Volume 3, Chapter 5-1 – An Exiled Dragon Needs No Tombstone

Stella was gradually beginning to understand that demons’ prejudices were like a mountain. No matter how hard she tried, she could forget about ever moving it.

She had only wanted to dissolve the club just now.

She had clearly almost succeeded. She had already made it clear that she was a traitor, and she had been just about to get furiously thrown out.

Remedios really was such a good sister to her.

So good that she had put Stella over the fire to roast, then casually tossed another piece of firewood onto the flames.

“…So, President.”

Patolize’s voice pulled Stella back to reality.

The emerald-haired succubus Prefect stepped forward, her expression earnest and solemn, like a soldier awaiting her general’s orders.

“Please give us your command.”

Stella: “…”

Everyone’s gazes snapped toward her in unison.

Their eyes were like those of warriors, fearless and unwavering. Once they set their sights on a goal, they would keep marching toward it. They wouldn’t fear stumbling over obstacles, and nothing could make them change their minds.

Hotter than they had been a month ago, firmer than they had been a month ago, and even more…

Terrifying enough to make her want to run.

Stella finally understood. After Remedios had poured so much fuel onto the fire, she could forget about ever shaking off the Lionheart Society again.

Stella even felt as though her heart had developed a kind of inertia.

Once she had crossed that hurdle in her heart, she might as well smash the cracked jar completely and let herself sink all the way down with the momentum. Who told the Abyss to be such a mess?

This time was no different.

“Ahem…”

Stella cleared her throat.

“As for the order I’m giving you…”

Rеαԁ оո КαtReaⅾiոɡСаfе

The words caught in her throat and refused to come out.

‘What order could I possibly give them?’

‘I haven’t even figured out what I will eat for dinner tonight.’

But the atmosphere had already been built up this far. If she didn’t say something and find something for this bunch of overly energetic succubi to do, heaven knew whether they would come up with some even more outrageous plan on their own.

‘No.’

‘I have to think of something.’

They didn’t actually need to undertake some grand cause like changing the Abyss. She just needed somewhere to redirect all the energy these succubi had nowhere to spend.

Otherwise, with how fired up they currently were, they would cause trouble sooner or later.

The current school Administrator, Lavinia Samael, was a member of the Nexus Council’s investigation team, an informant sent by one of the Seven Elector families.

If the Lionheart Society started causing trouble inside the school and they were discovered, sooner or later it would implicate both Stella and Gehenna.

Gehenna had only just said that she would shelter her. Stella could hardly turn around and start digging pits for her Master to fall into, could she?

But…

What should she do?

If only there were somewhere that could divert the attention of this bunch of overly energetic succubi. Preferably somewhere a little farther from the school, where they could make a mess without causing any major trouble.

And it also had to be suitably grand for the heir of the Valentine family, otherwise it would be difficult to fool them.

A thought suddenly flashed through Stella’s mind.

The No. 3 intersection on Nightmare Street.

Blood Demon Manor.

The mansion Vivian had given her.

Although Gehenna had strictly forbidden her from going to Nightmare Street, Stella herself didn’t have to go. She could simply send the Lionheart Society there instead.

Rеаԁ оո ΚαtRеаⅾіոɡСafе

Stella’s eyes lit up.

‘That’s right!’

‘Isn’t there a ready-made place right here?’

‘Didn’t the succubi of the Lionheart Society want to serve me?’

‘Didn’t they want to change the Abyss?’

‘Then they could start with construction!’

She could send them off to Nightmare Street and dress it up as establishing a stronghold, while in reality having them clean the place, unclog the drains, and trim the garden. It would burn off their excess energy, keep them away from Lilith School, and help her take possession of the property while saving her a fortune in cleaning fees.

She might even…

If she was lucky, Blood Demon Manor could start some side business and earn a bit of extra money to replenish her dangerously depleted little treasury?

Even if it didn’t make money, at least she wouldn’t have to keep pouring money into it herself, right?

It was simply multiple benefits in one move, killing three birds with one stone.

As for whether Blood Demon Manor was a haunted house, they could deal with that later.

She wasn’t the one who would be living there anyway.

Stella silently gave herself a thumbs-up in her heart.

That settled it.

Stella cleared her throat and tried her best to look like a general who had carefully considered everything.

“I have received your resolve.”

“But before we truly launch our assault against that rotten Round Table, there is something even more important that must be done.”

Stella stood with her hands clasped behind her back, looking remarkably composed and capable, as though the entire future of the Abyss rested in her hands.

“In the Abyss, strength is certainly important, but if a faction wants to endure and truly possess the power to change anything, fighting and killing alone aren’t enough.”

She paused.

Rеaԁ οո KatRеaⅾіոgСαfе

“We need demon crystals. We need resources. We need a continuous flow of funding.”

Patolize blinked.

“Demon crystals?”

“That’s right.” Stella nodded. “Without sufficient funds, everything else is empty talk. Weapons need to be purchased, intelligence needs to be gathered, connections need to be maintained. Even the food you eat every day costs money.”

The more she talked, the more Stella herself began to feel that it actually made some sense.

“So our first step right now isn’t attacking anyone, nor is it assassinating anyone. It is…”

Stella deliberately drew out her voice.

“…Making money.”

All of them looked at one another.

“President, you mean…”

Patolize asked tentatively.

“I recently acquired a property.”

Stella pulled the deed from her clothes and waved it in front of everyone.

“Blood Demon Manor, located at the No. 3 intersection on Nightmare Street. It covers three thousand square meters and includes a rear garden and an underground wine cellar. Although it has been abandoned for many years, it is still prime real estate where every inch of land is worth gold.”

Then she slapped the deed onto the table.

“This will be the Lionheart Society’s first stronghold, and also our first fulcrum for moving the Abyss.”

“I need you to take possession of it and renovate it, turning it into the Lionheart Society’s first stronghold in the middle layer of the Abyss.”

“And not merely a stronghold.”

Stella narrowed her eyes and began spouting nonsense with a perfectly serious expression.

“I want you to use Blood Demon Manor as a fulcrum to move the commercial landscape of Nightmare Street. Run businesses, make money, and turn the wealth flowing into the Electors’ pockets into bargaining chips in our own hands, piece by piece.”

Reαd оո ΚаtRеаԁіngСаfe

“The economy is a battlefield more brutal and more concealed than swords and blades.”

“Business is like war. What matters most is how much property we can seize from our opponents.”

“Do you understand?”

“Understood!”

Patolize nodded forcefully.

It was the most ceremonious nod Stella had ever seen. One centimeter down, one centimeter back up, then another centimeter down, slow and resolute.

“Economic warfare… I see. So this is the first step we must take?”

“Without a doubt, this is a major historical opportunity. We must turn Nightmare Street into the Lionheart Society’s backyard.”

Looking at the group of succubi who seemed almost intoxicated with excitement, Stella silently looked away.

They bought it?

Alright.

As long as they didn’t cause trouble for her at school.

As for the whole making-money thing…

There was no way a bunch of students could actually turn that broken-down house into some kind of commercial empire and then gobble up the entirety of Nightmare Street, right?

Don’t make her laugh.

Translator Note

I like how this story will going xD