The villainous young master just wants to live a Buddhist-like life.

　He also knew that Doron had secretly sent an invitation to the prefect of the Magic Academy and was waiting for a reply day and night.

　But Duolong has someone he loves, while he doesn't!

　The chubby boy also wants a dance partner!

　……

　But since Doron had already spoken, Pistan couldn't change reality no matter how much he wanted to complain, so he had no choice but to shamelessly beckon Dark over.

　Dark, however, was already used to being the center of attention. He walked steadily and arrived at the group of second-year students as usual, sitting at a table with Doron, Pistan, and others.

　"What's going on?" Dark asked with great interest as soon as he sat down.

　This year, Duolong is like a little teddy bear that has escaped the three realms and is not subject to the five elements. Being outside of them, he is not bothered and is just as enthusiastic as Dak.

　He immediately leaned in and whispered, "It's going to be tough! They thought that once they became second-years, they could target the female freshmen like the second-year seniors did last year... But you saw it too... Pfft..."

　Dark glanced at the two little princesses glaring at him and Joey, who was hiding behind them voting, and couldn't help but laugh, "So what should we do?"

　At the end of this semester, I don't know if the professors reached some kind of consensus, but all grades except sixth grade were overwhelmed with heavy coursework.

　Despite the little mage's best efforts to find time in the gaps, he still couldn't accomplish anything before the holiday.

　Those who want to express their feelings are unable to plan, and those who receive invitations or confessions are indifferent, so they keep putting it off until now.

　If you can't find a dance partner in these last two days, this year's Christmas dance will probably be much quieter than in previous years.

　Against this rather unusual backdrop, this year's "Protecting the Young" event has ironically become a "matchmaking event" within the aristocratic community. Many men and women are hoping to find a dance partner tonight.

　Almost all the second-grade boys shared this view.

　However, before they could muster the courage to make a move on the first-year female students who looked like little lambs, they discovered that two... three sheepdogs suddenly emerged from among the group of little lambs!

　Every time a boy tried to pull out an invitation and approach the target, he would immediately be met with fierce glares from Anna and Angie.

　The first-year female students, far from being repulsed by this, readily accepted their protection, occasionally covering their mouths and giggling.

　As for the older girls in second grade and above, they were annoyed because their authority (fun) had been taken away, and also annoyed because the little princesses had made the atmosphere so stiff.

　It's not just guys who want to find dance partners!

　You've made the atmosphere so awkward. How are girls who want to invite guys supposed to behave?

　……

　The above explains why the current situation has become what it is.

　However, with the appearance of Darko Dimon, the atmosphere that had been deadlocked for so long finally broke down.

Chapter 736 Requesting Monthly Tickets: Darkdemon's Face-Hugging Bear

　Diana was under a lot of pressure.

　In terms of relationships, she and Rose have been the closest to Dark since they entered school in their first year.

　Their relationship was so close that rumors about Dark and the others could often be heard within the academy, and some of these rumors were so filthy and shameful that they were extremely embarrassing.

　Although she had those embarrassing thoughts, she ultimately did not put them into action.

　Without taking action, it's the same as having nothing.

　Her and Rose's plan had always been to proceed gradually, attempting to break down Dark's heart step by step through daily interactions and time, ultimately reaping the rewards and getting married.

　This method of "boiling the frog in lukewarm water" is indeed quite suitable for them.

　After all, they are still young, some even underage, and very reserved, with relatively traditional views on relationships.

　If things continue as they are, things might just fall into place naturally.

　However, many things in this world are always full of variables.

　Once the timeline of something is stretched out to a certain extent, variables will always follow.

　For Diana and Rose, Eudora's appearance was a small variable.

　However, the appearance of Pandora Drogon is a huge variable that cannot be ignored!

　Dark's interactions with Pandora were never hidden.

　Diana and Rose knew of her existence early on, and even developed a fairly good friendship with her through Dark.

　But before this, Dark's attitude toward Pandora was not exactly different from his attitude toward them.

　Dark has always been passive, and he shows signs of deliberately avoiding deep contact.

　He generally maintains an ambiguous attitude towards people he likes, neither rejecting nor taking the initiative.

　However, all the signs during this period indicate that he is turning the tables and taking the initiative!

　If the one who "turns the passive into the active" were herself, Diana would definitely roll around on the bed with her panda familiar, so excited that she couldn't sleep for several days.

　But not.

　……

　Diana was actually very afraid that her sudden confession would be rejected.

　But if she doesn't take action soon, she's even more afraid that she won't have the chance to express her feelings anymore.

　Therefore, during this time, she had been carefully preparing Christmas gifts and making a ball invitation.

　But every time she wanted to send out the ball invitations, she would hesitate.

　She suddenly realized that, given her relationship with Dak, simply sending him a ball invitation had lost its meaning.

　This reminded her of last Christmas, when, on a night before Christmas, she invited Dark to the prom, only to find that Pandora had already beaten her to it.

　But Dark did not refuse her invitation. Instead, after explaining the facts, he extended an invitation to her for the second half of the ball.

　She agreed and was very happy.

　At that moment, she knew that Darke liked her.

　But now it seems that's not the kind of liking she wanted.

　If, like last year, invitations are sent out privately and in a straightforward manner, the probability of getting the same result is over 90%.

　She didn't like math because it had too many twists and turns.

　But she liked the math he wrote, so she bit her pen and tried her best to learn it.

　I subconsciously used probability.

　Over 90% is actually quite low.

　If 100% weren't so absolute, she would definitely have said 100%.

　Dak would definitely not refuse her.

　But she no longer wanted to be the dance partner for the second half of the performance.

　She wanted to be the first dance partner to enter the dance floor with him in the first half of the night.

　……

　So, at Rose's urging, Diana finally made up her mind and, under the guise of "Operation Protect the Chicks," sent out the ball invitation in front of everyone.

　Although it was just a ball invitation, with Dak's intelligence and gentleness, he must have known what it meant.

　Diana wanted to use this method to clearly tell Dark that she was no longer confused.

　She wanted Dark to face his feelings squarely, instead of treating them as "family affection."

　Even if this causes a rift in the relationship between the two of them... there's nothing that can be done!

　If we don't do something...

　This year's Christmas ball is definitely too late.

　Dark wouldn't let her replace Pandora for any reason.

　But she needs to prepare in advance, a whole year ahead, to pave the way for next year's Christmas ball.

　If we start laying the groundwork now, probably no one will start earlier than her, right?

　……

　"go quickly."

　Rose's voice came from behind, trembling slightly.

　Diana clutched the ball invitation tightly in her hand and pursed her pink lips.

　Sending out a prom invitation in full view of everyone, an invitation that is destined to have no positive outcome, is not an easy thing for a girl to do.

　But after a very long mental journey, the invitation was finally delivered to Dark Dimon.

　Dark Dimon raised his hand and grasped the corner of the invitation. Looking at Diana, who was trying her best to remain calm, the smile on his face was no longer casual.

　The young master of the Duke's mansion, who had been laughing carefree ever since he went downstairs to eat melon seeds, was finally put on checkmation.

　"I... I... you received it, right?" Diana's voice became as soft as a mosquito's buzz, revealing a girl's unique, slight shyness.

　Dark applied force with his fingers, trying to pull the ball invitation toward himself, but it wouldn't budge.

　He paused for half a second, then whispered, "Received."

　He certainly received it, and he received it a long time ago.

　Diana, however, is still too young.

　Although he watched the first and second graders revel in their youth with great interest, it did not change his own views.

　At twelve or thirteen years old, they are really too young.

　Although the age of adulthood in this world was once set at fourteen, it has been changed to sixteen after the arrival of peace, and there is a trend towards further raising it to eighteen in the coming years.

　According to current world age standards, anyone under sixteen is considered a minor.

　Dak's age limit for dating is also sixteen.

　Of course, this is a requirement for a romantic partner.

　After all, his own physical age is not reliable.

　The boys and girls in this world grow and develop relatively quickly on average, which occasionally makes people confused about their ages.

　But this confusion will not occur with Diana.

　Diana was already petite compared to her peers, but her heart possessed a charm disproportionate to her size, making her appear younger than thirteen.

　Dark couldn't give her a positive response until she grew up.

　By the way, Pandora is already sixteen years old.

　……

　Sometimes the truth is just that simple.

　The initiative and passivity that Dak exhibits are also influenced by his environment.

　He dared to be a little more proactive only if he had been able to roughly control the sudden increase in "bliss".

　Pandora, however, had fully grown up and exceeded his age limit.

　Besides that, Dak actually has a very clear distinction between what he likes and what he doesn't like.

　Because of his gradual control over "bliss," he is also very sensitive to the emotional changes of those around him.

　Like Rose's emotional shifts, she had hidden them very well. But in Dark's eyes, they were as obvious as a rating of favorability.

　……

　In short, Darke accepted Diana's invitation to the ball.

　If it's like last year where everything was bought and sold, it won't stand out this time.

　However, he has changed his approach and has declined all letters except for this one invitation to the ball.

　In this way, the act of accepting Diana's invitation alone seems rather unusual.

　Of course, in the eyes of the second-year students, Diana was probably already a member of Dark's faction. So this little surprise was just something like, "I knew it," or "I should have known."

　Even among the first-graders, some still glared unhappily.

　However, due to their status and position, they are unable to do such things in public, and can only watch helplessly.