Chapter 859: Meeting the Six Kings' Executives - Ten Demons Arc ⑨

After a brief self-introduction, I also handed her a gift of sweets to thank her for that incident in the God Realm. Astaroth-san felt apologetic to receive the gift, but in the end, she accepted and I was able to accomplish my goal for my visit.

Afterwards, I was chatting lightly with Astaroth-san, when I suddenly remembered something that I had been curious about, so I decided to ask her.

[Astaroth-san, can I ask you a question?]

[Hahh. Please feel free to ask.]

……Unnn, I really could feel that her loyalty seems to be very high.

[Earlier, you said that Astaroth-san's species, Gemini, are said to have "two consciousnesses within one body, right?]

[Yes, our species was known as such in the Demon Realm.]

[Errr, does that mean…… you have "four personalities" all together?]

The way they described Astaroth-san is basically like she's a set of two consciousnesses. If compared to a bird, it's like having one wing on each side. In other words, being called having two consciousnesses means that there are four personalities within one Astaroth-san.

However, since the only two personalities I had been introduced to so far were the right Astaroth-san and the left Astaroth-san, I wondered if there were also other personalities.

When Astaroth-san heard my words, she nodded her head in understanding, before slightly smiling.

[No, I only have two personalities. Being called having two consciousnesses within one body was actually from a misunderstanding.]

[A misunderstanding?]

[Yes, I think it would be faster to show it to you though. Please wait a moment……]

Saying those words, Astaroth-san took off her mask and lightly covered her eyes with her hands. In the next moment, I felt as if Astaroth-san's magic power had changed.

Thereupon, when Astaroth-san lowered the hand that was covering her eyes…… To my surprise, the color of her left and right eyes were switched.

The right one was golden and the left one was black earlier, but now, the right one is black and the left one is golden.

[ [ I call this my Inverse Form, and its effect…… is just swapping the abilities of the left and right me. It isn't a difficult technique, and any Gemini can do it. All it does was just swapping abilities though…… ] ]

[Ahh, I see…… The combination of the eyes and hair changes, so people misunderstand that you have a different consciousness within you.]

In other words, Astaroth-san only has two personalities, but along with this Inverse Form…… This is why the public misinterprets her having two consciousnesses, since four combinations were possible: black-hair and golden-eyed Astaroth-san, blonde-hair and black-colored-eyed Astaroth-san, black-hair and black-colored-eyed Astaroth-san, and a blonde-hair and golden-eyed Astaroth-san.

[ [ The Geminis themselves are rare and few in number, so they have been misunderstood and this rumor began to spread. T- T- This could be misinterpreted by enemies though s- s- so I didn't bother c- correcting it.]

[I understand now. Thank you very much.]

[ [ No, I'm happy if I was able to solver Miyama-sama's questions. ] ]

Hmmm, it was a bit unusual of a trait, and she has a slightly heavy loyalty…… but she isn't that weird of a person, and may be someone easy to talk to.

After chatting with her for a while, she seems to have a rather normal sensibilities, and I think that she's much better than Pandora-san when that serious mode of hers collapses.

As I was thinking about this, Astaroth-san, who had put her mask back on, turned to Pandora-san and spoke.

[I know that you are visiting the Ten Demons one after another, but who will you be visiting next?]

[Moloch.]

[……Moloch huh. If you're going to visit her mansion, shouldn't you have her "clean up" first? I think there are some things in there that might not be good for Miyama-sama's mental health.]

[Yeah, I've thought about that too. At the very least, I had her remove those "repulsive statues", "disgusting mounts", and "skewered creatures" that line her corridors.]

(T/N: Mounts here refer to those taxidermied heads in plaques.)

[To be honest, I don't think the exterior of her mansion looks good either……]

[You're right…… Why don't we just "wipe her whole place down"?]

That's one heck of an outrageous conversation you're having there…… Telling them not to wipe out her home for the time being, I wonder, does Moloch-san really live in such a dreadful place?

Repulsive statues, disgusting mounts, skewered creatures…… Was that place the home of a vampire? Well, I certainly wouldn't like to see anything too gory……

Looking as if she had sensed my uneasiness, Pandora-san solemnly spoke.

[……Rather, I'm worried that that "skewer maniac", saying that it was a symbol of friendship, would give Miyama-sama a skewered creature.]

[Don't ever let her do that. If the kind Miyama-sama accepts this out of kindness, the situation would definitely turn ugly.]

[I'm going to thoroughly drill that into her mind, so give me some time……]

After having such a conversation, Astaroth-san turned to me and spoke with a kind smile on her face.

[Miyama-sama, if you have some time to spare, would you like something to eat?]

[E- Errr, I do have some time……]

[I would feel awkward if Miyama-sama had taken the time to visit me without me being able to express my hospitality, so I would appreciate it if you would consider this as an act of selfishness on my part.]

[Well, if that's the case, please don't mind if I do.]

This is that, isn't it? From the conversation they had earlier, she's stalling for time so Pandora-san can clean up Moloch-san's mansion, right?

N- No, well, I really don't like it when someone suddenly gives me a skewered something…… so there's absolutely no reason for me to refuse.

<Afterword>

Serious-senpai : [Astaroth's species may be unusual, but doesn't she look rather proper?]

? ? ? : [I guess so. Her loyalty is buggy…… but if you only consider her personality, she is proper. She is also the one that certifies the Peerage-holders, so aside from Pandora, she's the most publicly known executive.]

Serious-senpai : [What about the next one, Moloch?]

? ? ? : [That one had her sensibilities completely bugged out…… Seriously, she's someone who really thinks that skewering is an art form, you know?]