Chapter 749: Dark Demon’s Surprising Gift
As night fell and stars sank, the warm sun rose in the east.
The icy sky finally gained a hint of warmth.
The noisy students who had only slept at dawn felt the warmth seeping through the curtains and gradually woke up, subconsciously reaching for the socks hanging at the head or foot of their beds.
After the Christmas dance, Saint Maryann Academy would distribute “Christmas socks,” which were one-time wish-granting devices made using the Saint Maryann Holy Grail.
On Christmas Day, students could open these socks to find various Christmas gifts.
These gifts ranged from valuable to cheap, and while students didn’t expect to get anything extraordinary, they hoped to receive better gifts than others.
If they got valuable gifts, they believed it would bring them good luck for the next year.
But if they received junk, they could only hope for safety in the coming year.
By the way, last year, Dark got an apple.
Today, because he left early, he couldn’t get his own Christmas sock, which was somewhat disappointing.
Noble Academy Tower, Room 301.
Except for Dark Demon’s bed, where no Christmas sock was hung, all other small beds were filled with socks.
Mana Spirits opened their eyes early and pretended to know nothing as they eagerly opened the socks to take out the Christmas gifts that Dark had secretly placed before going to bed.
In the Magical Animal Club’s clubroom, mana spirits sleeping there did the same thing, each excited and expectant.
In Dark’s card pack, the remaining mana spirits began to stir within the mana cards.
Dark was finally awakened by the fluctuating aura, extending a hand from under the covers to rummage through the card pack, mumbling incantations for summoning.
Mana Spirits quickly emerged from the summoning light, some running or flying to the beds in the Magical Animal Club, while those without beds went to the cabinets with hanging socks.
The famous Duel Master Swiss Lu Xun once said, “One worries more about inequality than scarcity.”
Therefore, when dealing with mana spirits, magi should ensure equal treatment.
None should be left behind!
This time, Dark not only set a perfect example but also gave everyone the same gift.
Huh? Lazy? Of course not!
Although the gifts were the same, each had a unique design.
Dark designed different casings based on the mana spirits’ body types, features, and personalities, then had the Duke’s Mansion rush to produce a batch of “[Shadow Copies]”—this was his Christmas gift for the mana spirits.
[Shadow Copies] have become the second best-selling product of the Public Dueling Society after simulation cards. With just a thought during the infusion of mana, one can imprint scenes onto the notebook, making it very convenient for recording, note-taking, and photography.
For mana spirits, this solved most of their inability to speak human language.
Mana spirits capable of speaking naturally wouldn’t reject it.
…
After summoning the last mana spirit, Dark retreated back into the covers amidst the happy meowing sounds, continuing to sleep.
To him, this was a rare indulgence.
It wasn’t until nine-thirty in the morning that Dark finally woke up to the sound of knocking on the door.
He stretched his neck to feel the temperature and then withdrew again, taking a long time to finally lift the covers.
At this point, the door had already been opened. Diana and Rose, wearing scarves, hats, and gloves, stood at the entrance and said “Good morning” before entering the room with the help of a mana spirit.
“Good morning,” Dark said, sitting on the edge of the bed and yawning.
In daily life, Dark Demon wasn’t particularly diligent. When unnecessary, he would show moderate laziness.
Diana, who had stayed at the Duke’s Mansion for a while, was already accustomed to this.
But Rose rarely saw this side of him.
Some people present such an excellent image externally that one tends to subconsciously think they are different from others.
But in reality, everyone is human, with one nose and two ears, just ordinary people.
Rose didn’t feel any difference, her cheeks flushed unusually, but she still followed Diana and sat on the bed.
Since being exposed by Senior Pandora last night, she had been restless, eventually falling asleep and dreaming of embarrassing things, leaving her still out of sorts in the morning.
Regardless, Christmas gifts still needed to be given.
So she endured her embarrassment and walked over with Diana.
Diana had fewer reservations.
Although the ball last night wasn’t as exciting as she’d hoped, nothing couldn’t be resolved with a good sleep. If needed, another sleep would do.
Thus, she woke up today full of energy and enthusiastically pulled Rose along.
“Merry Christmas!”
She opened her bright eyes wide, placing the gift box in front of Dark, then eagerly looked at him like a dog returning with a frisbee.
Dark reached out to pat her head, saying “Merry Christmas,” and started unwrapping the gift: “What could it be?”
The box was large but heavy, likely not a bear pillow.
He thought so, smiling slightly, then his expression froze slightly.
“How is it? Surprised? Do you like it?”
Diana chuckled, her eyes narrowing into crescents.
Inside the opened box lay a quiet, little… bear!
This Christmas, Diana didn’t give a bear pillow; she gave a real bear!
Of course, not a real bear.
Even if she did give a real bear, it would belong to the Magical Animal Club.
She wanted to give a bear, and she wanted it to become Dark’s bear.
The cub lying on the soft cushion was less than half a meter tall, its entire body round and plump, with common brown fur, curled up in a ball, sound asleep.
Beside it was a small, inconspicuous flower pot.
The cub’s tail end elongated into a stem and rooted itself in the flower pot.
—This was a [Cat Grass]!
But Dark was very sure that he hadn’t seen this [Bear Grass] in the [Kitty Plant Shop].
Such a situation could only mean that the [Kitty Plant Shop]’s Miss Cat and Diana had made an evil deal in secret.
Of course, surprise was inevitable.
Dark’s facial muscles relaxed, and he honestly said, “I like it, very much!”
Now that cat grass was becoming increasingly popular, he had grown quite fond of this special plant. Moreover, the bear grass Diana gave was so cute.
He stroked the bear grass’s back, then took out a manual from near the flower pot, briefly flipping through it to confirm it contained a potion recipe and care instructions, and put it back. Then he stood up and said, “Wait a moment.”
He immediately took out a beautifully packaged gift box from the drawer and handed it to Diana: “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas,” Diana happily accepted the box and promptly tore it open.
Inside was a mana card.
Diana carefully removed it from the box and curiously asked, “What kind of mana card is this?”
Dark smiled and said, “A semi-finished [Food Card].”
“[Food Card]?” Diana blinked and quickly raised the mana card in her hand, asking, “How do you complete it?”
“The method is simple.” Dark smiled and patiently explained.
After Diana heard the explanation, she walked to the experimental table and eagerly began the process.
Creating a [Food Card] was not easy, and it required high cooking skills; otherwise, even if successfully refined, the result might be tasteless food.
Very few students in the academy could create qualified [Food Cards], and even fewer could make semi-finished ones.
But rarity increases value. Dark spent a lot of credits to buy this semi-finished [Food Card].
However, seeing Diana so happy now, the cost seemed worth it.
He went to the bedside to tell Rose and then changed into fresh clothes to start making Rose’s Christmas gift.
Rose swiftly delivered her Christmas gift to Dark: “Mine.”
“Is it another thermal undershirt?” Dark teased, shaking the gift.
Rose blushed and lowered her head, “Of course not.”
Dark laughed and said, “Then I’ll keep my expectations.”
Rose struggled for a moment and asked, “Don’t you like thermal undershirts?”
Dark blinked and said, “I was wearing one last night.”
Rose didn’t say anything else.
Dark sat beside her and began unwrapping the gift box.
Moments later, he took out a book from the box.
The book was thick, but due to being bound with beast hide paper, it actually had few pages.
The cover openly displayed the title—”Beast Speech Book.”
“Where did you get this?” Dark was surprised.
“I bought it from the Goblin Ancient Bookstore,” Rose spoke up, “I thought you would like it.”
Most of Dark’s mana spirits were avian-beast kin, and he created the Magical Animal Club, raising so many cat grass plants, which easily made people assume he was an enthusiast of avian-beast creatures… well, that wasn’t a misperception.
Dark’s eye twitched, “Goblin Ancient Bookstore? Why can’t I find such good books?”
This [Beast Speech Book] was clearly a magic book, and a rather advanced one.
Using this book, one could learn a magic called [Wild Beast Language].
Such a practical and low-threshold magic book should be highly sought after by everyone, theoretically impossible to find in that Goblin Ancient Bookstore.
Rose said, “When I bought it, it had another name.”
Dark: “What name?”
Rose blushed and said, “Comprehensive Postnatal Care Guide for 1800 Avian-Beast Species.”
Dark was stunned for a moment, then cautiously asked, “Why did you want to buy…”
Rose defended herself, “My elective course is Medical Studies! Anyway, it was sealed originally, but I unsealed it. I thought you would like it, so I kept it as a Christmas gift. By the way, it’s a one-time-use magic book, don’t give it to anyone else.”
Dark stared at her profile for a while, then took a deep breath and said, “Thank you.”
Rose hurriedly said, “Christmas gifts should be reciprocated…”
Dark smiled and said, “Fortunately, I prepared a gift with some value, otherwise, it wouldn’t have been appropriate.”
He temporarily placed the [Beast Speech Book] on the bedside and said, “Wait a moment.”
…
There was no need to hide anything.
Directly in front of Diana and Rose, Dark took the rabbit grass from the cradle and retrieved a [Thought Bottle] from the cabinet, then drew out a mana dropper and walked to the balcony.
Rose followed curiously behind him, squatting down when he squatted in front of the [Worm Tree].
Dark thought for a moment and put the rabbit grass into her arms.
Rose stroked the plump bunny and couldn’t help but ask, “Is it still available at the Kitty Plant Shop?”
“It should be on sale soon,” Dark said while using the mana dropper to extract [Moon Goddess Edition Bliss] from the [Thought Bottle] and injecting it into the worm branches one by one.
Once a branch was full, she had Rose hold the rabbit grass to suck on the worm branch.
Rose’s eyes shone as she watched the rabbit grass struggle with its three lips, very fond of it.
—The strange shape of the worm branch made her feel a bit shy.
As the [Moon Goddess Edition Bliss] entered the rabbit grass’s body and was transmitted to its head, a tiny sprout suddenly emerged.
“Oh!” Rose exclaimed softly, marveling at how the sprout grew.
Shortly after, Diana’s voice filled with surprise echoed inside, mixed with the sweet and sour aroma of meat.
Successfully completing the semi-finished [Food Card], Diana carried the dish she summoned and ran over, eating while watching the plant atop the rabbit grass bloom and bear fruit.
Only then did she and Rose understand why Dark had raised so much cat grass!
They were amazed by what they saw and delighted that Dark had shared this secret with them.
When the [Bliss Fruit · Moon] formed, Dark picked the fruit, cut off its stem, and returned indoors.
He thought for a moment and summoned [Huhu], having it squeeze the [Bliss Fruit · Moon] into juice.
Since Diana and Rose had known for a long time that his juices were made this way, there was no need to hide it.
Once the juice was ready, Dark poured it into a cup.
Diana sniffed the juice’s aroma and eagerly asked, “Can we drink this?”
Dark’s face darkened, shifting the topic, “How is your [Food Card]?”
Diana immediately exclaimed excitedly, “Amazing! This card records over a hundred recipes for dishes, pastries, and candies, and each summon generates one randomly. It’s really amazing!”
“Indeed amazing,” Dark said in astonishment. Perhaps he should give that senior more money?
Then he turned to Rose and said, “I won’t put this juice in a box. It contains biological factors from rabbits, the power of the moon, and another special force, which can be used for mana spirit refinement. Do you have any advanced materials related to rabbits?”
…
…
o(￣ヘ￣o＃)
