While Ansu was busy wondering just how terrifying this Scum Witch's "new game" might be...
He had already followed Cecilia to her room.
Ansu stopped pondering and looked around.
Cecilia's cover in Benalu City was presumably that of a noble young lady, but her room had not the slightest trace of ladylike charm. It was filled with piles of books, potions, and an alchemy table for magical research. It looked more like a magic laboratory.
"Go on." Cecilia sat in a chair and crossed her long, smooth legs. "What happened at school just now?"
Ansu pulled his gaze away from Cecilia's legs. Then he told her how Mary had summoned him to her office for questioning and how, in the simulation, Elder Hall had secretly contacted her and plotted to abduct him.
To be safe, he left out Elder Hall's plan to use him to secretly keep an eye on Cecilia.
Telling her too much might backfire. All he needed was to make Cecilia suspicious of them.
"Elder Hall... That ugly bastard again." Cecilia scoffed. "I should've finished him off last time."
"Do these old fossils think I have a good temper?"
Ansu could feel the murderous intent in Cecilia's gaze.
He thought to himself, Is the part where Cecilia massacres the Council of Elders about to happen ahead of schedule?
Just then, there was a soft knock at the door.
A maid reported, "Miss Cecilia, Lady Mary is waiting outside."
Ansu quietly edged over to the window. Sure enough, Mary was standing anxiously outside the manor.
She'd woken up pretty quickly...
What a drug-resistant queen.
"Make her wait!" Cecilia said impatiently.
"Yes, miss."
The maid outside slowly walked away.
"Mary... The Council of Elders assigned her to be my assistant. I suspected something was wrong with her from the start."
"I thought she'd have the patience to wait, but she actually dared to pull something right under my nose. How bold!"
Cecilia narrowed her eyes slightly, a cruel smile curling her lips.
"Looks like I've found a suitable candidate for the test subject for that obscure magic..."
Ansu thought to himself, Looks like Teacher Mary's about to get a 'total makeover.'
After a moment's thought, Cecilia looked up at Ansu with satisfaction.
"You did well. How should I reward you?"
"Well..." Ansu thought, The greatest reward would be for you to stop bothering me for no reason.
"Actually, I don't need any reward. I was only doing what I should..."
But before he could finish his polite refusal, he noticed Cecilia's expression suddenly change.
A pair of Demon Blood Eyes appeared!
Damn! This Scum Witch really changed expressions in the blink of an eye!
Good thing he was quick.
[Magic Immunity]
Just as Ansu brought out his trump card, Cecilia's dark red eyes became whirlpools brimming with magic and instantly cast Hypnosis on him.
Ansu's expression gradually turned vacant. His entire body stiffened as he stood rooted to the spot.
"Tell me, was what you said just now true?"
Ansu nodded dazedly.
"It was true."
"Oh..." Cecilia's expression softened. "Looks like I was worrying over nothing. You wouldn't dare lie to me about something like this..."
"Then how would you like me to reward you?" Cecilia continued, smiling as she returned to her earlier question.
She knew that, given Ansu's cautious nature, he wouldn't dare ask for a reward outright. That made her all the more curious to hear what he really thought.
"I don't ask for a reward from Lady Cecilia. I only hope..."
"Hope for what?" Cecilia asked, growing even more curious.
"Please don't kill me."
"Kill you?" Cecilia blinked. "Why would I kill you?"
"Because I lied to you," Ansu answered honestly.
His reply clearly caught Cecilia by surprise. She raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You lied to me? Tell me what you lied about."
"I was the one who brought in people from the Church. I had a classmate deliver a note to the Church..."
Cecilia's expression immediately turned serious.
"What was your goal?"
"I wanted to threaten the Church's Saintess into letting my younger sister go to school. I know the Saintess has demi-human blood, and she definitely wouldn't want her identity exposed..."
At last, Ansu's half-true lie came in handy.
Cecilia was different from Mary. Even if there were still holes in the lie, she would believe that her hypnotized self was telling the truth.
Cecilia was far too confident—arrogant, even. It would never occur to her that her dark magic had no effect on him at all.
Ansu knew that the truth couldn't stay hidden forever. The note and the Saintess were bound to come to light sooner or later.
So he decided to take a risk and burst that bubble early.
Under Cecilia's strange gaze, Ansu laid out his plan "from beginning to end"—how he had investigated the Saintess's demi-human heritage, how talented his younger sister was, how desperately his family needed money, and even a little sob story for good measure...
After he'd "honestly" explained everything, just as expected, Cecilia didn't look angry.
"You dared to threaten an important figure for your sister?"
"Interesting." Cecilia smiled. "So you're not such a good student after all! Just like me, you're a little villain with no bottom line~"
She didn't seem to care much that Ansu had threatened the Saintess. She was more interested in why he thought he could threaten her.
"Weren't you afraid she'd kill you as soon as you met her, then bury you somewhere out of sight?"
"After all, she's the famous Saintess of the Church, while you're just a poor student. What made you think you could get the better of her?"
"Because she's a weak-willed person," Ansu answered.
This time, he was telling the truth. As a player, he knew every member of the protagonist's party very well.
[Heart of Holy Radiance—Freya] had been written as a bit of a "sweet, innocent girl" at first. She was the kind of person who believed others far too easily.
Because she was so pure and kind, she always gave players the impression that "you could get that silly girl into your room with any old excuse"...
Fortunately, this was a regular game. If it had been an 18+ game, she'd have been the perfect heroine for a doujinshi—the kind who got tricked into a goblin cave...
But after Freya joined the protagonist's party and set out on the arduous journey to save the world, she grew a lot. Of course, that was a story from another parallel world...
"Oh..."
"I didn't realize you knew her so well."
Cecilia suddenly wasn't sure what to do with him.
If she were in his shoes, she'd also use every means at her disposal to benefit herself. What did Freya's reputation have to do with her? When it came to selfishness, Ansu was a lot like her...
At the thought, Cecilia furrowed her brows slightly. It was rare for her to consider things from someone else's perspective.
Could it be that I really don't want to kill him? Is that why I'm coming up with excuses for him?
"Hmph!"
Cecilia suddenly felt a little flustered. She put on a stern face and snorted at Ansu.
"I'll let you off this time, but remember: there won't be a next time! I don't want you interacting with anyone from the Church!"
Ansu nodded blankly. "Yes."
"And one more thing!"
Cecilia suddenly leaned closer to Ansu. "How do you know so much about that Saintess? You secretly looked into where she was born, followed her around, and know all about her personality... Why are you acting like a stalker?"
"Could it be..."
Cecilia's expression turned a little strange.
She still remembered that when they first met, Ansu had said he liked her looks. Combined with his stalker-like behavior toward the Saintess...
This guy didn't seem interested in human girls at all. Did he have a special thing for demi-human girls??
Her subordinate certainly had a "unique" taste...
For some reason, as she stared at the vacant-eyed Ansu in front of her, Cecilia suddenly felt like teasing him.
"Everyone thinks the current Saintess is holy and beautiful, like a Goddess descended from the heavens..."
"Ansu," she asked with a smile, "in your heart, who's more beautiful—her or me?"
Before you continue