Volume 1, Chapter 65 – That Damned Illegitimate Daughter

The principal’s office was located at the very top of the tower, with a spiral staircase leading straight into the clouds.

Just as people with inferiority complexes were more eager to hear praise from others, people who weren’t very tall were obviously more inclined to live somewhere high up.

There was no doubt about it.

Stella stood before the black oak door without immediately pushing it open.

She knew perfectly well why Principal Gehenna had summoned her.

Her sermon at the Lionheart Society had been far too shocking. Given Gehenna’s personality and how much she hated trouble, once word of it reached her ears, she would absolutely question Stella about it.

In fact, Stella had spent the entire walk here thinking, yet still hadn’t come up with any idea of how to deal with Principal Gehenna’s interrogation.

How was she supposed to explain the heretical remarks she’d made not long ago?

Was she supposed to tell her bluntly, “Principal, I’m innocent too. I had no intention of criticizing the Electors, I’m not interested in a new Queen of Eternal Night either, and I certainly never proposed anything called A Manifesto Against the Electors. Everything I said during the Lionheart Society’s club presentation was just me running my mouth.”

It would be a miracle if Principal Gehenna believed that.

Stella was still racking her brains for some foolproof solution that could deceive Principal Gehenna into magnanimously letting her off this once when voices, rising and falling in volume, drifted out from inside the principal’s office.

“Why would you give such an unrestricted privilege to a student who can’t distinguish between good and evil?”

“I merely wanted to test what kind of person our SSS+ freshman truly is.”

The first voice sounded like Principal Gehenna.

And the person she was questioning was… Vice Principal Mara?

The wind carried their voices over, spreading through the air like thin ribbons.

“Mara, my old friend, I’ve never seen you do something like this before. Can you tell me what exactly you were thinking?”

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“Principal, surely you wouldn’t want our SSS+ freshman to be someone like ‘her,’ would you? Privilege is a mirror. It can reveal a person’s true face completely. And now you know what kind of student Stella Darkfallen truly is.”

“Perhaps you’re right.” Principal Gehenna paused. “I now know that she’s a prodigal student who broke both the Mirror of Desire and the Eye of the Abyss, an exceptionally talented apprentice of dark magic, an illegitimate daughter who took it upon herself to torture her younger sister, and a succubus student with tremendous ambition and an extraordinary talent for inflammatory speeches.”

“At the very least, we can’t say Miss Stella Darkfallen is a student like ‘her,'” Mara said in Stella’s defense.

“Yes, but she’s still an absolutely terrible student,” Gehenna replied.

“…Yes. That’s true,” Mara agreed.

Stella nearly choked on her own saliva.

By this point, she didn’t even dare breathe.

Clearly, she’d left a very poor impression on Principal Gehenna.

Fair enough.

If Principal Gehenna ever carefully investigated everything Stella had done since the start of the school year, she would probably tear her apart alive on the spot.

“Was there a sound outside?”

Gehenna seemed to have heard something and immediately became alert.

“You must be imagining things, Principal. I didn’t hear anything. Perhaps it was the wind,” Mara said casually.

“By the way, is the Eye of the Black Mass completely secure now?”

Mara abruptly changed the subject.

“It’s best not to mention its name. Not even in private.”

“Of course, Principal. After all, it’s such an irresistibly tempting treasure to every demon. Just imagine. As long as you obtain it, you can spare yourself centuries of arduous cultivation. Even an ant that could once do nothing but gaze up at the stars from a gutter could instantly gain the authority to look down upon all living beings. Just thinking about such a shortcut would be enough to make the blood of any young and restless soul in the Demon Realm boil, wouldn’t it~”

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“You seem to be saying a little too much, Mara.”

“Oh my. It’s been so long since I’ve had a proper chat with you, Principal. I couldn’t help getting excited once the conversation touched on something close to my heart.”

“Fine. In any case, you don’t need to worry. I’ve already ordered the Lord of the Forest to guard it closely.”

“The Lord of the Forest? An Archdemon’s seduction really is as effective as ever.” Mara spoke as though it were nothing. “It’s getting late. I should go teach my class. We’ll talk again later.”

“Mm. See you later, Mara.”

Footsteps approached the door.

Stella’s heart tightened.

Hide?

Too late.

This was the top of the tower, and there was only one spiral staircase. If she ran back now, she would be seen immediately.

Pretend?

She could only grit her teeth and pretend she’d just arrived.

Stella did her best to make herself look like someone who had just climbed several hundred steps and was completely out of breath.

Click.

The black oak door opened a crack, and Mara Nightsong stepped outside.

“Ah, Stella.” Mara casually pulled the door shut behind her and smiled at Stella. “So out of breath. Did you just finish climbing the stairs?”

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“Yes. Good day, Vice Principal.” Stella nodded in greeting. “I’m here to report to the Principal.”

“Mm, I know.” Mara stopped and leaned a little closer. “Sometimes, we hide things we don’t want others to find in the most dangerous place.”

“What?”

“Mmhm.”

Mara patted Stella on the shoulder, then walked downstairs without saying anything else.

‘The most dangerous place?’

Stella froze for a moment.

Vice Principal Mara was obviously hinting at something. Even an idiot could understand that much.

‘What was she thinking?’

Stella didn’t really understand, but she was already standing at the entrance to the principal’s office and preparing to go inside.

Thinking about everything she’d done before, her heart pounded like a drum.

Stella swallowed with difficulty. At last, she raised her stiff right hand and, like a well-mannered city dweller, gently knocked on the door with her knuckles.

Then she pushed it open.

The floor was covered in balls of discarded paper, scattered parchment scrolls, unidentified alchemical potion bottles, and even several boxes that had once held donuts. The entire room smelled of coffee.

At the far end, beyond a mountain of documents, stood an office desk noticeably larger than the usual standard.

Behind it, Principal Gehenna looked as though all the air had suddenly gone out of her. The back of her head rested against the chair as she lay sprawled there, looking indescribably old and haggard, as if the mountain of documents might crush her to death at any moment.

“Principal—” Stella said weakly.

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“I said…”

Gehenna didn’t even raise her head.

“Unless the sky is falling, or that damned Valentine illegitimate daughter has blown up the school… don’t bother me…”

Stella: “…”

That damned illegitimate daughter was standing right in the doorway, unsure whether she should quietly back out.

Author Note

Yes, there’s Voldemort too.

The principal’s storyline will unfold gradually, just like the other side plots. As for the club storyline, I’m currently considering the Twelve Apostles, but it’s about time to develop the storyline of our good sister Remedios a little more.

Translator Note

Hmm… I don’t really understand the author note above.

Anyway, finally some lore~