204 About the Master-Servant Contract

Human World, Japan, Kuoh.

After James and the members of his peerage returned to their house, Ravel took the chance to explain everything that the newer devils would need to know when choosing a contractor. After Ravel's explanation was finished, most of the residents in the mansion went back to their own bedrooms to look over their applications. James, on the other hand, decided to stay in the living room. While reading each application, he would separate them into two piles. The ones that would be considered more later, and the ones that would be discarded immediately.

"Damn..." James said as he set another application in the discard pile. "It's almost impressive how many ways there are for a magician to say that they want to control my peerage through me."

"[Apparently, they don't realize that you might kill them if they go overboard, huh?]" Ddraig asked while reading the applications along with James. "[These people are something else.]"

"Yeah, they're so concerned with raising their standing and fulfilling their desires that they haven't considered that I'm stronger than they are." James said while shaking his head.

"[Yeah, but the ones you have left are pretty impressive.]" Ddraig said. "[Some of the most promising members of the Clock Tower, from what I can tell.]"

"I know." James said. "I'm just tired of sifting through the trash that's mixed with the treasures."

"[That's just how life goes.]" Ddraig said. "[Finding the good parts is what takes most of your time.]"

"You're getting all philosophical on me, Ddraig. What's up?" James asked as he picked up the next application.

"[Nothing at all]" Ddraig said.

While James was reading the application in his hand and chatting with Ddraig, Fenrir, a wolf the size of a lard German Shepard, entered the living room. Without even slowing down, he approached the sofa James was sitting on, climbed up on it, and laid next to James. Once Fenrir laid his head on James' lap, James began scratching behind the wolf's ears without missing a beat.

"[It's weird.]" Ddraig said as he observed James and Fenrir's interaction.

"What's weird?" James asked, never taking his eyes off the application in his hand.

"[Fenrir spends more time with you than Scathach if Ophis isn't around.]" Ddraig replied.

"He probably feels safer next to Master." James said in response. "But she can't scratch behind the ears like I can. Can she, Fenrir?"

With that, James began to scratch Fenrir's favorite spot behind his ears with more vigor, causing Fenrir to open his mouth and let his tongue hang out. Like that, James continued to go over the magician applications and scratch Fenrir behind his ears. Eventually, Fenrir fell asleep while resting his head on James' lap. After realizing that, James took a moment to stretch.

"Damn, there are just so many." James said while stretching. "I'm definitely not gonna be finished with these tonight."

"[You didn't expect to be done tonight, did you?]" Ddraig asked.

"Nah, not really." James replied.

At that moment, James felt a pair of presences approaching the living room. A moment later, Mio and Maria entered the living room and were surprised to see James sitting there alone.

"James-Nii, what are you doing here alone?" Maria asked curiously.

"Just going over the applications I received earlier." James replied with a smile. "It looks like you two are doing much better since the attack. I'm glad you're doing better."

"If it wasn't for you, we'd be slaves of that disgusting devil, Zolgear." Maria said.

While James and Maria were talking, Mio took a seat next to James. Then, to both James and Maria's surprise, Mio leaned onto James and rested her head on his shoulder, causing a break in the conversation.

"Mio, you?" Maria said, unsure of what to make of her half-sister's actions.

"Thank you for saving us." Mio said softly. "Don't misunderstand, though. It's not like I needed your help. But since you did help, it's only polite to give thanks."

After speaking, she buried her face in James' shoulder to hide the blush that made its way onto her face. To that, James and Maria smiled. Fenrir even seemed to frown when James looked at him.

"Mio, you're so cute!" Maria shouted as she jumped onto the sofa and wrapped Mio in a hug.

"Let go of me Maria." Mio said, struggling with all her might to free herself from Maria's clutches. "If you don't let me go, I'll kill you a hundred times."

"Kya~~!" Maria screamed. "Tsundere Mio is the best."

"Who are you calling tsundere?" Mio asked angrily while struggling to free herself.

James and Fenrir continued to watch the sisters mess around until they were both out of breath. Then, James remembered something that Maria's mother, Sheila, said before she teleported away with Zest.

"Hey, Maria." James said casually.

"Yeah?" Maria responded with her arms still wrapped around Mio.

"Seriously, *Pant* let go *Pant* of me." Mio muttered between ragged breaths.

"What can you tell me about your clan's master-servant contract?" James asked nonchalantly.

Contrary to James' expectations, Maria jumped off the sofa and took a defensive stance. Naturally, not only James was surprised by this, Mio and Fenrir also looked at Maria like she had lost her mind.

"How do you know about that" Maria asked cautiously.

"I did tell you that your mother showed up at the end of the whole incident, right?" James asked in a tired tone.

"Yeah, so what?" Maria asked aggressively.

"*Sigh* Maria, why don't you try using your brain for a moment." Mio said while placing her hand on her forehead. "It's obvious that James-Senpai heard about it from your mother."

"Huh?" Maria froze with shock swirling in her eyes. "Now that you mention it."

James smiled wryly at Maria's reaction while Mio supported her head with her hand in exasperation.

"Sheila told me to ask you about it right before she left with the chick that put you through the ringer." James said, filling in the blanks for Maria.

"Oh, okay." Maria said energetically. "I'll tell you, if Mama said I should."

"Thanks, Maria." James said with a smile.

Maria nodded in response while Mio looked at her half-sister in disbelief. Just because James said that her mother told her to tell him, she believed it immediately.

"Anyway, the ritual for the Master-Servant Contract is relatively simple when in the Underworld." Maria said, getting right into her explanation. "In the Underworld, you simply create a magic circle. Then, the two parties stand on their designated spots. After the magic circle is activated, the one who is designated as the Master will have a small magic circle appear on the back of their hand. After that, the Servant must kiss the master's magic circle to complete the ritual."

"So, I guess there are more steps or restrictions to take into account when in the Human World, huh?" James said after analyzing Maria's explanation.

"That's right." Maria replied with a nod. "In the Human World, the ritual can only be performed during the full moon."

"For some reason that doesn't surprise me." Mio said.

"Me, neither." James agreed. Then, after a bit of thought, James asked another question. "So, what does this ritual do, exactly?"

"It makes both parties stronger." Maria said in a serious tone. "But it doesn't always work well with the [Evil Pieces]."

"What do you mean?" Mio asked.

"For example, Mio could not become James' servant..." Maria said, beginning a new explanation.

"Like I would ever become someone's servant." Mio said in a huff.

"Well, technically..." James said with a wry smile. "You're already Ri Ri's servant."

Although Mio already knew that, she had put that thought into the back of her mind after the conversation about the Master-Servant contract came up.

"Anyway, like I was saying." Maria said, deciding to ignore Mio's outburst. "If Mio were to become your servant, the magic in the ritual would end up punishing her."

"Why?" Mio asked curiously.

"Because your allegiance would be split." Maria answered. "Regardless of what you say, you know that Rias-Nee's orders would supersede James-Nii's. And that minute amount of guilt would activate the punishment function of the ritual."

"And what would this punishment consist of?" James asked curiously.

"That's not a simple question to answer." Maria replied. "It depends on whose magic power goes into the ritual when the contract is established."

"For example?" James asked.

"An example, huh?" Maria said as she pondered. "Okay, let's say Rias-Nee's magic was used to establish the contract. If the servant did something that would cause the contract to react in a minor way, the [Power of Destruction] would begin to eat at them very subtly."

Mio could not help but draw in a breath of cold air when she heard that.

"Does that mean if I used my power for the contract...?" Mio began to ask.

"In the same situation, they would feel the gravity surrounding them increase." Maria said, finishing Mio's sentence.

"That's pretty hardcore." James said. "So, if the servant member of the contract straight up betrayed the master, they would probably poof out of existence with Ri Ri's power, huh?"

"More or less." Maria replied with a shrug. "Your power would be pretty gruesome, too."

"[Senbonzakura], huh?" James said as he began stroking his chin.

"Rias-Senpai is right." Mio said while watching James. "You really do look like an old man when you do that."

Ignoring the jab Mio took at him, and the teasing smile Maria was wearing, James considered the pros and cons of using the Master-Servant Contract. Even though it would make him stronger, something about it just did not sit well with him.

"Wouldn't it be dangerous if that punishment function kicked in during a battle?" James asked. "A distraction when in a life-or-death battle could really be bad, right?"

"That's true." Maria replied with a nod. "But for combatants on the level of our three peerages, the guilt is more likely to kick in after a battle."

"What makes you say that?" Mio asked curiously.

"Because wen in battle, most combatants are too focused to think about other things." Maria said in response. "So, the feelings of guilt or conflicted feelings usually wouldn't surface until their heightened focus is over with."

"I guess that makes sense." James said. "If any of us do end up implementing this contract, I think we should keep Akeno from signing a servant contract with Ri Ri."

Mio and Maria nodded in agreement to James last statement. None of them believed that Akeno would ever betray Rias. However, Akeno's sadistic side would definitely be a hinderance to the contract.

"Oh, Ayame is out, too." James said.

*Thump!*

As soon as James finished his words, Ayame fell from the ceiling and slammed into the floor. James knew that she was looking over her magician pact applications from up there the whole time he was doing the same on the sofa. In fact, he was even impressed that none of her paperwork fell from the ceiling. However, that also meant that he knew she was listening to their conversation.

"I mean, seriously." James said, completely ignoring Ayame. "An Ayame-level pervert would probably do things on purpose to invoke the punishment feature. That way, she could stay in her perverted ideal world. Damn, she's such a disgusting masochist."

As James spoke, Ayame's cheeks began to redden. On top of that, she could feel her excitement rising. And finally, when James called her a disgusting masochist, she reached a light climax.

After seeing the state that Ayame was in, Mio pressed herself into James even further. She also wrapped her arms around his arm and pressed it between her breasts.

"James, are you sure it's a good idea to say all that?" Mio asked while watching Ayame warily. "I mean, look at her."

"It's fine." James said with a wry smile. "Every now and then, I have to reward my hard-working kunoichi. Even if she is a world-level masochistic pervert."

Once again, Ayame began to fidget. On top of that, she could feel the disgust James was looking at her with.

"I beg the two of you." James said after turning his gaze away from Ayame. "Please, never turn into something like that."

As James finished, he pointed his chin toward Ayame. And when James called her, "that," she began to shudder. After a few seconds, she passed out with euphoria plastered all over her face.