Dekan's Fishing Expedition

As long as the price was right, even a demon would sell you his soul.

Of course, if your deception was good enough, that was another story. Maybe you wouldn't even need to pay.

—Dekan.

The Music Teacher felt a chill crawl over his scalp under Dekan's gaze.

"I-I'll do everything I can to assist you, sir."

The Music Teacher knew he had no room to bargain.

Dekan nodded with satisfaction and said:

"Our operation has one primary person of interest—Miss Olive.

"She's been secretly hiding humans in the laboratory and abusing them, and she's also suspected of repeatedly breaking school rules.

"If you know anything about her, please help us with our investigation.

"If we conduct another surprise inspection in the future, I'll give you a heads-up beforehand, within the limits of my abilities."

After hearing Dekan's words, the Music Teacher's heart was already in turmoil.

So the higher-ups had investigated everything so thoroughly?

Perhaps they also knew all about his previous rule-breaking. They'd just been waiting for a chance to catch him in the act!

In that case, it seemed the other party wasn't targeting him specifically. Their main target was the big fish, Olive.

To catch Olive slipping, they were even willing to offer him a measure of protection.

The Music Teacher took a deep breath and said, "Please don't let anyone know I told you."

"Of course. Don't worry, I've always been good at keeping secrets."

"Teacher Olive does break the rules. She often ignores them and forcibly drags demons who happen to pass by into her laboratory.

"She might let handsome demons go, but she'll torture the ugly ones before killing them.

"She's also a sadist, and she has masochistic tendencies.

"More than killing, she enjoys pursuing the ultimate thrill."

The Music Teacher spoke slowly.

Dekan asked, "How do you know?"

The Music Teacher replied, "She dragged me in once."

"..."

Dekan fell silent for a moment.

This Music Teacher really was much more handsome than the other Demon Teachers he'd seen.

Dekan asked, "Do you have any other information?"

The Music Teacher said, "That would be what happened between her and me in the Demon Laboratory. That day..."

"Whoa, hold on a second."

Dekan hurriedly cut him off. He was still livestreaming.

Then he temporarily disabled the broadcast function of the Shadow World Spectator Program.

"Go on."

So demons like to play that way.

Dekan snarked to himself.

But he didn't dare make too many jokes about demons in his head, afraid Master might hear his thoughts.

Even though Master had never deigned to associate with her own kind and had made it clear she would be asleep, she was always unnervingly sly.

Dekan had certainly suffered plenty at her hands when they first met.

Dekan patted the Music Teacher on the shoulder. "Thanks for cooperating. My promise still stands."

The Music Teacher hurriedly nodded and bowed, thanking him profusely.

"Oh, right."

Dekan suddenly seemed to remember something, making the Music Teacher's heart skip a beat.

"Could you do me a favor and take this musical instrument to the entrance of the principal's office? It's a little worn out and affecting the quality of your lessons. I'll ask the principal to get you a new one."

Dekan pointed to the piano.

"No problem! Thank you!"

The Music Teacher replied without hesitation.

As long as it wasn't bad news—and this was even good news!

He then politely saw Dekan out of the Music Classroom and promised to deliver the piano to the entrance of the principal's office as soon as possible.

From not far outside the Music Classroom, Cornelia watched the Demon Teacher fawning over Dekan as he saw him off.

She had a lot she wanted to say, but didn't know where to start.

Then she remembered that this was her good teammate, Dekan, and it didn't seem so strange after all.

Dekan soon met back up with Cornelia and led her toward their next destination.

"Cornelia, we can go meet Miss Olive now. I've figured out why these demons are so easy to deal with: they're far too obedient to their own desires and instincts, which makes their weaknesses all too obvious. Miss Olive may seem like the most chaotic and difficult one to handle, but in reality... she might actually be the easiest to deal with."

"All right. What should I do?"

"Your role this time is crucial..."

The two whispered to each other as they walked, occasionally using the unique language they shared.

Following the map, they soon reached a spot near the Demon Laboratory.

Two more turns in the corridor would bring them to the Demon Laboratory.

"Cornelia, wait here."

Dekan stopped.

Since Miss Olive might directly snatch up students near the Demon Laboratory, this seemed like a safe distance.

"Okay."

Cornelia nodded.

Just as they had planned before entering the Music Classroom, Dekan would challenge the room while Cornelia waited outside.

In the Observation Hall at Havenlit Academy.

Quite a few upperclassmen had gathered to watch Dekan and Cornelia's progress.

"Are they planning to go straight for the final room?"

Earlier, the broadcaster had recorded the map Dekan drew and placed it in the lower-right corner of the screen, giving all the spectators a better viewing experience.

"That can't be right. They haven't gathered all the information!"

One upperclassman clutched his head and groaned.

Although Dekan's approach to ordinary rooms was bizarre, the final room in an exploration-type Shadow World was an entirely different matter.

Underestimate it, and they'd pay a terrible price and lose everything!

"Hasn't he already gathered enough information?" a younger student asked, confused.

But the nearby upperclassmen all shook their heads.

"Miss Olive might not follow the rules, and she's extremely powerful in combat."

"That means the Demon Laboratory will be difficult to clear, whether they solve its puzzles or try to brute-force their way through."

"Logically speaking, there's only one way for fourth-tier challengers to defeat Miss Olive."

"They have to use the principal to deal with her."

"So they still need to learn about the principal's schedule at the school. Then they can pick the right moment, lure Miss Olive into breaking the rules, and let the principal kill her."

Several upperclassmen patiently explained.

The younger students finally understood.

"But... have these two ever followed a normal route?"

"..."

Someone asked the question, and all the students fell silent.

Their concern had gradually shifted from Dekan to Miss Olive.

Dekan stopped in front of the Demon Laboratory and took a deep breath.

Of all the rooms in this fourth-tier Shadow World, this was the only one that posed even a little danger.

Of course, by "danger," he didn't mean danger in the usual sense.

He meant that one wrong step could get his livestream permanently banned.