"......"

As I scrambled to explain, a slight smile tugged at the corners of Damia's mouth and she lightly pressed her index finger to her lips.

"Ah~~ I see, I see... Emile and Amy-chan..."

Emile frowned and bit their fingertip, watching me intently.

"So what are you asking? My full name is Luvia Emile, the substitute teacher at this school. Why would I need to change my name?"

Emile, who had no intention of exposing their true identity and causing panic at the school, smirked at me with a maddeningly mocking smile. In response, I elbowed them harshly in the forehead.

"Ouch... why did you do that!? I know, it's because Molly Ann sweetheart, who asked a stupid question, feels guilty... Ouch... ouch..."

"Which one of us is the idiot, really?!"

Unfazed by our antics, the composed Principal Damia ignored us and walked towards a giant bookshelf beside her office, opening the bottommost layer and pressing her hand against the empty drawer.

A shimmering glow, symbolizing teleportation magic, emerged and coalesced into a beautifully bound book with elaborate golden edges.

Damia picked up the book, lightly tapped it on its pristine surface, and looked at me with a calm smile.

"If you want to explore the question about Emile, I think you should know more about what Emile did many years ago..."

"Why is Emile called the Crimson Demon, and what was the Red Lotus Cataclysm..."

...Red Lotus... Cataclysm...

I took the book from Damia and swallowed nervously.

Within its pages lay the horrifying past actions committed by Emile...

What could it be? Did Emile break a river and flood a village? Or shatter a mountain and flatten a city? Maybe accidentally set fire to a race in a forest?

...The more I thought about it, the scarier it became... knowing that Emile was capable of anything...

If I had to say why, it's because the scariest people in the world are those who possess immense power but lack common sense.

I couldn't think about it any longer, it would be dangerous...

I took a deep breath and placed my hand on the middle of the book's pages.

So let me see what's written inside...

"On June 17th, clear..."

The date of the incident... huh...

Molly Ann, breathe, calm down your excitement...

"What does it say, what does it say!?"

Seeing Emile's curious expression beside me, I pushed them aside and began reading to myself...

"Today, Emile—"

"Was punished for breaking something."

...

...What the heck...

Is that all?

Emile also had a bewildered expression.

It can't be... is the Red Lotus Cataclysm really referring to this?

"Um... then... on June 19th, partly cloudy..."

Partly cloudy means it's just a cloudy day, right!?

"Today, Emile—"

"Disobeyed advice and damaged the water pipes, got soaked..."

...haha...

"On June 23rd, both overcast and rainy..."

Isn't that just a normal rainy day... it's worth mentioning when it's both sunny and rainy...

"Today, Emile—"

"Got struck by lightning on the rooftop."

...

"July 1st, clear."

"Today, Emile—"

"Accidentally peed..."

"What the heck is this!?" I exclaimed. "Isn't this supposed to be about my unknown past? What is all this!?" I quickly covered my mouth and stopped reading.

Emile lunged at me like a puppy but was held back by Damia, who had a smiling face.

"Oh dear, I'm terribly sorry, poor Amy-chan. It seems like I picked up the wrong book. Let me find the correct one..."

She returned to her previous spot, browsed for a moment, and shrugged in resignation towards us.

"Ah... I can't find it..."

"Uh..."

Disappointment filled the air...

Damia pretended to clear her throat and sat back in the principal's seat--

"Well... then, let me tell lovely Molly Ann sweetheart about what our Emile did, to the best of my memory..."