After Alice suddenly ended my clothing selection, I waited for Lilia-san
as I drank a cup of tea, as recommended by the clerk.
This store mainly caters to the nobles, and it seemed like it was
common for them to take a long time to choose their clothes, so there
were several tables and chairs set up in an open space. It kind of
reminded me of those shops that deal with cars… Well, I've never
bought a car before, so this was just completely something I imagined.
As I sat down on the soft chair, a little while later, a different clerk
brought me a cup of tea.
[Here you go, Miyama-sama.]
[Ahh, than…]
I accepted the tea offered to me and was surprised to see the face of the
clerk. It wasn't the fact that she called me by my name… She's
undoubtedly Alice's subordinate, so it wouldn't be surprising for her to
know my name.
What surprised me was the clerk herself.
She had deep dark blue hair, her bangs are very long and flowed down
her face, hiding her left eye. Meanwhile, her visible right eye had
unusually dark circles beneath it.
I considered her face to be very well defined, but with her gray eyes and
the deep dark circles beneath them, combined with her pale skin… She
looked very unhealthy.
However, it wasn't her appearance that surprised me. No, her
appearance only slightly surprised me, what surprised me more…
[…Ummm, aren't you…"Fake Phantasmal King"-san?]
[…How surprising. Even though I'm far from reaching Shalltear-sama's
skill, I was still quite confident in my disguise…]
[Ahh, then, the face you have now is also…]
[No, this is my "real" face.]
[Ah… I see.]
Yes, this clerk was the fake Phantasmal King who had appeared before
me twice in place of Alice… I didn't expect that I would meet her again
here.
I mean, is it really okay for this person to be here? She's obviously
Alice's close retainer… Wouldn't that make her one of the upper
echelons…
As if sensing my doubts, Fake Phantasmal King-san spoke with a thin,
elegant smile on her face.
[I've decided that the people assigned to this store are a bit lowly and
aren't suitable to serve tea to Miyama-sama, so I've come to serve you
myself.]
[I- Is that so… T- Thank you for taking the trouble of serving me tea,
errr…]
[My name is "Pandora", Shalltear-sama's confidant. Pleased to make
your acquaintance…]
[Y- Yes. I'm Miyama Kaito… E- Err, Pandora-san? Ummm, a- are you
feeling unwell?]
[Ahh, you mean how I look huh…]
Being Alice's confidant, I guess it's safe to assume that she was the one
with the most authority among Alice's subordinates.
H- Hmmm… That's something I understand, but she really looked
insanely unhealthy, and I couldn't help but notice the deep shadows
beneath her eyes.
[I'm a Hell Nightmare. I was born with this skin color and dark circles
below my eyes, so please don't worry about it.]
[I- Is that the case… I'm sorry.]
[No, it is my honor to have received your concern.]
[E- Errr…]
I see, she wasn't like that because of her health condition, but because
that was how she originally looked like…
E- Even so, Pandora-san… aren't you being too humble?
[We, the Phantasmal King Corps, are in absolute obedience to you,
Shalltear-sama's master. Of course, if Miyama-sama orders us to, we will
carry out any mission you give us, even at the cost of our life. If you
need us for anything, please don't hesitate to give us the order.]
[…Y- Yes. T- Thank you for your hard work.]
After clearly stating such with a voice filled with her firm intentions,
Pandora faintly smiled… Somehow, there's something about her that
makes her look a little creepy.
It's different from the scariness Eden-san gives off, it's as if Pandora-san
was someone straight out a horror movie.
Or rather, the entire Phantasmal King Corps are in absolute obedience
to me, she said… Does that mean, I can do that? If I say "Assemble!" just
like Alice did before, a bunch of people in black would show up? The
heck is that, that's scary.
As I was thinking about this, Alice, who had somehow appeared in the
seat across from me, sipped her tea and spoke.
[Well, I'm here beside you, Kaito-san, so you wouldn't need to call for
them… Just in case though, Pandora-san over there is "a High-ranking
Demon that's closest to being a Duke-level", so she can be quite useful.]
[I- Is that so… No, errr…]
[By the way, "assasination" is my specialty.]
[There's no way I'm going to order something like that, okay!?]
Even if you say that you're good at assassination with such confidence, I
have no plans to assassinate anyone, and I never will. If you're going to
appeal your strong points, please show me your other specialties
instead.
[…I can also destroy a target's spirit by showing them "eternal
nightmares".]
[…Please make it a little less disturbing.]
[…"They're average in size, but I have beautiful breasts".]
[Is that information really necessary in this situation!?]
[If Miyama-sama desires, you can rely on me to take care of your
"nightly needs".]
Stop right there, Pandora-san? Can you please stop saying that to a
virgin? Even if I'm not going to ask such a request, I'd be strangely
conscious of it…
After all, Pandora-san was a beautiful woman, and once you get used to
seeing her pale skin and the dark circles around her eyes, you could say
that she was a mysteriously bewitching beauty.
No, no, what the heck am I thinking about? I'm reacting to her words
too much…
[Pandora…]
[Hahh!]
[It seems like you need some re-education… Please come here for a bit.]
[Huh? No, but I still haven't…]
[Come—– here——!]
[Y- Yes! A- As you will…]
While I was feeling flustered by Pandora-san's statement, Alice spoke in
a rather unhappy tone.
[A- Alice?]
[I'm sorry, Kaito-san… It seems like this girl's loyalty to you has gone a
bit "crazy".]
[Unnn?]
[…Pandora-san, who is Kaito-san to you?]
[Hahh! Kaito-san is Shalltear-sama's master, he whom I should
"dedicate my body and heart, and love for eternity"!]
[…Huh?]
It kinda feels like she said something outrageous. Eh? What the heck is
this person, is she someone like Eden-san?
[…No, I ordered you to obey Kaito-san… I guess she's applying all her
loyalty she has to me directly to Kaito-san. That's why, I'm going to go
re-educate her a bit.]
[U- Unnn.]
Letting out an unusually tired sigh, Alice dragged Pandora-san away.
…Well, errr… Why do all the powerful people in this world have such
strong personalities?
[…Good luck with her re-education, Alice clone #12… I'll leave Kaitosan's chastity in your protection.]
[And you just ruined everything again… Also, don't just leave my
chastity to other's hands without asking me.]
Dear Mom, Dad———- While waiting for Lilia-san at the clothing store,
I met a new acquaintance. Pandora-san, the Fake Phantasmal King. Her
appearance was distinctive, but her personality was also quite
something—— I'm suddenly really tired.