Chapter 735: Request for Subscription – Protection Program
Even disregarding his identity as a first-year math teaching assistant, Dak felt he needed to check out the common room.
Of course, he mainly wanted to see his cousin Joie.
Among the first-year students in the Noble Academy, Aurora and the two princesses didn’t need to worry, but this cousin was the one causing him concern.
But once he temporarily set aside his experiment and went down with Diana and Rose to the common room, he realized that even this worry was unnecessary.
This year’s “Protection Program” had a completely different layout compared to last year.
“What’s going on?”
As soon as Dak stepped out of the stairwell, he blinked his eyes in surprise, his face showing a bewildered expression.
Diana giggled and pushed him out from the stairwell, while Rose behind him had a mischievous look.
These two had clearly already gone downstairs and had some understanding of the situation.
However, what they saw was that the “chicks” who were supposed to be protected were now on opposite sides with the senior girls, facing off against each other.
Leading the charge were the two princesses… Oh, and Joie was also sitting with them. Dak saw them united for the first time, with all the first-year girls from the Noble Academy surrounding them, their aura impressive and no weaker than the seniors.
As for the so-called seniors… apart from the first-year students, everyone else here was considered senior.
In other words, last year’s first-year boys had now become the wolves that the “Protection Program” needed to guard against.
And last year’s chicks, who should have grown into protective hens, did not seem to want to be guarded by them.
…
Dak scanned the male lineup near the door.
Tudor and others had transformed into “wolves,” standing there like they were facing a crisis.
The first-year boys seemed somewhat lost, unsure how to handle this situation.
While last year’s first-year boys didn’t cause much trouble, they at least had a sense of unity, which wasn’t the case this year.
This year, the first-year girls’ aura was too strong; the boys had been suffocated by them during normal times, making them even more useless now.
The atmosphere in the common room was tense, almost suffocating.
Dak winked at Diana and Rose, trying to sneak past them and quietly join the group of second-year boys.
He didn’t see Aurora among the first-year girls, but he assumed she wouldn’t be involved in such activities.
“Hey, isn’t that Dak?”
But as soon as he distanced himself from Diana and Rose, he suddenly heard Tudor shout loudly.
That shout stood out particularly in the silent environment, and almost everyone turned their heads toward him.
Tudor then nudged Pistons with force and whispered, “Look, here comes the solution.”
But Pistons grumbled, “This isn’t a solution, it’s chaos…”
Any second-year student wouldn’t forget last year’s “Protection Program,” where nearly all the girls invited Dak to the dance in a terrifying scene.
Although this year’s second-year girls weren’t as naive as last year, if Dak were present, when accepting dance invitations, they would inevitably compare the invitees to Dak.
When compared, various things would surely stand out.
What could barely be accepted before would suddenly become unacceptable, and what felt good would no longer feel as good.
In short, this would raise their acceptance threshold, which was certainly not good news for most boys.
Now, the second-year boys in the Noble Academy, who had few partners last year’s Christmas dance, had been determined to redeem themselves. But now, wouldn’t it make things harder?
Pistons secretly grumbled, his face showing distress.
He knew Tudor had someone in mind and wasn’t planning to find a dance partner in the second-year class this year.
He also knew that Tudor had quietly sent an invitation to the head of the Mana Academy, anxiously awaiting a reply day and night.
But Tudor had someone, Pistons didn’t!
The little fatty also wanted a dance partner!
…
Since Tudor had spoken, Pistons couldn’t change reality even if he wanted to complain. He had to approach Dak with a grin.
But Dak was already used to being the center of attention. He walked steadily, blending into the second-year group and sitting down with Tudor and Pistons.
“What’s going on?” Dak asked with interest as soon as he sat down.
This year, Tudor was like a small teddy bear outside the realm of the mundane, unaffected by the situation. Like Dak, he was also curious.
He leaned over and whispered, “It’s tough! They thought they could target the younger sisters like last year’s seniors… but you’ve seen it… pfft…”
Dak glanced at the two princesses glaring at him and Joie hiding behind them, unable to help but laugh. “What do we do then?”
At the end of this term, it seemed the professors had reached some kind of consensus, with all grades except sixth-year overwhelmed by heavy coursework.
Although the young magus tried hard to find time amidst the chaos, nothing substantial was accomplished before the holiday.
Those wanting to express affection couldn’t plan, and those receiving invitations or confessions couldn’t care, leading to delays until now.
If they couldn’t find dance partners within these last two days, this year’s Christmas dance would likely be much quieter.
Under these special circumstances, this year’s “Protection Program” had become a matchmaking event in the Noble Academy, with many hoping to find dance partners tonight.
Almost all second-year boys shared this mindset.
But before they could muster the courage to approach the seemingly innocent first-year girls, they discovered that two or three “sheepdogs” had emerged among the lambs!
Whenever a boy tried to hand out an invitation, Anna and Angie would glare fiercely.
The first-year girls not only didn’t reject this protection but even welcomed it, occasionally giggling behind their hands.
As for the upper-class girls, they were both annoyed at losing their authority (fun) and frustrated by the stiff atmosphere created by the princesses.
It wasn’t just the boys looking for dance partners!
You made the atmosphere so tense; how were the girls supposed to invite the boys?
…
This was why the current situation had developed this way.
But with Dak Demon’s appearance, the long-standing deadlock finally showed a crack. Both first-year and upper-class girls began whispering.
First-year girls, except for the three “sheepdogs,” looked at him with admiration. Several were already secretly reaching into their bags — there lay unclaimed dance invitations.
Unlike the invisible seniors, Dak Demon, as a first-year math teaching assistant, was the most familiar senior to them.
Moreover, he was regarded by many as a perfect role model.
It was natural for first-year students to admire him!
But before the first-year girls could act, the second-year girls had already taken the initiative!
Like last year, these girls who had invited Dak to the dance before Christmas had, after much deliberation, risen again!
As they stood up, Dak felt as if someone beside him had broken their heart.
The sound of hearts breaking like shattered glass made him feel awkward.
But outwardly, he remained composed, using his thick-skinned demeanor to refuse the dance invitations from several girls.
Once those girls returned disappointed, Dak let out a sigh of relief.
He came to watch, not to be part of it…
There didn’t seem to be Eudora among the second-year girls, which made him relieved again.
That’s right!
Both boys and girls who wanted dance partners should take the initiative!
Don’t bring the fire to our side!
…
After those girls, some boys noticed movement within the female group. A few boys, targeting those girls, could no longer sit still and grabbed their invitations to rush out.
One even magically produced a bouquet of red roses!
This boy became the first to accept an invitation since the start of the “Protection Program” tonight.
Congratulations, congratulations.
And if one boy could do it, others would follow.
With someone setting an example, the hesitant boys and girls finally stood up one by one.
The “Protection Program” entered its proper phase after Dak’s arrival.
…
Dak sat there, mostly watching with interest. He listened to some gossip between students through Tudor’s mouth and occasionally encountered girls expressing their feelings, whom he politely refused.
These girls ranged from lower to higher grades, and even those a few years older had designs on him.
Dak took it in stride, appearing as if he had been lost in the forest for a long time.
…
The tower of the Noble Academy was like this, and although other academies didn’t host the “Protection Program,” they had similar activities.
Boys and girls, whether they liked each other or not, with genuine feelings or ulterior motives, mostly aimed to pair up.
The most refined were the students from the Mana Academy.
Mana Academy girls prepared numerous puzzles to test the boys they were interested in.
The Knight Academy’s activities were more straightforward. Boys and girls expressed their intentions in front of everyone, achieving success or moving on to the next person.
If two boys pursued one girl and she was indecisive, they would duel!
This was a unique spectacle exclusive to the Knight Academy’s tower, always popular among the audience.
On the other hand, the Fool’s Academy Tower was more ordinary and reserved.
Students secretly instructed unseen golem assistants to deliver invitations at fixed times.
If agreed, they would respond. If not, they would ignore it.
At this moment, Victoria was looking at a pile of invitations, her face showing a dazed expression.
…
Victoria, as one of the four Demons of the Fool’s Academy, was outstanding in both family background and appearance.
Her somewhat quirky and playful personality was also well-liked in the Fool’s Academy.
Under normal circumstances, even if she received many dance invitations, it would be considered normal.
However, she was a golem assistant!
Having been in school for a semester, if anyone hadn’t noticed she was a golem assistant, their studies in Mana Theory would have been wasted.
Therefore, Victoria never harbored any illusions about being invited to dance.
So she had decided early on that on the night of the Christmas dance, she would cling to Dak and monopolize him!
Yet, she still received a large number of dance invitations!
Victoria looked at the invitations, feeling both happy and troubled. After pondering for a while, she picked one and opened it.
“Oh, this isn’t…”
But the first invitation she opened had a girl’s name on it.
She examined it carefully, confirming it was a classmate, then picked up the second invitation, opened it… it was her best friend!
Opened again… it was her desk mate!
Finally opened… it was a boy! Victoria felt moved.
But upon closer inspection, she found that the invitation was from a senior, who described his desire for her in passionate terms, wanting to thoroughly research her inside and out.
Victoria shuddered and promptly threw it in the trash.
Then her cheeks visibly puffed up, and she pouted, sweeping the remaining invitations into the trash, leaving only a few from her close friends.
“Mmmmm…”
After careful consideration, Victoria retrieved a blank dance invitation from her drawer and filled it out seriously.
Her friends’ thoughts were simple.
Thinking about it, she felt happy again.
“The Christmas dance, I’ll dance with them for a while first, then go and cling to Dak!”
