Volume 2, Chapter 6 – Professor— Are You Serious?

The Defense Against Holy Magic classroom was an oval-shaped room with old paneled walls. A jumble of chairs had been placed haphazardly around it, and aside from a single lectern, there was nothing else inside.

When Stella slipped into her seat just in time, Professor Katerina was taking attendance at the lectern as usual.

Stella hated this kind of lecture hall the most.

Because it was oval-shaped, out of politeness she had to take everyone into consideration, turning her head from left to right, then right to left. In the past, she could at least choose Remedios as her seatmate, but this time Miss Book Demon did not seem to be in the classroom.

Stella could only pick a random seat and sit down.

“…President?”

A slightly trembling voice came from beside her.

Stella blinked uneasily and turned her head.

It was Dorothy Wesley, whom she had met once before.

Her…

Lionheart Society Propaganda Officer.

“Oh my, President.” Dorothy covered her mouth with both hands in excitement. “You actually chose to sit beside me. Is this a test for me? Or is it your recognition of me?”

“…Hello.”

Stella greeted her stiffly.

Defense Against Holy Magic had not even started yet, and she already felt that this was not merely troublesome. It was practically shaving years off her life.

“Remedios Bledia.” Professor Katerina was still taking attendance at the lectern.

“…”

No one answered.

“Absent.”

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Katerina expressionlessly made a mark on the parchment.

“Cheryl Valentine.”

Dead silence.

“Very good. Another absence.”

Professor Katerina lifted her eyelids. Her deep-set black eyes swept around the classroom before finally stopping on Stella, who was sitting in the corner of the front row.

“Stella Darkfallen.”

Before Stella could even raise her hand, Professor Katerina made another mark on the parchment.

“…Absent.”

…Lying through her teeth with her eyes wide open?

Stella blinked blankly, then slowly lowered her raised hand.

“President, Professor seems not to like you very much.” Dorothy leaned closer and muttered.

“I can tell without you saying it.”

The corner of Stella’s mouth twitched.

Lying through her teeth in front of everyone. Was this the official air that came with becoming Vice Principal?

“Alright. Put away those useless textbooks.”

Katerina closed the attendance book. Her pitch-black robe swayed as she paced back and forth before the lectern, her chilly gaze sweeping across the classroom.

“Today, we’ll talk about something beyond the Abyss. We’ll talk about the thing you hate most, yet which is also the deadliest to you, light.”

“Since ancient times, demons have been born with magical power, just like the claws and seduction you take such pride in. We are naturally superior.”

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“And humans…” She let out a sneer. “Those frail, short-lived humans, as insignificant as ants, have nothing. To fight against us, they had no choice but to make faith their shield and turn so-called virtues into blades.”

“Mercy, sacrifice, justice… Hmph. They’re nothing more than excuses used to drive divine power.”

“So-called Holy Arts, put plainly, are nothing more than a kind of idealistic poison.”

Dorothy beside her listened with great interest, while Stella made no comment.

“And when it comes to Holy Light…” Katerina suddenly changed the direction of her lecture. “I’m sure everyone present has heard about the vicious attack that recently occurred at our school.”

“The victims’ skin was ulcerated. There is no doubt that those were traces left by burns from a high-level Holy Art. In other words, some excessively clean individuals have infiltrated this academy that reveres darkness and freedom.”

“Perhaps it has something to do with certain students showing off sacred relics, or perhaps…” Katerina stopped walking and looked directly at Stella. “…because a human has appeared among us.”

‘!?’

Stella jolted.

‘Had Professor Katerina seen through something?’

‘That shouldn’t be possible.’

“And right now, there seems to be only one lowly human slave in all of Lilith School, isn’t that right?” Katerina withdrew her gaze and leisurely added.

‘…Phew.’

Stella breathed a sigh of relief.

She had nearly been scared to death.

So she was talking about Lainia.

Then it was fine.

As long as she wasn’t talking about Stella…

‘Wait!’

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If Professor Katerina had determined that the attack was caused by burns from a Holy Art, and the only publicly known human in the entire school was Lainia…

‘Then in the eyes of every demon, wouldn’t Lainia be the prime suspect?’

Given the Demon Realm’s style of preferring to kill a thousand by mistake rather than let one guilty person escape, there was a very real chance that Lainia would eventually be directly branded as the ghost, then publicly executed as the culprit.

No matter what, Lainia was still her colleague. Even if she had eaten through Stella’s entire meal card, Stella could not just let that happen.

No.

This was a huge problem now.

“Since danger is already lurking right beside you, learning how to defend against Holy Arts has become the key to preserving your lives.”

Katerina did not give Stella any more time to think.

She pulled several sealed parchment scrolls from her wide sleeves and slapped them heavily onto the lectern.

A faint glow radiated from the surfaces of the scrolls. They had clearly sealed away some kind of divine art from the Holy See.

“Talking about war on paper is useless.”

“If you want to learn how to defend against pain, you must first experience pain.”

“These scrolls contain standardized offensive Holy Arts used by the Holy See, arranged in ascending order of power.”

Katerina untied the cord around one of the scrolls, her expression utterly serious.

“Now, I need a volunteer.”

“A volunteer who can come up here and assist with my demonstration, showing everyone how to… cling desperately to life under the assault of Holy Light.”

Everyone remained silent.

No succubus was stupid enough to volunteer to go up there and get beaten, especially by Holy Light that already sounded painfully unpleasant.

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“No one? How disappointing.”

Katerina let out an insincere sigh.

Then her gaze once again fell on Stella.

“In that case…”

“As my teaching assistant.”

“Miss Stella Darkfallen,” Professor Katerina said softly, “I think this honor could belong to no one but you, wouldn’t you agree?”

Stella stared expressionlessly at the scroll on the lectern, finding the whole thing utterly absurd.

Please.

She was a human Saintess, and Katerina wanted her to demonstrate how to defend against attacks from Holy Arts?

‘Professor…’

‘Are you serious?’

‘Did you not say I was absent earlier?’

Translator Note

Press F for Stella.

There’s no vice principal who spoiled her anymore… Or maybe bathing in Holy Arts counts as spoiling her? ><