Volume 1, Chapter 13 – There Are No Good Succubi

“Hmm…”

Remedios frowned slightly, her gaze shifting back and forth between Stella’s cool expression, which she was forcing herself to maintain, and the silver-framed book in her arms.

She stared at Stella’s utterly unruffled face. A trace of confusion flickered through her blue eyes before swiftly transforming into an awestruck look of sudden realization.

“I see…”

The long silence left Stella’s palms covered in a fine layer of sweat.

‘Kill this demon to silence her. Maybe I really should kill this demon.’

‘N-No, no, no… No matter how I look at it, killing her is going way too far.’

After thinking it over, Stella rejected the idea in the end. Setting aside the question of how she could smoothly dispose of Remedios, she had been a Saintess candidate before this. How could she commit such a vile act against a classmate?

‘It has to be the succubus elixir affecting me!’

Stella lamented how convenient it would be if she knew some kind of spell that could wipe memories clean. If all else failed, she could always find an opportunity to deliver a memory-erasing iron fist to the back of Remedios’ head.

‘Hmm… Wait. Purifying a succubus with Holy Light didn’t seem like it would count as an evil act either?’

“I understand now…!”

Remedios suddenly spoke, the end of her sentence carrying a faint tremor.

It was excitement.

She stepped forward. The soles of her leather shoes ground against the paper ash with a faint crunch. Her eyes locked directly onto Stella as she slowly uttered a word.

“Saintess.”

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Hearing it, Stella was utterly shocked and flustered.

‘Logically speaking, there is absolutely no way Remedios could have reached that conclusion, so how could she…’

She hadn’t even officially passed the public service exam yet, and her undercover career was already going to end in its very first week?

In theory, Stella had already mentally prepared herself to face this kind of ending, but she had never imagined it would come this early. Her heart was wound so tight that it felt like a taut violin string, trembling without pause.

So far, the only evidence against her was that she possessed a book from the Holy See. On top of that, Remedios definitely couldn’t read the title Primordial Doctrine, so Stella had no idea how this succubus girl with the Hundredfold Wisdom trait had seen through her.

While Stella racked her brains trying to figure out exactly where she had slipped up, Remedios interrupted her first, speaking almost as though she were singing.

“Darkfallen, your target is the Saintess, isn’t it?”

“…What?”

Stella was stunned. Her mind went blank for an instant, completely unable to follow Remedios’ train of thought.

Yet in Remedios’ eyes, that reaction became silent confirmation.

“You only got the idea of hunting the Saintess after listening to Professor Novina’s Spellcraft class, right?”

“…”

‘My target is to hunt the Saintess?’

‘I’m hunting myself?’

‘What in the world is this…’

Truth be told, Stella was no longer panicking. Her powerful survival instincts and acting skills had already begun to kick in.

Rеаd οո ΚαtRеaԁіոgСafе

She had more or less grasped Remedios’ logic now.

Although she wasn’t Remedios, Stella had already spent quite a bit of time face-to-face with her. Combined with the current situation, she had finally figured out exactly where the wisdom in Hundredfold Wisdom was supposed to be.

This so-called Hundredfold Wisdom probably meant being exceptionally skilled at piecing together a pile of random information and arriving at a conclusion that had absolutely nothing to do with the truth…

‘Succubi really are all way too weird!’

“So that’s why you came all the way to the restricted section to borrow a book from the Holy See, so you could figure out the best way to strike and claim the Saintess’ pure Holy Light power for yourself!”

Remedios’ breathing grew slightly quicker with excitement.

“The Saintess’ power… I originally thought I was the only one salivating over it, but it turns out you’re the same.”

“Though when I think about it, that’s only natural. There’s no way a genius succubus of your level of evil wouldn’t be interested in the Saintess.”

“An SSS+ abstinent-type genius, a student specially favored by the Vice Principal… How could you possibly be satisfied with small-time antics inside the Academy?”

“Your ambitions are far grander than we imagined, and far more… evil.”

‘I absolutely cannot deny it!’

‘This misunderstanding might be absurd, but it is ten thousand times better than admitting I am the Saintess!’

At least she no longer had to consider silencing her.

Come to think of it, this genius label was way too useful.

Stella quickly adjusted her expression. A look of appreciation at having her scheme seen through appeared in her aster-colored eyes, mixed with a trace of displeasure.

“…Heh.”

Rеad οո KatRеаⅾіոɡСаfе

She gave an ambiguous chuckle, neither admitting nor denying anything as she leisurely tucked Primordial Doctrine deep inside her cloak.

“Remedios, being too clever sometimes means seeing things you were never meant to see.”

Unexpectedly, however, Remedios didn’t become afraid. Instead, she walked right up to Stella and put on a somewhat pleading expression.

“I ask that you let me become your accomplice in hunting the Saintess, Darkfallen.” Remedios pleaded.

“…A-Accomplice?” Stella blinked her aster-colored eyes in confusion.

“My target is also the Saintess. I hope you can understand, but I absolutely don’t mean that I want to become your rival. Quite the opposite. I want to join your evil plot.”

As though she had finally found her motivation, Remedios began explaining why she was here.

“I only came up with the idea because I’m trying to find a way to lift the curse of dark cursecraft afflicting my elder sister. I borrowed History of Dark Cursecraft to investigate the source of the curse as well, but I’ve never made any progress. With a Saintess, though, everything would be completely different.”

Stella’s heart stirred slightly, and a sense of responsibility welled up within her.

‘Lifting a curse, saving a loved one…’

‘Remedios, you really are a good girl—’

“Professor Novina explained that the flesh and blood of a Saintess is the most precious tonic for all monsters like us, and also the finest curse-breaking stone.”

As Remedios continued speaking, a bloodthirsty expression appeared on her face.

“As long as we do what the professor said, corrupt the Saintess, harvest her flesh and blood, defile her soul, then finally drain her blood, chop her into pieces, and sacrifice her…”

“…”

All the color drained from Stella’s face as she listened.

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She had forgotten Remedios belonged to the House of Terror and Slaughter.

‘Fine. I take back what I said. There are no good succubi.’

Remedios continued. “This kind of reason is very common. You can rise above everyone through your talent, while I can only rack my brains for ways to achieve my goal. Maybe you think what I’m pursuing is boring… Please feel free to laugh at me.”

“Not at all, really… If it’s such a commonplace reason, that only proves there are many people who can’t simply ignore it. How could I possibly laugh at a choice you made seriously?”

Perhaps her occupational habits were acting up again, because Stella gently took Remedios’ hand.

“…Thank you. You really are considerate.”

Remedios thanked her with tears welling in her eyes, while the corner of Stella’s eye twitched nonstop.

‘Remedios, the Saintess you’re searching for is standing right in front of you…’

Translator Note

HAHAHAHA Remedios’ way of thinking is so absurd xD

Want to cure her sister, but her thought is filled with nothing but slaughter LOL

And also, Stella thinking of silencing her classmate is proof that her pure mind has started to corrupt…! ><