Trembling, trembling.

The sight of the massive assassin shaking was quite memorable.

His eyes stared blankly into space, and drool dripped from his gaping mouth.

Anyone who saw him would doubt whether he was even conscious, let alone sane.

How pitiful. Why did he insist on not talking, even if it meant enduring pain?

If he had just spoken quietly, things would have been fine.

But no, there are always people who choose to suffer just to keep their silence.

"Ophelia-sensei, what exactly...?"

"Um... the result of trying too hard?"

"...You’re not harboring dangerous thoughts, are you?"

"No, of course not!"

Honestly, I felt a bit guilty denying it this time.

It’s no wonder—he looked like someone who had been through some kind of drug-induced stupor.

One might wonder what I had been doing for that hour. It wouldn’t be strange to imagine all sorts of things.

In fact, it might be odd not to think about it.

"Well, it’s fine if he doesn’t want to talk. Isn’t that right, Anya?"

"...Anya?"

What was that, a friendly tone?

For a moment, I thought I misheard, so I unconsciously asked again.

Could it be a nickname for Anastasia?

Were the two close enough to use nicknames? Since when?

"Were you two that close?"

"No, not really. We’re planning to get closer, though."

"...?"

"Well, since we’ll be seeing each other often, we thought it might be a bit too formal to keep using our full names."

"So you’re using nicknames...?"

"Yes."

Anastasia laughed, saying that she thought it would be awkward to remain too formal when they’d be seeing a lot of each other.

...I see.

It wasn’t that Stella had initiated it; it seemed Anastasia had insisted on using the nickname.

"What’s with that face, Ophelia-sensei?"

"Nothing."

"Suspicious. Well, whatever. Anya, is he alive?"

"He is... but..."

Anastasia, examining the dazed man, muttered as if she couldn’t understand what was happening.

"...It’s strange. He seems perfectly fine."

"Fine?"

"There’s no sign of any injuries, nothing that suggests he consumed something... No traces of mana either. What exactly did you do?"

She seemed perplexed that he was showing such a reaction without any apparent cause.

...Maybe I should have held back a bit.

I got a bit carried away torturing him after thinking about how he dared to harm Stella, and then he ended up losing his mind.

I figured he’d snap out of it after an hour or two, so I left him alone, but it seems they found it strange.

"I just... asked his body directly."

"...?! A-hem. I see. Let’s drop the subject here."

"...?"

What’s with their reaction?

I was considering using hypnosis if they started questioning me, but the way they were looking at me was... odd.

Their faces were a bit flushed.

"Um, Ophelia-sensei."

"Yes?"

"Your body... should be treated with care..."

"...? ...?! That’s not what I meant! What on earth are you thinking?!"

Are they out of their minds?!

I finally realized what strange thoughts they were having.

How could they think such things?!

"...Wasn’t it?"

"Of course not!"

"Well, it’s just... you mentioned R-18 and all, and there’s no sign of any magical measures or torture, yet he’s completely out of it after just an hour..."

"No! No, no, no!"

"Okay, okay."

Huff, huff...

Why do I have to put up with this?

I don’t deny that I’m pretty, and I sometimes admire myself when I look in the mirror.

Honestly, it’s quite satisfying to see a well-customized avatar that I created.

That’s why, even if it’s a bit inconvenient, I take care of my appearance. But being harassed like this is still embarrassing.

These kids, acting all grown-up...

Maybe it’s natural for young students to have such thoughts, but I wish they wouldn’t think like that in front of me.

Other students too—why do they always give me that look? Is it because of these unnecessarily large breasts?

But then again, Anastasia is also well-endowed, so why do I get singled out?

"Anyway, did you learn anything?"

"Yes. Nothing different from what you expected."

"...As I thought?"

Should I feel relieved, or disappointed that even with my involvement, nothing seems to have changed?

The information he had matched my expectations perfectly.

Well, not perfectly; things were progressing faster than expected.

"It was indeed the prince who ordered it. He sent only one person because he thought that would be enough."

"I see. I’ve been underestimated."

"However, it seems that wasn’t the only reason he sent just one."

"Not the only reason?"

But there must be some discrepancies.

Because of the lie I told them, I have to keep reminding them of the need to cooperate.

So my job is to keep feeding them information that they can’t verify on their own.

"He said he sent reinforcements to the Pope, so his forces were limited."

"What... Reinforcements to the Pope? Why?"

"Who knows."

"...Anya?"

"I don’t know either. This is the first I’m hearing of it."

Of course, it’s the first time you’re hearing of it. It’s a lie.

What reason would the royal family have to lend an assassination unit to the Pope?

But they’re in a situation where they have no choice but to believe my story.

Everything fits into place assuming my story is true.

"Why would the Pope need an assassin?"

"...It’s not impossible."

"Really?"

"Yes. Recently, there have been many dissatisfied with my father’s actions."

"..."

It’s true that the demon possessing her father’s body is skilled at causing trouble while staying just within the boundaries, but trouble is trouble.

Many in the church were growing increasingly dissatisfied with his behavior.

...This part is true.

"Is that man really your father, the Pope?"

"...As much as I hate to admit it, yes. For now, he is."

"This is absurd. No matter how displeased he might be, the Pope ordering an assassination?"

However, because of the false information I fed them, the Pope has become even more despicable.

The Pope is simply a demon who wants to see the world fall into chaos by inciting conflict.

But with my lies mixed in, he’s now become someone who eliminates political rivals he doesn’t like.

"This... cannot be tolerated."

"I agree. This has crossed the line."

She said it had crossed the line.

Perhaps she meant that causing indirect harm to others can be managed, but directly spilling blood is unforgivable.

I felt proud, as if the desire for rebellion was growing strong within her.

Well done, Anastasia. Someday, may you be the one to bring down the church with your own hands.

"So now it’s confirmed that the Pope and my brother have joined forces... Damn it, no wonder I couldn’t win."

Oh, by the way, Stella’s defeat in the succession battle wasn’t because of this alliance; it was simply because Stella wasn’t as capable.

That’s just mental gymnastics, but there’s no need to tell her that.

She might get angry if I did.

"Princess Stella, this is dangerous."

"I agree. If we leave things as they are, key figures in the church might all be killed."

"What should we do...?"

"The best option is to overthrow the church."

"Teacher, what do you mean by that...?"

"I mean exactly what I said. We need to be careful about how we exclude the Pope."

The current evaluation of the Pope is quite low.

But even so, he is still the Pope. If these two secretly assassinate him, it would be disastrous.

If it’s discovered that they killed him, they’ll be executed immediately.

Even if they successfully assassinate him without anyone knowing, it would still be disastrous. The leader of the church would have been killed without a trace of the culprit, which would cause unprecedented panic.

The citizens wouldn’t just be anxious; there could be simultaneous terror attacks worse than the academy incident.

So the Pope’s death must occur in a way that the majority can accept.

"So instead of worrying about who kills him like in an assassination, we just kill him openly. Everyone will be accomplices!"

"A revolt... I don’t like it, but it could work. I don’t like it, though."

Because of her status as a princess, Stella seemed to have some reservations about using a revolt, but she nodded, acknowledging its effectiveness.

"However, I doubt there’s enough dissatisfaction to bring him down with just that. We’d need a massive scandal, something outrageous enough to unite everyone against him."

"Oh, don’t worry about that. It’s already happening."

"...?"

"Isn’t that right, Observer?"

I smiled at Anastasia, who had been listening with a consistently dark expression.

Her face looked thoroughly confused.