One afternoon, I came to Elise-san's fortune-telling shop that I had
visited before. Elise-san and I unfortunately weren't close yet, and we
could only be described as acquaintances, but she gave me a big hint in
my match against Shiro-san, so I came to the store to say hello and
thank her but…
[…Ughhh, it's Human-san huh.]
[Hello, Elise-san.]
A blatantly displeased look on her face even when we just met. I heard
that it's not that she hates me, but that would mean she really thinks
I'm a pain in the ass.
…She really doesn't hate me, right? I don't feel that much repugnance
coming through, so that probably means it's okay, right?
[Yeah, yeah, hello. Or rather, Human-san, it's been a while. I don't think
I've seen your face around for a few months. Or was it years?]
[Ah, yes. Errr… After having a little confrontation with the God, going
just as you had foreseen, I went back to the other world for a while.]
[…I don't know what the heck you're talking about. At any rate… That
means you're involved in something nonsensical again, right?]
[A- Ahaha.]
Indeed, thinking about it again, one might think that I'm saying
something crazy. But unfortunately, all of it is true.
[But still, you're still arriving at the most irritating time as ever. It
makes me think you're doing it on purpose.]
[Yes?]
[Even though it might look like there aren't any customers at the
moment, my shop is fairly popular. If there had been other customers at
the time you had arrived, I would have had an excuse to turn Humansan away… but unfortunately, I can't turn you away because there isn't
and was just about to take a break.]
[H- Huhh…]
How should I say this… Well, for the time being, it seemed like I
wouldn't be turned away.
[Well, fine. Human-san, mind flipping the hanging sign on the door?]
[Eh? Ah, yes.]
[Then, just go sit on a chair you want. Human-san, are you fine with
coffee? Rather, I don't like tea, so I only serve coffee here. I won't accept
any complaints.]
Saying this, Elise walked towards the back of the store, and came back a
little later with two cups of coffee. Placing the coffee on her fortunetelling table, she urged me to sit down.
Hmmm, being served coffee like this… doesn't that mean that she
doesn't hate me?
[So, what are you here for today, Human-san?]
[Ahh, errr… Thanks to Elise-san's fortune-telling, I somehow made it
through Shiro-san's ordeal, so I thought of thanking you.]
[That's okay. Fortune-telling is my job. When you've paid for my
services, that's already enough… No, speaking of which… I didn't
receive any money from Human-san at that time, did I? Well then, I'll
receive that thanks of yours.]
[Huhh… Errr, Elise-san's fortune-telling really helped me out. Thank
you very much.]
[Your welcome.]
Elise-san is kind of a unique individual. Just talking with her like this, I
don't feel anything unpleasant… or rather, I'm having fun talking to her.
Chuckling at her slightly odd phrasing of words a bit, I thanked her, to
which Elise-san nodded in satisfaction before drinking her coffee.
[So, those things you talked about how you confronted God or that you
returned to the other word, in the end, what the heck does those things
mean? I think you should explain those things properly.]
[Ahh, you're right. Errr, where should I start…]
I still feel like she thinks of me as a pain in the ass, as she still won't call
me by my first name… but then again, it doesn't seem like Elise-san
hates me or anything like that.
I guess I haven't reached the point where she considers me a friend, but
at least, she chooses to talk to me during her breaks…
After chatting with Kaito for a while, Elise told her that her break was
over and sent him away. Thereupon, as she sat on a chair in her store,
waiting for customers to come in as usual, the door was roughly opened
and several ill-bred looking men came into the store.
[Welcome!]
[Yeah… We're going to look around for a bit.]
[Yes, take your time.]
Instead of the annoyed look she gave Kaito earlier, Elise responded with
a cheerful smile even to these ill-bred-looking people. After briefly
answering Elise, the men approached the shelves lined with amulets
and other merchandise.
And then…
[Oops, my hand slipped.]
[Ahh…]
[My bad, shopkeeper-san, I knocked over a shelf.]
[No, no, are you hurt?]
With a nasty grin on their faces, the men repeatedly knocked over the
shelves of merchandise, claiming their hands slipped, and stomped on
the merchandise, claiming their feet slipped.
They're obviously harassing her… and even when they spoke out
apologies, they didn't look apologetic at all.
However, Elise continues to deal with such people with a smile on her
face. Elise, as she said, is a very timid person, and she doesn't go out of
her way to make enemies or make things worse.
She just kept her business smile on her face, occasionally worrying if
the man was injured, and waited for the storm to pass.
Because this store is located on the main street of the royal capital, she
understood that these men wouldn't do more than accidentally knock
over her shelves or destroy her merchandise…
As she had expected, the men vandalized the store for a while, before
talking to Elise with a nasty grin on their faces.
[Well~~ sorry about that, shopkeeper-san. We're a bit clumsy, you see.
I'm sorry for causing you trouble… I think we'll go home for the day.
Here's money for the repairs. You can keep the change.]
[Even so, this is quite a great shop, isn't it? I didn't find anything I
wanted to buy, but we'll come back tomorrow.]
[Ahh, yeah. It was such a great shop that I want to come back every
day.]
Claiming that it was for repairs, the men gave Elise money about the
size of a child's allowance… which of course, wasn't enough to pay back
the damages they made, they left the store with a happy smile on their
faces.
Not uttering a complaint about the money given to her, Elise saw the
men off. She knew that if she complained about the money, she would
get into even more trouble.
And remembering the words saying how they will be back… warning
words… no, threatening words, she stared at the door through which
the mend had left… and the smile on her face disappeared.
[…I guess that's an out.]
After muttering this, Elise lightly flicked her fingers. Thereupon, the
fallen shelves and scattered products returned to their original
positions, and the doors of the store were locked at the same time.
Making sure that everything has been set properly, Elise took out a
small magic tool from her pocket and imbued it with her magic power.
"Yes, yes, what is it?"
[…Shalltear-sama, how about I borrow a favor, including the postprocessing of this matter? Ahh, there's no need for tedious exchanges.
It's not like you don't know about it, so just give me the information I
need.]
"Fine… The people who came to your store are just paid thugs. The
main culprit is that shop on the same street you're in… a newly opened
one about 150 meters south of yours. It seems that they consider your
store, which is in the same line of business, to be a hindrance."
Using a communication magic tool directly connected to Shalltear, her
lord, which is given only to the executives under the Phantasmal King,
Elise obtained information on the mastermind behind the people who
visited the store earlier.
After hearing that, with her eyes as cold as ice, she took out black tarot
cards.
"You're still moving as fast and merciless as ever… I'm even feeling bad
for that person who put their hands on you."
[It's natural. Shalltear-sama should know about it, right? I'm a timid
person. If I find any insect that could even slightly threaten my peace… I
will make sure to immediately and thoroughly destroy it.]
"How scary… Well, that's why you're my executive after all."
[I still think you're bringing me nothing but trouble, but for this
situation, I guess I'm a little grateful.]
As the person herself said, Elise is a timid person. She basically never
antagonizes anyone, nor does she get close to anyone more than she
has to.
Always putting on a façade, she rarely shows her true colors to others.
Elise's way of thinking isn't easily influenced by her emotions,
prioritizing her own peace… and anyone who threatens it or has the
potential to threaten it would be eliminated by her upon discovery.
The next day… a few people and their lackeys went missing, and one of
the stores that had just opened on the main street… suddenly had their
store closed, but strangely…"as if someone had manipulated the
information"… This matter never became a big topic of conversation.
A few days later, at Elise's store, which was open for business as usual,
the shopowner, Elise, had a blatantly displeased look on her face.
[…Uwahhh, you're here again. Are you that free, Human-san?]
[A- Ahaha… Well, I brought you some sweets to thank you for the coffee
from before.]
[You're just being conscientious that you're making it hard for me to
turn you away. Good grief, I want to curse my bad luck for getting to
know Human-san… Ahh, you just take your seat somewhere.]
One might think that Elise loathes Kaito, if not adverse towards him…
but that's just a big misunderstanding.
In the first place, Elise treats most people wearing a façade. She always
uses a polite tone of voice, and doesn't try to make enemies.
There are only a few people she deals with in a harsh manner. One of
them is her lord, Shalltear, while the other is Kaito.
When Elise shows her true colors and speaks abusive words, it's a sign
that she trusts the one she's speaking with. Even if she shows her true
self, she knows that this person will not become an enemy that
threatens her peace, which is a very big trust from a timid person like
her.
He has supported her dream in the best possible way, and having a
good eye for people, she was able to understand Kaito's character
through her frequent contact with him.
After taking all these factors into consideration, for Elise, Kaito is… well,
a harbinger of troubles, but she likes him to a certain extent.
Incidentally, the reason why she calls Kaito "Human-san" and doesn't
want to call him by his name… was that she thinks it's not a problem
since being called like that makes her distinguish him from the others.
[Human-san, it's just about lunchtime. Making one or two portions
doesn't make any difference, so you can go eat with me.]
[Eh? Ah, yes. Thank you.]
[Putting aside if I will consider it, I'll just ask you something. Is there
any food you don't like.]
[…Bell peppers.]
[…You're all grown up, and yet, you're quite childish, aren't you?]
[Ughh.]
[Well, lucky for you, I don't have any plans to use bell peppers for
today's lunch, Human-san. Well then, wait right there.]
Even though her tongue was sharp, there was a faint smile on Elise's
lips as she walked to the kitchen