Chapter 330: Dark Demon Without Fluff (4k)
“Recognize your mistakes and correct them, understand?”
Dark carefully removed the wooden plaque hanging around Meow’s neck and placed it aside.
Immediately after, the Grass Cat Plant carried the plaque back into the small sleeping basket…
Meow glanced at it, suddenly stretched out its paw, and retrieved the plaque with the word “mischievous” engraved on it, then hid it behind its back.
Dark witnessed the entire scene, feeling quite surprised.
…
Once Meow placed the plaque in its small cabinet like a treasure, Dark put it away inside the magic card.
Then he lay on the bed, pinched the deep purple bead between two fingers, and examined it closely against the ceiling.
After some thought, he suddenly squeezed harder, causing the divine light flowing within the bead to slightly brighten for a moment.
“Hmm?”
This brightness allowed him to gradually feel the magic bead’s subtle use.
But he had no recollection of similar objects.
The “Seven-star Coin” from last time was somewhat traceable, but this bead had no leads at all.
Under normal circumstances, unless one was lucky enough to find matching information in the library, it would be easier to ask the professors for answers.
However, relying solely on professors wasn’t ideal. Dark decided to check the library first thing tomorrow.
…
The first day of March started with an arithmetic class.
At 6:30 AM, Dark received a private notification from Professor Lily—a kind of abuse of power using the selection card.
Despite his disapproval, he arrived at Professor Lily’s office around 6:50 AM.
“Good morning, Professor Lily.”
Upon entering, Dark saw textbooks scattered across the floor.
Professor Lily stood with her hands on her hips, looking smugly at him: “What do you think? I did a good job binding these textbooks, didn’t I? I even renamed them as ‘Mathematics I.’ Numbers are so fascinating!”
Dark picked up a copy of “Mathematics I” and flipped through it, discovering that the content was even better than expected.
Not only was the layout flawless, but most chapters also included cute illustrations.
This certainly wasn’t Lily’s work.
Dark casually asked: “Did you get help from someone, Professor?”
Professor Lily froze momentarily, her gaze becoming evasive.
Dark added: “It looks great; must be a meticulous professor, right?”
Lily awkwardly smiled and explained: “It’s Professor Bacon, who handles second-year arithmetic. She heard about our curriculum and came seeking collaboration to use our textbooks in her classes.”
“Bacon Professor?”
Dark tapped his head, failing to recall a professor named after bacon.
However, Bacon’s initiative in creating the textbook showed dedication, which Dark appreciated.
Lily looked puzzled and offered: “Bacon is actually a nice person. Would you like me to introduce you? Maybe organize a math tea party?”
Dark smiled: “That’s not necessary. Just thank her for me when the time comes.”
“Really?” Lily was confused, “Shouldn’t she be thanking us?”
Dark remained silent with a smile.
…
As class approached, Dark summoned “Meow,” asking it to help carry the textbooks to the classroom.
Professor Lily summoned a robust and handsome succubus to assist.
Together, they carried the textbooks to the classroom where it was already filled with students.
Lily used her teaching authority to call a few male students to help distribute the textbooks.
Students were thrilled to finally have their books, with some even moved to tears.
Then Lily began teaching basic geometry, focusing on the Pythagorean theorem.
Students found it fascinating, feeling as if they were learning magic.
But they didn’t realize how complex and challenging magic truly was. The same could be said for mathematics.
…
During the break after math class, Dark sensed a different atmosphere.
March seemed to bring a sense of urgency regarding the upcoming “White Valentine’s Day.” Both boys and girls felt nervous, whether they had romantic interests or not.
What exactly were they nervous about?
Perhaps it was anticipation for a response, fear of losing friends to new relationships, or anxiety over unrequited love.
There were many reasons, more than people might think.
Even Dark found himself troubled by this.
While Valentine’s Day and White Valentine’s Day were fun, they were tough on those receiving chocolates.
If the relationship was just above friendship, it could lead to complications.
How one responded could jeopardize friendships.
Dark was caught in this dilemma.
However, the casual atmosphere during Valentine’s Day, like the one with Pandora, Rose, and Lily, lacked intense romance.
Their Valentine’s Day spent in the snow felt natural and peaceful, skipping the intensity of early love and moving directly to cohabitation.
In reality, it might not have been that simple, but that’s how it felt at the time.
So Dark decided to take it easy.
“Just another way to strengthen our bond.”
He originally didn’t plan to respond, but reciprocity was important.
So he prepared to make a show of it.
…
After the second class of the day, Magic Theory, Dark went straight to the library.
He began searching for information on the bead.
Keywords were “gem,” “absorb impact,” and “purple.”
Given the vastness of the library, finding relevant information with such limited data was challenging.
Finally, he slapped his forehead and decided to ask Pandora, who was on duty today.
But it turned out Bella was on duty instead.
Bella was a middle-aged woman with a friendly demeanor, making people feel at ease.
Dark’s interaction with Bella was brief, so after confirming Pandora wasn’t on duty, he prepared to leave.
Bella waved him over, fetched a chair from under the counter, and gestured for him to sit.
Though surprised, Dark sat down obediently.
Bella kindly asked: “Demon, you’re twelve years old, right?”
“Yes, ma’am. My birthday is in June.”
Bella suddenly exclaimed: “Three years younger then.”
Dark: “??”
Bella then asked: “You don’t have a fiancé, do you?”
Dark opened his mouth, speechless for a moment.
Of course, it wasn’t because he was unwilling to say, but because he wasn’t sure!
Technically, he had an fiancée as the most popular female character in the original game. But in his memories, there was no engagement.
Thus, he wondered if the engagement was made later.
If he once placed hope for happiness in his unknown fiancée, now he cared less about her existence.
If he could naturally develop a relationship with one of the girls in the academy who liked him, he would be content.
Although Dark’s greed kept rising, he wasn’t inherently greedy.
In this situation, he gave an honest answer.
Dark shook his head: “Bella, you know sometimes nobles marry for various reasons. Even though I’m unaware, I can’t confirm I don’t have a fiancée.”
“Is that so?”
Bella sighed disappointedly.
But she didn’t let him go, continuing: “What do you think about the current marriage system?”
“Marriage system?” Dark was puzzled.
Bella clarified: “Polygamy.”
Dark realized the context.
Due to initial wars, many men died, leading to severe gender imbalance and polygamy. Later, women joined the battlefield, and the ratio normalized.
Polygamy was phased out but not entirely.
Commoners and some nobles faced difficulties in marrying multiple partners, needing to confess at the chapel and pay a substantial fee.
However, higher nobility, including counts, retained the privilege.
Technically, titled nobility enjoyed polygamy, but it was monogamy with concubines.
Only the primary wife was officially recognized as a “noble lady” with legitimate inheritance rights.
Another term, “equal wife,” described a status above concubines but below the primary wife, though not legally recognized.
The noble privilege was increasingly resisted as women’s status rose.
Bella likely raised the issue in this broader social context.
But Dark had a nonchalant attitude, influenced by the times and lacking energy for such issues.
He replied: “The era will tell.”
Bella felt disappointed again.
She probably hoped Dark would support monogamy…
In other words, she wanted Dark to be faithful.
Dark guessed her thoughts but chose not to cater to her expectations.
It was pointless.
Dark Demon didn’t need such superficial flattery.
…
Dark and Bella’s conversation ended there.
He took it lightly but not deeply.
In the next class, History of Magic, Professor Ryan Hux resumed his lecture on historical battles. Dark listened intently, setting aside his earlier conversation with Bella.
After class, he packed his things and headed straight to Professor Kazel’s office, knocking on the door.
“Knock knock.”
“Come in.”
Dark opened the door, closing it behind him.
Professor Kazel was busy improving identification cards.
To avoid disturbing him, Dark got straight to the point, taking out the purple bead and asking: “Professor, do you know what this is?”
Kazel took the bead and observed it, growing increasingly surprised: “Where did you find this Shield Tortoise Jade?”
Dark: “Shield Tortoise Jade?”
Kazel nodded: “Shield Tortoise Jade. It’s produced by high-tier magical creatures called Shield Turtles, located atop their shells. It absorbs physical impacts and converts them into magical energy. It’s excellent material for crafting shields.”
…
“Material for crafting shields? Similar to my guess.”
Dark pondered briefly, forming a plan.
He bid farewell to Kazel and quickly returned to his dorm.
He made a decision.
He summoned Meow, told it about the Shield Tortoise Jade’s use, and asked it to craft a wooden shield centered around the jade!
Meow took back its bead, looking incredulous, repeatedly glancing at Dark.
It still remembered the change in Dark’s attitude after obtaining the bead.
It partially attributed its forgiveness to this “gift.”
But regaining the bead overturned this notion.
It fell into deep thought.
…
Dark observed Meow’s reaction, knowing he had made the right move.
A slight smile appeared on his face as he began preparing the “Basic Conjure Method” for the Golem.
Tonight, he planned to use all of Vlad’s “Soul Powder”!
