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

Chapter 18 Saint Marian is gradually being consumed by her romantic mind.

　The Knights' Court's common lounge.

　In this lounge, which was much quieter than usual, Witt and Robert were playing a game of Go.

　Magic Chess is a game adapted from "Capsule Monster Chess". Each side has 21 pieces, each with its own attack, defense, health, skills, and the number of moves it can make each turn.

　By placing pieces in your own territory, you can advance and attack the opponent's pieces, moving one piece per turn, and eventually capture the fortress and plant the flag to win!

　Witt and Robert, who borrowed 5 credits to jointly purchase this brand-new set of magical chess pieces, each piece is a miniature golem with an intelligence level of 0.5. They can move according to a few specific commands and can even sing, dance, and rap!

　At this moment, Witt was commanding one of the mermaid chess pieces to sing, and he listened with a mesmerized expression.

　Robert, on the other hand, was ordering a Medusa chess piece to dance, and his life wasn't very pleasant.

　Not far away, Emma Metis watched them with a cold expression, a sneer running through her mind.

　The two underachievers from St. Mary's Academy had no idea that their good days were about to end!

　……

　St. Marian Open-Air Duel Arena.

　A slender white dragon, so beautiful it seemed to transcend reproductive barriers, coiled in the air. Its snow-white scales shimmered with fine silver light under the sunlight, and intense light was gathering on its jade-like antlers.

　Pandora Drogon stood on the contestant's platform, her languid and graceful figure blending seamlessly with the white dragon.

　She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the platform in front of her, her delicate chin supported by her jade-like hands, and looked listlessly at her classmates who looked flustered on the opposite side of the competition.

　too easy.

　Life loses its fun when it's too smooth.

　Only by looking at cute, innocent, and shy little boys can one find the value of life.

　Pandora lowered her head, fiddling with her fingernails—which were different from those of normal humans, appearing slightly narrower, longer, and sharper—and couldn't help but reveal a wistful smile.

　When she looked up again, the classmate opposite her had completely broken down.

　In the audience, fans from all walks of life chanted her name, and a huge banner was displayed with extremely offensive and shameful words.

　As Pandora stepped off the contestant's platform, she casually waved in the direction of the loudest cheers, instantly raising the atmosphere there even higher.

　She smiled charmingly.

　……

　This is none other than Pandora Dragon, a fourth-year student at the Magic Academy, the Silver Dragon Girl, and a duelist with countless fans and immense popularity!

　……

　Traveler's Street.

　Rose, who had been dragged around to the snack stalls by Diana all afternoon, leaned back in the chair of the ice cream shop, completely exhausted. She looked down and touched her slightly protruding, round belly, and couldn't help but reveal a wry smile.

　"Rose-chan, you need to learn to say no!"

　But it's so sweet!

　……

　Youth is so wonderful; everyone is moving forward at their own pace.

　A card game called "Love Fortune Telling" has quietly become popular.

　Diana fiddled with a cherry blossom card that came free in the candy store, then suddenly shook it hard, causing the cherry blossoms on the card to flutter up.

　It truly flew out of the deck!

　Pink and white cherry blossoms danced in the air, and waves of fragrance wafted through the air.

　As the cherry blossoms fall and naturally melt away, the person you care about most will appear on the card.

　"Diana, has the divination result been obtained?"

　Rose struggled to sit up, trying to peek inside.

　Diana parted the petals on the card and saw the person appearing on the "Love Divination Card," a lovely blush appearing on her fair face.

　She quickly raised her still slightly chubby little hand to cover the cards.

　Then, looking at Rose with displeasure, he said, "Let me see yours first!"

　Rose leaned back in her chair, looking troubled. "I already said no. Oh, by the way, I heard someone say yesterday that if you cast a divination to find out who your lover is, and then channel strong emotions into the divination card, you can find out who that person likes. Do you want to try it?"

　"do not want!"

　Diana shook her head vigorously, but magic quietly swirled in her fingertips.

　She peeked through her fingers and suddenly her face turned pale. It wasn't her!

　……

　Back in the library, Pandora touched the blond boy that appeared on the "Love Fortune Telling Card" and seriously considered the possibility of marrying a woman three years older than her.

　……

　Emma Metis picked up a book about the thickness of a thumb from the corner of the table, opened it along the seam, glanced at the lily-shaped "love fortune-telling cards" that were being used as bookmarks, but still didn't use them.

　At the next table, a corner of a flower card was also visible in Witt Gold's textbook.

　……

　In the library reading room, Dark was carefully flipping through "Basic Theory of Magic 2".

　The library did not have any textbooks in its collection. His second-year textbook on magic was borrowed from Ms. Bella, the librarian, who said it was an old textbook left behind by a former student.

　This book, *Basic Theory of Magic 2*, is certainly not a precious collection from the "Half-Blood Prince" like Harry Potter's *Advanced Potions Making*.

　It was just an ordinary textbook with class notes.

　However, those class notes still helped Darker understand some of the more abstract concepts in the textbook more easily.

　Starting from the second year, the difficulty of the courses at St. Mary's Academy increases significantly.

　If first grade is just about popular science, then second grade is about going straight into in-depth research!

　This huge leap will cause first-graders who are not serious enough to fall behind in the difficulty of the course, and then they will fall into an endless hell of tutoring!

　Even Dac found it quite difficult to chew.

　Fortunately, his writing skills are indeed very good. With the help of his notes, he gradually figured it out.

　He quickly found the chapter on "Precision Crafting of Emotion Cards".

　The textbook knowledge in the first semester of first grade only covers how to make "simple emotion cards".

　To improve "Pride 1", we must learn more complex and advanced production methods!

　"I see. The No. 7 transmutation circle can only be considered an imprinting circle, imprinting the power of emotions into the magic card."

　"To refine emotions, we need Transmutation Array No. 13."

　"To achieve the amplification effect, we need the No. 9 alchemy array."

　"To prevent energy loss, we need the Transmutation Array No. 18."

　"To make it reusable, we need Transmutation Arrays 21, 33, and 34!"

　"I never imagined that such a small emotion card could contain so much intricacies."

　Dak inhaled slightly.

　Besides the alchemy array, refining the emotion card also requires some materials as an aid.

　He glanced at his dwindling credits and thought that applying to the professor of magic for temporary access to the lab might be a better idea.

　After all, who doesn't love getting something for free?

Chapter 19 Darkdemon Attempts to Bring Happiness to People

　9:30 PM.

　Dak left the library and sat for a while in the common room.

　Then I went back to my dorm, took a bath, and closed my eyes for a bit.

　After you come out, drink a glass of milk and go to sleep.

　There's no way around it; the life of a top student is just that simple and regular.

　Before this, Dak had never thought he could develop such a good habit—indeed, people grow step by step under pressure!

　To ensure healthy physical development, Dak tries to get eight hours of sleep a day.

　This is what is commonly referred to as "going to bed early and waking up early".

　He has been thinking a lot lately about whether he would be able to return to his original lifestyle if he were to successfully remove the demon god's bloodline.

　The answer is not necessarily.

　But I don't think it will change much.

　The formation of a habit involves many factors, but once it is successfully formed, it becomes relatively easy to maintain.

　Dak gradually realized that this kind of life was not bad, but the shackles and constraints caused some psychological pressure.

　What he wants to do now is to remove this pressure.

　……

　It's early in the morning.

　Dark arrived at the common room, picked up a copy of the Kingdom's "Great Sage Daily," and was about to enjoy the breakfast that Little Devimon had brought him while reading the newspaper when he heard rustling footsteps coming from the stairwell.

　In the past, he would read books and newspapers at this time and rarely encountered anyone.

　Enjoying a large common room all by yourself has gradually become a pleasure.

　I never expected things to be different today.

　Two first-year students, still squinting, emerged from the stairs. Judging from their new clothes after taking off their school uniforms, they were definitely eager to go surfing in Traveler's Street!

　After all, it was the first weekend that the traveler's street was open, and Dak expressed his understanding.

　He stopped looking at the two classmates and instead turned his attention back to the newspaper, stirring the sugared milk with a spoon.

　"Dark, good morning."

　Good morning, Dark.

　"Good morning, Röntgen and Siward. (Novel website)"

　They greeted each other with "Good morning" and then went their separate ways.

　Röntgen and Siwert left the tower, then looked at each other and whispered to each other.

　Röntgen exclaimed, "So Dak gets up this early?"

　Sivort: "No wonder he's always been able to learn from us. Hard work pays off, and that's for sure."

　Röntgen: "Perhaps we should be more diligent too?"

　Siwitt: "Oh, right."

　Röntgen: "I really didn't expect that Dark Dimon would be like this in real life... I feel like I could be friends with him."

　Siward: "Isn't that a bit difficult? He seems very kind, but he doesn't seem to interact with people much?"

　Röntgen: "Hey! Never mind! Let's have fun these next couple of days! We'll start working hard from next week!"

　Siward: "Go for it!"

　……

　The two figures gradually disappeared into the distance.

　……

　The little devil flew back, flapping its wings and giggling as it relayed the conversation between Röntgen and Siward.

　Dak shook his head with a wry smile. Was it another classic "try harder tomorrow"?

　Always leaving difficult problems for tomorrow means you'll never be able to move on.

　Isn't this step necessary?