Volume 1, Chapter 10 – A Saintess’ Occupational Hazard

Stella was in quite a good mood when she left the classroom.

She had already secured the most crucial sample for the succubus elixir that would determine her life or death. The rest of the materials should be easy enough to deal with too. Once herbology class came around, she just had to keep an eye out and steal them when she got the chance. After that, she could find a washroom somewhere, toss everything into a cauldron, boil it up, and that would be that.

Although she had no idea how long an elixir brewed using materials from a prestigious succubus bloodline would last, or just how effective it would be, it would definitely be better than the one she was taking now.

As for Remedios’ late-night coercion, Stella did not take it entirely to heart.

All she had to do was find some time to visit the restricted section and complete the mission involving the Primordial Doctrine. What kind of accident could possibly happen?

Everything was looking bright!

Now it was Stella’s turn to ponder her next problem.

…What was she supposed to do about the homework Vice Principal Mara had assigned her, the task of seducing five succubi?

Although Mara had never mentioned what the consequences would be if she failed to complete the assignment before Wednesday, considering the extremely troublesome genius persona she was currently maintaining, Stella figured she had better rack her brains for a way to avoid that outcome. Otherwise, if Mara grew suspicious of her, she would be in serious trouble.

Coming up next, the fall of a genius!

Stay tuned.

The second class was Spellcraft. Compared with Vice Principal Mara’s eccentricity, Professor Novina, who taught the course, was clearly much easier to get along with. She was solemn and wise, and rather than diving straight into practical spellcasting, she devoted the entire lesson to explaining the principles of magical power.

As far as Stella was concerned, everything was fine as long as she was not shoved into the spotlight. Yet by the end of the first lesson, she discovered that Professor Novina seemed to harbor considerable hostility toward her, or rather…

Considerable hostility toward Saintesses.

Professor Novina drew an inverted pyramid-shaped spiral on the blackboard.

“The magical power system among monsters is a one-way relationship of predation. Lower races sustain their existence through sacrifice, while higher races refine their magical power by harvesting the life force of lower races.”

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Professor Novina tapped the top of the pyramid, her gaze sweeping across the freshmen below.

“As one of the higher races, succubi are themselves sources of exceptionally pure magical power. Therefore, to the mutated monsters within the Blasphemous Forbidden Forest, you are like bait constantly giving off an enticing fragrance in the darkness. If you are captured by monsters from the Blasphemous Forbidden Forest outside the Academy, they will do everything in their power to stimulate your senses and drain every last drop of magical power from you.”

Stella rapidly took notes in her notebook.

Magical power plundering…

This was an entirely new concept to her.

The Holy See’s Holy Power came from prayer and devotion, nourishment that flowed from within outward. The Demon Realm’s logic, by contrast, followed the law of the jungle through and through.

“Of course, if there is anything in this world even more tempting as a supplement than a succubus’ magical power…”

“That would be a Saintess.”

The fingers gripping Stella’s pen stiffened slightly.

“Those Saintesses who pride themselves on their nobility possess Holy Light within their bodies that is the most precious supplement of all to every monster. Forget tempting them into corruption. Even a small amount of their flesh and blood would allow us to make full use of that pure Holy Light to refine our bloodlines, strengthen our magical power, remove curses…” Professor Novina let out a regretful sigh. “Unfortunately, the Saintesses are all very well protected by the Holy See, making them difficult to find.”

“If any of you ever encounter one, make sure you don’t miss the opportunity.”

For some reason, Remedios, sitting at the neighboring desk, suddenly murmured, “A Saintess… If I really could meet one…”

Even though nothing had actually happened, Stella was already drenched in cold sweat.

‘Had Inquisitor Itheria really made the right decision by sending me here as a spy?’

Fortunately, there were no more classes after that, so Stella could return to her private dormitory, slowly think over Mara’s homework, and catch up on some sleep while she was at it.

Back in her private dormitory, Stella collapsed onto the soft sofa and reopened Basic Principles of Seduction Arts: From Beginner to Mastery (Mara’s Annotated Edition).

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“Control desire, guide the soul…” Stella’s gaze stopped on one line of annotation.

The highest level of seduction is to make the other person develop an infatuation with you that approaches faith itself.

‘Faith?’

Stella stared at that word, and a string in her brain called occupational habit suddenly pulled taut.

The idea she had already been brewing earlier abruptly resurfaced. Inspiration flashed through her mind, and in an instant, an utterly certain conviction sprouted within her, yet she could not quite grasp it.

To confirm the true nature of that flash of inspiration, she flipped through the pages again and checked the contents.

As her mind suddenly began racing, one inference after another formed a staircase.

Wasn’t faith exactly her area of expertise?

Back at the convent, the way those believers looked at the statue of the Saintess and the way Cheryl had looked while kneeling on the floor just now, aside from one wanting to go to heaven and the other wanting to go to hell, fundamentally speaking… weren’t they basically the same?

She remembered now.

Right, hadn’t she already decided what she ought to do ages ago!

“If I turn this place into a prayer room and have them come to me for confession…” Stella looked around, her eyes gradually lighting up. “All I have to do is hold their hands like I used to and say a few things like, ‘The Lord… no, the Abyss will guide you,’ and they’ll become dependent on me. Wouldn’t that count as successfully seducing them?”

Stella smacked herself on the forehead.

She understood.

Succubi relied on seduction arts. She relied on compassion.

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Different paths, same destination!

All she had to do was hang a sign outside tomorrow saying Worry Consultation Room. Wouldn’t five mind-control slots practically fall right into her lap?

But most importantly, the Holy Light was right there inside Stella’s heart, shining with the brilliance of a thousand suns!

“…Alright, I’m doing it!”

Stella’s eyes shone, brimming with motivation.

The moment she finished speaking, she immediately put the book down, threw herself onto the bed, pulled the blanket over her head, and prepared to sleep like the dead.

If you stay up all night and don’t catch up on sleep, Stella thought, you’ll get stupid. People need sleep.

Stella did not sleep soundly.

In her dream, she returned to the convent with several offerings she had just swiped from the altar clutched in her hands. Before she could even enjoy them, she was surrounded by a group of horned believers.

Instead of crying out for salvation, they raised their voices and chanted, “Lady Stella, please guide us into corruption to your heart’s content!”

Stella was so frightened that she shot upright from beneath the covers.

Outside the window, the blood moon hung high in the sky. Dark-red moonlight slipped through the gaps in the curtains, casting deep shadows across the thick carpet.

Tap, tap.

The sound of knuckles lightly rapping against the window frame came in a steady rhythm.

Stella’s heart tightened. She casually grabbed a black Gothic cloak and wrapped it around her nightgown, then quickly walked over to the window.

She pulled the curtains open, and Remedios’ face, wearing that intellectual smile, came into view.

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Her platinum-blonde hair shimmered faintly in the night as she crouched lightly on the windowsill.

“Good evening, Stella Darkfallen.” Remedios lowered her voice and pointed at her wrist. “Midnight. The time we agreed on has arrived.”

The restricted section.

Stella rubbed her eyes.

She had known Remedios would come. The only question was…

‘Why is she sneaking around by way of the windowsill?’

‘Whatever. This worked out perfectly. I could get Inquisitor Itheria’s job done while I am at it.’

It was nothing more than a little sneaking and stealing. Stella even stole the Lord’s offerings to snack on every few days. She believed she could still face something like this without the slightest fear.

As for things like a Silence Domain and book-spirit guards, they did not sound particularly troublesome either. It was only the restricted section of an Academy library. If they caught students breaking the rules, at worst they would probably give them a verbal reprimand and publicly criticize them by name. What else could they possibly do?

They couldn’t possibly try to kill their own students.

Small matter. All of it was a small matter.

Translator Note

She really thought the teachings for the saintess and the succubus were exactly the same lol