Volume 1, Chapter 4 – Keeping a Low Profile Is Impossible

Letters from the inquisitor always had a way of making people inexplicably furious.

【Stella, if you have received this letter, it proves that you are still alive and have successfully entered Lilith Academy while keeping a low profile. I am very pleased. It shows that I did not misjudge you.】

Stella’s eye twitched as she stared at the words low profile.

She had certainly kept a very low profile. So low-profile that the entire academy was now talking about her, the SSS+ genius from a fallen family. So low-profile that the vice principal practically wanted to tie Stella to her belt and personally instruct her at all times.

【I imagine you should have settled in by now. Remember, your identity is that of a spy. Until you receive explicit instructions, you must behave like a genuinely unremarkable stone, conceal your brilliance, and blend in among the succubi as someone thoroughly mediocre. Do not attract the attention of any higher-ups, and especially do not come into conflict with any of the Demon Realm’s prestigious families.】

“Hit every single one…” Stella muttered to herself. “Don’t attract the attention of higher-ups, and I got a private tutoring spot from the vice principal. Don’t get into conflicts with prestigious families, and I just called the eldest young lady of the Valentine family a mongrel demon…”

In a certain sense, she had managed to step on every single taboo the inquisitor had warned her about within her first three hours of enrollment.

For the first day of her career as a spy, things really couldn’t have gone any more perfectly.

Just then, two crisp knocks suddenly came from the other side of the dormitory’s heavy door.

Knock. Knock.

Stella instantly stuffed the letter beneath her pillow.

‘Who is it?’

‘Has Cheryl come looking for trouble?’

‘Is it a late-night visit of concern from the vice principal? Or some other classmate with ill intentions?’

Several possibilities flashed through her mind.

She had even begun wondering whether, if her identity had been exposed, she should martyr herself on the spot to repay the Lord’s grace or jump out the window and try to escape.

Though either way, wasn’t she basically dead…?

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A calm, elegant voice came from outside the door.

“Miss Darkfallen, I am the academy’s head maid. Vice Principal Mara asked me to deliver tomorrow’s class schedule to you, along with… a small amount of pre-class reading material. She said she hopes you can preview it.”

Stella took a deep breath and replied coldly, “…Just leave it outside the door.”

“As you wish.”

The footsteps gradually faded away.

Stella pulled the crumpled letter back out and forced herself to continue reading.

【In consideration of the Saintess instruction I promised you beforehand, I have also included the incantation for Holy Art Counter, which can be used to reflect spells cast upon you by enemies.】

【The casting technique is extremely simple. You only need to guide the Holy Light within your body while chanting. Silent chanting and voiced chanting each have their own advantages. The former is difficult to detect but can only deal with minor spells. The latter is powerful enough to handle high-level spells, but requires you to release Holy Light of the corresponding intensity. The exact choice depends on your judgment.】

【Remember this well. The lower-rank succubus elixir you took again before enrollment lasts for one week. You need to prepare and gather the ingredients in advance. Aside from the most crucial ingredient, succubus bodily fluids, which you will need to collect personally, all the other ingredients are extremely common. The formula is also enclosed in the envelope.】

【Don’t ask me why I didn’t provide them myself. Aren’t there plenty of succubi around you?】

‘…Tsk. Why do I have to get it herself?’

‘This is supposed to be logistical support? Making a Saintess candidate collect a succubus’… bodily fluids?’

‘How is that any different from throwing a sheep into a wolf pack and telling it to collect saliva samples?’

‘Inquisitor, I can hear the beads of your abacus clattering in my face.’

She really had boarded a pirate ship.

Stella could feel the veins at her temples throbbing.

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One week.

She had already used up one day.

That meant that six days from now, if she couldn’t make a new batch of succubus elixir, her pointed ears, horns, succubus markings, and tail would evaporate like morning dew beneath the sun.

And in the middle of Lilith Academy, what would happen to a Saintess who had suddenly lost every single succubus characteristic?

‘Uhh…’

She didn’t dare think too deeply about it.

【Right, your first directive is this. The restricted books section of Lilith Academy’s library contains a fragmentary volume titled the Primordial Doctrine. Find a way to obtain it and record its contents.】

【Lastly…】

【Welcome to the Demon Realm, Lady Saintess.】

【Your loyal, Itheria.】

【Burn after reading】

A fragment of the Primordial Doctrine?

Stella tilted her head. None of the materials she had studied for the Saintess civil service exam had ever mentioned such a document. Besides, why would a document belonging to the Holy See be sitting in a library in the Demon Realm?

Wasn’t that far too strange?

She couldn’t make sense of it.

In any case, staying alive came first. She would put this matter at the very bottom of her priorities for now and deal with it later if she got the chance.

With a thought, a tiny cluster of golden Holy Light danced at Stella’s fingertip and instantly burned the letter to ashes.

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As the ashes drifted down, two pale-golden slips of paper fluttered to the floor.

Stella picked them up. One bore a single line of golden writing.

【Light forges a steadfast shield, returning unto the bosom of the one who casts. For the Lord once said: ‘That which is thrust into you shall wound its wielder with his own spear.’】

Without question, it was the chant for Holy Art Counter.

‘Hopefully it would come in handy…’

Relying entirely on the brute-force memorization skills she had painstakingly trained while preparing for the Saintess exam, Stella committed the incantation to memory without the slightest difficulty.

The other slip contained the formula for the succubus elixir.

【Use spiritually infused ice water as the base, dissolve 15 grams of moonlight grass powder into it, then supplement it with a liquid sample from a succubus (such as sweat, tears, or others). Brew in a potion cauldron for one hour before consuming orally.】

Stella gave it a quick glance. Just as the inquisitor had said, aside from the succubus bodily fluids, all the ingredients were common.

Something like moonlight grass powder was probably piled high enough to grow mold in the academy’s communal potion storeroom. Taking a little in passing probably wouldn’t attract any attention.

As for the succubus bodily fluids, that was harder to deal with.

Cheryl’s arrogant face, looking as though she might bite someone at any moment, appeared in Stella’s mind. Then she thought of Vice Principal Mara’s dark-red serpentine eyes, glimmering with interest.

‘Succubi really are terrifying…’

‘…Six days left. I would just have to take things one step at a time.’

She silently repeated several times that the Lord was with her, trying to use the prayer to dispel the suspicious thoughts brought on by having to mess around with succubi just to obtain ingredients.

Stella walked to the door, took a deep breath, and opened it.

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The dim wall lamps in the corridor flickered. A thick stack of black-covered books lay quietly on the carpet.

《Basic Principles of Seduction Arts: From Beginner to Mastery (Mara’s Annotated Edition)》

“…”

Stella silently picked up the books and brushed the dust off them, then considered the situation.

Since Vice Principal Mara had said she was sending Stella reading material to preview in advance, that meant tomorrow’s coursework was inevitably going to be related to it.

An ominous premonition rose in her heart, and she quickly flipped open the class schedule that had been delivered along with the books.

Tomorrow morning’s class was clearly marked in twisted Demon Realm script.

【Mental Seduction Studies (Practice-Oriented), Professor (Mara Nightsong).】

Holding the textbook and class schedule, Stella stood at the entrance of her luxurious, silent dormitory without saying a word.

Ah.

She was so fucking screwed.

Translator Note

Day 1 learn how to seduce people, not theory but practical right away~! ><