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

　Not long after, only Dark and three maids remained in the shop. Pandora's schedule was always very tight; she was the type who would squeeze every last drop of water out of a sponge.

　Moreover, because of Dak's trip these past few days, she hasn't been able to concentrate on her studies, and she'll definitely have to make up for it later.

　Diana and Rose have just set a small goal, and even if it's just a fleeting enthusiasm, they'll still put in the effort.

　As for Aurora, she had a very full schedule of studies for herself. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to stand out among the many geniuses in the first year.

　With his surroundings suddenly free, Dak immediately buried himself in writing the proposal.

　—On his second day back at the academy, he had to start working.

　Some things seem simple when you talk about them, but when you write them down, you'll find that many details need to be adjusted and repaired.

　Therefore, it took him the entire afternoon to finish writing the proposal before he picked up the lemon black tea that Eve had brewed and listened to her tell stories about what had happened at the academy during this time.

　The most noteworthy events at the academy mainly revolve around "Saint" Evan Pearson and "Saint" Audrey Joan of Arc.

　But during the week that Dark and the others were away, Evan Pearson and Audrey Joan did not show any unusual behavior.

　They behaved themselves well, as if they were genuinely there to exchange and learn. Of course, Evan Pearson continued his habit of challenging an older student every now and then this week, and he actually won against a few.

　But according to Dark's estimate, if he goes any further ahead, he'll run into a brick wall.

　When the time comes, I must comfort him properly.

　With that in mind, Dak then asked Eve to explain the progress of the "Golden Cup".

　Although he was eliminated due to his absence, his spirit remains with the "Golden Cup".

　The top six finalists of the Golden Cup, determined last week, are: Pandora Dragon, the "Silver Dragon Girl" from the fifth-year Magic Academy; Dark Demon, the "Child of the Stars" from the second-year Noble Academy; Philomena Bach, the "Foresight" from the fourth-year Fools' Academy; Mars Carey, the "Battle Spirit" from the fourth-year Knights' Academy; Winnie Skadi, the "Daughter of Winter" from the fourth-year Magic Academy; and Torre Wozworth, the "Thunder Blade" from the fifth-year Noble Academy.

　Winnie Skadi defeated Luke Becky, the "Dragon Slayer" from the sixth-year Fools' House, in the loser's bracket.

　"Thunderblade" Torrey Wadsworth, who qualified first in the preliminary rounds, barely made it to base after defeating fellow fifth-grader "Iron Warrior" Tyler Spencer.

　And in this week's "Golden Cup" top six matches.

　Pandora Drogon was the first to appear, and with a near-crushing victory, he ended the path to victory for the dark horse, Mars Carey, sending him to the loser's bracket.

　Then, Philomena Bach, who "predicted the future," faced off against Darko Dimon, who was not present, and luckily received a bye.

　After being kicked out of the winners' bracket, "Battle Spirit" Mars Carey encountered "Thunderblade" Torre Wozworth again after his break. After a fierce battle, he finally managed to defeat "Thunderblade" Torre Wozworth.

　Torrey Wadsworth, who was originally in first place, tragically became a stepping stone, contributing significantly to Mars Carey winning a standing ovation.

　Dark Dimon, who fell into the loser's bracket due to his flaws, will face off against Winnie Skadi, the "Daughter of Winter".

　Ultimately, Winnie Skadi waited listlessly on stage for half an hour before being declared the winner.

　Thus, the four finalists of the "Golden Cup" were finally determined. The final result exceeded many people's expectations.

　In the end, besides Pandora Drogon, who was in fifth grade, there were three other fourth-year students who remained on the field. They were from the Fool's House, the Knight's House, and the Magic House, respectively—but there was no one from the Noble House!

　Dark Dimon, who was originally considered the strongest rising star in the House of Nobles, was absent for some reason, and Torrey Wadsworth, who was later called "the last hope of the whole village", was also surprisingly eliminated.

　On the final week of the competition, not a single student from the Noble House was present! This disastrous result enraged the students from the Noble House, and the night before last, they almost got into a brawl with the Knight House students who had been mocking them.

　Fortunately, Professor Hoddle Bode was present and prevented a large-scale brawl from breaking out.

　“I really wish I could see rivers of blood flowing…” Dark felt a deep sense of regret about this.

　But then I realized I wouldn't be there anyway, so I wouldn't get any benefit from the gossip, and it didn't seem so bad after all.

　Dark shook his head slightly and continued catching up on his anime—watching this week's "Daily Wise Man" and "Daily Clown."

　Perhaps because the parliamentary elections are really on the agenda, both newspapers are almost entirely focused on this topic.

　Although Dak claimed he wasn't interested in these kinds of topics, he actually found them quite enjoyable to watch.

　The establishment of the regime is quite interesting!

　This election has a full five vacant seats, making it arguably the best chance of becoming a member of parliament in history.

　As a result, all sorts of demons and monsters came out.

　The newspapers carried daily reports of new nobles joining the council. Dak was so engrossed in reading them that he almost forgot about tonight's meeting. In short, after dinnertime, he ate a bowl of fried noodles Eve had brought as takeout, and then continued reading, enthusiastically discussing with the maids who had a chance of being elected.

　Before we knew it, it was 7:30 p.m.

　Dark took the proposal, called Eve, and left Travellers' Street, returning to the castle and heading towards the Noble House Tower.

　Diana, Rose, Aurora, and Nix were already waiting in the common lounge of the House of Nobles tower.

　After Dark brought them out, they headed towards the upper levels of the castle. Then, they entered through a secret passage.

　Soon after, following Professor Sylph's directions, they arrived at the conference room located in the secret passage.

　The "Serpent of Wisdom," all members of the academy, have gathered.

　This even includes Professor Hoddle Bode, of Sequence Eight. Yes.

　Professor Sylph did not inform Diana and Rose, but she did inform Professor Hoddle Bode.

　It is clear that Professor Bode is indeed highly trusted.

　In addition to the members of "The Serpent of Wisdom," there were two other people present who were not part of the organization.

　One of them, Nix, the "Serpent Goddess," seemed to be stuck to Aurora.

　And one more, of course, is Principal Cynthia Saint Arte, who is about to join the "Serpent of Wisdom"!

　Once everyone was seated around the conference table, Professor Sylph, who was sitting next to the head of the table, clapped her hands to signal everyone to be quiet and get down to business as soon as possible.

　The one sitting in the main seat at this moment was naturally Dark Dimon, who was the "Virtual Lord".

　Dark's position as headmaster remains secure, and even with Principal Arte's return, he is not qualified to take her place.

　After all, the main reason for choosing him as the organization's apparent leader was to provide "checks and balances."

　If this position were given to Principal Arte, it would lose its function as a check and balance.

　After everyone quieted down, Professor Sylph said, "Eve, may we project now?"

　Eve glanced at Dark, and after receiving a signal, nodded and said, "It's ready."

　Professor Sylph nodded slightly, then pushed a small prop in front of her next to Eve and said, "Adjust your position and project your image onto this prop. Their image will appear in the empty seats."

　Eve curiously observed the palm-sized prop and immediately used "Spiritual Connection Technique".

　Alvitt and Claire, who had already spoken, and Ollie and Angel, who had already woken up, were projected onto the seats on either side of them.

　It's as if they're also participating in this gathering.

　As a result, only Irene, who was casting the spell, and Vittor God, who was still an exchange student at the Holy Mystic Academy, were not present among the members of the "Serpent of Wisdom".

　But Irene was actually there; Witt didn't care. The meeting officially began.

　“As you all expect,” Professor Sylph said, “the primary purpose of this gathering is to decide by vote whether to admit a new member.”

　Principal Art blinked, raised her hand, and said, "Hello everyone, I'm a new recruit volunteering for the 'Serpent of Wisdom.' Just call me Cynthia."

　A hint of annoyance flashed in Professor Sylph's eyes.

　A few of the others were indeed amused by her.

　"Let's get straight to the procedure." Professor Sylph, who was too lazy to listen to her continue clowning around, pushed forward the procedure as quickly as possible.

　First came Principal Cynthia St. Art's application for membership. Then, the top three members with voting rights voted.

　There was no doubt about the outcome of the vote.

　Principal Arte's admission was merely a formality. She was originally a designated member of the "Serpent of Wisdom."

　But simply adding the "Serpent of Wisdom" is clearly not enough; her sequence rank must also be determined.

　Professor Sylph said, "In addition to Principal Arte's sequence rank, I have another suggestion, which is to raise the sequence ranks of Professors Dark and Bode."

　Leaving aside Dark, Professor Bode's Sequence rank is indeed a bit low. But directly merging him into Sequence Three is also inappropriate.

　Professor Sylph proposed starting with Sequence 5, placing it in a transitional position.

　Since Sequence Five also does not have voting rights, there are very few opponents.

　Professor Hoddle Bode was promoted from Sequence Eight to Sequence Five. Dark, while interested in raising Diana and Rose's Sequence ranks as well, abandoned this clearly impractical proposal after careful consideration.

　Then, it was his turn to advance his own sequence. But he was already at Sequence Two; if he advanced any further, wouldn't he just reach the maximum?

　The three leaders of Sequence One of the "Serpent of Wisdom" are Professor Sylph, Arvit, and Professor Cazell.

　Darke believed that he could never compare to the three of them.

　However, after the vote began, he passed unanimously and jumped to the first position in the "Serpent of Wisdom" sequence.

　Above him was only "Sequence 0" Ergani! But it wasn't over yet.

　The reason for elevating Dark to the first rank was not only because of his excellent performance during the "Heavenly Court" trip, but also because he was needed to pave the way for Principal Arte to take the position.

　After all, if Principal Arte were added to the original three Sequence Ones, the academy's influence within the organization would be far too great.

　In this situation, a new Valkyrie faction, Sequence 1, must be added to balance the power.

　And Darko Dimon became the best choice.

　Therefore, Principal Arte and Dak were both promoted to Sequence One, each gaining six votes.

　The personnel adjustments for "The Serpent of Wisdom" have come to an end.

　Following that, the meeting moved into its second phase, which involved a joint discussion on plans for future development.

　Principal Arte took the lead and explained the plan that Dark had mentioned earlier, which started with the academy championship, and it received unanimous approval.

　Dark then took the opportunity to explain his idea for the Duel Disk, which also gained support.

　St. Marian Academy will fully support him in establishing the "Magic Duel Club," and Professor Kazel will personally design a new duel disk suitable for magic duels.

　He even made a very constructive suggestion on the spot—to make the Duel Disk more convenient, it should be made into the shape of a metal ball or a wristband, and then projected to form the Duel Disk.

　The proposal was met with approval from the majority. However, Dak couldn't help but inquire about the cost.

　Professor Cazell pondered for a moment, then said directly, "Then make two versions."

　There are two versions. One is the basic model. The other is the upgraded model.

　The basic model is a physical duel disk, which can be mass-produced due to its low cost, making it affordable even for ordinary mages.

　The upgraded version is a Duel Wristband, which can project a Duel Disk after activation, achieving the same effect as a physical Duel Disk.

　In addition to the duel board mechanism, a duel trading system mechanism should be added to display the bets of both sides.

　This change, stemming from a differing understanding of technological capabilities, is truly admirable. Dak had no further objections.

　After discussing for about half an hour, they hung up the communication with the Duke's mansion.

　The gathering of the "Serpent of Wisdom" has come to an end, but the meeting of St. Marian College has begun.

　Eve left on her own. Dark, however, stayed.

　The meeting, chaired by Principal Arte, focused on the selection and training of faculty members.

　The academy will select a suitable group of professors from among its many faculty members, inform them in advance of the "Shinto Ritual," and train them to become duelists!

　If any of these professors pass the vetting process, they may be recruited into the "Serpent of Wisdom."

　Duck couldn't get a word in edgewise about the professors' topics; he could only offer a few words on behalf of Lars Melno, the first-year math professor.

　But after the discussion about the professors ended, the meeting turned to the "Hidden Serpent".

　Strictly speaking, "The Hidden Serpent" is an internal "youth training camp" within the academy.

　Principal Art hopes that Dak can assist Professor Bode in selecting some of them to be developed as a true "youth training" program.

Chapter 1015 Darkdemon and the Essence of Angels (4k)

　Dark readily agreed to Principal Arte's request. He had already decided to nurture Diana, Rose, and Aurora. Now, with this offered title, he could naturally obtain more free resources from the academy.

　But having chosen to accept the commission, Dark certainly couldn't just act for his own benefit.

　Therefore, after discussing with Professor Hoddle Bode, he decided to accept the first and second year students from "The Hidden Serpent".

　This was certainly not a decision made arbitrarily.

　Although Dark Demon possesses extremely strong combat abilities and has entered the top six in the "Golden Cup" in magic duels, he is, after all, only a second-year student.

　His grasp of magical knowledge beyond the second year is incomplete. If he were to mentor upperclassmen, it would definitely provoke resistance from them.

　However, this situation is unlikely to occur in first and second grade.