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

　Moreover, their combat experience is extremely rich, far surpassing that of mages who stay at home and conduct research.

　Ms. Joliet, as one of the best among them, was originally unable to reach higher levels due to her talent. However, after the "Stardust Trial," her potential limit was unlocked, and her past accumulation finally erupted, making everything fall into place naturally.

　And similar.

　The other three maids also gained something from investigating various "miracles" and eventually became magic masters quickly, standing out in this World Cup preliminary selection.

　However, their magical abilities are actually relatively low compared to traditional mages who have also advanced in rank.

　What allowed them to stand out was their superior combat skills. However, while this strength helped them advance from the preliminary rounds, it made it more difficult for them to go further.

　However, the maids' original goal in participating in the competition was not to win the championship or become the "King of Duels".

　They simply wanted to hone their skills through this competition in order to gain the recognition of the "Golden Armor".

　This is what they have been pursuing for a long time.

　He gained the approval of the "Golden Armor," acquired the surname "Dimon," and became a true member of the Duke's family.

　This is the ultimate goal they, who were saved by their family, wanted to achieve.

　Anyway.

　Five maids made it into the preliminary rounds, which demonstrated the strength of the Dimon family and prevented them from ending up with nothing.

　Dak was very satisfied with this.

　As the list of all the contestants who advanced from the preliminary rounds was announced, the projector switched to various radio programs.

　The league selects the most exciting duels from the open qualifiers, edits them into clips, and broadcasts them on various television stations.

　Interspersed throughout are musical and operatic performances, as well as commercial advertisements. There are also various promotional materials highlighting the unique features of the City of Freedom and the City of Duels.

　However, inside the banquet restaurant, it was simply switched to a pure music radio station before the banquet officially began.

　The theme of this banquet was "cooperation and win-win," aiming to eliminate barriers between nations and races.

　In other words, it was just a friendly exchange meeting, without any real central purpose.

　The main focus of the banquet was on the main table.

　Principal Arte intended to resolve the conflicts between the various races—even if she couldn't resolve them, she wanted to ease the tensions and make everyone understand that now was not the time for infighting.

　Her intentions were always good, but probably no one present thought she could succeed.

　Since even the person attending the banquet didn't believe it, it was impossible for there to be any real results.

　The world leaders at the main table continued their perfunctory exchanges, while the accompanying members at the other tables ate their own meals.

　The atmosphere at the banquet wasn't too bad. After all, everyone there was a master of acting.

　Moreover, apart from the few tables in the front row, members from different countries are sitting separately, with no opportunity for interaction or conflict.

　Even if you want to have some fun, you have to wait until the dance after dinner.

　So once the list was announced and the music started, Dak and the others focused on enjoying their food.

　Tonight's banquet is comparable to a "state banquet" in terms of scale, and the dishes served are rare delicacies that are hard to come by normally.

　Even if you don't care about their taste, you should at least respect their rarity.

　So they ate and enjoyed themselves as they pleased; they weren't originally scheduled to be members of this banquet.

　Time flies. Two hours have passed in the blink of an eye.

　At 11 p.m., dinner time finally ended.

　With world leaders present, nothing such as "urging others to drink" happened during those two hours.

　Everyone chatted happily and harmoniously, creating a wonderful scene of family harmony and prosperity.

　Around 11 p.m., the people at the banquet stood up as the music prompted them, and the tables and chairs in the hall automatically moved aside. The leftover food and tableware on the tables suddenly disappeared as if they had been "refreshed," and then rows of fruit drinks and desserts magically appeared, along with all sorts of flower pot decorations.

　In a very short time, the venue has transformed from a restaurant into a dance hall.

　Then wait a moment.

　The Lionheart and the Human King. The Elf Queen and His Holiness the Pope.

　Amidst the knowing smiles of the crowd, he walked onto the stage. Thus began this ball symbolizing peace.

　……

　Although the event itself was organized rather hastily.

　But if history continues as it has unfolded, and humanity and subhumans do indeed achieve peace, then this gala will undoubtedly leave a significant mark on history books.

　And the college students who happen to be there might also get a glimpse of this historical moment.

　The restaurant walls became transparent the moment the ball began, revealing the city's night view like a canvas.

　It was a rare sight in the world, a magnificent night view resembling that of a modern metropolis, leaving people in awe.

　The students didn't rush to the center of the dance floor to grab the spotlight at that moment.

　Those who eat should be aware of the consequences of those who freeload.

　So they were just celebrating the successful conclusion of the audition in a corner.

　Taking advantage of the opportunity, Doron extended an invitation to Heidi, who, under Sarah's provocative gaze, reluctantly accepted and began to dance amidst everyone's gentle gaze.

　Then one after another, more and more students joined in, but most of them were male-male or female-female.

　Several other students stood in front of the transparent wall, pretending to be experts, holding tall glasses that were actually filled with wine-red fruit drinks.

　Dark ultimately did not escape.

　He sat back down in his chair, watching the myriad figures at the ball as if witnessing the passage of time.

　Following the example of the Lionheart King, the human king, the elven queen, and His Holiness the Pope, the dignitaries of various races, though reluctant, were drawn into the atmosphere and extended invitations to dance to the alien races they initially loathed.

　—I have to say, it's quite amusing to look at those forcedly calm, bitter faces.

　Dark's lips couldn't help but curl up.

　He sometimes felt he had a wicked sense of humor, but upon reflection, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

　However, he didn't dwell on it for long.

　The maids, dressed in waitress uniforms, soon delivered the information he wanted.

　He didn't try to hide it; he simply opened the document and started reading it from the corner.

　"really."

　While they were attending the banquet at the Alliance Hotel, the excitement outside continued unabated. Alice had been brought directly to the banquet hall by him. Therefore, the remaining three holders of the [God Cards] became the focus of contention among the various factions. Among them, Thompson—the holder of the "Lava Demon"—who seemed the weakest and easiest to manipulate, quickly became the center of the storm.

　Thompson has a given name and surname, so investigating his background is not difficult.

　According to the information, he was born into an ordinary family. His mother worked in a tailor factory and his father worked in a blacksmith shop. Although the family was not wealthy, they were not poor because both parents worked.

　However, a peaceful and uneventful life could not satisfy him.

　Influenced by his father, who had served in the military, Thompson longed for a thrilling life on the edge of life and death from a young age.

　So, on the very day he turned thirteen, he defied his parents' objections and left home to become an adventurer, thus beginning his... anything but legendary life. Like society as a whole, the world of adventurers is clearly divided into classes; the vast majority of adventurers are merely bricks and nails in the building blocks of this community.

　Thompson was like a nail, unchanged from beginning to end. His only good fortune was surviving, and surviving to this day. And then, his ordinariness ended.

　He embarked on his "destiny".

　That was, at least in his own eyes, an absolute "destiny."

　He met a benefactor who gave him power, and under the benefactor's guidance, he participated in the preliminary rounds of this World Cup, aiming to become the "King of Duels" and obtain the "Gift of the Gods," thus undergoing a complete transformation.

　He firmly believed in his heart that this was what he wanted. He was willing to go through fire and water for it, and give everything he had.

　Even after the "demon" was killed by the "angel," he showed no remorse.

　Half an hour after being admitted to the hospital, Thompson woke up in a white hospital room.

　His mind was still foggy, but at least it was functioning. The arguing outside the ward jolted him out of his daze. He immediately realized that his situation was not good.

　Shortly afterward, a group of people broke down the door and stormed in. Among them were hairy orcs and fully armed paladins. "Paladins"

　Thompson shuddered and turned to run.

　"...

　After all, it was a hospital jointly built by the Magic Alliance and the Free City, and those people originally did not plan to make a move in the hospital.

　But Thompson's sudden departure changed the situation. "They made their move in the hospital," Dark asked casually.

　The maid said, "I heard they broke through the wall." Dark nodded, thankfully it was only the loss of one wall.

　"Although Thompson possesses a 'God Card,' isn't his 'God Card' a Demon? The Holy Church's intervention couldn't possibly be about tracing the source and exterminating demons, could it?"

　"It seems like there are signs of that right now." *Pfft.*

　Dark couldn't help but smile.

　The demon race is an equivalent to the angel race.

　Just as the Holy Church can summon angels, the Demon Race can also summon demons to aid them.

　Moreover, many high-ranking demons possess demonic blood. Over time, some demons began to call themselves "demons."

　Most of the demon kings throughout history were such "demons". But in fact, the lowest level of a demon is a demigod.

　If there were truly so many demons among the demon race, then there would be no need for a war between humans and demons, and humans would have been wiped out long ago.

　It's one thing for the Holy Church to want to fight against the demons, but if they go after the "demons" to fight, it's tantamount to declaring war on the "gods" who stand on the side of the demons.

　This goes beyond what can be described as "irrational." He couldn't help but turn to look at His Holiness the Pope at the edge of the stage, thinking that the old Pope shouldn't be acting like this.

　The Holy Church probably has other purposes.

　Dak flipped directly to the end of this document. At this point...

　The operation to capture Thompson, involving the orcs, the Holy Church, and the royal family, ultimately ended in failure.

　Because Thompson summoned the "Lava Demon" at the last moment, which is not something an ordinary person can deal with.

　The Dimon family members did not participate in this operation; they merely observed from the sidelines and collected intelligence as usual.

　However, as Thompson fled, the "Scorpio Palace" maid, who was observing from the sidelines, quietly tracked him down.

　She found Thompson's last hidden lair.

　The maid handed over this information to ask the young master for instructions on how to proceed.

　The highest-ranking leader of "Scorpio Palace" in the City of Freedom is Laura, the deputy head maid.

　But that was when Dakdimon wasn't here.

　"Continue to monitor."

　"Dark said."

　"Wait until after midnight."

　The students knew that Dak was busy with important matters, so they didn't disturb him. Dak continued to look through the documents.

　The other two holders of the "God Card" besides Thompson.

　That is, Raqihoggia, who wields the "Thunder Dragon", and Sloan, the lich, who wields the "Bone Dragon".

　"Thunder Dragon"'s power was already evident on the Dragon King Arena. Although it was ultimately defeated by "BlackWarGreymon," that only proves that "BlackWarGreymon" is stronger.

　Therefore, although Raiqi's popularity has declined slightly, it is still very high. Moreover, among the four holders of the "God Card", Raiqi is the second most "good citizen" after Alice.

　He was born into a scholarly family; both his parents were teachers. He himself was an excellent student from a young age and even studied magic under an old magician.

　However, that mage's skill level was not high enough, so he quickly surpassed his master and joined a well-known local adventurer organization as a lightning mage, and even learned swordsmanship from one of the adventurers.

　Therefore, his title when he was an adventurer was "Thunder Demon Sword," and he was a demon swordsman.

　Given his "law-abiding citizen" status, the Dimon family also sent people to try and win him over.

　However, although the maid Laura sent was the first to arrive, the people from other factions had already contacted him during the preliminary rounds.

　Numerous forces, both large and small, sought to win over Lei Qi. Some even resorted to marriage alliances, presenting her with beautiful photos of their young mistresses.

　But Reggie Hodge was clearly not the kind of womanizer; he had absolutely no interest in those beautiful young ladies and only talked about payment.

　In short, he seemed to be very clear-headed, knew he couldn't escape, and needed a powerful background to rely on, so he cooperated very well.

　But cooperation doesn't mean ease. His requirements were high, and he seemed to be a "highest bidder wins" type, which quickly made Laura lose interest.