Chapter 852: Meeting the Six Kings’ Executives Ten Demons Arc ②

Hearing Pandora’s proposal of having someone else stand in for the Ten Demons…… something that I at least think shouldn’t be discussed in front of me, Alice called her proposal attractive, but she shook her head with a somewhat complicated expression on her face.

[I’ve thought about the same thing. But it’s probably not a good idea…… To be honest with you, Kaito-san had this abnormal flag-retrieval constitution, so even if we somehow keep them out of Kaito-san’s life for the moment, there’s a high possibility that he’ll somehow run into them when he goes outside.]

[……I see. If it’s a problem that couldn’t be avoided at all, it would be more beneficial to complete their meeting in a state that makes it easier for us to deal with. If that’s the case, I will accompany Miyama-sama.]

[That’s right. Well, I’ll also follow you in secret, but if I go with you in the open, those with buggy loyalty will be a pain…… Pandora, I’m sure you know what you’ll be doing, right?]

[Hahh. If I see any excessive behavior, I will “deal” with them as soon as possible.]

I knew it. I kinda feel like the flow of conversation is strange…… After all, Pandora-san definitely just said that she would deal with them. She was about “that” deal, right? From the conversation so far, she isn’t just thinking of admonishing or rebuking them, right? It would definitely be “beating them up” or “beating them up”, right?

As I watch the two of them have such a conversation with complicated expressions on their faces, looking as if they’ve reached an agreement, Pandora-san turns to me and spoke.

[Miyama-sama, for this introduction to the Ten Demons, would it be alright if I were to accompany you as your guide?]

[Y- Yes, I’m in your care.]

I feel uneasy, but I appreciate the fact that Pandora-san will be accompanying me. If it was the usual Pandora-san, I’d be more worried, but seeing that she was in serious mode, I think it will be fine.

[Pandora, what about the introduction order?]

[I think it’s best if Miyama-sama is introduced based on the “pecking order”.]

[Well, I guess that’s the safest bet.]

[……Pecking order?]

Those were words I’m not really familiar with? By pecking order, were they talking about that? Does that mean they have some sort of hierarchy among the executives?

Thereupon, noticing my confusion, Pandora-san explained.

[The Phantasmal King’s executive subordinates, the Ten Demons, are ranked by Shalltear-sama based on their various abilities, including their combat power. There are a few exceptions, but when there are multiple executives on a mission, the one with the higher rank will basically take command.]

[……I see.]

[Since this is a great opportunity, I would like to explain about the Ten Demons in advance along with the pecking order. First of all, as you may have guessed, I, Pandora, am “the first in pecking order”. The Leader of the Ten Demons and the General Commander of the Phantasmal King Corps…… and Phantasmal King’s Head Subordinate.]

Pandora-san is the first in the pecking order, which is to be expected, considering that she was the Head Subordinate.

[Next on the list, being second in the pecking order, is Pandemonium. She is not only the Chief Information Officer of the whole Human Realm, but also the Deputy Leader of the Ten Demons, and sometimes takes command of the Ten Demons when I’m not around. She is a very talented being with extremely high abilities that wouldn’t put her ranking into shame.]

How should I say this…… I think I saw something slightly unusual. From the way Pandora-san spoke and the expression on her face, I could tell that she thought very highly of this Pandemonium person.

This is the first time I’ve seen Pandora-san praise someone other than me and Alice. Is she really that great of a person?

[……Come to think of it, you and Pandemonium were very close, weren’t you?]

[I have no reason to dislike someone of her character and ability. I recognize her as a good friend who I can rely on both in public and private life.]

[……I mean, I think it’s amazing how Pandemonium can just listen to your crazy absurdities with a smile.]

Listening to the words Pandora declared with a smile, I feel like this Pandemonium-san was amazing……

[Errr, then, if we were to follow the pecking order, are we going to see Pandemonium-san first?]

[ [ …………………… ] ]

When I asked this, Pandora-san and Alice looked at each other once, before Alice lightly shook her head. Seeing this, Pandora-san nodded slightly before speaking with an apologetic expression on her face.

[……My apologies, Miyama-sama. Pandemonium is extremely averse to appearing in public, and I don’t think she would want to meet you this time as well, so would it be alright if you pardon her? Of course, if you will give me the order, I will immediately arrange for your meeting……]

[Ahh, no, it’s alright! Let’s not force her to meet me……]

Even if I want to express my gratitude, forcing someone who doesn’t want to do something they don’t want isn’t doing them any favors. Alice’s subordinates in particular have to infiltrate many places, and some of them, like Catastro-san, have specific positions in the Human Realm, so it may be a risk for them to be known by others.

[……In that case, I’ve prepared a thank-you note and a present for her, so would it be alright if you hand it over to her?]

[Understood. I’ll take the responsibility of delivering it to her.]

For the time being, I decided to just give her my gratitude and the sweets I had prepared via Pandora-san. However, I see, there is a pattern like this where the other party doesn’t want to see me huh…… I also thoughtlessly prepared boxes of sweets for the number of people I wanted to greet, but there might be people who couldn’t eat certain things, so I guess I should check on that as well.

[Well then, let me return to the explanation of the Ten Demons.Continuing on, the third in the pecking order, the executive that I will be guiding Miyama-sama first would be “Gluttony”. They are also known as the “Subspace Predator”, and is a master of Space-time Magic, and is particularly adept at traveling and gathering information. Because of this, they are the Chief Information Officer of the Demon Realm.]

……Her nickname is absurdly cool…… It’s tickling my inner chuunibyou.

[The fourth in line in the pecking order is called “Phantom”…… but Phantom is a bit special. They couldn’t speak, nor communicate with anyone other than Shalltear-sama. They are obedient to Shalltear-sama’s orders and have superior abilities, which makes them the fourth in the pecking order, but even I, someone who was also a member of the Ten Demons, don’t really understand them.]

[Ahh~~ As for Phantom, I checked with them beforehand. They said that they accept Kaito’s gratitude, but they don’t want to meet you, and since they couldn’t eat nor drink, they said that they don’t want your present.]

[I see, alright.]

I see, there are also some people who can’t speak huh…… However, even though I’ve been introduced to the fourth in the pecking order, the only one who I could currently greet is Gluttony-san…… H- Hmmm, I think I’m starting to understand. Perhaps, the Ten Demons are people with high ability, but they also had quite the peculiarity.

How should I say this…… I’m becoming really worried about the future.

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Elise : [No waaaaaay! I definitely won’t meet him!!!]

Alice : [No, it’s not like your true identity is being revealed, you know?]

Elise : [Even so, he’ll obviously find out! Even the other members of the Six Kings can’t see through Shalltear-sama’s disguise, and if I meet someone who could see through it with just a hunch, he would immediately see through my disguise!!! Listen here, okay!? I hope you haven’t forgotten! I’m only fine being one of the Ten Demons on the condition that no one finds out who I am!]

Alice : [Yes, yes, alright already……]

※ As for Pandemonium, Pandora and Alice made the decision for her, knowing that she wouldn’t want her identity to be revealed.

[ Postscript ]

Q : Why does Illness not want to reveal her identity to Kaito?

A : Because it would only bring disadvantages to Kaito.

Illness herself doesn’t mind if Kaito knows that she is Pandemonium, but handling the aftermath would be difficult. If she were to reveal it only to Kaito, it would make Kaito have to “hide things from people close to him” as long as she is working as a maid in Lilia’s mansion.

On the other hand, if she told not only Kaito, but also the people around him about her true identity, even if she herself doesn’t mind, It will “interfere with her duties as a subordinate of the Phantasmal King”. Once the information is known, there’s no telling where this information would leak to others, so if that happens, she will have to resign from her position as the Chief Information Officer of the Human Realm and the Information Officer of the Symphonia Kingdom at the very least, and considering the handover, they will be very busy for a while.

In the worst case scenario, Illness may have to leave Lilia’s mansion and return after changing her face and other aspects of her life, and in that case, even if Illness doesn’t mind such a scenario happening, Kaito will certainly feel responsible.

Thus, because it wouldn’t lead to a good development either way, Illness has no intention of revealing her true identity to Kaito.