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

　In short, this is the advantage of having a powerful backer.

　Tuesday, August 31st.

　The last day of the long holiday.

　The number of students at St. Marian Academy has visibly increased. Dark has left the laboratory in the hidden place and moved back to his dormitory.

　— He moved his dorm room from 401 to 501.

　Although the layout remains unchanged, the change of floors still brings a completely new experience.

　The fourth-grade students moved from the fourth floor to the fifth floor, which gave them a wider view.

　Dak placed a chair on the balcony, lay down there, and casually began to peruse the intelligence data he had accumulated over the past two months.

　Professor Kazel's "broadcast television transmission device" has been piloted in the capital.

　However, for security reasons, the "TV Tower" located in the capital has been nationalized and is controlled by the royal family.

　The Duke's mansion did not get involved.

　Although they have ample justification for interfering in the "TV Tower" business, engaging in conflict with the royal family in the current situation is not a wise move.

　The Duke's current policy is to consolidate power, retain core members, and preserve itself.

　Ultimately, it's about not competing or grabbing, quietly developing, and focusing all efforts on improving oneself. With two super cash cows, the "All-People Duel Club" and the "Magic Duel Club," the Duke's Mansion actually has no need to compete for resources. Moreover, no matter how the "TV Tower" business changes, the Duke's Mansion will always have a share of the profits.

　At this point, you should just lie back and wait for your dividends.

　In short, although the "communication card" is still only circulating among a very small number of mages, it has already become widely used in the royal capital, as it is much lighter than the original "magic television".

　It wasn't just nobles and wealthy merchants who could afford "magical televisions." When St. Marian Academy manufactured televisions, they categorized them into different levels based on the resolution.

　The cheapest "magic TV" has very low resolution and is in black and white, but it is really cheap.

　The upper-class sponsors of "Magic Television" needed a media channel that could disseminate information to every household, not just an expensive tool that circulated among one or two nobles.

　In order to reduce the price of the "Magic TV" to a level that ordinary people could afford, the alchemist who had already created the "Philosopher's Stone" worked hard to reduce the cost of the "Magic TV" again and again, and finally the cheapest "Black and White Magic TV" was created.

　In short, this TV is basically sold at cost; not only does it not make a profit, but it actually loses money when considering sales expenses.

　The people of the capital were relatively wealthy and had a strong desire to follow trends.

　Therefore, the "Black and White Magic TV" sold very well.

　Although the more you sell, the more you lose, as long as you can distribute the TVs, there are countless ways to make money.

　—To control media channels is to control the world.

　The concept of television advertising, and even the concept of live-streaming e-commerce, had been mentioned by Dak in his conversations with the professors long ago.

　Therefore, the cheapest "Black and White Magic TV" would show a long-running Apollo TV series preview advertisement as soon as it was turned on.

　Although Dak heard that the TV series was still struggling with casting.

　But since it's the "God of Light" personally taking action, there shouldn't be any problems... probably.

　Reviewing intelligence materials.

　Dark quickly saw the relevant information. The filming location for Apollo was in the capital.

　Although he has not yet descended in person, he has arranged for his two "divine messengers," Alicia Sylvester and Westerveld, to begin casting in the capital.

　While professions such as singers and actors are often admired, they are actually typical commoner professions, and in the past, only lower-ranking nobles would participate in such professions.

　But this time, the filming was directed, written and starred by Apollo, the "God of Light," which instantly broke down class barriers, causing countless nobles to sign up, with unmarried girls being the most enthusiastic.

　If Alicia herself hadn't already taken the lead role, those noblewomen would probably have gone even more insane.

　However, the promotion of Apollo's TV series also boosted the sales of the Magic TV. After all, although the Magic TV now had thirteen channels, apart from Channel Zero, which was reserved for St. Marian Academy, most of those channels were still in the trial broadcast stage—broadcasting things of dubious significance.

　The long-running TV series "[God of Light] Apollo" can be considered the first major program in the future of Magic TV. It was essentially a "buy Zelda, get a Switch" deal, tightly tied to TV sales.

　In contrast, Zeus, the "King of the Gods," also wanted to use this opportunity to promote his future divine kingdom, but this god was quite concerned about his image and ultimately did not do anything to have his face appear on the startup screen.

　But just days before Dark obtained the firsthand intelligence, Zeus's top team had already been established.

　He was the one among the twelve gods who built the television station team the fastest.

　The first official news that Pao released on Channel One was: "Want my secret treasure? If you do, go find it on the Black Soil! I left it all there!"

　Matching this slogan is an image of Zeus, the "King of the Gods," personally riding his golden chariot across the black earth, scattering glittering gold along the way into the depths of the black soil.

　Zeus scattered treasures across the black earth, guiding countless adventurers into the western demon realm, thus beginning the "Great Western Adventure Era".

　Shortly after the advertisement appeared on Channel One, Free City was completely packed with enthusiastic adventurers.

　As the young city lord, Aurora even had to submit an application to the academy to postpone her studies.

　She probably won't be able to attend this year's opening banquet.

　In an era where the holders of the "God Cards" could appear at any time, ordinary humans are no longer able to suppress rioters and maintain order.

　Aurora must remain in the Free City to withstand the pressure and maintain order.

　However, the influx of a large number of enthusiastic adventurers has made the city of Liberty a focus of the world once again after the World Cup.

　This will definitely be of great benefit to the city's development and construction.

　As long as the city can handle this massive influx of traffic, it will undoubtedly reap enormous benefits as a forward outpost on the path to "Zeus's Kingdom".

　Meanwhile, the "Serpent Goddess" Nix can use this opportunity to develop her faith and attract more powerful followers.

　Although competing for faith among the twelve gods is not a good choice.

　However, as a newly ascended goddess, if Nyx wants to develop and become stronger quickly, the only way is to embark on the path of faith.

　She herself didn't have any particular interest in it; it was mostly Aurora who took care of everything.

　It is said.

　Aurora has already encased her in a shell called "Goddess of Adventure".

　Although Nix has no real authority, worshipping Nix, the "Goddess of Adventure," can bring tangible benefits in the Free City.

　Even for those benefits, becoming a follower of Nix would be worthwhile. Therefore, the spread of her faith went relatively smoothly.

　The twelve gods did not suddenly descend to bully a child.

　Human society, the Kingdom of Yunic, has become noticeably more vibrant thanks to the activities of Apollo, the "God of Light," and Zeus, the "God of the Sky."

　The apparent prosperity, however superficial, cannot conceal the continuous accumulation of silt in the shadows.

　The situation within the capital city has actually reached a very tense juncture.

　Although "Valkyrie" Alvitt has returned, she only made an appearance during the few days after her return and has not made any public appearances since.

　Many factions that originally belonged to the "Valkyrie" faction broke away and switched to the emerging faction.

　In the capital today, apart from the Valkyrie faction, which is still powerful despite its weakened state, the most prominent factions are the two distinct factions.

　The two factions are divided into two distinct viewpoints: "supporting Elizabeth" and "not supporting Elizabeth."

　The faction that "supports Elizabeth" is called the "Empress's Faction," while the faction that "does not support Elizabeth" is called the "Protectors of the Nation Faction." Why is it that the faction that "does not support Elizabeth" becomes the Protectors of the Nation Faction?

　Their slogan was "Protect the kingdom from being invaded by the outer gods." The so-called "outer gods" naturally referred to Zeus, the "king of the gods."

　They believed that Elizabeth had become a puppet of Hera, the "Queen of the Gods," who was the wife of Zeus, the "King of the Gods." Therefore, supporting Elizabeth was tantamount to supporting Zeus, a clear case of "selling out one's country for personal gain."

　Such an overly extreme stance is suicidal in this day and age. But there is inevitably a segment of the world that stubbornly clings to the old ways, unwilling to accept the changes of the new era, even at the risk of death, refusing to acknowledge that times have changed.

　Their existence is not entirely detrimental to the development of the country; they are an indispensable part of the evolution of civilizations throughout history.

　The "Protectorate Faction" is unwilling to allow the country to be corrupted by the gods and has an extremely strong desire to protect the country's old sovereignty.

　The number of people in this faction is decreasing over time.

　But their voices were very loud.

　Newspaper announcements and large-scale demonstrations would occasionally appear in the capital. The royal family did not suppress them.

　In fact, the royal family has been keeping a low profile for a long time.

　Apart from stepping forward once during the battle for the "TV Tower," they have completely adopted a hands-off attitude.

　Just recently.

　With the start of the "Western Adventure Era", Eliza's appearances have gradually increased.

　People turned their attention to the City of Freedom and the former Demon King's territory.

　Eliza then took the opportunity to do some things.

　……

　Dark objectively examined the situation from a third-person perspective, and then synthesized the intelligence information submitted by the maid.

　A very clear and affirmative judgment was made.

　Elizabeth has undoubtedly become Hera's "chosen one." And she is the first-class "chosen one."

　The second type of "chosen ones" are merely tools for the gods to spread their faith. Only the first type of "chosen ones" can be called "followers." Eliza ultimately chose to submit to the gods.

　However, from an objective perspective, this is actually the best option Elizabeth could have given the current circumstances.

　Only God can deal with God.

　In an era of "divine resurgence," without divine protection, humans are as insignificant as ants or blades of grass.

　Although Eliza has a naive side, her most commendable quality is her full awareness of her own abilities.

　Therefore, during the period when she was vying for the throne with Charles, she was basically led by Aylvit and did what she could under his wing, gradually building up the people's trust.

　Now, after the Age of Gods, she is a mage with considerable potential, but she has no interest in vying for the title of God of Magic and has directly joined the ranks of "Queen of Gods" Hera.

　Although they lost the right to compete for the title of God of Magic, they gained a solid backing.

　As for whether she did this out of a desire to protect herself, or to protect the country and its people.

　Dac tends to have both.

　With Zeus now having established his kingdom, only by becoming a disciple of Hera can one barely gain the right to stand on the stage and compete with Zeus.

　After she made her choice, the struggle for the throne of the Kingdom of Yunic came to an end.

　Elizabeth will surely ascend the throne and become queen.

　Now, it remains to be seen how King Austin will choose to abdicate.

　His excessive low profile may be a preparation for abdicating the throne, or it may be a way for him to accumulate strength for a final big burst.

　Confidential intelligence from the Duke's mansion indicates...

　There is a 90% chance that the mastermind behind the "Protectors" faction was King Austin himself.

　This seems to suggest that Austen was still not satisfied. But countless pieces of information point out that his era had come to an end.

　The reason why the "Protectorate Faction" can still operate outside is only due to the tolerance of the "Empress Faction".

　[Queen] Hera's status is just too great.

　If Elizabeth hadn't kept her identity as a "chosen one" hidden for some reason, she could have easily overthrown the old king with a single call to arms.

　"Everything depends on how powerful His Majesty the King's backers are." Dark turned to the next page of intelligence.

　Under his instructions, the Duke's House conducted a very secretive investigation into the people behind King Austin.

　After a long and meticulous investigation, Austen finally made a mistake. There was a hidden room in his study.

　Hidden within the dark room is a secret chamber.

　The secret chamber is located in an alternate dimension and has no territory in the real world. However, the moment he opened it one day, a trace of the underworld's aura was released. The Duke's spies within the palace spread the word.

　Intelligence analysts, combining previous information, concluded that the person behind Austin was a "god of the underworld".

　This aligns with Dark's long-held belief that Austin was supported by a deity.

　That deity appeared very early, and upon awakening, chose the king of the most prestigious human kingdom on the continent.

　With the support of the human king, even if he hasn't fully recovered, he's certainly not comparable to those gods who have just awakened.

　The appearance of "Magical God Path," the unfolding of "God Path Ritual," and the entry of the "Twelve Celestials" were likely completely unexpected surprises for the gods. Dark has reason to believe that the god behind Austin is on the opposite side of the "Twelve Celestials."

　At the very least, Chi certainly didn't want to see the "Twelve Celestials" resurrected prematurely. The things Prince Charles did during the World Cup were very likely orchestrated by Chi.

　Only by disrupting the ritual and delaying the revival of the "Twelve Gods" can Sode buy himself more time.

　However, in an era of "divine resurgence," the resurgence of gods like Poropoda I is almost inevitable. Those who oppose them must be prepared for retaliation from the combined forces of the "Twelve Gods."