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Moonlight spread across the wilderness. Everything was quiet.
Only the somewhat slow footsteps softly echoed through the air.
After leaving the mansion, Henny wore a loose robe.
In her arms, she held a small white dog.
Passing through the deep forest, Henny climbed to the top of the academy's back mountain.
A little closer to the moon.
Under the soft moonlight in the sky, her glowing yellow eyes seemed to shine together with the moonlight itself.
From the top of the academy's back mountain, the entire magic academy located in the royal capital's central district could be clearly seen.
Henny gently brushed up her hair so the cold wind would not blow it around and block her sight.
She remembered very clearly.
This place, the academy's back mountain.
It was where one of her most painful memories had happened.
It was also the first place where she made a deal with a demon.
That time, both the academy and the royal capital paid a terrible price.
Although, in the end, that pig Devin Lesser took all the blame, and the crime of colluding with demons was also pushed onto him.
But Henny always understood.
If they were really talking about the one most responsible for that incident, it could only be her.
She had failed to resist the demon's temptation. Greed had taken root in her heart, and in the end, she nearly allowed that demon to destroy the entire academy.
If Professor Victor had not been there.
Even though she had prepared a backup plan, and the Greed Demon would eventually lose all the magic power it absorbed because of magical backlash.
The terrible reality that had happened still could not be ignored.
"Haa."
Henny took a deep breath.
She bent down and placed the little white dog beside the mountain path.
"Sleep through your final dream, Puki."
The moment her words fell, a heavy magic formation instantly rose behind Henny.
The formation was engraved with incomparably complicated runes. Its complexity was so high that it was hard to believe it was only a third-tier spell.
Then, the formation floated into the sky and began spinning wildly.
Countless lights rose from the academy dormitory buildings, turning into clusters of glowing particles.
As though some kind of energy was being drawn out.
They gradually flowed toward the formation summoned by Henny.
And Henny only calmly watched all of this happen without showing any extra emotion.
Suddenly, a strong wind blew from behind, scattering her hair into a mess.
She paused slightly, her vision blocked by her hair.
Before she could turn around, that familiar voice already sounded behind her.
"Tell me."
"What are you doing?"
Even without turning around, Henny recognized the owner of that voice.
It was the person she respected most.
As expected, when she turned around and brushed aside her windblown hair again.
Within her sight stood that familiar figure in a trench coat.
A black crow still perched on his shoulder.
Like a phantom in the night.
Victor's arrival had been completely silent.
Only accompanied by a gust of wind, he appeared beside her.
But Henny did not panic, nor did she become overly emotional.
As if she had already known Victor would appear.
Still, she explained herself.
"Professor, I already requested permission from Dean Rachel."
"He allowed me to do this."
The current Henny was not only an associate professor at the academy.
She was also a third-tier member of the Mage Council.
And because of her special circumstances, Henny was allowed to submit requests to the council.
As long as her request stayed within reasonable limits and met the council's moral standards.
In simple terms, Henny's actions completely met the standards and would not harm anyone.
Victor calmly looked at Henny.
Once upon a time, Henny had been so shy she resembled a little rabbit whenever she spoke with him.
Now, she had grown this much.
Confident, and strong.
This strength did not refer to her actual power.
Because Henny was still only a third-tier mage.
It was just that when facing Victor now, Henny could already remain calm and composed without changing expression.
Even though the professor before her was the person she loved most.
"But you should understand."
Victor's deep gaze fixed on Henny.
"That's not what I'm asking."
His voice was even colder than the freezing wind around them.
The Royal Magic Academy was Rachel's territory.
Since even Rachel had not stepped in to stop Henny, it naturally meant her actions were within his accepted limits.
But after hearing Victor's words, Henny smiled slightly, as though her mood had improved.
"Professor, I'm very happy that you care about me this much."
"It's just…"
Henny lowered her eyes slightly, her voice becoming a little quiet.
"You understand demons better than I do, so you should know why I'm doing this."
Victor said nothing. His eyes were like a still lake, deep and cold.
Demons could not truly die, because humans could never avoid those seven emotions.
Pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony, and lust.
As long as intelligent life still existed in the world, as long as they could not avoid even one of those desires.
Dead demons would revive again through them.
Likewise, different desire demons would be attracted to creatures with matching traits.
As long as the desire was strong enough.
"During the time you were gone, I learned many things about demons from the council."
"So I began researching what exactly demons are born from."
From then on, Henny barely cared about eating or sleeping. During the day she taught classes at the academy, and at night she continuously studied demon traits through Lighton.
Lighton needed anger as food.
And anger was also the source of Lighton's power.
As long as there was enough anger nearby, Lighton could become stronger.
Henny had long understood this.
She raised her head and seriously looked at Victor.
"Did you know, Professor?"
"Demons are attracted to each other."
Areas where demons existed had a very high chance of attracting another demon.
But it was not something that could happen whenever one wanted.
Because they required the matching emotion.
So Henny chose Cocotte.
Cocotte was the laziest elf in the Klevenna family. Even humans could not compare to her laziness.
In the end, she succeeded.
Using Lighton's existence and properly making use of Cocotte's laziness, she successfully summoned the demon representing sloth.
The little white dog, Puki.
And next, all she needed was to learn Puki's true name in order to control the demon.
Henny took a deep breath and continued, "Senior Cocotte's sleep wasn't an accident."
"But she won't be in any danger."
Elves possessed a very mysterious ability called "Return to Nature."
This was also recorded in the magical library.
The all-powerful Archmage had recorded everything he witnessed inside the magical library.
So Henny understood very clearly.
The condition for returning to nature was an elf's lifespan reaching its limit.
Born from nature, eventually dying naturally, and returning to nature.
That was true return to nature.
Simply sleeping did not count as reaching the end of one's lifespan.
And Cocotte would not sleep forever either.
During the fifteen days Cocotte had been sleeping, Henny continuously observed her condition.
The longer Cocotte slept, the more compatible she became with Puki.
In the end, once Puki "died," Cocotte would wake up.
And the dead Puki would be replaced by a new Sloth Demon. As for who that new Sloth Demon would be?
That was not important.
No matter who it was, the new Sloth Demon would only revive beside Cocotte.
Because after that, only Cocotte's desire for laziness could satisfy the Sloth Demon.
No matter how many times Puki died and revived, it would never be able to escape Cocotte's side.
At that moment, Henny revealed a bright smile toward Victor.
"My goal has already been achieved, Professor."
"I successfully restricted a demon, and I also made it so Senior Cocotte no longer has to suffer from sleepiness."
If the Sloth Demon wanted to survive, it had to feed on Cocotte's laziness.
That was also why Cocotte no longer felt sleepy.
"But…"
Moonlight fell across her body, stretching her shadow long.
Henny's glowing yellow eyes carried a trace of pain as she looked at Victor.
Then who would satisfy my desire?
Henny no longer looked at Victor. She bent down and picked up the little white dog again.
Perhaps because it had absorbed enough sleepiness, it slept even more soundly.
At this point, no matter how much someone called it, it probably would not wake up.
The light of the magic formation gradually faded.
And inside the academy, the bright magical lamps in the dormitory buildings lit up.
Maybe because it was nighttime, the students suddenly found themselves unable to sleep, causing them all to climb out of bed one after another.
Victor also looked toward the academy.
With the help of magic, he could even hear the distant voices.
'Damn it, I suddenly can't sleep.'
'This is weird. I trained all day, so why am I not tired at all now?'
'Sleep my ass. Time to get up and study!'
Voices rose one after another, but without exception.
All the students' exhaustion and laziness from the entire day had been completely wiped away.
No one would have imagined that the demon representing sloth could actually produce such an effect.
No wonder Dean Rachel allowed Henny's actions.
At this moment, Henny looked down at the academy again and calmly said, "Dean Rachel knows I'm researching demons."
"At first, I didn't plan on telling you about this, and I also asked the dean to keep it secret for me."
"But you still found out, Professor."
She regained her composure, turned around, and looked at Victor with a smile.
Victor, however, still calmly looked at her. He sighed softly and asked, "Then tell me."
"What is your purpose in researching demons?"
Hearing Victor's words, Henny softly laughed.
As though she had regained her usual liveliness, she slowly walked up to Victor and narrowed her eyes.
With a hint of seduction, she blinked and gently said, "Professor, can you hold me again?"
Victor had always promised her this. He had always known.
So he opened his arms, intending to give Henny a hug.
But the moment his arms spread open.
Henny suddenly stepped into Victor's embrace.
Standing on her toes.
Along with a light pecking kiss, Victor's eyes widened slightly.
The dampness at the corner of his lips seemed to explain what had just happened.
He lowered his head and looked at the succubus in his arms.
Her cheeks were flushed, carrying a faint smiling expression.
The sound of the wind softly passed by their ears, blowing Victor's trench coat and lifting Henny's loose robe as well.
"Because…"
That clear voice lingered in Victor's heart for a long time.
"I don't want to stay satisfied with how things are anymore."
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