“I might have gone on a bit of a tangent but I wanted you to know what it means when I tell you my true name without reservation. I am a demon of worthlessness and my true name is Merin. I look forward to working for you Kaori-sama.” The moment her name was spoken, the previous almost mirror image of Kaori disappeared to be replaced by a nude, feminine mannequin or at least that was the thought that came to Kaori’s mind. All of her determining features disappeared except for a pair of leathery folded wings. Her face became a blank mask that barely registered as effeminate but the glowing red eyes remained. Kaori realized as she was bowing that this was her true form as a demon who mimics the worst aspects of a person.
Next, a cadaverously thin, sallow-skinned, and rather tall, male demon stepped forward and bowed. He wore what looked like an expensive business suit and a monocle over his left glowing red eye set in a face that seemed to be carved into a perpetual scowl. As he bowed with his wings on his back looking like a cape, his body posture seemed to say that this was a formality because she was beneath him. He then spoke in a voice of pure condemnation that seemed normal for him. “I am a demon of judgementalism but my true name is Yosh. I will do my utmost to serve you hereafter Kaori-sama.”
The next to step forward was a very short dark skinned naked female demon. Her skin was a mottled brown and black but it was hard to notice because of all the spines sticking out of her skin and her wings seemed to be made of spines. When she spoke, it seemed like she was sneering. “I am a demon of patronizing and my true name is Belle. I devote myself and my talents to you Kaori-sama.”
The next to bow was a medium height male demon in a suit that looked worn, stained, and tattered and his wings matched. He was oily as if he hadn’t bathed in weeks and he had huge, deep purple bags under his bespectacled red eyes. His portly, almost bloated figure bowed awkwardly as though he might collapse at any second and he spoke in a hoarse voice. “I am a demon of overwork and my true name is Pross. I will work tirelessly for you Kaori-sama.”
As Pross spoke, Kaori recognized this as the voice she heard talking about godhood or running the underworld and had to restrain her emotions. She realized that this was a demon who had a huge impact on her life. She really wanted to blame him for her death the previous day but realized that wasn’t his doing. The demons were there to spur people on into wrongdoing and bat habits like her habit of working too much but they couldn’t make somebody do anything. The one to blame for her death was ultimately herself even if he helped. She reigned in her scowl and smiled before nodding her head at him as she had the rest.
After Pross a slightly short male demon bowed. He had oily fur that looked slicked down over a thin, sleek, and not even slightly human looking body. He reminded kaori of a weasel as he fidgeted with his paws and the edges of his furry wings. His red eyes were constantly darting about as he introduced himself in a worried sounding voice. “My name is Gelor and I am a demon of doubt. I shall serve you well Kaori-sama.” Kaori also recognized this voice but he was the one that didn’t seem to care about his work much. She made a note to keep a close eye on him in the future.
The next to step forward and bow was the impish demon she knew as anger. He had black horns and spines jutting from his crimson skin. He had two batlike wings on his tiny body and a face that was a caricature of rage. “I Yaborr, a demon of anger will serve you faithfully as long as you will keep us around you Kaori-sama.”
After him another tiny little demon stepped forward. The slightly purplish skinned demon only stood slightly taller than Yaborr and she too was nude, displaying her emaciated almost skeletal form. Her red eyes had a very dull glow and there were bags under her eyes as well as a droop to her wings. Her posture and her voice when she spoke both conveyed grave illness or extreme lack of sleep and Kaori knew immediately that this was the one who was responsible for her insomnia. “Risse, a demon of exhaustion, will be ever at your service Kaori-sama.”
The last demon to step forward and bow was taller than her but not as tall as Yosh. This one looked like her favorite manga or anime protagonist type personified and she could already feel a slight blush creeping across her cheeks. After ordering her body to stop reacting to a demon she looked firmly at the scaley wings on his back to distract herself from his handsome if somehow generic features. When he spoke it was in a deep but soft voice that practically dripped with desire. “I too shall serve you in whatever capacity you might need Kaori-sama. My name is Keeval and I am a demon of lust.”
Kaori was profoundly relieved when Keevals appearance melted away with his name revealing another of the almost formless demons like Merin. Kaori took a second to take in their forms and file their names away before responding. “I look forward to working with all of you.”
The moment that she was done acknowledging the demons the first of the angels stepped forward and rather than bow, she literally performed a dogeza with her six wings spread forward around her head. Kaori squinted a bit to see the angels before she realized there was a better way. Closing her eyes for a moment, kaori willed the radiance of the angels to back off to a moderate level then looked back at them.
The angel on the floor had six silver-white wings on her back and what Kaori could see of her was unblemished very pale cream-colored skin. With a quick glance she realized that each of them had very generic looking faces but beautiful all the same. The one currently bowing spoke in a low sultry voice. “Fujiwara Kaori Kami-sama, I vow my eternal servitude by the name Miraphon. As your former guardian angel of spiritual warfare I am sure that I, nay we will be of great help to you.”
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As the four and then the two-winged angels performed similarly grandiose bows and introduced themselves as Einoro, angel of diligence and Rocell, angel of gift-typing, Kaori wondered at the conformity of the angels. The Demons all had a staggering amount of individuality while the angels all wore the same kimono-like dresses and had very little difference in faces. The only defining features were the number of wings and the pitch of their voices with Rocell being pitched high like a ringing bell and Einoro being a moderately high singing voice. Even their mannerisms and pledges were almost identical, differing only at the names and titles.
Kaori broke out of her reverie and greeted them all. “I accept your vows and look forward to working with all of you. I have put a bit more thought into what I would like you all to be doing and how. I want the twelve of you to form teams of four and gather info for me. First, Yaju. Can you fly?”
The short werewolf took a step back as all eyes suddenly turned to him. “Erm, I… I don’t know? I’ve never tried to before so I imagine I can’t but if I can it would take me a while to get a feel for it.”
Kaori looked at the three angels and decided on the one with the most wings. Kaori stumbled through her hard to pronounce name but was determined to use each of their names as often as possible to show that she respected them even if she did struggle with it. “Mirifonu-san, I would like you to carry Yaju with… *there was a sudden gasp from Einoro and when Kaori looked at her she had a desperate look of longing on her face as she looked at Yaju but it was gone in an instant*
Kaori beckoned Miraphon over to her and asked in a whisper? “What’s that about?”
Miriphon looked almost disgusted as she replied in an equally low whisper. “Ein has an obsession with furry creatures and undoubtedly sees the god Yaju as an object of adoration. In short, she desperately wants to hold and pet him.”
“On second thought, I would like Einoro-san to carry Yaju.” *There was a sudden squeal and as all eyes landed on her, Ein’s face turned completely red and she turned around with her fists under her chin in excitement. It didn’t do her any good to turn around because her four folded wings were still trembling with excitement.* “U-Understood! I-I shall do my best, Fujiwara Kaori Kami-sama.”
Grimacing, Kaori went on. “One thing that is bothering me is the form of address. I don’t mind during informal situations if you use pet names for me or long formal titles but in our daily interactions I would prefer that you all kept thing to a simple businesslike form of address. Just call me Kaori-san. Let me know at your leisure how you would like to be addressed but I won’t be using long titles for working together.”
“Now, I want two of the demons to go with Yaju-san and Einoro-san. If there is anyone who doesn’t want to work with someone else let me know and I will try to keep that in mind but for many tasks like this one cooperation is going to be compulsory. I will want the rest of you to separate into groups of three demons and one angel.”
“I want Yaju-sans group to make a detailed survey of the local ecology.” *As soon as she said this she saw a look of complete incomprehension on Yaju’s face.* “It means that I want you to study the wildlife and nature of many different areas of the world. I need to know what animals live where. When and whether they migrate or hibernate. Are they a good food source. What animals prey on what others. If there are animals that have to be kept thinned out to keep them from growing too numerous. What plants are eaten by what. Are there any plants that can be used as medicines. I also need to know these things about the seas and oceans if there are any.”
Yaju looked confused again so Kaori decided to change her strategy a little. “The first thing I want all of you to do is fly up and get a feel for the local area and make sure that you keep track of where we are here. You will then split up from there to do your various tasks. Einoro-san, please take Yaju-san up and teach him what various geographic features are and whichever pair of demons go with them I will be counting on you to help.”
“I want the other groups to go up and find the north and south poles as well as the equatorial belt if those things exist here. I then want you to split into your two groups and circle the world, mapping it. One group go north and the other south. I want to know the entire geography of the planet. I need to know the shape of the continents, islands, oceans, seas, rivers and the general areas of the various biomes. I want to know the basics of the undersea terrain also.”
Kaori stopped with a sudden realization. What were the limitations of their powers? “I just thought about it and I realized I never asked. Do you all breathe? Are you able to go underwater?”
As everyone present was nodding their heads yes, even Yaju, she went on. “If that’s the case, can you all travel into outer space? If you can, then the mapping might go a lot quicker than I thought. I generally just want to know about the underwater ridges and mountains but knowing where any reefs and shallows are would also be good. It would help Yaju’s team when they started looking at the aquatic biosphere.”
“After those two teams have finished mapping, I want them to look into the planet’s geology. I want to know where various deposits of minerals can be found. For now, focusing on the early-stage metals like tin and copper would be fine. Eventually, I’m going to want to know where every decently sized mineral deposit is so I can set up development plans and figure out if the local inhabitants can follow the same course of development that earth’s various cultures took.”
“If any of you need me, I will be in or around the elven villages trying to get an idea of how to bring about their development. Also, take these to speed up the mapping and surveying processes.” Kaori reached out her hand towards the large translucent sphere and three palm sized spheres separated from it and flew into her palm.
“Each team take one of these to make the mapping faster. They will connect to the main globe remotely and they can be expanded and also zoomed in. You can log the exploration onto the map mentally. Take your time at this and do a good job. I’ll be able to talk to each of you remotely if I need to, now that I know your names.” Kaori gave them a friendly smile. She felt much better now that she had some idea of what to do, even if it was just how to look for what to do next.