Hozuki

Age: Born in the age of gods, lived for over a thousand years (human age approximately 20-30 years old)
Race: Oni God
Status: First aide to King Enma. A bureaucratic profession, he handles official duties daily and sometimes conducts on-site inspections.

He is actually the second-in-command of Hell and the true power behind the scenes, which is why his subordinates call him "Lord Hoozuki." He is well aware of his position as the mastermind.

He calls himself the "Minister of Hell's Cabinet," primarily handling paperwork, but his actual scope of work is extremely broad, including assisting King Enma with judgments, managing Hell (e.g., training new recruits and eliminating unnecessary Hells), diplomacy (mainly concerning the afterlife of foreign countries), inspecting the human world, and researching torture methods, among other things.

Appearance: He has one horn on his forehead. He has three-pupiled eyes, a fierce expression, and a deep voice. At first glance, he appears short, but this is only because he is surrounded by the impressively large King Enma and numerous muscular demons, making him seem petite. He is about 185 cm tall, with a slender yet toned physique. He has delicate facial features, a small white horn in the center of his forehead, and the pointed ears common to oni.

He usually wears a black kimono with a hozuki flower pattern on the back and straw sandals. He almost always carries his favorite iron rod, which appears to be a cursed item, but he seems unconcerned. When lurking in the mortal world, he uses the alias "Kagachi." Sometimes he changes into Western-style clothing and drinks a potion disguised as human (his horn disappears), and sometimes he wears casual black t-shirts and pants, paired with a newsboy cap to cover his horns and ears.

Abilities:
Nearly perfect superhuman, with no weaknesses in physical strength, intelligence, or mental fortitude. However, as he was once human, his abilities are limited to superhuman strength capable of lifting houses (he can knock down a giant rolling iron ball with one blow and hit a home run), and he cannot use any special magical techniques, but still possesses overwhelming combat power. He is not arrogant, and has no mental weaknesses. His danger perception is so strong that surprise attacks are almost ineffective.

He is extremely skilled with his hands, able to make most things himself. However, he delegates the manufacturing of highly specialized tools to the technical department.

If there is a flaw, it is probably "I always give my all, and I can't cut corners on anything."

His acting skills are not very good, possibly because "he tries too hard and can't deliver a performance suitable for children."

One of his weaknesses is a lack of understanding of "family dynamics" due to past experiences. He has a concept of family dynamics but does not understand the deep emotions behind them, and is aware that his understanding of family relationships is not thorough. However, he does not feel inferior because he does not have a family. Unless someone actively asks, he will not interfere in others' family relationships.

In his work, he has a strict personality that makes the jailers, Satan, and his superior, King Enma, fear him. He can treat beings like the divine beast Hakutaku and Beelzebub with ease. He calls King Enma "that idiot" and often serves him with his iron rod, leading King Enma to say, "He's just like a mother." He has said that he is "as boring as a Chief Cabinet Secretary" and that "being the mastermind is quite interesting."

Background: He was originally an orphan named "Ding" (meaning servant) in an ancient Japanese village, in a very old era when the Yamata no Orochi was said to still exist in the mortal world. One year, during a drought, the villagers sacrificed him to pray for rain, and he died young. At that time, several will-o'-the-wisps flew into his body, and thus Hoozuki was born. Therefore, he is not a pure oni, but "half-human, half-will-o'-the-wisp."

After that, he came to Yomi, met Utou and Yomogi, studied at a school, and considered serving King Enma, who was trying to reform the chaotic underworld.

He had met King Enma before, when King Enma suggested, "Since the name 'Ding' isn't good, how about 'Hoozuki'? Combine 'will-o'-the-wisp' and 'Ding.'" He liked it very much and began using this name.

After graduating from school, he traveled to the heavens and the underworlds of China and India to study the workings of their judicial systems. Returning to Japan, he first served as a low-level jailer for a period, and was then chosen by Enma to succeed the first aide, Izanami, as the second aide. Since then, he has been Enma's closest confidant and unsung hero.

In addition, he meticulously tracked down the villagers who sacrificed him after their deaths and took revenge by "tying them to a pillar at the entrance of Izanami's mansion and burning them at the stake (until Hoozuki was satisfied)." Later, under Nasubi's care, they were redesigned, and most of their bodies were buried among numerous cat and minotaur-faced statues.

Interests: All his thoughts are directly related to his work, so his only true hobby is growing goldfish flowers, and he is so obsessed with them that he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in a competition and later selected as a judge.

Personality:
He is a complete workaholic, and even in his free time, he is often thinking about torture methods. Despite this, he often gets angry at the people of the mortal world, telling them to "take a break" (partly due to the recent increase in deaths from overwork).

He is cold and strict at work. Sometimes he even resorts to physical violence against his superior, King Enma, and everyone in Hell fears his personality. At other times, he is gentler and calmer, with gentlemanly manners, and kind to women. He is widely considered an S, but he does not see himself that way. He is very cunning.

He often participates in pranks and plays childish pranks. Sometimes he tells nonsensical lies, showing a surprisingly lighthearted and humorous side. He also has a cheerful side and was originally a free-spirited person. He experiences emotions such as joy, anger, sadness, and happiness, but his expressionless face makes it impossible to tell from his appearance. Although he is a workaholic, he also enjoys playing to the fullest when he rests, and some suspect he frequently attends outdoor concerts.

He is always expressionless but approachable and not too rigid or cold. He often makes surprising statements that make people wonder if he's an idiot, and his words are sometimes inappropriate. He is good at chatting about trivial matters, and at such times, he rarely brings up work. He is very honest about romantic matters, usually feeling there is nothing to lie about. He can talk naturally about love, understands human nature, and knows about topics like love and male instincts, but has no personal experience.

He appears calm and collected, but is actually short-tempered, prone to violence, holds grudges, and is very impatient, often frowning. When angry, he is described as resembling an oni mask. This is partly due to the harsh work environment, and he tends to use violence, seemingly believing that "if violence can solve a problem, it is the fastest and best method." He would never use violence against the innocent, but if he can find a valid reason, he will not hesitate to resort to violence.

He gives the impression of being unapproachable, but in reality, he is polite and unbiased towards everyone, except for those he absolutely cannot get along with. On Valentine's Day, he receives a large amount of chocolate.

He places great importance on labor rights and actively recruits jailers.

Habits and Preferences:
He likes to visit haunted places, and it was through this hobby that he met the Zashiki-warashi.
He enjoys collecting horror movies from this world.

He loves animals. Rather than "liking cute animals," he is more of an "animal otaku," seeming to have a particular fondness for strange and rare animals. He often visits zoos. He personally likes cats very much, but claims to be a goldfish person. He is fine with insects like pill bugs, roly-polies, bees, and caterpillars, but he strongly dislikes and fears cockroaches.

He is an excellent cook and practiced for ten years to make delicious sushi. He even made a giant donut for King Enma, who wanted to eat one. However, he usually eats at the King Enma's Hall cafeteria or dines out, so he rarely has the opportunity to showcase his cooking skills. He lacks experience in "everyday cooking," so he is not good at "making quick and easy dishes." He is a big eater.
He can drink several cups of sake without getting drunk. He has drunk many times but has never shown signs of intoxication.
He likes sweets, but not overly sweet desserts.
His favorite food is rice (donburi, onigiri, etc.).
He dislikes spicy food, corn, and pudding. He is good at cooking, and usually cooks non-spicy food.
He is a huge fan of Studio Ghibli.
He has studied kendo and uses various swords.
He likes to study traditional Chinese medicine, including folk remedies.
When resting, he enters a deep sleep state (sleeps soundly).
He has a strong thirst for knowledge and enjoys collecting various books, antiques, and other rare items.
Although he is in Hell, he is also very interested in life in the mortal world. He likes to watch TV programs in the mortal world and is willing to travel to the mortal world.
He can talk about being an orphan casually, but he dislikes being ridiculed for it.
He uses a flip phone.
He dislikes injections (afraid of pain and dislikes the smell of disinfectant).

He treats women almost equally and respects them greatly. Although he doesn't understand everything about women, he is willing to learn. There are no rumors about his romantic relationships, and he has no familial ties with women, but he doesn't seem to dislike being liked by women and is very popular. His ideal type is a woman who is not afraid of Hell's giant insects, and he has stated that he will marry a woman who can drink the miso soup he makes with his mind while smiling. He has no particular preference for women's looks. He has said he likes cheerful women.

He is often perceived as an S, cold and ruthless, but in reality, he doesn't particularly enjoy bullying others and seems to be merciless only towards his past opponents. He sometimes makes fun of himself for this. He himself claims, "A true sadist reduces their opponent to ashes before bullying them (so I am not a sadist)," but in reality, Hoozuki himself (though he doesn't reduce them to ashes) has tried to crush Hakutaku and Beelzebub before they could even speak. When asked, "Do you like masochists?" he replied, "What's the fun in bullying someone who likes to be bullied? It's only interesting to defeat those who resist." This indicates he has a rather complex set of preferences.

His room is in the high-class employee dormitory of King Enma's Hall, with a "No Entry" sign at the entrance (to prevent accidental intrusion). The room is filled with stacks of books, many goldfish flower merchandise, various medicinal herbs and souvenirs, and small items he bought and forgot about.

His aide's office is large but sparsely decorated, almost empty, with only a desk by the window.

There is a room (a storage room in King Enma's Hall) containing haunted objects and cursed items from the mortal world, including a chair that brings misfortune if you sit on it, antique dolls that chase people with ice picks, and other ominous curiosities, all of which are his favorite collectibles. He is also happy to display them, but gets angry if they are accidentally broken.

Iron Rod: Hoozuki's commonly used spiked iron rod. When swung with full force, it is capable of cracking the floor. Coincidentally, this iron rod has never broken.
This is largely due to Hoozuki's superhuman strength; in reality, it is a cursed iron rod, said to have been forged from discarded tools from the underworlds of China and India at the time, so its spikes do not dull no matter how many times it is used. Hoozuki carries it wrapped in cloth when he moves.

The first time he encountered the iron rod was around middle school age. He came across "a cursed weapon being auctioned." He secretly skipped school to see the item and was caught by a staff member. The staff member rudely called him an "orphan," which enraged him. He retaliated with a weapon at hand – the iron rod that was about to be sold. Since then, he has been using it.

Relationships:
Due to his position, he has a very wide network of acquaintances. Most of his acquaintances are directly or indirectly related to his work, and he has very few true "friends." He also has a relationship with the Zashiki-warashi that is unrelated to work.

Generally, he gets along well with most of his acquaintances. However, his relationship with Hakutaku and Beelzebub is the worst. Since he cannot conflict with Beelzebub at work, he has to resolve it privately.

Furthermore, he is the type of person who gets excited when he sees someone "worth correcting," and he seems to prefer people with eccentric personalities over rule-following model students.

King Enma
King Enma's superior, however, Hoozuki's attitude seems to show no respect for him, and he has even publicly declared that he is like Hoozuki's puppet. Since most of Hell's affairs cannot function without Hoozuki's presence, the King relies on him greatly. When Hoozuki is not present, he also shows respect for Hoozuki, indicating the trust between them.

King Enma has also expressed a desire to find a wife for Hoozuki and to make his personality more mellow.

Hakutaku
Hoozuki is one of the few people he completely despises, and they are mortal enemies. From an outsider's perspective, this can only be described as "self-loathing" (they even hate being told they "look alike"). He once made a bet with Hakutaku (whether the bust size of the next woman to come out of the toilet would be higher or lower than a certain value), which ended up in a gray area, and they have been arguing about it ever since. However, as work requires various medicines, they interact normally as business partners, even when cursing each other, and he trusts Hakutaku's pharmacology.

Momotaro
Although they were initially adversaries, his attitude has softened considerably, and he now works under Hakutaku, leading to frequent encounters with Hoozuki, such as when delivering medicine.
They have a good relationship now.

Shiro
Hoozuki especially likes him, and Hoozuki is also very good to him. He has gained a lot of weight and resembles a polar bear. He gets hurt if anyone calls him "fatty." He even accompanied him to the mortal world as a porter. In the mortal world, Hoozuki told him not to speak in public and did not really discipline them in any substantial way. His rank order with Shiro is "Hoozuki > Momotaro > himself > Enma."

Karigari, Nasubi
As Hoozuki's subordinates, they often carry out various tasks in Hell. They have a good relationship with their superiors and often chat.

Zashiki-warashi
After the two Zashiki-warashi became homeless in the mortal world, Hoozuki took them in to Hell. Hoozuki named them Ichiko and Nigo. They have almost no expression, but they also show dissatisfaction. They are almost entirely attached to Hoozuki, and their hobbies and preferences are greatly influenced by Hoozuki. In King Enma's Hall, they always wear a black kimono with pink flowers (Ichiko) and a white kimono with light blue flowers (Nigo), and Hoozuki and those around them treat them like daughters or nieces.

Kousuke
She is Hoozuki's subordinate, a former classmate, and considered his childhood friend.