— — — — — —
"K-Kazuma… Kazuma-sama… you can't kill her!"
Hilda looked at Kazuma, whose entire body was radiating murderous intent, then at Yolda, who was so terrified she couldn't resist at all. Hilda hesitated. Yolda was their enemy, so Kazuma killing her would make sense. But she was still her younger sister. Their relationship was bad, sure, but Hilda still couldn't stomach watching her die like this.
"Hilda, I know you're softhearted, but it's fine. Go stand over there, close your eyes, count one to five… and it'll be over."
"Don't worry. She won't feel pain, and she won't even scream. I'm fast." Kazuma patted her on the shoulder.
"…What if I don't?" Hilda forced herself to ask.
"That's fine too. You're one of us now. I won't kill you over something this small. I'm not some demon who murders his own people for fun."
Kazuma looked at her worried expression. He could tell she had completely misunderstood him. He really wasn't a demon. He treated his own people very well. Extremely well, in fact.
"Whew… then…"
Hilda breathed out in relief. She had genuinely been afraid Kazuma would kill her just because she objected.
"I'll just knock you out with one punch first, then kill her."
Kazuma gave her a bright, cheerful smile. There was no need to drag this out. His plan was simple: one punch to knock Hilda out, then take care of Yolda. As for some dramatic sisters-reconciling plot… not happening.
His reason was simple: what if he was weak today? Would he die just because of some ridiculous play?
"Expecting anything from you is the dumbest thing I've ever done."
Hilda stared at him, speechless and frustrated. Thinking back to the little flicker of warmth and hope she'd felt earlier, she now just felt stupid.
"Kazuma-sama, listen to me. I'm not telling you not to kill her because we're sisters. Honestly, I really don't like Yolda."
"I'm saying this because of practical reasons."
She took a deep breath. She knew she couldn't change Kazuma's mind directly. Her only option was to make him decide on his own that killing Yolda wasn't worth it. And for that, she needed him to see that Yolda was still useful.
"First, Master Beel needs a caretaker."
"That's you, isn't it?"
"I need breaks too. I can't watch him twenty-four hours a day."
Hilda stayed completely serious.
"Buuuut there's also Tohru. You two can take turns."
"Yes. I got it," Tohru said, raising her arm confidently.
"Tohru still has to take care of Kanna. We have two kids in the house. Unless you'd like to help with childcare, then I'll drop the subject."
Kazuma froze.
"I'll take care of…"
He tried to think back. Last time Hilda took a break, Tohru was watching Kanna, and Beel had been handed off to him. The result: Kazuma sat in the principal's office, and Beel slipped out to play god-knows-where.
The second time was just earlier. Kazuma got busy fighting, and Beel somehow fell off him and disappeared.
"…Yeah, that's an actual problem."
Kazuma nodded. Even he had to admit it was a miracle the kid had survived this long around him.
"And that's only the first point. Second, Yolda is an expert in dimensional teleportation. With her around, everything we do becomes a lot easier."
Hilda watched his killing intent gradually fade. She finally exhaled. She had never been so grateful that the master's adoptive father was such a walking disaster.
"Mm. Teleportation magic is pretty handy. Even better than the shadow soldiers' shadow shift."
Kazuma looked at Yolda. Her combat power was nothing special, but her utility skills were top tier.
"But Hilda, how can you guarantee she'll behave? Should I put a collar on her or something?"
He rummaged in his GOB and pulled out a collar. He couldn't remember the name, but its purpose was definitely restraint.
"No need. We maid demons have a contract system. I can make Yolda form a contract with you. Once a maid demon signs, she can never harm or betray her master."
Hilda immediately intervened. She didn't know what that collar did, but she was certain it wasn't anything good.
"I won't sign a contract! My loyalty belongs to Master En. I'd rather die than betray him! And Hilda, if you really want to help me, kill me!"
Under the crushing weight of Kazuma's killing intent, Yolda still mustered all her strength to shout.
"Hilda, you see…"
"Kazuma-sama. Give me five minutes. Come back after that."
Hilda's expression turned cold. She punched Yolda in the stomach, sending her collapsing to the ground.
"Don't get this twisted. I'm not helping you." She dragged Yolda around a corner.
"Hilda, ever since we were kids in maid demon school, you've always been better than me. Serving a master, you're still better."
"I give up. I've never begged you before, but this time, I'm begging. Kill me."
"I will never betray Master En. Dying is fine. Losing my dignity as a maid demon is not."
Yolda looked at her older sister. She was begging, yes, but not for mercy. She was clinging to what she believed was the last shred of dignity a maid demon should have.
"If you truly serve En, then you should listen to me. Sign the contract and follow this man properly."
"Otherwise even if En runs back to the Demon world, he'll still get hunted down."
Hilda looked at her sister and sighed. Maid demons were pathetic sometimes. Loyalty could matter more to them than their own lives. But then again, wasn't she the same?
"But… that's the Demon Lord's territory! Would a human even dare step into the Demon world?!"
Yolda's eyes widened.
"You think he's just some random guy? When he first adopted master, he said straight out he'd storm the Demon world and become the Demon Lord."
"You tell me — does he sound scared?"
"He wiped out the 34th Pillar Division, the elite unit of the Demon world, by himself. Does that sound like someone who hesitates?"
"He didn't even blink before attacking Prince En. Do you think he cares about consequences?"
Hilda let out a cold laugh.
"B-But we surrendered! We admitted the Master Beel won! Isn't… isn't that enough?!"
Yolda was panicking now. She knew Hilda wasn't exaggerating. If it were this man, he really might barge into the Demon world just because he felt like it.
"Why do you think this fight was led by Master Beel?" Hilda asked calmly.
"Wasn't it? Isn't that man his contracted partner?"
"No. He's the master's adoptive father, not a contractor. There's a big difference."
"This fight wasn't a battle between the master Beel and master En. It was because that man didn't like being provoked. That's all."
Yolda went silent.
"I… I understand. If I sign the contract and serve him properly… then Master En will be safe?"
They had lost completely. There was no chance of resisting anymore. The only option left was to bow their heads and live.
Probably.
"Yeah. More or less. At the very least he won't bother chasing Master En for fun. The Demon world is pretty far, after all." Hilda shrugged.
"…Fine. I'll do it your way." Yolda lowered her head. Whatever resistance she had left was gone.
"Then come with me."
Hilda brought her back. Standing before Kazuma, she said simply, "Done."
"I, Yolda, pledge my loy—"
"Skip the boring stuff. Just sign the contract. Oh, and here's another one. Sign that too."
Kazuma waved off the oath entirely. Speeches meant nothing to him. Contracts were faster.
"…All right."
Yolda's pride took another hit. He didn't care at all about her pledge of loyalty. It felt like her dignity was thrown to the ground and stomped on.
She cut her fingertip and signed the demon contract in blood. The magic circle lit up as the pact completed.
"Good. Now here's my contract too. Accept it."
Kazuma sent her a system contract. He didn't trust demon contracts much anyway.
"…Understood."
Yolda stared at the beautiful magic circle. She couldn't read the script, but she somehow understood its meaning. Without hesitation, she signed again.
"Done. All settled. Those two are useless now, right? Then they can die."
Kazuma raised his hand. The crushing force on Izabella and Satura suddenly intensified. Their bones creaked. They were seconds from being flattened.
"Wait!" Yolda blurted out.
"Not again. What reason do you have this time?"
Kazuma sounded exhausted. He felt like an executioner with a sword raised, only for someone to scream "Spare them!" every single time.
It was becoming a bug. Raise his hand and someone would yell for mercy.
"Well… um…"
Yolda looked at Kazuma, then at her two close friends. She tried desperately to think of a reason.
Nothing came.
She looked helplessly at Hilda.
Hilda met her eyes… then calmly turned her head away.
Yep. She dodged it.
There was no reason left. Saving one was already the limit of what she could manage. The remaining two? She didn't even know them. They weren't close. If they died… they died. She didn't care.
.
.
.