Shinmai Maou no Keiyakusha - Volume 13 - Chapter Pr

Prologue

The Day We Become a Real Family

“–Mm… There. Is this right?” 

A person is struggling in front of the large mirror hanging on the wall.

It is a young man, wearing a white tuxedo that he is not used to.

Toujou Basara.

–Basara is currently in a bridal suite meant for the groom.

He is the only one in the room.

And what he’s concerned about is the scarf-type ascot tie wrapped around his neck.

“Our school has a gakuran-styled uniform, so I’m not used to neckties…” 

He believes the ring of the tie is correct, but it somehow doesn’t feel right.

That being said, it’s a fact that he doesn’t quite know what the right way to do this is.

He’s looked it up, of course, but somehow it feels different from the samples he’s seen.

Basara takes hold of his collar in a useless resistance.

“Shall I help, Basacchi?”

Suddenly, there’s another voice.

–There was no sound of the door opening. However, it’s not someone who was in this room to begin with, as up until that second, Basara was the only one in this room.

More than that – Basara can only sense the presence after the voice sounded out.

But this didn’t fluster Basara.

“Aah… Sorry, but can I ask you to help me?”

He said, as he turned to his savior.

With that, Basara’s gaze meets him – a young man leaning against the wall next to the door.

Takigawa Yahiro.

His appearance wasn’t that of a demon but as a human.

And his clothes are the gakuran-style school uniform.

“Seriously, don’t worry about it. I’m the one intruding”

Takigawa said, as he slowly moved towards Basara.

“–Even though I wasn’t invited, I showed up anyway”

That’s right – Basara did not invite Takigawa to the wedding ceremony that is to happen soon, And it’s not because his relationship with Takigawa is bad.

This wedding ceremony is just for the groom and the brides, and they did not invite anyone.

–Presently, Basara and the girls are aiming to form an alliance with both the heroes and the demons.

However, there are hurdles they have to clear for that.

It is about Celis, who, unlike Basara, Yuki and Kurumi, still has ties to the Vatican as a holy knight.

–In Basara’s eyes, Celis is an important friend and a family member who he loves.

However –for Celis who’s still part of the hero clan, having a connection with Basara and the others carries great political implications, or in short, a chance for her to be used as a human sacrifice.

In addition…

When seeing it from the point of view of the current demon lord faction of the demons – they have to bear the effect of the case with Shiba, which they see as the fault of the darkness bellied within the hero clan, and they hold enmity towards the Vatican for this.

As such, with Basara tying the master-servant contract with Celis, it’s understood that Celis goes to the top of the Vatican, and as a result, Basara and the other girls would also shoulder the risk that is the Vatican. This is how the current demon lord faction understands it.

–However, of course, that would take time.

Because of this, they assessed that it would be too much of a risk to have the heroes and demons both attend the wedding ceremony. And on top of it –if they only invite one side, it would show a bias, so they either invite both or neither.

Not even relatives.

Mio’s father was the previous demon lord, Wilbert, and her mother had passed away, with her adoptive parents killed by Zolgia. They could invite Ramsus in place of Wilbert, but he is the leader of the demon realm’s moderate faction.

Maria’s mother Sheila is the legendary succubus who’s served by the side of Wilbert and Ramsus, and her sister Lucia is Ramsus’ trusted subordinate.

On the other hand –Yuki and Kurumi have both their parents, but they’re currently taking care of the Village in place of the elders because the Shiba case pertained not only to the Vatican but the Village too.

Regarding Jin, he is a legendary “War God”, the strongest of the heroes.

– As such, inviting family is even more troublesome than regular guests.

Just having them at the same table would toe the line of political issues.

…Well, Jin is in the divine realm, so that’s probably impossible anyway.

Basara had contacted Jin. Initially, he said he would be back in time for the wedding, but it seems like Jin is involved with the togami, the highest ranks of the divine realm. So as expected he wasn’t able to settle matters in time.

And then as Hasegawa, Zest, Nanao, and Celis don’t have a family to invite, there would be a problem regarding fairness among the girls. These four wouldn’t mind but, …This gap too, could be tied to political issues.

Basara would marry all eight girls fairly – this is the condition that they’ve decided on.

However, if there’s any gap, it’s easy to link it to him seemingly favoring one over another.

That includes the meaning that might be bellied by the attendance of their wedding ceremony.

Therefore – they decided not to invite relatives.

Not wanting to be involved in politics – that’s a political move, to begin with.

As such,

“Ramsus-dono understands after listening to the explanation but… Sheila-dono is sulking about this”

“…So, I’ve heard. That’s why we have Lucia taking care of that”

There’s a high possibility that the loli mother succubus would find a way to sneak in. However, her position is too important.

She’s equal to Takigawa in her ability to appear in unexpected places, so they have Lucia watch over her.

“Is it okay on the hero’s side? The Nonaka siblings have healthy parents. Wouldn’t they want to see their daughters as brides?”

“…Yeah, it’s too bad about Shuuya-san and Kaoru-san”

It’s true – it’s something he sees as unfortunate.

“But they told me ‘this is because of our parents’ generation’ and understood… In fact, they told me they were sorry about the situation”

Shuuya was not involved directly with the Vatican case.

–Even so, they bowed their head in apology to Basara and the girls.

Because the case with Shiba is related to their parent’s generation – that’s their logic.

Yuki’s and Kurumi’s parents are just that kind of people.

…Surely.

They must have all sorts of thoughts regarding this wedding ceremony.

Even so, they’ve given Basara and the girls their blessing, and even now they must be sending them their blessings from the village.

–They can’t even invite Shuuya and Kaoru, both of whom are so kind.

They can’t call up their friends.

That being said – even if they say they can’t invite anyone, that’s for the ceremony itself,

“Well… It’s fine if it’s you. It’s a formality to the hero clan and the demons to say that this wedding ceremony is just for us.”

Basara said, looking at Takigawa who’s in front of him.

“You came by to see a friend and happened to stumble upon a wedding ceremony… It’s a bit of a far-fetched excuse, but not entirely impossible. – Because of that, you came looking like this, right?”

“…Well, yes”

Aside from that, said Takigawa.

“I also thought that perhaps I couldn’t see the brides, but it’s different for you… In the first place, I wouldn’t do something risky… Come, I’m going to fix this up, lift your chin”

As Takigawa extends his hand forward, Basara does as he says.

Takigawa fixes up Basara’s tie with practiced hands, and while he’s doing that,

“However, I was a little surprised… It’s you, Basacchi, who would always think coolly and take the best choice even to the point it might be seen as ruthless. I thought you would put the alliance first and arrange the wedding ceremony around that”

“…Yeah, I did consider that.”

Next Basara said,

“Everyone agreed with that”

“–But you couldn’t postpone it”

“Yes… It was me who didn’t want it”

And the reason for that.

“It’s not a bad idea to have our wedding linked to the alliance. As long as it’s to reduce the collision of the two worlds, the demon realm, and the hero clan, so it would lead to what we wish for: peaceful lives. However,”

“You don’t want to sacrifice your wedding for the alliance… right?”

“Yes, this is the best timing for our wedding. Having said that, if we had invited people over, it would create a political issue right now when so much is unresolved, and we could use that as an excuse to not invite anyone”

Therefore, Basara prioritized the brides.

As a result –Ramsus, Sheila. Shuuya, Kaoru. They can’t come, but they understand Basara prioritizes their daughters.

“It’s true… It’s best not to have anyone”

Takigawa understood, then,

“…There. It’s done”

“Oh, how is it”

Basara turned to the mirror, seeing Takigawa’s handiwork.

“I see, so I didn’t make it pop up enough here”

“Yes, and the direction of the shape was wrong, the tie ring was flipped too”

“…Thanks”

Basara said, as he scratches his cheek apologetically,

“Even though it’s just a small ceremony of just us, it is still a wedding ceremony. There’s some money left over, so there could’ve been some staff but…”

My, my, Takigawa sighed.

“Isn’t the prep tiring?”

“Well, in a way. But our marriage is not approved by this country’s law. It’s best to not spread any strange rumors… Besides, it’s more reliable to leave it to Maria and Zest than people we may not be able to trust”

Right now, the brides are getting ready in twos.

“Besides… Even though we have rings, there’s no marriage registration. That’s why if we worked hard to create the event ourselves, it’s furthering the feeling of this being our wedding”

“Hmm… You’re quite the romantic, aren’t you?”

Said Takigawa.

“However, you got a good place despite it being the June wedding season. A garden wedding in this nice guest house”

Takigawa glances towards the window.

“Yeah, my dad did photography work here before. It’s not originally meant to be a wedding venue… But we managed to borrow it for that”

“Same with the yakiniku store before… He has an unexpectedly large circle”

“I stopped being surprised by that. I wouldn’t even be surprised if he’s drinking buddies with the prime minister… I'll gratefully accept his connections”

Having said that, Basara continued,

“–I feel I’m late in asking this, but why are you here, Takigawa?”

“I’m happy you came to congratulate me but… There’s something else.”

Continuing on,

“I'll say this now, but since it’s just us today, there will be no free food”

“Seriously, don’t treat me like I’m a glutton… I didn’t come here to eat”

Takigawa shrugs.

“I just have a message for you–”

A pause.

“From Leohart”

“From Leohart… for me?”

Basara furrows his eyebrows.

–It is not strange for the name of the current demon lord to leave Takigawa’s lips.

As the demon Lars, he is a comrade in arms and allies with Leohart.

It is a different bond than what’s between Takigawa and Basara.

…But.

For Takigawa to come to his wedding ceremony with this, must be for some reason.

A warning, perhaps. Or something has gone wrong – at the concerned Basara,

“Don’t worry. It’s not something that serious… He just wants to apologize”

“Leohart wants to apologize… what for?”

If there’s something that happened on that side without them noticing, it could be a huge problem.

But,

…It’s nothing serious.

Then, it’s even stranger. Words of congratulations still make sense – for him to send Takigawa at this time just to apologize.

Being dumbfounded, Basara can’t think of anything.

“It’s just… In the negotiations regarding the alliance, his wariness of the Vatican has a negative effect on your wedding, and he’s sorry for that”

“…I see, so it’s about that”

Basara understood where Leohart was coming from.

–In the original plans, they were supposed to have both the heroes and the demons at this wedding ceremony.

Of course, Leohart was included in that – They’ve discussed this before.

However, in the end, that didn’t happen.

Their reasoning was stated through Ramsus and Takigawa – so in a way, this wedding changed because of Leohart.

…But.

There’s nothing excessive about Leohart’s concern regarding the Vatican. If Basara was in his place, he would have similar anxiety.

“That’s why you came… Leohart sure is upright”

“Well, he also has that thing with Liala-sama…”

“Even though they’re not directly connected by blood… As they’re siblings, is a marriage between them difficult?”

“It’s true, with nobles there’s a bond entangling them. In addition to that, if he’s to be married to a daughter of a prominent and powerful family, it would benefit him”

Takigawa continued.

“However – the main problem is that Liala hasn’t really been an active player on the center stage. She’s suitable to be the consort of a demon lord, but she has no experience with noble life. Of course, no one will complain once they’re out on the battlefield.”

“That being said, if it’s discovered she’s stronger than her younger brother… That would sway Leohart’s position”

At Basara’s words, Takigawa sighed and said, “that’s exactly it,” he then continued,

“If you don’t look at the truth of the matter, it looks as if Leohart is marrying his sister who hasn’t been allowed to be seen in public. Of course, it’s good to treasure your family, which is included in taking care of the home. However, as a marriage partner – even if she can take care of him…

“–It’s not a wise decision as a king, and it could be used to attack him”

“Yes. That’s why he wants to take his time and let others see his relationship with Liala-sama but… Then you go and announce that you’re marrying eight girls at the same time.”

Takigawa continued,

“Your marriage is something that prioritizes your feelings above all, it gives him some courage.

He might grow some balls and have a wedding with just him and Liala-sama… So, he’s a little more optimistic on that, and is at least a little thankful to you guys.”

With that said.

“Your wedding is different now because of him, so he wants to apologize not as the demon lord, but as Leohart”

“…I see”

Basara clenching his jaw, once more thought about the words of the young demon lord.

“Tell Leohart this: Don’t worry about it. He’s the reason, our wedding ceremony hasn’t been able to be used as a political weapon, and because of that we’re happier”

Basara continued. In fact,

“Taking this conversation into consideration… It seems like Leohart has a lot of problems”

“Well, in high society, marriage is ‘duty’. When he heard about your wedding, it seems like he’s jealous of your wedding without a need for pretense, he’s unable to do it up to what you guys do because of his position… or so he said”

“About that… If I was in his position, I wouldn’t be able to even think of this wedding. In the first place – what Leohart and I want most in the world are different”

And the way we live, and think is different too.

“What’s most important to me… is a peaceful daily life with everyone. Living with those who want to be by my side and protecting that future. It’s just that… But I'll give my everything to protecting that”

However,

“What Leohart wants to protect isn’t just his sister… As the demon lord, he has plenty of friends and subordinates, and then he has to take into consideration the peace and order of the demon realm”

What Basara wants to protect, what Leohart wants to protect.

You can’t say one is better than the other but – “peaceful daily life” and “world peace” have different scales and difficulties.

Basara only fights for those who he loves.

What he wants to protect is what his hands can reach for, a world in front of his eyes.

In contrast, Leohart fights for the demon realm –to protect his world.

“With that said, I think Leohart is more of a hero than me”

“From my point of view, you both take on too much…”

Takigawa said.

“For that, there are countless small things too, right? So much has happened leading up to this day, no?”

“It’s not all bad. There’s been a lot of fun and happy times too”

Said, Basara. But Well,

Thinking of all his memories until today – he smiled wryly.

“It’s true – So much has happened”