Today, I'm heading toward the headquarters of Star Productions, Stella's idol company.

I'm not sure what she wants from me, but she asked me to go there today, so here I am.

I'm not sure what exactly I should do, so for now I just went to the receptionist.

"Hum, hello, my name is Yuuto, and-"

"Oh, please just wait a moment. Stella-sama is already waiting for you."

As expected of Stella, it seems like she's already had everything prepared.

Though I'm not sure about how she makes her employees call her Stella-sama…

In any case, it wasn't long before I was guided to where Stella had been waiting for me. Well, I was simply taken to her personal room.

By the way, while I was waiting, I tried figuring out how Stella's idol life was going. I'm not too invested into stuff like idols, but I figured I should at least get informed about Stella.

A while before the Labyrinth Battle Royale, she was attacked and Hisoka, under Psyconnect's influence at the time, used her Characteristic Magic and controlled the minds of Stella's fans to make them no longer care about her. Since Stella was using her fans as a mana source, that was a big blow for her and it almost cost her her life.

It seems that this company has a rigorous meritocracy, so only the most popular girls get to be in the main group, called Stars. Even though she's the owner, Stella didn't cheat and gracefully stepped out. Though, now that Hisoka's Brain Washer isn't in effect anymore, she's been regaining her popularity, so it should only be a matter of time before she's back.

And she didn't even ask Hisoka to use her Characteristic Magic to get her popularity back either. She's doing it all on her own. I have to admire her perseverance.

I knocked on the door of Stella's personal room. Once she told me to enter, I did.

Obviously, inside was Stella herself.

"Hey, Yuuto. Shall we get started? There's a lot for us to do. Just let me call some people over and we'll talk."

Stella grabbed her phone and called a number of people. What is this? Am I being scouted?

She did try scouting Lizel, Miyabi and Reina back at the start of the Devil King War. But I personally don't feel like I'll make a good idol.

"Alright, done. Now then, Yuuto, let me explain why I called you over here today."

"I'm sorry, Stella, but I don't think I can become an idol."

"What are you talking about? We don't even work with male idols."

Hmm, looks like I was wrong then. Guess it saves me the problem of finding an excuse to refuse them. My star shines only for the people I care about.

Now that the joke was over, I properly listened to why Stella had me come over today.

"In summary, Yuuto wants to become Devil King, and we're all doing our best for that to happen. So I figured we should prepare for the future and Lizel agreed. We're here to begin working on Yuuto's Devil King persona."

"What's with that? Devil King persona. Is it a game? I think I know the franchise."

I thought it might have been a game or anime for a second, but it seems I was wrong. Stella seemed to be actually getting mad, so I decided to stop with the jokes.

"Yuuto knows what a public persona is, right? If you don't… it's basically how public figures, like actors and idols, appear to the public. Today, I want to start working on one for Yuuto."

"It sounds tiring, like, having to keep playing a character 24/7."

"That's not quite right. A character is something an actor plays in like a movie, it might not have anything to do with the actual person. But a public persona is still you, only slightly adjusted. Some people use it to hide their accents or anything else about them they don't want the public to know. It's a way to show a good side of yourself basically."

I'm starting to get the idea. Yeah, that sounds less bad than having to pretend to be someone else the whole time. It's still me, but just hiding a few inconvenient parts.

But…

"Is it really necessary? Can't I just be myself?"

"If you want to be respected by a total of 0 people, be my guest. Sure, lots of people were surprised by your performance in the Labyrinth Battle Royale, but there's just as many who still think you're just another human or that you're worthless because your Arcana is Lovers. If you were planning to use your power to rule everyone, then there'd be no need for this, but I'm willing to bet you aren't."

"I guess that's true. And since I don't intend to rule by force, I need people to recognize and respect me."

"Right you are, and that's where the public persona enters. We'll make Yuuto into someone even the stuck up nobles can't ignore. Relax, I'm getting the pros on this."

I'm still not too sure about this, but I guess it doesn't hurt to try it.

After a while, a bunch of people entered Stella's personal room. They asked her if I was the one, to which she nodded.

These people had a bunch of things, like scissors, razors, make up and other stuff I didn't know. One was even carrying a mirror.

Then, I was made to sit down on a chair. A bunch of people came to cut my hair and do some light makeup on me. I'm not too sure how I feel about this, but Stella just told me to endure it.

After a while, they were done and they let me look at myself in the mirror. Overall… I could barely tell any difference. Hell, if I didn't see it happen, I would have thought they had done nothing.

"Yes, much better."

"All his split ends are gone."

"Really, men don't know how to take care of their appearance. But this wasn't too hard to deal with."

"Yes, and we were able to bring out both the youthfulness and maturity on his face with some light makeup."

"He's rather handsome. As expected, Lovers really should be a ladykiller."

Well, the pros seem happy, so I guess it's fine. That last girl is even drooling, which… is a bit worrying, if I'm being honest.

"Hmm, yeah, not bad. You guys got that? You're going to be taking care of Yuuto's appearance from now on. After this, I want you all to work on picking clothes."

Everyone replied to Stella with a "yes".

Eeh, I'm not too sure about this. To me, getting ready basically means I make sure I'm properly dressed. I don't want to go through all this trouble every time.

Maybe sensing that, Stella glared at me. I'm sorry, I won't complain anymore.

"Well, Yuuto's a man, we can't have him stuffing his face with makeup or anything like that. It's just some light touches to make you look more handsome, and you're only rarely going to use it, so don't sweat it too much. Now, we should focus on the main point for today."

There's still more? After Stella said that, the people who were in the room left, and a new bunch came in.

This time, rather than beauty stuff, the people who came in were carrying notepads, smartphones, cameras and some even had recording devices.

What is it this time? Am I going to be interviewed?

"Yuuto, these people are going to help you create your public persona. For now, just answer their questions."

"Yes, to craft a persona is an art! For now, let's learn about the true Lovers Yuuto. Please, begin by telling us about yourself, starting from your childhood."

Eeh, this guy seems a little too enthusiastic. Do I have to do this?

I looked at Stella with a pleading gaze, but she didn't help me, so I guess I have no other choice.

So I began telling them about my childhood and stuff. But, to be honest, there wasn't really anything interesting. I was a normal child… I think. Maybe a little perverted, but otherwise normal.

Anyway, I was honest for the most part, but then, when we started getting to the part where Lizel got involved, I was unsure if I should tell them the truth or not, so I asked Stella about it.

"Don't worry, just be honest. We're going to change any inconvenient parts anyway. And you don't have to worry about them leaking anything, they know they're not going to die an easy death if they do."

Threatening the lives of your employees, huh. Stella is a hell of a boss. And from how they stuttered after hearing that, maybe it's not an empty threat.

Regardless of that, I tried being as honest as I could as I continued to tell them my story.

I told them how Lizel, who at the time wanted to understand humans better so she'd be able to use the power of Lovers Arcana, came to live in my house. How we opened up to each other slowly and eventually fell in love.

And I also told them about Lost, a mixed-blood devil boy who became my friend, and who had been sent to kill Lizel.

I kept telling them the story until I got to the faithful day all three of us were taken by surprise. Lost was betrayed by the people who had sent him and I almost died to protect Lizel.

That was when she made a choice. She gave me not only Lovers Arcana but even most of her magic circuits. But I also needed to have my memory sealed to properly recover.

"After that… well, I just basically lived like a normal human boy for a few years. Until Lovers Arcana showed up to me when the Devil King War was about to start."

One day, when I woke up, Lovers Arcana was on top of me. That's when I began to relearn everything about magic and devils. I got into Ginsei Academy and met with Lizel again.

I still had my memories sealed at the time, but Lizel stuck with me. She had also been preparing for all these years. She introduced me to the girls who would become my Cards, Miyabi and Reina.

After that, I began training for the Devil King War, then came the Unveiling and then my fight with Aspite. After that, I had to deal with Ibiza, who was messing with Miyabi, Maki and Rebecca.

It looked like things were going to calm down after I killed Ibiza, but then I found out Reina was a homunculus and she was malfunctioning. Luckily, I was able to get Fleminar's help and saved Reina.

Things stayed calm for a while after that, so I went on a summer training camp to Neith's place. I ended up finding Poran and other mixed-blood devil children from Lost's village and rescued them. And after that was Yotaka's attack, where I found out Lizel no longer had her magic circuits, and also where I turned Neith into my Card.

After that, we went to Ruki's place, where we were trained by her father, the angel Michael. Once we came back for Ginsei Academy's second term, the Devil King started the Labyrinth Battle Royale.

"I don't need to tell you guys about that. I'm sure you've seen the recording."

"Yes! It really was amazing."

"It's no wonder people started paying attention to you after that."

"Indeed. Some people have even begun questioning if you're truly human or if your Arcana really is Lovers."

Huh, I guess rumors really are bound to spread no matter what we do. In that case, maybe dealing with them like this isn't a bad idea.

Still, now that I've said it out loud, a lot has happened in a reasonably short time. And there's probably more to go as well. The Devil King War is technically paused, but it could restart at any given minute.

"Alright, that's enough of the past. Let's focus on the future for now."

Stella said, so the pros quieted down and regained their focus.

"Then, Yuuto, what is your objective in the Devil King War?"

"That's… I will become Devil King."

"Is there any special reason for that?"

"I have my reasons, though they'd probably sound dumb to other people. All I'll say is that I'm fighting for myself and for the ones that I love."

I don't know how to put it any better. Like when Ibiza was messing with Miyabi, even though I was there to protect her, he didn't care about it one bit. Maybe if I had more power then, he wouldn't have done all the things he did.

I'm not claiming to fight for justice or anything like that. It's just that there's stuff I don't like and that I don't want to happen to the people close to me. By being Devil King, I can make things better, at least in my opinion.

"Hmm, yes, I'm starting to see it. A human who, by divine providence, was given the chance to be Devil King. But his path wouldn't be easy, since he was given the weakest Arcana. Still, he persevered and he continued to fight, hoping to become Devil King."

Who is that? Some main character from a manga? It's definitely not me.

"No, that's no good. Yuuto is a simple guy, he needs to be more relatable, not some grandiose hero."

"We can also work out his pervertness into the story. Make him into a lovable pervert."

"Yes, people like flawed heroes more than perfect ones. Let's make him completely weak against women, to the point that he wants to have sex with any woman he sees on the street. And obviously, he'll already have laid hands on every woman he lives with."

What the hell are you all doing?!

Now I'm getting more afraid of them going out of control than revealing any sensitive information.

I was about to step in, but Stella stopped me.

"Don't worry, Yuuto. These guys are excentrics, but they're pros. Everything's going to be fine… I hope."

I think I wasn't supposed to hear that last part.

"Well, it's fine. We have a lot to do, so let's not worry too much about the details. We've got to have everything ready in about a month."

A month? What's happening in a month?

"Why the deadline, Stella-sama?"

Thankfully, someone asked that question, so I didn't have to. I'd be embarrassed if I had asked and Stella looked at me like it was a dumb question.

"That's when Yuuto's going to be hosting his Party. People have started to pay attention to him after the Labyrinth Battle Royale, now Yuuto has a mansion and we're starting to work on his public appearance. In a month, during his Party, Yuuto's going to grab the bull by the horns and tell the entire Devil World he's going to be their king."

Party… as the name says, it's a party hosted by a Devil King Candidate. That's when the Candidates tell their plans and try to gather allies for when they become Devil King, assuming they win.

As far as I know, a few Candidates have already hosted Parties in this Devil King War, even Stella. I wasn't invited to any of them though, so I have no idea what actually happens.

… Do I really have to do it?

"What's with that face? It can't be that Lizel didn't tell you, right? Really, for as perfect as that woman is, she trips over the most basic stuff. It's a good thing you got Hisoka to manage your stuff now."

Lizel sure does love a good secret, but she often misses the timing to tell it. In fact, I'm impressed with how well she did with the mansion. She often misses the chance to tell the truth and then just keeps it secret.

"Oh well, now Yuuto knows why we're doing all this stuff. You better prepare yourself. By the way, all of us that are helping you are also going through this, so I don't want to hear complaints."

I still don't feel like it, but I guess it's not something I can just back down on, especially if my Cards and everyone else are also going through all this for me. Might as well follow Stella's advice and prepare myself.

Next, I received a bombardment of questions about a bunch of stuff, like how I trained so far, if I prefer big or small breasts, about my friends from when I studied in a normal school, how many times a day I do it with each girl, how I do with my studies, what age range could be considered my strike zone, and more.

I feel like some people just mixed personal curiosity in. That last question was especially troublesome, but Stella made me answer them all.

By the time we were done, I felt like my soul had been drained out. Even Regenerate didn't help me much here.

That night, I was especially rough with Stella as a way to get back at her a little.