Chapter 38: Principles

As this thought surfaced, Luna immediately dismissed it.

Impossible.

If Hell were an Adjudicator, wouldn’t she, the Goddess Angel sitting right next to him, have been exposed long ago? How could that guy tolerate having an enemy by his side for so long?

Besides, with Hell’s sickly appearance, he didn’t look like he could fight at all…

Luna shook her head, trying to banish the thought from her mind.

Forget it, there’s no point in thinking so much.

I should reply to the message first.

Her fingers tapped against the screen as she sent two words:

“I know him.”

Sent.

Then she stared at the screen, waiting for the person’s next sentence.

What on earth is this V trying to do?

Hell saw the short “I know him” reply and the corners of his mouth curled into a satisfied arc.

Knowing him is enough.

Knowing him means that everything that follows can happen naturally.

His fingers tapped quickly on the screen, typing out a line:

“I need a human to help me with some things here. I think he’s a good choice—black hair, sickly, seems to have no presence; he’s perfect.”

Immediately after, Hell added another sentence:

“Since you are so popular in class, if you ask him out, he will definitely agree, right?”

Sent.

Hell leaned against the head of his bed, watching the pink rabbit profile picture on the screen, his eyes shimmering with a faint smile.

He wanted to see how Luna would respond.

On the other side.

Luna stared at the message that had just popped up on her smartphone screen, her pale golden eyes widening.

Cooperate?

Cooperate with an Adjudicator?

Luna’s heart tightened, and a chill crawled up her spine.

Cooperating with an Adjudicator of the Eternal Night Gospel was certainly not a good thing.

What did those Eternal Night Gospel guys want with a normal person? Experiments? Using him as bait? Or sacrificing him to the Crystal Husks? She didn’t know the specifics, but she knew it would never be anything good.

If she really asked Hell out and handed him over…

That classmate would definitely never return.

Luna’s fingers trembled slightly.

Even though she wasn’t close to Hell, even though her knowledge of him was limited to “classmate” and “desk-mate,” and even though rumors said he was a scumbag, a jerk, and a repulsive existence—

But that was a human life.

A living, breathing person.

How could she throw an innocent person into a fire pit for the sake of her own safety?

Luna took a deep breath, her fingers tapping quickly on the screen to send a resolute message.

“No.”

“I won’t do such a thing.”

She tapped send and stared at the screen, her heart beating a little fast.

Seeing Luna’s response, Hell raised an eyebrow slightly.

She refused, just as he expected.

He continued typing, his tone carrying a trace of deliberate confusion and bewilderment.

“Isn’t he a jerk with a terrible reputation?”

“The people around him wish he would disappear; that’s what I’ve heard.”

“What’s wrong with helping me out a little?”

“And if he happens to die…”

Finally, Hell paused for a moment and typed the last sentence.

“Isn’t that what everyone hopes for?”

Looking at this message, a wave of uncontrollable anger surged in Luna’s chest.

Hope?

Who hopes for that?

Those gossiping people? Those who looked at him with strange eyes? Those who wished he would just disappear?

Maybe so.

Perhaps many people really did wish Hell would disappear.

But those people did not include her, Luna Florea.

She took a deep breath and tapped the screen forcefully, every word filled with undeniable firmness.

“I don’t care what others think.”

“Regardless of his reputation, regardless of whether he is a jerk or a good person—”

“He is a living, breathing person.”

“I will not sacrifice anyone to buy my own safety.”

“Absolutely not.”

After sending the message, Luna threw her phone onto the bed, her chest heaving violently. She didn’t know how that V would respond, whether he would be angry, or whether he would threaten her with Hestia—

But she did not regret it.

Even if given another chance, she would make the same choice.

Hell watched the series of firm, unquestionable replies on the screen, his eyes narrowing slightly. He tapped on the keyboard again, typing a line with an obvious threat in his tone.

“Even if it meant using Hestia as a trade?”

He stared at the screen, waiting for her response.

On the other side.

When Luna saw this message, her heart sank.

Hestia.

That gentle girl with golden hair, the sister who always healed her with light, the companion she had promised to go shopping and eat dessert with in the future.

Luna’s fingers trembled slightly.

She closed her eyes, Hestia’s smile appearing in her mind—so warm, so beautiful, and so worth cherishing.

However…

She opened her eyes, firm radiance shimmering in her pale golden irises.

The young girl took a deep breath and tapped on the screen, replying word by word.

“Hestia is very important to me.”

“Very important.”

“More important than myself.”

“But…”

“I won’t play games with someone else’s life.”

“I won’t label someone as a good or bad person based on unproven rumors.”

“Even if he really did those things in the rumors…”

Luna bit her lower lip and typed the final sentence.

“He shouldn’t receive such a punishment.”

Hell looked at the reply, a flicker of complex emotion appearing in his eyes.

He hadn’t expected the girl to answer this way.

He thought she would hesitate, struggle, and weigh Hestia against an “irrelevant jerk of a classmate”—most people in this situation would choose that way.

But she didn’t.

She refused without hesitation.

It wasn’t because she didn’t value Hestia—on the contrary, she valued her more than anyone else.

But even so, she would not protect the person she cherished by sacrificing an innocent individual.

Hell shook his head slightly, a faint smile appearing on his lips.

So, she really is an angel chosen by the Goddess.

No prejudice, treating everyone equally.

She wouldn’t even sacrifice someone as notorious as “Hell.”

This persistence, this purity, this… foolishly cute kindness.

It fit his expectations perfectly.

If he truly wanted Luna to “fabricate” an experience of saving Hell, verbal manipulation would never succeed—her principles were too strong, and she would never betray her beliefs due to threats.

Therefore…

Since he couldn’t make her “say” that she saved Hell, he would make it happen for real.

He would let Luna truly, actually, save Hell.

He would let her see that “sickly classmate” fall into danger with her own eyes, let her rescue him from a crisis with her own hands, and let her personally experience the fact that “I saved him.”

This way, when Seshi asked about it in the future, she would answer it naturally.

“Ah, right, I did save a boy named Hell.”

Because it was true.

Because it was something she had experienced personally.

Seshi would never suspect that this was a complete lie; after all, who would imagine that someone would use the truth to deceive her?

As for how to make this “real performance” look natural without arousing suspicion…

“Since you won’t cooperate…”

Hell’s eyes flickered slightly, a plan forming in his mind. He smiled slightly, his fingers tapping on the screen to type the last sentence, carrying a deliberately unsettling tone.

“It looks like I’ll have to take him away myself.”