Chapter 869: Friendly, friendly! Communication, communication! 4k
For Audrey Jeane’s proposal, Dark had no reason to refuse.
In fact, he had long wanted to send Evan Pearson to… No, take him to the library!
Now that Audrey Jeane had proactively suggested going to the library, there was no reason for Evan Pearson to refuse, right?
He turned to look at Evan Pearson and said meaningfully, “Books are carriers of knowledge. Seekers of knowledge, wander in the sea of books. Mr. Pearson, where do you want to go next?”
Evan Pearson replied coldly, “Coincidentally, let’s go to the library together.”
Dark smiled and said, “Then let’s go together.”
“I won’t be going,” Emma said after some thought.
She could see a mist-like aura of the [Secret Aura] swirling around Audrey Jeane.
Although the concentration of this Secret Aura was not as high as Dark’s or Eralganie’s, it still indicated that she could gain something beneficial from Audrey Jeane.
But just like she did not get closer to Dark and Eralganie, she also did not plan to get closer to Audrey Jeane.
So, after quickly finishing her meal, she chose to leave.
…
Not long after, the remaining six people came to the Saint Maryann Academy Library.
The librarian on duty was the recently more diligent Ms. Bella.
After Dark introduced the [Saint Son], [Saint Maiden], and the two Guardian Knights to her, he obtained permission to enter.
Then the six of them registered one by one and entered.
Dark said with a smile, “We can always find the books we want in the library, but it requires a bit of patience and luck. After tomorrow’s sorting ceremony, you won’t need me to lead you; you’ll be able to enter freely. By the way, this is the reading room. When I was a first-year student, I often did my homework here.”
Evan Pearson asked, “Why only first-year students? Do second-year students not need to study in the library anymore?”
Dark shook his head and said, “For second-year students, most have other places to go.”
“What other places?” Evan Pearson asked.
Dark said, “In our academy, from the second year onwards, students can join clubs. They usually spend their time after class in these clubs for activities or studies.”
Evan Pearson pondered, “Your academy has a lot of club activities?”
Dark replied, “There are all kinds of clubs. Why, does your academy not have any clubs?”
Evan Pearson shook his head, “That’s not it. But the clubs in our academy are organized by professors and are semi-official organizations. Even after class, students must continue learning relevant knowledge and skills within the club.”
Dark thought for a moment and understood, “I see. It’s more like interest classes. Our academy’s clubs aren’t constrained like that. If you wish, I can apply to Professor Shylph to let you temporarily join a club.”
Evan Pearson nodded, “I’ll consider it.”
Dark turned to Audrey Jeane and said, “First-year students can’t join clubs, but if you wish, I can apply on your behalf.”
Audrey Jeane slowly shook her head.
Jesse Louise said, “Her Excellency is not interested in joining clubs. If possible, she hopes to move freely.”
Dark smiled, “Of course, no problem. But if you’re interested in mana duels, don’t forget about the [Golden Cup] finals this afternoon.”
Jesse Louise asked, “The Golden Cup? What time in the afternoon?”
Dark replied, “Admission at one-thirty, opening at two.”
Jesse Louise nodded, “If we have free time, we will go.”
With that, she hurried to catch up with Audrey and walked towards the rows of bookshelves.
So now there were only Dark and the [Saint Son] left.
Dark said, “Mr. Pearson, what about you?”
Evan Pearson said, “I heard that Saint Maryann Academy holds a Silver Cup for lower grades and a Golden Cup for upper grades every year, but I’m not clear on the details. Could you introduce them to me?”
“Of course.” Dark then briefly introduced the details of the Golden Cup.
Evan Pearson nodded, “I see. So, those who make it to the Golden Cup finals are the top sixteen students in the entire academy?”
Dark shook his head, “That’s not necessarily true. Although the rewards for the Golden Cup ranking are generous, for some people, the time and effort spent might not be proportional to the rewards. Most people participate to gain experience, verify their studies, or because they enjoy dueling. It’s more like a regular practice match. That means, there are quite a few strong individuals who do not participate in the Golden Cup. Of course, those who make it to the top sixteen are not weak.”
Evan Pearson understood, “I see. Though not explicitly the strongest sixteen, they are certainly among the elite. In the coming month, I will challenge each of them.”
Dark: (?)
Evan Pearson kept his cool demeanor and said, “Defeating all the strong students in this academy is my purpose here.”
Dark: “Oh oh oh.”
Evan Pearson looked at him and said, “What, do you think I’m overreaching?”
Dark laughed, “How could that be? Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
Evan Pearson shook his head, “I will always reach the peak.”
Dark glanced at Tommy Smith behind Evan Pearson, noticing his serious expression, realizing that the [Saint Son] was likely being sincere.
Since he was so serious, as a hospitable host, Dark couldn’t say much and just smiled.
Evan Pearson continued, “Since we are already in the library, I will take a look at what books are available here.”
Dark asked, “Do you know where the dueling arena is?”
Evan Pearson replied, “Of course.”
Dark nodded, “In that case, I will leave for a while. I’ll meet you at the outdoor dueling arena this afternoon. Have a good time.”
Evan Pearson asked, “Are you busy?”
Dark replied, “Naturally, I have things to do.”
Evan Pearson asked, “What things?”
Dark smiled, “Preparing for the Golden Cup finals.”
…
Even though Evan Pearson showed obvious surprise, Dark had finally settled these people down and naturally wouldn’t stay any longer.
Before Evan Pearson could think of anything to say, he took Aurora and quickly left, exiting the library in a blink.
“Finally done, I’m tired.”
Dark rubbed his cheeks hard to soften the slightly stiff face from maintaining a smile.
Then he turned to Aurora and said, “Thanks for the help today. You don’t need to follow me anymore.”
Aurora asked, “Are we coming back this afternoon?”
Dark shook his head, “No. Those two won’t cause much trouble.”
Aurora nodded, “Then I’ll head back. I haven’t finished this week’s homework yet.”
Dark said, “Thank you.”
Aurora replied, “It’s no trouble. Call me if you need anything next time. When the Golden Cup starts, I’ll come to the dueling arena to cheer for you.”
Dark laughed, “Don’t put too much pressure on me. Just hope I don’t get eliminated in the first round.”
Aurora nodded with a smile, “Of course not.”
They parted ways.
Aurora headed toward the Tower of Noble Academy.
And Dark went to Professor Shylph’s office.
Earlier, when he saw Professor Shylph in the cafeteria, he figured she had finished eating.
But when he knocked and entered, he found an additional Little Lily in the office.
Lily was lying on the sofa, playing with a notebook-shaped prop.
“Professor Lily is here too,” Dark closed the door and walked over to take a peek.
“Hey, don’t block!” Lily pushed his face away.
But Dark had already seen it.
The prop… unexpectedly, it was something like a tablet computer.
However, Lily wasn’t playing games; there was no such program inside.
She was… spying!
Although the word “spying” wasn’t appropriate, that was the truth.
On the screen was Audrey Jeane flipping through books in the library.
“How did you do that?” Dark asked.
Professor Lily said, “I released a few imps.”
Dark asked, “Just like that? I thought it was information conversion after connecting to the barrier.”
Professor Lily said, “That belongs to Professor Kazel’s research area. I don’t have that kind of interest.”
Ultimately, since they could use the [Selection Card] to transmit text information within the academy’s barrier, logically, they should also be able to transmit image information.
It was just a matter of the barrier’s capacity limit or whether it hadn’t been specialized for this purpose yet and needed some modification.
Or perhaps due to safety considerations, it couldn’t be developed further.
Dark’s mind raced, and suddenly he had an idea: “What if we set up another barrier within the barrier? Then we could experiment and modify it freely. But there are technical and resource concerns.”
“What are you thinking?” Lily looked up and asked.
Dark snapped out of it and said, “Nothing. When did you start spying?”
“It’s not spying, it’s surveillance!” Lily corrected firmly.
“Alright, surveillance.” Dark spread his hands and said, “Any findings?”
Professor Lily said, “This generation of Jeane is also very cute.”
Dark: “???”
“Dak, did you find anything?” Professor Shylph said from behind her desk.
Dak walked over and said, “Not much information. [Saint Maiden] seems ordinary and doesn’t seem to have any ulterior motives, like a normal exchange student. [Saint Son] clearly has a specific goal, wanting to replace Wit as the [Hero]. As for Archbishop Caleb Norris, he has at least some reasons related to me.”
Professor Shylph nodded, “He’s been paying attention to you for a long time.”
Dak asked, “For how long?”
Professor Shylph replied, “Probably since your mana golem exhibited hero qualities.”
“Again, [Hero]?” Dak smiled, “It seems the Church pays a lot of attention to [Heroes]. Is sending Wit as an exchange student like putting a sheep in a wolf’s den?”
Professor Shylph shook her head, “This is a test that Wit must undergo. As for what the Church wants from him and what they can get, that depends on their own abilities.”
Dak smiled, “The Church must know a lot about Wit’s bloodline.”
Professor Shylph said, “At least Norris is definitely aware. But they won’t make a fuss about it and will even try to hide it. From their perspective, it would be a fatal stain on the [Hero]’s reputation, damaging the image they’ve worked hard to build. Moreover, they already know Ophelia is with us. This time, Bishop Norris came personally to discuss this matter. We can use this opportunity to negotiate for Hephaestus’ freedom.”
Dak said, “I’ll entrust that to you, Professor.”
Professor Shylph, “While that may be the surface reason, there must be deeper purposes to uncover.”
Dak: “Yes, I rely on you, Professor.”
Professor Shylph, “So, Dak, keep working hard.”
Dak: “Hehe.”
Professor Shylph, “Keep going, I believe in you.”
…
To prepare for the Golden Cup elimination matches, Dak left Professor Shylph’s office after reporting.
But when he returned to the Tower of Noble Academy, he was caught by the second-year students guarding the common room.
The second-year students surrounded him, demanding news about the [Saint Son] and [Saint Maiden], indignant and particularly upset about the [Saint Son]’s arrogance.
Although their relationship with the Knight Academy was not good and they often ridiculed Wit after his failure, they stood by Wit after the [Saint Son] defeated him.
This showed that they were very united when facing external threats.
As Dak dealt with the students’ questions, he inadvertently revealed the [Saint Son]’s declaration to defeat all the strong students in the academy and replace Wit as the true [Hero].
The second-year students of the Noble Academy immediately became agitated and demanded a duel.
Dak quickly suppressed them, emphasizing, “Friendly, friendly! Communication, communication!”
Tudor said seriously, “Looks like we need to have a good talk with him.”
When Dak thought he was about to challenge the [Saint Son], he suddenly said, “Too bad the seniors from the sixth year aren’t here.”
So Dak suggested, “Senior Edwin Clarissa from the fifth year is said to be very skilled.”
Tudor sighed, “But he’s our club leader.”
Dak smiled, “Then why not go yourself?”
Tudor said, “We watched his duels, they were tough.”
Dak shook his head and corrected, “Friendship first, competition second. Or are you afraid of losing?”
…
