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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Adrian groaned, pressing his fingers against his temples in his office.
Sunfish.
That was the nickname users had given Charlotte Forte back in the outside world.
The reason for such a nickname no longer needed explanation.
‘Honestly, things have been quiet lately.’
Contrary to her nickname, Charlotte had been in a remarkably safe environment recently.
Her death flag had been raised again.
In a way, it was something to be happy about, a sign that the main scenario was progressing.
But on the other hand, worry gnawed at him, preventing any genuine joy.
‘Regardless, I have to overcome this too.’
The academy-wide competition was only a week away.
He had to save Charlotte’s life and complete the transfer of Lepista’s power, making it her “exclusive weapon.”
Busy.
Always busy…
But he couldn’t blame anyone.
This was the path he had chosen.
Pop!
Just then, Lepista, who had been polymorphed into the shape of a name tag, reverted to her little devil form.
“Papa.”
“I told you not to change back to that form here.”
He had brought her to the human world on the condition that she never reveal her true form.
Yet, that promise was already cracking.
Even with a child’s mentality, she seemed to have some awareness.
She only changed back when no other humans were present.
“Hungry. Hungryy.”
Adrian sighed deeply and offered her his arm.
Lepista bit into it with a Chomp.
He had tried leaving her with Christine, but Lepista clung to him like a magnet, refusing to separate.
As he watched Lepista sucking his blood with her dainty little fangs, Adrian recalled his conversation with Vivian.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The story began with a succubus who had once roamed freely throughout the Demon Realm.
Vivian clicked her tongue and began her tale.
“Do you know what Lepista’s goal was? Tsk, tsk.”
“I heard she had quite a thirst for power.”
“Right. Not just ‘quite a thirst,’ but an unimaginable level of ambition. Lepista wanted to change the Seven Deadly Sins of the Demon Realm to the Eight Deadly Sins. She wanted to become a Sin herself.”
Indeed, the highest position for a succubus already existed: the Sin of Lust.
Yet, to create a new Sin… that alone spoke volumes about the scale of her ambition.
“What Sin did she want to become?”
“The Sin of Obsession.”
Currently, there was no Sin of Obsession in the Demon Realm.
“She failed, then.”
“Of course, she failed. But her will was fully embedded in the wand. And that…”
Vivian tapped her fingernail against the desk.
“…is related to the curse that little wand child currently carries. Do you understand?”
“I understand, so please explain what the curse is.”
“I will. I’m getting to it. First…”
Vivian trailed off.
A faint worry flickered in the reptilian eyes of the pure white snake.
That look made him uneasy.
If the Sin of Envy was expressing concern, just how serious was this curse?
“You’re saying Lepista has already designated someone as ‘Mama’?”
“Christine. Lepista recognizes me as ‘Papa,’ and Christine as ‘Mama.'”
“Christine. Christine, then that’s fortunate.”
Vivian sipped her tea.
It was hard to tell whether she was relieved or not.
Her expression was difficult to read today.
She opened her mouth again.
“First of all, ‘Papa’ means she has chosen someone to be bound to.”
“I thought as much.”
He had predicted this from the moment he saw Lepista refusing to leave his side.
“And the moment ‘Mama’ is designated, Lepista’s curse is activated.”
“So, you’re saying the curse is already active?”
“That’s right. To use her power, the one designated as ‘Papa’ can only show affection to the one designated as ‘Mama.’ What do you think? Quite fitting for a curse related to obsession, isn’t it?”
“Hmm.”
Jekkiel tilted his head unconsciously.
To only show affection to Christine… wasn’t that a rather simple condition?
“You just thought ‘That’s nothing,’ didn’t you?”
“I won’t deny it. And it does seem like nothing.”
“It’s not.”
Vivian shook her head.
“If you were planning to use Lepista’s power yourself, it certainly wouldn’t be a big deal. But you said your goal was to transfer this power to someone else, right?”
“That’s right.”
“This is where the tricky part of the curse comes in. Tsk, tsk.”
“How so?”
Vivian crossed her arms.
Then, with an even more serious expression than before, she began to speak.
“Obsession is much more frightening than you think. For one’s heart to be fixated on someone means that if that person doesn’t act according to their desires, resentment will follow.”
“But all Lepista wants is for me to shower affection only on Christine, who is designated as ‘Mama.’ Isn’t that it?”
“No, that’s simply the condition for using the power. For transferring the power, there are other conditions attached.”
“For example?”
Vivian glanced at Lepista with an apprehensive look.
The little girl was sleeping peacefully in Jekkiel’s arms, like an angel.
“…This child’s power… it can only be transferred to the person you hate the most. And of course, this child decides who you hate the most.”
“So that’s why it’s a curse, not a blessing.”
“Right. So the one who receives the power is designated as Lepista’s ‘enemy.’ The term itself is ‘enemy.'”
He understood even without further explanation.
‘If you don’t use this power yourself, I will gladly become the power of the person you hate the most.’ That’s what the curse was saying.
“Damn it…”
He bit his lower lip.
His mind raced.
To treat a student coldly was one thing, but to treat them like an enemy was a completely different story.
To treat someone as an enemy, he had to abandon any intention of caring for them.
To treat someone he was supposed to protect as an enemy… it was absurd.
But then…
“But Jekkiel, I thought someone as clever as you would have noticed.”
“Noticed what?”
“There’s a loophole you can exploit in our conversation. Didn’t you notice?”
“A loophole?”
Jekkiel pondered their conversation.
And soon…
“Ah, no way.”
“Right. That ‘no way’ is the way. Tsk, tsk, tsk.”
He glanced at Lepista, sleeping peacefully in his arms, and then at Vivian.
“…You said Lepista makes the judgment herself. So, if I can deceive her, that would be enough?”
“Precisely.”
Vivian nodded, her arms still crossed.
“But whether you can deceive her is the problem. She’ll test things in her own way.”
“Test?”
“Yes, she’ll try to test whether the candidates for ‘enemy’ are truly your enemies. There could be some major incidents. She may look young, but her magical power is no joke.”
“This is already giving me a headache.”
“Well, anyway, that’s the end of the explanation.”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Recalling that conversation made his temples throb.
‘One week.’
The academy-wide competition was in a week, so he had to make Charlotte his designated “enemy” within that timeframe.
‘I have to deceive Lepista.’
He stared at Lepista, who was licking his arm.
Could he deceive her?
No, he had to.
“Lepista.”
“Yes!”
“Are you sleepy?”
“Not sleepy!”
The safest time would be when Lepista was asleep, but he didn’t know when she slept…
He had to observe Lepista as quickly as possible.
Just then, footsteps echoed down the hallway.
“Lepista!”
“Eek!”
At the urgent voice, Lepista instantly transformed into a name tag with a poof.
And his intuition, sharper than ever, proved correct as a knock came at the door moments later.
Knock, knock—
“Professor, it’s Michelle. May I come in?”
Michelle?
He sighed in relief without realizing it.
If it had been Charlotte, things would have gotten quite complicated.
He had already been harsh with her in the hallway earlier.
If he pushed her too hard, she might actually commit suicide.
He was truly relieved that it was Michelle.
“Come in.”
“Excuse me.”
The door opened quietly.
A moment later, his eyebrows twitched.
“Charlotte said she had something to tell you. She seemed so troubled, I brought her along.”
Because Charlotte was standing next to Michelle.
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[Asshole arc incoming?]
