Ch.47Plan – 9

The rumors about the cult’s connection to a succubus spread quickly. There must have been quite a few people who resented the cult’s tyranny, as even completely fabricated rumors were being created and circulated.

This was especially true because Alexander had committed all sorts of disgraceful acts and abuses at the Academy.

Thanks to this, Rosaria reaped enormous benefits. Both the Imperial Investigator and the Chairwoman had unanimously announced that the Saint candidate had nothing to do with the succubus incident, and her usual good conduct had helped as well.

“They’re calling me a lotus blooming in the mud. Heh, hehe. It’s really embarrassing, honestly.”

As she was being praised as someone who would lead the cult in the true sense of the word, Rosaria seemed to enjoy it despite her embarrassment. The smile never left her face.

“But don’t you have class right now? Is it okay for you to be here?”

“The Chairwoman said I did a good job and told me to do whatever I want this week. Attend lectures if I want, rest if I want.”

I had already reviewed the theoretical exam with Priscilla and found it wouldn’t be difficult, and the rest of the lectures were the same, so I chose to rest. After all, I just needed to get the grades I had publicly committed to.

“She’s clearly favoring you. She must have really taken a liking to you, huh?”

“Well, I’ve done a lot for her. And she probably still has questions about my abilities.”

The Chairwoman seemed to still have doubts about my abilities. Those suspicions she had after meeting the Maker. Honestly, I didn’t think I could hide it for much longer.

“That’s true. Without you, things would have been a disaster when the demonic transformation happened in the Bellium Forest. So, I understand your situation, but…”

Rosaria glanced at the seat next to me. There sat Priscilla, happily pressing herself against me while interlocking her fingers with mine.

“Why are you here? You weren’t even allowed in last time because you weren’t involved. What about your lectures?”

“Skipped them.”

“…Oh, okay. Right.”

Rosaria nodded with an incredulous expression at Priscilla’s bold admission of canceling her own classes.

“Doesn’t your professor say anything?”

“They can’t. I got perfect scores on all the quizzes.”

“…”

With a look that said “What kind of person is this?”, Rosaria turned her head toward me. She apparently didn’t feel confident about winning a verbal argument.

“So we’re done with everything we needed to do, right?”

“That’s right. Now we just have to wait. I’ve cut off all the events that happened in the original story. But I bet it won’t be long before something else happens. Seeing how they’ve cut off your funding, it seems like they’re starting to push back.”

It seems the cult couldn’t simply overlook this latest action; they had cut off the funding they had been regularly sending despite Rosaria ignoring all their orders to return.

It made sense, considering she had essentially openly defied them and declared her allegiance to our side. It was a shame we’d only managed to fleece them ten times.

“Mira.”

“Yes?”

“About what happened before, was it really resolved well? You weren’t hurt or anything, were you? If you were, I…”

“Do I look like someone who would get hurt by a guy like that?”

Priscilla shook her head with teary eyes and began nuzzling her cheek against mine again. Her body subtly climbed onto my thigh.

I wasn’t lying. I tore off my own finger; he didn’t do it to me.

“…”

Rosaria was looking at me from across the room with a mischievous grin, her eyes asking if she should say something or not.

‘Don’t.’

I mouthed with firm determination. Whether it was just a joke to begin with, Rosaria nodded up and down as if she’d been waiting for this.

After all, Rosaria also knew that Priscilla’s mental state was quite unstable. She probably didn’t want to provoke an already unstable person and earn my resentment on top of that.

“By the way, it’s really unfortunate we could only get one holy relic. Ugh, those idiots. If they didn’t want to give it, they should have just said so clearly. Why make the procedure for retrieving relics so complicated?”

Rosaria grumbled. That’s right. We had requested two holy relics from the cult: the Thread that Connects Starlight and the Eternally Shining Holy Grail.

The Thread that Connects Starlight was sent shortly after our request, but the other one was problematic. The cult kept postponing the deadline, claiming there were procedures for releasing it.

Yet when asked about these procedures, they would only avoid answering.

As time dragged on, the Pope’s own son came here and died, so there was no way they would approve the release now.

“Still, it’s fortunate that we didn’t get the Holy Grail. At least we can think about how to counter that one.”

A weapon that kills thousands of allies at once is actually easier to deal with than one that strengthens thousands of enemies simultaneously. With the latter, at least you can do something with skill.

‘Come to think of it, there was one more.’

Suddenly I remembered that. When Rosaria explained, she definitely said there were three holy relics stolen by the Demon King’s army.

“What was the last one? The one you said couldn’t be brought because the Pope always carried it.”

“Oh, that? It’s called the Ring that Whispers Night, and it has the ability to wrap the user in darkness. It’s stupid to use during the day, but at night it’s practically the same as invisibility.”

“Wrapping in darkness? That doesn’t match the cult’s name at all.”

“I guess they had something to hide, just like you. They justified it by saying that just as darkness is necessary for stars to shine, this relic allows starlight to burn most brightly. That’s religion for you. It’s all about interpretation, isn’t it?”

A holy relic that allows starlight to burn most brightly. It was a rather well-fitted explanation.

“Who took that one later… Oh. I think the Succubus Queen took it. But looking at the cult’s current state, it’s easier to think it’s already been stolen, not just in the future.”

Having finished her explanation, Rosaria, in an inexplicably good mood, even hummed a strange rhythm as she took out a heap of desserts from a magic food preservation device.

It’s called a food preservation magic device, but we just call it a refrigerator.

“You’ll get fat that way.”

I commented as I watched Rosaria happily and unhesitatingly eat a chocolate covered with plenty of whipped cream and jam. Rosaria wagged her index finger as if I didn’t know any better.

“I don’t get fat. My chest gets bigger. You think I have this figure for nothing?”

She then demonstratively supported her chest with the arm not holding the chocolate and twisted her waist this way and that. With such clear evidence right before my eyes, I had nothing to say.

The conversation paused for a moment. Taking advantage of the lull, I looked around the club room. The area where the bed was located was completely set up like a private room.

Why were there underwear scattered on the bed? And only panties at that.

“Are you going back to your dorm? Alexander is dead now, after all.”

“No, I’m planning to stay here. I don’t want to set foot in a building that bastard used. Is that not okay?”

“It’s not that it’s not okay, but this is our club room. People will be coming in and out. Are you okay with that?”

“I don’t mind. I can chat with people when they come, and it’s not like you’ll come in for meetings while I’m sleeping, and everyone except you is female so there’s nothing to hide, and as for you…”

“What about me?”

Rosaria seemed to be trying to choose her words for a moment, then as if something occurred to her, she opened her mouth but suddenly started coughing as if she’d choked.

“Keh-hak! Ahem! Anyway, if it’s okay with you, I’d like to stay here. Is that alright?”

“I don’t mind. Do as you please.”

With my permission, Rosaria began eating desserts even more enthusiastically. She offered me one in the middle, but I declined, as the combination looked too sweet just by looking at it.

“We’re here, Mira!”

Just as the dessert plate was about to be emptied, the door opened energetically and Aria and Brunhild entered. Priscilla had already noticed the footsteps in the corridor and returned to her seat.

The two shook off their feet at the entrance and carefully stepped onto the carpet. They still seemed unaccustomed to the carpet’s price.

“Hello, Saint candidate. Hello, Senior Priscilla.”

While Aria was politely greeting Priscilla and Rosaria, Brunhild went straight to the sofa and buried herself in it. Her face completely relaxed.

“Lunch? Did you eat?”

“No. We came to get you so we could eat together. Plus, I have something to give you. You didn’t come to the classroom at all today. Here, the midterm dates and locations.”

Brunhild took out a paper from her bag and handed it to me. I took it and examined it.

Overall, everything was fine. The general education courses would have exams but they wouldn’t count toward the grade, the theory exam was nothing special, the wide-area annihilation lecture was a guaranteed perfect score, and the practical combat was half-guaranteed perfect score.

“…Is my eyesight failing? Why is the dungeon practicum exam scheduled from Friday evening to Sunday evening?”

Except for one thing. The dungeon practicum.

“You’re seeing it correctly. Professor Jeina herself said it’s definitely a two-night, three-day event, so stop asking. It seems there’s been quite a bit of talk about it.”

“They say it’s going to be really difficult because it’s graded on an absolute scale, but there won’t be any failures.”

“This is insane, really.”

“Ah, that was my reaction too when I first heard it.”

“…Meligor let that woman live?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Astaroth wore an expression of utter disbelief as she received Roxanna’s report.

“She’s one of our demon kind. A succubus. Why would Meligor spare a demon? Has she finally gone senile from living too long? But that can’t be right? She used to slaughter Makers like they were goblins.”

“I cannot be certain, but since that man Mira Crate had a conversation with the Chairwoman, I suspect his opinion may have had a significant influence—”

“That man again?!”

A sound close to a fit of rage echoed. Astaroth clutched her head. She couldn’t understand why every complication seemed to involve that man.

Astaroth spent a while messing up her hair and stomping her feet in a directionless outburst of anger, while Roxanna quietly observed.

“…Fine. That’s enough. It’s not bad. Nika not dying was unexpected, but it’s not like we gained nothing. We achieved our objective.”

“Have you discovered the reason, Your Majesty?”

“Yes. I saw it with my own eyes.”

Having shared vision beforehand, Astaroth had very clearly confirmed that Nika’s suggestion had taken effect. She had cut off the connection after seeing Meligor appear with an angry face.

“That guy was definitely under the suggestion, you know? I’m sure of it. I can guarantee it one hundred percent. But at some point, it was broken. Our charm and pheromones didn’t fail to work; they worked and then were dispelled.”

“…If that’s the case, he might be carrying a magical item that resists mental attacks.”

Roxanna secretly felt relieved. It was a feeling of restored pride after failing at seduction twice and being wounded. It wasn’t that she was lacking; it was the power of the magical item that man possessed.

“What will you do now, Your Majesty? Now that we know his secret, shall I try once more—”

“No. You’ve already encountered that man too many times. If you try again, he’ll definitely be suspicious. Treat him normally for at least two months, just like now.”

“Understood.”

Roxanna bowed deeply and left. Astaroth sighed deeply and leaned back against the chair.

‘I thought she would definitely kill a dark dragon!’

This operation had been close to pushing someone to their death. No one had expected that fool to infiltrate the Dark Dragon Meligor’s academy and come out unscathed.

But a truly unexpected situation had occurred. This way, it was as if she had spared someone she could have killed with her own hands.

‘…Still, we’ve absorbed almost all her power, so it should be fine.’

There was no way she could pose a threat with just a few drops of remnants left at the bottom.

There had to be none.

It wasn’t for nothing that she had desperately prevented that woman’s energy absorption using her subordinates. Having never experienced energy absorption since birth, even if an opportunity arose, she would only experience frustration, not knowing how to do it.

‘She’s finished as a succubus now. She’ll either starve to death or give up her identity.’

If she had absorbed energy even once, her instincts would have awakened, and even Astaroth couldn’t have stopped it, but it was too late now to awaken her blood. Astaroth tried to convince herself and began planning her next move.

She was the Succubus Queen.

Unique, and must remain unique.