Chapter 189 Clare’s寄托
The two parted ways at the fork in the road.
Dark returned to the dormitory but did not wait until nightfall; he brought a gift and went straight to Claire’s office.
Claire was indeed fretting over how to pack her things in the office.
Her office wasn’t cluttered, just very book-heavy.
Many of these books were borrowed from the library and needed to be returned one by one.
Some were bought from Traveler’s Street and required review procedures to leave the academy.
However, given Claire’s status, she likely already had permission from Principal Altair.
“I’ll help.”
Dark put the gift aside temporarily and rolled up his sleeves to sort everything out.
Not long ago, Claire still looked like an adult, and now she couldn’t help but blush slightly, marveling at the passage of time, though she didn’t reject the help.
Half an hour later,
Dark sorted out the books marked with the library logo. He summoned Deoxys and had it transport the books to the library.
Claire took the rest of the items and left the office.
…
Although Dark visited the library less frequently, he still knew every corner of the place.
He instructed Deoxys to move the mountainous pile of books to the counter and explained the matter to Senior Pandora. Together, they began registering the books.
Every time Pandora registered a book, she used her administrator authority to drive the library’s magical circuit, sending the book back to its original place.
As the books flew away on their own, the pile on the counter grew smaller.
Both of them had room to breathe.
Pandora exclaimed, “Are all these books borrowed by Professor Kate? She borrows one or two every day, I never imagined it would be this many. I wonder if she has some special method for reading.”
Dark replied, “Perhaps that’s what a sage is!”
Pandora: “How is your ‘Fusion’ spell progressing?”
Dark: “I fiddled with some fish during class and made some progress, but it’s still difficult.”
Pandora: “It’s normal to find it difficult. The ‘Fusion’ spell is among the hardest even in our fourth-year curriculum. You’ve made remarkable progress.”
Dark shrugged, “Maybe it’s because my computational skills are exceptionally strong.”
High-level math isn’t studied in vain.
Pandora was curious too, “You seem to be better at arithmetic than me. Did you come up with the vertical calculation method and the multiplication table yourself?”
Dark: “Just minor tricks.”
…
After sorting the books, Dark bid farewell to his senior and headed straight to Claire’s dormitory.
Upon opening the door, he found it filled with animals jumping around.
Dark rubbed his forehead, thinking that if Aunt Claire got unreliable, even Alvaraite would have to step aside.
She clearly had set up a “zoo” field card in the dormitory, but releasing too many animals to organize her luggage led to chaos. Two monkeys were tugging at the sleeves of a single piece of clothing in a tug-of-war.
Dark intended to help but found himself in a situation where there was more work than hands.
“It seems no help is needed!”
So he closed the door and tried to leave.
“Wait!”
Claire’s cry for help came from inside.
…
Only after most of the items were organized did they go to the cafeteria for a relatively lavish dinner.
Rarely did Dark let loose, and with the “Gluttony +1” prompt, he gave enough face to Claire.
“Eat more, eating more makes you grow taller.”
Claire kept piling food onto his plate while barely eating herself.
Though it wasn’t obvious,
Dark still felt that the impression she gave had changed significantly from when she first arrived at the castle.
She had come like a floating weed but was now rooted.
It was a vague feeling,
but overall, it was heading in a positive direction.
Dark was less worried.
After a satisfying meal, they each went their separate ways.
Claire needed to visit professors from different departments as soon as possible.
Dark had his own research to do.
The winter nights were cold, the stars few and the moon bright.
By nearly ten o’clock, Dark had a breakthrough on his experiment.
He breathed a sigh of relief, almost involuntarily going to the balcony, picking up the Dairy Cow Grass plant that had crept up, and looking up at the moon.
A bat or two flew past his vision, surprising him slightly.
There were bats in the castle, but with winter setting in, they should be less active.
But that was the habit of ordinary bats.
There were some special bats that didn’t follow this hibernation pattern.
His thoughts drifted.
Dark didn’t pay much attention, turning his gaze toward the direction of the teacher’s dormitory.
Having a relative in the academy made a significant difference.
The busy yet fulfilling nights learning about “zoos” with Claire had formed a habit.
A week without classes left him feeling empty.
It was as if he had lost the race against time.
He shook his head, suppressing the growing sense of loss within him.
…
Coincidentally,
Claire was also on the balcony of her dormitory, watching the castle under the night sky.
Her expression was distant, but her eyes remained fixed on a particular area.
If one knew the layout of the castle, they would realize it was the area where secret passages were concentrated.
Only those who had ventured deep into the secret passages knew about the space-folding phenomenon within, which made the actual area larger than the entire castle.
Claire had also ventured into the secret passages.
But unlike the hero or the Valkyrie, she didn’t have such childlike hearts and hadn’t left any treasures behind.
At that time, their exploration of the secret passages was only superficial.
They knew the passages were magical, but they didn’t know they could be so extraordinary!
Halloween…
The resurrection ceremony of the Moon Goddess!
Even though it was reported in the news, only a few people could see through the details.
Claire agreed to Altair’s invitation, partly because she wanted a quiet place, and partly because of this.
During her travels, although the scenery and culture of various places were indeed impressive, the emptiness in her heart deepened rather than being filled.
This led to several violent outbursts, causing a bit of trouble.
Claire’s lips curled slightly.
The days at the academy had indeed calmed her down.
She had also set some clear goals.
What she wanted to do was not what others wanted her to do.
Those who had passed away were gone forever.
Those who lived had to continue living.
One cannot always live in the past.
