Volume 4, Chapter 6-1 – When Trouble Comes, Sleep It Off

A wolf in front and a tiger behind.

Stella rubbed her head.

‘Belphegor, Samael, Bathory, Asmodeus, Mammon…’

‘Good grief. Six of the Seven Electors were all here. The only one missing was Faust, who had yet to send anyone to tail her.’

Though it made sense when she thought about it. Faust’s heir, Remedios, had just been chatting with her. If Faust sent someone too, the whole situation would become a little too darkly comical.

Was going to Blood Demon Manor really a reliable plan right now?

She could indeed use the Mirror Door to instantly teleport to Nightmare Street, but the problem was that those black dots on the Marauder’s Map weren’t exactly pushovers. It wouldn’t take them long to find her again.

So she might as well come up with a way to teach this whole pack of predators hungrily eyeing her a lesson.

Otherwise, these underhanded tricks would definitely never end.

Stella seriously assessed her own combat strength.

The problem was that without using the Pale Sacred Remains, it would be very difficult for her to withstand a group of higher demons ganging up on her.

But the moment she used the Pale Sacred Remains, she would have to make absolutely sure that every single assassin present was killed cleanly, without leaving even one alive.

If even one escaped and leaked the news that she had used Pale Power, the consequences would be unimaginable.

If word got out that the Pale Daughter had emerged, even Vivian personally stepping in wouldn’t be able to protect her.

She couldn’t use Sanctity either. Blood Shadow could be used, but its lethality was limited. Blackflame needed to entangle the target first…

At the end of the day, it was very difficult for her to defeat a group of higher demons by herself.

Unless…

Stella lowered her eyes, her gaze falling on the Chastisement Brand in the palm of her left hand.

Last time, after Aetlana lost consciousness, the Chastisement spirits had followed the Brand and come after her.

Then…

If she returned to Blood Demon Manor, found any random bed, and went to sleep, the Chastisement Brand would definitely decide that the opportunity had arrived and directly summon the Chastisement spirits to attack.

The Holy See’s Chastisement spirits crossing realms had one primary objective, hunting down the fugitive marked by the Brand. But Stella herself was, after all, a perfectly legitimate human Saintess. In Holy Light’s hierarchy assessment, her rank was who knew how many levels above the Chastisement spirits.

Even if a pack of Holy Light hunting hounds rushed all the way to her bedside, they couldn’t harm a single hair on her head. At most, they could only stare helplessly at her and panic like they had last time.

After all, how could the people who designed the White Tower of the Holy Prison possibly have imagined that one day a Saintess would end up on the Holy See’s highest wanted list?

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And those Chastisement spirits staring helplessly at her could just happen to block the assassins trying to kill her.

After all, to Chastisement spirits, demons were enemies through and through.

Killing demons required no reason whatsoever.

Stella’s eyes lit up.

‘Perfect!’

She would have the Chastisement spirits take the hits for her and let the Holy See’s hunting hounds bite the Electors’ hunting hounds. They were all here to kill her anyway, so she could let them fight among themselves first while she watched the tigers fight from atop the mountain.

Once they were finished, she could slowly clean up the aftermath.

Stella couldn’t help marveling at how strange inspiration really was. Usually, no matter how painfully she wracked her brain and called for it again and again, it refused to appear. But when it came on its own, one idea after another simply kept bursting out.

Stella soon noticed one problem.

Borrowing another’s blade to kill was certainly perfect, but at the very least, she needed to leave one person behind to keep watch while she slept.

If the demons were too strong and killed all the Chastisement spirits, or if some unexpected situation caused her to sleep too deeply to notice anything, she really might get her throat slit in her sleep.

But the key was that the person had to be a human who wouldn’t be treated as prey by the Chastisement spirits…

A human…

A name instantly popped into Stella’s mind.

Lainia.

‘What perfect timing!’

She had just been thinking about having Lainia work as a gatekeeper at Blood Demon Manor. Wasn’t this exactly when she could put her to use?

‘Lainia! I choose you!’

Having made up her mind, Stella searched the Marauder’s Map for Lainia’s location. Sure enough, she found her in the cafeteria.

At the far end of a long dining table stood three tottering mountains of empty plates. The white porcelain dishes were stacked higher than a person.

Lainia sat behind the mountains of plates, clutching the hind leg of a magical beast roasted until it sizzled with grease and stuffing herself without the slightest concern for appearances.

When she saw Stella walking over, Lainia stopped.

“Master?” Lainia tilted her head, her cheeks still bulging. “Do you need something?”

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The corner of Stella’s mouth twitched.

How was her colleague becoming more and more capable of eating?

After undergoing the series of ascetic cultivation methods in The Asrita Scripture and having the Heart of Holy Light implanted, the rate at which Lainia’s appetite grew was practically even more terrifying than the rate at which her strength increased.

The Asrita Scripture certainly hadn’t listed an increased appetite as a side effect.

‘Forget it. Business first.’

Stella pulled out a chair and sat down.

“Lainia, there’s no need for us to pretend to be master and servant in private,” Stella said. “Do you have any plans for what you’ll do from now on?”

“What plans?” Lainia swallowed the meat in her mouth and blinked in confusion.

“I mean your own plans for the future.” Stella said. “You can’t just keep eating and drinking on my tab forever, can you?”

The ham in Lainia’s hand instantly stopped tasting good.

She stared blankly at Stella.

“Master…” Lainia’s voice suddenly grew quiet. “Master… doesn’t want me anymore?”

Stella froze.

“No, that’s not what I meant…”

“I know I eat a lot.” Tears were already beginning to gather in Lainia’s eyes. “I also know I’m stupid, I don’t know how to work, and I keep causing trouble…”

“Wait. Listen to me first.”

“But I’ll work hard!” Lainia grabbed Stella’s hand, her voice already tinged with sobs. “I’ve been learning how to be a maid from Captain Riko lately! I’ve already learned how to balance teacups! I’ve almost mastered bowing with table knives too! Sweeping while blindfolded as well…”

Stella’s head started to ache just listening to her.

“Lainia, stop.”

Lainia obediently shut her mouth, but her tears were still falling.

“I’m asking whether there’s anything you want to pursue. For example, I was gone for more than a month. You couldn’t get enough to eat at school, and you still had to train like crazy. When you searched all over Lilith School and still couldn’t find me, what were you thinking?”

Lainia lowered her eyes.

“Mm…”

Lainia pondered for a moment. Before long, tears flooded her eyes again, and her voice became thick with emotion.

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“Master, I… I missed you so much.”

“…”

Stella felt like her brain had stopped working.

Lainia was at least a colleague who also made her living working for the Holy See. How had she ended up in such an indescribable state?

Stella lowered her eyelids.

‘Could it be…’

‘As long as someone becomes my colleague, their eventual fate is either to be swallowed whole as nourishment or to have their brain completely broken?’

Come to think of it, Stella remembered something.

So far, the only colleague she had met since coming to the Abyss was Lainia.

‘Mm…’

Excluding the Chastisement spirits she had already eaten.

But before the Inquisitor arranged for her to enter the Abyss, she had mentioned that Stella wasn’t the only spy in the Abyss. Perhaps she might have the chance to run into the others later, and they could look out for one another.

Stella hadn’t thought much of it at the time.

But now that she thought about it, if there really were other colleagues infiltrating various parts of the Abyss…

What were they called again? The Black Knights?

What were they doing right now?

Were they serving tea and fetching water in some demon family too?

Or had they somehow inexplicably become heirs just like her?

They might even have achieved greater things.

As a spy who had only recently entered the profession, Stella considered her own current achievements.

Valentine heir, Pale Daughter, President of the Lionheart Society, master of Blood Demon Manor, plus a whole mess of miscellaneous titles and connections.

If she really ran into one of her colleagues someday, how would they react?

Hopefully, the colleagues she had never met wouldn’t mistake her for some vicious Archdemon and immediately charge in to slay evil in the Lord’s name.

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Stella shuddered.

‘That probably wouldn’t happen, right?’

The spy network shared intelligence, after all. As her superior, the Inquisitor would definitely have informed her other colleagues of her existence. At the very least, the spy network’s intelligence should be shared.

She was an officially sanctioned undercover agent of the Holy See. As the highest-ranking superior, the Inquisitor must have synchronized information on her cover identity and infiltration progress with the other agents long ago.

They were all on the same side. There was absolutely no way some ridiculous misunderstanding like that could happen.

Stella pulled her thoughts back.

“Lainia, I’ve found an absolutely wonderful job for you.” Stella continued, “Come with me to Nightmare Street right now.”

Lainia stopped chewing. She glanced at the mountain of empty plates in front of her, reluctance in her eyes.

“Master, I’ve already gotten used to life at Lilith School.” Lainia muttered softly, “And the cafeteria food really is delicious.”

“Food and lodging included.” Stella said concisely. “All you can eat.”

She wasn’t worried about Lainia eating her into poverty at Blood Demon Manor. There was, after all, a ghost inside who could grant any request.

Whatever you wanted, you got. Everything was free.

‘It is practically paradise…’

‘Mm…’

‘Is comparing the Abyss to paradise a little blasphemous?’

Lainia’s eyes instantly lit up.

“Master, let’s go right now!”

Stella sighed.

Translator Note

Oh~! Lainia now fully obedient? xD