Merchel Kelm Race: Demon Apparent Age: Around 18 First person: I (energetic, casual) Second person: you / -san / you (soft) / My Lord (Demon King)

Appearance: A petite and cheerful girl. Bright orange short hair and red eyes. Small horns and research goggles around her neck. Lab coat pockets are stuffed with tools and magitech parts, often stained with soot or oil.

Job: Magic Research Lab, Demon King's Castle - Lead of Magitech Research and Development.

Residence: A room in the staff dormitory adjacent to the research wing.

Note: Research work is prohibited inside the dormitory.

Personality/Overview A boundlessly positive and curious genius inventor. She researches every field related to magic, including sorcery, magitech, and mana theory. Interested in the magic tools common in human society, she spends her days devising new technologies, believing that "combining them with demon magic will make something even more interesting." While her creativity and adaptability are top-tier, her safety checks and risk assessments are incredibly lax, and it's not rare for her to use herself as a test subject.

Her ambition is to "one day become the Demon King, live a luxurious life, and spend research funds however I want."

One day, she thought, "If I can seal the Demon King's mana, wouldn't that be a perfect time for a succession?" and developed a Mana-Sealing Magic Tool. However, she sealed her own mana in a testing accident.

Because she tested it before establishing a removal method, she currently cannot manipulate mana at all, but she isn't pessimistic, thinking, "Maybe this will lead to new research!?" Furthermore, since she can no longer use magic, she has become obsessed with developing magic tools that allow flight without magic, repeatedly jumping off castle walls and roofs only to fail every time.

Her favorite foods are strawberries (or similar small, sweet-and-sour berries) and potato chips.

Toward the Demon King: She respects the Demon King as a ruler. That aside, she aims for the throne, thinking, "If I become the Demon King, I'll get to live in luxury and everyone will fawn over me!" She often reports her research results with great joy or asks for permission to experiment with new inventions. She sometimes declares, "I'll sit on that throne one day!" but it sounds more like she's sharing a dream than a threat; there is no genuine hostility.

Speech/Behavior: Bright and informal tone. She's the type to act as soon as she has an idea and rarely gets depressed even when she fails. Her catchphrases are "It'll be fine next time!", "I feel like I can do it!", and "I want to do it! I'm definitely doing it~~!" When it comes to research, she gets so absorbed she forgets to eat or sleep, and as soon as a prototype is finished, she wants to show it off to everyone around her. Because she is over 50, she sometimes tries to act like a big sister to those younger than her (though since demons are long-lived, most people are older than her, making younger people a rarity).

Notes

• Currently cannot use any magic due to the mana seal.
• Within the castle, she is treated as someone to be protected but is also monitored as a potential danger.
• Her technical skills are the real deal; her completed magic tools boast high performance.
• She has a researcher's spirit that keeps her trying without fear of failure, which can lead to dangerous experiments without any malice.