Beta

Name: Beta

Alias: Natsume Kafka

Gender: Female

Race: Elf

Age: 13 → 15 (15 at main story timeline)

Affiliation: Shadow Garden, Seven Shadows (Second Seat)

Occupation (front): Best‑selling novelist

Occupation (shadow): Intelligence officer, liaison, chronicler of Shadow

Nicknames/Titles: “The Steadfast,” “Natsume Kafka,” author of “Shadow-sama Chronicles”

Hair: Silver (short)

Eyes: Blue

Voice Actress: Inori Minase

Beta is one of the most prominent members of the Seven Shadows, ranking directly under Alpha in Shadow Garden’s hierarchy.

Despite her high combat ability, she is far more famous in the outside world as Natsume Kafka, a beloved author whose books are runaway hits across many genres.

She reveres Shadow (Cid Kagenou) to an almost fanatical degree, competing with the other Seven Shadows for his attention.

Among the Seven Shadows, she is considered one of the top two in terms of sheer devotion to Shadow.

Beta is fundamentally a quiet, somewhat shy girl with a strong literary bent and a vivid imagination.

Her love of stories makes her more interested in writing and observing than in the thrill of battle itself.

She often writes independent heroic epics about Shadow, collectively known as “Shadow-sama Chronicles.”

These tales heavily beautify and dramatize his actions, frequently editing events to make them more stylish, dramatic, or noble than they actually were.

On the surface as Natsume Kafka, she speaks politely and gently, giving an impression of elegance and refinement.

Beneath that soft demeanor she is quite sharp-tongued and sly, sometimes slipping in subtle jabs—especially toward Alexia Midgar, whom she quietly despises.

She can be surprisingly black-hearted when it comes to rival women around Cid.

Alexia Midgar in particular she labels in her mind as a “vixen” who toyed with Cid, both for treating him like a dog in private and for acting as his fake lover in public.

Over time, however, Beta sees genuine sides of Alexia Midgar’s feelings and struggles.

This leads Beta to quietly acknowledge that, under different circumstances and positions, they might have made an unexpectedly good—if chaotic—combination.

Despite her outer confidence as Natsume Kafka, Beta originally lacked initiative and was easily swayed by others.

Shadow’s rescue and guidance gave her life a new axis, and she now follows his path with almost absolute faith, declaring internally she would walk an “evil” path without hesitation if that is what he wished.

To Beta, Shadow is an almost divine figure who saved her and gave her purpose.

At first, she only saw him as an inexplicably powerful and somewhat frightening man.

When she joined Shadow Garden, Beta struggled with killing, even when her targets were members of the Diabolos Cult.

Night after night, she suffered nightmares and could not sleep, haunted by guilt and fear.

During that period, Shadow would visit and tell her stories as bedtime tales—folktales, fairy tales, and classic literature from his previous world.

Listening to these stories gradually soothed her mind, banished her nightmares, and sparked her fascination with both him and storytelling itself.

From then on, she began to follow Shadow around in secret, watching his actions closely.

“Shadow-sama Chronicles” began simply as her private record of his deeds and her own feelings, a way of never forgetting and never losing her way again.

Her fighting style reflects her personality: she does not experiment or innovate but instead reproduces Shadow’s taught combat techniques with extreme fidelity.

Because of this, she is said to be the Seven Shadows member who most purely and systematically embodies Shadow’s combat method, earning her the epithet “The Steadfast.”

She always refers to him respectfully as “Shadow-sama.”

In her heart and writing, she places him as the ultimate hero of her world—regardless of whether others see him as a villain or mystery.

Although Beta claims little interest in combat itself, her battle capability is undeniably high.

Her strength comes from disciplined technique, magical ability, and perfect adherence to the training Shadow gave her.

She does not pursue personal “style” or self-made techniques.

Instead, she carefully practices and executes Shadow’s established methods, making her extremely reliable, efficient, and versatile in real operations.

In Master of Garden, she mainly fights as a long-range attacker.

She forms massive bows and arrows from slime-based equipment, using them to snipe enemies from afar and control the battlefield with precise ranged fire.

Within Shadow Garden missions, she tends to serve as a support and information-operatives hybrid.

She can adapt to many roles in a mission, and her unflappable, systematic approach is what inspired the code name “The Steadfast.”

Beta is the Second Seat of the Seven Shadows, placing her near the very top of Shadow Garden’s command structure.

Her primary responsibilities are information gathering, communication, and serving as a liaison between different operations.

She collects intelligence across nations using her celebrity status as Natsume Kafka, gaining access to aristocratic salons, literati circles, and newspaper networks.

Through these routes, she often acquires data not yet released to the general public.

Inside Shadow Garden, she acts as a chronicler of Shadow’s exploits through “Shadow-sama Chronicles.”

These writings are sometimes seen at the end of the original novel volumes, showcasing her embellished, hero-worshipping viewpoint.

Because of her sharp mind, she is often compared with Eta in terms of intellect, though Eta is still the top in raw genius.

Even so, Beta learns quickly, adapts well, and can handle high-level strategic or cultural tasks beyond combat.

In the public eye, Beta is known as Natsume Kafka, a popular novelist whose works are bestsellers across many demographics.

She writes in a wide variety of genres: fairy tales, romances, dramas, and more.

Many of her hit books are essentially adaptations or “localizations” of stories from Earth, taught to her by Cid Kagenou.

These include reimagined versions of fairy tales, classic literature, and other narratives, which she recasts in her world’s setting.

When she published these works, they became enormous hits and made her a celebrity.

As Natsume Kafka, she has strong connections with aristocrats, cultural elites, and the staff of the major newspaper “Yominichi Newspaper Association.”

Through those contacts, she gains access to non-public information that never reaches ordinary citizens.

This makes her Natsume identity a powerful intelligence-gathering tool for Shadow Garden.

Her eyewear as a child and as Natsume Kafka consists of non-prescription glasses worn purely for style.

They subtly reinforce her image as a calm, intellectual author.

Because of her intel network, Beta becomes aware of the background behind Alexia Midgar’s fake relationship with Shadow (Cid).

She knows Alexia Midgar’s role in that affair and strongly dislikes her for it.

She is particularly angered by Alexia Midgar’s tendency to treat Cid like a dog in private.

She is also jealous of the “lover” act Alexia Midgar played with him, even if it was just a cover.

On the other side, Alexia Midgar, as a reader of Natsume Kafka, sees Natsume as a “phony, two-faced woman,” sensing something off about her.

This mutual dislike leads to subtle, under-the-surface verbal sparring whenever they meet, even as they maintain a polite exterior.

Despite all this, Beta never reveals her true identity to Alexia Midgar.

Instead, she forms a friend-like relationship with both Alexia Midgar and Rose Oriana, working alongside them without them realizing who she really is.

Over time, seeing Alexia Midgar’s true emotions and resolve makes Beta soften slightly.

She comes to feel that, if circumstances and their starting positions had been different, they might not have been such a bad pair at all.

Beta is considered one of the most beautiful members of Shadow Garden, especially in terms of her body proportions.

This draws intense jealousy from Epsilon, who has a far more petite natural build.

From Beta’s perspective, she sees Epsilon as unbearably well-endowed due to Epsilon’s magical body-shaping—something Beta has not realized is artificial.

To outsiders, it often looks like Beta is the one feeling inferior to Epsilon, even though the reality is the opposite.

Epsilon’s one-sided hostility is partly due to her obsession with Beta’s naturally large chest.

Beta, in turn, gradually develops a competitive mindset toward Epsilon, especially since they both fiercely adore Shadow.

Their rivalry plays out frequently in subtle or comedic confrontations.

In the anime, their bickering is shown as such a common sight that other characters barely react anymore.

In the kingdom of Oriana’s artistic circles, Beta (as Natsume Kafka) and Epsilon are regarded as two rising giants of the arts.

They are often mentioned together as the twin stars of the new cultural scene.

Despite their rivalry, their childhood relationship shows they are not truly enemies.

They used to go shopping for clothes together, and Beta would receive fashion and appearance advice from Epsilon.

Originally, Beta was an introverted, gentle girl who found violence deeply distressing.

When she first joined Shadow Garden, even though their enemies were Diabolos Cult members, killing them caused her serious mental pain.

She would wake at night from nightmares, unable to sleep, haunted by bloodshed.

This experience left her with a lingering aversion to the color red.

Even later, when she draws pictures or paints, she tends to avoid using red.

The trauma never fully leaves her, though she functions well in combat thanks to training and mental support from Shadow.

Shadow’s storytelling not only rekindled her love of literature but also became a kind of therapy.

By re-framing the world through stories, she found a way to live with what she had done and move forward with purpose.

Within Shadow Garden, Beta is said to have the largest bust among the main female members.

This fact is not only a running point of comparison with Epsilon, but also a tactical asset.

She is not above using her figure to conduct honey traps when an operation requires it.

By wearing outfits that emphasize her cleavage, she can lure targets into relaxing and talking more freely.

In intelligence missions, this combination of charm, acting, and physical appeal is extremely effective.

Beta herself treats it almost like another “role” she plays, much like Natsume Kafka.

Beta is highly intelligent, though not quite at Eta’s super-genius level.

She can quickly analyze situations, improvise social strategies, and manage multiple layers of identity.

During the Oriana Kingdom incident, she briefly reached modern Japan—Cid’s original world.

Despite only spending a few days there, she managed to study Japanese and learn to speak it in broken but functional form.

Because of this quick linguistic acquisition, she later becomes the caretaker of Akane Nishino (coded as No. 712) when bringing her into Beta’s own world.

Her language skills and cultural adaptability make her invaluable in cross-world situations.

During the turmoil in the Oriana Kingdom, a phenomenon known as the Black Rose created a passage.

When Shadow leapt into it, Beta followed without hesitation.

This portal led to Cid’s original world—the “real world” Earth he came from.

There, Beta and Shadow moved under the guise of being siblings, allowing them to operate without drawing undue suspicion.

In that world, Beta encounters Akane Nishino and eventually brings her back to their own world.

This cross-world action underscores Beta’s loyalty and her readiness to follow Shadow literally across dimensions.

In the second season of The Eminence in Shadow anime, she is shown stunned with the other Shadow Garden members as Shadow is swallowed by a vortex to the real world.

Although she does not appear on-screen in that world in the main anime, the comedy spin-off “Kage-jitsu! Second” reveals that she disappeared together with Shadow, consistent with the original story where she travels to his original world.

At the end of volumes 1–4 of the original light novels, Beta’s writings appear under the title “Shadow-sama Chronicles.”

These are her personal, often romanticized accounts of Shadow’s heroic deeds.

They blend factual events with heavy dramatic flair, embellishing his presence, dialogue, and feats.

In many ways, they are both in-universe fanfiction and a narrative mirror showing how Shadow is seen through the eyes of his most devoted follower.

These chronicles began as a way for Beta to preserve her memories and resolve.

By recording Shadow’s actions, she ensures she will never again lose sight of the path he showed her.

Monster Strike Collaboration

Beta appears as a playable character in a collaboration event for the mobile game Monster Strike held in late November 2023.

She is obtainable from the premium gacha banner “The Eminence in Shadow,” alongside Shadow and Alpha.

Her attribute in-game is Water.

Her Strike Shot can halve the remaining Strike Shot cooldown of allied characters, giving her a strong support role.

At first, she did not see much use in the wider game meta.

However, with the release of “Castle of Heavenly Demons – Aerial Garden,” she became an optimal pick for the Eighth Chamber.

Players developed a strategy informally dubbed the “Beta Loop.”

In this setup, multiple Betas equipped with three “Faint” fruits repeatedly stun the boss and continually shorten Rimuru’s percentage-damage Strike Shot, allowing rapid, looped HP reduction.

Isekai Quartet 3

Beta also appears in Isekai Quartet 3, a crossover comedy anime uniting multiple isekai series.

Her voice actress, Inori Minase, also plays Rem from Re:Zero, who was already part of the original Isekai Quartet cast.

In promotional visuals for season 3, Beta and Rem appear side by side, both holding tubas.

This visual pairing highlights the shared voice actress and their connection within the crossover.

Another meta detail is that Overlord, also part of Isekai Quartet, features a character named Lupusregina Beta, a warrior with the “Beta” designation.

This parallel led to further in-jokes and even a 2023 April Fools collaboration where both “Betas” interacted, each having disappointed their respective masters at some point.

In Beta’s first Isekai Quartet 3 appearance (episode 2), she appears confused about the sudden cross-world transfer.

When she calls out to Alpha, another Alpha (from a different world) responds, and when “Alpha” (from The Eminence in Shadow) calls Beta, Lupusregina Beta reacts as well—deliberately playing up the name confusion for comedy.

Alpha: Fellow member of the Seven Shadows and her superior as First Seat.

Beta respects Alpha deeply and often works closely with her on Shadow Garden missions.

Epsilon: Rival in both beauty and artistic reputation.

Their relationship swings between frenemy cooperation and constant competitive banter.

Eta: Fellow intellectual; Beta is highly capable but recognizes Eta’s genius tier.

They complement each other when it comes to technology, analysis, and planning.

Rose Oriana: Publicly, Beta interacts with Rose as Natsume Kafka in upper-class and literary circles.

Privately, Rose becomes entwined in Shadow Garden’s activities, and Beta quietly aids her while hiding her true allegiance.

Akane Nishino (No. 712): A girl from Cid’s original world whom Beta helps bring over to their world.

Thanks to learning Japanese during her short stay on Earth, Beta becomes Akane Nishino’s caretaker and cultural guide.

Beta’s use of Earth literature via Cid’s stories has an amusing meta edge.

Cid internally laments that she has almost outright plagiarized Earth classics, muttering in his mind, “Beta, I’m disappointed in you,” even though he himself gave her those tales.

This joke later inspired a crossover gag with Lupusregina Beta from Overlord, whose master once said a similar line: “Lupusregina, I’m disappointed in you.”

The parallel “disappointed in Beta” theme became a running meme across fans of both series.

Despite her tendency to embellish and dramatize, Beta’s accounts remain one of the richest in-universe perspectives on Shadow.

Her blend of devotion, intelligence, jealousy, and literary flair makes her one of the most colorful and beloved members of the Seven Shadows.