Volume 2, Chapter 25-3 – The New Saintess

As for herself…

There was probably no point hoping to take the Saintess examination again.

Still, failing to become a Saintess was not necessarily a bad thing. The spy mission in the Abyss gave her a much broader path forward. By comparison, Stella preferred the grand promise the Inquisitor had dangled before her, that once the mission ended, she would return and be promoted directly to Cardinal.

Even if it was merely an honorary position, at least the salary would be generous. She would no longer have to wake up at four every morning for morning prayers, nor would she have to continue enduring harsh daily cultivation.

Looking back, those really had been miserable days. She could not even eat her fill and had been forced to sneak offerings just to get enough food.

A little chocolate clung to Stella’s lips, and she lightly licked it away.

Of course…

That was assuming she could survive long enough in the Demon Realm, where some absurd melodrama seemed to unfold every single day.

“Come to think of it…”

Stella narrowed her eyes slightly.

Even now, she still could not understand why Itheria had sent a half-baked candidate like her all the way to a hellhole like the Abyss.

Compared with everything else, was the infiltration mission she had been given really that important?

Important enough to justify deploying a candidate Saintess?

Stella could not figure it out.

She rarely even needed to proactively contact the Inquisitor and report anything. Most of the time, Itheria arranged everything in advance, and Stella only needed to carry out the instructions.

It looked as though Itheria was planning something, but Stella had no idea what.

First she had been ordered to steal the Primordial Doctrine. Then came the Eye of the Black Mass. And now there was some inexplicable felonious demon thrown into the mix.

There were too many things she did not understand. Her mind was as blank as a sheet of white paper, leaving her with no way to make sense of it. In any case, she might as well start with what she could do.

That was what Stella thought.

She sat down beside the desk and casually took out the Primordial Doctrine that she always carried with her.

That reminded her. She ought to check what exactly this book was supposed to be.

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“It’s not like I can sleep right now anyway.”

She casually pressed her thumb against the cut edge of the pages, applied a little pressure to bend the spine, then suddenly let go.

Flap.

There was none of the resistance she had expected, where the pages would seize up as soon as she reached the second page.

The pages bounced and slid past one after another like white feathers scattered by the wind.

Far too smoothly.

‘“..?”

Stella was speechless.

‘Since when could I flip through this entire book?’

Last time, it had clearly stopped on the second page containing Holy Light Eruption. No matter how hard she tried, the pages beyond it had refused to budge, as though they had been sealed together with some incredibly powerful glue.

‘Now… the restriction has been lifted?’

Was it because of the changes to the Holy Light inside her? Or because of that inexplicable Pale Power? Surely it could not have been because of the Lionheart Society’s murderous Holy Communion?

Stella flipped all the way to the end.

Blank.

Every page was blank.

Other than the first two pages, which contained clearly written Holy Arts, the entire Primordial Doctrine was like an elaborately packaged prank. There was absolutely nothing inside, not even a single punctuation mark.

“…”

The corner of Stella’s mouth twitched.

‘What the hell?’

‘This was the treasure the Inquisitor had acted so mysteriously about and ordered me to steal?’

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‘A beautifully packaged book of blank pages?’

If not for the fact that this book had genuinely helped her quite a bit in the past, Stella really would have thrown it into the fireplace as firewood.

What use were blank pages besides turning the thing into her diary?

Stella puffed out her cheeks indignantly, picked up a quill, and crookedly wrote a line across one of the blank pages, treating it as a way to vent her dissatisfaction with her superior.

【Just you wait, Itheria.】

【One day, I will lead a million iron cavalry of the Abyss back to the Holy City, trample down the gates of the Chalk Monastery, burn your office to ashes, and then hang you from a streetlamp…】

【All to repay you for the funding you withheld from me!】

After writing it, she prepared to close the book and go to sleep.

However, just as she was about to shut the pages.

Stella’s crimson eyes suddenly froze.

The ink had not even dried yet, but the words she had written vanished without a trace.

Immediately afterward.

A new line of text slowly emerged across the blank page.

「Grand ambition confirmed.」

「Greetings, Holder.」

「According to your request, the ‘March Against the Holy City’ plan has been generated. Planning the first-stage marching route for you now…」

“…?”

The hand Stella was holding the quill with trembled, and a drop of ink fell onto the desk with a splat.

‘What the hell is this?’

‘The Primordial Doctrine is responding to what I wrote?’

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‘This thing actually is not useless junk meant to prop up a table leg?’

‘Wait…’

‘But what exactly is it responding to?’

‘…What the hell is this ‘March Against the Holy City’?!’

“W-Wait!”

Stella panicked and jabbed the tip of the quill back onto the paper, hurriedly writing an explanation beneath that line.

【No, no, no, you’ve misunderstood!】

【I was only joking! It was a rhetorical device, a metaphor! I don’t actually want to lead an army back there! I’m a good person! I’m a candidate Saintess!】

The Primordial Doctrine stopped writing.

After a brief pause…

「Even within private records, you constantly disguise your intentions in order to mislead hidden enemies. As expected of you, far-sighted Holder. Your caution is worthy of admiration. The Primordial Doctrine shall loyally serve you. Now, let us discuss how to march against the Holy City.」

“Admiration my ass!”

Stella nearly snapped the quill in half.

Why couldn’t this stupid book understand human language?

【I’m really an undercover agent! I’m with the Holy See!】

Unwilling to give up, Stella continued furiously writing across the page.

「Future phased plan confirmed, Holy See undercover agent.」

The handwriting emerging across the page remained as elegant and composed as ever.

「An absolutely flawless cover identity. Using the enemy’s own system to dismantle them from within is the most efficient form of revenge. Your wisdom shines like the solar corona.」

「Now… let us continue planning your grand ambition.」

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‘It is over.’

There was no explaining this.

Stella suddenly felt as though words had completely stopped working. She had no idea how she was supposed to explain herself. Every single thing she wrote seemed to be twisted into yet another part of some elaborate scheme.

No matter what she said, this stupid book would automatically imagine it as another step in her plan to march back home and wage war.

「Since the grand ambition has now been established, March Against the Holy City…」

「Then please begin by consolidating and expanding the forces already under your command.」

「Current available troop assessment: Lionheart Society (12 members), Valentine Blackthorn Guard (temporarily unavailable), human… mm, human slave (1).」

「Assessment: Forces are meager, but a single spark can start a prairie fire!」

Stella’s vision went black.

‘Is this ever going to end?!’

Translator Note

OHHH!!! I LIKE THAT BOOK!! XD

Does that mean it guarantees the double agent moment?!

Well, maybe not exactly granting a wish, but it can plan it out, right?

Anyway, the raw uses the bracket 【】 for everything written on paper. But since that book seems to have sentience, then I changed the bracket to 「」 for the text written by the Primordial Doctrine itself.

I hope it can be easier for you to differentiate between the text written by Stella and the book on it.

…And I hope I don’t forget to change it in the future chapters too