— — — — — —
"Two-faced liars, shameless demons… nothing they say can be trusted!"
Tohru suddenly jumped out from who-knows-where, threw her arms around Kazuma, and glared at the demons like a guard dog ready to bite.
"Miss Tohru is absolutely right," Behemoth said with a respectful bow, "but demons value contracts above all else. We can sign a demon contract with you."
"We signed the same contract with the Great Demon Lord back then. It still binds us to this day."
He took a rolled piece of parchment from his pocket. Written in dark red ink were the names of all the Pillar Barons and Pillar Generals of the 34 Pillar Division.
Kazuma accepted it and skimmed the symbols. He didn't understand a single word of demon script.
So he asked Yolda to bring Hilda over. When she arrived, he handed her the contract.
"Hmm… it's a standard loyalty contract. No traps or hidden clauses."
Hilda leaned close to Kazuma and whispered, "The 34 Pillar Division has tremendous influence in the Demon World. Taking them in would raise our overall power considerably."
"But you should know one thing. After Behemoth stepped down from his commander position, the original Pillar Barons and Pillar Generals left with him."
"The current Division is almost entirely made of newcomers. Their strength is much weaker than before. And because the new commander barely does anything, the Division has gotten a pretty bad reputation lately."
"They went from strict and disciplined to soldiers acting however they please. Please keep that in mind."
She reported everything she knew, then waited for Kazuma's decision.
"I see. You can join me, but I have one condition. This brat isn't allowed to be commander." Kazuma pointed at Jabberwock beside Behemoth. "He's not qualified."
"That is only natural. The commander's position should belong to you. As for Jabberwock—"
"No. I'm not becoming commander. You are." Kazuma cut him off immediately. "You founded the 34 Pillars. You're the one who should lead them."
"I…?"
Behemoth hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Very well. I accept your condition. I will resume my position as commander."
"And the first thing you'll do once you take over is clean house," Kazuma said. "Kick out every rotten soldier. Anyone who damages my Fairy Tail's reputation dies. No objections, right?"
"None. That's how it should be." Behemoth answered without hesitation.
"Also, we're not signing your demon contract. You'll sign my guild contract instead. Honestly, I can't read your script, so I don't trust that parchment."
Kazuma had the system send out contract invitations. Compared to demon magic, he trusted the system far more.
Jabberwock bristled at the constant demands and stepped forward as if to protest, but Behemoth stopped him before he could speak.
"You are the leader. Your word is law," Behemoth said seriously. "But we have one request. Demons believe in survival of the fittest. Would you fight us again?"
"Sure."
Kazuma nodded. "Yolda, open the pocket dimension."
Yolda had known it would come to this. She opened a dimensional space with a wave of her hand.
Kazuma, Behemoth, and Jabberwock stepped inside. And it didn't take long.
When they came out, the result was exactly what everyone expected. Kazuma had won without suspense. Behemoth and Jabberwock lay defeated.
"I accept all your conditions. From this moment on, the 34 Pillar Division answers only to you," Behemoth declared.
He shook Kazuma's hand. As their palms met, a magic circle lit up beneath them. The contract was sealed.
"These are phones. They work even in the Demon World, so you can receive tasks. Complete them to earn rewards. You can trade those rewards with me for what you want, or just take them as-is." Kazuma handed them the phones and explained the system.
"If someone ignores the task, what punishment is there?" Behemoth looked down at the screen and asked after thinking it over.
"None. If you don't do it, you just don't get the reward." Kazuma answered casually.
"No punishment at all? Then… what if someone just refuses to do them on purpose?" Behemoth frowned, clearly confused.
"These aren't like the missions from your Pillar Division," Kazuma explained. "These guild quests—you take them if you want, skip them if you don't."
"If the reward interests you, or the quest itself interests you, go for it. If not, leave it there. Someone else will pick it up."
Seeing Behemoth's expression, Kazuma could tell he'd completely misunderstood the concept of guild quests. They were nothing like military orders.
"…Got it."
Behemoth nodded, finally understanding. "I'll make sure the rest of the Pillar Division members understand as well."
"Later, I'll have the vice-captain come over to handle the detailed transfer with you. There's, uh… quite a bit of paperwork. You might need a while to get through it."
After saying that, Behemoth activated his teleport talisman and left.
...
A moment later, a girl appeared through a transfer spell.
"Kazuma-sama, greetings. I'm Laymia, vice-captain of the 34 Pillar Division under Behemoth. I'll be handling the transfer of our territory, personnel files, and other assets."
As she spoke, Laymia pulled out stack after stack of documents. The 34 Pillar Division had not only manpower but land, businesses—basically an entire portfolio. Transferring control was… tedious. The worst part was that most of their members were pure muscleheads, so finding anyone who could deal with paperwork was a miracle.
"Hilda, you handle this with her." Kazuma dumped the entire problem onto Hilda without hesitation. His job was to use power to keep everything in line; the small stuff naturally went to his subordinates.
"Yes, sir! I learned the relevant coursework at school—I'll take care of everything!" Hilda was practically trembling with excitement. The fact that the Demon World's 34 Pillar Division was now part of their faction was something he still couldn't fully believe.
"…What exactly does your Maid Demon Academy teach?" Kazuma muttered. "Since when do maid schools cover this stuff?"
A normal maid school should teach cleaning, etiquette, serving one's master—not, well… whatever this was.
"As an excellent maid demon, one must not only handle the master's daily care," Izabella explained from the side, "but also be the master's most loyal aide."
"Whether it's combat, domestic work, calculations, or governance—excellence is required in all areas. And Hilda is the most outstanding student our academy has ever produced. She's mastered every subject."
Izabella herself was an excellent graduate, but compared to Hilda? Not even close.
She was a top student because she was very good. Hilda was a top student because that was the highest grade the school could give.
"All right, all right. I didn't expect you guys to be this versatile. I'll leave the rest to you—I've got other things to take care of."
Kazuma turned to leave, but after two steps, something occurred to him. He turned back to Izabella and reached into the Treasury, pulling out a brand-new grimoire with gold-trimmed pages.
Intricate magic patterns shimmered across its surface, glowing with a deep azure mana. It looked powerful—dangerously so.
"Almost forgot. You sacrificed your old magic tool when you set up that formation earlier, didn't you? Even though the formation turned out… pretty useless… But you did put in the effort. So here—this grimoire is yours."
"If you tear out a page, it'll automatically absorb mana and regenerate. Every page is inscribed with amplification runes too, so your spells will pack way more punch."
Kazuma tossed the grimoire to Izabella.
"T-this… something this valuable… I-I can really accept it?"
The moment Izabella caught it, she could feel how incredible it was. Far beyond her old grimoire—so precious she could hear her heartbeat pounding in her ears.
"If you put in effort, you get rewarded. Besides, this isn't even rare for me. I've got plenty. Just take it."
Kazuma waved it off and walked away with Tohru. He had other errands to run.
"Thank you for your grace… my lord."
Izabella held the grimoire tightly, standing frozen for a long time. Only after Kazuma's figure had completely disappeared did she snap back to reality. She bowed deeply in his direction.
As a maid demon, dedicating everything to her master was her very existence. But receiving a reward—an acknowledgment—for that devotion…
That feeling was… indescribable. A quiet joy, maybe. Proof that her efforts mattered.
---
After leaving, Kazuma headed to the ruins of the shrine to look for the old man Ittosai. He still owed him.
So first priority: find a way to restore the shrine.
"Tohru, do you have any magic that can instantly repair a destroyed building?" Kazuma stared at the empty lot where the shrine had been, then looked at Tohru beside him.
"I can, technically," she said. "But repairs aren't rebuilding, and definitely not recreating something from scratch. I need something—anything—to repair."
"With this… there's nothing to fix."
Tohru did know restoration magic, but with absolutely nothing left of the shrine, it was beyond salvaging.
"Forget it. I'll ask the old man if he has the original design plans. I'll have the shadow soldiers rebuild it for him."
No sooner had Kazuma mentioned Ittosai than—speak of the devil—Ittosai himself walked over…
.
.
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(A/N: We'll be leaving this world next update. Sorry if this crossover felt a bit long, I hope you enjoyed it.)