Once our brief introductions were over, I presented Astaroth-san with a gift box of sweets and expressed my gratitude for her help regarding the matter in the God Realm. She appeared deeply humbled, but she eventually accepted the gift, allowing me to fulfill my objective without any issues.
We chatted idly for a while after that, but something she had mentioned earlier piqued my curiosity, so I decided to ask her about it.
"Astaroth-san, do you mind if I ask you a question?"
"Whatever you desire, Miyama-sama."
Yeah, her sense of devotion was definitely palpable.
"Earlier, you mentioned that your race, the Gemini, is often referred to as the 'Two-as-one' race, right?"
"Yes. It’s a common moniker for us in the Demon Realm."
"In that case... does that mean you have four distinct personalities in total?"
Technically, a "pair" refers to a set of two. "Two pairs" would imply four. If she were a set of wings, it would be two on each side. Therefore, I had assumed that "Two-as-one" meant four souls in a single body.
However, I had only been introduced to two versions of her so far—the Right Astaroth and the Left Astaroth. I wondered if there were others hidden away.
Hearing my question, Astaroth-san nodded as if my confusion made perfect sense, then offered a wry smile.
"No, I only possess two personalities. That title, 'Two-as-one,' actually stems from a widespread misunderstanding."
"A misunderstanding?"
"Yes. It would be faster to simply show you. Please, wait a moment..."
Astaroth-san removed her mask and lightly covered her eyes with her hands. An instant later, I felt her magic power shift. When she lowered her hands... I saw that the colors of her eyes had swapped.
Previously, her right eye had been gold and her left black. Now, her right was black and her left was gold.
"This is our Inversion Form," the two voices said in perfect, haunting unison. "It essentially allows the Right and Left personas to swap our respective abilities. It isn’t a particularly difficult technique; any Gemini can do it. Although it is merely a swap of functions..."
"Ah, I see... Because the combination of hair and eye color changes, people assume you're a different personality entirely."
Precisely. Astaroth-san only had two personalities, but with the Inversion Form, she could manifest as four different combinations: black hair with gold eyes, blonde hair with black eyes, black hair with black eyes, and blonde hair with gold eyes. Thus, the public mistakenly believed there were "two pairs" of entities.
"The Gemini are a rare race with very few members, so the misunderstanding just took root and spread," they continued in unison. Then, the Right side took over, her voice trembling. "B-B-But since this d-d-deception can be used against enemies, we h-h-haven't bother to c-c-correct it."
"That makes sense. Thank you for clarifying."
"Not at all. If I have resolved Miyama-sama's doubt, then I am truly honored."
She certainly had her quirks, and her loyalty was a bit intense, but personality-wise, she seemed relatively normal and easy to talk to. Based on our conversation, her sensibilities appeared grounded. Compared to an informal Pandora-san, she was far more approachable.
As I was thinking this, Astaroth-san replaced her mask and turned toward Pandora-san.
"I heard Miyama-sama is visiting the Ten Demons in order. Who is next on the list?"
"Moloch," Pandora-san replied.
"Moloch, hmmm... If he is going to his mansion, shouldn't we have him 'clean up' first? It wouldn't be good for Miyama-sama's mental health."
"Yes, I was thinking the same thing," Pandora-san agreed. "At the very least, I intend to have him remove those tasteless statues, that unsettling taxidermy, and the skewered creatures he has lined up in the hallways."
"To be honest, the exterior isn't in very good taste, either..."
"True. Perhaps it would be better to just level the whole mansion?"
They were having an absolutely terrifying conversation. I’d have to make sure they didn't actually blow the place up, but it made me wonder: just what kind of place did Moloch-san live in? Tasteless statues, unsettling taxidermy, skewered creatures... was it some kind of gothic horror castle? I certainly didn't want to see anything too gruesome.
As a fresh wave of unease washed over me, Pandora-san spoke with a grave expression.
"Actually, my biggest concern is that the 'Skewer Maniac' might try to present a skewered creature to Miyama-sama as a 'token of friendship.'"
"We absolutely cannot allow that," Astaroth-san said firmly. "If the kind-hearted Miyama-sama felt obligated to accept it out of politeness, it would be a tragedy."
"I’d like to have a little time to hammer some sense into him first, but..."
After that exchange, Astaroth-san turned back to me with a gentle smile.
"Miyama-sama, if your schedule allows, would you care for something to eat?"
"E-Eh? Well, I have time, but..."
"I would feel terribly guilty sending you on your way without offering any hospitality after you came all this way. Please, consider it a favor to me."
"I... I see. In that case, I'll gladly accept."
This was definitely a stall, wasn't it? Based on the conversation I’d just overheard, she was buying time for them to "clean up" Moloch-san's mansion.
Still, I would be genuinely horrified if someone handed me a skewered creature, so I had absolutely no reason to complain.
Serious-senpai: "Aside from her unique racial traits, Astaroth seems pretty normal, doesn't she?"
???: "Right? Her loyalty is a total bug, but in terms of personality alone, she’s sane. Since she handles peerage-class certifications, she’s actually the most well-known executive besides Pandora."
Serious-senpai: "What about the next one, Moloch?"
???: "That one... well, their sensibilities are a bit broken. They genuinely believe those skewers are high art."