Gymnopedie observed her closely. Though Pandora was pinned by the concrete, her lips were rosy, her teeth white, her skin spotless, and her hair neatly combed—she had clearly been meticulously cared for.
Under these circumstances, such cleanliness only fueled more terrifying associations.
It was obvious at a glance: someone had been brushing her teeth, washing her, trimming her nails, cleaning the grime from her cuticles, and even picking the wax from her ears. There was even a band-aid applied to her skin to prevent infection.
Gymnopedie felt an immense sense of unease. It reminded her of a very specific, sordid industry. “Hey, what exactly happened here?” she asked urgently. “Let me get you out of—”
“No!” Pandora blurted out, stopping her in a panic.
“Don’t tell me you’re actually enjoying this roleplay,” Gymnopedie said, her eyes narrowing.
“It’s not that!” Pandora’s face was a mask of misery as she shook her head frantically. “This can’t get out. If the school finds out I’ve been manipulating my roommates, I’ll be expelled!”
The behavior of the five girls wasn’t a choice; their hearts and minds were being controlled by the fragrance. If the academy discovered this, she was finished.
The corner of Gymnopedie’s mouth quirked up in a mischievous smirk. “Five yanderes serving your every need… sounds like you’re living the dream.”
“Uwahhh…” Pandora let out a conflicted whimper.
“So you’re just going to live in a block of cement forever?” Gymnopedie asked, her brow furrowing again.
“They’ll return to normal in a few days. Just… just leave me alone for now… sob…”
“Idiot!”
Gymnopedie cursed under her breath and turned to leave. Not only had she gained nothing from this excursion, but she had also wasted a third of her mana—both stealth and silencing required active Witchcraft.
Her faith had yet to recover. Although she now worshipped Hatsuyuki Karuta, Hatsuyuki’s own faith had collapsed as well. Now, every drop of mana she used was gone for good.
On the dormitory balcony, a single crow watched the entire scene play out.
Morning arrived, and the girls on the communal bed began to wake one by one.
The tatami mats were pulled back, and the chilly morning air brushed against Pandora’s face.
“Good morning, Pandora.”
“Good morning, Pandora-chan.”
The five of them greeted her in turn, their smiles sweet and their voices melodic. To anyone else, it would have been a delight to hear.
Pandora was so moved she nearly cried.
After a moment, her roommates—having finished their own morning routines—brought over a basin of warm water and began wiping her body down with hot towels.
A soft-bristled brush was thrust into her mouth, scrubbing until toothpaste foam bubbled out. Her ears were tilted up, and cotton swabs scraped gently inside and out.
Soon, Pandora was cleaned and “ready for use.”
The girls swarmed around her like puppies, four or five small noses pressing close, sniffing incessantly.
After a while, Pandora said with a flushed face, “I… I need to…”
After a whole night, she needed to relieve herself.
A specialized slanted-mouth carafe was brought over. As it was pressed against her, she gave a sudden shiver. The sound of liquid splashing into the vessel filled the quiet room until it was half full.
“Ugh… this is so embarrassing…”
Pandora’s face burned with shame. Her hands and feet, the only parts of her outside the wall, curled up in a futile gesture of rejection. The humiliation scorched her soul. No matter how thick-skinned she usually was, she couldn’t handle being served with such “meticulous detail” by five people at once.
Watching from the shadows, Wang Yue began to discern the truth. Pandora’s body seemed to be emitting a strange scent, and her five roommates loved that scent even more than they loved her—an obsession that extended to the source.
Based on Pandora’s earlier comment that things would return to normal in a few days, it suggested the scent was something that could be “depleted.”
Once Pandora was wiped clean again, the girls draped themselves over her once more, some sniffing lightly while others inhaled deeply, murmuring under their breaths.
“So fragrant… Pandora-chan… I love you so much…”
Huff, huff…
Sniff, inhale…
Deep breath…
Lilith sat on a cushion across from Wang Yue, giving a detailed account of her experience at the Ballroom.
The red-winged girl was the host, and the participants included a Puppet, Green Sleeves, a Rabbit, a Lamb, and herself—five in total.
“I will report this to the Headmaster,” Wang Yue said with a nod.
She had no intention of trying to fight a mysterious entity alone. Moreover, she had only taken this job to secure the privilege of entering the Demon Realm; it wasn’t out of personal heroism.
Strictly speaking, she and the mysterious host were in the same line of work.
This was the first “Ballroom” dance Lilith had attended. Aside from the brainwashing, the mysterious host had given the Puppet girl a specific task—to get close to the Fetal Monstrosities and use a Decoder to break and acquire an exclusive channel.
Wang Yue thought it over. This was an attempt to use a Decoder to create a “backdoor” on a Fetal Monstrosity, allowing one to obtain mana without the need for faith.
Trying to open a backdoor on a true deity was undoubtedly a death wish, but a Fetal Monstrosity was like a nuclear power plant without a conscious mind. There was room to maneuver there.
A crow landed on the windowsill of the Headmaster’s office, reporting the matter to Gwendolyn.
Wang Yue didn’t think the mystery host could actually pull it off; the Taboo Names weren’t to be trifled with. Furthermore, the Quicksand Lowlands were currently occupied by explorer teams, including Lantern-Bearers.
Her primary concern was actually Lilith.
Becoming a Witch meant becoming part of a strict organization—following rules and obeying orders. It wasn’t a license to do whatever one pleased. This was the exact opposite of Lilith’s natural temperament.
Wang Yue looked up at the blonde girl, who was currently preoccupied with her fingernails. “Do you think… what she said made sense?”
“Yes,” Lilith admitted with a nod.
She lowered her hand and crawled over to Wang Yue’s side, curling her legs up as she leaned against the wall. She hugged her knees, her white feet resting flat against the floor.
Leaning her body slightly against Wang Yue, she spoke candidly. “I feel like she is me. A future version of me. Many of the nascent ideas in my head exist within her as far-reaching schemes and comprehensive thoughts. Her words felt like the voice of my own heart. They made me feel… exhilarated. Entranced.”
Wang Yue reached out and took her hand, tucking the slender, cold little hand into the warmth of her own robe.
“I don’t want you to become like that. I don’t want that kind of Lilith.”
This time, she didn’t offer any platitudes or grand arguments. It was a simple, selfish demand.
“Hmph. You’re acting like a child,” Lilith said, a small smile playing on her lips.
***
Dorm 106.
The five girls were huddled around Pandora, sniffing her constantly. Over the past few days, they had locked the door at every opportunity to perform this ritualistic, almost religious scent-hugging.
Suddenly, Delia’s brow furrowed. The hazy fog in her eyes cleared, replaced by sudden lucidity.
She took a deep breath, but the familiar fragrance was gone. With a look of confusion, she asked, “Why isn’t it fragrant anymore?”
“The smell is gone?”
“I think so… it actually smells a bit… stinky.”
“How gross. It really stinks.”
The girls snapped out of their trance as if waking from a dream. They looked around blankly, then at each other, feeling a sudden surge of confusion and disgust at their own behavior. A cold shiver ran down their spines.
It’s all been sucked out… it’s gone… not a single drop left…
Pandora didn’t know whether to feel relieved or devastated.
The Flower of Evil inside the Pandora’s Box had stopped releasing the fragrance. Unless she gained more Sin Value to unlock more of the progress bar, she couldn’t secrete any more Sinful Fragrance.
This meant she had no way to control anyone for the time being.
However, she had been waiting for the moment the scent ran out so that the evidence of her “crime” would be buried. If her roommates had been caught while under her control, the school would have investigated the smell, found the Box, and her identity would have been exposed. She would have been finished.
The last few days had been a nightmare for Pandora.
One half of her body had been treated like a precious object, wiped clean and kept pink and tender. The other half was fused into concrete, where filth accumulated and foul-smelling sweat pooled.
On one hand, she had been served by five yanderes until she was practically senseless; on the other, she lived in constant terror that the school would discover them.
The dual sense of perversion and dread had pushed her to the brink of a mental and physical breakdown. For days, she had hovered on the edge of collapse.
But now, she was finally free. She had survived!
Using Witchcraft, the block of concrete was deconstructed. The black-haired girl sat up amidst a pile of blocky, toy-like debris. With a clatter, she scrambled off the bed. Her legs, having been stationary for so long, were like jelly; she had to lean against the wall just to move forward.
The agonizing torture was finally over. She desperately wanted to get to the washroom to bathe and change, to welcome her new life…
Just then, the door opened. Wang Yue was standing right there.
