The door suddenly appeared in the middle of my room.
‘Wh, Wh–What is this?’
Just a few moments ago, I looked up a cute idol I saw on a singing show online and discovered that her age and birthday month were the same as mine, and with a small sense of satisfaction, I looked behind me and before I knew it, it was there.
This is scary. Extremely scary. It’s just plain scary.
The door is half open. As far as I can see from here, it’s pitch black inside and I can’t see anything.
I fearfully walked towards the door, switched on the light on my phone and looked in through the gap.
“W- wh,What is going on?”
On the other side of the door is a stone room about six tatami mats in size. The room has the atmosphere of a dungeon, like the ones you often see in the movies. When I peered into the back of the room with dismay, I could only see the back of the door.
“Does that mean it’s connected to….somewhere else? Like that Doraemon’s door?”
“U–n, close, but not quite.”
I suddenly heard the voice of a young, innocent girl in my ear. As I turned my head, my back was suddenly and I fell forwards towards the door.
“Owh……What the hell!”
“Ahaha! You were surprised, weren’t you? Ne,You were surprised!”
“Hiii!! W-Wh-W-Wha eh! Uaa!”
I backpedal frantically, flailing my legs like an upturned bug.
“Oi! You don’t have to be so scared.”
“Wh-Wha, What is going on? Why are you floating!? Wait, I mean, Who are you?!”
“Okay, okay, I’m not gonna hurt you, just calm down, okay? Alright, take a deep breath. Breathe in! and Breathe out!
Confused, I do as I’m told, taking a deep breath and let it out.
U–n, deep breathing is great. I feel a bit calmer.
“Have you calmed down?”
“Umm, yeah, maybe…..”
Looking at her again, she is quite a beautiful girl.
In terms of appearance, she would probably be around junior high school age.
She has a childlike, pretty face, red eyes that seem to be coloured contact lenses, and a short cut with fiery red curly hair.
Two twisted horns grow from her temples, and fang-like double teeth peek out from her smiling mouth.
The clothing has a bondage vibe covering her modest chest and the crotch area. If you imagine the stereotypical succubus cosplay, it probably won’t be too far off.
“So, um, who are you ……?”
When I asked her, she seemed to think a little, and she put her finger on her chin and replied
“If I had to say, I’d say I’m a campaign girl.”
“Campaign…..gya, lu?”
“Yup,a campaign girl.”
I think I was making a rather strange face at this point because the answer was so unexpected.
Well, that’s right, isn’t it? Because I don’t know what it means.
Without regard to my bewilderment, she was all smiles and raised her voice with a loud cracker, ringing loudly, wondering where she had taken it from.
“I’m a devil’s support campaign! Congratulations on your win, ────!”
“D–devil?”
“Yes, the Devil.”
“O….O–en..”
“Campaign.”
She turns the corner of her mouth up in a grin as she confronts me.
“I-I-I-I- I! I did not apply for that type of position!!”
Then she held up her index finger in front of me and clicked her tongue, [tsk, tsk, tsk].
A bit annoying. But cute. Frustrating but cute.
“It’s not like you’re applying for a job or anything. It’s a campaign to celebrate the 10,000th anniversary of the founding of the kingdom of hell, so we’re going to unconditionally support the talented people we’ve listed here!”
“Yes? A talented person? Me?”
“Yes, you. You may not realise it, but out of millions of candidates, you were by far the most talented!”
“I…Is that really true? Heeee, so that’s how it is.”
“That’s right! You’ve got a talent for being an incredibly detasteable villain!”
“…… No, I’m not a bad guy.”
I couldn’t help but retrace her words back.
It’s so misguided. I may look like this, but I am a good person to the extent that I put every penny of change in the donation box at the convenience store.
“For now that may be so! But, but! Your talent is really outstanding. Your talent for evil that no con artist or murderer could ever hope to match, even if they were a bunch of idiots!”
“Are you trying to humiliate me?”
“No, I’m not! It’s a huge achievement–!”
She shakes her head.
“In other words, this is what I’m saying! The more evil that spreads in this world, the more powerful we demons become, so we’re going to support talented people with all our might in the demon world.”
“And that’s me?”
The self-proclaimed campaigner nods cockily.
For it to come to this. There was no way I could be deceived by such a thing.
“Aa, I understand now. I understand now. All of this is fake, isn’t it? It’s the kind that fools amateurs. Where’s the camera? You’re a TV personality, aren’t you? There’s no such thing as a pretty devil.”
“No—! I’m really a demon! I may be cute, but I’m really a devil!”
“I don’t deny the cute part……but you’re not the least bit devilish when you say it like that.”
Then she looked a little hurt.
“I’m really a devil, Devi! I’m the Devil Devi!”
“Sloppy?! Your characterisation is sloopy! You can’t be a devil even if you end it with [devi]!”
“Anyways, The more evil you do, the more powerful we, the demons become against the angels.”
“Er……. Not that I believe it. If that were true, wouldn’t that be bad?”
“What is it, Devi?”
“Because, you know, I’m supporting you, so you want me to do something bad, right?”
“No, Devi! I’m not forcing you to do anything bad, Devi. You just have to behave according to your desires, Devi. You don’t have to do anything bad because I support you.”
I wonder if she is just stubborn or that she doesn’t want to give up but for some reason or another she has continued to add the word “devi” to the end of her sentences.
Well, it would be a pity to ridicule and tease her any further, so I decided not to mention that in particular.
“But that kind of thing, you know. Don’t they take souls, or end up self-destructing with ironic consequences in the end?”
I know. In Manga and short stories, the end result is disastrous.
“Aa, no, no, no. That is just bullshit from the angels, Devi.”
“Bullshit?”
“Yup,yup.Good and evil are the same thing, Devi. In short, this campaign is to do good. What angels and devils are doing is the same Devi. Who decided that good is right and evil is wrong in the first place?”
“No, because……that’s right, isn’t it?”
“No, it’s not! It’s really like black and white in reversi, Devi. It’s just that right now the angels are so powerful that good is right…..Devi.”
( リバーシ:board game )
“Then, you mean that if evil is widespread and infested, people will say that evil is more right?”
“That’s the way it is, Devi. If you win, you are the government. If evil prevails, then evil is righteous, Devi. And you have a huge evil in your heart, Devi. In the future it will become uncontrollable, but if you don’t do anything about it, you will become just a small villain and you will spend the rest of your life going back and forth between prison and this place.”
I don’t know what she is talking about.
I’m not a bad student, and I even got an A in my mock examinations for the school of my choice. I’m one of the serious students. I’m not good at sports and I have bad eyesight, but my mother said that it doesn’t matter once I get out in the world.
“At any rate, I refuse!”
“Don’t say that, just try it out for a month! I’ll give you a discount coupon for the amusement park and some detergent too, Devi”
By this time, I was having a bit of fun with her with this otherworldly exchange.
Because, you know, I can’t help it. I’ve never talked to a girl like this before.
“Ahh, fine. So, what kind of power do I get?”
“Oh! You’re up for it, Devi?”
“I am willing to listen for now.”
“Fufu–n, listen and be amazed, Devi! I’m giving you this room, Devi!”
“Ha? This room?”
What am I supposed to do with this gloomy, cramped stone room I’ve been given? She wants me to use it as a storage room?
I was taken aback by the unexpectedly shabby story. She, however, confidently proclaimed it with all her heart.
“Precisely the ability to create this room, Devi!”
“….doubtful.”
“Well, well, hear me out first,Devi!”
Her explanation that followed was quite long. To be honest, it was long to the point of being tiresome.
It was tedious, so I’ll try to summarise it briefly as follows.
One, this door can be called anywhere.
Two, This door can only be seen by the owner and those authorised by the owner.
Three, Please note that if a room is removed, the objects inside will also disappear.
Four, Once a person has set foot in a room, they cannot go outside without the owner’s permission.
Five, As my level increases, my abilities will be upgraded.
“How you use it is up to you. You can use it as a shed or a hideout. No penalty whatsoever. Not a bad deal, is it? Um, I think your name is…….”
“My name is Kijima Fumio.”
“Okay, Fumi Fumi.”
“What? That name seems to be kicked by a foot!”
“Isn’t it fine! Anyways, I will leave you with this ability! I’m going now, Bye.. Devi.”
She left behind the 『Devi』 as if it had been taken from her and suddenly vanished, just as she had appeared.