Chapter 91
Lilith, the demon commonly known as the Succubus,
appears during the first semester of her second year, disguised as a student.
Her appearance changes based on the chosen heroine route and stirs conflict among the characters.
If humans have unique abilities to counter against demons,
then the higher-level demons, especially the executive class, possess authorities.
Among them, she holds the Power of Lust, [Ideological Fallacy].
Unlike typical mind control,
her authority doesn’t dominate consciousness. Instead,
commands naturally seep into and blend with the subconscious,
so the affected person’s ego remains intact and they can’t even realize they’ve been taken in.
To dispel it, one must either possess a unique ability in the mental realm or drink a mental protection potion.
It wasn’t long after getting to know Serena that I made a request of her.
[Add a mental enhancement potion to your business items?]
[Yes, and if possible, I’d like you to take it daily with Stella.]
[Is that really necessary?]
[It’ll be crucial later, please.]
Honestly, even though I said I would handle it, I was anxious inside.
Would enhancing the potion really be enough to resist the brainwashing of her authority?
“The authority amplified everyone’s jealousy towards Stella.”
“…”
With a massive hole in her chest, Lilith rose from the floor.
“Seriously… I can’t die from this, right?”
“I’m not healing… What the heck was that attack?”
“Silver bullets that are poison to demons. They were expensive and hard to get.”
“This shouldn’t… be happening…”
“Let me ask one thing, why did you do this?”
“Why, you ask?”
“Wasn’t your goal the body of Thorn, or rather, Lucid?”
Upon hearing my words, Lilith’s expression changed.
“!!..How did you know that?”
“Why did you target Stella instead of Lucid?”
In the original story, Lilith mentally corners Stella, not Lucid.
The Demon King of Lust, ‘Asmodeus’—that’s the vessel and sacred relic for its resurrection, and that is Lucid.
“You seem to know a lot… Are you perhaps this generation’s Hero?”
“Answer my question before I give you a headache.”
“Well… I guess her body looked better? By the way, your way of speaking is a bit off… Who do you think I am?”
Evil black magic enveloped Lilith’s body.
Finally revealed was a long tail sprouting from somewhere around her waist or hips,
dressed so provocatively that it seemed to lure men just from looking at it.
There was a Succubus Queen wailing at the failure of her plans.
“Ugh… I can’t deny it.”
Just when it seemed she would despair alone, she suddenly calmed herself and looked at me.
She wouldn’t understand; until now, she had never had her brainwashing seen through.
There was a time when their mutual division led to the collapse of a nation.
This Succubus Queen’s authority is dangerous. Yet beyond that—
“Pfft…”
Lilith burst into laughter, finding it ridiculous.
“Do you really think you can win against me?”
“Stop acting tough, weakling among executives, a one-trick pony bat.”
“…At least your chatter is already on par with a Hero level.”
“Great! I just needed a test subject.”
Finally, a time had come to utilize my newly acquired unique trait.
*
“Wanna go meet Nova…?”
“Yeah, you always went to meet Nova around this time…”
I did, didn’t I? I need to teach Nova some stuff…
The letter I wrote with ink has smudged along with my notes.
“Stella? Are you alright?”
I really poured my heart into that letter…
I erased and rewrote it countless times… What did I even write?
I can’t remember. Why is my head so cluttered?
“Over here, Stella!”
“Hi-yah!?… Why, why are you doing this…?”
Suddenly, I got startled when my shoulder was grabbed.
Why are they looking at me like that, as if I’m some pitiful person?
I’m fine, so why does everyone look at me so wistfully?
“…Sorry for scaring you. It’s not that, do you want to go see Nova right now?”
“Nova?”
Why is it? Hearing that made the turmoil in my heart vanish.
I want to see him, I want to see Nova’s face right now.
For some reason, it feels like everything will be alright if I go there.
“Yeah, let’s go now… but…”
“? What’s wrong, Stella?”
That Vice Principal fellow told me to find proof by tomorrow that I’m not the culprit.
Otherwise, he’d expel me, and if I get expelled, I won’t be able to stay with Nova…
“Well, the thing is…”
*
After hearing Stella’s story, Shia was extremely furious.
“That Vice Principal said that?”
“Y-Yeah… if I can’t bring proof by tomorrow, I’ll be expelled…”
“That bastard…”
“That seems a bit strange, doesn’t it?”
The one who questioned Stella’s words was the health teacher.
“The only one who can expel an Academy student is the Chairman.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, no matter how much of a Vice Principal he is, there’s no way a mere staff member that just got here has that kind of authority.”
“Where is the Chairman right now?”
“He’s on a business trip.”
“I thought it was odd; normally, such matters would be discussed separately by the homeroom teacher and the highest-up.”
“Exactly! The insolent way he acted in front of so many students. It’s absurd!”
“Right? And what is he even thinking to act so recklessly?”
“Well, because he’s the Vice Principal?”
At Stella’s answer, Serena sighed.
“You don’t know, do you, Stella? Do you even realize how high your status is?”
The wizards of the Magic Tower, which influences even several countries including the Empire and even distant Eastern ones, each of them is considered a precious resource,
affecting various fields such as warfare, livelihood, science, and industry.
Among them, the Golden Tower is called the pinnacle.
“The mascot of that Golden Tower is Stella, and it’s you.”
“R-Really?”
“Yeah! By now, they must be biting their nails trying to prove your innocence.”
“Certainly… if my Master finds out about this…”
Her Master, Ozwell Rockpelikan, whom she knows cares for her deeply, would surely create evidence that didn’t even exist.
“Or he might eliminate the evidence along with the witness.”
“That thought’s a bit scary… But why is the Vice Principal acting so recklessly?”
“It seems evident that he intended to shamelessly insult Stella.”
“So Stella, don’t worry, just go meet Nova. We’ll find the evidence, and Anubis, you’ll help too, right?”
“Of course, Stella is my most precious friend. I’ll give it my all.”
“You guys… thank you.”
“Do you think it’s really okay to let Stella go alone…?”
At that moment, the sound of many footsteps approached from the hallway.
After a brief moment, there was a knock at the door.
“Excuse me… I’ve come because I heard Stella is here…”
“You guys…”
The one who entered through the door was a female student who had claimed to be extorted by Stella not long ago.
Some students from Class A were grouped behind her.
Seeing them, Stella’s gaze began to tremble violently.
Trembling, she hid behind me, and Serena held her hand tightly.
“You… what gives you the right! You can’t just barge in here!”
Shouting in fury towards them, Shia saw the students hesitating, unable to speak easily. After a while, they finally spoke up.
“Um… we’re really sorry!”
“What…?”
At the students’ unexpected apology, Shia couldn’t understand the situation.
The ones who carried the name of a proud family are now bowing their heads? Did someone pressure them?
“Shia, after hearing you, we realized how shameful our actions were…”
“Right, it was behavior unbecoming of nobles. Apologize.”
“Don’t joke with me! Until just a bit ago, you all bullied her as a group, and now you come rushing to apologize? Do you even have any shame?”
“It seemed odd to us until just a bit ago. The moment we heard about the incident, we suddenly felt hostility towards Stella…”
Then the male student who had taken the lead in bullying Stella earlier opened his mouth.
“Anyway, will you accept our apology? If you’re a disciple of the Master of the Golden Tower, can’t you let this slide a bit?”
“Hey, shut up!”
“What’s it to you?”
Serena wanted to blast them with magic right at that moment.
Anubis, too, revealed his killing intent and clenched his fist.
“Uh, um! I know this might sound weird, but… I don’t think it was Stella who took my stuff.”
“What do you mean…?”
The girl started mumbling strange words.
“I mean, at that time I thought it was Stella, but when I think back, it seemed like it was someone else…”
“I can’t understand. Did you get threatened by someone?”
“N-No, it’s really not that… I think we were wrong, please accept our apology.”
Shia turned to ask Stella for her thoughts; if she didn’t forgive them, I was prepared to chase them away right away.
But when she turned back, Shia let out a deflated sigh.
“…What will you do about this, Stella…?”
“Uh?”
Stella, who had been standing right behind her just moments ago, had completely vanished.
“Stella… where did you go?”
