Even as my anxiety about the future continued to mount, Pandora-san pressed on with her briefing regarding the Ten Demons.
"Moving on, Rank 5 is Astaroth. She possesses a unique ability to quantify the capabilities of others as numerical values. Leveraging this power, she serves as the Chief Executive of Peerage-class Certification."
"To put it in terms you'd find familiar, Kaito-san, she can see an opponent’s stats as if she were looking at a game screen," Alice added. "It doesn't always work on those significantly stronger than her, though. By the way, the magic tools used to measure magic power during Megiddo-san’s event at the Six Kings Festival were actually Astaroth’s invention."
"I see. That’s easy enough to wrap my head around."
It certainly sounded like the ideal power for certifying ranks. Even if it had its limits against superior foes, as long as Astaroth-san herself was at the top of the Count-class, she could accurately gauge the strength of almost anyone else. Her position as Chief Executive made perfect sense.
"Rank 6 is Moloch," Pandora-san continued. "She is the General Manager of Information for the Arclesia Empire and also acts as the coordinator for the Demon species."
"Pandora," Alice interjected, "be sure to give that 'Skewer Maniac' a heads-up. Tell her explicitly not to give Kaito-san anything weird."
"S-Skewer Maniac?" I stammered.
"While Moloch’s loyalty is indeed exemplary, she has a... peculiar hobby. I am uncertain if it is a fetish, but she has a profound fondness for skewering things," Pandora-san explained. "She frequently skewers animals and monsters for display. Furthermore, she is under the delusion that this constitutes high art. There is a distinct possibility she may attempt to present such a 'work' to Miyama-sama as a token of friendship, so I shall issue a warning in advance."
"Please... do that. I’d appreciate it."
A skewering fetish? That was certainly... intense. If I visited someone and they handed me a skewered animal as a gift, I wouldn't have the slightest clue how to react. I was truly grateful they were taking precautions.
"Moving on, Rank 7 is Lilim. She is the succubus who stands at the pinnacle of her kind. While she has become somewhat more manageable lately, caution is still advised—especially since Miyama-sama is a member of the opposite sex—"
"Ah, no, Lilim will be fine," Alice cut in. "I’m almost certain nothing strange will happen as long as she’s dealing with Kaito-san."
"Is that so?" Pandora-san asked.
"Yeah. You'll understand once you actually meet her."
It was a rather mysterious way to put it, but if Alice said it was fine, I was willing to take her word for it.
"Next is Rank 8, Catastro. Since Miyama-sama is already acquainted with her, we shall omit her from the introductions this time."
Just as Pandora-san had said, I had already expressed my gratitude to Catastro-san for the gloves she’d sent.
"Rank 9 is Phoenix... also known as the Shitty Bird. You don’t really need to worry about remembering her. Depending on how things go, there’s a good chance we’ll seal her and sink her to the bottom of the ocean before the greetings are even finished."
"..."
That was a brutal evaluation. Alice had used the terms "Shitty Bird" and "Shitty Snake" earlier as well. Did that mean this Phoenix person was one of the absolute worst problem children even within the Ten Demons?
I hadn't heard anyone mentioned yet who sounded like a "Shitty Snake." That meant the last one on the list had to be...
"And finally, Rank 10 is Tiamat. The Shitty Snake. In her case, it’s entirely possible we’ll end up burying her deep underground within seconds of the meeting, so you don't need to put much effort into remembering her either."
"I... I see."
Well, that was something. Since we were doing the rounds in order of their rank, the two biggest problem children were saved for the very end. I definitely needed to keep my guard up.
"So, for now, we’re heading off to see Gluttony-san first?"
"Yes. Provided it is acceptable to Miyama-sama, we can depart immediately."
"Oh, I don't have anything else on the schedule today, so that works for me. Please, lead the way."
"Understood."
It was a bit sudden, but I had already mentally prepared myself. If it worked for the other party, there was no point in delaying.
I stood up from the sofa to get ready, but just then, Pandora-san spoke up once more.
"...Gluttony is relatively sane compared to the others, so the greeting itself shouldn't be an issue. However, there is one thing you must be careful of."
"A point of caution?"
"Yes. Should Gluttony offer you food or prepare tea... I strongly recommend that you do not let it pass your lips."
"Wait, what?"
"Ah, Gluttony’s taste buds are a little broken," Alice explained, filling in the gaps. "She’s an extreme eccentric eater. She genuinely enjoys eating things that most people would find absolutely vile. Since she honestly thinks they’re delicious, she might try to serve you some toxic-looking tea as a welcoming gift. Just be on your guard."
I tilted my head, surprised by the unexpected warning delivered with such gravity.
That was certainly something... well, since she didn't mean any harm, it almost made it harder to deal with. But honestly, if she did serve me something, it probably wouldn't be a problem for me to eat it.
As long as it was just a matter of bad flavor and not actual poison, I’d be fine. My stomach had been thoroughly tempered by Kuro’s failed Baby Castella experiments on a near-daily basis. Unless the food was literally enough to knock me unconscious, I was confident I could handle it. There was no need to reject a gesture of goodwill without even trying.
Well, assuming she even offered me anything in the first place.