OHNIR – Chapter 7

Chapter 7: The Usual Tricks

Gloria chuckled softly but didn't tell Kelusta that no teacher would actually come to inspect her work. Instead, she asked, "What did you do wrong?"

Kelusta's expression froze, her sweet smile vanishing. The way her eyes gazed at Gloria made the latter feel, for no reason at all, as if she were the one bullying her—so pitiful and aggrieved.

An ordinary person might have crumbled under such a look.

But Gloria was clearly not an ordinary person. Her deep blue eyes widened with even greater interest as she stubbornly awaited an answer.

"...I was too disruptive in class," Kelusta said dryly. "You know how that potion teacher's temper is... I don't know what got into me, to get distracted in his class!"

After a moment's thought, she added with righteous indignation, "And he even caught me!"

So it would have been fine if she hadn't been caught?

Gloria raised an eyebrow. She was, of course, aware of the notoriously ill-tempered first-year potions teacher. However, while the man was strict, she knew he wouldn't punish a student with cleaning duty just for chatting a bit in class.

To many students, this was a demeaning chore... forcing them to wipe things down with a dirty rag was undoubtedly an insult to their dignity.

This young lady was likely punished with cleaning duty because she was an easy-to-bully commoner.

—Kelusta herself didn't find cleaning the least bit shameful. On the contrary, she had actually had quite a bit of fun doing it.

But Gloria didn't know this. Her smile faded slightly. She paused, seeming to want to say something, but in the end, she refrained from commenting further on the matter. She simply offered some advice like a proper senior student, "Potions is a profound subject and a required course for graduation. You should pay close attention next time, little sister. You really mustn't let this happen again."

At her words, Kelusta's face immediately fell. She placed a hand on her forehead, looking rather vexed, and said mournfully, "Potions is just too hard... I've never encountered it before, so I don't have a clue."

A flicker of suspicion crossed Gloria's eyes.

The listener reads between the lines; the statement was a delicate one.

Was this girl in front of her hinting at something, hoping for her help? Or was she overthinking it, and this was just a casual complaint?

If it was the former... it would be a shame. It was rare for her to find a commoner she found even slightly agreeable.

Potions were very valuable, and most of the ingredients used to brew them were extremely rare. The Holy Light Magic Academy only offered one or two practical lessons in the second year. Even minor nobles couldn't afford to brew them at home, let alone commoners. Consequently, during the graduation exams at the Academy, there were always commoner students who got stuck on the potions course, with no way out.

Kelusta was telling the truth. She really didn't understand it.

In the original storyline, back when she was a diligent student, Kelusta couldn't have even handled the simplest pop quizzes without the help of the other talented male leads. The only reason she was barely scraping by now was thanks to the System's cheats—and that was only because they were still on theoretical studies. When it came to actually brewing potions, even the System probably couldn't save this slacker.

But! So what!

So what if she was bad at her studies! Did it stop her from being the heroine? Did it stop her from saving the world!

Not at all!

So Kelusta didn't care one bit about how to learn potions. She had been playing the part of a pitiful girl all this time in preparation for her next move.

While Gloria was momentarily paused, pondering the deeper meaning of Kelusta's words, Kelusta decisively broke her train of thought, adding with utmost sincerity, "But hearing you say that, Senior, I'll definitely pay attention in class and follow your teachings!"

With that, she flashed a huge smile, filled with deep admiration. "I know you were always first in your class during your first and second years, Senior! That's so amazing! I'll work hard to become someone just like you!"

"..." the System said dryly. "You're quite good at flattering yourself."

In the original storyline, even with the top-student male leads personally carrying her, Kelusta had only just barely touched the edge of being an honor student. And now—

Gloria was the number one student that even those male leads couldn't surpass.

Kelusta ignored the System's sarcasm. She just watched as Gloria's expression softened again, that trace of coldness quietly disappearing, and only then did she secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

"Ding. Gloria's favorability +1."

One point of favorability! A world-shaking event!

Kelusta had remained completely unfazed when Kevit's favorability went up by five or ten points next door. But now, after all this effort, Gloria had only given her one point, and she felt like bursting into tears of joy on the spot.

Although Kelusta had expected that the great demon lord's favorability wouldn't be easy to raise... she hadn't expected it to be this difficult.

Especially since she had waited three days just for her to show up. The drop rate was too low! At this rate, by the time her favorability reached the required level, Starangui's army would probably be at their doorstep.

She couldn't just camp out in the library all day, and Gloria would surely choose a time when no one was around to look for the mirror... running into her twice was a complete accident.

"You're in the library so late again today, Senior," Kelusta said, immediately starting to gather intel on the boss's drop rate after her sycophantic act. "Are second-year students very busy?"

Gloria nodded slightly and reached out to place a pale gold book she had been holding onto a library table. "Yes," she explained. "I only just had time today to return this book I borrowed last time."

The color of the book was similar to her formal dress, and Kelusta, who had been focused on her face—observing her expression!—hadn't even noticed it before.

She remarked to the System, "Such a high-level play. As expected of the final villain. I just happened to run into her last time, and now she's come prepared with the perfect excuse for a late-night library visit. What a boss, to be so cautious!"

The System believed that, ignoring her chaotic soliloquy, her core point was worth agreeing with.

Gloria was indeed cautious. Otherwise, across three entire capture routes, no one would have discovered that she was the true mastermind.

"The second year is almost the most exhausting year of academy life," Gloria explained. "The coursework is heavy, and we have to complete after-class assignments from the teachers. I can barely find any time for my own things."

This statement, much like Kelusta's complaint about potions class, was true. With the whereabouts of the Holy Force Source still unknown, there was no need for Gloria to rush her search for the magic mirror. Coming to the library to check every few days was more than enough.

But she wasn't in a hurry, whereas Kelusta was!

The sooner she could advance the mission, the sooner she could get the variables under her control.

But no matter how anxious she was, she couldn't say something ridiculous like, "Senior, look how interesting the history books in the library are, you should come more often, okay?" After hemming and hawing for a while, she could only say with resentment, "You work too hard, Senior. Remember to get some rest when you have the chance."

"Thank you for your concern, little sister," Gloria said politely. Then, as if remembering something, she chuckled softly. "By the way, after you finish a cleaning punishment, the teachers usually don't come back to check... so, little sister, you didn't have to wait this long, you know."

As she finished speaking, she saw the girl in front of her suddenly glare, her eyes wide like an angry kitten's, her fur seemingly standing on end. She belatedly waved her claws in fury. "What... How could this be? Does that mean I cleaned for nothing these past few days?! You know, I don't even put that much effort into cleaning my own dorm room!"

Gloria let out a soft laugh and gently tried to console her. "You live and you learn. You must be sure not to get distracted in class next time, little sister."

She found this girl rather cute.

Just like... a 【】.

If it were an ordinary commoner student, Gloria wouldn't have spoken with them this much, nor would she have had the idle curiosity to find out why they were being punished, and she certainly wouldn't have been in the mood to tease them...

But Kelusta didn't know any of this. She thought it was all thanks to her own effective tricks.

After the otome game protagonist, feigning naivety and cuteness, pretended to finish her tantrum and cheerfully invited the ducal lady to walk back to the dorms with her—and received her acceptance—she even bragged to the System about the masterful social skills of the Seaside Flower.

Kelusta: "These villains, you know, the more twisted they are on the inside, the more they fall for this naive and sweet act. Look at the original timeline: the scheming Satrick, the chuuni demon lord Musen, the treacherous double agent Kevit, and Wend, who was either being harmed or harming others—ha, didn't they all fall for it?"

System: "..."

It suddenly had a bold idea.

What if the heroine in the original timeline had thought the same way, and that's why she used this fake naive and sweet act to capture the male leads, ultimately making everyone—including the high-dimensional production team and the players—believe it was real, thereby earning her the label of "pure and kind"...

The implications were terrifying.

Being cautious, Gloria didn't linger in the library for long and walked back to the dorms with Kelusta.

This time, their conversation revolved around the pale gold history book she had just returned, which described the customs and culture of the Demon Realm. Kelusta, equipped with the 【Sage】 achievement, had of course read it. She wasn't sure if the author had actually been to the lands where the demons lived, but based on the descriptions, it seemed quite realistic.

But Gloria didn't think so.

"It's fake," she said. "Demons revere strength, love slaughter, and are obstinate. The Demon King has only just begun to rule the Continent Edge; it's impossible for him to have established the 'Dark Magic Academy' mentioned in that book."

After saying that, she let out a soft scoff—so soft that Kelusta wondered if she had misheard—and then explained to the brown-haired girl, "The demons' magic comes from plundering the human race. In other words, over there, any demon with magical potential must come from an ancient family. Their ancestors participated in the Cruel Era and procreated with partners who also possessed magic, which is how their descendants came to have magic."

"So, after the end of the Cruel Era, with the demons unable to invade the human race, they've developed to this point... there shouldn't be many demons on the Continent Edge now who know magic," Kelusta said thoughtfully. "Which makes a 'magic academy' even more nonsensical."

Gloria gave her a slightly approving look and said calmly, "It is a book from the library, after all. It's not uncommon for there to be some errors and omissions."

Oh, "from the library." That was a blatant jab—after all, she was the eldest daughter of the first ducal family of Nobili, someone with the privilege of visiting the royal library.

Content about the demons was rarely mentioned in the academy's books, so Kelusta didn't know much. But now, from just a few words in this brief conversation, she was already able to extract more of the truth from the information Gloria revealed.

—Musen was a wind mage.

Others didn't know he was a demon, but it was crystal clear to Kelusta. This seemingly ordinary pawn, after returning to the Demon Realm, was able to quickly become a trusted confidant of the Demon King. It seemed it was all thanks to his bloodline.

A demon who inherited the blood of an ancient demon family, and who would later possess power comparable to the Demon King...

Since that was the case, and she had no intention of capturing him, she absolutely could not unleash a tiger back into the mountains and let him return to the Demon Realm to cause her trouble.

Kelusta sighed inwardly and decided to add "finding Musen" to her agenda.

—If I start brainwashing him from a young age that he's human, I refuse to believe he'll still run back to the Demon Realm!

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