James Ratri

James Ratri (ジェイムズラートリー), professionally known as William Minerva, was the 35th head of the famous Ratri clan and the person who made the truce with the Demons. He is also the creator of the Promised Pen and the one who built Shelter B06-32 and Goldy Pond. His current whereabouts are unknown.

History
James Ratri was the 35th head of the Ratri Clan, who were tasked with maintaining the balance of between the human and demon worlds.

Even though James had responsibilities to the demon and human worlds, he could not stand by and watch the cruel savagery inflicted on the humans used as livestock. James secretly began a revolution and sealed a "New Promise" to help the children some point in the past.undefinedHe began his plan by gathering allies and building safe havens like Goldy Pond.

At a certain point in time, Phil discovered that all the books in the library at the Grace Field House contain some kind of secret message hidden in them. Telling the children to "run from the house, because there is danger lying ahead of them." James left these clues behind to give the children an opportunity to change their upcoming future. These clues are in the form of secret coding which the children call Minerva's Morse Code. James also left multiple letters behind. One for the children living inside Grace Field House and one for the Glory Bell orphanages, and one hidden in a book in the library inside Shelter B06-32, telling the children to head towards Goldy Pond.

James Ratri also left a pen behind for Sister Krone with the initials WM on it, implying that the initials stand for William Minerva, his alias which he used while writing his books. This pen has multiple functions: It can be used as a map to know your current location. It can be used as a simple pen to write with and it can be used as the only key to a secret shelter. It is later discovered that Minerva made multiple pens because the Shelter B06-32 Unnamed Man and Lucas used another pen to enter the secret shelter when they escaped the orphanage they were living in.

Someday in the past, James built Goldy Pond with the intentions for children to lead a happy, safe life, far away from demons. Inside Goldy Pond, hidden in a windmill lies a secret passage that leads to a door which has the same sign on it as the books in the Grace Field House and the hologram which appears out of the pen. This door is called Minerva's door. Inside it is a big monitor room that can control everything inside Goldy Pond. From the temperature to the air pressure and so on. In the next room is a big, blue cave-like structure with a huge Golden Lake in it. It is called the Golden lake because of the color of the water which appears to be golden. In the lake is a floating island with a cabin on top of it and inside is an elevator that leads to the human world, however, the elevator was sabotaged by a turncoat ally of his, and was rendered unusable. This person appeared to be his own brother, Peter Ratri who tries to stop James. However, several other entrances exist in the plantations of Grace Field House, Glory Bell, Grand Valley, and Goodwill Ridge. James also gave three choices in a telephone message he inserted in case of sabotage, one could call for the support of William's revolutionaries, if the individual declined, he or she could begin an uprising against the demon forces with their group and destroy the promise. And if the individuals denied either option, James gave a third option, "look for the seven walls."

Appearance
James Ratri's profile was never revealed in the manga and it is not even known to the public whenever he is alive or not. But some little things are known about his appearance. He is a tall man, who is almost always seen wearing a suit with a black tie and a hat. On several occasions, he is seen holding a cane. It is later revealed that he was indeed a tall man, with white hair and blue eyes, he also appears to be a lot taller then his younger brother, Peter, but aside from that the two of them look the same. However, this was how James and Peter looked like in 2031, years prior to the start of the series. Their current appearance, however, remains a mystery.

Personality
James is an individual with a deep sense of shame for his and the actions of the Ratri family. His revolution was birthed out of a longing to bring justice to the demons and change the world for the better. He is a complex and intelligent man, leaving hints behind for children to survive the plantations and escape and also the option of leaving the demon world. He even went as far to endanger his own well-being and life when he tried to help the children by building safe heavens like Goldy Pond.

Demons
He worked for the demons and supplied them with a lot of literature to use in the orphanages. However, these were just tools to help the children escape and he only worked together with the demons to begin the revolution and change the harshness of the world.

Peter Ratri
The two of them originally had a good brotherly-bond. Peter even agreed with James his way of thinking for a while because he thought that it was better. This seemed to be a facade when Peter revealed that he was just pretending to agree with James his plans. Peter even went as far to take James his title of the 35th head of the family and claim it himself. He then ordered his underlings and the rest of his clans to kill his own brother, implying the hostility between the two.

Trivia

 * In the colored front page of Chapter 18, James Ratri is seen delivering the orphans of Plant 3 Christmas gifts, being dressed as Santa Claus.
 * It is likely that William Minerva's name originates from the Ancient Roman Goddess Minerva. Minerva is the Goddess of poetry, medicine, wisdom, strategic warfare, commerce, weaving, and the crafts. Like William, she is also commonly depicted and symbolized with her Owl, "The Owl of Minerva."