Chapter 368: Darc Diemon Reviewing and Learning (4k)
With only one day left until White Valentine’s Day.
During the day, Darc noticed that his classmates were already slightly agitated.
Especially those who had given out chocolates on Valentine’s Day were looking forward to getting something in return.
Even if they had given out obligation chocolates, receiving a return gift would generally indicate that the other person did not dislike them.
And those who were not involved were also gossiping quietly.
The young magi always enjoyed discussing such emotional topics.
But for those who received chocolates on Valentine’s Day, White Valentine’s Day was actually a rather serious matter.
Especially when they felt a certain level of affection towards the person who gave them the gift.
Darc’s current situation was exactly like this.
Moreover, his worries were five times that of a normal person.
“Let’s start with Professor Lily.”
Writing back to Professor Lily was the easiest.
After all, Professor Lily didn’t even show any written signs, and the chocolate she gave was fake.
Darc felt that he could give her a gift just because of their teacher-student relationship.
After some thought, he wrote on a card: “Drink less alcohol.”
…
But after writing these words, Darc suddenly realized that although he gave her chocolate with alcohol, he wrote something formal and proper. It seemed too superficial — since he had already written it, why not leave it as it is!
Besides, Professor Lily probably wouldn’t stop drinking because of this.
So Darc calmly picked up the next card.
It was a pink card with cherry blossoms floating around.
Darc had been hesitating about whether to give Eudora a gift, but her prophecy guidance during the creation of the “Solo Sword Sheath” truly helped him.
“Speaking of prophecies…”
After a moment of contemplation, Darc wrote: “Learning progresses, future is promising.”
Writing something like this for White Valentine’s Day seemed a bit out of place!
…
After finishing Eudora’s card, Darc picked out Diana’s card and drew a drooling (ˉ﹃ˉ) little bear eating chocolate, then wrote “Delicious” in a speech bubble.
When he finished, Darc couldn’t help but laugh at the vivid, hungry little bear.
Diana was indeed a source of joy.
…
Then he picked out Rose’s card and took up the pen.
But this time, he never put pen to paper.
In the end, he simply drew a small rabbit on the card, like he did for Diana.
But after drawing the rabbit, he felt something was missing.
After much thought, he drew a little bear beside the rabbit.
Then he added a cat on the other side.
This made the whole composition finally complete.
It felt like it was meant to be this way.
Rose always believed that Darc and Diana brought color to her otherwise dull school life.
But for Darc, Rose and Diana also added color to his life.
Without their proactive approach, Darc, who was burdened by the “Capital Sin” pressure and avoided social interactions from the start of the semester, might have gradually become more isolated and taken a completely different path.
A person’s psychological changes are greatly influenced by their environment.
Every friend along the way is precious.
Darc inserted the drawn cards into the chocolate gift box and held the last card in front of him.
“Sigh…”
Even though the “Capital Sin” had reached a point where it was in high demand.
His current situation hadn’t really changed much.
In more poetic terms,
He still had half a foot in the abyss.
Finally, Darc casually wrote down: “Rest more.”
…
Tuesday…
With less than 24 hours left until White Valentine’s Day, the atmosphere in the classroom suddenly felt rebellious.
The distance between boys and girls became inexplicably wider.
Darc hadn’t paid much attention until he packed his bag after school and suddenly realized he hadn’t spoken a single word to Diana all day.
This was more shocking than anything else!
In that moment, Darc saw Diana and Rose holding hands and quickly leaving the classroom.
“Wow, this act of self-deception is impressive.”
Darc smiled somewhat helplessly and then headed to the library as usual.
Today’s three classes were Duel Class, Arithmetic Class, and History of Magic.
Duel Class assignments were usually light.
Arithmetic Class assignments didn’t require doing any work.
Ironically, the History of Magic class, which seemed the least likely to have homework, often assigned tasks that required extensive research.
But the research process was also a learning process.
Darc went to the library, registered with Ms. Bella, and began searching.
When he finished his homework and came out, it was dinner time.
The librarian behind the counter had been replaced by Senior Pandora.
Pandora was playing with the chubby dormouse grass when she looked up and saw Darc.
“Leaving so early today?”
Darc nodded. “I just finished a busy period, planning to go back and pick up some books I temporarily set aside.”
Pandora teased, “Why do you always seem busier than me?”
Darc shrugged. “I rest in places where others can’t see.”
Pandora gently pulled the dormouse grass’s cheeks, stretching them and releasing them, then laughed. “Shouldn’t you be working hard in places where others can’t see?”
Darc chuckled. “Does it matter?”
Pandora: “True.”
After registering, Darc resisted the urge to pinch the soft cheeks of the dormouse grass and waved. “See you later, Senior.”
But just as Darc took two steps, Pandora called out loudly, “Hey, don’t forget my chocolate!”
…
After having dinner in the cafeteria, Darc returned to his dorm.
As mentioned before, he planned to pick up some things he had set aside, especially the research on “Zoo.”
The knowledge involved in “Zoo” was vast. As he delved deeper into its research, the insights he gained surpassed what “Zoo” itself offered.
Perhaps due to not having touched it for a long time, he suddenly felt a sense of unfamiliarity when he saw the same content again.
Then, questions he hadn’t previously considered began to surface like bamboo shoots after rain.
Instead of scaring him off, this phenomenon filled him with excitement.
His focus intensified as he tackled each problem one by one.
Gradually, he became engrossed.
…
Until the clock struck midnight.
Only then did Darc snap back to reality.
He looked at the increased “Greed” and felt a slight sense of satisfaction about his thirst for knowledge developed over the past six months.
In this process of reviewing and learning, he found that his understanding of the “Zoo” Conjure Method had advanced significantly.
“Perhaps I can master the Conjure Method of ‘Zoo’ by myself before the end of this semester!”
The bountiful fruits harvested after hard work are always sweeter than those picked easily.
After a brief sigh of relief, Darc glanced at the wall clock and realized that the date had crossed from the 13th to the 14th.
Following his plan, he picked up three of the five alcohol-filled chocolates and prepared to place them in front of three girls’ doors late at night.
This was both an imitation of Diana and Eudora and a way to avoid the awkwardness of returning chocolates in the classroom.
After all, his return gifts were merely “return gifts,” without much deeper meaning.
But as he opened the door slightly and was about to place the chocolate, he suddenly noticed voices in the corridor?
“No way?”
Peeking out, Darc discovered that many others had similar thoughts…
“Forget it, let’s wait until morning.”
“I’m not the type to sneak around.”
“Of course not!”
Darc straightened his collar, preparing to change into pajamas and glare at the peeping golem spirits.
Once the golem spirits retreated under the covers, he washed up and got into bed.
At three in the morning.
Darc slowly opened his eyes, carefully extracted his arm from Eevee’s belly, and slipped out of bed.
He wasn’t there to deliver the three alcohol-filled chocolates again.
Rather, he wanted to secretly place ten milk chocolates at the bedsides of the golem spirits.
The chocolate returns on White Valentine’s Day were supposed to be a surprise.
But since he and the golem spirits had made the chocolates together, he felt he had robbed them of that surprise.
Placing the chocolates at three o’clock in the morning was just a small compensation.
He simply hoped they would feel a bit more joy upon waking.
After completing these tasks, Darc returned to bed.
The warmth of the bed hadn’t dissipated after his absence.
He burrowed in and sighed, “This White Valentine’s Day feels just like Christmas…”
…
The morning of March 14th was unremarkable.
The sun rose as usual, and the spring breeze remained chilly.
When crawling out of bed, the cold wind that sneaked in made the warmth of the bed even more tempting.
Darc blinked awake and suddenly noticed that Eevee and Deoxys were gone.
With confusion, he sat up and turned to look at the row of small beds against the wall.
The bedding for Eevee and Deoxys was puffed up, and the two golem spirits had somehow snuck back in.
When Darc made noise getting up, the golem spirits gradually woke up.
Their sleepy, dazed eyes and the yawns that sounded like they had just woken up, followed by the synchronized sound of blankets being thrown off.
Then, within seconds, the golem spirits let out surprised exclamations as they saw the chocolates by their beds!
Instantly, meows, mooing, buzzing, and chomping sounds filled the bedroom.
…
Watching this poorly acted scene, Darc stood there blankly.
Then he got out of bed, washed up, changed clothes, packed his books, clipped on his card pack, grabbed the chocolates, and stepped out the door.
Unusually, he skipped breakfast in the dorm.
The overlooked Eevee and Lion Beast were staring at the sky through the Mana Cards.
“Click.”
The moment the lock clicked, silence fell in the dorm room.
Silence so profound that a pin dropping could be heard clearly.
The golem spirits looked at each other, confusion and worry evident in their eyes.
After a while, the Imp Beast muttered, “Did we mess up?”
…
Outside the door…
After stepping out, Darc didn’t go far but stopped near the entrance, touching his eye.
His fingertips were a bit wet.
He must have forgotten to dry his eyes when he left.
His eyes were a bit red.
Probably from getting up at three in the morning.
“Yomimi—”
Darc pushed the half-head-dream-mana-spirit back inside the door and walked resolutely toward the stairs.
It was rare to eat breakfast in the cafeteria in the morning. How could he not indulge a bit and treat himself?
…
The half-elf chef was surprised by his sudden appearance.
He greeted the chefs, went to the window, and ordered a steak, a fried egg, two slices of bread, a glass of milk, and two sausages.
The plump half-elf aunt handed him the loaded plate and gestured, “Wait a moment.”
Darc, with a hint of curiosity, lowered his raised foot.
Soon, the half-elf aunt placed a rolled-up copy of “The Wise One Daily” on the side of his plate.
Darc was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly said, “Thank you, Auntie!”
“What for?” The half-elf aunt smiled kindly. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”
…
Darc found a seat in a corner of the cafeteria, unfolded “The Wise One Daily” on the table, and started reading while eating as usual.
This was actually not very proper.
But what did it matter?
One day, if enough people did this, it would become the norm.
Indeed, the front page of this issue of “The Wise One Daily” was dominated by White Valentine’s Day.
There seemed to be a wave of fortune-telling enthusiasm across the kingdom.
Men and women rushed around seeking fortune-tellers to predict whether their confessions would be accepted.
Speculators, chasing after profits, donned black cloaks, held crystal balls, and transformed themselves into fortune-tellers, charging hefty fees for predictions that made customers happy.
Such trends occurred every year.
On White Valentine’s Day, all these newly appeared fortune-tellers would vanish.
Yet, people continued this tradition year after year.
This issue of “The Wise One Daily” didn’t feature any significant events but mostly contained gossip.
Occasionally, it included amusing anecdotes about noble figures, which were quite entertaining.
But as Darc ate halfway through his steak, he suddenly noticed a fake news article in a corner of the newspaper.
“Rumor has it that Prince Charles might be actively arranging matchmaking for Princess Eliza under his brother’s name… What!?”
Darc almost spat out the milk he was drinking.
“How idle is Charles… But come to think of it, this might be a clever move to break the deadlock!”
“Do you think so too?”
A strong aroma suddenly wafted over.
Darc turned slightly and saw Professor Metia Baruch, always in the same outfit, sitting down in the empty seat beside him.
Darc had to fold the newspaper to make space for her.
“Good morning, Professor.”
“Good morning.”
“…”
