This is a list of characters in the light novel series The Eminence in Shadow.
Main characters / /
The antihero protagonist. Formerly 17-year-old high school student Minoru Kageno, after dying in a truck accident he is reincarnated in another world as Cid Kagenou, the 16-year-old son of a minor noble family. In order to fulfill his fixation of becoming a mastermind that pulls strings from behind the scenes, he uses his newfound magical abilities to covertly run Shadow Garden, an organization he established to oppose the . Though he initially considers both organizations to be fictional and their members to be mere role-players, he comes to realize that the threat posed by the Cult is real and struggles to fulfill the role has created for himself. As a shut-in and social outcast in both lives, he is oblivious and lacks common sense, with his outlook being shaped by fictional narratives causing him to have a misunderstanding of emotions and situations. He is not strictly good or evil, as he believes in eliminating evil while avoiding harming the innocent and vulnerable, but empathizes with those close to him. He has no interest in nobility, instead preferring the life of a commoner to avoid the unwanted attention that nobility brings, which he views as an obstacle to his goals. He has two main personas: the "mob" persona, in which he seeks to blend in and be looked upon with disdain, to the point where he is no longer considered a person or given any attention and is forgotten. With the other persona, the Shadow persona, he strives to embody the epitome of coolness. This dichotomy is key to his success in deceiving others, as the personas are so different that they suggest he is two separate individuals, and only those close to him, such as Alpha, can see past the facade. Despite his talent and dedication to training, his tendencies interfere with his goals by driving him to act cool. As well, despite his influence through being the lord of Shadow Garden and having connections to others, his delusions prevent him from realizing this.
Cid's character was developed based on author Daisuke Aizawa's own values and experience, as he was once a chūnibyō. According to him, despite his intelligence, Cid's delusions have caused him to be unable to separate them from reality. Cid has several identities he uses throughout the story, including:
A weak-looking fallen aristocrat from the Altena Empire.
Cid's second dalliance don in a FBI black suit, domino mask and finger-less gloves.
A short-lived minor noble from Midgar Academy.
A Pennywise-like serial killer. Jean Pierre A bowler hat food critic.
Cid's older sister, a skilled spellsword who is the top student in her grade. She worries about Cid and his future, wanting him to become stronger because she believes she will die soon due to her possession; unbeknownst to her, she was cured by Cid a long time ago. Although her devotion to him is sometimes obsessive, she truly cares for him and will do anything for him to ensure his happiness. Soon after curing Alpha of her demon possession, Cid notices that Claire is showing signs of the same "possession" and cures her during physical training. During the Crimson Tower invasion arc, Claire is hit with Elisabeth's vampire blood, causing the hero's blood in her to come in contact with the vampire blood, which are actually the two sets of different descendants born from Aurora's blood. Due to possessing both demon and hero blood, this fulfills the condition for Aurora to use her body as a host, which she does due to the debt she feels she owes to Cid for risking his life to protect her and free her from the sanctuary. During the terrorist incident at the Midgar Spellsword Academy, Zeta transfers Diablos' right arm into her to resurrect the demon Diablos in her body, causing her to fall into a coma.
An arrogant and sadistic princess who aims to torment Cid. Though she presents herself as courteous and well-mannered, in reality, she derives pleasure from tormenting others. This stems from her feelings of envy at being compared to her sister, Iris, and her desire for people to see her based on her own merits. In the past, she and Cid dated as an act, but she developed genuine feelings for him while he wanted to end their relationship. After being kidnapped by her egotistical fiancée Zenon and used in a human experiment, Alexia expresses deep concern for Cid. She dislikes Natsume, unaware she's actually Beta from Shadow Garden. Following the events of the Bushin Festival, Alexia chooses to no longer be a mere "bystander" and become strong enough to fight for what she believes in. She is one of the few people besides Shadow Garden members to have personally seen "Shadow" in action. She makes it her goal to finding Shadow Garden's true motives. / (#666)
The princess of the neighboring kingdom of Oriana, which is known for its arts, who later becomes queen with the help of Shadow and the Shadow Garden. She controversially takes up the sword instead of traditional arts and transfers to Midgar Spellsword Academy, where she becomes president of its student council and known for her swordsmanship. Upon discovering her father, King Raphael, had been brainwashed into a puppet by Duke Perv Asshat, Rose mercifully killed her father to prevent a civil war. Her possession soon emerges until Shadow offers Rose the cure. Cid later on left her a ring inserted with Raphael's adoration for Rose. After joining Shadow Garden, she becomes known as 666 along with her teammates 664 and 665; following her defection from Shadow Garden, she remains their associate and they continue working with her undercover as her royal maids and personal bodyguards. She is in love with Cid and is kind and down-to-earth, treating people equally regardless of their status, and wants to settle down and raise a family. After Shadow shows her the truth of her mother's affair with Perv, she takes it upon herself to prove the truth, ultimately succeeding and becoming queen. / (#712)
The sole heiress to the Nishino Zeibetsu, a wealthy conglomerate, and Cid's classmate when he was alive as Minoru, who was reincarnated in the other world. Though she hated him for mispronouncing her name and not paying attention to her, she falls in love with him after he saves her several times. After Japan falls to Magical Beasts, she becomes a "Knight" in the human settlement of Messiah before being recruited by Shadow to join Shadow Garden; however, Cid never considered her more than an acquaintance. During their invasion of Earth, Beta misinterpreted Shadow's intention and kidnapped Akane, bringing her to their world to gain knowledge about the other world. According to the sixth light novel, she was assigned the number 712 as a member of Shadow Garden and, mistakenly believing that Minoru was kidnapped by Shadow Garden and became Eta's test subject, is determined to save him and bring him back to Japan with her.
Shadow Garden is a covert underground organization founded by Cid Kagenou and his first subordinate and disciple, Alpha. While Alpha effectively manages the organization and its subsidiaries, such as Mitsugoshi Co., Cid has absolute authority.
Seven Shadows/Shades The original seven members of the Shadow Garden after Cid, who hold the highest authority positions in the organization due to him personally training and educating them and granting them power. The only known exceptions are Rose, Victoria, Number 711/Millia, and Number 712/Akane Nishino. Cid believes that, once he turned thirteen, they matured and chose to move on with their lives and pity him for his dedication to his fantasies. In reality, they are deeply in love with and devoted to him due to him saving them.
The first member of Shadow Garden and the leader of the Seven Shadows, who is the direct descendant of the elf hero Olivier. When Cid first meets her, she is suffering from demon possession; while experimenting on her, he inadvertently discovers a cure for demon possession. In return for him saving her life, she swears absolute loyalty to him and becomes his second-in-command, recruiting the Seven Shades and leading them in their pursuit of the Cult of Diablos. She has utmost faith in Cid and trusts him deeply, as he is the only one she shows her true self to; in return, she is the Shadow Garden member he shows the most respect to, entrusting her with preparing for missions and informing him of plans. She is also in love with him, and the thought of outliving him leads Cid to increase his lifespan from 200 to 300 so that they have the same lifespan. Alpha is emotionally dependent on Cid, to the extent that, following Cid's presumed betrayal during the counterfeit arc, she planned to commit suicide due to no longer having a purpose in life. Despite this, he is unaware of her feelings for him. /
An elf and the second member of Shadow Garden, who writes 'The War Chronicles of Shadow-sama,' detailing the exploits of Cid in his Shadow persona. Under the pen name Natsume Kafka, she becomes a world-famous author publishing the stories Cid tells her, including popular media like Spirited Away and Spider-Man. As a jack-of-all-trades, she is given the positions of Operations Coordinator and Head of Mission Logistics in Shadow Garden. She is the target of Epsilon secret-self-rivalry in term of Bust Size, due to possess the biggest pair among all Seven Shade. / Luna
An elf and the third member of Shadow Garden, who is known as "the Brain", as, despite being weak both physically and in technique, she is highly intelligent. She holds the positions of Head of Finance and Administration in Shadow Garden and is responsible for the operations of Mitsugoshi Company, the front organization that funds it, under the alias Luna. Cid told her about concepts and products from his world in the form of his "Shadow Knowledge," which she recreates and sells for profit. /
A dog beast-kin girl and the fourth member of Shadow Garden, who is known as "the Glass Cannon" due to being strong and violent, but unintelligent. Being a beast-kin nature, she possesses heightened senses that she uses to track and hunt her targets. She only listens to those stronger than her and has only acknowledged Alpha and Cid as being stronger than her. Many Shadow Garden members consider her its main fighting force due to her ferocity and ruthlessness in battle. / Shiron
An elf and the fifth member of Shadow Garden, who is known as "Precise". She is skilled in the use of the slime bodysuits worn by the organization's members, using it to make her seem tall and busty due to her being insecure about her short and slender figure. In public, she goes under the alias of Shiron, a world-famous pianist and composer who popularized the Moonlight Sonata, which Cid taught her and which she uses to infiltrate influential circles. /
A cat beast-kin and descendant of the legendary "Beast-kin Hero" Lily who is the sixth member of Shadow Garden, who is in charge of the organization's recon and travels the world in search of new sights and products. She disapproves of Alpha's leadership and does not get along with her due to her dedication to eliminating the Cult of Diablos putting them at odds. She secretly creates a sub-branch within Shadow Garden that is loyal to her, with the goal of making Shadow immortal and the god of the new world to ensure that the Cult of Diablos does not return. / Eta Lloyd Wright