Menou

Menou is the protagonist of the light novel series The Executioner and Her Way of Life. A priestess and executioner, Menou is discreetly tasked with assassinating the Lost Ones - summoned otherworlders from Japan capable of causing global catastrophe - with the help of her friend and aide, Momo.

Background
As a child, Menou was the sole survivor of a village turned to dust by a distraught Lost One that was attempting to return to their homeland, Japan. Having no memories except for her name, Menou was rescued by the executioner, Flare, whom she eventually asks to train her as an executioner.

Despite Flare initially deterring her, she accepted Menou as her pupil. Spending several grueling years of training with other girls, many of whom quickly left, the apprentices were taught in a variety of methods to kill the Lost Ones at any cost. After noticing the distress of other girls, especially her younger classmate Momo, Menou requests to become Flare's sole protégée by promising to kill enough Lost Ones in compensation for the other girls. Flare accepts Menou's proposal, and the girls are released from their duties. Despite this, Momo insists on staying by Menou's side as an executioner after developing a bond with her.

Meeting Akari
In the following years, Menou continues working for the Faust and establishes herself as a proficient executioner with Momo as her aide. She is eventually contracted to eliminate another Lost One, Mitsuki Matou, who was illicitly summoned by King Grisarika. Upon earning Mitsuki's trust, Menou learns that the king summoned another Lost One. After Mitsuki tests his ability at the church, which is revealed to be the Pure Concept of Null (the power to nullify physical matter), Menou stabs him in the temple.

After Menou and Momo are attacked by the king's men for eliminating their leverage against the Faust, they seek out the other Lost One, Akari Tokito. Menou disguises herself as a maid with Momo's assistance and infiltrates Akari's room on the pretense of rescuing her from the king. Akari eagerly accepts Menou's plan and explains that her Pure Concept is healing. While escaping together, Menou stabs Akari in the neck, and bewilderedly watches Akari's blood recede back into her body and the wound completely regress. Realizing that Akari's ability is actually the Pure Concept of Time, Menou returns to the church with Akari, who has no recollection of being killed. Menou informs the Faust's leader Archbishop Orwell of the situation, who tells her to bring Akari to the cathedral in the capital Garm to use the unique ceremonial hall for dealing with nearly indestructible otherworlders like Akari.

On the train to Garm, Menou and Akari encounter terrorist hijackers targeting Princess Knight Ashuna Grisarika, who is also travelling to Garm. Menou and Momo disarm several terrorists in separate compartments while the rest are incapacitated by Ashuna. In the engine room, a terrorist reveals to Menou that each member consumed a primary red gem, which absorbs their bodies to form into a Red Knight. Menou defeats the monstrosity, which damaged the control valve and rendered the train's acceleration out of control during the fight. With Akari's ether, Menou manages to prevent the train from colliding.

Orwell greets Menou and Akari upon their arrival. She clarifies that the church will cover the expenses, and requests Menou to investigate the disappearance of multiple young women in Garm while waiting for the preparations to destroy Akari in the next two days. To accommodate her remaining time with Akari, Menou asks Momo to look into the disappearances instead, suspecting that the Noblesse are involved.

Personality
Due to being "blanched" during the destruction of her village, Menou is an "empty shell" with no memories of her past, save for her name. Modeling herself after her mentor Flare, Menou similarly perceives herself as a villain committing necessary evils for the greater good. Serious and reserved, Menou has a strong sense of responsibility and duty carrying out her kills, but expresses remorse for ending innocent lives. Although Menou can be ruthless, she is shown to be gentle and compassionate with others like Momo and Akari, and dreams about being close friends with the people she has killed in another world free from conflict.

In Menou's dream, she refers to an outline of Akari as her "vey best friend", which occurs before actually meeting Akari. Although Menou is initially apprehensive towards Akari's earnest adoration for her, she gradually reciprocates Akari's feelings. Before dying in a previous timeline, Menou thanked Akari as the best companion and friend that she could have wished for.

Abilities

 * Skilled Manipulator: Menou is adept at approaching targets and influencing them.
 * Guiding Enhancement: Menou is a highly proficient user of Guiding Enhancement, a skill that enhances a person's natural strength and speed.
 * Guiding Camouflage: She is also highly skilled in Guiding Camouflage, which can disguise a person as someone else or with their enviroment.
 * Average Ether Capacity: Menou's capacity for ether is average or even below average compared to most priestesses. However, she compensates with meticulously calculated moves without relying on raw strength. She also draws ether from other sources, such as the earthly vein of ether or from Akari's ether when necessary.
 * Exceptional Etheric Control: Although her etheric capacity is average, Menou is extraordinarily skilled at controlling ether in being able to connect the earthly and heavenly veins of ether, which is far beyond what normal people could attempt according to Ashuna.
 * Combat Expert: Menou is highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat, using a dagger concealed in a leather garter on her thigh that contains two crests, Gale and Guiding Thread. While neither of the conjurings are primarily offensive, Menou's use of diversions makes her a formidable foe.
 * Expert Mage: Menou is highly skilled in using ether to fight with magecraft. She carries a scripture like other priestesses but is able to invoke crests without opening them, which is considered to be the mark of an extraordinarily accomplished mage.
 * Menou is able to use other objects with ether, including a coin containing a crest to conjure bubbles.
 * Menou's priestess robes have a crest for conjuring a barrier, helping to defend her against attacks.

Trivia

 * Menou "blanching" is akin to the Lost Ones who eventually lose all of their memories and identity due to the overuse of their powers.
 * She is born on the 24th of March.
 * Pandæmonium emphasizes how similar Mendou's characteristics are to Ivory, the Lost One with the power of blanching that defeated the Four Human Errors.