Vol 1 Chapter 3 (1/2)

At the Threshold of Trust and Reunion

Part 1

The Master and Servant Contract immediately activated the curse when the Servant betrayed the Master

After almost a month--- On the next full moon, it was possible to annul it

At first they believed it to be hopeless, but they soed to overcome the first week

---Regardless of how it came to be, the contract was bound, so they had to deal with the situation

To successfully avoid the curse fro, they persuaded Mio now and little by little they confirmed the activation conditions for the curse and other effects

And as of now, they had a good understanding about the contract ic

First--- The servant wasn't forced into absolute obedience and could defy an unreasonable order Apparently it was done, so that the contract wouldn't be used one-sided, but interactive

Consequently, the master needed to reward his servant with an adequate attitude as a master It was close to the ”Reward & Service” relationshi+p between the Shogun and Sa the Kamakura period

That said, even if the Master makes an unreasonable order, the curse will not activate for him due to the superior stance in the contract Still, the fact that the servant could disobey a strange order was a salvation for Basara and Mio

---Then what deter to the activation to the curse?

It was a bit complicated, as the condition for the curse's activation was ”a mental betrayal”

That said, the servant wasn't forced into absolute obedience He had the right to ”oppose” an unreasonable order

Also, actions that appeared like a ”rebellion” or ”betrayal”, but were for exa an action for the sake of the iven

But on the other hand, if the Servant disobeyed a legit order or took an unreasonable attitude, the curse activated without mercy

And it seemed that the power of the curse was deteruilt”--- in other words, his ”mental betrayal”

When the curse activated, a mark appeared on Mio's neck like a collar as proof

But--- Basically the curse wouldn't activate as long as she trusted and believed him

Because the contract between Basara and Mio was conducted uncoinally it was a thened the trust between Master and Servant, allowing them to keep track of each other's positions

Therefore there was no proble themselves like that

And then--- summer vacation came to an end

That said, even with su, it was not the end of summer

On sunny days, the temperature easily crossed 30°C

A day with boiling heat fro on Toujou Basara walked the street to school for the first time

The second term from today onward The start of his new school life

”Aw, so hot… damn”

He earing the summer uniform, but that didn't mean that his trousers were shorts Additionally the surroundings were full of students with the same uniform He hated crowds

”Girls have it good… They get to wear short skirts”

”---Hey, could you stop being so egoistic? In exchange for that, it's cold in the winter”

A cold voice beside hi the same school uniform

Since they mostlyan impudent remark in the middle of a normal conversation was no problem

Malice or a guilty conscious were the problematic ones

”But, in winter you can easily wear shorts or at worst tracksuits pants under your skirt, right”

Each of them cold-blooded spoiled a boy's pure heart Upon that,

”That goes without saying What's the point of letting yourself freeze”

”Then in the end, you're warm in winter!”

Not good He inadvertently retorted, but what good was it to even get hot-blooded himself There,

”Right, please calm down, Basara-san”

A young voice fro behind them

Needless to say she didn't wear a school unifor dress

”It is hot, because you think it is hot At time like these, just look at me”

Saying so, Maria searched rustling in the convenience store bag in her hand

Then she pulled out a pet bottle, drinking it with big gulps

Next she ripped open a popsicle wrapping, taking aher eyes pleased, she faced him with a smile

”How is it? When watching a refreshi+ng scenery, you feel refreshi+ng yourself, right?”

”As if!”

”Muh, I just wanted to cheer you up a bit, since I auard Mio-sama at school”

While feeling despondent, Maria licked her ice That appearance looked unnecessarily erotic

In casual moments like this, he was reminded that she was a succubus

”…I'll just be grateful for the idea”

Basara wearily faced frontward again Upon that, his gaze fell on the wave of students with the saate Shortly thereafter, Basara and the girls arrived there as well

”Oh, so this is it”

Basara stopped in front of the gate and looked up the big building

Private [Hijirigasaka Academy] That was the school Mio attended and which Basara would attend from today onward

”Well then, Mio-sama, I will be on standby nearby”

”Yeah, thanks”

On the night of the screwed up Master and Servant contract, she had been filled with rage, but after a week, Mio's anger certainly had subdued Mio and Maria had returned to their quite close sister relationshi+p

When Maria showed a smile on Mio's ”Yes”, she suddenly looked up to Basara

”Okay, Basara-san, I leave Mio-sah I doubt there will be any troubles in a place with so many people”

”Yeah, if anything coht away”

However, suddenly doubt arose in him

”But… You said you would be on standby nearby, but it's a weekday, you know? Won't it be troubleso around here?”

Upon that, ”Fufufu Do not worry It will be completely fine”

Maria laughed with Fufufu and pulled out a single card fro over her shoulder

”Look, in preparation for such cases, I have a fake ID that testifies me as 18 years old 18 years, you hear? With that I can loiter around during noon all I want”

”Oh really…”

Basara lost his strength Just because she was 18 didn't mean she could loiter around all she wanted

Or rather, nore fro so radiant

Part 2

Upon entering the school grounds, the flood of students got to it's peak and the hallere croith students

Basara, a transfer student, parted from Mio and headed to the staff room first When he told them at the door that he was the new transfer student today, he was told to wait for a bit in the waiting roo ister in his hands He held out his hand with a brilliant smile

”I'm Sakasaki Mamoru, your homeroom teacher Nice to meet you, Toujou”

”Yes, hello…”

Even while being overwhel aura, Basara replied to the handshake

Since the , they ht away

”Well, we often get transfers due to family circumstances, but your case seems a bit more complicated, Toujou”

”Yes, kind of…”

Nothing would co with Mio Therefore Basara told just the school that they were currently living together to see if they could be a fa That said, he wouldn't announce that to the classh

”But ood people, who properly consider the feelings of their children”

Basara replied with the vague answer ”Sure” He couldn't tell him that all of that was made up

Although, it all happened fro

…Ah, reminds me

Basara asked Sakasaki what he suddenly remembered

”Uhm… I heard that a friend ofof it?”

Jin ht have received a favor from that person when he took care of the transfer papers

Then it would be better to express gratitude to that person However,

”Is that so? Well, I haven't heard anything in particular about that Should I look into it later?”

”Ah, no, thank you”

If the hoht be better not to pry into it

When he politely turned him down, they arrived in front of the classroom

”This is our class A new fa various hardshi+ps, but you'll get used to it in no time Besides, we have Naruse in our class”

Ohh, Basara was a bit surprised It was rare that siblings or relatives were put in the saht for sure he would end up in a different class than Mio They must have been considerate

”Moreover there is our serious class rep andyou don't understand, just ask without reservation Okay, let's go in”

Saying so, Sakasaki moved into the classroom and Basara followed after hi must have spread already When he stood in front of the blackboard, he could look over the whole class

…Geez

Basara azes in the classroom were focused on him and all at once they started to evaluate Basara That was the unavoidable fate of a transfer student

First of all, he saw everyone get discouraged, boys and girls alike, just by the fact that he was a boy He was prepared for it, but before his self-introduction it already felt like a lost battle, which truly depressed hie, but there were still a few girls that hadn't lost interest in Basara yet

…Ah

A at thein the back

…She really stands out after all

Seeing her like that, he once more realized Mio's cuteness In the classroom space, everyone wore the same uniform and sat at the systematic ordered desks The conditions were the same Due to that, one's characteristic stood out excessively When he stared at her, she averted her eyes towards the

He lost another interested one Who remained was,

…Mh?

In the sa at him

It was a pretty girl Contrary to her vivid presence, similar to Mio's, she had an aura like clear water

Their types were different, but she was a beautiful girl on par with Mio

Seeing as the desk next to her was e to be Basara's

Indeed, it was understandable that she was interested in hi to sit next to her But,

…Ehm, what to do about this?

He considered her a cute girl, but if she stared at him so directly it certainly was a bit aard

At that ti besides the teacher's desk, eloquently wrote his name on the blackboard,

”Okay, as you can see, we have a transfer student ---Toujou, introduce yourself”

”Ah, yes…”

co to his aid in the silence

”Ehm, I'm Toujou Basara My nauy Please take care of me”

Since they would inquire about it anyway, heintroduction, whereupon the expressions of the guys softened a bit The ath of relief

Then it was time for questions and with the silly questions and answers repeating numerous tih Sakasaki clapped his hands together

”---Okay, that's it for now Save the rest for after the opening ceremony Toujou, your desk is the empty one over there Nonaka, you're the class rep, so look after Toujou”

”…Yes”

The beautiful girl from earlier stood up and nodded short Apparently she was the class representative

”Well then, everyone line up in the hallway We're going to the gym”

On Sakasaki's words, everyone started to stand up from their seats

”He tells us to line up… but in what order?”

A out of the classroom, Basara just stood there with no idea what to do, whereupon

”---Basara”

Suddenly his name was called, and Basara faced it startled

”Ehm, what is it, class rep…?”

Before he had noticed it, the girl had stood right besides hi called by name, but for Basara, the transfer student, she was the one to take care of him Therefore,

”I hope we get along, class rep I'll try not to cause any---”

troubles… hat he wanted to say, but couldn't Because she suddenly hugged him

”Eh---?”

For a

But the soft touch of a girl and the faint, sweet fragrance told him that it was reality

”W- Wh- What are you two doing!”

Mio, who noticed the two of them before anyone else, pushed the duht red face Her eyes were lightly bloodshot

”Ohh!? Class rep, can you get away? Otherwise I think it'll be dangerous!”

Mostly for h

”Moreover, you callme, could it be you lived overseas?”

”…No”

On the question, Nonaka raised her face while still hugging onto Basara

”Basara… have you really forgotten?”

Then she showed hi expression

”Mh? That reminds me, the name Nonaka… Don't tell me,”

Basara remembered the last name of the class rep, which the homeroom teacher had called, very well

”You're… Yuki?”

Upon saying the nairl in front of his eyes nodded short with ”Mm”

”Basara, it's been a while…”

Saying so happily, Nonaka Yuki showed a smile Then,

”Get off him already!”

Mio forcefully got between them When she pulled Basara and Yuki apart,

”H- Hugging him out of nowhere… A- Are you nuts?”

She flared up at Yuki with a bright red face However Yuki stayed composed

”Not really This is normal between Basara and me”

”N- Normal…? H- Hey, Basara, what does she mean?”

Basara was troubled by Mio's ogre-like glare

”Well, Yuki's my childhood friend… She was quite attached to me”

”Attached… You aren't a dog or cat!”

”Well yeah…”

But the fact ree and lived nearby, so they grew up like siblings Actually, it hurt The gazes of his classmates, Mio's included, that is Specially the ones from the boys

Well, obviously For a bystander it only looked like Mio and Yuki were fighting over Basara

…Not good At this rate, the friendly atmosphere I created with my introduction will…

But, how to explain it? While he was like that, the situation kept getting worse

”…It doesn't concern you, Naruse-san”

At last, Yuki declared coldly--- But it provoked Mio's emotions

”It, It does concern me!”

Before Basara could stop her, Mio shouted with a voice that reached down the hallway The all decisive sentence

”I'ether with him after all!”

Part 3

The opening ceremony ended and it became lunch break after a couple of classes

A happy lunch-time atmosphere spread over the school

Basara sat bored and alone at his own seat in the classroom Inadvertently he mumbled

”……For real?”

Wow This was beyond his expectations Could a person on his first day of transfer become this isolated?

First of all, it seeed by Yuki was bad enough, but Mio's declaration of their living together totally ruined everything

For exairls showered Basara with question withoutcereot information about Mio or Yuki, but they sucked out all the information from hiain

Therefore Basara had no longer anyone to speak with, except Mio and Yuki

---However these last two rays of hope weren't here either right now Yuki left after being called by the teacher for some class representative work When he then invited Mio to eat lunch together, she said ”You finally reunited with your childhood friend, so eat with her for all I care” and left with the girls froestion that was considerate to him in a way, the curse of the Master and Servant contract didn't activate in particular

And this--- led to his current solitude Basara sighed wearily

”Guess I should get going…”

There was no point in staying here As he didn't have a lunch box with him, his choices were either the cafeteria or the school store And when he stood up from his seat and left the classroom, Basara was suddenly called out to

”Yo Making most of the boys in class your eneh luck, Mr Transfer Student”

When he turned around, there stood a boy, showing a friendly smile One of his classmates

”Ehaas it?”

”Oh, you could tell? Have we met before somewhere or what?”

Takigawa made a puzzled face Only Basara had introduced himself in front of the class Needless to say, the other classmates,

Takigawa included, didn't name themselves

”Well, it's thanks to this from Sakasaki-sensei”

Basara pulled out a piece of paper fro chart that his homeroom teacher Sakasaki prepared from him, so that he could memorize his classmates' names as fast as possible

”Hee, Sakasaki is perceptive as ever”

Takigawa nodded once he told his understanding, then placed his hand over-familiar onto Basara's shoulder

”For that reason, let's grab a bite together, Mr Transfer Student You didn't have lunch yet, right?”

”Yeah… but how do you get to 'For that reason' from our conversation?”

”Because the transfer student, who's all alone after uys in class on his first day, was hanging his head super depressed It was just too pitiful, so I inadvertently had to call out to you Besides, I moved near here just last year So I can understand a bit the troubles and melancholy of a transfer”

He appreciated the concern, but couldn't he have said it better?

Well, he didn't seeuy

”Just call awa too”

”Kay So Basara, cafeteria or school store?”

”Let's see… The school store today, I guess”

Not to forget the incident during class break It was unlikely he could calm down in the crowded cafeteria

He wanted to buy so at random and eat at an isolated place

”Then we better hurry If we don't, there won't be anything decent left”

Saying so, Takigawa started walking When Basara caught up next to him,

”Still, to be the brother-in-laith our Princess Mio and childhood friends with our Princess Yuki… Raising flags with both idols that our school is so proud of, that's one da position”

”Princess…? They are called like that?”

He thought that their appearances certainly stood out

”Yeah, that's why I think you made other classes and seniors your enemy too I mean, these two are really popular here and they seem to have a lot of passionate fans”

Takigawa shrugged his shoulders while s

”Surprisingly a reater than a wo”

Indeed No wonder then that the boys of the other classes glared at hio drink so intent in the toilet

”Ae're too late after all”

When they arrived at the school store, there was already a long line before the food

Along with Takigahose expression had turned bitter, Basara lined up at the end of the line, where he casually probed

”Hey… About these passionate fans, has there ever been some kind of incident so far with them involved?”

”Woah, creepy… So, for example like what?”

Said Takigahile looking at the beginning of the line ”Let's see” said Basara as a prelude

”For exaet at theirl, jealous of their popularity, did some kind of harassment?”

”No way To begin with, the other fans wouldn't keep quiet if anyone tried to steal a irls know of Naruse and Nonaka's popularity They're aware that they would ry if they were to pull some kind of careless harassment”

”I see…”

In other words, Mio was the center of attention to some kind of extent at school

There had been a risk of an ene mixed in the school, but it was unlikely that any flashy measures would be taken in that situation

…Well, the first tero by normally

Of course it couldn't be asserted that the school was perfectly safe because of that, but at least it narrowed down the places and times, where they had to be wary

When Basara pondered like that, Takigawa, next to him, suddenly showed a nasty smile

”Well, there was once a sophoh theby that, you're probably in the er”

”Guess so…”

He got the feeling that it was true After all, ever since he showed up at the school store, soood that Mio was relatively safe, but it made him worry about his school life

”But are you going to be fine, Takigawa? Won't the passionate fans have an eye on you too when you hang out with me?”

On Basara's question, Takigawa smiled

”Don't fret it I have fast legs If it comes down to it, I'll abandon you and run away”

Such a reliable classawa added ”Besides” happily

”Raising flags with our school's two beauties is quite the feast The so called protagonist potential? If I hang out with a guy that has such 'luck' or 'invisible power', I thinkfrom now on”

”Same here But… I'm afraid I don't have such luck or power”

Basara made a wry smile He already--- lost his qualifications to be a hero and was nothing more than a side-character

Part 4

After school

Mio, who had been silent ever since leaving the classroom, finally opened her mouth when they left the entrance hall

”…Why are you following me?”

”Well, I'o home…”

A sullen voice Apparently the incident fro's homeroom still had after-effects

Well, it had certainly surprised him too

---However, couldn't she fix her e to be all alone at school, yet even on the way hoet a proper conversation

In his opinion, it was tiain about idea behind the Kanji 人[1]

Supporting each other

”Hey Mio… What do you think about the Kanji '人'?”

”It looks like Nonaka and you hugging”

Not good Impossible He couldn't count on her Like this, he could only hope for theof a third person

Walking towards the school gate, Basara shi+fted his gaze to the far in front Upon that,

”Mio-chaan, Basara-saan”

Maria, waiting outside the gate, waved her hand greatly Apparently she was carrying out their setting as sisters in public Well, it certainly would be weird when she called her ”Mio-sama”

”Good job on sitting out your time… you two”

”Thanks for waiting for us, but your re”

Don'tteacher is looking

There Maria noticed Mio's badlooked at Mio and Basara's expression, then

”Basara-san, Basara-san…”

Pulling on his sleeve and taking a bit of a distance from Mio, she whispered into his ear

”What is up with Mio-sama? It appears that her mood is kind of foul”

”Well, stuff happened…”

”? …Ah, I see So that is how it is That is not good, you have to use contraception”

”Hey… what did you think of in these mere seconds just now?”

Seeood to rely on so about it himself At that time,

…Mh?

Suddenly he noticed that Mio across of him looked at him

”………”

Her expression looked like she aiting for Basara's words

…Figures

Of course it worried her when the one, who promised to protect her, showed an expression she didn't know

It was nothing to be surprised about A trust between Mio and him hadn't been properly established yet

Neither as a family--- nor as comrades

…Worryingbrother…

When he thought so self-instructing, Basara returned to Mio's side

”……What?”

Mio faced sideways sulking and gave hilance

At the time he tried to find words to reassure her then

”---Basara”

A quiet voice called his na Before he had noticed, Nonaka Yuki had stood right beside hi Mio, whose expression instantly turned sour, she declared

”I have so important to discuss… just between us two”

Part 5

Basara decided to accept Yuki's request to talk with just the two of them

As expected, the bad-tempered Mio had left Basara behind and went home, but she had Maria with her

Befitting the season, the sun was still up high and there were a lot of students, since it was tio home

It should be safe to leave the two of them alone for a bit

Basara and Yuki moved to a café in front of the station It was all fine up to the point where they got guided to an empty table at the back, but

”…Hey, Yuki We're sitting at a table, not at the counter, so wouldn't you normally sit down across?”

Regardless of the table for four people, Yuki sat down besides Basara for some reason Upon that,

”No It's better when no one hears e're discussing now”

There wasn't in with, yet Yuki shi+fted her chair even closer to Basara

A thin distance, where their arms could touch The soft sensation fro from Yuki

…Ugh This is bad…

During the time they had been apart, their intiap to his feards, Yuki took the menu card with a cool face and looked at it

Then they both simply ordered drinks and when they dampened their dry throats,

”…Thanks, for co”

Yuki slowly opened her mouth

”No prob I wanted to talk to you too anyway”

The glares at school were so heavy that he couldn't get a decent conversation going in the end

”Good…”

Yuki h of relief

”I thought for sure, you were angry, Basara”

”Mh? Why?”

”I ed you”

”No, I just didn't realize it was you at that time…”

It had been already five years since he rowing periods right now It was understandable he wouldn't recognize her at once And anyone would be troubled if a girl on the supposed first ed onto one Besides,

”…You sure have changed”

What he first thought was, how surprisingly pretty she got The Yuki Basara knew had the sst their old playe

Yuki said that it e of her hairstyle Surely, the old Yuki had grown out her hair

But--- That wasn't the reason Basara didn't notice it right away that it was Yuki on their reunion

He thought back

…She wasn't the type to make such a face…

She had been sparing ords since forever, but had a great variety of expressions But, Yuki's face, as she was looking at hi from besides, looked completely inexpressive