In the end, Sheila was no longer curious about what was hidden under the purple hat, nor did she care what Aura had said to Mistress Selia without telling her.
She just wanted to see what Aura had brought to Hohenburg, and to know that it was Aura who had gone against everyone's opinion and brought her, a secretary of a small remote city branch, to Kribi to hold an important position.
That was enough.
Aura had given Sheila her most precious gift: trust.
And Sheila returned it with unwavering loyalty—
A sincerity that would not waver for any change.
"By the way, Sheila," Aura lifted her gaze, her clear puiple eyes reflecting Sheila's face. "Why did Zanze promote you to Vice Minister of Education?"
"At the meeting," Sheila replied, "President Zanze said it was because I played an indispensable role in Hohenburg's academy reforms. I don't understand why she kept emphasizing that point. In the report you submitted, Miss Aura, it should have been clearly stated who the true architect of the reforms was. Everyone received your report, so why would President Zanze highlight my contributions and not yours?"
"Why are you looking at me like that? I don't know either."
"Could it be," Sheila tilted her head thoughtfully, "that you and President Zanze have… a bit of a grudge between you two?"
"That's impossible," Aura declared, straightening at once. "Zanze and I are like a sisters! We would never harm each other! Don't ever say such things again."
After scolding Sheila, Aura bit her finger pensively.
'Now then—how to kill Zanze?'
'Oh, no, it's not necessary to kill Zanze. It would be enough to make Zanze shut up.'
But with Flamme in Kribi, Aura couldn't easily lay a hand on a human, much less one as guarded as Zanze.
'Damn it!'
Aura was a little annoyed. The violent threats she was best at had no effect on Zanze.
That left only one option: to exploit Zanze's human weaknesses.
Let's see… would tears work? No, not on Zanze. She wasn't as gullible as Sheila. She wouldn't make promises just because Aura cried.
Last time, when Aura tearfully begged her to let her taste one of her hands, Zanze hadn't even flinched. Such a cold-hearted woman.
Tears didn't work. Smiles didn't work. Threats didn't work either.
Aura couldn't figure out what expression, what posture, could possibly sway that iron-hearted woman.
————————
In the end, Aura went unpunished.
Sheila didn't report her to Mistress Serie.
For unknown reasons, Zanze chose to conceal the fact that Aura had taken all the credit, and no punishment was imposed.
As for Aura, being the indolent demon she was, she certainly wasn't going to expose herself.
No punishment means you did nothing wrong!
Aura didn't care what these people thought. Since no one exposed her, her plan was successful and all the credit would be hers.
"Heh… I'm one step closer to reclaiming control of the Mage Association."
From Hohenburg to Kribi, Aura remained as diligent as ever—leaving early, returning late—though in truth, she spent more time wandering Kribi's streets than in her office.
This is of course because after taking the position of Minister of Education of the Magic Association, most of what Aura needs to do are decision-making matters, which do not take up too much time.
The hands-on work she'd done in Hohenburg was no longer necessary. Other capable mages now carried out those tasks for her.
Thus, her abundant free time had nothing at all to do with moving Sheila's office next door to hers. Even without Sheila, Aura can finish a day's work in just two or three minutes by herself.
At least, that's what Aura told herself.
After all, she was busy scouting for weaknesses in the magical capital and accumulating intelligence for the future large-scale attack of the demons.
It wasn't laziness, not at all.
Of course, between her "busy" investigations, Aura would occasionally return to her office, glance at a few of Sheila's reports, and "exhaust herself" handling the issues Sheila couldn't resolve.
"Exhausting herself," of course, meant passing the documents along to Zanze—then never thinking about them again.
The greatest challenge in that, however, was that when Zanze was already buried under work, receiving yet another stack of reports from Aura made the veins on her forehead bulge. She would seize Aura's horns, drag her head down, and grip them tightly—
Each time Aura saw that expression, she was certain she was about to be beaten.
But every time, Zanze forced herself to remain calm.
So Aura became more and more unscrupulous, curiously testing Zanze's bottom line every time.
Ah yes, there was one other hazard to her "work"—passing through the Association's hallways sometimes meant encountering Flamme, whose mere presence inflicted a terrifying pressure upon both Aura's mind and body.
Each time that happened, Aura behaved herself for several days, sitting quietly in her office and watching Sheila handle all the real work.
"Phew… what a tiring day."
At the end of each day, Aura wipes the non-existent sweat from her forehead.
Though she had done nothing, she convinced herself she had devoted yet another glorious day to the demon race's cause.
Under Aura's diligent laziness, the demons continued to prosper.
After all, for a great demon like her, even doing nothing meant her very existence strengthened the race's magical foundation.
Until one day—
Aura could no longer get away with being lazy.
"Why are there fewer and fewer mages teaching across the provinces?"
During a departmental meeting, after hearing reports on the progress of academies throughout the empire, Aura's sharp mind caught an irregularity in the numbers.
When the meeting ended, she kept Sheila behind.
Slapping the stack of reports on the desk, she demanded sharply:
"Explain this. Why is the number of teaching mages dropping everywhere?"