Volume 1, Chapter 15 – Starting a Business Fair and Square

Spycraft Tip No. 5.

No matter how dissatisfied you are inside, you absolutely must maintain a good relationship with your superior and regularly remind them of your existence.

It wasn’t because Stella was worried about being deliberately made to suffer…

Alright, she did have a few concerns in that regard.

The key issue was that within the entire Holy See, Inquisitor Itheria was her one and only direct superior. Whether it was the position she had been promised or her certification as a Saintess, Itheria was also the only person who knew about the entire undercover mission.

Stella didn’t want to finally carve out a place for herself in the world of succubi, only for all her efforts to amount to nothing and leave her unable to even return to her rural convent.

Compared to her current nerve-racking life among succubi, the days at the rural convent had truly been leisurely and blissful. Setting aside certain days to dedicate to God meant she could take things easy while also deepening her faith… The safest way to while away those days was simply to sit there yawning endlessly.

To Stella’s surprise, the moment she returned to her private dormitory, she saw the long-tailed owl perched beside her bed.

The appearance of the long-tailed owl could only mean one thing.

The Inquisitor had sent another letter.

“Having a reliable superior really does put your mind at ease.”

Stella opened the envelope, a relaxed smile gradually appearing on her face.

She had originally thought it would take at least several days of exchanging letters with Itheria to relay intelligence back and forth. Yet Itheria seemed unusually diligent as her direct superior. In that case, surely she would also be able to provide Stella with plenty of logistical support.

Thinking this, Stella took a sip of black tea to catch her breath.

Then, at that exact moment, she saw the first line.

【Finances are tight. Funding cut!!!】

“Pfft!”

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She couldn’t stop herself from spraying out the tea in her mouth.

The handwriting on the letter remained as elegant and neat as ever.

【Considering that the Holy See has recently been rebuilding the spire of St. Peter’s Cathedral, which has indirectly made my budget somewhat tight, and for some unknown reason the black-market exchange rate for Demon Realm currency has also risen sharply, to put it unpleasantly, I can’t send you any more money.】

【As an outstanding undercover operative, I believe you possess exceptional field survival abilities. Therefore, this quarter’s funding has been reduced by 80%. The remaining budget is only enough to cover your tuition. I recommend that you raise funds yourself by obtaining an Academy scholarship or taking part-time work in the Demon Realm. Not only will this train your disguise, it will also allow you to integrate even more deeply into demon life!】

“Itheria… you really are such a wonderful superior.”

Stella’s expression twitched.

Seriously, her face was fucking grim.

She had been trembling with nerves in class, enduring the book-spirit guard’s metal-plated decapitation attacks, and playing psychological games with a Hundredfold Wisdom succubus, only for her superior to tell her that because the roof back home needed renovating, her food allowance in the Demon Realm was being docked.

Stella felt that having any expectations of Itheria had been far too naive.

What kind of spy had their funding slashed by this much in one go? Lilith Academy was an aristocratic school in the Demon Realm. The succubi studying there were all nobles, and the cost of living was several levels higher. Without funding, she would starve to death before her identity was even exposed.

‘Wait…’

‘Didn’t I still have that exclusive scholarship Vice Principal Mara had established for me?’

In an instant, Mara’s icy face transformed into a warm scholarship in Stella’s eyes.

Granted, obtaining the scholarship required her to maintain the genius persona Mara expected of her, but in the end, were succubi actually more generous than the Holy See?

‘Damn succubi. They were actually using a financial offensive to tempt me…’

After letting out a deep sigh, Stella continued reading.

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【By the way, you should have obtained the fragment of Primordial Doctrine by now. The objective remains unchanged. Stay undercover. The pages are bound by an ancient seal and require the faith of another to open. Find a way to copy down the text written inside. As far as I know, it records quite a few lost Holy Light spells. Learning them will greatly improve your strength.】

【Believe in the Lord, praise the Lord, celebrate the Lord!】

【See you, your Itheria.】

Something stirred in Stella’s mind. As usual, she burned the letter to ashes.

She was already aboard the pirate ship. What else could she do?

Still, Itheria had mentioned lost spells. Maybe they could help with Stella’s current situation?

But what the hell did “the faith of another” mean?

Stella took Primordial Doctrine out from inside her clothes. She took a deep breath, gripped the edge of the pages, and tried to force them open.

They didn’t budge in the slightest.

She increased her strength until she could faintly hear the muffled sound of the cover rubbing under the pressure.

…It wouldn’t open.

After confirming that brute force was useless, Stella gave up and calmly sat down on the sofa to take stock of her current situation.

The potion ingredients still hadn’t been gathered. Refining it was urgent.

She hadn’t even started Vice Principal Mara’s assignment.

Principal Gehenna’s bloodline inspection hung over her like the sword of Damocles ¹ An idiom that describes a constant, looming threat of disaster or a precarious situation where a person faces sudden peril at any moment. .

And then there was her accomplice relationship with Remedios…

She had thought she had finally found her footing, yet the road ahead was still completely bleak. Now she not only had to worry about how to disguise her bloodline, she also had to worry about how she was going to afford breakfast tomorrow.

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A strange feeling suddenly welled up inside her.

Was it agitation, anxiety, disgust? It seemed to be all of them, yet also none of them, an unease that went straight to her core.

Just as she had always done whenever she encountered difficulties of this magnitude, Stella knelt beneath the moonlight, lowered her head devoutly, and clasped her hands together.

In a place where no one could notice her, Stella quietly knelt with lowered eyes. Her silver hair slid down along her cheeks, concealing her expression. She pressed her forehead against the space between her clasped hands, her fingertips digging deeply into her palms. She prayed for the road ahead and begged God to help her persevere.

Then she opened her eyes.

Her gaze landed on Basic Principles of Seduction Arts, and in that instant, a startling flash of cleverness struck her, as surprising as seeing a slow horse suddenly break into a gallop.

‘Right, Vice Principal Mara’s assignment!’

She had already planned to open the Worry Consultation Room to complete the assignment.

‘If the Holy See refused to give me money, then why couldn’t I… charge for it?’

Listening to confessions and giving guidance was sacred volunteer work at the convent.

But in the Demon Realm, providing consultation and counseling to lost succubi and charging a small consultation fee was perfectly reasonable, right?

That didn’t count as betraying her sacred duties, right?

‘The Lord would understand… probably.’

She immediately sprang into action, found a small blackboard, and began writing on it in elegant cursive. After finishing the final letter, Stella dusted the chalk from her hands in satisfaction, then hung it outside her door first thing the next morning.

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♡ Fees: Basic Consultation, 15 minutes – 1 Abyssal silver coin. In-Depth Customization, 1 hour – 1 demon crystal.

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Translator Note

Stella is becoming more and more corrupted HAHA XD

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♡ Anyway, I designed this simple frame design that matches the theme of the novel by myself. The raw was just written in plain text without any decoration and I thought it might be a little harder to read.

♡ Usually I design it for novels with status screens, but since this novel doesn’t have such a thing, then I’ll use this frame for anything that can help you all read this novel more easily~

♡ The theme of this novel is succubus and saintess, so the closest emoji that match the theme is of course dark and white love emojis~♥♡

♡ Isn’t it cute? I hope you like it~♥♡

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