Cherche

**Cherche** is an important character that appears in *Miss Alice is the Devil*. She served as Alice and Nova's caretaker and the castles personal oracle in the underworld. She was considered as Alice's second mother, and served as a major inspiration for her.

## Personality

Cherche is a domestic woman raised on simple values who is good at cooking and sewing, in contrast to her vicious wyvern. This is because, despite being just an Oracle at first, Alice's particular fondness of her led to her duties being combined with those of a servant, with the pressure and suspicion of others forcing her to balance both her attitude and skills in the process.

Though disdainful of her behavior, she's loyal to Alice, deciding to stay with her despite her fall from grace. Having an understanding of her torments, being the only person Alice shows her real self to, she isn't afraid to mock her demeanor when felt needed, something that she admits to actually affect her mood.

She has a bizarre sense of aesthetics, referring to monsters and bugs as cute.

Cherche shares an extremely close bond with her wyvern and has developed an ability to tell what Minerva is feeling or saying by her shrieks. Many conversations and dialogue in general revolve around this bond, with Cherche refusing to treat her mount like a common animal.

She is the scariest person in the series to anger as she tends to threaten people by implying that she will make Minerva eat them all with a smile on her face.

## Abilities

**Magic Card** (魔法の札マジックカード *Majikku Kādo*): A magic used as a holder which revolves around the use of Magic Cards, which can produce a variety of effects, such as generating both abiotic and biotic things. Cherche's cards can be used for offense, with her fighting style having been described as "all-round": she can employ them as long-range weapons by throwing them at her enemies, and has displayed considerable accuracy in doing so; she is also said to be capable of combining her cards to generate particular effects (something which was extensively shown in the anime). Aside from combat, Magic Card seems to possess other avenues for usage: Cherche apparently can track down people to some degree through the cards' use. In addition, the cards can reproduce the effects from a variety of different forms of Magic, such as Water Magic or Sleep Magic, coming in as very versatile, if used the right way. Cherche's cards can also be linked to specific individuals, allowing her to gain information about their status and location, as well as to communicate with them.

* **Shuriken Cards**: Cherche is capable of throwing cards as projectiles at her enemies. These thrown cards seem to possess cutting power, being shown piercing targets as if they were shurikens. Cherche tends to throw several of them at the same time, likely to strike a larger area or to increase the chance to hit. (Unnamed)
* **Cards Volley**: An enhanced ranged attack, in which Cherche throws several cards at once at her target in an arched formation. The barrage is often redirected, so its full effects are unknown. However, the deflected cards hit the ground with enough strength to shatter it, lifting up a cloud of debris, implying that either possesses great blunt power or explosive properties. (Unnamed)
* **Cards Wardrobe**: By having a large amount of her cards float around her and hide her upper body from sight, Cherche was shown capable of changing outfits in mere moments.
* **Sexy Lady Card** (セクシーお姉さんカード *Sekushī Oneesan Kādo*): One of Cherche's single card attacks. She throws a card portraying a curvaceous woman in a skimpy bikini at her target. This will prompt said woman, among others, to come to life from the card, all sporting similar curves and attires. These women will then surround the target and proceed to hug them and rub themselves against them. Opponents who are either attracted by beautiful women or shy when confronted with them are likely to be frozen in place, becoming unable to react properly.
	+ **Woman Wall**: The amount of beautiful women produced by this card is enough for them to create a living wall by stacking themselves one on the other's shoulders, surrounding the target and multiplying the primary seduction effect. While this might be ineffective as a serious form of defense, someone not willing to hurt women might be seriously hindered by it. (Unnamed)
* **The Prayer's Fountain** (祈り子の噴水 *Īnoriko no Funsui*): A single card spell, Cherche places a card on the ground, summoning forth several beams of water from it, which strike in all direction. Cherche warns that the water produced by this card is dangerous to touch, but the effects of touching it are unknown. As the name itself suggests, in the manga the card bears the drawing of a fountain on it; in the anime, however, this was replaced with an abstract drawing, portraying a watery entity with its face appearing from many currents.
* **Sleep Card**: Another single card spell, Cherche pulls out a card portraying a cartoonish, sleeping ram, together with the word "*Sleep*", and activates it with her Magic. Such an action immediately puts the target to sleep. The specific mechanics that are behind the card's usage are unknown, as well as how it works in detail or if there are limitations to its usage, but its basics seem to be the same as Sleep Magic. (Unnamed)
* **Help Alice Card**: A card adorned by a cartoonish drawing of a distressed Alice, plus the word "*Help*" on the top and "*Alice*" on the lower part. The card visibly shines if Alice finds herself in danger and, if need be, a prominent arrow can appear from the card, pointing in Alice's direction, and thus allowing Cherche to pinpoint her location. (Unnamed)
* **Call Card**: A Magic Card bearing a stylized picture of a specific person, which will allow its bearer to communicate with said person. (Unnamed)
	+ **Call Cana Card**: Cherche gave this card to Alice for communication purposes.
* **Thunderbolt's Fate** (落雷の運命 *Rakurai no Unmei*): One of Cherche's multiple card spells, she places three of her cards, the "*Lightning*" (which has multiple, yellow and green lightning on it), "*Reverse Tower*" (drawn as an orange and blue tower, on bright light sky, with yellow clouds) and "*Lovers*" (with black and white cats hugging, and a red heart between them) together in her hand. Those cards interact with each other, striking multiple opponents around her with massive bolts of lightning.
* **Summoned Lightning**: A multiple card spell, Cherche combines three of her cards, "*Heaven*" (a blue and purple card, with a picture resembles mustache man, with a sky circle on his head), "*Reverse Death*" (red, white and black human silhouette drawing on it) and "*Mountain*" (a landscape drawing with multiple green mountains on the blue sky), in her hand, after which green lightning bolts are fired towards her opponent in an arched trajectory. This spell can be used as a trap-oriented version, in which several cards are left on the ground in a circular formation. Everyone who steps foot inside said formation will be electrocuted by green lightning.
* **Explosion Cards**: Cherche's multiple, long distance card spell. She has several unnamed cards seemingly float before her in a curved line. This formation prompts a burst of flames to appear, which is sent flying in her target's direction.
* **Wind Edge**: Cherche's multiple, long distance card spell. She pulls out two cards: "*Heaven*" and one unnamed (with a green, wind-like drawing on it) and combines them in one hand, and with the other one, when she waves it in the direction of the spell, it activates. This action generates an ascending air blast from the ground several meters away from her, which can strike multiple opponents at the same time. (Unnamed)
* **Sun's Strength** (太陽の力 *Taiyō no Chikara*): Cherche's multiple, long distance card spell. She throws a few of the same, unnamed Magic Cards, each with a flame-like drawing on each of them. These cards, after being thrown, change into flame covered bullets which explode upon contact.
* **Icicle**: Cherche's multiple, long distance card spell. She uses three unnamed cards, combines them in her hand, and waves them at her opponent. This creates multiple ice bullets that closely resemble icicles, which both hit and freeze the target.

**Fortune Telling**: Using the very same cards she employs for her Magic Card, Cherche seems capable of reading fortunes, similar to real forms of fortune-telling performed through tarot cards, and appears to be fairly skilled at it, having foreseen Alice would met a special person, something which did happen. Cherche started developing this peculiar ability during her younger days as a young Oracle.

## Equipment

**Magic Cards**: Cherche always carries around with her a deck of cards, which she uses to perform her Magic Card. The back of all these cards bears a dark cross with heart-shaped arms surrounded by an intricate motif, while the front part houses a different image for each of them, reminiscent of those found on real-life tarot cards, of which they are based upon.