Shinmai Maou no Keiyakusha

When he got off the train, all that he could see was a town covered in the pure-white of snow. As Toujou Basara stood on the platform, he could feel the cold and clear morning air wrap around him. As he paused on the spot, he naturally looked up towards the empty sky.

…It feels a bit like the air of the > in winter.

The place where Basara once lived was surely also covered in snow at this time. —However, there was a clear difference between where he was now, and the >. There existed an air of liveliness around him from the footsteps and conversations of the many people who passed by. This was the fate of any famous sightseeing location. From the train that arrived at the station, there were a large number of tourists aside from Basara who descended onto the platform and made a crowd as they all headed towards the ticket gate. And, having stopped his movements amidst the flow of people, he was left standing there on the spot as if they had left him behind.

“—What’s wrong, Toujou? We should also get going.”

And then, ‘she’ took Toujou Basara’s left hand. Accompanied by her slightly upbeat voice, she exhaled a white breath which was clearer than the snow. She was the beautiful school nurse who had invited Basara to this place — Hasegawa Chisato. Seeing Hasegawa like that

“————”

Just like the other people who passed by her, Basara once again felt fascinated by her.

…She’s beautiful.

In preparation for the cold weather in this region, Hasegawa wore a white long-coat today, as well as a warm-looking mouton fur scarf that suited the image of a snow-covered region. Her appearance always seemed so refreshing no matter how many times he looked at her.

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

“Ah, no…I’m sorry. Let’s go.”

As she tilted her head slightly with a puzzled look on her face, Basara thought to himself about how Hasegawa seemed a bit different than usual today. As he quickly lowered his head in a panic, he began to walk towards the ticket gate along with Hasegawa.

Today was the Saturday of the third week of Janurary, and Toujou Basara had been invited to this place by Hasegawa.

—When Basara and the others returned from the Demon Realm, it was just a few days after the third trimester began. Although Maria and Zest told them that they could use magic to alter their teachers’ memories and records, Basara and the others refused since they had to refrain from such actions, lest the Hero Clan take notice of them. Whilst they were in the Demon Realm, they had used a mobile phone with the same special magic chip in the battery as Jin’s to contact the school. They informed the school that they ‘had troubles while travelling abroad, and would return home a bit late’. As a result, even though they went back to school a few days after the opening ceremony, there were fortunately no major problems with their teachers or classmates.

The exception was — the half-vampire Tachibana Nanao who knew about Basara’s circumstances, and became worried when told that they were returning late…upon his safe return to school, the caring Nanao greeted him teary-eyes. On the other hand, Takigawa, whom they recently saw in front of the station just the other day, had also recently returned to Hijirigasaka Academy. However, since he returned to the Demon Realm before the Sports Festival to infiltrate at a different time unlike Basara and the others, he had used magic to alter the teachers’ memories. It seemed as though he had also used that to clear away all of his winter homework so that that there wouldn’t be any issues with his academic progression. Nonetheless, since the memory alterations on the faculty members were restricted to the minimum amount necessary, it was the judgement of Yuki and Kurumi that the Hero Clan would not see it as a serious problem.

While they began to return to their normal everyday lives, Basara went to the nurse’s office…he went to visit Hasegawa. —Before he went to the Demon Realm, Basara had received some good advice from Hasegawa that he kept in mind during the trip. Her advice was not to become short-sighted and to try thinking flexibly — that was why Basara was able to see the big picture without getting caught up in the situation. He came up with a strategy to secretly take Belphegor out before the decisive battle with Leohart, and turned it into a reality. Therefore, since her advice had greatly helped him, Basara went to thank her in person. Hasegawa on the other hand suggested that if he felt a debt of gratitude to her, then it was possible for him to do her a favour in return.

[Say Toujou, let’s go to a hot-spring inn — just the two of us.]

She had said so with a sensual smile on her face. Ever since the Sports Festival which was held in autumn, Basara had started a special, secret relationship with Hasegawa. It was a forbidden relationship between a male student and a female teacher — it was a relationship between a man and a woman, with the only condition being that they could not cross the final line. Even before he left for the Demon Realm, Basara had been forcibly invited by Hasegawa after the Student Council party to visit her apartment bedroom. Hasegawa had been lonely during the entire winter vacation since she was unable to meet him, and he couldn’t possibly refuse when he was asked by her with such craving eyes — that was why Toujou Basara was currently in this place.

The first place that Basara and Hasegawa went to after going through the station’s ticketing gates was the tourist information centre which was located on the station premises. They didn’t go there to ask for directions — it was so that they could drop off their luggage. As soon as they paid a thousand yen together to make it easier to walk around, Hasegawa immediately entwined her arms around his.

“After coming this far, you don’t have to worry about what everyone else thinks now…you don’t mind, right?”

She sweetly leaned her body against Basara’s arms. Almost immediately, Hasegawa’s sweet fragrance tickled his nostrils.

“N-No…of course not.”

Because there were many slopes in this area, Hasegawa wasn’t wearing her usual high-heels today, and instead wore low-heeled boots. Therefore, her eyes naturally gazed up at Basara from a slightly lower angle when she stood next to him and they looked at each other’s eyes. This instantly doubled Hasegawa’s allure. Basara nodded as he blushed, while Hasegawa seemed elated about the fact that they were acting like lovers. After they intertwined their fingers, they left the building — and headed out towards the front of the station.

“So, what are we going to do now, sensei?”

The region which flourished as a hot-spring town was approximately thirty minutes northeast by train from their current location. Of course, there were also some hot-spring accommodations within the vicinity of the station, but this particular neighbourhood was more famous for its sightseeing spots such as historic shrines, world heritage-listed temples, and its lookouts which provided majestic views of natural scenery. It was the first time that Basara had been here, but he knew about the kind of place this was. Since they had purposely dropped their luggage off, there was probably a certain place that Hasegawa wanted to go see. Basara had asked her that question as they stood in front of a roundabout.

“That’s right…there are several places that I want to visit with you, but before that…”

After saying that, Hasegawa tugged Basara’s arm as she lead him towards the right — into a souvenir store that was next to the station.

“First off, let’s tried the fried manju^[1] here. They seem to be rather famous and delicious.”

Hasegawa said with a smile. When he looked at it, he recalled that it had been introduced on a famous television program before, and one of its features was its easy-to-find location. Hasegawa handed over some small change to the female clerk who was selling them to buy one. And then

“Here, Toujou.”

The fried manju which was still piping hot in its white wrapping paper was brought towards Basara.

“Well, I’ll have a bite then.”

As Basara said that, he reached over to the fried manju with his hand. However, Hasegawa was a bit sulky as she said

“Idiot…open your mouth.”

She said as she peered up at him. He unconsciously gulped.

“—Or, would you rather I use my mouth?”

After being asked that, Basara decided to open his mouth, and Hasegawa’s hand brought the fried manju towards him. As he took a bite, the soft and fragrant scent came first, followed by the sweetness of the dough which had a bean-paste filling, while the outer layer which was made with soy milk and bean curd skin had a crispy texture.

“It’s delicious…!”

While Basara was impressed by the flavour which had been featured on television and in magazines…

“Fufu, you got some of it on you…”

Hasegawa said as she picked up the small piece which had gotten stuck to the edge of Basara’s lips with her fingers. She then brought it to her own lips instead and lightly kissed it before putting it into her mouth. Perhaps it was because they were away from the public eye and didn’t have to worry about being seen that she wanted to try acting like lovey-dovey couple today to see what it felt like. Then…Basara asked

“—Would you like me to feed you?”

As soon as those words were uttered from his mouth, Hasegawa’s expression filled with delight.

“Well then, please do…”

As she said that, she handed the fried manju over to Basara, and then drew her mouth close while holding the right side of her hair back. She bit into the same place that Basara had. After chewing for a bit and then swallowing, Hasegawa seductively licked her glossy lips and revealed a charming smile upon her face.

“Mmm…it certainly is delicious.”

Even though she simply took a bite of the manju, why did it seem so erotic? The faint colour of Hasegawa’s lipstick was left behind on the manju’s wrapping. Basara was slightly hesitant, as he was ashamed to feel shy about it, so he maintained a calm expression as he ate the rest of the fried manju. And then — Hasegawa suddenly kissed him.

“—?”

It wasn’t his cheek. It was a lip to lip kiss. Although Basara froze up in surprise, Hasegawa continued to kiss him passionately without any regard for the store staff and other customers. And then, Hasegawa gradually released his lips.

“W-What are you doing all of a sudden…?”

“Because your face seemed to say that an indirect kiss was nothing, I wanted to test if you’d be fine even if it was a direct kiss.”

“…It’s good you got an answer then.”

He was a student, and Hasegawa was a teacher. That was something which wouldn’t change. Even so, when it was just the two of them, sometimes it felt as though he had the initiative.

…No.

Most certainly, he was in the centre of Hasegawa’s palm and under her spell. In such a way, Basara was able to indulge in the temptation and appeal of an adult woman. It was something that Mio and the others lacked, and that was why when Basara was faced with Hasegawa, he had this uncontrollable urge to see how much he could get away with. This resulted in a sense of exhilaration and pleasure in testing how far he could go. However, no matter how reckless Basara became and no matter how unreasonable he acted, Hasegawa always forgave him with her usual sultry smile, and even responded to him with delight.

“—Well then, I suppose it’s time we go.”

Basara nodded in response to Hasegawa’s words — and they started to move. 

Their choice of transportation means were a bus, taxi, or even a rental car. When Basara asked what they would do, Hasegawa chose the taxi.

“Since modern cars have navigation systems, it’s rare for people to get lost nowadays, but it seems inevitable that the tourist spots will be crowded on weekends.”

Since they had limited time, there was nothing more valuable than a local driver well-versed in knowledge such as the nearest parking spot at a destination, or alternate routes to avoid traffic jams, or even dropping a customer off and waiting in another place. Such things couldn’t be found in guide books. Therefore

“If we can afford to do so, it’s best to reserve a taxi for a fixed period of time so that we can enjoy sightseeing without having to worry about various things.”

He had no objections to Hasegawa’s proposal. They rented a taxi which had stopped in front of the station until the evening, and thus Basara and Hasegawa began to travel around to various different tourist locations. They made use of the time in the morning to see natural scenery such as the lake to the west, and the large waterfall that was situated in the surrounding area. It was currently winter, and the lake surface stood at an altitude of over a thousand metres above sea level. The water surface rippled with the mountain wind that gusted down from the surrounding hills, and the tree branches beside the lake which became wet were completely frozen. The appearance of the area was like a fantasy scene resembling an ice chandelier. The taxi driver that they had hired was an old man, and when they told him where they wanted to visit during this season — he showed them how to arrive at a scenic spot perfect for today’s conditions.

“It’s so pretty…”

Hasegawa cuddled close to Basara as she murmured so, and as Basara followed the direction of her gaze, he forgot about the cold in the face of the beautiful scenery which spread out before his eyes.

“Would you like me to take a commemorative photo of you two?”

The driver said. He had probably helped to capture the memories of other lovers who had visited this area until now. Hasegawa glanced toward him as she said

“…Toujou, shall we indulge in the kind offer?”

“Of course, let’s take one.”

Basara had decided that to do whatever he could to indulge Hasegawa during this trip. When he agreed to it with a smile, Hasegawa gladly opened the camera app on her phone and handed it to the driver. She then walked over to Basara’s side.

“Thank you…Toujou.”

She whispered in a voice that only Basara could hear. So, in order to respond to those feelings of hers, Basara wrapped his arm around Hasegawa’s shoulder and pulled her closer to himself.

“——”

Hasegawa seemed momentarily surprised by his reaction, but she quickly became happy about it, and leaned in close towards his chest.

“—Alright, I’ll take it now.”

The two of them smiled in response to the driver’s call. And once the mobile phone was returned after the photo, Basara and Hasegawa couldn’t be seen as anything else but lovers in the photo.

“………”

“………”

The two of them gazed at the photo, and as they raised their faces from the screen, they realised how close they had gotten to each other. The picture was a reflection of reality. Therefore, when they looked at themselves objectively in the photo, they became even more conscious of each other than before. Moreover, the expression and atmosphere that the photograph captured of Basara and Hasegawa this time was wondrous — and so, the mood between Basara and Hasegawa changed after that point.

“Sensei…over here.”

“…Yes.”

Since they were away from their usual area, there was a low chance that they would be seen by any acquaintances, so Basara held Hasegawa’s waist in the back seat of the taxi, and they cuddled together. As a veteran of the profession who was able to read the mood, the driver refrained from interrupting them, and no longer talked about the scenery or different points of interest. He simply left those two alone in the back seat. And when they visited the large waterfall which was known as one of the three largest in Japan, the driver remained in the car to wait for them since there was an entry fee for the elevator to get up to the observatory. They walked over to the elevator hall after buying tickets from the reception counter, but there was a long queue in front of the two elevators since it was a weekend. As one elevator came down for a round trip, all of the people who had lined up just in front of them entered, filling it up to capacity…customers spilled out of the adjacent elevator as they had just returned from the observatory. Since there were no other customers behind them, it ended up being just the two of them in the elevator — Basara and Hasegawa. So — as soon as the elevator doors were closed by the staff

“Toujou…mmm, chuu.”

With moist eyes, Hasegawa kissed him, and Basara assertively ensnared his tongue with hers. Although they could be seen in the control room via the surveillance camera, they didn’t care. It would take sixty seconds for them to reach the observatory — and there would be a lot of tourists waiting at the observatory. Nonetheless, Basara held Hasegawa’s waist with his right hand, and used his left hand to lower the zipper on the front of her coat. And then, while he continued to kiss her, he unreservedly slipped his hand into Hasegawa’s clothing and began to fondle her breasts while Hasegawa joyfully twisted her hips.

“Aah…Toujou, chuu…haah, Toujou…mmm ♥”

She sought an even more passionate kiss from Basara. So when Basara poured plenty of his saliva into her mouth, Hasegawa gulped it all down with a lewd noise. They wanted to progress even further than that if possible. However, the elevator was almost about to arrive at the observatory.

“—Sensei, it’s almost time.”

“Mmm…I know, we’ll continue later.”

They understood. So as they reluctantly parted lips from each other, they got out of the elevator as if nothing had happened. —A huge waterfall could be seen from the observation deck, and it certainly lived up to its reputation of being one of the three largest. They looked out from the observation deck at the majesty of the large waterfall and the rapidly falling water from a height of around a hundred metres. As with the previous lake, this waterfall greeted them with a special appearance that could only be seen in winter. A myriad of smaller waterfalls were supposed to run side-by-side like the planks in a blind around the large waterfall — but they had frozen under the low winter temperature and spread like a bird’s wing. Basara was fascinated by the artistic form that nature had created with the beautiful blue ice.

“Umm~…excuse me, could you please take a photo for us?”

The voice of a young woman resounded suddenly as she and her female companion gazed at the waterfall from beside them. Although they appeared to have a selfie-stick for their mobile phones, it seemed as though it was too crowded for them to make use of it.

“Alright, I’ll take it — now.”

As Basara conveyed the timing to them, he pressed the shutter button on the screen. Just in case, he took a few pictures and made sure that they checked so that there weren’t any problems.

“Wow~ you’re a good photographer!”

“So true…it’s like you’re a professional photographer.”

As he was praised by the two women, Basara simply said “Thank you…” as he bowed lightly.

…They seem happy.

In addition to the joy of being able to see someone happy as a result of his actions, he felt pleased that he had been praised more than anything else, since it was in the same vein as his father who was a talented photographer. —Suddenly, Basara could feel words being traced on his back. Although he was wearing a coat, he could understand that the words written were ‘cheater’ and ‘idiot’. She was teasing him again…Basara thought, but as he turned around

…Huh….

But, Hasegawa was not smiling. She was glaring at him with a disapproving expression in her eyes.

“…………”

Her eyes were the same as on that Christmas night — in the elevator of Hasegawa’s apartment, when she had told him an unforgettable truth. It was a feeling named jealousy.

“——”

Basara immediately tried to think about where he had gone wrong, but he had already failed. The way she didn’t say anything but instead just stared up at him was rather cute…without regard for the other tourists in their surroundings, he was tempted by an urge to embrace Hasegawa and kiss her. But….

“Ah, sorry…if it’s okay with you, would you like me to take a photo of you two?”

As the woman said so apologetically, Hasegawa entwined her arm around Basara’s as if to assert her presence. After a photo of the two of them was taken with the waterfall as the backdrop and they looked at the beautiful sight of the winter waterfall once more, they got on an elevator to head back down to the ground. Unsurprisingly, they weren’t able to be alone on the way back down, and the elevator that they entered was crowded.

“—Sensei, over here.”

To prevent other men from touching Hasegawa, Basara guarded her.

“………”

Hasegawa moved and tightly embraced him in silence. And then

“Toujou…during this trip, you are mine.”

“…Yes, I’m sorry.”

Basara embraced her in return as he apologised to the somewhat sulky Hasegawa. When they arrived at the ground level and returned to the taxi, it was already lunch time. When Basara asked the driver for a store recommendation, he also listened to their desired schedule for the remainder of the afternoon and then took them to a popular soba restaurant that was known to both tourists and locals. —And so, from afternoon onwards, they explored the art that was crafted by human hands, rather than the art of nature. They went to see a shrine that was registered as a world heritage site.

The place where they headed to was a world heritage site which was frequently visited by many tourists. Although taxis were permitted to enter the site which consisted of two shrines and a temple, Hasegawa requested that the car head over to the southeast side — they went around to the front entrance on foot, and crossed over a culturally significant vermillion bridge. And once all of their sightseeing was over, they planned to contact the driver by phone so that he could wait for them nearby. With that, they slowly began to walk around.

“——”

Although he had already been aware of it when the taxi drove to the lake, when they started crossing the bridge, the surrounding air felt clear and fresh again. Originally, the land around this area was a place where spiritual forces were said to be strong, a supposed ‘sanctuary’, but the spiritual density seemed even stronger now that they had come here. As Hasegawa walked beside him

“—Toujou, do you know about the difference between a shrine and a temple?”

“Well, I’ve heard about it once, but…”

As someone born into the Hero clan where some members borrowed power from the spirits or divine beasts, the minimum amount of necessary knowledge had been hammered into him from a young age. To put it into terms which were easier to understand, ‘a place with a torii^[2] is a shrine, and where graves are it is a temple’. Although they shared several commonalities, that was simply a rough ‘way to distinguish them’, rather than their actual differences. Therefore

“I have some knowledge about the various theories, but…to put it in rough terms, it is said that shrines belong to Shinto, temples belong to Buddhism, and a shrine is the place where gods reside.”

And then

“Although a temple houses Buddhist statues and the like, and it’s basically not where gods live, it’s more like a place for monks to train…it feels that way.”

Nonetheless, for the gods who bestowed their power upon the Hero clan in ancient times, it would also be incorrect to say that they lived in shrines across various parts of Japan. Of course, there were many spiritual beings in a shrine, and it was also a place where beings of worship could descend. However, they were ideological existences which were invisible to the eyes of human beings, though Basara and the others could somehow feel their presence. The existence of the gods who gave their ancestors power, and the existence of spiritual beings and divine beasts were ‘more humanlike’ or ‘more animal-like’. But those who were once exiled from the gods became demons. Considering them as pairs, it was easier to understand that their existences were closer to human. Nonetheless — among the Shinto gods, there were many human-like existences that appeared in Japanese myths and the like.

Some members of the Hero clan also revered weapons with the same name as a Shinto god, such as Yuki’s [Sakuya]. That was because its existence was rooted in mythology and religion, and many people throughout history had recognised it, thus it easily obtained spiritual power. In other words, the [Konohanasakuya-hime] of Japanese mythology was not exactly identical to the spirit [Sakuya] that dwelled in the sword which chose Yuki as its wielder. However, since it was akin to the origin of its existence, it wasn’t entirely unrelated either…having recognised a clan, there were still some practical problems. Although shrines might allow such spiritual existences to be felt, they also acted as a measure to preserve the spiritual beings so that they weren’t destroyed in battle again demons, stray devils, or disasters. The same also applied to temples. Although the common conception was that they were a place for monks to live as Basara mentioned to Hasegawa earlier, in most cases, they were actually important places involved with the terrain. Like shrines, they often played a role in protecting the land, and acted as a means to prevent ‘impurity’ and to protect the location. That was why when they fought against Takashi’s group who had the spirit spear [Byakko] — it was not in the forest or the mountains where there were few people, but within a boundary which replicated the space in front of the station.

It was similar to the Hero clans in other countries where they reconstructed the existences which appeared in myth and religion, and transferred that to the area of weapons and abilities for battle. They were also responsible for conserving churches, temples, ruins and the like in various places aside from their duties in fighting against demons. In essence, the gods who resided in the Divine Realm and rarely left created existences which could fight against demons in the human world by giving them the ability to recognise spiritual existences and energy which was impossible for ordinary humans. In other words, this was the Hero Clan which the gods had bestowed special abilities upon. Nevertheless, during the previous Great War, it was believed that there were also some gods who made an appearance before a limited number of Heroes. However, there had not been a single report of their appearance after the Great War ended. And so, after crossing the bridge and while climbing a flight of steps up the mountain towards the world heritage temple, Hasegawa suddenly asked as she walked ahead

“Then, since beings such as gods exist…but they don’t show up to help people and animals in this world when they suffer, what do you think, Toujou?”

Basara was unable to peek up her skirt from below since he followed closely behind her on the sloped path, and he was unable to see Hasegawa’s facial expression either. He could only try to infer what kind of expression she had based on the tone of her question. But even so

“Well…there are various theories about that too, but I think if such existences do exist, they must have various circumstances. We may not be aware of it, but I’m sure there have been many times when they’ve surely helped and protected us.”

That was Basara’s reasoning. He raised his face and looked at Hasegawa’s back as she continued to walk in front of him.

“There are also times when some people aren’t aware that others have helped them, right? So, even if they might be invisible…I’m sure that they’re watching over us and helping us without us noticing. It’s just like how the Hero Clan does things — they protect the world from demons and stray devils.”

“……Is that so?”

Hasegawa muttered in a low voice without looking back as she continued walking ahead.

“…Do you think that’s wrong?”

In response to her somewhat melancholic question, Basara seemed slightly worried as he said

“No, that’s not the case…it’s just that I thought you were thinking about something like that.”

As she reached the top of the stairs, Hasegawa turned around and revealed a gentle smile. Hasegawa’s expression was the same as usual — that prompted Basara to pat his chest in relief as he stood next to her again, and Hasegawa once more linked her arms with his. At the same time—

“——”

Hasegawa’s lips seemed to open and close slightly, but Basara was not able to hear what she said.

Having reached the world heritage site, the first place that they chose to visit was the large shrine that a general who survived the Warring States period^[3] had dedicated to the gods for the sake of the unification of the country. It was a grand structure which had been designed with feng shui and yin yang^[4] in mind, but there were also many intricate engravings which depicted various animals and spiritual beasts. There were three famous monkeys and a sleeping cat, as well as a portrait of an enormous dragon painted on the ceiling of the shrine hall. There was also a string of hyoushigi^[5] which hung underneath it and produced a mysterious reverberation when struck. The two of them enjoyed their sightseeing side-by-side in the place which was a popular tourist destination. And then — the next place that they made their way to was the shrine which had been built next to it. As they approached the next shrine via a straight path which was lined with cedar trees, they passed through a torii before they arrived at the shrine which had an old history of over a thousand years. Basara and Hasegawa then cleansed their hands and mouths with water at the site.

“…Sorry, but please accompany me for a while.”

Upon being asked that, Basara nodded in acknowledgement. The main deity of this shrine was known as the ‘god who relinquished the land’. They were also famous for a story where they helped a white rabbit which was in pain.

…If I recall correctly, it had something to do with having many children.

There were various different theories, although the most prominent one was that he supposedly had as many as a hundred-and-eighty children between six goddesses who were his wives. The number six was a strange commonality that Basara shared with this male god. Although they weren’t his wives, he did have a deep bond with five people — Mio, Yuki, Maria, Kurumi and Zest. …And, if Hasegawa was also included, that would make it six people who had a deep relationship with him, which happened to be the same number as this male god. Nonetheless, in some other texts and theories, it was stated that he actually had seven wives, and there were also some books which stated that the number was even higher. It was well within reason that this commonality they shared had no particular meaning.

Aside from Basara and Hasegawa, there were many other tourists present, though most of them appeared to be women or couples. The male god was famous for being connected to many goddesses, and also said to command the lands of the world. This was why he was also revered as a god of marriage. Since Hasegawa enjoyed the feeling of being lovers with Basara, perhaps this was the reason why she wanted to visit this place with him. Basara then arrived at the main hall together with Hasegawa, where there were two cedar trees which stood together like a couple. This was where they prayed to the married trees. In terms of desires, there were many things that he wanted to wish for, however—

“—”

Hasegawa’s facial expression as she closed her eyes and held his hand was serious as far as he could tell, so he decided to wish for Hasegawa’s wish to come true. And — once they finished visiting that shrine, they encountered a certain group of people. There was a wedding ceremony. In this world heritage shrine, a solemn Shinto-style wedding ceremony was being held. A male priest and a shrine maiden led the groom who wore a decorated hakama, as well as the bride who wore a shiromuku^[6]. Following behind them were two pairs of men and women who seemed to be the parents. Hasegawa seemed entranced as she watched them, and she leaned her body against Basara’s as she uttered

“How enviable…”

There were many appropriate ways in which he could have responded to her. However, he did not want to say anything irresponsible to Hasegawa. Therefore

“…Indeed.”

Basara simply tightened his hold on Hasegawa’s waist just a little as he said that. As the two of them watched the wedding ceremony take place, it seemed as though the groom noticed them as he stared back.

[———]

The groom had completely turned his face toward them and looked like he was bewitched by Hasegawa. Noticing that, the bride sulkily pulled on the groom’s ear.

“—Well, since we’ve finished praying, should we move on?”

It was cruel that the groom was at fault simply for taking a careless look at Hasegawa. When Basara asked if she was ready to leave, Hasegawa seemed satisfied.

“Ah, you’re right…let’s go.”

After Basara nodded in response, they left the shrine. 

Afterwards, they made their way towards the other temples which were classified as important cultural assets, but they were unable to complete their tour as the opening times in winter were shorter. Thus, they gave up on seeing the rest and went back to the taxi which waited for them in the parking lot. They headed back towards the first lake that they visited. It wasn’t because they had forgotten anything. They went to visit a building which sat on the bank of the lake.

“This is an amazing place…”

Basara murmured as he marvelled at the scenery which he could see through the window of the taxi. After passing through the welcoming gate, the area which spread out in front of them had a land size of three-thousand tsubo^[7]. Built upon this site was an extremely luxurious inn which was run by a famous resort management company. In front of the entrance to the building, women in traditional Japanese clothing who seemed to be employees awaited them. As soon as the taxi which Basara and Hasegawa travelled came to a stop, they opened the rear car doors.

“—Welcome, we are pleased to see you even in this cold weather.”

Their actions and voices didn’t rest for even a moment as they immediately bowed. After paying and thanking the taxi driver for chauffeuring them around for the day, the female staff members guided them into the inn where they sat down at a sofa and table in the lobby. As soon as they sat down at the sofa, another woman brought them tea. It was an expensive-looking green tea set which was accompanied by a variety of colourful sweets. However, they hadn’t been brought there simply to have tea. As evidence of that, as soon as Basara and Hasegawa took a small sip of their tea—

“Welcome — sorry to interrupt your relaxation, but would you please be able to check-in?”

After saying that, the women presented a notebook with a leather cover and a fountain pen to Hasegawa. Hasegawa then elegantly wrote down her personal information. After Hasegawa finished filling out the required information and returned the notebook and pen, the woman respectfully bowed.

“Thank you very much. Now, we shall guide you to your room if you would like — this way please.”

After saying that, she invited them towards the back of the building. The quietness of the Japanese-style hall had a certain tranquillity about it, and only their footsteps could be heard as they slowly advanced over the tatami floor through the corridor. Soon, they reached a particular room. It was more spacious than the entire size of the Toujou residence, and the most luxurious suite in the entire inn. There were two Japanese-style rooms situated next to each other, along with a living room and two western-style bedrooms. There were also two wash areas, basins and toilets in the bathroom, which gave it the potential to accommodate up to six people at once. As they sat down at the Japanese-style chairs and cushions at the table, the lady who had guided them thus far poured them tea. She then placed a cup each in front of Basara and Hasegawa.

“Once again, we welcome your stay with us tonight. I am the proprietress of this inn.”

She said as she lowered her head with a deep bow while kneeling on the floor. As Basara looked at the proprietress, he thought

…It’s good that I got some experience in the Demon Realm before this.

Since Basara had received a similar level of hospitality in Wildart along with Mio and the others, he didn’t feel shaken by the luxurious rooms or the generous hospitality of the proprietress. Sitting calmly across the table from him, Hasegawa asked

“And our luggage that we sent ahead of time?”

“Yes. We received them earlier and they have been placed over there.”

The proprietress pointed towards the living room where they could see the luggage that they dropped off at the train station earlier. What the two of them paid for was not simply luggage storage — it also included a delivery service that could send their luggage to their accommodation. Indeed — this wasn’t simply a day trip. Basara and Hasegawa would be staying overnight at this inn.

“Umm…if you don’t mind me asking, is today an anniversary or a special occasion?”

“Yes. Please do allow us to treat it like one.”

After Hasegawa answered the proprietress’ polite question, she took out a small envelope from her handbag with a smile. It was most likely a gift envelope containing a tip. As soon as the proprietress noticed, she said

“No…I cannot receive something like that. The service of our inn is covered for by our accommodation fees, and we have already received more than enough from you, Hasegawa-sama.”

“This is separate from that. If you are confident in your services, then it should not be a problem. And, so long as you provide the best hospitality that you can, then it’s fine.”

When Hasegawa put it gently in that way, the proprietress conceded.

“…Then, I gratefully receive it.”

She said as she received it. After putting the envelope away into her pocket, her expression became serious again.

“Now then…as I mentioned earlier, I will do my utmost to provide our best service.”

The proprietress said as she began to explain the various facilities available at the inn.

“—Please feel free to make use of our facilities.”

After lowering her head towards the floor with her hands placed in front of her once again, she quietly exited the room. Thus

“Phew…”

Basara finally let out a deep sigh as he looked across the room. Not only was it spacious, but it also had a gorgeous view of the lake at sunset which could be seen through the window. That was why he thought

…I’d like to bring them here someday.

He suddenly thought about Mio and the others whom he had left behind at home. —When Basara told them about the fact that he would be staying overnight, as expected, Mio and the others seemed reluctant. It wasn’t because he had told them about Hasegawa. In the first place, his relationship with Hasegawa was a secret from them. He had told them that he would be spending a night away in order to take a rest from the fierce battles in the Demon Realm. Mio and the others were purely worried about his safety since he would be alone. From their perspective, they probably wondered about the reason why they couldn’t accompany him. However — Mio and the others didn’t say anything, and simply saw Basara off. The things that Takigawa said when they met in town the other day “And if you mistake the meaning of the word ‘worry’ for ‘shackling down’, he might abandon you” was probably stuck in their hearts. Although they could find each other’s locations using the Master-Servant contract in case of an emergency, Mio, Yuki and Zest hadn’t covertly done anything like following him. Although he did not have a Master-Servant contract with Maria and Kurumi — Basara was currently capable of discerning their locations as well.

…It’s all thanks to Sheera-san.

Basara dropped his gaze to the mobile phone which he had taken out of his pocket. Just like how Mio and the others were worried about Basara — Basara also cared for them and worried about them. Sheera understood his feelings, and among the souvenirs that she gave Basara back when they parted, one of them was a special chip that could track the magical energy of Maria and the dark elemental that Kurumi had received. Once inserted into a mobile phone, it became possible to track the two of them like points on a GPS. Currently, those five girls were definitely in Tokyo. Basara was able to confirm that with the GPS on his phone, and they were also able to grasp his location via the Master-Servant contract. In fact, he had also sent them a few emails whilst he was with Hasegawa. Since Mio and the others knew what his location was, and they also had correspondence from him, they probably weren’t worried. That was what Basara thought.

“—Even when you’re with me, you’re thinking about other women?”

Hasegawa playfully said as she leaned over the table.

“You spent a number of nights overseas with Naruse and the others over the winter vacation. During that time, I was thinking about you, all alone. Of course, I don’t mind if you contact Naruse and the others to give them some assurance while you’re staying with me like this…but you should otherwise think only about me.”

In response to her graceful and sensual smile, Basara simply said ‘yes’ as he nodded. And just as he was told — he thought only about Hasegawa during the time that he was with her.

There was still some time until dinner. That was why Basara and Hasegawa decided to head into the hot springs first. Although there was a traditional cypress wood bathtub in their room, the large public open-air bath was the true highlight of the inn. Although there were yukatas in their room, the proprietress had mentioned to them that some had also been prepared in the changing rooms of the large public bath, so they left the room as they were. Because the building was so spacious and vast, the hallways were shrouded in a calm silence.

“—Alright, I’ll see you later.”

“Yes…”

As they said that, Basara and Hasegawa walked towards the male and female baths separately. And so, Basara proceeded through the curtains to the male bath where he took his clothes off in the changing room, and put them into a locker. He attached the wristband with the key to his wrist, and then opened the door to step into the large public bath.

“…This is amazing.”

He spoke aloud to himself. White steam drifted above the entire hot spring bath, and it was so spacious that he gazed it the space in admiration. Although the size of this bath alone was already magnificent, there was supposedly also an open-air bath. Basara had the male bath all to himself.

…It’s this empty even on a weekend.

It did seem like a rather luxurious inn, and that was likely why there were few people who stayed here. Or perhaps, people who stayed at such inns preferred to use their private baths instead of the public one. While such thoughts crossed Basara’s mind within the large Japanese-style bath, he sat down on a stool in the washing area close to the wall to wash his body down first. Suddenly — someone’s presence could be felt from the changing room. Apparently, there seemed to be other customers who also wanted to enjoy the large public bath aside from Basara. Basara stroked his chest in relief as he continued to wash his body, but that customer came into the bathing area shortly afterwards. It was Hasegawa.

“Eh—…?”

He couldn’t help but leak an exclamation of surprise. The person with a towel wrapped around her head to keep her hair together, and with a bath towel around her body was undoubtedly Hasegawa Chisato. Upon finding Basara in the washing area, she said

“Did you wait long, Toujou…?”

With a smile on her face, she approached him while treading across the hot water which had spilled onto the floor.

“W-What are you doing, sensei!? What if other customers come in—”

Basara had sensed that Hasegawa looked forward to bathing with him, but he did not think that she would go so far as to follow through with it in the large public bath, rather than the private one in their room. He was glad about her feelings, but there was a serious risk that her bare skin could be exposed to the eyes of other men. However

“Don’t worry. No one else will come in — no other customers, and of course, not the staff either.”

Hasegawa swiftly declared.

“I’ve reserved this place, for both today and tomorrow.”

“This large public bath?”

Could she have done that? — Basara wondered.

“No…this inn.”

Without hesitation, Hasegawa let that response slip from her mouth.

…Now that I think about it.

It wasn’t just the changing room or the large public bath. Ever since he set foot in this inn, he hadn’t seen any other customers at all. Moreover, before the proprietress left their room, she had said things like — “Please feel free”. Normally, it should have been along the lines of “Please take your time”, or “At your leisure”. —However, the proprietress permitted this ‘freedom’. When Hasegawa tried to give her a tip, she said “we have already received more than enough”. Perhaps that wasn’t just out of politeness and humility to a customer.

…Seriously?

Just how much did it cost to completely reserve a luxury inn for the weekend? As Hasegawa stood before Basara’s eyes, she undid the knot on her bath towel to reveal her nude body. She then sat down in the stool next to his and began to use hot water from the shower to wash her body down. Basara had bathed with Hasegawa and did various other things with her after having a delicious meal prior to the Sports Festival, and there was also that time when he was indulged in her bedroom on Christmas night. Being reminded of those occasions, Basara reacted involuntarily. And then, Hasegawa noticed his condition.

“…Fufu, you’re certainly fast.”

“No, this is…”

Basara’s words got jumbled up as he spoke while narrowing his eyes in delight. Hasegawa opened the bottle cap of the body soap and slathered the contents onto her own chest. And then, once the liquid overflowed and trickled down from the valley of her breasts, she rubbed her breasts together with her hands, and her nipples also began to grow erect. As he understood what Hasegawa was doing, Basara called out to her

“S-Sensei…”

“If that doesn’t go down, then we won’t be able to have dinner…so leave it to me.”

Hasegawa then revealed a seductive smile as she circled around behind him. She pushed her large breasts which were covered in foam against Basara’s back, and she stretched both of her hands around towards the front of Basara’s body. There was still plenty of body wash left on her hands. The next moment — Toujou Basara’s erect rod was in the custody of Hasegawa’s hands.

“Incredible…you’ve gotten bigger again. Toujou…mmm.”

While sliding her foamy breasts against his back, Hasegawa squeezed and stroked his cock with lewd movements, and it was clear that they were both feeling aroused. The truth was

“…During the winter vacation, various things happened…”

Thanks to the effects of the tonic that Sheera had given him in the Demon Realm, perhaps that was why Basara had grown bigger there. As Hasegawa serviced him lewdly with her hands, Basara leaked a pleasant moan.

“Is that so…then, I’ll be sure to make it plenty big tonight.”

Hasegawa giggled as she said so, and accelerated the motion of her hands.

“Uh…ah……!”

As Basara’s sensation of pleasure increased, he channelled strength towards his lower half.

“You don’t have to hold back…release yourself, and enjoy it.”

Hasegawa whispered into his ear with hot breath, and she heightened the intensity of her hand movements — that was why Basara allowed himself to be indulged by Hasegawa’s words. He unleashed the torrent of pleasure that he had been holding back into her hands. Not all of it could be contained by Hasegawa’s hands, and the cloudy white liquid from Basara spurted onto the upper half of the tall mirror in front of him. As a result, Hasegawa’s face which was reflected in the mirror was dirtied by the white liquid, and her hands which had been holding onto Basara’s rod tightly became gentle.

“Hmm…fufu, you certainly came a lot…”

Hasegawa giggled as she seemed satisfied with it. Perhaps out of regret that he had done that with her, Basara gently glanced behind to try and understand what her intentions were.

“The expression on your face…it’s still before dinner.”

Although she chastised him like that, Hasegawa seemed to have forgiven Basara. Therefore, when Basara reached towards Hasegawa’s breasts with his hands and gently fondled them

“Aahn…♥”

A sweet moan instantly leaked out from her mouth. In response to Hasegawa, Basara said

“…Isn’t this all because of you, sensei?”

Basara then lewdly moved his hands, and squeezed the tips of her pale pink nipples.

“——Fuaan.”

Hasegawa was so sensitive that her body trembled just because of that — Hasegawa’s reaction further heightened Basara’s excitement, and he put his arms around her waist to bring her body closer to himself.

“Before dinner…let’s both climax once.”

Held in his arms, Hasegawa seductively responded to his proposal with

“—I understand.”

As soon as she replied to Basara with a nod, he fully immersed himself in the sensation of her breasts and buttocks. Whilst he massaged her breasts and butt at the same time with both his hands, Hasegawa’s pleasure instantly increased, having already become aroused by servicing Basara earlier — she gradually began to move her hips with lewd motions, and Basara sucked on Hasegawa’s nipples, causing her to climax lightly. While she tightly embraced him, Hasegawa’s sweet moan echoed within the bath — and once her sensation of climax subsided, she gazed straight into his eyes.

“Haa…Toujou…mmm, chuu…♥”

She kissed him as her eyes wandered into delirium. In response to that, and before he even realised, Basara had pushed Hasegawa down onto the floor of the large public bath — they lustfully entangled their legs together, and dreamily became infatuated with each other.

Ultimately — even though it was only supposed to be once each it ended up being three times each. Somehow realising that any more than that would have been bad, they managed to calm their raging excitement, and they changed back into yukatas in the changing room so that they could return to their room. Hasegawa had tied her hair up when she put on the yukata, and her skin was flushed from the pleasure of the bath while the nape of her neck was stained with a cherry-blossom colour.

…This is bad.

Basara had become incredibly aroused by her sex appeal, and he shook his head as his desperately tried to calm himself down. And, when they arrived back at their room, they were just in time for the dinner that had been prepared for them. On top of the large table, a variety of tasty-looking dishes were lined up. There was a pot of shabu-shabu oysters, assorted horse sashimi, and steamed turtle in an earthenware pot. An ordinary man would be somewhat taken aback by such a menu, however, the loli-ero succubus who was in charge of the Toujou residence’s kitchen had made many similar dishes, and so Basara wasn’t particularly concerned.

“It’s quite luxurious…”

“We are humbled by your words…the chef of this inn did his best to create this.”

As one of the staff members who acted as a waitress said so with a polite tone, she slowly bowed to them.

“However, I apologise for how unsightly it looks on the table…”

And then she apologised. There were a large number of dishes laid out on the table, and just as she said, the table surface did seem somewhat tightly-packed. Hasegawa shook her head lightly as she replied

“I don’t mind…even though you don’t offer room service, you’ve already fulfilled my impossible request.”

On the contrary, it seemed as though Hasegawa chose to have this kind of high-class kaiseki^[8] cuisine delivered together with the next course, which was western-style so as to cherish the time between just the two of them. —And so, the complete meal was ready shortly afterwards. Although the dishes had originally been placed so that they could be eaten face-to-face, they were arranged so that they sat side-by-side at Hasegawa’s request. When Basara inquired about her intentions, Hasegawa simply whispered sweetly into his ear

“It’s easier to eat with each other if our bodies are closer, right?”

After the staff finished the preparations for their meal, they bowed and retreated, allowing Basara and Hasegawa to begin their meal. As expected of a luxurious inn — all of the ingredients were first-class, and their work was both diligent and precise. The taste was elegant, and it was also delicious on Basara’s tongue. Although they were aware that it was poor etiquette to do so, they fed each other and poured sake for each other, just as Hasegawa wanted, and that made her truly happy…she intentionally flirted with him using her breasts, demanded a kiss from him in the middle, and she seemed pleased when Basara responded in kind. Hasegawa’s expression conveyed pure joy. After they finished their meal, Basara sat on the western-style sofa, with Hasegawa on his lap while he held her waist from behind as they took a break. As they gazed at the scenery outside the window, Hasegawa leaned in and left her body in his care.

“What would you like to do after this? Would you like to use the cypress wooden bath in our room, the large public bath again…or would you like to try the women’s bath this time?”

She asked him as she looked over her shoulder — therefore

“Sensei…before that, there’s something that I want to ask.”

“Yes, what is it?”

In good spirits, Hasegawa prompted him to continue. 

“Yes — sensei, I want you to tell me what you know about my birth.”

With a calm voice — Toujou Basara broached the topic that he had kept silent on all day. However, Hasegawa maintained her smile. She simply narrowed her eyes slightly.

“—While you were over there, did Jin tell you something about me?”

That was all she asked. So in response, Basara shook his head slightly.

“No. When I met my old man again in the Demon Realm, I learned from him that my mother was the younger sister of the former Demon Lord Wilbert. And, the fact that I also have another mother aside from her.”

“If that’s all you’ve heard, then how did you arrive at the conclusion to ask me about it?”

The tone of Hasegawa’s voice didn’t deny it, which meant that it was the truth.

“In order to fulfil my purpose in the Demon Realm, I had to compete against people who were much stronger than me…that’s why I asked a succubus to create a drug for me, so that I could activate the demon blood which flows through me.”

And then

“When I drank it, a part of Brynhildr’s memories flowed into me. I guess it’s because of the evil spirit that possesses the demonic sword. When I activated my demon blood, my synchronisation with the demonic sword Brynhildr was enhanced.”

That was when Toujou Basara found out.

“The reason why demonic swords and spirit swords can possess a user is because of the link that is made when one is chosen by the spirit or divine beast that resides in the weapon. But, the way that I became the wielder of Brynhildr is totally different to how Yuki was chosen by Sakuya.”

Because he saw that tragedy from Brynhildr’s point of view, he understood.

“At the time of the tragedy five years ago…my power went out of control, and I erased everything in my surroundings except for Yuki and Brynhildr. But, I was only trying to protect Yuki at that time, and I couldn’t afford to protect Brynhildr as well. Even so, Brynhildr remained without disappearing because it escaped inside me. And from then on, Brynhildr has continued to live on, inside me.”

And, on the day of the Sports Festival.

“Ever since I met Mio and the others, my life has been in danger when I’ve fought in battle several times, but at that time — when I was defeated by Sakazaki, I temporarily drifted to the boundary of death. If I died as the host, then Brynhildr also would have disappeared. Brynhildr instinctively realised that it was a crucial situation that posed a threat to its own existence, so it manifested when I lost consciousness, and defeated Sakazaki with my body and power…and so—”

“I see…”

Once she heard Basara’s words, Hasegawa muttered as if she finally realised.

“When I stopped Brynhildr who had taken over your body and went out of control — you found out about the conversation I had with Ornis while you were unconscious.”

It was that time when Brynhildr took control of Basara’s body, and used it to overwhelm and attempt to kill Sakazaki. Hasegawa had restrained both Basara’s body and Brynhildr’s rampage. At the time — Basara was still unconscious, but—

…Even though Brynhildr was restrained, it still remained in a conscious state.

In order to return safely from the Demon Realm, Basara had intended to become stronger by synchronising with Brynhildr further so that he could master its strength.

“Rather than Jin telling you, to think that it would be Brynhildr…”

Sakazaki revealed his identity as Ornis and tried to kill him. That was why Hasegawa didn’t hesitate to use her form and power as one of the Ten Gods, Afureia, to destroy Ornis. Basara wasn’t aware of the exact circumstances or situation of her conversation with Ornis, and most of what he understood was mere fragments. But, having been born and raised as a member of the Hero Clan, he undoubtedly knew of the meaning and existence of the divine race and the Ten Gods. …Moreover, after learning from Jin in the Demon Realm that he had two mothers, he was able to derive the truth by gathering the various pieces of information together. And Basara noticed — the door to reach the truth, as well as its key, lay with Hasegawa. As Hasegawa sighed and slowly blinked, her demeanour and facial expression turned into that of a bitter smile. She could no longer deceive him — so, Hasegawa Chisato slowly began to speak.

“…I made a promise to Jin. Aside from if he told you himself, if you found out on your own, then it was up to my discretion on whether or not to tell you the truth. But, knowing how much you adore and respect your father, even if you did find a way to find out more of the truth beyond what you heard from him, I didn’t think you’d pursue it…what made you change your mind to ask for my support?”

“Indeed…certainly, if I was still the same as I was a while ago, I would have accepted my father’s decisions unconditionally, and wouldn’t do anything unnecessary.”

However, Basara continued

“But right now, I have something that I want to protect…something that I absolutely cannot give up. Of course, I may never be able to surpass my father when it comes to battle. But, I don’t want to remain an existence who’s always just protected by his father. —So, please tell me.”

That was Basara’s way, and his determined words to leave the protection of his father.

“—As a woman who is precious to me, I want to know what your raison d’etre is, sensei.”

And so he asked again. Therefore

“……How much did Jin tell you?”

“During the previous Great War against the demon race, he and mother — he met Wilbert’s younger sister on the battlefield.”

Up until that point, Jin’s words could be trusted. So, Hasegawa turned towards the front as she began to talk about the details that Basara wanted to hear about.

“This is a story that I heard, but…one of your two mothers is a demon woman named Sapphire. She was an excellent commander who led troops on the battlefield. Among those who fought on the frontlines during the Great War, she was one of the best when it came to battle.”

That also meant that she had killed many of those from the Hero Clan, but Hasegawa didn’t mention that.

“I guess she had a strong sense of responsibility…late in the war, I heard that she volunteered for a vital role when Wilbert began marching his troops in the Demon Realm.”

That was how — their fateful encounter was born.

“Around that time, Jin and his comrades had been pursuing and launching attacks on the demons…Jin and her had already encountered each other on the battlefield before that, and they had already fought against each other several times already.”

“Several times…that means—”

“Yes. It seems that as the younger sister of Wilbert who was called the strongest Demon Lord, she had the ability to fight on equal footing against Jin. And this time, she wanted to quickly withdraw her subordinates from the area while Jin wanted to avoid the risk of harm to his comrades, so it soon became a one-on-one fight. There were no other heroes or demons who could have stopped them.”

Hasegawa then changed her tone.

“However…as the two of them began to fight on the battlefield, there was one person who joined to stop both of them.”

After taking a breath, she said ‘her’ name.

“That other person was the one who would eventually become your other mother, my cousin — Raphaeline.”

She was a goddess who had previously been dispatched from the Divine Realm to watch over the Great War between the Hero Clan and the demon race. Raphaeline had become one of the Ten Gods before Hasegawa.

“The holy sword Balmung that Jin used during the Great War was something that Raphaeline had secretly given to him after observing and evaluating him….”

However, while she lent power to the Hero Clan, Raphaeline loved peace, and she looked favourably upon Wilbert’s decision to bring his army in to create a truce — therefore, she also intervened in the battle between Sapphire and Jin. However

“They were in an abnormally tense state due to the battle, and because they saw Raphaeline as a nuisance, Jin and Sapphire-dono attacked her separately.”

Although Raphaeline first attempted to persuade them, she gradually became emotional towards both of them.

“—Be