even if there aren’t any
students from the academy here…” She said, her cheeks reddened as the
atmosphere around them suddenly changed; the crowd of customers suddenly
disappeared, leaving behind only an empty shopping mall.

She had made a barrier that replicated the venue while cutting them from the
rest of the world.

She then leaned in closer, pressing herself deeper within Basara’s embrace;
her body grazed and rubbed on his own as she piled herself upon him, altering
the shape of her abundant breasts wrapped underneath her pretty clothing.

“Nnn…” Hasegawa’s voice reflexively spilled out, “Toujou…I want you to

remember everything of me.” She then said the exact words from the film that
they watched earlier—the line said by the heroine, about to leave that place in
that particular scene, toward the protagonist, the young man, as he suffered
under a fickle moment of heartbreak.

The two then huddled their bodies close together, their palms and fingers alike
intertwining with the others’.

As they piled their bodies and hands together, Hasegawa placed her thigh in
between Basara’s legs; under such a state where they could not grow any closer
than they already could, Hasegawa took Basara’s lips for herself in a passionate
kiss.
 “Mm… Mm, chuu ♥ Mmm…”

As their lips forcibly pressed upon one another, Hasegawa greedily attempted
to force her tongue within Basara’s mouth, to which he responded accordingly;
their tongues noisily and passionately desired the other as they intertwined.

“Chuu, nnn, fuu…. Nnnn… ♥”

Their saliva flowed and mixed together amidst their intense kissing; their lips
had yet to come apart as Hasegawa guided Basara’s hand down her abdomen to
her waist.

“Touch me

,” she said in between breaths as they continued kissing.

Basara complied with her request, savoring the sensation of her body through
her clothes with his palm; he ascertained the signature sensation of her womanly
body beneath the fabric of her winter clothing, drinking in the ample sensation of
her warmth and softness unimpeded by the clothing that separated them.

“Aah, nnn….Haaah ♥Toujou…”

Parting from the kiss, Hasegawa let out a subjugated moan; Basara’s hand was
rubbing against her abdomen while the other clutched her waist, reaching
underneath her skirt to grab hold of her butt.

“Fuuah, aah…. ♥ There… Feel me… Feel me more, nnn, haah”…

Basara’s lips once again plastered themselves onto Hasegawa’s; melting into
the craving that came with the kiss, Hasegawa exposed her ample chest and
tempted Basara’s hand toward her breasts.

Basara’s hand slipped within the partially opened space from the clothes that
were different from what she usually wore; his hand gently clung to her skin wet
with sweat.

“Nn… Aaah…” As his hand moved in further, Hasegawa’s lips, piled on with
kisses, let out even more sharp breaths in arousal.
 Basara eventually arrived at the valley between her pair of breasts. Taking off
her clothes completely, her suppressed breasts created a deeper valley than usual;
Basara’s fingers then entered the space between them.

“Aah, ah ♥”

Hasegawa held on tightly to Basara’s hand as she grew unable to continue

kissing him; guiding his hand toward her chest with her own, her hand then
clung tightly onto his sturdy body after it had completed its previous role.

“Toujou, more, deeper… Ah, aaah ♥”

“I understand.”

Basara’s hand advanced deeper within her bra, savoring the swelling, plump
sensation underneath, touching her suppressed nipples with his fingers.

“Ah, aaaah, nn! Nnn…♥”

Basara stole Hasegawa’s lips for himself once more as she elevated her voice
in pleasure with them.

Their fingers, bodies, and tongues entangled with one another’s densely; their
body heat and breaths mixing together gave them the feeling as if everything
they had was melding together.

“You’re so cute, sensei. Both your clothes, and the way you are today…”

“Nnn…. You don’t think I’m weird today…♥ That makes me so happy…”

Basara and Hasegawa experienced every nook and cranny of one another.

“Sensei…no, Afureia

…I’m right here with you.” Basara finally addressed Hasegawa Chisato by her
true name. “I won’t let go of you, ever. We’re already walking within the same
time.”

“Toujou…” Hasegawa’s eyes narrowed euphorically at that statement.

And the two kissed once more—a long, deep kiss.

 “Nnn…” It was Hasegawa who then broke the kiss first. “I’m sorry.”
Hasegawa finally released her body that was closely huddled into Basara’s,
reflexively releasing his hand simultaneously.

“Sensei?”

“I can’t even help myself just over something like this,” Hasegawa said,
smiling wryly.

Basara blankly stared at her for a moment before eliciting the same response.
“You’re right. I feel the same way.”

“That said, Toujou…from here on out, let’s carry on as we always have,

alright? This time not with a me who envies others who get to live in the same
time as you do…but a me who walks beside Toujou Basara.”

“Yeah. You’re quite cute today, sensei, but I’d settle for your usual self, too.”

“Just so you know, it’s quite embarrassing to be called cute like that…”
Hasegawa said, averting her gaze. She then put on her clothes and glanced
around the vicinity. In a moment the hustle and bustle of the mall had returned;
the barrier had been dispelled.

“Well then, as usual…let’s head over to my room now.” She said, linking her
arm with Basara’s.

“Yes, Hasegawa-sensei. Let’s get going.” Basara then walked toward the exit
of the shopping mall with Hasegawa.

“Hey, Toujou,” Hasegawa said after a moment. Basara turned to see her
looking at him impishly.

“Call it one more time. Call me by my name.”

Basara became slightly surprised for a moment, but regained his composure
shortly after.

“Let’s go, Afureia.”

Basara and Hasegawa continued to spend time alone together; even if the two
were not walking in the same time, they moved forward together nonetheless,
their hands never letting go of each other.

And such a feeling is so strongly etched within the hearts of both Basara and
Hasegawa.
Succubus Oriental!
“You want to go to an art museum? You of all people, Maria?”

“That’s right. I would like to expose myself to the art of this world. I want to
ascertain the differences between the art here and the art in the Demon Realm.
It’s an inspiring desire that’s just suddenly sprung up within me!”

The next day following their conversation, Basara accompanied Maria to visit
an art museum in the city.

“We’ve come here like you asked, but…”

Maria, who appeared to be extremely excited as she stood beside Basara,

seemed to be genuinely curious about such a new experience.

“I’ll make one thing clear, and that’s the fact that we won’t be seeing any
obscene types of art like figures of naked women here.”

“What are you saying? Eroticism is absolutely a vital component of art. The
beauty of the erotic is simply an existence that’s one of a kind. Or are you saying
that you’re one of those extremely rare types that are so obsessed with such
erotic art that you’re able to portray it so accurately, Basara-san!?”

“No, what exactly are you referring to when you say ‘rare types’?”

In the past, artwork that depicted nudity or other similarly obscene elements
was considered deviant taboo.

“…Touche. It’s not like there’s a clear delineation between the two.”

“That’s right. There exists a mutually influencing relationship between

eroticism and the arts, one that brings out both aspects to even greater heights.”

Although Basara was usually dissatisfied and puzzled by Maria’s explanations

given that she usually had nothing but erotic thoughts in her head, the persuasive
way she’d worded that meant that he couldn’t help but admit what she’d said
was objective deep down.
 As they talked, Basara took in the structure of the art museum. The building
was isolated from the rest of the buildings on the streets, and it was smaller than
expected; the structure was not decorated in a particularly flashy manner, and the
surrounding trees in the vicinity further added to its modest, tranquil appearance.

“This place seems very nice,” Basara muttered quietly.

“Basara-san, over here, over here! Come on, hurry up—”

As he turned toward Maria, he discovered that she was already beckoning him
at the museum entrance with a ticket in her hand before he’d even realized it.

“When did you…”

Maria and Basara entered the interior of the museum wearing a highly
motivated expression a wry smile, respectively.

The interior of the building gave off the same expression as the exterior—not
particularly spacious and leaving a calm impression.

There were a lot of visitors present, though not of an amount that would
require a queue that extended outside the interior.

Naturally, the visitors ahead in line of Basara and Maria were slowly
observing the displayed items surrounding them; it was understandable that there
were a lot of people present if even Maria wanted to bear witness to the displays
of the museum herself.

Basara started to wonder what it was that was being exhibited that attracted so
much attention, despite having almost no interest in the museum up until now.

As the line progressed, Basara could catch a glimpse of some of the artwork
of the exhibition.

They were all Japanese drawings, with almost no foreign art whatsoever; they
also seemed focused on work from the olden Edo era.

They all seemed to be depicted as going through their rich, lively daily lives,
except they were openly hugging, kissing and most notable, lovingly craving
each other.
 “Wait, all of this is erotic art, isn’t it!?” Basara barely managed to keep his
surprised voice under wraps in consideration of the surrounding visitors; perhaps
his Infinite Slayer reflexes had allowed him to do so.

He turned to inspect his ticket closely, and discovered that the words “Shunga
Exhibition” were written on it.

Shunga—in other words, they were erotic illustrations or erotic books.

“Of course. Is there something wrong with that?” Maria asked, appearing to
be puzzled.

“You didn’t tell me anything about this!”

“Is that so?”

Basara knew that Maria was clearly playing dumb with the seemingly
confused way she was looking at him.

“Come to think of it…it is really particular of you to want only the two of us
to come to a place like this…”

Looking back on it now, Basara was the only one that had been invited to the
event, while Mio and the others seemed suspiciously uninvolved.

“Oh, but I just wanted the two of us to come together, Basara-san!”

“Don’t make it sound all weird, damn it.”

Turning his glance upward, he turned Maria down flat as she clung to him.

“Still, Mio-sama didn’t show any sign of disapproval about this, did she?” She
didn’t go like, ‘You’re gonna go there just to get some weird thoughts in your
head, huh!?’ or any of the sort. She knows full well that I’m here to just to bask
in a collection of erotic inspiration.”

“Well, Mio wasn’t exactly very smooth when she was talking earlier, was
she?”

Basara took a glance at the ticket he was holding and raised an eyebrow.
 “…By the way, this exhibition happens to be age-restricted.”

“Well, it’s a shunga exhibition. Even standard erotic books aren’t exactly age-
restricted, aren’t they? That should be a given.”

“Oh? Says who, you?”

“Oh, by the way, I did happen to use a little bit of magic when I bought my
ticket earlier, but it’s a necessary evil, right? For the sake of my erotic pursuits, I
don’t care how underhanded I have to be!”

“You little…”

“I have to see all this, okay!” Maria suddenly raised her voice, her expression
had since turned serious compared to her oblivious look a while ago. “I’m a sex
demon—a succubus, after all, so I have to learn all about this world’s erotic
forms and presentations, given this world never really had our kind to begin
with. I have to learn about all this, and I thought it would be my sacred duty as a
succubus to expose myself to the sexual history of this world.”

“…You’re not gonna talk me through this.”

Basara then considered the fact that it wasn’t all far-fetched for someone like
Maria to adopt what she’d said as an actual principle.

The human world and the Demon Realm had their distinct cultural
differences, which extended to differences between the human race and the
succubi. Perhaps it was sound to wonder if there were really any differences
between the two worlds?

“…Well, I suppose things like this should be of interest to someone like you.”

“Oh, Basara-san, thank you so much! I’ll be sure to give it my all when
learning about everything!” Maria’s face suddenly lit up, her attention circling
around the various shunga arts surrounding her.

Noticing her excitement, Basara also glanced sideways to see the surrounding
shunga for himself.

“I suppose…all this can really be amazing.”

 “So you understand it now? As expected of you, Basara-san!”

“I don’t find sexual submissions on a daily basis to be particularly elegant.

I’m mostly just marvelling at the remarkable talent that shows in these art
pieces.”

“And as much you’re marvelling at them, you don’t look too thrilled about all
this, are you? Why are you being so condescending, anyway?”

“Am I not a professional at eroticism?”

It was admittedly hard for Basara to not get at least slightly frustrated at the
way Maria was actually making sense in this case.

And while I’m at it…Basara thought.

Perhaps the succubus race was truly diligent when it came to their culture,
even if said culture happens to sway toward the erotic side of things. Even then,
Maria was already doing dedicated research and exposing herself to erotic games
and other related things in such a culture that was foreign to her on a normal
basis.

“I don’t know if diligence is the right word for this, but—” A certain someone
appeared in his mind as he said that out loud—it was Maria’s older sister, Lucia.
Rather than a lustful succubus, Basara saw her more as the capable right hand of
Ramusas, the leader of the Moderate Faction of the Demon Realm.

She was cold and collected, and she was quite powerful herself. She was strict
regardless of who she was working with, and these traits meant that she showed
no evident signs of affection toward her younger sister Maria.

Comparing her to Maria, the latter was more of the specialist in eroticism in
that regard.

Basara rubbed his forehead, wondering if his line of thinking was correct.

“I guess Sheila-san’s closer to Maria, though.”

Sheila was Maria’s birth mother; she was the mother of both Maria and Lucia,
and she had a face that was no less youthful than her youngest daughter’s.
 For a moment, Basara thought he’d imagined the free, uncontrolled and
mischievous person in question happily and excitedly surveying the shunga
exhibition.

“…Hmm?”

Basara blinked and rubbed his eyes; the image of Sheila that he presumed
he’d merely imagined had yet to fade from his sight.

“Eh~It’s a kappa! A kappa, huh! It’s an erotic oriental monster…it’s really

amazing. This shirigotama (a mythical ball inside the anus that’s sought after by
kappa) play…”

And she was in their line of sight—moreover, she was dressed in an attire he
had not imagined, with a disguise of sunglasses, a mask, and a large hat.

She was nodding in approval of the various shunga paintings surrounding her,
and as Basara had imagined—she was in high spirits.

“It really is her!”

Basara barely managed to hold himself from speaking too loudly again, and
he found no real explanation apart from having plenty of experience fighting
formidable opponents to the point where he’d attained an almost inhuman level
of restraint.

“Mom, why in the world are you here?” Maria asked, dumbfounded.

Basara was now convinced that Sheila’s presence here wasn’t just something
he’d imagined in his head.

Sheila was now before them, and she took off her mask and her glasses.

“Hello there,” She said with an embarrassed grin.

“Don’t give me that ‘Hello there…’ nonsense! After all, mom, right now,
you’re…” Maria stammered, evidently panicking.

“Ahh. Of course. I’m fully aware of the situation I’m putting myself in at the
moment. The hostilities between the Moderate Faction and the Current Demon
Lord Faction have since ended, but that hasn’t really changed the tense relations
between the two factions. The only thing that they’ve agreed on is to not involve
Mio-chan, the daughter of the previous Demon Lord, into all this. That said, I am
well aware that my allegiance to the Moderate Faction sparks the potential of
something really bad happening by interacting with you two like this.”

Basara’s body began to tense up; he felt nervous about the situation.

Basara knew full well what Sheila said was right; and if she understood that
herself, why was she here, then?

The reason she had come here was—

“Still, I just wasn’t capable of resisting the urge to look for more exotic forms
of eroticism, and today happens to be a day where the erotic masterpieces of
Japan are gathered in one place! I wasn’t going to run away from a golden
opportunity like this! You understand me, right?”

“Oh, I see! I understand now, mom! I suppose there’s really no helping it then,
is there?”

“And you’re going to accept that explanation just like that!?”

“Come, let’s enjoy this gathering of the best of the erotic art in the human
world.”

“You said it, mom!”

Basara turned around, still astonished by the exchange, and he saw mother and
daughter enjoying the sights of the various shunga illustrations displayed around
them.

“So this is what a succubus is like…”

Basara could only watch them with an indescribable expression on his face as
the two little succubi who reached no taller than an average shoulder’s height
watched the surrounding shunga paintings with great interest.

“And Sheila-san’s as difficult to understand as always.”

 He had no doubt that Sheila had every intention of coming here if only to
attend this shunga exhibition. Nevertheless, he also pondered on the possibility
that Sheila had also come here to visit Maria.

Given the implications of Mio’s relationship with the Demon Realm, Basara
understood that it was, in fact, a risk for either Sheila or Maria’s older sister
Lucia to visit her.

Although she was usually bright and cheery and usually showed no signs of
feeling lonely or homesick, Maria was still a normal girl at heart, and she
definitely had some longing and love for her parents deep down.

Before he’d met Mio, Basara always had a parent by his side—his father, Jin
—and his very existence made his trials in the Village and the absence of a
mother bearable all the same.

He understood how precious it was to have a parent.

Still, was it really okay for Sheila to come here? And of all of the places that
her carefree self could choose to arrange a meeting with Maria, was a shunga
exhibition really the best choice?

In the end, he supposed that it wasn’t impossible for Sheila to come to an art
exhibition such as this, even if only to keep an eye on Maria, and apart from the
fact that it was natural for a succubus to want to come to a place like this.

Watching Sheila’s motherly behaviour brought a pleasant smile to Basara’s

face, and he could feel the tension on his shoulders fading.

“Oh, there’s a harem of nothing but women who’ve snuck into a temple! And
there’s another harem of women that’s been left stranded ashore!”

“As I thought, harems are still quite coveted. Nothing’s changed in that regard
over the past millennium or so, huh?”

“Look, mom! I know that we have women cavalry in the human world, but
there’s amazon women here too! There’s even a folding screen, too!”

“I knew it! Tomboys…or women crossdressing as men. The moment you

realize it’s really a girl’s face behind those masculine mannerisms…really turns
you on, doesn’t it?”

“Mom! There’s this…this woman, but it’s a guy dressed in women’s

clothing!”

“Look, Maria-chan! There are beasts here too! I didn’t think there’d be furries
in the human world…”

“Maybe these beastmen happen to be demons from the Demon Realm who
handed down their erotic ways and have the human world inherit them to this
day? Whatever explanation’s true, it’s still really naughty.”

“Ahh, this shunga exhibition really is the best! I’m so glad I decided to come
here.”

Basara reconsidered his thought process again as he continued to watch the

two enjoy themselves.

Did Sheila really come here just to attend this shunga exhibition?

“Come, Maria-chan, I want you to kneel right over there. Yes, just like that…”

“I can handle being tied up, no problem!”

“I’ll make sure to make it so that it won’t hurt at all when you’re all wrapped
up.”

“And it doesn’t hurt at all. Just as I’d expect from you, mom!”

“Wait, what the heck are you two doing? And when did you set up this
barrier?”

The surrounding visitors had disappeared before Basara knew it; he presumed
that the barrier they were now in was a copying variant that took the form of a
particular surrounding area, much like the one Hasegawa had used the other day.

Though Basara was already surprised at the speed and precision it took for
Sheila to create a barrier around them before he was even aware of it, what
surprised him even more was the scene the two succubi were involved in before
him.
 Sheila had withdrew a rope out of nowhere and was tying one end to one of
the pillars nearby, and was using said rope to tie up Maria with her hands behind
her back.

“Sheila-san, that’s…”

“It’ll be fine. I’ve already set up a barrier.”

“Oh, my. Why are you acting so flustered, Basara-san? This is actually quite
normal for us, you know?”

“What do you mean, normal!?What exactly do you mean when you say this is
normal for the two of you?”

“We’re going to put it into practise. Come on, Basara-kun. It’s been decided,
now, hasn’t it?”

“That’s right! Come on, Basara-san, you too…”

“Now, Maria-chan. I’m going to put you in a state like this now.”

“As expected from a barrier made from you, mom.

“Well, then, Maria-chan. What do you think of this atmosphere?”

“Mhm. I still don’t really feel anything.”

“I suppose so. After all, you still have a long way to go, right, Maria-chan?
Hey, Basara-kun.”

“You’re saying you want me to swing that thing? I don’t understand this. I
don’t understand this at all.”

“Come on, it’ll be fine. Look, I’ll even give you a hand.”

“Huh?”

“It’s not going to be difficult at all, so come on! We’re just going to do exactly
what’s depicted in this illustration.”

“Exactly?”
 Basara looked at the shunga painting Sheila had handed her—the painting
featured a personal touch that included a girl that resembled Maria being tied up,
and despite the clothing being different, the girl’s clothing was loosened in the
picture just as Maria’s was.

And then there was the man in the picture—presumably her partner—
humiliating the girl by violating her most precious bodily spot.

“Hang on a second, Sheila-san. We can’t do this.”

“…Is that so?”

“It’s impossible. We just can’t do this. Not even if we do it in a barrier.”

Basara seemed to show more disapproval than usual; this was an entirely
different matter than when he would usually conquer the girls in the household.

“I guess it can’t be helped. Have a look at Maria over there, then. I’m talking
about what’s in the picture.”

“If that’s the case, then…”

He did as he was told and put his attention on Maria, who was now all tied up.

Her coat had been taken off; the unusual position she was tied in meant that
her skirt was half folded inside out, such that her black tights within were
exposed. Her loosened collar also revealed her delicate collar bone showing
through her fair skin.
 And that was not the end of it—there was a gap that revealed a part of her
underwear, if only a little. Moreover, the way her body was tied up also
emphasized her small chest, a vivid portrayal of how a fragile little girl was well
on her way to becoming a woman.

Despite Basara knowing full well that Maria was a succubus, her current state
still looked quite pitiful and shameful to him as he continued staring at her.

Basara gulped at the sight, even though he knew that it was not an uncommon
scene for the Toujou household (and largely due to Maria herself).

Perhaps it was largely due to the fact that Basara wasn’t the only one reacting
to the situation.

Maria was actually starting to feel uncomfortable with the fact that Basara was
wordlessly staring at her current state; rather than feeling the joy and comfort of
her mischief, she was actually truly starting to get embarrassed.

And not knowing why exactly she was starting to feel like that, Maria
unconsciously averted her gaze.

“N-No…”

It was then that Sheila began to disturb her; she placed her hand on Maria’s
chin so that she could not look away. With an undoubtedly roguish smile on her
face, she directed Maria’s line of sight toward Basara and flaunted the shunga
she was holding in her hand toward her.

Basara and Maria were now enacting the scene depicted in the shunga—a man
facing a woman all tied up. The two said nothing, and Maria’s breath suddenly
became wild, a hint of crimson rising on her cheeks as white as snow, her richly-
colored tongue licking her lips in craving anticipation.

“What’s wrong?” Sheila whispered into Maria’s ear.

“Nothing’s…wrong…”

Maria’s response only enticed Sheila’s expression even further as she

continued tickling her daughter’s ear with her breaths, twisting Maria’s bound
body.

“I see…so there’s absolutely nothing wrong at all…”

Sheila gently stimulated the nape of Maria’s neck, sending shivers down her
petite body.

“You’re just starting to sweat a little—”

Sheila then extended her hand toward her daughter’s chest touched her breast
in a flicking motion.

“—Ah!”

“And your nipples have grown just a bit hard, huh?”

A mysterious, licentious glint appeared in Sheila’s eyes as she laughed at the

display.

“Why are you getting so excited? Your body’s the same as it was when it was
being tied up earlier, isn’t it?”

“That’s…”

Maria said nothing, only managing to let out sweet breaths.

“I suppose I should be explaining it all to you now. Right now, Basara-kun can
see you directly, Maria-chan. It’s embarrassing, isn’t it? I suppose I should show
you how effective it is being an exhibitionist in front of people for the first time.
There’s the mirror, too—it’ll allow you to be self-aware of your own perverted
self through what Basara-kun’s going to do to you.”

“Basara-san…?”

“You like this kind of play where you get to show off when someone’s around,
don’t you? I assume you do it in front of Mio-chan and the others? Oh, and one
more thing.”

Sheila directed Maria’s attention to the shunga, the latter of whom was
starting to grow enchanted by the picture and its implications.
 “We’re going to re-enact the situation in this shunga. I imagine it’ll allow you
to fully empathize with the characters in the shunga, don’t you think? I recall
that you’ve done something like this before, trying to empathize with an erotic
game with your magic? We’re going to do that again right now.”

“I’ve already…done so a couple of…nnn!”

Knowing full well that the girl in the shunga was embarrassed in her restricted
state, she had a beguiling expression on her face nonetheless, and she could no
longer hold in the overflowing pleasure.

“Aaah…This is, I…I’m already very…Nnn, haah♥…”

Maria was reduced to a mess, writhing as her insides rubbed against one
another.

“That’s right. Shunga like this exists too, you know. Very well, Basara-kun.”

Basara stared at the copy of the shunga painting Sheila had handed him,
feeling somewhat impressed.

“With this—we’re really going to start making the two of you look like what’s
going on in the picture, okay?”

Apart from the newly made shunga painting, a series of small, tightly packed
words were included on it as well—the lines of the scenario of the man and
woman in the shunga were written in amazingly vivid detail, down to the sound
effects present in such a situation.

“The font is adjusted a bit, but you should be able to read it. It’s amazing, isn’t
it? This stuff isn’t that much different from the erotic manga in our current age.”

Although Basara wasn’t particularly surprised that someone from the Demon
Realm would be knowledgeable about erotic manga from Japan, he was
genuinely surprised that Sheila was already knowledgeable in shunga, an area
that dated almost hundreds of years back.

“Well then, Basara-kun, go ahead and read it.”

“You’re asking…me to do it?”

 “Yep. And grope her butt, too, here.”

Basara found himself slightly confused by the surprisingly innocent way

Sheila had said that, and moved to stand beside Maria.

“Sorry, Maria. It seems your mom isn’t really satisfied yet.”

“Alright…Basara-san…” Maria’s eyes were wet as she looked at Basara,

doing her best to suppress the feelings that were fast welling up inside her, biting
her lip.

Basara could also start to feel something fester within him from her gesture.

Am I being influenced by the shunga too? Or am I just being enthralled by

how tempting an embarrassed Maria is? With such thoughts in his mind,
Basara’s gaze turned to the script written on the shunga that Sheila had given
him, and his mouth opened to read its contents out loud:

“ ‘What’s wrong, what’s wrong? You say you feel absolutely nothing from
this, but isn’t this part of you getting really hot?’ ”

As he spoke, he roughly caressed Maria’s butt and occasionally gave light

slaps on it.

“Ha…ah♥, ah!”

Maria began to pant sweetly as she writhed in Basara’s hold.

“ ‘Where is it that you want it? Come on, I want you to say it yourself.’ ”

“N-No….After all, Basara-san…ah, ah♥…it already feels so good just by you

touching me. Even so, nnn, nhaah♥…”

Tears were already flowing down Maria’s eyes. Her tongue was sticking out as
if she were desiring something.

“I’m being tied up like this…the shunga…uuu, aahn, haaan! I don’t know
anything anymore, but…I want more…Basara-san♥!”

Basara sucked up her flowing tears with his lips. He then leaned in close to
her and carried her little body, his left hand reaching to caress her breast, while
his other hand went for her butt and violated it roughly.

“Aaaaah, fuaaaah♥!”

Basara buried his face into the nape of Maria’s neck, causing her to moan
considerably loudly; the sweet, womanly scent of sweat entered Basara’s nose as
he did so.

“Are you finally learning it, Maria?”

“Ah, ah…uu…aaah—♥!”

Maria could not respond even if she was only being touched ; her head was
dangling back and forth between breaths and her eyes were shut as if she were
really enjoying the sensation.

“Well, study it to your heart’s content, then. This is what you wanted to study
about, right?”

“Y-Yes, Basara-san. I’ll be learning…human culture…ah♥!”

“ ‘Are you really in a position to say anything!?’ ”

Basara’s finger went up Maria’s skirt and rubbed the cavity between her
buttocks.

“Aaah! This is amazing…Even though I’m a succubus…aaah, nhaah♥!

Human culture really feels so goooood!”

“ ‘Well, it’s time. I’m going to do it!”

Tugging on the ropes that bound Maria as he twisted her constricted body to
his leisure, Basara insert his hand deep into Maria’s skirt.

His fingers slipped deeper within her, down her tights and her underwear, and
finally…to her most sensitive spot.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah♥!”

Maria’s jaw widened as she moaned, her silver hair a mess as she writhed
amidst the pleasure.

The liquid that pooled on the floor as a womanly odor wafted around the
closing barrier was not sweat.

Part 2

“We’ve enjoyed ourselves so much today, haven’t we, Basara-san! The culture
of the human world—the culture of Japan—is absolutely amazing, isn’t it!”
Maria said, her face glittering with excitement following the trip.

The three had now left the museum, including Sheila.

“Yeah…I’ve managed to see just how amazing the world is.”

The sun that shone in the cloudless sky that day was a bright as Maria’s own
smile.

“I suppose that’s great, then.” Basara’s couldn’t help but let out a complex
expression; despite having conquered Maria in an art museum of all places, the
fact that he’d done so in an enclosed barrier without bothering anybody meant
that he didn’t really feel all that guilty about it all.

“Thank you, Basara-kun.”

Basara felt his sleeve being pulled, and as he turned around, he could see
Shella wearing a warm expression on her face. She was watching her own
daughter as she enjoyed herself a certain distance away from them, her gaze full
of love.

“Even if Maria-chan’s a succubus, she’s still mighty inexperienced when it

comes to being a girl.” She said, her youthful form letting out an infectious
smile. “Still, she’s also been in this world or quite some time, and so she’s
learned many things that she couldn’t have learned in the Demon Realm—much
more than even I have.”

Her words seemed to be earnest, and she straightened herself.

“I know she’s caused quite a lot of trouble for you. Still, I hope that I can
continue to leave my daughter Maria in the care you and the others.” Sheila said,
bowing deeply.

“Of course,” Basara replied, nodding. “She’s a precious family member to

us.”

Those were words that came from the heart.

“Thank you,” Sheila said.

Basara still didn’t understand the true reason why Sheila had come here. Did
she really come here to visit the shunga exhibition like she’d said? Maybe she
came to see how Maria was doing? Or perhaps she had come to visit Basara
himself to confirm something for herself?”

Nevertheless, Basara was convinced of one thing that day–Sheila really loved
her daughter from the bottom of her heart.

“Sheila-san, I…” He said, turning toward her.

She was now gone despite being right beside him just a short moment ago,
however.

“Mom! There’s some really good stuff over there!”

“There’s some illustration books, too! Oh, you’d want to buy some of them,
don’t you, Maria-chan? That’s right, maybe I should pick up some illustration
books and handkerchiefs for Lucia-chan as souvenirs.”

“Just as I would expect from you, mom! I’m already looking forward to what
sort of reaction that stubborn Lucia onee-sama’s going to give now.”

The two succubi were now enjoying themselves in the souvenir section;
Basara looked at them with astonishment for a couple of moments, but his
expression eventually loosened.

I don’t know what Sheila’s true intentions are, but everything should be fine,
Basara thought.

He suddenly realized Sheila was there, just a short distance away from him.
 “That’s right. Do you think we should get any souvenirs for Mio and the
others? Like this shunga handkerchief here—”

“They’ll definitely need this for school, right?”

“They’ll definitely get furious at you, I’ll tell you that!”

And the duo’s affairs properly ended for the day with an unusually high-
spirited shopping trip.
The Secrets of A Certain Competent
Maid
There was a desk meant for official duties, a desk that was made from
expensive materials but possessed no unnecessary decoration for practical use.

Sitting opposite the stack of documents on it was Ramusas; he was one of the
main powers of the Demon Realm as the man who led the Moderate Faction, as
well as the younger brother of the previous Demon Lord, Wilbert.

He now sat in his office within Wildart Castle; the curtain of night had long
fallen upon the scenery outside the window, and as he looked at the time, he
knew that it was already quite late.

Silently, Ramusas went through the piling stack of papers before, signing
them and disposing of any that were unnecessary. Although Ramusas had to
busy himself with office work following his already exhausting work during the
day, he did not seem to show any sign of feeling worn out whatsoever.

There was a sudden knock on the door, to which Ramusas simply said “Come
in”. He had already expected the arrival of his visitor through the footsteps
approaching his office.

“Please excuse me.”

The figured who appeared was a woman with silver hair, with a keen gaze that
possessed an icy coldness to it; the maid outfit she was dressed in was made with
the best cloth but with minimal decoration, much like Ramusas’ desk.

It was Lucia, Maria’s older succubus sister who served as Ramusas’ aide.

“Everything has been settled successfully on my end. Please confirm that

everything is as such,” Lucia said, placing another stack of papers on Ramusas’
desk, to which Ramusas only took a mere glance at the increased workload.

These numerous documents were related to issues between the two ruling
factions of the Demon Realm, the Moderate Faction and the Current Demon
Lord Faction; although they had seemingly settled their disputes the first time,
previous, unaddressed conflicts would be proposed during the various
discussions of peace between them.

Although Ramusas and Lucia could have allocated such work to their lower
subordinates or other related departments, the importance of their current work
meant that it was more efficient for the two to take responsibility themselves.

After all, such issues needed to be addressed appropriately and the two
factions needed to find a common ground for the sake of maintaining peace
between both sides.

“Good work. Rest for today.”

“Yes, sir. Please excuse me.” And after a bow, Lucia began to walk out of
Ramusas’ office.

Ramusas then glanced at the work Lucia had given him to ensure that it had
indeed been completed, and this did not go unnoticed by Lucia herself.

Lucia was no longer needed to assist with these affairs any further—she
presumed that Ramusas had decided as such, and their short exchange earlier
had been meant to inform her of that.

Ramusas, however, would still need to busy himself with work that was due
that day, work that Lucia would be incapable of helping him with.

Lucia felt the urge to tell Ramusas to not overwork himself rise in her throat;
however, she would have wanted it not for her own sake as his servant, but for
that of his own.

Lucia placated herself of the irritating feelings that were welling up inside her,
knowing full well that she ought to do so. The extent of which she could aid
Ramusas was to reduce his burden, and she had fully completed what she had
been assigned that was within her capabilities. She understood that these were
her duties as his aide.

Ruminating on plans meant for the following day, she walked toward her own
room, situated within the Wildart Castle. Befitting of her status as Ramusas’
right-hand woman, she had been granted a spacious room for her use, and the
way it was kept thoroughly tidy and orderly accentuated a light lived-in feel to
the room.

Something that didn’t belong in that room was present on the table, however
—it was a brand new notebook computer.

Lucia first turned on the power of the notebook; she then made tea, placed a
cup on the table, and sat on the chair that was tucked within it. By the time she
had done all those things, the PC had fully started up.

Without any change in expression, Lucia then put on her headphones, and
using her mouse she clicked on what was obviously the icon of a game on her
computer. Several moments passed before the title ‘My Unknown Youth Life
with my Real Little Sister’ appeared on the display.

Much like the title suggested, the game was one that featured the love of the
protagonist and their younger sister; as Lucia continued clicking her mouse,
sweet moans preceded the beginning of a rather brutish lovemaking scene.

In other words, she was playing an eroge.

Lucia concentrated on disciplining the younger sister within the game, her
gaze ice-cold and razor-sharp; she spared no detail as she played the game,
listening to every voice clip through her headphones, and not finding the need to
click to progress through the game texts tedious.

She played as if she wanted to investigate every single aspect of the game,
from the visuals to the background music.

After a few hours, the end credits began to play; however, there was not even
the slightest hint of change in Lucia’s countenance. Following the end of the
credits screen, Lucia removed her headphones and looked toward the title screen
that had appeared on the display before her once more.

She caught a glimpse of her reflection through the momentarily blackened

screen, and her lips parted ever so slightly. Her eyebrows creased at the notion
that something was out of place.

Turning around, she noticed that there was a box on the bed; she could not
recall such a box existing in her room, especially one so large she could barely
hold it with her own two hands.

How long had the box been there? How could she not have noticed it when
she first returned to her room?

Acting on her suspicions, she approached her bed and examined the box for
any signs of technical and physical traps, before processing to examine the box’s
physical and magical qualities. After ensuring that the box was not laced with
any threat from both spectrums, she began to physically inspect the box.

“This is—”

Within it was a package that was far smaller in size; perhaps it was better to
say that the box was far too big to store it.

That aside, it was an authentic computer game of sorts that laid within the
box. The package along with the box seemed to make up an eroge.

The realization caused Lucia to clench her fists and assume a defensive
posture, entering a state of preparedness for battle as she turned around; she
showed no signs of hesitation or surprise as she detected the presence that
suddenly appeared behind her.

However, the next action Lucia took was to sigh deeply in relief.

“…Just exactly what do you think you are doing?”

The presence she had sensed behind her earlier appeared before Lucia in the
form of a young girl; Lucia could feel nostalgia welling up within her as she
recognized the girl’s familiar face, who was now smiling as she turned toward
Lucia.

The person standing before Lucia right now who was absent just a short
moment ago was none other than her mother, Sheila.

Lucia had left no openings when she was playing her eroge; even with her
headphones on, she had the skills to notice if anyone entered her room, more so
if they made themselves present when she had just finished playing her game.
 “It’s just a little space magic. Just a little, ‘kay?”

Just a little, as you say…Lucia frowned at the way her mother had termed her
actions.

She had to admit that her mother was a far more frequent user of such a
variant of magic than she was, and she found herself swallowing a breath at
Sheila’s precision; the composed Lucia thus did not find herself angry that her
mother had created a dimensional tunnel that lead to her own room again.

Paying Lucia’s thoughts little mind, Sheila then surveying the room as if she
owned it.

“Oh, I know, don’t worry. I’m aware Maria-chan’s really been immersing
herself in a lot of erotic games lately too.”

Lucia’s brows creased. Her irritation was evident, regardless of whether she
knew that because Sheila had been spying on her while she was playing, or if she
presumed that Sheila had been messing around with her stuff while she wasn’t
around.

“That’s not my reason,” She said amidst a sigh. “Given then Mio-sama’s
currently placed under our non-intervention policy, it’s also important for us to
prepare ourselves to maintain a relationship with the human world from now on.
As such, to broaden my views as a succubus, I have decided to play this so-
called erotic video game—this game featuring play with a beautiful young
heroine—in order to understand this human culture.”

“Yes, yes, that’s true. Even so, you’re still a succubus, no?”

Lucia creased her eyebrows in resignation.

“And while all that’s true and all, putting that aside, I happened to order all
those online,” Sheila pointed at the box she’d brought over, “The delivery
service of the human world is really efficient. I wonder if the Demon Realm
could emulate that…”

“And how exactly did you get those…? In other words, you’re saying you
obtained them directly from the human world?”
 “Oh, there are a lot of different kinds of souvenirs in there, you know,” She
said, slapping her hands to relieve the stress from the heavy illustration books
she had been holding. “Here we have some stuff from the human world: erotic
drawings, shunga designs and illustration books, shunga handkerchiefs…”

“I’m grateful, but I’d ask you that you be more conscious about the problems
that we’d have if you’d just slipped in and out of the human world like—”

“I just remembered something: important business! Good night, Lucia-chan.”

She turned around the moment she said so and conjured a magic circle that
opened a dimensional tunnel, before disappearing without saying anything
further.

Glaring as her mother disappeared in an instant through the dissipating magic

circle, Lucia sighed yet again. Left in her room were thick shunga illustrative
books, handkerchiefs with unique, erotic designs and patterns on them, as well
as a sizable pile of erotic video games.

After some careful thought, Lucia primly placed the illustration books she’d
received on her bookshelf, and extended a hand toward the box filled with the
erotic video games.

Part 2

Lucia returned to her room considerably later than the previous day that night.

Looking as if though she was not tired whatsoever after a day’s exhausting
work, she quickly got to business; as usual, she opened her PC, made some tea,
and fiddled with the mouse.

Several icons that were not present yesterday were now lined upon the display
of her computer; Sheila had quickly and efficiently installed the games that
Sheila had given her last night before she went to sleep.

Clicking on one of the icons, she initiated one of the games.

Gazing at the display of the computer with her typical and unchanging cold
gaze, Lucia had come to partake in the erotic games of the human world that she
had experienced up until now with great anticipation—the concept of an erotic
game had become a topic of great, deep interest to Lucia as a succubus.
 The game at its core was largely a story involving rich and fascinating
depictions of a scenario that usually involved protagonist and his fellow
heroines, allowing an immersive and resonating experience from the various
aspects included in the game, such as the player being able to understand the
emotions of the characters in the story, the resulting climax, and the various
erotic scenes available.

Even among the succubus culture, one had never witnessed a product made
from the delicate concept of applying eroticism to stories.

Lucia had also gone through the shunga illustration books she was given last
night, and through the discovery of various story-based shunga and the fact that
they had been published for a long time, she rationalized that the concept had
existed in the human world for quite a long time, and had developed into the
product she was playing as technology continued to advance.

However, it still was not eroticism in its own natural form.

Having purchased the game My Unknown Youth Life with my Real Little Sister
due to its reviews of having extreme erotic scenes, Lucia herself had found the
acclaimed experience unsatisfactory to her tastes.

Succubi were a race of sexual demons that had their power elevated through
sexual pleasure; that being said, human eroticism was nothing more than a relic
of the days long past to the succubi.

“Humans are capable of interesting things…I’d give my praise, but this is as

far as it goes, is it…” She said coldly.

Perhaps there was no need to study human erotic games extensively after all;
she had such a thought in her mind since the previous night, and her stand did
not seem to change that day.

It was then that her eyes suddenly widened.

“This is…!” She said with a high, surprised voice.

The concept of the game itself was not rare at all; it was simply a matter of
having divergent routes in the story where the player had to go through all of the
important plot points of the game in order to access the route of a main heroine
that they particularly fancied.

The girl that appeared in the display was a dragon, possibly the main heroine,
however; and this character did not seem to have any physically human traits, or
did it seem capable of taking on a human form.

The form of the character was evidently reptilian, with massive, strong wings
spread wide, its fangs bared. Its body was covered in scales as sharp as blades.
The glint in its eyes suggested that it had some profound level of intelligence,
and its breath let out occasional instances of flames.

It was no exaggeration—the main heroine was the very thing itself, a dragon.
The beast’s physique spanned almost ten meters long including its large tail.

“Dora-chan, wait…”

It was a cute voice, and its source then appeared—it was another heroine, a
slime. Much like the dragon, it had no trace of human form in it whatsoever, its
dark green body of viscous liquid wriggling almost repulsively. Her adorable
voice was one of the seven special abilities she was equipped with, and it
appeared to possess the setting of being able to camouflage or imitate other
appearances with its mucus body.

Then there was a humongous, one-eyed giant that was even larger than the
dragon—a Cyclops—appearing with a towering, vividly-colored frame, yet with
the demeanour of a lively young girl.

There was also a manticore that looked too old yet too young.

This was followed by what was called a Mongolian Deathworm, with a body
of nothing but an earthworms, releasing toxins as the eccentric being fired out
waves of lightning attacks.

“No heroine in this game takes on the form of a human… and bestial or
interspecies love is rare on its own already, even within the diverse races and
species of the Demon Realm…and to begin with, what in the world is a
Mongolian Deathworm?”

Lucia took another look at the package of the erotic game with the title
‘Gachi☆Mon’ again—there was no doubt that was manufactured from a
company in the country of Japan from the human world, though there were no
such products in the Demon Realm to begin with it.

And then the erotic scenes came about.

“As I thought…this is the extent of what it can offer.”

She was offered something she felt that she had no need to see, for she was
already equipped with such knowledge as a succubus.

Lucia’s throat suddenly felt dry, and she drank some of the cooled tea to
quench her thirst.

After finishing an erotic scene where the protagonist had to partake in lewd
acts with a 10-meter long dragon and completing the game, her gaze turned
toward the box beside her computer, filled with more of the erotic games Sheila
have given her the night before.

Having only installed those games yesterday, Lucia had yet to ascertain all of
the content for herself.

After she scrutinized the package again, she gazed at the display in
bewilderment.

“I know that you can focus on the routes of every boy and girl in the game…I
understand that much, at least. But all the targets available in this game are
robots? With their lower halves spanning three meters and their upper bodies
fifteen kilometres? Why do they have to make their sizes so specific!?” She
could no longer resist her rising tone.

The Demon Realm had no friendly relations with beings like robots or any of
the sort; still, she understood that to the Demon Realm, this was a love that
involved beings akin to Heroic Spirits spanning fifteen kilometres tall!

Lucia suddenly became aware of her reflection on the display; it indicated that
an unmistakable look of surprise was engraved on her face at the moment.

Lucia took in a deep breath, after which her expression no longer wavered.

Her gaze implied that she now had every intention to read everything as she
remained fixated on the display.

“So this is the extent of human eroticism…” With a click of the mouse from
her pale finger, she activated ‘Gachi☆Mon Harmony’ again. “How fascinating.
Well, let me see all of it, then—for the sake of a new future for a sex demon such
as myself…no, for the entire succubus race.”

Lucia smiled. Her lips curled upward knowing that she was a succubus on a
mission, ready to surpass the newfound knowledge she’d learned from another
world.

Part 3

“Mother,” Lucia called out to Sheila at a corner of the Wildart Castle.

“My, my.”

As Sheila turned around, she was presented with a large bag, with all of the
erotic games that she had given Lucia several days ago neatly kept within it.

Her eyebrows furrowed at the sight of the bag; given that she’d already
returned all of the games without even a week passing, she assumed that there
was only one reason for her doing so.

“So they weren’t to your tastes after all? What a shame.”

“No. I’ve completed every route of every game. I also went through all of the
illustrations.”

“Eh?” Sheila exclaimed, her eyes widening. “It hasn’t even been a week since
I’ve given you all those games, and speaking of giving you those games, I did
happen to give them to you while you had a dreadful amount of work to do,
didn’t I?”

“I cut down on some of my sleep hours for that purpose.”

“You say that as if that’s not really going to bother you, but is your body really
okay?”

“But of course. I know that taking care of my health is very important even
though I’ve been staying up all night.”

“So you didn’t sleep at all?”

“That won’t be a problem,” Lucia said, withdrawing a potion bottle from her
own bag. “I’ve used a magic potion to ensure that I’m adjusted enough, such that
there will be no compromise to the governmental affairs.”

“You haven’t really made any adjustments to how long you’ll be staying up
for as well as managing your own health, though, have you?”

“This potion stimulates bodily activity. In addition, the potion will help to
recuperate any damage of fatigue I’ve sustained during my all-nighters.”

“…You seem to be alright, then. If that’s the case, everything should be fine,
but…”

“I wanted to prove to you that I would have no problems going through all
these games within a week.”

“I don’t think you’ll be able to keep this up for more than one week anyway,”
Sheila said, giving off one of her rare, authentic expressions.

“Yes. I’ve already finished all the routes.” There was a moment’s silence,
before Lucia opened her mouth to speak again. “Thank you very much.”

She took a deep bow.

“I suppose you feel a bit embarrassed about how enlightening the experience
has been.”

“Not at all. If anything, I’d say the games have left a profound impression on
me.” She said, continuing as she looked at the game in Sheila’s hand. “I confess
that I have held a certain disdain toward the human race up until now.”

She then stared into space, as if she was imagining something in her mind.

“The war god, Toujou Jin. His son, Toujou Basara, whom has let us bear
witness to his power first hand, power that brought great influence to the affairs
of the Demon Realm. And then there’s the Hero Clan, who has produced such
warriors. Perhaps I understand such an example in my mind, but I suppose in
the end, I don’t understand the actual essence of it all.”

Lucia was now letting out her sincere thoughts on the matter.

“The erotic games you’ve given me, Mother…they’ve allowed me to

reconsider my narrow opinion of eroticism as a succubus and have allowed me
to experience many new and profound values. And the shunga illustration books
you’ve given me have given me a perspective of the history that has culminated
into the very products I’ve now experienced.”

Her expression was tranquil.

“Perhaps this is all part of their strength…part of the strength of humans, that
is.”

“Indeed. Sure, you may be changed a little and you’ve learned something new,
but…in the end, you’re still a succubus at heart.” The irresponsible, yet
immensely powerful Sheila nodded in satisfaction at her daughter’s sentiments.

“And I will continue my efforts thusly,” Lucia said. “As a succubus, to strive
deeper, and with more perversion. I won’t sit by and do nothing as a demon of
sexual desire, nor will I be of a quality that loses to the mere erotic games of
humans.”

Lucia’s expression changed to be somewhat cheerful.

“Besides…” She whispered, and her eyes were cast downward, “I think
Maria, who’s already been exposed to games like this far earlier than I have, will
far surpass my expectations of her.”

Her thoughts turned to her younger sister, who was in a world next to hers
separated by dimensions.

“That little girl of ours…Maria’s already been exposed to far more of the
outside world than the both of us have. So that’s why I’m sure…” Her gaze was
filled with tender thoughts of her younger sister.

Sheila gave off a motherly smile; Lucia was truly an older sister.
 Part 4

“Well now, for the sake of the irresistible pleasures of both Mio-sama and
Basara-sama, I, Naruse Maria, will do my best in my study of more erotic games
today!” Maria said, feeling motivated as she switched on her computer.

As always, the first thing she did was to gather information so that she could
pioneer a new erotic game. Humming a tune as she went about her habitual
surfing courses, she gathered information about the quality of erotic games from
sources such as credible reviewing sites, officially followed SNSes, and
manufacturing sites. Following that, after getting the inspiration she needed, she
also thought about potential illustrators and scenario writers looking to be part of
any games.

All while she was doing her research, she was playing several demo games
that she’d downloaded.

Although it was all a common routine for her, she would usually find new
information, making the experience fresh nonetheless.

“Hmm. This page says that there are plans to release something new soon…
sounds good. I’ll bookmark it and come back it from time to time.”

She decided to read the page carefully again—it was an erotic game review
page.

The initial review involved composed criticism that was very objective. It
provided a detailed view of the good and bad as well as aspects such as the
system and scenario with almost mechanical precision.

The more she read it, however, she noticed that there were several points of
criticism that were heading toward a different direction.

The review was also very passionate in describing each individual character
included in the scenario, such that Maria could almost feel as if the writer’s
earnest thoughts on the matter were directed to herself.

“Still, this just shows a real bias towards these kinds of games, doesn’t it?
Even for me, ‘Super Robots Harem War’ is just far too niche for me. It’s fine to
be enthusiastic about one game, but to think they’d go as far as to write about
stuff like ‘Gachi☆Mon?’ This person’s really a new level of pervert. Of course, a
real succubus would obviously appreciate stuff like this and shower it in
praises.”

She suddenly stopped speaking, and her fingers froze on the mouse.

She took a look at the name of the poster on the site, which she had paid little
attention up until now. It read ‘Maid of the Demon Realm – Lu-tan’.

She suddenly imagined the sight of her older sister Lucia clicking the enter
button to finish her comment with her usual serious expression in her mind.

“Oh, no, no, that’s just…that’s just impossible. Hahaha…” She laughed,
brushing the thought of Lucia focusing on playing an erotic game with the same
serious expression from her mind.

“In any case, I’ll be counting on this reviewer for reference from now on! For
the sake of letting Mio-sama drown in endless pleasure, for the future of the
succubi! —Huh!? Am I really going to play a game as niche as this!? Wait a
minute, what exactly am I thinking about right now!?”

Maria decided to continue reading reviews yet again.

The girls had already known what they needed to know.

Nevertheless, theirs was a sisterly and parental bond that transcended the
boundaries of world and dimensions easily, and would bring forth the birth of a
new possibility.

One that was fitting of a succubus.

Toujou Family Goes to the
Amusement Park
It was a weekend, one that came near the end of February.

As Basara disembarked from the train, he could see a dazzling scene right
before him—it was a grand, imposing hotel that stood out from the sea of multi-
storey buildings set out in the metropolis. A spinning ferris wheel that matched
the aesthetic of the hotel was also present within the vicinity.

Every member of Toujou Basara’s family had come to this massive attraction
area where the hotel and amusement park were lined together with a domed
stadium as its centre.

“Wow! This will be my first experience, Basara-san! My first time ever!”

“I don’t mind your enthusiasm, but I’d ask that you express it without saying
things that might cause misunderstandings.”

Maria giggled and stuck out her tongue at Basara’s retort. “It’s true that this is
my first time, though. Even if I have seen it on TV before…”

“It’s mine too.” It was Zest who spoke next, a smile breaking out on her face
as she gazed at the massive Ferris wheel before her. “The Demon Realm has a
different taste when it comes to entertainment, after all.”

Basara thought of how fresh it was to get a view of something so large with
his very own eyes. “It’s been a long time since I last came to an amusement park
as well.”

With a skip in her step, Mio lined herself beside Basara. “I’m glad that you’ve
kept your promise in the end. Thank you, Basara.”

“My pleasure.”

During early February, Basara had promised the others that he would take
them out somewhere. As their hopes grew stronger by the day, Basara knew he
wanted to make good on their plans, and so he took the time to bring the Toujou
household for an outing for all of them to enjoy themselves that day.

“It’s been a while since I did this too. Quite some time, really…” Yuki said,
stepping forward beside Mio. “Even since we were kids, anyway.”

“That’s true…there weren’t any places like this near the Village, were there?”

The Village was constantly under threat of war and battle, and so it lacked any
form of entertainment on a large scale; at the same time, the fact that the Village
was also very distant from the national capital meant that it was very hard to go
to a such a place for leisure. Getting permission to go out from the Village was
also very time-consuming.

Such was why Basara’s first memories of going to the amusement park as a
child were so precious to him—the contrast of the fond memory to the harsh
times he had spent being raised in the Village with his earliest days of strict
training passed onto him only made the memory that much more meaningful.

“Jin-san used to take me along back then,” Yuki said.

“That’s right. Takashi used to come along with us too.”

Basara and Yuki used to spend a lot of time with Takashi doing many things
together during their childhood, and that day had been one such day for them as
well.

“…I don’t remember it all that well, though.” It was Kurumi who spoke next,
her lips pursed. “I was so small back then.”

“Still, you should remember that monster self-righting doll, though.”

“…Hmm? Ah, aaaaaah! That monster thing! I see. So that was when we
bought it…” Kurumi suddenly clapped her hands together in remembrance of
the event.

“I still keep it at home. It brings back memories…” She then shut her eyes and
her thoughts wander back to such times.
 “I had fun back then. I really did,” Basara muttered quietly. His thoughts went
back to his childhood once more and how he had not anticipated the tragedy that
happened after that; he had once believed that his friendships would last forever.

“…At any rate, let’s get going, shall we?” Basara said, deep in his
recollections as ever.

Yuki, Kurumi, Maria and Zest nodded, as they began moving forward while
gazing at the roller coaster. The group went on walking for a few moments
before Basara suddenly realized something.

“Mio?”

Basara turned around to discover that Mio was standing still all by herself.

“Eh…mmm. I’m sorry. I’ll be right there.”

Basara could see her expression darken very slightly as she said so—he knew
all too well what she was feeling.

Yuki and Kurumi had shared the same childhood Basara had; the three shared
memories among one another.

On the other hand, Mio had no companion during her own early days; her
parents, both of whom she had spent her childhood with, and whom could have
been able to bring her to the amusement park themselves, had been brutally
murdered by Zolgear.

“Mio,” Basara said, taking her hand. Mio let out a momentary look of surprise
at the gesture.

“Let’s have fun together today.”

His words caused Mio to blink for a moment, and her expression lit up after
that.

“Mhm!” Mio said, her voice springing up again. With their hands still locked
together, the two lightly ran ahead to catch up with Yuki and the others.

The other girls were already at the front gate of the amusement park.
 “So what do you guys want to ride first?”

“That

, of course.” Mio’s gaze turned to the snowing azure sky, fixated on the rails
that ran high around the space of the metropolis.

It was a roller coaster.

“That’s as classic as you can get.”

“Are you sure that’s going to be alright for you, though?”

“But of course. I’ve been capable of holding my own against the various
battles we’ve had until now, so I doubt something of that level will be enough to
faze me.” Mio said, scoffing at the display.

“I wouldn’t say it’s actually fair to compare something like this to our usual
battles, but…you may be right.”

Basara seemed to be content with the way Mio had answered him.

Ten minutes passed after that.

Mio’s screams could be heard echoing across the winter sky.

Part 2

“Are you okay?” Basara asked, handing Mio a cup of hot apple tea, a sweet-
sour odor wafting with the steam that rose from the drink’s surface.

“O-of course…”

Mio shut her mouth with her hands for a moment, before she finally took a sip
of the tea after calming down.

She was now sitting on one of the benches of the facility, her head hung in
embarrassment.

Maria, Yuki and the others eyed Mio with concern; her face was pale and she
looked unwell.
 “To think that I’d have motion sickness over the ride…” The way she
mumbled implied that she was having trouble speaking, “Even though I’ve
already had experience flying with magic…”

“People don’t get motion sickness in the same way. Some don’t fare that well
on cars, while others get seasick on ships.”

Unlike Mio, every other member who had come with her to the amusement
park looked energetic despite having rode on the rollercoaster just as she had.

“I suppose it’s also a matter of experience.” It was Yuki who spoke.

“That’s right. My older sister couldn’t possibly be incapable of adapting to

any internal changes given her style as an all-rounder swordswoman. As for me,
I guess I’m just used to travelling around normally through the air a lot.”

“The same goes for me,” Zest said, nodding in agreement to Kurumi’s
statement.

Basara thought of how Kurumi and Zest were used to moving in a three-
dimensional fashion, thus understanding why the two of them hadn’t wound up
sick from the rollercoaster.

“I value speed, so I suppose I should be used to it by now. What about you,

Maria?”

All eyes turned toward Maria, who tilted her neck to the side in response.

“As I thought, it’s best for me to stick with my usual lewd—”

“Maybe you’re that sturdy because you value strength.” *(I think Basara’s
trying to get at a dick inneudo here)

“Did you just say something a girl wouldn’t actually say!?”

“Well, at any rate, I’m just glad you’re not really sick.”

“Mhm,” Mio smiled weakly. “I’m starting to feel better, so I was thinking we
could get going after I rest for a little while longer. I’d like to check out more of
the place with all of you.”
 “Still…”

Puzzled, Yuki scanned the faces of the others before her.

Basara was scratching his cheek.

“—I’m feeling a bit dizzy as well.” Following the sudden remark, Basara
slumped next to Mio on the bench.

“Basara?”

“It’s embarrassing to admit that I’ve gone a bit sick over that Infinite Slayer
rollercoaster. I mean, I should be strong enough by now.” He said jokingly. “That
said, I guess you guys can go enjoy yourselves without me first. Mio and I will
catch up with you later.”

“Good grief, Basara-san…” Maria said with a wry smile, while the others
nodded in response. “I understand. Well, then, I guess we can now enjoy the
lewdness of this amusement park to our hearts’ content!”

“And just where and how exactly is this place lewd at all?” Kurumi said with
her brows creased, exchanging glances with Basara.

Zest took a bow, and Maria immediately went off on her own.

“See you later,” Yuki said.

“Mmm. Later.” Mio replied, forcing a smile.

With that, the other girls left Mio and ventured out to visit the other attractions
in the amusement park.

Basara and Mio understood why they’d went on their own ways and left Mio
behind as if they were no longer worried about her.

Wordlessly, the two remained on the bench together under the winter sky.

Part 3

“Since we now have all this time to ourselves, let’s not put any time to waste!”
Maria said. She and the group had been walking for quite a while.
 Zest, who now appeared to not mind the fact that they’d left Mio and Basara
behind, gave off a look of slight surprise.

“Mhm, she’s enjoying herself alright,” Kurumi said, her tone more cheery
than usual. “I thought she’d be less excited about it all.”

Yuki and Zest exchanged glances, before nodding and saying “That’s right,”
in unison.

“I’d be more worried if she weren’t enjoying herself,” Yuki remarked, to the
others’ agreement.

“So where do you think we should go?” Maria asked, looking around.

“Come to think of it…we never really gave it much thought, have we?”
Kurumi said, placing a finger to her lips in thought. “This will be my first time
going to any of these attractions some of you have visited before.”

“Well, I guess we can start with the haunted house.”

Maria and Kurumi suddenly went still at Yuki’s suggestion; the two became
aware of the other’s expression as they exchanged glances with one another, and
immediately turned their faces away afterwards.

“R-Right, I know you used to love places like that, big sis. Still, I think I’m
already too old to go into places like…” Kurumi said, looking back and forth.

“Oh my…is something wrong, Kurumi-chan? Are you telling me that you’re
afraid?” Although Maria was laughing scornfully at Kurumi, her knees were
trembling.

“Absolutely not! And speak for yourself, Maria—you don’t look very thrilled
yourself either.”

“Is that so? Well, I can’t say I’m bothered in the slightest, but if you insist,
Kurumi-chan, perhaps it is for the best if we don’t go to the haunted house after
all; I wouldn’t want to burden your already trembling body more.”

“You’re right. We shouldn’t go there since you’re scared, Maria.”

 “I am not

scared, okay! I’m just positively turned on right now! Still, Kurumi-san, all
you have to do is to get on your knees and beg, ‘Oh, I’m just too scared and
don’t want to go into the haunted house, so please just mess me up right now!’
and I wouldn’t be so hesitant about cancelling the trip to the haunted house!”

“Now you’ve just lost your head—what are you saying!?”

Yuki only watched the squabble between the two youngest members of the
household wordlessly.

“I want to go in and have a look,” Zest said amidst the commotion. Maria and
Kurumi turned toward her, wearing the same look of surprise.

“I’m admittedly interested in what the monsters in the human world are like…
but is it all really not that interesting? If that’s the case…”

“Oh, no, no, no, Kurumi’s the only one among us that’s not really happy about
going there.” “Maria’s the one who doesn’t want to go there.”

Their statements came out at the same time, before the two glared at each
other once again.

“I’ll come along, then.” “I’ll follow you guys too.”

Their retorts came out simultaneously again.

“It’s just a haunted house, after all. Besides, there’s still the four of us even if
Basara-san’s been left behind. We’ll more than manage.” There was a confident
expression on Maria’s face, but she still could not hide her pale countenance and
her quivering knees.

“Let’s hear the rules, then.” Yuki, who seemed to have separated from them
momentarily, suddenly said so as she returned to them.

“Rules, huh?”

“This haunted house seems to be a walk-in attraction. That said, we’ll have to
go in two-by-two.”
 Maria became silent; Kurumi’s expression went blank.

“Two people at a time is still more than enough company! What’s with the
face you’re making, Kurumi-san—?!”

“I’m simply feeling satisfied with the outcome! That should be obvious, right,
Maria—?!”

“Well, let’s get going then. I’ll pair up with Zest.”

“Yuki-san!” “Onee—!?”

Yuki could only tilt her head to the side in puzzlement as Maria and Kurumi
raised their troubled voices.

Part 4

The name of the haunted house they entered was ‘Maison D’Inferno’.

“Do you want to know something, Maria? This is what they call a maison (in
French), or a mansion. Long ago, where unfortunate events would occur on such
a plot of land, the mansion becomes such that various rooms would suddenly
appear out of nowhere.”

“I see! Now that’s just great! How very nice of you to enlighten me on this
establishment that I’ve heard absolutely nothing about! Maybe we should
continue to a

dirtier topic while we’re at it!”

“No thanks!”

Maria and Kurumi had paired up and were now walking along the ominous
corridor of the mansion. There was a sudden flicker of dim light, following it
was a raspy sound reminiscent of a cat’s mewing—it startled the two girls into
shaking.

Not wanting to show their clearly frightened expressions, their faces were
turned away, though they slowly inched closer to each other as well.
 “W-What’s the matter, Kurumi-san? I should say that I’d like you to stop
sticking so passionately close to me…”

“I-I just thought that I’d be generous enough to give some service today. Even
then, aren’t you the one that’s getting closer in the first place…?”

Kurumi forced herself to smile through her fearful expression.

Maria’s eyebrow twitched at Kurumi’s reply; her face still scared, she did her
best to curve her lips upward and lightly puff her chest outward.

“So you are

scared after all, aren’t you? Some demon succubus you are…”

“As a matter of fact, I am not! As a succubus, I happen to be a demon of the

night, so the atmosphere makes me feel more like a housewife waiting at home!
It

is a mansion, after all.”

“Okay, now that just sounds a little off, doesn’t it?”

“That’s none of your concern, now, is it? At any rate,

you’re

the one that’s really scared here, aren’t you, Kurumi-san? That’s why you’re
going on the offensive and avoiding the question.”

“Wha—! That’s not true and you know it!

“And you call yourself a member of the Hero Clan? Ahaha. Seems we have a
good-for-nothing hero around here…”

Click.

The sound of footsteps could be heard from the back.

Maria stopped talking, and Kurumi’s own footsteps stopped at the exact same
time as Maria’s.
 —Click. There was that sound again.

And it wasn’t stopping; click and click, the sound came in slow, but steady
intervals.

Maria and Kurumi could no longer hide how utterly terrified they were—
before they even realized it, their arms were already around one another and they
shivered amidst the dimly lit corridor.

“K-K-K-Kurumi-san, I think this is the best time for you to let out your inner
protective heart now! What was that…”

“T-T-That’s supposed to be my line…”

Non-existent saliva unconsciously went down their drained throats; realizing

and no longer denying the fear that festered in the other’s eyes, Kurumi and
Maria slowly turned around to ascertain what it was that was coming toward
them.

At that moment, the pace of the approaching footsteps suddenly hastened; the
intervals between the clicking sounds were now very short.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Screaming with tears in their eyes, the two girls made a run for their lives
along the corridor, their hands locked the entire time.

Stopping at a short distance away from where Kurumi and Maria once stood
were Yuki and Zest—having been left behind by Kurumi and Maria running
away, the two watched on, surprised.

Yuki and Zest knew that they had the perfect opportunity—using the
elaborately crafted spectacle of mansion, the dim lighting and carefully acted
steps to create an unsettling atmosphere, the two got to witness how the two
younger members of the household reacted as they ran ahead before them.

That said, though they initially thought about calling out to them and going
through the facility together—

“They get along well after all.”

 “Now isn’t that nice to see.”

Remembering the way Maria and Kurumi stood close together and held hands
as they ran away brought fond smiles to their faces.

Panting noises could be heard amidst the faint light.

Finally stopping after seemingly endless running, Kurumi and Maria slowly
put their breathing in order. They were so exhausted that there was no room for
banter between them.

Maria’s expression became nervous once more; Kurumi, who arrived later
than Maria, had her face as white as a sheet as she looked toward the same
direction.

The first sight they saw as they reached the end of the long corridor was a
washitsu (Japanese room).

The small, tatami-matted room was filled with old-fashioned furniture such as
a low dining table, a TV, and a dresser.

Synthetically deep shadows contrasted the dim lighting.

Maria and Kurumi both felt the reality settle into them simultaneously without
a single word exchanged between them.

There was something in this room. Something was going to jump out at them.

“…S-still, it’d be absolutely anti-climatic if we know what’s coming, right?”

“Exactly. Fear, after all, is a feeling felt when something strange occurs when
you expect it the least. It would absolutely not be scary at all if we have a heads
up. Don’t you think all this is really amateurish at trying to replicate that?”

The two trended into the room, watching their steps as they tread upon the
countless shadows on the floor within.

“Now, no matter where we go…”

Crash! A noise resounded from above them.

 The two looked upward to discover a figure of a person hanging above them,
swinging in large motions.

“Kyaaaaaaaah!”

Their echoing screams threatened to wear out their vocal cords.

A few moments later, Yuki and Zest could be seen still slowly walking down
the corridor. Their expressions had not changed, remaining composed in the
strictest sense of the word.

“It seems Maria and Kurumi are quite scared.”

“That’s just part of the fun.” Yuki said. The two had heard Maria and
Kurumi’s screams even from their distance. “As long as they’re scared in a way
that’s enjoyable, that’s fine.”

“I see. This facility allows one to enjoy the feeling of being scared and
frightened…a fascinating concept.” Zest nodded after surveying her
surroundings.

As she watched Zest, Yuki’s lips suddenly opened to speak, as if something

went on in her mind.

“When do you think you get scared, Zest?”

“You’re asking me about the times I ever felt frightened? Well…” Zest’s gaze
was downcast as she went into thought. “I guess it’s when I know that I can’t
win and will lose something in the process. When such a thought comes to mind,
at least.”

“I feel it when I’m unable to protect something.” Zest’s answer caused Yuki to
purse her lips.

“I understand. I feel it when we’re fighting very strong opponents. Though

more than the fear…there’s the uneasiness from the fact that I’m going to lose.”

“Yes. Even so, I—”

Before they knew it, they’d arrived at the washitsu (Japanese style room) that
Maria and Kurumi passed by earlier.

Crash!

The sudden sound came from above, and a figure suddenly fell from the
ceiling, one that resembled a corpse that appeared to have hanged itself.

Yuki and Zest looked above them without any drastic reactions.

“In other words, I presume that after we’ve heard about the ‘Maison
D’Inferno’ at the main entrance, all this has been set up to appear as if though
this figure’s an evil spirit trying to attack us?”

“I would suppose so.”

Nothing else seemed to jump out at them after that; Yuki and Zest detected no
notable change in their surroundings either.

“I heard a sound before this figure fell from above. It was faint, one that I
would assume no normal person would have been able to detect.”

“I heard it too. Do you think we would have been more startled by the sudden
occurrence if we hadn’t heard that noise?”

“The sound could have been drowned out by another sound to deceive us.”

“Perhaps we can exchange our opinions through messaging later?”

“I suppose it would benefit us both.”

As the two remained deep in conversation, the figure of the fake evil spirit
quickly slid back up into the back of the ceiling panel.

“Alright, I want to get out of here right now. I’ve had enough of this place!”

“Let’s just find the exit…! Waaah, onee, Basara nii-chan…”

No longer capable of hiding their teary eyes from one another, Maria and
Kurumi stepped into a room that looked like a living room. In a contrast to the

washitsu
 they had entered earlier, the wooden flooring in this room gave off a feeling
that it was brand new.

“Uuu…I don’t want to be scared anymore….I don’t want to see more of these
frightening things anymore! Kurumi-san, what about the ceiling…?”

With tears still flowing from her eyes, Maria frantically examined the shadows
of the items around her, such as the floor, the bed, and surrounding furniture.

“There’s nothing to open here. I’ve checked it with my magic! This is the
power of the Hero Clan!”

Fighting back her tears, Kurumi’s gauntlet that utilized her spirit magic began
to glitter. She had truly used her magic for his instance, even if it only
manifested in a form that only examined the flow of air around them.

“That means everything’s alright here, right? Fufu…we just need to pass
through here! This is all just child’s play! And soon I’ll be able to return to the
warmth under the sun!

“That’s right! Let’s hurry…let’s hurry to the exit and—”

Bang!

There was another loud sound, akin to the one they’d heard in the

washitsu

they visited earlier—a sound that resembled that of something vigorously

knocking onto something.

Kurumi and Maria turned their gazes toward the sound.

It was not from the bed, furniture or ceiling…but from outside the window of
the living room.

Something dark was stuck on it.

“Nooooooooooooooooo!!!!”

“Is this a culture of your country?” Zest suddenly asked, a few moments after
the two left the washitsu.

“This haunted house facility does indeed leave a lasting impression. It brings
about the fear that comes from another having a potential grudge against you. A
tragedy occurred within this mansion, such that the dead resent the living
intruders that visit it, even if they have nothing to do with the mansion or the
events that have transpired here. That is the essence of this mansion’s setting.”

“That’s true.”

“I have invited the ire of many myself.” Zest said, plainly.

Despite Zest’s unchanging expression, however, Yuki could sense Zest’s

profound, dark thoughts depe down.

“And should their grudges toward me be reflected on the expense of others…”

“It’s okay to be afraid.”

The way Yuki clearly made that statement caused a slight shift in Zest’s
expression.

“No matter what it may be. Basara, the others, and myself…we’ll protect you
from it.”

“Yuki-san…”

Zest smiled lightly, and Yuki nodded back reassuringly in response.

“—!”

The smile on Zest’s face abruptly disappeared, and Yuki prepared herself.

The two then entered a room that seemed to resemble a living room. Their
senses, honed after going through many fierce battles, detected a unusual,
wafting presence within the area.

It was a presence that no prop or feature of the haunted house could facilitate.
Something was there.

Demonic aura radiated around Zest, and Yuki’s spirit blade, Sakuya, was
already in her hand before one could notice.

Their gazes surveyed every nook and cranny of the room vigilantly.

In the end, what they found was–

“Waaaaah…Zest-san…” “Onee—”

The two discovered Maria and Kurumi shivered and whimpering under the
table.

Bang! There was another loud sound from the window, but Yuki and Zest paid
it no mind and did not look around them.

“We should keep an eye on them.” “I suppose we should.”

The two exchanged glances with one another.

Part 5

The sunlight that day was rather warm given that it was February, and there
seemed to be no traces of the chilly wind.

Basara and Mio were sitting down on one of the benches; Basara was sipping
some hot coffee beside Mio, who now held the plastic bottle of the hot apple tea
she had finished drinking.

“I’m sorry…” Mio said, dejected. “I know it took you a lot to keep your
promise, and it’s a rare opportunity in itself for all of us to be together like this,
especially with how long we’ve been preparing for this trip…”

A heavy sigh spilled from her lips.

“You got sick, so it really can’t be helped, right? Unexpected things like this
happen.”

“That’s not it,” Mio said, shaking her vermillion hair. “Even though you came
here to enjoy yourself, I…I ended up feeling jealous of Yuki. And apart from
that, I ended up getting sick over the roller coaster even though I said I’d be
fine…and now I have to bother you with these feelings even though we were all
looking forward to this trip…ah!”

Her voice suddenly turned feverish; her hand reached for the crevice between
her muffler and her coat, blinking as she touched the nape of her neck.

There was no doubting the mark that appeared on her fair neck; it was proof
that the curse of the Master-Servant contract had been activated.

And Basara noticed it too.

“I…this again…ahn!” Her sweet voice raised in agony.

“I see. Even earlier, you were…at any rate, just don’t think about it any
further. It’s not like you’ve done anything wrong.”

“M…Mhm…”

Even so, the symptoms of the curse did not appear to fade.

“This is bad. Even if I could relieve her, I—”

Naturally, there were many visitors moving around them—Kurumi and Zest,
the two people he knew that usually were the ones capable of creating a barrier
for Mio’s relief in public, were also not present near him.

What am I going to do?

The moment such a thought came into his mind, he suddenly heard a familiar
voice that he had been searching for.

“You look unsightly, Maria.”

“You speak for yourself, Kurumi-chan. I’m through listening to this pathetic
hero.”

He could see Maria and Kurumi, snorting as their backs were turned against
the other. The red in their eyes suggested that they had been sobbing for some
reason. Zest and Yuki also appeared to have returned, following them from
behind.

“Thank goodness you’re all here! It’s Mio, she’s—” Before he knew it, he was
already running toward the four of them.

“The curse?” Noticing Mio’s miserable state on the bench, the four girls
immediately went over to examine her condition.

“I’m sorry…that I’m…like this…” Her cheeks flushed, her eyes in heat and
wet, Mio appeared as if she could not manage to speak any further.

“What do we do…I suppose we could set up a barrier, but…”

“Now, I have a great idea as to what we can do.”

It was Maria who suddenly spoke, patting her humble chest. Although her
eyes appeared as though she was crying a while ago, her gaze suddenly
overflowed with more confidence than necessary.

“A good idea?” The way Maria said that caused Kurumi to look at her in a
way that was disapproving in every sense of the word.

“That’s right! You can just leave it to me, this erotic loli succubus who’s not
bothered whatsoever by some random haunted house here!”

Kurumi glared at Maria scornfully; Zest and Yuki said nothing at Maria’s
statement.

Basara’s response to Maria’s front was “Come to think of it, you’re not good
with the scary stuff, huh…”, a thought that came into mind and out from his
mouth.

“Oh, come on! Can you stop looking down at me like that? I am a real
succubus! A

real succubus, I say!”

“For Mio’s sake, just let us see you put that mind of yours of an actual good
idea this time, and

fast!” Basara had to be serious with that statement.

Part 6
 The distant view below displayed the metropolitan townscape and the closest
station from the amusement park.

Basara and Mio were now at a place that allowed them such a vantage—they
were now on the Ferris wheel that they had first saw when they had disembarked
from the latest station.

Mio’s body sunk upon the seat she sat on, her body limp and drained of her
strength.

Her coat had been taken off, her muffler had been undone, and her clothes had
been loosened; yet her breaths came out in struggling intervals, while sweat was
running down her flushed cheeks.

As Basara eyed Mio’s miserable state before her, he examined his

surroundings; he could see that the one of the cabins next to him on the Ferris
wheel he was now on had passengers on it.

As per Maria’s instructions, Basara knew that Kurumi had set up a barrier for
them that was not of a variety that cut them off the space surrounding them.
Rather than making a new space, she instead made it such that the fixed space
surrounding them could not be seen.

Basara waved his hand toward the couple within the gondola next to them that
was within his view; however, they didn’t seem to have noticed him and thus
gave no reaction.

In other words, the space was made as such that no one other than those inside
the gondola Basara and Mio were now in could notice them.

No one could see the space that confined their gondola, and so no one would
board upon it even if theirs were to descend to the ground, nor would anyone
find the circumstances to be odd or unnatural. “In other words, you can do
whatever you want right in public!” At least, those were words that

Maria had said.

After ensuring that the technique had indeed been cast, his attention returned
to the fact that there was something he had to do while he had the chance.
 His current priority was to relieve Mio; he knew he couldn’t waste too much
time doing so, however, as his thoughts wandered at the reality, knowing that
he’d feel guilty about troubling the others for this, as well as the fact that the
curse would deteriorate if he didn’t act in time.

“I have to do something now…”

Uttering thusly, Basara began to work on the remaining clothes on Mio, who
was now faint from the curse; he started by unfastening the buttons on her
already loosened clothing.

“Ah, ahn….naaah….”

Given her sensitive her body was at the moment, the mere sensation of cloth
brushing against her body was enough to make her raise her voice. As Basara
continued to remove her clothes, her breasts, held by her bra, were eventually
exposed; despite her underwear containing them, the way they sprung appeared
as if though her breasts would jump out from her bra at any moment.

Along with a mild hint of sweat, Mio’s sweet bodily odour began to waft
throughout the confined space of the gondola.

Her lips than proceeded to press themselves atop Basara’s own; Mio’s arms
wrapped around Basara’s back as she clung to him. She gradually began to lick
his lips with her tongue, and, as if she could no longer herself, her tongue did not
spare even his teeth.

Her squirming red tongue then proceeded to go deeper within his mouth,
twining around Basara’s own tongue as their saliva mingled together, producing
obscene, watery noises.

“Nnnn, nnnn, nnnn♥….”

 Mio’s eyes narrowed slightly as she lost herself from her craving for Basara’s
lips, her nails sinking into Basara’s clothes as her arms remained wrapped
around his back, tears spilling from the corner of her eyes.

After a long session of kissing, Mio released herself from Basara’s mouth
gasping for air, saliva trailing between her lips and her tongue.

“Onii-chan…” Mio’s grip on Basara strengthened slightly. “Ah…”

Nodding, Basara separated his body from Mio’s and stood up. He then moved
her body toward the side of the seat that she had been sitting on—he turned
Mio’s body toward the one of the windows situated beside his back of the
gondola they were in.

Naturally, Mio’s body was pressed upon the gondola window—her ample
breasts, barely held by her bra, gently changed their shape as they were pressed
onto the glass.

“Aaaaah, aaaah♥….”

The cold of the glass on her breasts caused her to writhe from the sensation as
she let out hot breaths that caused white puffs to form on the glass she was
pressed upon.

Basara’s hands reached for Mio’s breasts, now adhering closely onto the glass,
as he removed her bra.

“Fuaaan! ♥”

Having lost her last line of protection, her large breasts were now fully
exposed as they were pressed upon the glass.

“Mio, look at that.”

Basara pointed toward the view on the other side of the glass; Mio’s gaze,
marred by the pleasure she was now experiencing, turned toward where he was
pointed.

For just a moment, Mio’s eyes widened at what she was seeing as she
regained her soberness.

“Eh…? There’s people…Wait, Basara, the barrier…”

“Yes. They can see you.”

Mio had felt faint throughout her time in the gondola due to the effects of the
curse; that said, she was unaware of the barrier that had been set up.

The thought that she was going to be subdued by Basara in front of the other
visitors suddenly came in her mind.

“N-no…! They’ll see us! They’ll see my…”

Her breasts against the glass was in clear view of the female passenger inside
that gondola that was right in front of the gondola they were in.

“Let them see you.”

The couple in the gondola in front of them smiled as if in chatter, pointing at

the gondola behind them as they enjoyed themselves. Given that they were
outside of the space of Basara and Mio’s gondola, the couple was pointing at the
scenery outside, as it was all they could see from their vantage.

Mio was not aware of that fact, however, thinking that the couple was pointing
at her; Basara had willingly decided to use such deception to free Mio from the
effects of the curse as soon as possible.

“No…Onii-chan…”

Although she wanted it all to stop, she was too drained of her strength to
resist. Basara then caressed one of her breasts while pressing the other harder
against the glass pane, moving as if they wanted to make a willing display in
front of the couple before them.

“N-no…ahhhh!”

Basara gently pinched her nipple, and despite her words of refusal, her body
shivered in the pleasure of her current state.
 “You can feel it, don’t you? The way you’re being watched right now…”

“But that’s…ah! ♥ But that’s…nnn, ahh, ahh!”

Mio’s compressed body collapsed onto Basara; her lips piled atop Basara’s
once more as if she could see through the other side of the glass through it. In
response to her pleading endeavour of twining her tongue around Basara’s, he
intentionally separated his lips from hers.

“No…Wait…”

Mio’s ravenous tongue stuck out as it reached for Basara’s own tongue even
as he attempted to split themselves from their union, their mixture of saliva
glistening from their parting mouths.

As Mio’s gaze continued to look at the view opposite the glass, she expectedly
could not find herself refusing any further—she could only continue to desire
Basara all the while.

While Basara continued to exchange kisses with her while rubbing her breast,
his hand extended further down her body. Going down her skirt, Basara’s hand
then reached her precious area and began to caress it.

“Fuaah, ahh…” Mio began to writhe even more extremely.

She could not resist the warm, dampening sensation welling within her.

Each time his fingers dug deeper into her underwear, the motions making
watery noises, Mio’s breaths became more intense.

And then, pinching her nipple harder, Basara stimulated Mio’s most sensitive
spot by inserting his finger deep into it.

“Aaahn, aah! Nnnaah! No! Aaah, not over there, fuaaahn! ♥”

With a conspicuous, sweet moan, Mio’s body went stiff at the overwhelming
sensation.

An equally sweet fragrance enveloped the confined space they were in.
 The towel that Maria had prepared for her beforehand under her skirt had been
stained with some of the overflowing liquid she was letting out.

Mio stood devoid of any traces of strength for a few moments, leaving her
vulnerable body to Basara’s care as he supported her onto the seat.

Basara gently stroked Mio hair that was now wet from her sweat.

“…I’m…sorry, Basara…” Mio muttered, bereft of strength.

Basara gently stroked Mio’s head once more, wearing a brotherly, familial
smile on his face.

“I had fun.”

The cabin door opened, and the two could see Yuki and the others waiting
below the staircase that led up to the alighting area as they disembarked the ride.

“Let’s go visit some other spots after you’ve calmed down.”

“Mhm. Onii-chan…”

Tears spilled from her eyes as she remained in Basara’s embrace—tears that
were born from neither

sadness nor guilt.

Part 7

The red of the setting sun made the view of the winter’s evening sky outside
the window.

Basara awoke to realize that he had dozed off.

The rumbling sounds and the shaking motions signified that he was now on a
train—Basara and his group were now on their way home.

After Mio had calmed down, she had changed her already ruined underwear
with some new underwear that Maria had prepared for the day, and had joined
Basara and the others in visiting various attractions the amusement park
following that. In particularly, the group had went to appreciate the customary
hero show, finding themselves cheering over the dramatic development that had
unfolded after waiting in suspense. Their lunch for the day had also been
delicious, such that even Zest admitted to how good it was.

Everyone, from Mio, Yuki, Kurumi, and Maria to Zest, had enjoyed
themselves thoroughly; the girls were now asleep, lined up on the same row of
seats as Basara’s.

Mio was asleep right next to Basara, and he could feel the warmth of her
defenceless body upon him.

Thoughts of the horrific tragedy that had occurred during this childhood
resurfaced yet again.

He had genuinely enjoyed that one day with Yuki, Kurumi and Takashi back
then.

And as of now, after overcoming various tragedies and decisive battles, Basara
had spent precious time with Yuki and Kurumi once again, but this time, Mio,
Maria and Zest were with them—as a family, they had all engraved new
memories in their heart that day.

With that, Basara let out a satisfied, toothy grin, and he shut his eyes again.
Slayer of The Ogre Slayer
Note: This chapter contains terms limited to the Japanese culture. Some TL
notes are listed at the very end explained what some of the terms mean, said
terms having asterisks.

The sound of a vacuum cleaner rang across the Toujou Household, and one
could hear someone humming as if they were in a good mood amidst the noise.

Apart from Zest, who was usually responsible for cleaning the house, Kurumi
and Maria were also helping out with the chores that day.

“It’s not every day I help out with cleaning up.”

It wasn’t too difficult to clean the living room with the vacuum cleaner from
one end to the other.

Maria and Zest had gone grocery shopping together…meanwhile, Kurumi,

who had finished her daily routine of training and studying, was cleaning the
house by herself.

There was a sudden, odd clacking noise; the vacuum cleaner stopped
functioning and fell forward following it.

“Did something odd get sucked in?”

Peering under the living room sofa, she discovered that some beans were
under it; they were not

soramame* or edamame*, but hard, roasted beans.

“Ah….Ah—”

As she thought of the reason why the beans were under the sofa, a bitter
expression surfaced on her face.

“So there were some left behind,” She murmured, and what went through her
mind was the disgraceful day where a demon had triumphed against man.
 Part 2

“Are we not to uphold any events for Setsubun*?” Zest asked.

It was the 3rd

of February; it was the morning of the Setsubun festival, and it all began when
the group was having breakfast.

A special feature for the occasion was playing on the TV: between recordings
of

mamemaki*

ceremonies being performed in the temples, promotions of a luxurious

ehomaki

*sale in department stores, as well as documentaries of the festival’s origin,

the TV broadcast was generally centered on

Setsubun apart from the general news.

“It is apparently an event that would clear any misfortune and bring about
prosperity. I do admit that I would like to do something like that, but…”

“Setsubun, huh…” Basara’s thoughts ventured to days past.

“I’ve never actually celebrated it properly before. Which reminds me,” Mio
suddenly appeared as if she’d realized something, “Since my mother and father
were both born from the Demon Realm, I never really got to experience things
like that. I do want to pay more attention to the customs of the human world and
try lots of things from here on out, though.”

“What about you, Basara?” Mio asked. Basara, Yuki and Kurumi exchanged
their glances at her question.

“I’ve never really celebrated it before.”

“Mhm. Well, I guess it’s more appropriate to say that we’ve never actually
celebrated
Setsubun in a normal way.”

“What do you mean?” Kurumi’s words caused Mio to tilt her head in
puzzlement.

“The Setsubun

was originally conceived in the Heian period where people used to perform
demonic exorcisms—basically a series of ceremonies meant to drive out evil
spirits. The custom involved people who would chase away those that resembled
demons and the like.”

“That’s true…it kinda does sound like a plausible origin for

Setsubun.”

“Mhmm. Still, the Village of the Hero Clan is adopting the very custom that
led to the festival to to begin with—they’re left with the real thing, the duty of
exterminating demons and evil spirits.”

“For the Village, Setsubun

is seen as a just a folk event. You can see it on TV right now, though…”

“That said, it’s not likely that Setsubun gives us any actual blessings, right?”

“Mhm. Well, if we’re going to perform the rituals seriously though, I suppose
I can’t say there’s

definitely

not going to be any effect. Of course, even then it can’t really compare to the
real stuff the Village is doing.”

“I see…” The words spilled from Zest’s mouth as her gaze remained fixated
on the

Setsubun special that was being played on the TV.

As Basara examined Zest’s expression, he went into thought for a moment.

 “I guess if it’s going to work, even if a little…and given that this occasion
doesn’t come every day, why don’t we give it a try?”

“Thank you very much, Basara-sama.” Zest’s expression brightened up almost

immediately.

Part 3

“In any case, everything seems to be prepared now,” Yuki said.

It was afternoon in the Toujou Household; Yuki and the others had just
completed their preparations for Setsubun in the kitchen.

“So this is the real deal…”

Basara gulped at the sight before him; it was beyond what he had initially
expected.

Kurumi was holding a holly branch in her hand that was decorated by an

iwashi’

s (Japanese pilchard, a kind of fish/sardine) head at its tip—it was a traditional

charm meant for

Setsubun that was said to ward off evil spirits.

“I’ve strengthened it with my techniques, of course, so I’d say it’ll have an

effect.”

Upon further inspection, the hiragiwashi*was indeed imbued with several

magic circles she had conjured.

“As for Maria and Zest, in any case, I’ve only imbued it as such that it’s only
capable of repelling lesser demons from intruding the household.”

“It’s all to make sure the process is authentic!”

“For some reason, this exorcism stuff smells kinda fishy…” Maria said,
pinching her nose at the odor.
 “Well, we’re using real materials, so I suppose it can’t be helped. In any case,
I’m going to go put this at the door.”

As Basara saw Kurumi off as she attended to the errand, his attention then
turned to the table nearby.

A large, uncut roll of sushi was set upon a large platter on the table—it was
the

ehomaki.

The nori

(seaweed) used to wrap the sushi retained its dry quality unaffected by
moisture as it had only been wrapped just recently, evident through its
beautifully glossy surface. A variety of

ehomaki

had also been prepared; there were sushi rolls made with seafood such as
salmon and shrimp, salad rolls with lettuce and tuna at the center, as well as
tradition

futomaki

rolls with wrapped in rolled omelette and kampyo* (dried gourd).

The sight caused Basara’s stomach to rumble.

“…Well, I am kinda hungry.”

Glancing at Basara as he gave off an embarrassed smile, Mio and the others
also clutched their stomachs.

“Since we’re already hungry, I suppose we should dig in first.”

It was Kurumi who spoke as she returned, and Basara and the others looked as
if thought they could devour the table at her words.

“The origin of eating ehomaki

 itself seems to have originated from Osaka,” Kurumi pointed to a corner of the
dining room, “Every year, the toshitokujin* decides on a particular direction—an

ehou

(auspicious direction), if you will, which is basically a direction that’s likely to

bring about good signs and omens. It’s said that if you manage to curl up an

ehomaki

into a ball and eat it while facing that direction, your wishes would come
true.”

“The lucky direction this year is the south-southeast. Oh, and don’t say
anything until you’ve finished eating.”

Zest wore a serious expression on her face after listening to Kurumi’s

explanation.

The members of the family said “Itadakimasu” as they placed their hands
together; after that, they reached for their respective preferred ehomaki and put
the sushi into their mouths.

Basara thought that it was a fresh experience to spend the usually bustling
mealtime in the Toujou household in silence, where not a single person said
anything.

Perhaps due to their hunger as well as the fact that the food tasted delicious,
Kurumi and Maria were single-mindedly stuffing their mouths with their
ehomaki; Mio and Yuki appeared to be in deep thought, likely carefully thinking
about the specific wishes they had.

Zest, on the other hand, seemed to be eyeing everything around her with great
interest, perhaps due to the rarity of such items for the occasion.

Basara felt happy at the sight, knowing that the group appeared to understand
the custom without having to say anything. It was then that Basara, too, turned to
the auspicious direction for the year without saying anything, letting a
mysterious feeling of solidarity settle into the dining room.
 Basara then realized that he had yet to properly make any wishes yet—his

ehomaki

was already more than half finished in the meanwhile.

What should I wish for…? He asked himself.

Many difficult trials still lie ahead for both Basara and Mio; nevertheless, he
would have to overcome these bitter battles with his own strength. He would
want to reserve such a vague wish as a last resort for a time where the inevitable
would come even if they’ve given everything they’ve got.

Basara thus considered to wish for the fact that he would have the strength to
overcome such scenarios should they ever happen.

Nevertheless, he also realized that victories over his enemies did not equate to
prosperity for his family. There was the possibility of accidents, such as illness—
while Basara had no guarantee for their occurrence, he also could not find it in
himself to deny the possibility of such events outright. Ideally, he wanted to
avoid such risks as well.

For everyone…for his family. That, and he also wanted Hasegawa to be in

good health. His wishes additionally extended to Takigawa, Kajiura-senpai,
Nanao, and those who have had tragedy strike them in the Demon Realm.

As he wished for something that was perhaps far too simple given that the
Demon Realm and a member of the Ten Gods were among those he prayed for,
he suddenly turned to the side, a fondly smile rising to his lips.

Mio was smiling back at him as her gaze met his, her

ehomaki

still half unfinished; Basara entertained the possibility that her wishes were
similar to his own.

“I’m finished eating!”

The one who next raised her voice was Maria—true to what she’d said, she
had already finished her own ehomaki, and she’d also finished her

iwashi (sardine) down to the bone.

Considering that the only other person that was close to finishing their

ehomaki

was Basara, who had eaten two thirds of his sushi, she’d finished eating far
too quickly; even when considering her normal eating speed, it was evident that
she had eaten her share in a hurry.

Maria now wore a bold expression as she sipped her tea, holding her favourite
video camera in her hand.

She had begun filming Mio and the others before she had eaten her own
ehomaki; saliva was dripping from the centre of her mouth down to her chest.

Maria’s face was letting out boundless lust, an expression that was typical of
someone of her kind.

“Hehe…hehehe…that’s it…that’s the stuff! It truly is all dirty, isn’t it?”

Basara could not do anything other than remain silent given that he hadn’t
finished eating his

ehomaki.

What exactly about this is dirty to you? The disgusted thought surfaced in
Basara’s mind.

“This is it! This is lewd stuff, all right! A bunch of girls eating

ehomaki, that is!”

Basara could feel the others sharing the same thought of not wanting to look at
Maria’s direction.

“Alright, continue to eat slowly, okay! Continue at it lovingly, licking it and

craving it…go on, go on!”
 Somehow, Basara had a clear idea of what exactly Maria had wished for.

The girl truly had nothing but erotic thoughts in her head.

Part 4

After cleaning up a bit following their meal, the Toujou household was about
to uphold the main event of

Setsubun—the mamemaki ritual.

“—Well, I guess this is how we’re going to do it.”

With a resigned expression, Basara put on an ogre’s mask that covered his
face; although the mask was made out of the cardboard box that came with the
beans they bought, the imposing look of the mask made it look as if though it
was crafted masterfully.

“Perhaps you could allow me to assume the role of the ogre instead?” Zest
said. “I do have horns and am a member of the Demon Realm, after all, so I do
possess the appearance of a demon to humans.”

“No, please do have fun during the rounds of the mamemaki ritual, Zest. I do
have demonic blood flowing through my veins anyway.” Basara said. His eyes
started to feel slightly strained due to the his limited vision as a result of the
mask, but he could see that Mio and the others had already finished preparing,
carrying a box and some household bowls filled with roasted beans.

“Let’s go to the second floor now, shall we?”

Basara and the others went up to the second floor and into the farthest room.

“Oni wa soto—(Demons begone)”

Following this cue, the others began to toss beans at Basara, who was now
dressed like an ogre.

A strong showering sound resounded across the room.

“Ouch! Oh, you’re really taking this really seriously now, are you!?”
 “Ehehe, I’m so very sorry! Fuku wa uchi

—(May good fortune enter)…” The mischievous Maria continued to lightly

sprinkle beans on the floor.

“Oni wa soto—”

Of course, they did not forget to toss beans out the window and toward the
yard; thereafter, they made sure to scatter more beans across every nook and
cranny of the house. They did so on every room on the second floor, then the
stairs, and following that, the rooms on the first floor— finally, they also
performed the ritual in the living room.

“What do you think, Zest?”

“Well, I am admittedly enjoying myself.” Zest said, an embarrassed

expression on her face despite the fact that she was holding back when tossing
beans at Basara. “To be doing something like this with everyone…very much
so.”

“I see. I suppose so. …Like I said, it hurts, Maria!”

It would seem that Maria had an entirely different idea of “fun” when she
gave it her all when tossing beans at Basara.

In the meanwhile, Basara and the others were just about to finish with their
final spot, which was the window of the living room; they were to throw beans
out said window.

“Oni wa— soto—. Fuku wa— uchi—.”

The beans fell into the yard from the living room—with that, the mamemaki
ritual came to an end, and with everyone’s recognition of the activity being over,
Basara finally removed his ogre mask.

At that moment, something unusual began to occur.

A blinding green light began to spread from the center of the living room,
extending toward various areas around the house.
 At the same time, Basara could feel it—a refreshing flow of spiritual energy,
reminiscent of a cool, passing breeze.

Smack!

There was a sudden, loud noise, and Zest, Maria and Mio were blown out of
the house.

“—!” “Ehh?” “Kyaah!”

Narrowly managing to brace themselves, the three landed safely on the yard
outside.

“W-What…” The surprised Mio glanced behind her, and the smile that was
present on Zest’s face up until a short moment ago disappeared, replaced by a
stern, composed expression as she stared at the living room.

There was clearly something wrong.

The scattered threads of green light suddenly linked together around the
Toujou household, as if to envelop it in a webbing of sorts.

Zest extended a hand toward the green traces, and as her fingers touched the
light, flying sparks shot out along with another smacking sound, springing Zest’s
hand away from it. Although Zest was not injured from the gesture, smoke rose
from her fingertips, an aftermath of her attempt of examining the substance.

“It’s a spiritual wall,” Zest said, after assessing the reticulated wall of green
light.

“But why is this happening? More importantly, why are we all okay

despite

this happening?” Basara, who was still in the living room, said those words
with a surprised expression rising on his face.

“Ah…” Kurumi mumbled, wearing an embarrassed expression. Yuki also

nodded in realization of something as she stood beside her.
 “It seems that we’ve really overdid it…”

“What do you mean? Could it be that…you’re talking about the

hirragiiwashi we placed on the front door?”

“So it’s true…still, that’s not all that caused this. Apart from the

iwashi

charm, it seems that we went really overdid it when we went around the whole
house working on the exorcism rituals, but rather than really exorcising any
traditional demons, we ended up making a barrier that repels members of the
Demon Realm instead. Here, look at that!”

“So the scattered beans from the mamemaki rituals earlier are the source of
the barrier…these roasted beans are quite something.”

“The fukumame from the mamemaki rituals earlier must have made the
exorcising inscriptions.”

“Still, why are the three of us all right, then? Does this mean that this barrier
only works against demons?”

“That’s right. At the same time, Basara isn’t purely a member of the Demon
Realm, so the barrier must have excluded him from its field of effect.”

Basara clutched his forehead at Yuki’s explanation.

“If the barrier’s only of this quality, then it would be easy to destroy it,” Zest
proposed, hesitantly.

“Yeah. Still, it’s not the greatest solution for this, is it?”

Coincidentally, the technique used by the village involved a barrier that had
been set up was made from utilizing a mysterious presence from the earth. The
barrier having been formed by such a way meant that the caster could not
manually dispel it, and forcibly destroying the barrier would bring about the
unwanted outcome of corrupting the earth that was used to form it. That said, the
only other plausible method was to subdue the power of the Heroes who had cast
it, as they fought by lending the spiritual energy from the earth.

“That said, what would be an appropriate way to dispel this barrier?”

“We can’t just get rid of the beans, either. Given that this was cast by accident,
it’s important that we first decipher the inscription. While it won’t be too
difficult, I imagine that it’ll take us at least an hour, I think.”

Basara glanced around the yard.

“Hear me out for the time being. This light is similar to the energy a spirit
blade or a magic sword would let out, one that can’t be seen by a normal human
being.”

“I guess that’s our silver lining for the dark cloud we’re having. Still, I
imagine that we’d be really obvious if people knew about the reality of the
situation.”

“…It’s going to be very troublesome to remain like this for an hour. We’re
going to stick out too much.”

“Even if we can’t decipher this technique, it’s possible that we can simply
render the ritual obsolete in some way, but…”

Kurumi suddenly stopped, and her attention turned to Basara and remained on
him for a few moments; Yuki’s gaze also turned on Basara just like her sister’s.

Staring at Basara’s ogre mask gave them the correct solution.

“We can dispel it!” Kurumi suddenly said, confidently. “We reverse the effects
of the ritual! This is a exorcism barrier meant for demons that’s been made for
the purpose of chasing away demons from the house, so if we make it such that
the caster doesn’t want to continue that anymore, the technique will
automatically dispel itself.”

“In other words, what am I supposed to do?”

“Make us submit to you.”

Her voice reached the yard outside; Maria smiled another perverted smile like
the one she’d let out when she and the others were enjoying their

ehomaki a while ago, peering into the living room.

“You’d be, as an ogre…making the casters of the exorcism submit to you—

making us members of the Hero Clan yield to you would do it!”

“Isn’t there a better solution for—” Basara couldn’t finish his sentence and
went silent.

Kurumi tried her hardest to avert her gaze from him.

“I guess we have no choice,” Yuki said, a speck of red appearing on her

cheeks.

“You guys aren’t trying to fill Maria’s head with any more stupid ideas, right?
Are you sure this is the way to do it?”

“It’s just a coincidence. An honest to goodness, utterly

wonderful coincidence, that is!”

“Damn it! I really don’t want to play along with what this erotic loli succubus
wants, but…”

Basara sighed, and his gaze turned to look at the sisters of the Hero Clan
again.

“…Are you sure about this?”

“From the looks of it, it’s not like we can expect Maria to catch a cold all of a
sudden, and we’re kind of suffering from our own just desserts here, so…”

“The conditions of the ritual reversal mean that you’re the best candidate for
it, too, Basara.”

“…You’re right. We have that condition fulfilled too, given that being a
member of the Demon Realm passes as a traditional demon in this case…”

Basara went through his options as he rubbed his forehead, his eyes closed
and his eyebrows furrowed. A few moments passed before his eyes opened
again, his gaze brimming with newfound determination.

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to do this well, but…I’ll give it a go,” He said,
walking toward Yuki and Kurumi.

He took a deep breath, and after that, he opened his mouth to speak.

“You’re both finished now!” He said in a dreadful, rough voice. “I am the lord
of the demons, Basara-sama! Kneel before me!”

“You’re getting more worked up that I thought you’d be!” Kurumi exclaimed,
and Yuki went on all fours beside her, her face twisting into an annoyed
expression.

“K-Kill…” She said.

“You’re getting worked up too, nee-san?!”

“Damn you…!”

Basara’s hand grabbed Kurumi’s ponytail; Kurumi turned toward him,

flinching at the violent gesture.

“You still don’t understand the situation you’re in, do you! You lot have lost!
Lost to me, Basara-sama!”

He said it again!

Kurumi thought, bearing the pulling sensation on her hair; however, from the
strength Basara was putting into the way he was pulling her hair and how it did
not feel particularly painful, understood something; looking at Basara carefully,
he also appeared to be wearing the same, very embarrassed expression that he
had on his face just a few moments ago.

They had to do their best for the sake of reversing the barrier cast.

I can’t help them out if I don’t put my heart in this

, Kurumi focused on such a thought.

“But how…how could we lose?” It was then that Kurumi fell to her knees,
feigning hopeless defeat. Beside her was her fallen sister, who had also sunk to
her knees on the floor just as she was.

“Hehehe…how unsightly. I’d expected you two to at least grit your teeth
amidst your misery.” Basara said, his callous eyes gazing at the sisters.

The three paid no attention to the fact that Basara was doing his best to hide
his embarrassment amidst their enactment of the scenario.

“…You’ll never conquer our hearts.” Yuki said, biting her lip, her gaze a
hateful one as she eyed Basara. Kurumi, surprised at the effort her older sister
was putting into her acting, gave off her own vexed look as she knelt beside
Yuki.

“Now, let’s see if the two of you can entertain me.” Basara said, circling
around to the sisters’ back.

“Nnn…” Yuki’s voice spilled out. With the way she was kneeling on the
ground on all fours, her butt stuck out more than usual, and Basara’s hand
reached for it underneath her skirt, wriggling underneath the cloth.

“Nnn…” As Basara continued to toy with Yuki’s butt, miserable moans began
to continuously spill from Yuki’s throat.

 “What’s wrong? Let’s see how well you last against me. Can’t you show some
resistance?”

“Gah…if you didn’t have my little sister as a hostage…”

“Me!? Are you saying I’m supposed to play the role of a hostage!?”

“We have another younger sister.” “That’s right—we’re talking about your
youngest sister…heheheh…”

Basara and Yuki helped her cover up the sudden gap.

“So we have three siblings? S-So that’s the setting we’re going along with…
Damn you! What a coward you are, demon!”

“Coward? I admire your choice of words.” Looming over Yuki, Basara’s other
hand reached to grope her breasts, his other hand not stopping in its violation of
Yuki’s butt.

“Uuu, nhaah…” Yuki’s voice grew sweeter as she stirred amidst Basara’s
subjugation.

“Heheheh…it’s vexing, isn’t it?”

“You coward…”

“I understand your frustration…but how about a little of this?”

Basara’s hand withdrew itself from under Yuki’s skirt, his fingers wet; Yuki’s
womanly scent wafted in the air.

Basara showed off his dirtied fingers in front of her, as she attempted to turn
away in shame; however, Basara clutched her head, forcing her to watch his
stained fingers.

“Now, how does it feel? You look frustrated, but a certain part of you seems to
imply the opposite.”

“…That’s not true. Even if you say that, I…” Tears were pooling at the
corners of Yuki’s eyes.
 Basara’s lips curled upward as he raised his hand and—

Smack! Basara slapped Yuki’s butt.

“Nhaah♥

!” A scream came from Yuki as she flinched from the sensation.

Basara raised her skirt and smacked her butt again.

“Aaah, aaah! Not…not inside…aaah♥!”

Yuki’s butt naturally raised itself despite being beaten, the gesture suggesting
that she relished the sensation and wanted more of it.

“Onee…!”

Kurumi wailed, and Basara turned to glance at her for a moment. He stopped,
leaving Yuki helpless and slumped on the ground; she did not have the strength
to wipe off the saliva that leaked from her mouth as her lips continued panting.

Her eyes were empty as she lay gasping for air, as if Yuki had truly
surrendered herself at heart to him.

They were already past the point where they no longer knew how much of
what they were doing was really just acting.

His hand extended toward Kurumi’s butt—

“You too.”

And his hand went down her skirt.

Basara reached under the black fabric of Kurumi’s skirt with the hand he’d
used to torment her sister’s butt, caressing it as his hand noisily brushed against
the cloth; Kurumi shut her eyes, attempting to endure the pain and disgrace that
was assaulting her.

Smack! A slapping sound resounded again. Basara now slapped Kurumi’s butt
through her panties.
 “Nnn,” Kurumi’s eyebrows creased and she bit her lip, attempting to resist the
sensation.

Basara did not stop, continuing to hit Kurumi’s butt twice, then thrice, and
before long Kurumi was already spilling sweet breaths from her nose.

“Ah, nhaah…No, this is…Please stop, Basara-niichan…”

Basara said nothing; he only continued to alternate between groping and

slapping her butt.

Each instance caused Kurumi to raise her voice in the heat of it all.

Mio and the others watched on as the ogre continued to discipline and
subjugate the two sisters from the other side of the barrier of light.

Basara was embarrassed about doing this just a while ago, but now he was
doing really cruel and inhuman things…it was really hard to tell if it was all an
act of if he was really serious.

“Basara-san can really do something when he gets serious, huh…” Maria

seemed impressed as she complimented Basara on what he was doing, though
there was a hint of fear in her tone.

What was unfolding before them was the scene of a demon trampling all over
the pride of two heroes in a one-sided beating.

At the same time, however, the obscenity seemed to have a certain charm to it;
one could hear someone gulp down their saliva at the sight.

Mio, Maria and Zest could not take their eyes of the obscenities of the ogre
before them.

“Well, admit it now! The both of you are defeated now. Completely defeated
by my hand! By me, the lord of demons, Basara-sama!” As he continued making
a mess out of the sister’s butts, he inched his face closer to their ears to taunt
them.

“It’s about time you’ve submitted to me,” His lips curled upward as he gave
another mocking whisper, speaking in a composed voice that threatened to echo
and invade the very depths of the girls’ hearts. “Maybe I won’t treat you two so
badly then. Maybe I’ll even learn to cherish you…as a toy for my personal use,
that is.”

“I am…a hero…” Yuki could barely muster the words even through the heat
in her eyes and her twitching eyebrows. “Even if my body submits to you on its
own, my heart will not…”

“Onee. I…”

Kurumi’s ponytail was flinging wildly as she shook her head in discomfort of
the sensation, gasping for air beside her.

“I can’t take it anymore!”

Tears were flowing from her eyes.

“Kurumi!”

“Please, Basara-niichan

…just a little…just please be gentler with me, just a little! I…!”

“Have you finally surrendered?” Basara whispered again.

Kurumi appeared to hesitate for just a moment, but she could no longer resist
the overflowing wave of emotions that were welling within her.

“I surrender,” She declared. “I submit to you! There, I said it, so please be

gentle! Be gentle as you slap me and grope me…and please do it in places apart
from my butt!”

“Wow…Kurumi. I…I surrender too!” Yuki exclaimed.

Basara could no longer turn his eyes away from the sister’s gazes that were
now drowned in pleasure, and he laughed mockingly at their confirmation.

“Hehehe…Hahahaha! At last, you surrender! You’ve surrendered to me, the

lord of demons, Basara-sama! Well, then, I shall grant as you desire and drown
you in the pleasures of obscenity—”
 Crack!

A sudden sound that suggested something had been broken interrupted Basara
as he was speaking; he turned toward the source of the sound even as he
continued spanking Yuki and Kurumi’s rears.

“The barrier’s been dispelled!”

The shining green light began to scatter; the barrier of light that had enveloped
the Toujou household up until a short moment ago had finally shattered. Zest
extended her hand, and the phosphorescence disappeared in a fleeting flicker of
light at her touch.

Several seconds passed before the final traces of light in the air dissipated into
the darkness; Mio and Maria then returned to the living room without saying a
word.

“Umm…”

The Nonaka sisters were still at Basara’s feet, grovelling with their butts
raised; Basara then withdrew his hand after playing with them for so long.

“It looks like it’s all over, but…”

Yuki and Kurumi lifted their heads.

“Basara…I, more…” “Basara-niichan, I can’t take any more now…I…”

The sisters’ gazes were wet with pleasure.

“Um…Basara, the truth is, I…”

Mio’s face was blushing to her ears as she looked at Basara with upturned
eyes; Zest said nothing as she stood beside Mio, but she held an expectant gaze
in her eyes.

“No, but…”

“Basara-san,” The erotic loli succubus wore a bewitching smile.

It all caused Basara to sigh and scratch his head. His gaze fell onto the sisters
who were now at his feet, turning to the trio of demons that had finally managed
to return inside the house.

“So are the demons still barred outside?”

Sweet moans resounded across the Toujou household on the night of the

Setsubun festival.

It was a night where the heroes had been conquered by a demon.

Part 5

Having had remembered all the events that had transpired that day, Kurumi’s
face flushed a bright red as she collected the roasted beans under the sofa.

“I know it was all just an act, but…that really was just too much. We really
overdid it,” Heat rose to her face, not looking as if though it would subside
easily.

As she calmed herself down after being interrupted momentarily from

cleaning the house, she suddenly heard the door being unlocked.

“I’m home, Kurumi-san. Were you trying to comfort yourself because you felt
lonely while I was away?”

“I…I…”

The erotic loli succubus was the first to enter the living room, with Zest
behind her holding the groceries they’d bought.

Kurumi’s face was still red; Maria’s eyes widened in interest at the sight,
before a perverted smile rose to her face.

“Wait, were you actually comforting yourself for real! Oh, but that’s just too
obvious of you, Kurumi-san! If you really want it, I’ll be sure to go through
every nook and cranny of your body so no part is spared from inescapable
pleasure…”

“Oni wa soto—!”
 Kurumi released her spiritual magic, sending the beans flying forward with a
swishing sound and hitting the succubus squarely in her face.

“An ogre!?” There was a wail.

And the heroes finally got some well-deserved revenge on the demons that
day.

TL Note:

1. Soramame – Broad beans

2. Edamame – Green soybeans

3. Setsubun – A Japanese festival that celebrates the end of spring, typically

near March. While the JP term means “seasonal division”, it usually refers
to the spring. It typically involves an evil-cleansing ritual that utilizing bean
scattering (mamemaki).

4. Mamemaki – A bean scattering ritual performed during Setsubun.

5. Ehomaki – a special kind of sushi eaten during Setsubun.

6. Hirragiwashi -Holly and Sardine charm meant for Setsubun

7. Kampyo – a type of Japanese dried gourd known as yugao or fukube in

Japanese.

8. Toshitokujin – a Japanese goddess that decides auspicious directions for

the current year during Setsubun.
That Which Makes Even the Hero
and the Demon Lord Shudder in Fear
Toujou Basara had been involved in many decisive battles for the first half of
that year; between the veterans and elites of the Demon Realm and the Hero
Clan, he additionally had to face the Demon God Chaos of the Current Demon
Lord Faction.

In order to protect his precious family, he had to put his life on the line to
repel all of the aforementioned enemies; despite his young age, he had grown to
be a powerful fighter honed through such experiences.

“Yes. The scope of your exam will cover everything learned up to the end of
the term with no specifications. In other words, it’ll cover everything.”

It was the first day of March; Toujou Basara froze upon hearing the teacher’s
pitiless words, visibly flabbergasted.

I’m finished…He couldn’t help but think to himself.

To put it simply, Basara had not studied sufficiently for the third term; it
wasn’t a stretch to say that he had neglected his studies entirely.

He scanned around the classroom to find Mio’s gaze staring back at him,
eliciting the exact expression.

His journey to the Demon Realm had occurred during the end of the year, and
as such Basara had not attended school for the first ten days of January; despite
being preoccupied with many unforeseen events, however, Basara did not want
to neglect his everyday life or any of the sort, and as such he made it a point to
attend school—and his classes—whenever he possibly could.

Nevertheless, the amount of tension he’d faced during and in preparation of

his many fierce battles—and exactly during his second term, no less, the exact
same time he happened to transfer to Hijirigasaka Academy—meant that he’d
been a lot more negligent with his studies than usual.
 The two had not studied enough, nor did they understand the manner of which
they would be tested during the exams.

Basara and Mio maintained eye contact with one another; the two then made
the same decision without so much as saying a single word.

Part 2

“You can count on me,” Yuki said.

Basara and Mio knew full well that beneath her usual composed gaze, Yuki
was a very reliable person at heart. The two had approached Yuki at the library
of Hijirigasaka Academy, the latter of whom had been studying there much like
the other numerous students present there to prepare for the upcoming final
exams.

Only the sounds of note-taking stationery could be heard amidst the silence.

“I’m glad to have the both of you rely on me like this.”

“We’re in your debt, then.” “Thank you for helping us.” The two lowered their
heads gratefully.

Despite Yuki’s duties as a member of the Hero Clan as well as her disciplined
training on a daily basis, she was known throughout the school for being a bright
student who excelled in her studies; Basara had reaffirmed the fact that she
possessed such a wonderful quality that moment, long after having left the
Village and attempting to live a normal life at school, as well after facing the
many harsh battles forced upon him.

“Anyone can get a decent score as long as they follow the way I study.”

Hearing her very reliable comment caused both Basara and Mio to view Yuki
as if she were a goddess or some other divine existence that was watching over
them.

Yuki then opened her mathematics textbook. “First—” Her fair finger pointed
at a particular formula, “Memorize this formula.”

“Yeah.” “Mmm.”
 I see now

, Basara thought. He was confident that Yuki’s predicted formulas would

definitely be part of the test.

He would put all his efforts in memorizing those particular formulas—

“Next, there’s this,” Yuki turned the page she was at previously and pointed at
a different formula. “And there’s these application questions as well,” She turned
to the subsequent page and directed them to the application exercises on it.

“Eh?” “Eh?”

“Then we have this formula here, and then these two other derivation
formulas…”

The siblings grew more and more nervous as they continued listening to Yuki;
she had directed them to up to almost two pages worth of points from the
textbook since she started from the first page.

As Basara and Mio paled at the amount of content they needed to memorize,
Yuki continued teaching them specific points from the textbook.

“This formula here is mandatory, as is the one below it—”

“No, wait just a minute!” Basara suddenly raised his voice, as Yuki turned
toward him in puzzlement. “…We have to study all of this? Down to the last
bit?”

“Mhm.” Yuki nodded as if the fact that Basara mentioned was the most natural
thing in the world; he and Mio then realized that they were acting rather spoiled.

The two of them had intended to study for their exams by enquiring specific
points that were likely to appear during their test, and they had enquired said
points from Yuki, whom among all others, possessed a rare, well-rounded
fighting style that enabled her to cut down any opponent. She gave off the first
impression that she was perhaps a person who was very efficient at dealing with
any situation.

Yuki’s true nature was not so, however; Yuki herself was not born talented.
Her diverse style was developed through honest and continuous hard work,
exposing and forcing herself to harsh, broad forms training that allowed her to
accumulate the skills to handle any opponent.

Perhaps Yuki truly was the type to encompass as many styles as she could at
her disposal; nevertheless, for them to simply enquire and learn only the
specifics from Yuki given how much effort she took

…Basara and Mio now felt rather guilty.

“Shall we continue?”

“No, I’m sorry. Just wait a bit…just give me a few moments.”

“Yeah. It seems we both might need a little time to reflect on ourselves.”

“Well, what’s this? Studying for exams, huh? Sounds like you’re in quite the
pickle, Basachi.” A conspicuous, familiar voice suddenly addressed Basara.

“Takigawa…” Raising his head, Basara suddenly realized that Takigawa had
arrived, apparently holding a book in his hand. “Are you reading that book?”

“Well, yeah. It’s important to give at least an initial review, you know? The
book I’ve borrowed this time’s more of something that’s supposedly been the
talk of the town, though, so I more or less just wanted to satisfy my own
curiosity.” He said, yawning in between the words. “I fell asleep reading it
halfway, so I more or less dropped by to return it.”

“You’re quite relaxed considering the fact that exams are coming soon.”

“Do you honestly think that I’m going to settle my exams properly?”

“Oh, come on, you…”

Takigawa had always tampered with matters related to his life at school with
magic up until now.

“Well, you got a point there. It’s true that there’s no need for you to take any
exams.”
 “My life at school is separate from work, after all. Sorry if it bothers you.
There’s nothing that needs my intervention or assistance from here on out
anyway, and it’s not like you and Naruse would settle for me using magic to fix
things, right, Basachi?” The edge of Takigawa’s lips curved upward, “The folks
living in this world have it rough, you know.”

“This world, huh…”

“See ya. I’ll go look for another book to read.” With that final remark, he idly
waved his hand and left; seeing him off, Basara and Mio glanced at one another
again.

“It’s so irritating how he’s always right.” Mio did not hide how she was
displeased at him, “It’s true, however, then I’ve chosen to live not as the
daughter of the Demon Lord, but as a normal human in this world.”

“You’re right. We can’t say it’s just an exam, after all.”

“I have to admit that I’m annoyed that he of all people had to be the one to rub
it in, but I guess I do have to take this seriously.”

“If we’re going to do this, we do it Yuki’s way. It’s only right.”

“Still… you know that we’re in quite the predicament, right? We don’t have
enough time.”

“You’re right. We shouldn’t stay up all night just for something like this.”

“…You actually assumed we’d be staying up all night?”

“I wouldn’t be satisfied with just being taught the specifics.”

“You’re right.” Basara turned toward the ceiling, unable to devise an elaborate
plan to deal with the situation.

“Exams are just so troubling, aren’t they?”

A familiar voice came from the desk right next to his, as Basara blinked in
response.
 “Nanao…and Kajiura-senpai, too.”

Rikka and Nanao were sitting at the desk next to where Basara and the others
were sitting at; they appeared to be busy with files filled with official papers and
the like, perhaps in the midst of settling certain student council affairs.

“You seem to be immersed in what you were doing, so I didn’t want to bother
you.”

“Me too. I’d be studying too if it weren’t for the fact that I’ve yet to finish all
of this clerical work, though…”

“I see. That doesn’t sound good. Do you guys need any help?”

“I appreciate your concern, but you’re not exactly in a better state yourself to
do that, are you, Toujou-kun?”

“Touché.”

Rikka suppressed a laugh upon seeing Basara being at a loss for words, as
Nanao narrowed her eyes at him from beneath her glasses.

“Don’t worry about it. We’ve already finished our work.”

Taking her attention away from Basara and the others for a moment, she
turned to the file she was working on and compiled the last of her documents
within it before wordlessly closing the file.

A moment of silence passed before Rikka hesitantly spoke once again.

“H-Hey, Toujou-kun,” She began, her tone slipping toward a higher note for a
moment, “Our work at the student council’s done for the day. That said, well, if
you’d like…do you want us to help you out? Naruse-san and Nonaka-san too.”

“Eh? But—”

“Is that really okay!?” Mio suddenly stood up.

“I’m almost done with my own studying anyway, and I can review by
teaching you guys at the same time. I have experience with these exams from
last year, so I think I can come up with a plan for you guys to face the exam…”

“Is it alright if I come along with you guys? I just thought we could help each
other out because we’re all in the same year.”

“I would be really grateful. Nanao too. It’s just…”

It would be quite rude to Yuki if they were to ask for someone else’s help after
asking her.

“I think it’s a good idea.” Yuki said, agreeing with the idea. “The more the
merrier, am I right?”

Everyone seemed to agree with what Yuki had just said.

“Please do then, senpai, Nanao.”

Basara lightly lowered his head as a sign of gratitude, before Mio and Yuki
followed suit.

Part 3

Days passed by since, with Basara and Mio studying every day in the library
with the company of Rikka and Nanao.

“Even teachers are bound to have habits when setting questions for exams.
Even if they do try to alter the questions from previous tests, the very nature and
style of the questions can be narrowed down when you get the hang of it.”

Rikka said, sharing the data that she had personally produced for them. Such
data she explained based on logic; she had collected information from her
seniors in the student council and sorted them out.

Although her way of processing the exam seemed different from Yuki’s,
Basara truly felt that it was expected of Rikka for her to handle the exam in such
a way, and thus listened to her plan attentively.

“This is really hard to understand, isn’t it? I found it difficult to digest the first
time I was introduced to it too.” Nanao exclaimed, noticing that Mio seemed to
be perplexed at the problem she was facing.
 “Mhm. It’s really confusing to know which formula is most suitable for this
situation.”

“I actually already asked vice president Kajiura to teach me the content on

page 45 some time ago.”

“Thank you, Tachibana-kun.”

Basara gave a sidelong glance at their conversation, to which he was

reprimanded with a “Focus!” by Rikka. Apologizing, he then returned to
concentrating on the problem he was currently working on, simultaneously
finding himself seeing Nanao in a new light, knowing that Nanao had also
greeted him when Basara was troubled some time ago. She seemed to be a
person who was very sensitive to the expressions of surrounding people, and she
could tell what others were feeling to some extent after some observation.
Perhaps such sensitivity was fostered from her unique circumstances of being
born as a half-vampire as well her unpleasant upbringing of being oppressed by
the Hero Clan.

Nevertheless, she had aided Basara and Mio many times while they were
studying for their exams.

“Basara, you can do these questions next.” Yuki directed Basara to a particular
application exercise in the textbook; she had suggested an exercise that was
related to a specifically important formula included in the scope of Kajiura’s
plan, unlike the approach she had suggested several days ago where she would
ask them to study everything generally.

“Multiplication again!? Sigh…”

Despite finding the questions difficult, Mio had yet to stop writing.

Yuki, Rikka, Nanao; a member of the Hero Clan, the student council vice-
president and a half-vampire. They possessed the aid of these three people who
came from completely different origins and backgrounds.

I’m really grateful to them, Basara thought.

Mio was also working hard; knowing that he couldn’t not persevere while she
was trying her best, Basara desperately stifled his drowsiness and focused on his
textbook.

They weren’t plotting anything or trying to kill one another; they only wanted
to study for the sake of their own future. They would grow accustomed to the
hardship of such labour in time.

—That was what Basara thought at least; for a moment in time, Basara lost
consciousness in the middle of it all and dozed off.

“Do you want to have a little break?”

Everyone felt as if they were forced to smile.

“No…let’s just hold on for a little longer.”

He couldn’t help but feel embarrassed; he knew that their current way of
studying was for their own benefit, even if he would prefer a more normal
studying schedule than what he was currently doing now. He would have to deal
with the scope of the exam for this term regardless.

“What a pain,” He reflexively grumbled at his resolve to act honestly on the

situation.

Part 4

Hasegawa had been watching Basara study after chancing upon him in the
middle of the library; her eyes, narrowed beneath her glasses, gave off an
affectionate look as she wore an equally tender expression on her face.

“You’ve created such bonds by your own hand.”

It appeared that Yuki was not the only one helping him out, but Rikka and
Nanao as well.

Toujou Basara was no longer a member of the Hero Clan, and he was living
his everyday life at present instead of fighting.

“Perhaps I should give him my support as well…as a teacher, that is.”

Knowing that she mustn’t interrupt Basara while he was in the middle of
studying for exams, she turned away from him. She then withdrew her mobile
phone and wrote him a short message.

“Good luck with your studying. I’ll give you an adult’s reward later after
you’re done.”

After sending the message, she received a reply before she could turn off her
mobile phone; looking slightly surprised, she abruptly turned toward the display.

“Thank you very much. I appreciate how you’ve been watching over me,
sensei.”

Reflexively, she turned to meet Basara’s gaze staring back at her from inside
the library.

“…What do you know. So you noticed me after all.” Lightly smiling at

Basara, she waved him goodbye and finally left the venue.

Part 5

“Haaaaaaaaa……….”

It was unclear if the breath that Kurumi just let out was a sigh, a yawn, or a
deep breath; regardless of what it was, it was accompanied by a deep stretch
from her. She sat lightly on the sofa in the living room, a pile of study materials
related to the homeschooling curriculum she had participated in as per her
responsibilities as a minor of the Hero Clan set out on the table before her.

“Good work today.” Zest placed a cup of coffee on the table beside Kurumi’s
materials, the fragrant aroma from the ground coffee beans and the steam from
the warmth of the drink wafting in the air.

“Studying is so tiring, isn’t it? I guess my older sister would be glad to do this
since she’s so good at it, though,” Kurumi turned toward her almost completed
workbook, “Still…everyone’s studying so hard for their exams, so I can’t call it
a day ahead of them. They’ve motivated me, after all.” She said, turning toward
the kitchen.

The tempting, drifting scent of cooking in the kitchen suddenly entered the
room, blending into the fragrance of the coffee on the table. Kurumi’s stomach
abruptly growled.
 “It seems that you’ve been quite busy as well. I can see the cooking’s quite the
big labour.”

“Oh, not at all.” Zest said, shaking her head. “It’s the least I can do for Basara-
sama and the others, after all.”

“I’m sure they’ll be pleased with your efforts.”

During the last day of their exams, Zest had immediately set out on making
dinner after Basara and the others had left for school; of course, she did not
neglect the other household chores while she was at it.

Kurumi could feel the extent of the strength of Zest’s feelings toward Basara

“…Um, by the way, isn’t it about time you guys untied me?”

Kurumi and Zest turned toward the voice coming from the floor of the living
room; it was Maria, rolling about on the floor as she was thoroughly restrained.

“You’ve got it all wrong! I wanted to try such act on you guys, not the other
way around! Especially you, Kurumi-san! Why have you done this to me!? I just
wanted to teach you the basics on phys and health ed again while Basara-san and
the others were studying to evoke some sense of immorality in them, Kurumi-
san!

“Your reasoning is futile, especially if it’s going to sound like that,” Kurumi
said. She was utterly exasperated with her.

Maria had been trying to harass the studying sessions in the household by
mixing some erotic elements in the middle of them in an attempt to create
something completely new; obviously, Kurumi could not hold out her anger for
long.

“Well, today’s the last day of their exams anyway, so I guess I’ll let you go
when the others get back.”

“I see now! You’re trying to use the relieving feeling of exams being over to
make the self-pleasuring experience all the spicier! As I would expect of you,
Kurumi-san! How erotic!”
 “Absolutely not.”

“Aaaaah!? This is tight, this is really tight!”

Kurumi proceeded to mercilessly tighten the restraints on her.

“We’re home.” The voices of Basara and the others suddenly resounded from
the front door.

“Ah, welcome back!” “I welcome your return home.” In response, Kurumi

and Zest went toward the door to greet them.

“Eh? Kurumi-san? What about these ropes!? Basara-san’s already come back,
so what about me!?”

Not even Zest attended to Maria as she was left alone to struggle.

“It seems the results of your exams ended up alright.”

“Hmm? Well, I guess. We haven’t exactly gotten back our results yet, though,
so how can you be so sure?” Basara and Mio gave off looks of puzzlement.

“You guys just seem really happy about it, that’s all.”

I guess you guys haven’t really noticed it yet, Kurumi thought as she
reflexively laughed.

“I see…Mmm. The truth is, I really am happy. It’s just that I don’t think I’ve
ever felt so touched.”

“Me too.”

Basara and Mio’s voices lit up, as the two turned to address Kurumi and Zest,
straightening themselves.

“We know that Yuki, and Kajiura-senpai had helped us out a lot—Nanao
helped us as well—but we know that the two of you have been helping out a lot
at home as well. We really appreciate it.” They were words of sincerest
gratitude.

“I really didn’t do anything.”

 “I understand we’ve been worrying you. You know, there was last night, as
well as the whole fiasco with Maria…” Kurumi said, averting her gaze in
embarrassment.

“I’ve simply done what I should have.” Zest shook her head. “You’ve all
worked hard today, so please look forward to dinner this evening.”

“Thank you. I’m excited as to what we’ll be having tonight.” Basara smiled
upon detecting the delicious smell of cooking from the kitchen.

“Well, why don’t we all go have a break?”

Basara and the others returned to their own rooms, Zest returned to working in
the kitchen, while Kurumi returned to the living room to finish studying.

“No! Come on, you guys can’t just forget about me like that! Someone untie
me, please!”

Maria’s pained cries resounded across the Toujou household as it settled into a
sense of liberation.
A Day in The Life of a Hero
It was a time where the night had yet to fade.

Beneath the darkness dimly lit only by the moon and the stars was Hayase
Takashi.

White vapour rose up amidst the chilly evening air; however, it did not come
from his breathing.

Takashi was dressed in attire that allowed him to move freely; he was only
wearing a tank-top for a shirt, and the steam came from his body, his shirt doing
little to prevent it from seeping through the light material. Sweat trickled from
his cheek down to the nape of his neck.

In his hands was a long lance—a spiritual replica of Reienkyo.

He was now in the courtyard of the Hayase household; he was already worn
out of breath, leaning his heavy, fatigued body upon Reienkyo.

“Haaaah!”

However, Takashi pressed on with an ear-splitting cry. Breaking through the

limits of his own stamina, there was no hesitation or stammering in his
movement, nor did his speed falter.

He let out countless stabbing motions and stomped the ground, dancing in
mid-air.

There was no sign of an enemy before Takashi; Reienkyo’s cutting motions

also merely sliced through the space before him.

“Not yet…!”

“He’s already become much stronger by now…!”

Takashi pictured his opponent in his mind; it was a former friend of his,
someone whom had defeated him even when he had wielding Byakko just
several months ago—it was none other than Toujou Basara.

He now pictured a Basara that had become several times stronger since they
last clashed; however, he knew that Basara himself had grown to be far stronger
that Takashi could ever imagine—that was the kind of person Basara was, after
all.

“Not yet…Not yet!!”

He would not be able to surpass Basara if he didn’t push himself to his limits.

And so Takashi continued swinging Reienkyo as if he were sharpening

himself—however, his gaze no longer held the resentment he had toward Basara
when he battled him back then.

A long time passed before daybreak eventually arrived.

Takashi, who had finally stopped moving, steadied his breathing as he basked
in the morning sunlight that lightly dyed the mountains of the Village.

His eyes were fixated on a single spot—within his line of sight for some time
was a sunken corner of the mountains of the Village, looking as if though it had
been scraped off.

The actual space had been bore from that section—and it was the result of the
tragedy that occurred during that horrific day.

And Takashi watched on, the memory remaining fresh in his mind, as if it
happened only yesterday.

Part 2

Following a shower, getting dressed and finishing breakfast, Takashi departed

from his home.

He was about to take a visit to a certain household.

The house seemed to show no sign of activity, but it wasn’t because no one
was awake this early in the morning; it was vacant.
 It was the Toujou household—the household where Basara and Jin once lived
in.

Takashi now held a vacuum cleaner and a dust cloth in his hands; after
unlocking the front door with the duplicate key he held, he began cleaning the
neglected household with the vacuum cleaner.

He was already very used to cleaning up this house; the house possessed
almost no furniture and was marred by nothing but the dust that one would
expect to collect in it after being abandoned for so long, and he spared not even a
room when cleaning it. After vacuuming the house, all that was left for him to do
was to clean every nook and cranny of it with his dust cloth.

Despite its emptiness and it being a detached residence, it took Takashi almost
an hour to finish cleaning the house.

After he finished wiping the house, he lightly tapped his waist.

“I’m still not used to this,” he muttered. Takashi felt no comfort in such work
despite having done it many times before, finding his training easier than
cleaning up the household.

Takashi surveyed the empty Toujou household that he had just finished
cleaning up just a short moment ago, and snorted.

After Basara had left the Village, Yuki had been the one responsible for
tidying up the neglected house; she had hid such a habitual deed from everyone
in the Village, and she had continued to clean up and tend to the house, perhaps
in the hopes that Basara would return to the Village someday.

He had been aware that Yuki had been doing this for quite some time, though
he wasn’t sure if he could say the same for anyone else.

“But I’ll stick to it anyway, since you’re not around anymore.” He said, his
words directed at no one. Takashi had reluctantly resumed the duty of cleaning
the household on a weekly basis after Yuki had left the village, finding himself
unfitting of the job.

By the time Takashi left the Toujou household, the scenery outside had
changed; the Village had started to come alive as the morning progressed, and
Takashi could see familiar faces bustling about in activity.

With his vacuum cleaner and cloth in hand, Takashi began to walk home.
Occasionally, he would get the feeling as if though someone was staring daggers
at him.

It’s inevitable, he thought.

Many within the Village held an ill view toward Toujou Basara; Basara
himself had garnered such a sullied reputation, even if Takashi himself didn’t ask
for it.

The tense atmosphere directed at him didn’t come about because Takashi had
been cleaning his household, however; it was more so because Takashi had taken
one of the sacred treasures of the Village with him, Byakko, and had still been
defeated by Basara regardless.

In spite of all that, however, Takashi held his head high amidst the
surrounding animosity; Takashi himself had willingly chosen to assume the duty
of cleaning the abandoned Toujou household, and he prided himself in the path
that he had chosen on his own volition.

“I’ve not chosen the way of the Hero Clan. I’ve simply chosen to walk down
my own path, the path of Toujou Basara.”

The words that Basara had said that day went through Takashi’s mind, and he
stopped in his tracks.

Part 3

Takashi walked toward an abandoned building separated from the street—it

was a former inn.

The afternoon sunlight lightly pierced through the unmaintained windows,

dust flying about within the building’s interior.

Takashi could hear something resembling an animal’s growl blending into the
sound of his own footsteps, and he could also detect the fishy stench of a worn-
out tatami mat.
 Takashi abruptly ceased his footsteps; the culprit of these unpleasant senses
was present before him.

The interior of the gloomy room was extremely spacious; the place was likely
previously used as a banquet hall.

Stepping on a barely intact tatami mat was a muscular demon; although it was
not as large as the giant demon Valga that towered over Takashi in the past, this
one still stood more than two heads taller than him, and its muscles seemed to be
keenly toned. Its face seemed to resemble that of a wolf’s, and shrouding its
body was a coat of sharp fur.

“What’s this…a Hero, huh?” The bestial demon glared at Takashi, spitting out
saliva. “Are you going to kill me here? How very like you humans.” Baring his
sharp teeth, he let out a hateful voice.

“To hell with the Moderate Faction. The Demon Lord Faction can suck it too.
I’ve simply sided with the wrong pack. I’ve done nothing wrong!”

“I’ve simply killed whom I see as enemies. And I was exiled because of that! I
was ridiculed…! I was almost KILLED!”

“Revenge…! I WILL have my revenge! All those who chased me away…I’ll

SLAUGHTER them all! So stay out of my way. I’m the one who’s right!”

“So you’ve come here to fulfil your duty, huh? You Heroes are all nothing but
dedicated to your orders…do you want to die over such a reason?”

The demon picked up something beside it with his right hand; it was a young
girl. The girl seemed to be a high school student, and while she had lost
consciousness, she appeared to still be breathing. Her school uniform had been
viciously torn, though Takashi could see from his current distance that there was
no sign of any large wounds on the girl, meaning that the demon had yet to harm
her or do anything similar.

The demon clutched the girl’s head as she miserably writhed in his grasp
amidst her unconsciousness; Takashi remained fixated at the sight before him,
and had yet to move an inch.

“Just like that, you’re all just weak, aren’t you? Do you understand now? I can
crush you easier that I could crush a mere piece of fruit!”

The wolf-headed demon jeered at Takashi, and the next moment, it

disappeared.

In an instant, the demon suddenly appeared right in front of Takashi again,

thrusting his arm toward Takashi’s chest as his thick, sharp claws ripped through
Takashi’s clothes. His attacks came consecutively and without mercy, shaking
his target.

His blows aimed for Takashi’s temporal region and the slashing motions of his
claws drew the Hero’s blood. Takashi staggered backwards and returned his
attention to his enemy, and the demon turned its whole body around and
delivered a kick that attempted to finish him off; taking the attack upfront, the
attack sent Takashi flying toward the wall behind him, the force of the attack
producing a crack where he collided.

Soundlessly, Takashi collapsed and rolled upon the floor.

“Will you make your move? Or will you do nothing knowing how strong I
am? Well, I guess I should commend you either way. It’s not every day someone
actually listens to what I say.” The demon laughed as he held the girl’s head in
his hands. “I’m going to rip this girl to shreds and kill her after that. Too bad for
you, Mr. Hero.”

“Is that so…” Takashi murmured.

The demon’s arm who held the girl was suddenly sliced off and sent flying;
next was the demon’s torso, sliced straight through in a horizontal line, and the
head fell off its socket last. It was too late for the demon as its lower half
slumped to the floor, and the demon met its demise without so much as a single
shriek.

And standing behind where the demon once stood was none other than
Takashi; traces of Reienkyo’s slashes suddenly appeared on the floor beside him.

Takashi gently held the girl that demon had held hostage in his arms; Takashi
did not escape the skirmish unscathed however, as the demon’s claw had ripped
part of his shirt, blood trickling from the exposed wound, though the wound
itself was far from fatal.
 He had not taken the full brunt of the attack; in other words, he had evaded the
attack with his innate speed from hitting him squarely, and he utilized only a
single slash to cut through the demon’s skin.

And the moment the demon was distracted from the hostage he held after
seemingly thinking it was assured of certain victory, he swiftly cut the demon
down.

That was all the battle he had just fought amounted to him.

“—Duty, huh…” Takashi ruminated on the words he just said, sparing not
even a final glance toward the demon’s fallen corpse.

His thoughts then returned to that of Basara, his childhood friend who was
exiled from the Village, and the unreserved gaze he held; the hatred that had
festered within his heart could not compare to the hatred the demon he had
defeated possessed.

“The way of the Hero Clan,” He murmured, “That’s the path I’ve chosen…I,
Hayase Takashi.”

Waiting for the Village’s first aid arrangements to arrive, Takashi sought for a
place for the girl to lie down. Finding a suitable spot that he thought wasn’t that
dirty, he gently placed the girl upon it to rest, before he attempted to place his
own coat upon the girl with her clothes ripped from the attack.

The girl seemed to have a lot more exposed than he had expected; beneath her
torn blouse with its buttons undone, Takashi could see that she wore a simple
sports bra underneath, one that would typically by worn by that of a junior high
school girl; he could also notice a pair of well-maintained thighs beneath her
lacerated skirt.

The girl held a particular appeal despite her miserable state and the fact she
had yet to mature into her prime, and Takashi forced his eyes away from her, his
face inevitably reddening from the sight.

Allowing himself no direct view of the girl, he carefully gauged her presence
and covered the girl with his coat.

Part 4
 Sundown had arrived by the time Takashi had returned to the Village; after
getting his wound healed and finishing his report, the sky was already pitch
black when Takashi finally reached his home.

And Takashi continued his training in the household garden after a few hours
passed, although Takashi had heart and speed, he had been reminded time and
time again that the foundation of true strength was to hone his own body; that
said, he had not build up not only his own skills, but also the abilities of his own
body.

He was now doing push-ups with his hands curled into fists; sweat leaked
from his bandaged body and trickled to the ground.

Amidst his exercise, Takashi suddenly sensed the presence of someone

opposite the fence. He turned toward said presence and let out a slight look of
surprise when he discovered who it was—it was Kumano, one of the elders of
the Village.

“Kumano-san.”

“Sorry to interrupt. Aren’t you supposed to relax?”

Takashi stopped his push-ups and stood up before lowering his head
respectfully, to which Kumano simply waved a hand of dismissal.

“Let us talk for a bit,” Kumano began, retaining his grip on the fence. “The
girl you rescued today seems to be alright now. She’s received medical aid and
counselling from one of the Village hospitals.”

“I see. It’s good that things turned out for the best.” Takashi’s expression did
not change, as he simply let out a faint breath in response.

At the same time, however, there was suspicion in his eyes, though it was not
because he doubted the truth of the girl’s welfare.

The Village elder had come to inform him of such news for a reason; Takashi
had no real right in itself to know of such a detail after his mission in the first
place, and even if he did, they could have simply informed him through a
messenger or a phone call. The elder before him did not come out merely to
stroll at this hour.
 “Toujou Basara will be returning.” Kumano said, noticing Takashi’s
scepticism.

“Basara…?” Takashi was unable to hide his surprise.

“Yes.

“Unexpected, isn’t it? They’ll be arriving tomorrow.”

“I see. Even so…”

Why was he speaking of this now?

“Well, it’s fine to keep up your guard.” Kumano said, letting off a kind-
hearted smile. “I was wondering if I could entrust the preparation of their meals
to you.”

“Their meals…?”

Despite being given the unexpected request, Takashi somehow understood

why Kumano had come to meet him; it was necessary to prepare meals for a
guest.

It would have been more suitable for the Nonaka family to be responsible for
this task given how close they were to the Toujou family; however, Yuki and
Kurumi had left the Village to travel together with Basara, and this also
presented the risk of an information breach toward the surrounding factions of
the Village, and they had no choice but to proceed with caution. Although the
elders had supervised the subordinates under their control to make preparations
for their arrival, it also meant that it caused them to be more wary of Basara and
the others. That said, many among the Village held conflicted feelings when it
came to the Toujou family, and to entrust any of them with such a task would
only bring about more issues.

Thus, Takashi, who was living on his own, was deemed to be the most suitable
person to accommodate them in order to maintain neutrality.

“I understand.”

“Is it alright if I leave this to you? I do understand that there’s a lot on—”
Kumano asked, surprised by Takashi’s immediate answer.

“I have no reason to refuse. I’m the only one who’s capable of making meals
for Basara during his stay in the Village.” Takashi accepted the task, knowing
that it couldn’t be helped.

“I see. I’ll leave it to you, then.” Kumano said. Somehow, he could feel the
vigour from Takashi from the vibe the latter was giving him.

Part 5

And so Hayase Takashi put in all his efforts in completing the task he was
given.

“Just thinking about being unable to do something like this unsettles me.”

He was now in the Hayase household kitchen; after Kumano left, Takashi
immediately got to work and began preparing the best ingredients he had stored
in the house until now, ingredients that could be used for the occasion.

It was already very late at night, and it was unlikely that the grocery stores
would have an adequate supply of ingredients available.

The vegetables raised in the grandeur of the Village tasted delicious, and
various kinds of meat were stored in the refrigerator.

“The best ingredients,” He said, confidently. Looking at the time, it was

already past 10 p.m.

He would dedicate today to his duties. While he would usually make

preparations for bed around this time, he had decided that he would pull an all-
nighter for the day.

He wanted to make cooking that Basara could never refuse to oblige; to that,
he would utilize the best of his skills cultivated throughout his time living alone,
skills that even his fellow heroes would be proud of.

“Let’s go. This is…me. Hayase Takashi.”

Part 6
 By the time Takashi had finished, the night had started to light up, as Takashi
stared at the dazzling sight of the sun’s rays shining through the window.

Before him was the hard-prepared cooking he’d put his heart into neatly
packed within a jubako (tiered food box); nimono (Japanese stewed or simmered
dish, mostly using vegetables) was the centrepiece of his cuisine, knowing that it
would be best to avoid making something that needed to be eaten immediately
after it was finished, such as a salad, because Takashi did not know the exact
time Basara and the others would arrive.

He’d picked up some Japanese coltsfoots and bamboo shoots around the
Village, as well as some zemmai (Asian royal fern), commonly used in nimono
as a dish amply seasoned in soy sauce. Along with these was a side of tamagotoji
(Japanese style scramble eggs) made with koya tofu (freeze-dried tofu) as well
as another nimono made from pumpkin, all of which suitably complemented the
overall flavour of the food he’d chosen to make.

Fresh river fish was another staple for the meal, as it was something that could
also be enjoyed cold much like the aforementioned dishes. Due to the nature of
the food he’d prepared, he’d also added fresh ginger in order to alleviate the
fishy smell that came with the simmered food and bring about a pleasant mood.

However, while he doubted that Basara would have any qualms with being
provided Japanese food having once grown up in the Village just as he did, he
surmised that Naruse Mio might make a fuss about it; quite frankly, he didn’t
want to be complacent over the fact that he’d worried about more than just
making dinner for his guests.

That said, he’d also prepared Western food in addition to Japanese food; the
former cuisine consisted of cabbage rolls out of some tender spring cabbage,
curry-flavoured hamburger, as well as his especially made teriyaki chicken,
which would taste delicious even if would turn cold.

The appetizing aroma of his home-cooked food wafted in the air, such that it
caused even Takashi’s own stomach to rumble.

Of course, he’d also taken the balance of the meal into consideration, and had
added broccoli and asparagus for good measure. He’d also considered how the
rice he made would turn cold much like the rest of the dishes he prepared, and
thus made it into takikomigohan (rice seasoned with ingredients), adding
chicken, gobo (great burlock) as well as some root vegetables such as carriots.

Given his current abilities and the way he’d currently set out the jubako, he
considered it perfect.

And with this…neither Basara nor Naruse Mio would complain about the
food served to them, and they would obtain the optimal nutritional balance from
the meal.

Takashi closed his eyes as he let out a smile of satisfaction. It’s not as if
Kumano had enquired or suggested that he go that far when preparing their
meals; he always had the option of either preparing or ordering bento boxes from
the stores or just ask for food from a delivery service.

Takashi had only realized he’d go that far the moment he learned that he
would be meeting with Basara again; it was an entirely different story then.
The Testament of White Day
Mellow sunlight illuminated all that was outside the window; after the cold
had finally dissipated, the first day of March had finally arrived, starting the
season with a celebrated warmth.

Toujou Basara and Takigawa Yahiro were seated opposite one another on a
table in a café; Basara appeared to be hesitating, wanting to say something but
not knowing if he should, wearing a rather grave expression on his face—
something that caused Takigawa to let out an unrepressed sigh.

“Oh, come on. You’re really going to put me up to the burden of listening to
you talk seriously? I’m here to relax, you know.”

Basara shrugged, beginning to explain with the same leaden expression. “I

know, and I’m sorry. Still, this is something that I really can’t talk to anyone else
about other than you.”

Takigawa’s eyebrows creased together. “Whoah, whoah, you’re going to ask

me for a favour again? Even after the whole fiasco with the Demon Realm’s
come to an end?”

“What do you intend to give on White Day?”

“Huh?” Takigawa didn’t know when he opened his mouth, before he looked at
Basara’s serious expression once again.

He then knitted his eyebrows and clutched his head with his hands; his body
shivered for a moment before he hugged his stomach and burst into an explosive
fit of laughter.

“Seriously, White Day? You wanted to talk to me about White Day, Basachi?”

And he laughed so hard that tears started to pool onto the corners of his eyes.

“…Damn, I thought I was gonna die laughing, you know.”

Ten minutes had passed; Takigawa had since calmed himself from his outburst
of laughter, wiping away the water that reflexively spilled from his eyes.

“Well, I didn’t expect you to laugh that

hard, but I understand why you did.” Basara said, taking in a deep breath. “Be
that as it may, though, I really haven’t the slightest idea what to give on that day.
I didn’t have any relationships that warranted celebrating such a day last year,
after all.”

“And now you’ve become the master of the Toujou harem,” Takigawa said,
looking somewhat amazed as he took a sip of his coffee. “Still, I don’t see why
not. I’m down for giving you some advice on the situation. We’re good buds,
after all. On one condition, though—”

The cheery expression that he maintained up until some time ago suddenly
disappeared, and he suddenly shot a cold, piercing gaze at Basara; he now spoke
to him not as Takigawa Yahiro, but as Lars, a member of the Demon Realm.

“You’ll have to listen to what I have to say too. Give and take, you get what I
mean?”

“What?”

Paying no mind to Basara’s more cautious state, Takigawa cut to the chase.

“I got some chocolate too.”

Basara could only blink at Takigawa’s revelation.

“I…I see. Is it someone you know well at school? Or is it from a childhood

friends of y—no, to my knowledge you don’t have anyone like that. The Demon
Realm doesn’t actually celebrate Valentine’s Day, after all.”

“Ah, yes, that’s right. That was how it was supposed to go, until I happened to
receive chocolate from a certain older sister…from Leohart’s older sister, Liala-
sama.”

“Wh—”

Basara couldn’t find the words to speak. He could feel a chill run down his
spine and could not stop the fear from taking over him upon remembering her.

Liala was the elder sister of the current Demon Lord, Leohart; contrary to her
gorgeous and tender appearance, however, she appeared to possess some dubious
power and aura with such unknown limits than what her looks might suggest.

“I have no idea what went on in her head back then,” Takigawa clutched his
forehead. “Was it a threat for me to never double-cross her? Or did she have
something else in mind? Did she put some weird magic that even I couldn’t
detect in those things?”

Basara could only look at the distressed Takigawa with pity.

“I don’t know what’s worse. Having to eat one-of-a-kind chocolates as scary

as the ones she gave, or

not eating them.”

“…I guess you should eat them.”

Basara knew it was very rare for Takigawa to appear

this scared of anything.

“Well, that said, I’ve been concerned about how exactly I should be repaying
her too. This is a matter of life and death for me here.”

“I feel bad for you, really.” Basara really sympathized with Takigawa for his
ordeal.

“Sigh…I just hope I can just pass with a White Day sweet or something like
that and settle this peacefully.” Takigawa grumbled, standing up from his seat.
“Well, I guess we should get going. We’re now two guys looking for a present
for White Day.”

“Yeah. I’ll be counting on you.” Basara followed suit and left his own seat, as
the two stepped out to fight a battle that they have never experienced before.

2
 Basara and Takigawa no longer felt worried; a department store featuring a
special corner for White Day was set out before them.

“Well, there’s that, for starters. Hey, Basachi. You’ve received chocolate from
folks apart from Naruse and the others, huh? Sinful, aren’t you?”

“They were obligatory. I’d say I’ve been more on the receiving end when it
comes to favours recently, though.” He remembered the conspicuously written
words of “It’s Obligatory!” written with Rikka’s heart and soul on the chocolate
ganache she gifted him.

A variety of goods related for the occasion was now set out before them; there
was a wide selection of confectionery, daily necessities, clothing and other items
for them to choose from. Regardless, this made it all the more difficult for them
to decide on a gift, before the two put their attention to a particular corner
decorated with a theme of blue and white.

“How about some macarons? Those are quite standard, aren’t they?” Basara
said, pronouncing the particular subject with difficulty.

“Those are too substantial, don’t you think?”

“So you’re looking for something a girl would want to eat?”

The duo crossed their arms and thought hard.

“Well, Basachi, I guess I’ll go for name brand chocolate. Doubt it’ll go wrong,
right? There’s gold on it, after all, which is quite coveted in the Demon Realm.”

“No, I don’t think I’d use it personally…”

“You hold nothing back.”

The two guys continued to argue among one another.

“Besides, don’t you think we’d be overdoing it if we returned an obligatory

Valentine’s gift with name brand chocolate of all things?”

“I know it sounds unexpected, but that’s exactly why I’m choosing it. It’s
more likely to invite gratitude or obligation if we give such an expensive
present.”

“A cake would have a tough expiration date, huh. I wouldn’t want to bother
anyone with that.”

“I see you’re still attentive to such minor details. I guess that means cookies
aren’t exactly a good choice either.”

“You’re quite picky when it comes to how filling a particular food is, huh?”

“I simply value practicality. I suppose a deluxe item would suffice?” Takigawa

said.

The two had been wandering aimlessly around the particular corner for tens of
minutes; even so, the two had only managed to criticize and pick on the
available choices and had yet to properly decide on a gift.

“I thought you’d be more dependable when it comes to things like this. You
have experience, after all.” Basara muttered reflexively.

“…No, apart from the fact that what you said was just plain rude, don’t you
think it’s weird that you’re saying this to a Demon of all people?” Takigawa said
with a sour expression.

“…Sorry. I just didn’t know what to say.” Basara said, reflecting on his
mistake as he went about in search for different goods.

“Hmm?” Takigawa muttered, his gaze turning toward the bookstore they
passed by earlier.

“It’s not like either of us came here with enough information in mind in the
first place, right, Takigawa?”

“I guess that’s a good way to put it, Basachi. True enough, that’s one way you
can judge our situation.”

The two then headed toward the bookstore; naturally, the two went to read a
magazine publishing a feature on White Day within a corner where they were
the only two male customers among a sea of more common female customers.
 “We saw a lot of different types of sweets earlier.”

“Aren’t those things the best option for the occasion?” Takigawa nodded,
turning a page. “‘Fashionable Sweets White Day: Host a Private Party in a Cake
House’. …Now

that’s expensive!”

“In other words, it’d be like renting stores or restaurants for a birthday party.
Celebrating White Day in a hotel or something like a White Day tour is also an
option, I guess.”

“Well, good for you, isn’t it, Basachi? You could host a harem party and be
done with it, no?”

“Well, for one, we’re talking about a party for high school students here.”

“In your case, Basachi, you’ve got the folks at your place and from school as
well, huh…considering you’re not really interested in being repaid, you’ll have
quite the burden on your hands. Still, I don’t see why you shouldn’t just go with
it, problem solved. Just go with a harem party. Thinking about it any further’s
just a pain in the ass.”

“You’re right. What about you? Do you plan on inviting that older sister of
yours to a party?”

A moment of silence passed before the two let out a simultaneous, dry laugh.

“Well, let me put it this way. I guess these will do the trick, huh?”

Takigawa casually picked up something and placed it upon Basara’s head.

Basara stared at Takigawa with a pair of white cat ears on, evidently puzzled;
Takigawa splurted as he pointed at him.

Looking at his reflection in the mirror provided inside the store, Basara finally
realized what Takigawa had done to him.

“No, this just looks plain weird on me.”

 “I think it suits you quite well, Basachi. Pfft!”

“Don’t say that while you’re laughing your tears out! Well, why don’t you put
it on and send a picture to that dear older sister of yours, why won’t you?”

Basara took another pair of cat ears and attempted to put them onto
Takigawa’s head; in response, Takigawa stopped by clutching his arm with a
movement faster than the eye can follow.

“Come on, put it on, Takigawa.”

“Not a chance. You won’t make me do it, Basachi.”

Both of their eyes were starting to look a bit serious; they appeared to be
evenly matched.

“If you think it looks good, here’s a cat tail, Takigawa.”

“Oh? Well, good for you, huh? You can just put it on and let the girls enjoy a
spectacle of you meowing for them. What do you say, Basachi?”

Basara glared at Takigawa at very close proximity.

“Come on, Basachi. Are you really serious about this?”

“We agreed that it was going to a joke, right? So why don’t you just follow
through with it already?”

The atmosphere between the two was nearing bloodthirsty levels by the
minute.

“Basa…ra…?”

Basara and Takigawa turned toward the united voices that addressed the
former with their cat ears still intact.

It was Naruse Mio; and beside her, Maria was present as well. Mio had seen
the two of them in a situation she couldn’t believe, while Maria was taking
pictures of Basara and Takigawa with her cell phone on continuous shooting
mode. Diverting her line of sight, Mio quickly snatched away Maria’s phone and
promptly deleted the photos the latter had taken.

“What in the world is going on here—!? There are many explanations I can
come up with for this scene right here!”

Mio wordlessly stared at Basara beside the shrieking Maria; as he anticipated,

she turned away from him a moment later.

“E-Even if you’re doing something like that….I understand completely, so

keep at it…” Mio murmured, her cheeks tinted with red and her eyes downcast.

“What kind of misunderstanding is that!?”

“Basachi! Are you gonna follow me or what?” Turning around, Basara

discovered that Takigawa was about to run away ahead of him.

“Takigawa!”

“Seriously, Basachi, follow me!”

Before he could stop him, Takigawa had already disappeared; he had

definitely made a run for his life.

There were no more outs for Basara, who was still wearing his set of cat ears;
in his arms was also another pair of cat ears and tail that were left behind.

Taking a fleeting glance at Mio, he saw that she appeared to be extremely

guilt-ridden.

“No, really, it’s really not like that.” Basara could not look any more horrible
as he said so.

“…I do wish you had just discussed this with me from the start, though…”
Mio could only give Basara a wry smile.

Basara, Mio and Maria were heading home after leaving the department store.

“You don’t exactly discuss about a present with its recipient.” Basara said,
embarrassed.
 “I understand how you feel, but…you’ve always been so considerate when it
comes to us, so why can’t you rely on us at times like these?”

“I did end up having to rely on you after all.”

Basara was holding a paper bag he got from the department store; within it
was a beautifully decorated and tightly sealed box of marshmallows. The
marshmallows within came in a variety of colours and flavours that were added
to them.

“You’re not me, after all, Basara,” Basara could not find himself refuting Mio
in the face of her prideful expression as she puffed up her chest. “Still, the truth
is—” Mio’s expression suddenly changed to that of an innocent one, as if she
were a child that was hiding something. “I was also confused as to what to get
you for Valentines at the exact same spot, too.”

“Is that so? You seem to appear as if you’re used to making choices like that
today, though.”

“Well, I’m the recipient in this case. That’s different.” She said, looking
toward the box of marshmallows Basara was holding, “Besides, I had advice
from someone else when I was picking out your gift. That’s why you don’t have
to feel bad, Basara.”

“…So that’s how it is.” Basara said, narrowing his gaze. “Still, I appreciate
it.”

“Mmm. Me too.” Mio leaned in close to Basara, feeling slightly embarrassed.

“Thank you for your return gift, onii-chan.” She gave off a dazzling smile as she
looked upon her brother with upturned eyes, as Basara gently stroked her head,
making a ruffling sound on her hair.

“By the way, Basara-san, just what kind of aphrodisiac would you like to put
in those marshmallows? I’m always available for consultation!”

“I guess I can leave the leftovers to you.” “Oh, come on, now that’d just be
mean.”

The coincidental timing of which the two siblings’ voices’ overlapped one
another’s was a fine spectacle.
Epilogue
And so March 14th had finally arrived.

“I think we ended up making a lot more different things than we expected.”

Basara said, eyeing the various selection of dishes arranged upon the dining
table. The pleasant smell of various foods from pizza to chicken, as well as that
of quiches and various spices and cheese wafted across the dining room,
complemented by a side of a large serving of salad and the refreshing smell of
fresh and vividly ripe fruit.

“The meal is specially prepared to be served alongside your White Day

sweets, Basara-sama.”

“Looks like we’re eating well tonight.”

Zest and Kurumi stood side by side, holding the marshmallows that Basara
had chosen as a gift for the occasion; each of the different types of
marshmallows that Basara wanted to gift were gathered and beautifully arranged
within a glass container.

“It took a lot of effort, too.” Following the other two girls, Yuki was holding
chocolate melted in a bain-marie, accompanied by some cookies.

“To be honest, I didn’t think I’d be satisfied with just these marshmallows, but
the fact that we have something as succubus-esque as a set aphrodisiac-laced
chocolates puts me at ease.” Maria said, repetitively nodding, “And as proven
previously, the aphrodisiac won’t take effect immediately.”

“Still, Maria, while we’re at it, we have to give it to Yuki and Zest, don’t we?
I’m glad we consulted them on how we could really enjoy these marshmallows.
Who would’ve thought that there’d be so many delicious ways to eat them.”

“Yes,” said Yuki, as she presented some of the marshmallows to Basara; she
had pierced them onto a skewer and dipped them into the melted chocolate she
had prepared earlier. As the melted chocolate trickled as it stained the delicious
marshmallows, Basara took a bite.
 The sensation of the signature, fluffy texture and the light sugary taste of the
marshmallow first entered his mouth, followed by the rich, sweet flavour of the
chocolate that coated it, along with a slight hint of bitterness.

The palatable combination of flavours caused Basara to narrow his eyes in

satisfaction.

Part 2

It was the same day.

Kajiura Rikka was locking her room; after ensuring that it had been locked
several times, she sat upon her desk, upon it a beautifully packaged box.

Her outstretched hands were shivering; she had a nervous expression on her
face, her arms stiff.

“It’s an obligatory return gift. An obligatory return gift. Don’t get any
misunderstandings in your head.” She tried to convince herself as she opened the
wrapping.

As she opened it, Rikka realized that a message card had been placed within
it; it was as pretty as the box and packaging that contained it, a message written
upon it with a pen, although the handwriting paled in comparison to the aesthetic
of the decoration.

“Thank you for everything as usual, Kajiura-senpai.” Even the words he had
written were too simple.

She stared at the box for a moment, before she finally opened it and took a
single marshmallow and placed it in her mouth.

“Jeez…that’s just so like you, Toujou-kun.” She was definitely elated from the
bottom of her heart as she murmured thusly.

And her fingers no longer shivered.

Tachibana Nanao was hugging the White Day present that Basara had given
her; she remembered how he had acted when he had given it to her.
 “Sorry about giving you a return gift as a guy.”

Nanao had never seen Basara so bashful before; it was new to her.

“Still, Toujou-kun—” Affectionately embracing the present that he had given

her, Nanao turned to look at the full-length mirror before her—toward her
reflection, where her chest had visibly grown to be bigger than usual as she held
the gift.

“I still can’t return to being a girl yet.” Nanao said, a faint smile visible on her
face despite the fact that her eyebrows sank anxiously.

Nanao had yet to notice her true feelings; she thought that she didn’t notice.

It was still a bit too early for her to accept such a reality.

Hasegawa’s fingers reached toward the photo on the table; it was a photo that
decorated her room, one she had taken during her trip with Basara in January.

It was a photo of her and Basara, appearing as if they were intimate lovers as a
waterfall flowed in the background.

And right beside it was the gift that Basara had given to her on White Day.

Hasegawa primly tapped on the box that he had shyly given to her with her
long fingers.

“Goodness…right after Valentine’s, he now gets to do something with those

kids again. I’m being far too generous with him.”

She looked toward the window, her expression darkening from a slight tinge
of loneliness.

“You can’t satisfy me with just these marshmallows, Toujou.” She murmured,
her breath warm as she called out his name.

Takigawa was walking alone on the streets at night; amidst the hustle and
bustle of the shopping district decorated with richly coloured streetlights, he
withdrew his cell phone from his pocket.
 Raising an eyebrow as he received the message, a moment passed before he
spewed in response.

He had opened the image to discover that Leohart was the one who had sent it
to him; and beside the Demon Lord as he wore a serious expression was a face
he knew all too well.

However, Liala’s arm was crossed around Leohart’s as she snuggled close to
him, and she was apparently plopping a marshmallow into her mouth.

It was the return gift that Takigawa had painstakingly and hesitantly chosen
for her in the end.

“That was a close one.”

Taking a final glance at the brother-sister pair who seemed to be enjoying

themselves in the Demon Realm, he put his phone back into his pocket, before
he disappeared among the hustle and bustle of the crowd.

Part 3

The dining table of the Toujou household was livelier than usual as its
members chatted while heartily enjoying their meal.

“Come on, Kurumi-chan. Don’t think about it so much and just eat it!”

“Not a chance! I just know you’ve put something weird in it!”

Kurumi was trying to resist Maria’s efforts of forcing her to eat some
chocolate marshmallows.

A certain someone was paying no need to them as they were frolicking

around, however.

“Now, I’ll teach you the recipe.”

“Of course. Um…if it’s possible, can you also teach me how to make that
stew?”

Yuki, who had really appreciated Zest’s cooking that day, was discussing the
topic with her with an earnest expression as she took down notes on her memo.

Basara gave them a sidelong glance and took another taste of a marshmallow.

At first, largely due to the present he had given them—more specifically his
concern over it—he had largely eaten his meal without much enthusiasm as the
others enjoyed the marshmallows heartily. Much like how he had eaten
marshmallows dipped in chocolate earlier, however, he had come to be quite
astounded by the various ways he could enjoy them and the different flavours
available to him, such as sandwiching them between cookies, and sometimes
baking them in the oven or toasting them over a fire.

Maria, Kurumi, Yuki and Zest all seemed to be enjoying themselves; the sight
of it elicited a smile from Basara as he went into thought, thinking of how he
was witnessing just exactly how happy his family was—a family that included
Demons, Heroes and even a member of the Ten Gods.

Basara knew deep down in his heart that he wanted to see such a scene
forever.

No, that’s not it. He reconsidered the thought.

To want to see them like that forever would mean that they would go through
no struggles; he would, of course, fight for it when need be.

Basara suddenly felt a warm, gentle sensation on the palm of his hand; Mio,
who was sitting next to him, had piled her hand atop his.

He knew that she shared his feelings even without exchanging any words; it
was likely that the others shared them as well, something that made him happy
beyond measure.

And he would cherish this day, this moment as it lasted—if only because he
knew that the day would come where he would need to fight again.

“Let’s go have fun.”

“Yeah.”

The two siblings exchange smiles let out from the bottom of their hearts.