Vol 5 Chapter 1 (1/2)

Being with You in the Demon Realm

Part 1

Midnight came around, and Lucia appeared on time

Ju before Basara and the rest—

“Thank you for waiting…is everyone ready?”

Her tone and liveliness were completely different from Maria’s – relatively cold

“—We’re ready, please begin”

Toujou Basara nodded his head and replied For the pastfor this journey

Other than Maria, they were all wearing their school unifored into the uniforasaka Acadeh Yuki and Kurumi had their Hero battle clothes, they decided not to wear clothes that could stimulate the Demons

Because -- including Basara, their positions today are not Heroes -- but instead just purely Mio’s family and friends

For their clothes and daily necessities, they had gone with packing for a short trip overseas According to Maria, their clothes could be washed anywhere and their weapons could be summoned anytime, to there isn’t any personal concerns; both Yuki and Kurumi only needed to prepare the medicinal items needed for the Heroes

Thus, Basara and Mio each packed a single luggage case, and Yuki and Kuru of a different size; Maria has her own residence within the De

“Alright, ill now depart”

With that, a large ic circle appeared in the space beside Lucia and slowlyinto a pitch-black hole

“My God…”

Kurumi became amazed

Of course Kurumi would be amazed Normally, humans needed to fulfil some conditions before they are able to proceed to the Deher class than Huher than the di a tunnel froher to lower dimension are coher dimension

One of the ways for to construct a tunnel was tobetween the Demon Realm and the Human Realm with its lessor numbers, to create space instability in some places and the natural phenomena -- The 「Dimensional Boundary」 japan has some places where the Dimensional Boundary has occurred that are currently strictly controlled by the Hero [Village] – without their authorization, those like the exiled Basara and Mio who has Demon blood within her are not allowed to use it Jin who had pretended to be going to Dubai when in truth going to the Deether had probably used a Dimensional Boundary overseas

…My dad has got many connections after all

Even if Jin has been blacklisted by the Heroes in japan, the Hero of the Great War is still very popular overseas, so finding a way to the De difficult for him

And right now, Lucia who is a pure Demon had just created a very stable Dimensional Boundary that even Hulimpse of her power to them

…But since Lucia is the Right-Hand Man of the leader of the Moderates Faction, such poas to be expected

A spells that manipulate space, but Basara had never seen one that are as stable as the one before hi able to construct barriers orbattle power Just then—

“There’s nothing to be surprised about Mio-sama has Demon blood, Basara uses a cursed sword, some of Kurumi’s contracted spirits relations to the Dee of those de a Dih isn’t that hard”

Lucia said, as if seeing through why they were so surprised

“…What about me? My [Sakuya] shouldn’t have any demonic fluctuations”

“—Affirmative, Yuki’s spirit sword doesn’t contain any demonic fluctuations”

Lucia slightly nodded in response to Yuki’s question

“That’s why, I’ve used those demonic fluctuations within your body”

“Within my body…?”

“The fluctuations from the Master-Servant Contract you had made with Basara Yuki sis and Mio-sama are both linked to Basara with my demonic power”

The inter unable to understand

“So, it doesn’t really matter even if Mio-sama doesn’t have Deh my succubus baptism a lot, so its fine even if she doesn’t have any deh one-sama’s Dimensional Boundary”

“ ! …T-That hy you had done all those things?”

Upon seeing the red-faced Kurumi coyly [1] ask, Maria replied all smiles:

“You’re wrong I was unable to hold back my succubus instincts, and vented my libido on you”

“Y-You idiot! Why do I have to handle your libido!?”

“C-Calm down, Kurumi If you start to Maria’s tone, you’ll fall into her trap”

“ ! …Big sis~”

Kuru warned by Mio, and Yuki began patting her head to placate her

Yuki is showing such a happy face…such glaring big-sister’s-love radiance

「…………」

Lucia quietly watched all this, her eyebrows not wrinkling even once Even while standing still in a very natural way, she didn’t show any sign of any flaws or struggles, whilethe Dimensional Boundary Her outer-appearances are similar to Maria’s adult form, and she could very well be a S-Class expert

“……Is anything wrong?”

Seeing Lucia sense Basara’s gaze, she replied [Nothing] and turned to Mio and the rest

As if seeing what thisa ruckus

Toujou Basara thus said to the four of them:

「——Let’s go」

They nodded -- and walked towards the Dile file

Part 2

They were immediately enveloped by an abyss-like darkness, and they suddenly lost their orientation

As if like they were in outer space

--However, that sensation was short-lived

In the nextwithin an unfarass; as the wind blew, the rays of sunlight scattered on the ground also underwent soes

It’s just as Maria said, there was a time difference from japan

“This place is—“

“--Oldora Forest”

Lucia turned to face Basara, and answered his uncertainty Just then—

“Oldora Forest…is this place?”

Kuru Mio surprised

“You know this place?”

“Yes Although our knowledge of the terrain in the Demon Realm is limited – everyone will definitely know about Oldora Forest”

For Basara, Yuki, and Kurue of this place came from their elders who had participated in the previous war In the past, the Moderates Faction controlled majority of the Demon Realm, but then rapidly lost power and influence with the death of Wilbert, ending up in today’s state Co the war, the current power ed a lot But the Moderates Faction probably never accounted for this forest, since after all—

“—This place is the forest closest to the Demon Lord Wilbert’s castle”

This ht have been a suitable place for Basara and the rest to land, having been invited by the Moderates Faction after all However—

“Lucia-oneesa us into Wildart City?”

Maria asked while frowning The term Maria just said was also one that Basara and the other Heroes often heard – The city of the Demon Lord’s Capital back when Wilbert was still on the throne

As the ones ere invited by the current leader of the Moderate Faction Rah-class De them directly into the city to save trouble and simplify matters

“Froement, we have made the decision to try to avoid the areas near and within the city, to prevent any involvement and manipulation of a third party and be mistaken as an enemy invasion”

“You ht, but do remember that the Current Demon Lord Faction is also after Mio-sama’s life—“

“I am well aware of that, and that is why I had chosen Oldora Forest This place is not far away fro from outside, and it would be difficult for anyone in the surrounding areas to feel any Di”

After Lucia replied without any change in her expression to the co Maria—

“Let us walk for a short distance, and there will be a horse carriage to bring us into the city – Please follow me”

And proceeded to walk off in another direction into the forest

“I’m sorry, everyone…”

Maria lowered her eyes while feeling bad, and Basara patted her shoulder and said:

“No need to say it like it’s your fault… I guess we better getthen”

“…Alright”

Maria nodded, and Basara began following Lucia

Much less a pavement, there wasn’t even an exposed path on the forest floor Everyone walked in a single file slowly through the grass, and soon—

“Eh… When I had first about the Deht that it would be a dark and scary place; but in the end it was just as Maria said, it wasn’t much different from our world, and there’s even a sun… There’s sothe forest so much fresh air, it just feels no different from the mountains in the countryside”

Mio expressed her feelings to the view of the natural forest before her As it’s their first visit, Basara consulted Maria on a few s like cultures and custo a view co felt fresh It’s just—

“What fresh air… Really, you just don’t understand”

“What do you mean, Kurumi?”

Behind her, Kuruhed, and Mio turned back to ask

“You have Deht not have noticed… While the views and scenes within the forest are indeed beautiful, the concentration of de With such strong de to the Demon Realm”

Hearing Kurumi say tensely, Mio became surprised

“Oh… Is it true, Basara?”

“Yes, the de Reear’s house? It’s similar to that”

Such thick demonic concentrations will probably lower the immunity system of a nor froht not be toodemonic concentrations usually equates to a fairly powerful de around, they were unable to relax

“Really…? In such a natural and beautiful place?”

Basara gave a bitter sht to another place

“…Yuki, are you alright?”

“Ah, I’m fine”

Beside Basara, Yuki nodded and replied, showing no hints of any stress within her expression

…Probably because she’s the user of [Sakuya]

In short, the spirit sword can purify her body anyti the demonic fluctuations from the Master-Servant Contract; it certainly is useful as a Hero, but it presents another probleinal aear’s mansion, the one most affected by the demonic concentration is undoubtedly Yuki

Basara couldn’t see any abnoret used to the demonic concentration, there would be a burden on her, so any repercussions appearing wouldn’t be strange at all

“Yuki—“

Basara originally wanted to help Yuki carry one of the two luggage she was carrying, but instead retracted his words

Yuki probably is already aware that the one most affected by the demonic concentrations in the Demon Realm will be her

But yet she still agreed to go along with Basara and the rest Basara’s worries, ht be contempt in Yuki’s eyes

“What is it, Basara?”

Replying, Yuki’s breaths becahtly faster

“Nothing It’s great if you’re alright – let’s go”

Hearing Basara expressing trust and worry, Yuki becahtly surprised

“…Oh”

And happily smiled

Just like that -- after following behind Lucia for a while, they saw an ancient-type wooden horse carriage with a aiting for thee would probably be able to easily fit more than ten people, and there were four black horses attached before it However--

“T-The horses in the De…”

Mio said The Huricultural activities, but they all pale into insignificance The horses before them are at least three metres tall, its stature doesn’t see horses

“No, these horses are especially different Horses of this size are rare in the Demon Realm”

Two e, most likely to be Lucia’s subordinates They approached the the door, and said respectfully:

“Everybody, please enter the carriage, and leave your luggage to us”

And then carried their luggage onto the goods rack at the trailing end of the carriage Just then--

“Ah, no need, I’ll carry this myself” “Me too, sorry to cause inconvenience to you”

After handing over the luggage containing their clothes and sundry itee contains their assist tools [2], which would naturally be better if they were to carry it themselves

After the two of thee, Lucia entered last, and athey the ripped the reins, she said:

“--Everyone, ill be departing now”

At the saan tothe open area, the horse carriage got onto a dirt path and began to gain speed While observing the scenery passing by the , Basara asked:

“U will it approximately take to reach Wildart City?”

“--In terms of the units from your realm, it will be about an hour”

Lucia answered without even looking at Basara froe of the seatsAs they would all be under her care for the next hour, Basara had wanted to try to close the gap between them and her…but as her attitude is that cold, everyone hesitated on whether they should speak or not”

「……………………………」

The depressing silence went on and on What could be heard in the interior of the carriage, was only the sounds of the wheels of the horse carriage rolling on the path

“……Ah, everyone, please look to your left!”

Suddenly, Maria said as if wanting to dissolve the aardness within the carriage When everyone turned towards the voice to the left -- the horse carriage left the forest, and wide and droad hills caht of theis the view of thethe city, is the outer wall that seee piece of rock

“Wow…”

A very spectacular vieas That is likely the previous Demon Lord’s royal capital -- Wildart

“So the city with a castle at the centre of the urban is Wildart City?”

“Yes That and the castle was governed by Mio-saht now is His Majesty Wilbert’s brother Ramusas-sama”

“…………”

Listening to Maria’s explanation, Mio silently griped Basara’s hand while looking at the view through the , and Basara held that cold and tre hand

As the scenery passed by the ithout stopping, they got closer and closer to that far-away castle

Part 3

After the horse carriage Basara and the rest were on followed around over half of the city’s wall, they finally arrived at the back entrance of the castle

Mio was the spiritual leader of the Moderates Faction as Wilbert’s only daughter, and Basara and the others were Heroes If they were to sie co around the urban district after entering the city was probably a good choice After crossing the e finally came to a stop The door was then opened froe--

“Mio-sauests -- welcome to Wildart City”

Lucia formally welcomed them with a serious bow, and the other uest is Mio, while Basara and the rest were acco her, thus--

“Err… I am Naruse Mio, I’ll be under your care for the next few days”

Originally planning to rest her companions, Mio then stepped forward, unsure of how she should be acting, tentatively bowing first before saying that

“……Well then, please come this way”

Lucia said so, and the maids behind her bowed and went past theet their luggage

After handing their luggage over to them, Basara and the rest went into the city under the lead of Lucia Even if they had entered through the back entrance, the ceiling was still pretty high, and the decorations were still very luxurious

Much attention was undoubtedly given to the furnishi+ngs and lighting within the ays and corridors, as they see was spotless

…As expected of the spiritual leader Wilbert’s Moderates Faction’s city

The Royal Capital displays the prestige of the nation Even though the Moderates Faction quickly lost power after Wilbert’s death, the urban areas were still very vibrant froe; probably because from the civilians’ viewpoint, this castle that syes of Wilbert when he was still alive for the sake of it

Following Lucia, they crossed through the corridors filled with a solemn [3] atmosphere, and after a few turns -- they came before the door to the room at the end of a corridor

“This is the roo her visit here The males’ room for Basara [4] is at another place, so later to show you the way”

Opening the door after saying that, what they all saw behind the door turned Basara and the other speechless for a while Not because it was stunning -- the truth was the opposite

Opening the door after saying that, what they all saw behind the door turned Basara and the other speechless for a while Not because it was stunning -- the truth was the opposite The high and wide spaces and high-class furnishi+ngs that created a luxurious feel, are all completely absent in this room; the room only contained a plain bed, sofa, table, and otherbasic necessities of the lowest grade After entering the roo the place fairly di a room like that--

“…Fros seen on the way here and the decorations of the other roo excess furniture I’hter of the previous demon lord?”

Kurumi asked coldly

“Ramusas-sama wanted you to use the rooms on this side”

Lucia indifferently answered, not aze at all

…I see, the same old trick

Basara had heard frooodwill to Mio There were ill-will between each royal fa tio in the Human Realm -- from all indications, there was no need to anticipate the reunion between the so-called niece and uncle

“…………”

Mio lowered her eyes, unable to hide the sorrow fro forward to co to experience some war the cold shoulder

…Since it’s become like this

There is no need for her to re the e, Basara then turned to Lucia--

“I understand… Since that is the case, we’ll go along with the flow for now Right now, can we ask for you to bring us to meet with Ramusas-sama? We all have our own lives to live, and we hope to return as soon as possible”

And said so very seriously Only to see shake her head and reply:

“I’m very sorry Ramusas-sama is currently out on business and is not in the city He will beyou all tomorrow”

“Not in the city? Wasn’t he the one who invited us here?”

Yuki asked with an eyebrow raised

“Affirmative If you had come when I had visited you, there would have been no problems at all with Ramusas-sama’s schedule However, just like every one of you have your own lives to live, we also have our issues to settle Especially nohere it can be considered that we Moderates Faction is at ith the leader of the Current Demon Lord Faction Leohart”

Lucia then continued:

“As the representative leader of the Moderates Faction, Ramusas-sama is very busy with his usual office work, and coincidentally today he had matters where he could not be absent fro your journey by a le day?”

“”………………””

Since Lucia had said it that way, Basara and the rest could find no words to refute that at all

“…Then why didn’t you just wait until to us here?”

In the end, Kurumi was only able to muster a complaint quietly

“Thank you all for your kind understanding Well then--“

As Lucia said that, someone knocked on the door and entered the room

“…Please have some tea”

That was a beautiful brown-skinneda metal cart loaded with a tea set was one that Basara and the rest recognised Thus, Basara couldn’t help but to say her name

“Zest…!”

[hello] Zest nodded at Basara, and then said:

“It’s been a long time since I last saw you, Toujou Basara -- no, Basara [5]

Seeing her, Kurumi then leaned over to Yuki’s ear and asked:

“…So she is that Zest?” “Yes, she was previously Zolgear’s subordinate”

Yuki answered Kurumi who had never met with Zest

“You seereat”

“Yes Thanks to your care, Zest is very grateful to you”

Towards the expression Zest shohen Basara expressed his relief, he was so her smile for the first time--

…She can already smile…

Basara laear -- the Toujou household temporarily took in Zest, until the one sent by the Moderates Faction brought her back to the Dereed to find a place for her Back then until when Zest was alear who had deeanic When if she received protection as a witness, there were so over Zest as of the Current De Zest’s power and the possibility that she ht escape from the Demon Realm, Basara had told her that she can return any time before she had left On their way here and until they were brought to this room, there were still worries on whether did Zest receive any ill-treat, it was all great However--

“……!”

Toujou Basara line of sight was drawn to another change in Zest, and he gulped

--In Basara’s ure It’s only been two ear and handed Zest over to the Moderates Faction, but yet Zest’s breasts had definitely gotten bigger Not only Basara, this shock surpassed that of this sudden reunion in Mio and Yuki, causing them to stare at her in disbelief

“………Ah”

Seeently twisted her body shyly red-faced Even then, her breasts with a shocking aht

“S-Sorry…!”

Basara hurriedly averted his eyes, and Zest shook her head and said [It’s fine]

“It’s not surprising that you’ll be surprised… Even I did not expect thatto the doctors -- this change is due to the release fro like an illness, so there is no need for any worry”

“…--I see”

Hearing Zest say that, Basara answered in a low voice

Ever since they gained victory fro with Maria and Sheera had escaped froear’s control Since this was the result, rather than saying [change], it would be inal appearance Just then--

“Zest will be responsible for Basara’s[6] daily life while you are here, so please do not hesitate to call for her if you ever need anything Zest -- you will be bringing Basara[7] to his room later”

“--Understood, Lucia-sama”

Seeing Zest bowing on receiving her order, Lucia said [Good] and continued:

“You’re all probably become tired on your way here There’s still soet some rest in this room You’ll be notified when yourmy leave now”

And Lucia turned to leave after taking a bow -- but then stopped before the door and turned back to say:

“Maria -- reive me a detailed report on all of your actions over there”

“……Alright, understood, Lucia-oneesama”

After Maria nodded, only then did Lucia leave the room for real

Getting so dinner, actually has the sa as [do not leave this room]

As la, Basara and the rest then tentatively chose to drink the tea Zest had prepared for thee table in the center of the room, Zest placed tea cups before them and raised the white porcelain teapot to pour tea into Basara’s cup first Basara then raised his cup to have a taste

“Ah… The aroma and taste is very similar to the red tea we usually have”

The tea in De that this is everyone first time here, I tried to choose a tea that has a taste very similar to the ones in the Human Realm… Is it to everyone’s tastes?”

“Yes, it’s very good… Thank you, Zest”

“…Is that so, that’s great”

Zest slightly smiled happily

“You two seem to be very chuetting heated up?” [8]

Mio said while shooting daggers with her eyes while looking at Basara and Zest talking

“I’m sorry… I didn’t have that intention…”

Zest said with a pained expression, and poured tea into Mio’s cup

Later -- the atmosphere in the room became tense Mio’s adoptive parents who she had believed to be her real parents, were killed by the high-class deear -- and Zest was his subordinate

Of course, Zest was only following orders froear, and was unrelated to the death of Mio’s adoptive parents; but e that could be delineated [9] , and it was for that reason that Basara had left Zest to the Moderates Faction Even if Mio had given up on killing her sworn eneether with the subordinate of her sworn enemy was just too cruel to her It was for those reasons that Mio had practically not said anything to Zest when she stayed in the Toujou Residences temporarily, and Basara had left Mio as she is

However -- when Zest stepped back after pouring Mio’s tea, Mio raised her tea cup and said:

“Really… For ht”