The High-ranking Demon Elise wore a triumphant smile as she stood inside her brand-new shop on one of the busiest thoroughfares in the Royal Capital of Sinfonia.
"Hehe... At last, it’s finally finished! My dream shop in the Royal Capital! And right in the heart of the city, too!"
She had formed a strange connection with Kaito during the Six Kings Festival, and thanks to a single word from Shallow Vernal following that event, she had succeeded in opening a business in the Human Realm she so admired.
Under the absolute authority of the Creator God, Shallow Vernal, the kingdom had offered its full cooperation, deploying massive crews to complete the building in record time.
"Ugh, it’s been such a long road to get here. Fortune-telling isn't exactly a popular trade in the Demon Realm. I had to spend years coming up with readings for the masses that gave pleasant results instead of ones that were actually accurate... It was one struggle after another."
After muttering to herself and reminiscing about the hard times, Elise clenched her fist tight.
"...But finally, my efforts have been rewarded! Well, it’s largely thanks to that human, I suppose. The mental exhaustion he causes is grueling, but I really am grateful for this."
After offering a silent thanks to the absent Kaito, Elise continued muttering in high spirits.
"...Now then, the grand opening is tomorrow! I should do a quick reading to see how things will go!"
She pulled a deck of cards from her breast pocket. These weren't the tarot cards she had used during the Six Kings Festival, which were modified for the general public; they were special cards imbued with powerful magic power, used only when Elise performed "Serious Fortune-telling."
She tossed the deck into the air, and the cards scattered, beginning a graceful, magical orbit in the center of the room. Four cards spontaneously detached themselves from the clockwise-spinning circle and landed face-down on the table. The remaining cards gathered back into a deck and returned to her hand.
"Now then... I hope for a good result."
She flipped over the first card on the far left and immediately grimaced.
"Ugh, Day in Reverse Position... That's a terrible start."
The Day card represented timing. In the Upright Position, it meant things would happen as desired; in the Reverse Position, it meant an unwelcome time.
"The second one is... Eugh, Visitor in Upright Position... I have a bad feeling about this. A really, really bad feeling..."
The second card, the Visitor, indicated an event. In the Upright Position, it signaled an encounter or a visit.
"T-The third one... Gack! Fortune in Reverse Position? That's basically a guarantee of disaster!"
The third card, Fortune, indicated influence. In the Reverse Position, it brought nothing but calamity.
"F-Fourth one. Please! ...This is the worst! This is the absolute worst!!"
The final card was the King in Upright Position. This indicated a person, and Elise despaired as a specific individual immediately came to mind.
Then, with precisely the unwanted timing she feared, that person appeared before the head-clutching Elise.
"What are you making such a fuss about all by yourself, Elise?"
"...The one person I didn't want to see has arrived. My luck is officially in the gutter."
"...Well, that’s harsh."
"What do you want, Shaltier-sama?" Elise asked her superior with an expression of profound displeasure.
"I just thought it was about time you started working for real. For starters, I’d like you to take your orders from Pandemonium tomorrow."
"...I knew it would be something like that. Can I refuse? My shop is supposed to open tomorrow, you know. The shop I’ve worked so hard for..."
"Oh, don't worry about that. I’ve already corrected everything for your shop—including the flyers—to say the opening is the day after tomorrow."
"...You’re a monster. A literal devil."
Faced with Shaltier, who had already pulled every necessary string behind the scenes, Elise clutched her head in despair.
"Well, you can refuse if you really want to... but if you do, I might 'accidentally' let slip something about your true strength. Even I have a slip of the tongue occasionally, you know?"
"Uwaaaah... my boss is blackmailing me. Fine, I’ll participate in the battle against the God Realm, so just have mercy!"
"I’d love to, but we don't have much leeway this time."
Elise’s shoulders slumped as she collapsed onto her desk. The public record stated she was merely a High-ranking Demon with high magic capacity but no combat power. That was nothing more than a carefully crafted fabrication.
In reality, she had held her own in a conversation with Shallow Vernal and remained perfectly composed while standing in the immediate presence of Isis during the Six Kings Festival. Such a feat was impossible for a mere High-ranking Demon without Peerage-class strength.
"Honestly, you’re as eccentric as ever," Shaltier noted. "Not many people go to such lengths to assess themselves as weak."
"I’m a coward by nature! What if I became famous and someone tried to assassinate me!?"
"...I think the number of beings capable of assassinating you can be counted on one hand. Regardless, you're moving out tomorrow."
"I just wanted a quiet life as a fortune-teller... I only started working for you because I needed living expenses back when I wasn't selling... I picked the wrong workplace."
Elise muttered while half-sobbing. Shaltier looked at her—powerful yet pathetic—with exasperated eyes, then glanced around the shop.
"...Changing the subject, this is a nice shop."
"W-What now? Why so sudden?"
"It’s a sincere compliment. You finally realized your long-held dream of owning a shop in the Human Realm using only the gold you earned from fortune-telling."
"Ah, I have a bad feeling. A really, really bad feeling."
Sensing where Shaltier was going, Elise turned pale. Shaltier broke into a deep, mocking smile.
"And to get such a prime location in such a short time... as your superior, I couldn't be happier. By the way... who was it thanks to that this actually happened?"
"...T-That... it was thanks to Kaito-san."
"Exactly. Which means you owe him a massive debt, right? He gave your dream the best possible push, after all."
"Ugh, w-when you put it that way... it's hard to argue."
"Surely you wouldn't be the type to dodge a debt like that, would you?"
"...Fine, I get it! I’ll do it for his sake too! I do owe him... So, what do I need to do?"
Accepting her fate, Elise stood up and pulled a Black Tarot Card out of thin air. Shaltier nodded with satisfaction.
"I’ve passed the details to Pandemonium. Just follow her lead. Honestly, if you’d just speak normally, we could have a proper meeting..."
"No! What if someone recognizes my voice?! I want nothing to do with the Peerage-class life!!"
"...Since you pulled out that card, are you heading out now?"
"The sooner I start, the sooner I finish. I want to make sure I'm back for my opening the day after tomorrow."
Elise tossed the black tarot card into the air. It transformed into a magic circle that slowly descended over her.
"...Code: Phantom Menace!"
As she uttered the phrase, the magic circle passed through her body, altering her form. She shifted into a translucent, hollow specter draped in robes, floating silently in the air.
"I’m counting on you, Phantom..."
The specter offered a single, silent nod to her King. Then, the Specter of Calamity vanished, moving into the shadows behind the stage.
Serious-senpai: "...I'll say it again, are the Phantasm King's subordinates nothing but troublesome people?"
???: "...It's a bit difficult to argue against that."