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Hearing Pandoraās proposal of having someone else stand in for the Ten Demonsā¦ā¦ something that I at least think shouldnāt be discussed in front of me, Alice called her proposal attractive, but she shook her head with a somewhat complicated expression on her face.
[Iāve thought about the same thing. But itās probably not a good ideaā¦ā¦ To be honest with you, Kaito-san had this abnormal flag-retrieval constitution, so even if we somehow keep them out of Kaito-sanās life for the moment, thereās a high possibility that heāll somehow run into them when he goes outside.]
[ā¦ā¦I see. If itās a problem that couldnāt 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 thatās the case, I will accompany Miyama-sama.]
[Thatās right. Well, Iāll also follow you in secret, but if I go with you in the open, those with buggy loyalty will be a painā¦ā¦ Pandora, Iām sure you know what youāll be doing, right?]
[Hahh. If I see any excessive behavior, I will ādealā with them as soon as possible.]
I knew it. I kinda feel like the flow of conversation is strangeā¦ā¦ After all, Pandora-san definitely just said that she would deal with them. She was about āthatā deal, right? From the conversation so far, she isnāt just thinking of admonishing or rebuking them, right? It would definitely be ābeating them upā or ābeating them upā, right?
As I watch the two of them have such a conversation with complicated expressions on their faces, looking as if theyāve 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, Iām 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, Iād 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 itās best if Miyama-sama is introduced based on the āpecking orderā.]
[Well, I guess thatās the safest bet.]
Those were words Iām 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 Kingās 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.]
[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 āthe first in pecking orderā. The Leader of the Ten Demons and the General Commander of the Phantasmal King Corpsā¦ā¦ and Phantasmal Kingās 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 Iām not around. She is a very talented being with extremely high abilities that wouldnāt put her ranking into shame.]
How should I say thisā¦ā¦ 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 Iāve seen Pandora-san praise someone other than me and Alice. Is she really that great of a person?
[ā¦ā¦Come to think of it, you and Pandemonium were very close, werenāt 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.]
[ā¦ā¦I mean, I think itās 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 amazingā¦ā¦
[Errr, then, if we were to follow the pecking order, are we going to see Pandemonium-san first?]
[ [ ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ā¦ ] ]
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.
[ā¦ā¦My apologies, Miyama-sama. Pandemonium is extremely averse to appearing in public, and I donāt 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 meetingā¦ā¦]
[Ahh, no, itās alright! Letās not force her to meet meā¦ā¦]
Even if I want to express my gratitude, forcing someone who doesnāt want to do something they donāt want isnāt doing them any favors. Aliceās 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.
[ā¦ā¦In that case, Iāve prepared a thank-you note and a present for her, so would it be alright if you hand it over to her?]
[Understood. Iāll 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 doesnāt want to see me huhā¦ā¦ I also thoughtlessly prepared boxes of sweets for the number of people I wanted to greet, but there might be people who couldnāt 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 āGluttonyā. They are also known as the āSubspace Predatorā, 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.]
ā¦ā¦Her nickname is absurdly coolā¦ā¦ Itās tickling my inner chuunibyou.
[The fourth in line in the pecking order is called āPhantomāā¦ā¦ but Phantom is a bit special. They couldnāt speak, nor communicate with anyone other than Shalltear-sama. They are obedient to Shalltear-samaās 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, donāt really understand them.]
[Ahh~~ As for Phantom, I checked with them beforehand. They said that they accept Kaitoās gratitude, but they donāt want to meet you, and since they couldnāt eat nor drink, they said that they donāt want your present.]
I see, there are also some people who canāt speak huhā¦ā¦ However, even though Iāve been introduced to the fourth in the pecking order, the only one who I could currently greet is Gluttony-sanā¦ā¦ H- Hmmm, I think Iām starting to understand. Perhaps, the Ten Demons are people with high ability, but they also had quite the peculiarity.
How should I say thisā¦ā¦ Iām becoming really worried about the future.