The black cat tucked its paws in and lay in the center of the oval conference table.

Somewhat absent-minded.

Beside him was a withered bonsai, and above his head were inverted candles stacked like a white Gothic structure, with candle tears carving twisting lines on the candles, adding a touch of eeriness amidst the brilliance.

Around the conference table sat the other seven animals, sparsely seated.

The crimson-winged big bat, code-named Lucifer, was Mr. Arrogance; the Persian cat with beautiful blue-green heterochromatic eyes, code-named Leviathan, was Miss Jealous; the black-and-white, seemingly large wolfhound, was Mr. Wrath with code name Samael; the parrot-like peacock, with feathers in golden and red hues, was Mr. Sloth with code-name Belfinger; a red-haired fox was Mr. Greed with code-name Mammon; a small pig with white skin adorned with black spots was Mr. Gluttony with code-name Beelzebub; and a black mountain goat with glossy fur was Lust with code-name Asmodeus.

Zheng Qing couldn’t remember when exactly the meetings of the Seven Sins began to solidify into a routine. It seemed that since the beginning of this semester, he had to reluctantly carve out his precious Friday rest time to listen to these unidentified characters chatter about various dangerous and dull topics.

Originally, he reserved Friday night on the schedule in case of injury from practice classes, never expecting it to be wasted in such a place.

"... I mentioned it during the last gathering, you know, Zheng Qing is quite wealthy. So, how about this time? You’ve all heard the news about the Shanglin Garden Spring Hunt, right? That guy casually used thousands of talismans in a valueless magic display, equivalent to hundreds of jade coins. Last year, the entire Moon Hunting betting at the First University was only three hundred jade coins? Five hundred jade coins?"

The red-haired fox boasted incessantly in the conference room about its information, yet focused on the reward from the last Seven Sins mission: "... Therefore, I think we charged too little last time. We got so much information on him, even his blood, yet ended up with just over a hundred jade coins in total, not worth it, really not worth it."

The black cat lowered its eyelids and muttered to itself, indeed, the fox lives up to its ’greed’ reputation.

"You think he’s just wasting money, but isn’t it possible he’s very good at making money?" The parrot-like peacock clicked its beak and sneered, "From what I know, at the Shanglin Garden banquet, Zheng Qing danced with a dozen witches, and each dance charged dozens of jade coins. Just that night, he earned back all the jade coins thrown on the Magic Stage... I heard this from a witch’s friend who danced with Zheng Qing, absolutely true!"

"You can make money from dancing?"

"Is he really good at dancing? How come I remember at last year’s Under the Moon Gala, he only danced with three witches?"

"Recently, there’s a rumor spreading at school that he was originally a witch, is it true?"

"I actually think he’s more likely to be a lizardman... Lizardmen are best at imitation, and have high talent in rituals like dancing and blessings!"

Curious questions came from the surrounding small animals, one after another.

The black cat narrowed its eyes, subtly glanced at Mr. Sloth, and thoughts of the identities of the witches it danced with rushed through its mind that night. But it quickly realized that each of those witches had complex and vast circles of friends, simply not something easy to investigate clearly.

It twitched its ears.

Abandoning the plan to trace Belfinger’s identity.

On the conference table, another cat almost simultaneously twitched its ears.

"The magic display at Shanglin Garden can’t be said to be worthless."

After twitching her ears, Miss Jealous shook her smooth long hair, her voice crisp: "I heard that those who perform well in magic displays may receive invitations from various families attending... Spending a bit in such matters is completely understandable... Especially for someone like him without much family background."

"No background?"

Sitting at the other end of the conference table, the crimson-winged bat spread its wide wings, revealing a pair of dark tiny eyes. The alchemical trumpet on its chin emitted a deep mocking sound: "How could a wizard without background receive a teaching assistant appointment at Edge Academy? Do you really think the entire Assistant Team can’t find anyone willing to work at a newly established academy? Not to mention Qingqiu Su Family and Zhongshan Jiang Family are very traditional old wizard families. The elders in their families wouldn’t allow the most outstanding juniors in their family to have scandals with ordinary wizards without any backing... And still, such scandal is disreputable — Yesterday afternoon, Su Councilor’s letter to Zheng Qing was seen by Jiang Yu, not only wasn’t she angry, she even added a few lines to the letter and sent it along, something utterly impossible in the eyes of noble wizards."

"You sound like you know a lot about Zheng Qing?" The red-haired fox rubbed its big tail, smiling as it looked at Mr. Arrogance.

The bat realized it had misspoken and fell silent immediately.

The black cat was thoughtful— it had long suspected that the big bat was somewhat suspicious. The timetable for the last mission was provided by Mr. Arrogance itself. However, it had never had enough evidence to prove its identity. And the news it had shared today, especially what happened yesterday, only someone very close to it could know. Eliminating the students in the classroom at Edge Academy, it means that Lucifer is most likely a student from Astronomy Class 08-1.

With that thought, the black cat suddenly perked up.

Just like a cat hearing the movements of mice.

After mingling in this secret little society for a long time, yet figuring out none of the Devils’ real identities, made it quite frustrating. Now spotting a mouse tail, it naturally excited him.

"Lucifer, this meeting was convened by you, is there a task you want everyone to undertake?" The black cat knocked on the table, interrupting the chaotic chatter, and looked amiably at the big bat.

The other six small animals turned their gaze towards it collectively.

The bat uneasily twisted its wings.

"Hmm."

He began to regret speaking just a moment ago, reflecting inwardly while calmly throwing out the task his cousin Friedman had entrusted him with last night: "Actually, the task this time is related to Zheng Qing, which is why I’ve especially focused on the news concerning him..."

First making a slight inquiry, he then shifted his tone, "I have some confidential information concerning Zheng Qing here, hoping to sell it to everyone— As I observed before, everyone seemed very interested in information about him— Because there’s no reliable source, each piece of information is sold for just one gold bean. Each person is limited to buy one, and cannot share it with others, although you may freely resell it once you have it... You might consult the previous clients, see if they also have related needs."

This last sentence was specifically directed at the black cat.