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

　Looking at the picnic equipment she was showing him, Dak reluctantly agreed to go with her companion.

　The magical elves were overjoyed to be entering this boundless natural world for the first time, and after spending two whole days in their dwellings.

　Aurora rarely ventured into such an environment, finding it all novel and fascinating.

　There are many monsters outside the city of Freedom, making it very dangerous, and she is not allowed to leave the city.

　But what she didn't know was that the mountain behind the Duke's mansion was also dangerous!

　However, with Trina around, the "aura" she released was like a beast-repelling agent, scaring all the monsters that tried to approach away into scattering and fleeing.

　Only a few stupid wild beasts wandered in, but Trina killed them all without a second thought.

　She even picked out one or two that were edible...

　By the time Dak arrived at the treehouse on the back mountain, it was nearly noon.

　He was surprised to find that the wooden house in the tree was still there, and quite clean.

　Trina smiled, a rare occurrence for her: "The old housekeeper buried a treasure under the tree, saying that you can dig it up whenever you no longer want this cabin."

　Then she waved to the giant tree that supported the cabin, and the previously motionless tree suddenly moved.

　As the leaves rustled, the giant tree stretched out a branch and patted Trina's hand like a puppy.

　Dak was stunned.

　He asked, "Was this tree corrupted by demons later, or was it a demonic tree from the beginning?"

　Trina smiled and said, "It was like that from the beginning, but back then, she wasn't as well-behaved as she is now."

　"Okay, I knew it..."

　Dark shook his head.

　It wasn't until Aurora asked him out of curiosity that he began to tell her about his childhood.

　They then began grilling meat under the tree.

　Trina's cooking skills were surprisingly good, and she also brought a lot of seasonings.

　Aurora followed suit and was also able to eat it.

　Dark smiled, squinting, and let Meow Meow go up.

　……

　They ate so much picnic that their mouths were greasy.

　Dak had been planning to take a long-awaited nap in the cabin, but Trina immediately told him, "Chris is back."

　……

　[4-in-1 8000+]

　[84/233]

　[I'm feeling good today, and I might still be feeling better tonight (around midnight).]

Chapter 471 Darkdemon and the Cult of Knowledge (4k)

　Chris Dimon.

　She is the head maid of the "Scorpio Maid Corps" and one of the six head maids given the name "Dimon".

　"You're back already? I thought you'd be much later."

　Dark yawned lazily.

　Life at the Duke's mansion was so comfortable that he couldn't muster any enthusiasm.

　Thinking about it that way, Arvit's "summer tutoring" doesn't seem so bad.

　At least it will allow him to maintain his good habits of self-discipline and propriety.

　Otherwise, things like "laziness," "binge eating," and "xx" might all skyrocket.

　Seeing his question, Trina reached into her robes and pulled out a magic card emitting a faint golden light, flashing it in front of him. She said, "The twelve 'Golden Armor's' are interconnected; the closer they are, the clearer the connection. She has already returned to the manor."

　"I see."

　Dark nodded slightly and said decisively, "Then let's go back."

　He also had a strong interest in the "forest ranger" he encountered on the magic motorcycle.

　……

　Although the magical spirits were still reluctant to leave, they quickly returned.

　Before long, the group crossed the back mountain and returned to the backyard of the Duke's mansion.

　A maid who was already waiting by the pool immediately came forward to greet them.

　Dark glanced at her: "Speak."

　“Yes, young master,” the maid replied immediately. “Head Maid Chris has returned. The Duke is waiting for you at the manor.”

　“Understood.” Dark nodded to her.

　Afterwards, instead of heading to the mansion immediately, he pointed to the magical spirits and said to Aurora, "Could you please stay with them a little longer?"

　Aurora nodded obediently: "Mmm."

　"That's good." Darke smiled.

　He then found the Dream Demon among the magical spirits: "Dream Demon, come with me."

　"Yao Mi—"

　The dream demon cried out happily and immediately flew over.

　Not to be outdone, Little Devimon also flew onto Dark's shoulder.

　Dak reached out and patted its paw, but didn't say anything.

　Immediately afterwards, he followed Trina and quickly headed to the mansion.

　Inside the mansion, Alvette and Claire were chatting leisurely, with Lord Montilfari standing nearby.

　As soon as Dak came into view, Arvit waved to him and said, "You're back so soon?"

　Dark nodded and asked, "Where is Chris?"

　"Come with me."

　Arvit glanced at the succubus floating around Dark, then led the way into the mansion before exiting through the back door.

　After turning a few more corners, she casually patted the void, and a door appeared out of thin air. "Let's go."

　Arvit pushed open the door and stepped inside.

　Although Dak knew there was a basement in the Duke's mansion, he didn't know how to get in until today.

　The stairs leading down the passage were clean and smooth, and the automatically lit magic lights on the walls illuminated the underground passage brightly, without any of the gloom one might have imagined.

　Sen felt.

　"What's down there?" Dark asked curiously.

　A slight smile played on Arvit's lips: "Cold storage."

　“A cold storage?” Darke exclaimed in surprise. “I thought…”

　"Did you think it was a dungeon?" Arvit covered her mouth and chuckled. "How could I possibly set up a dungeon in my own home?"

　Dark said silently, "That's true."

　However, the awkward expression on Lord Montilfari's face prevented him from feeling isolated.

　It's likely that no one who enters this place would suspect that it's just a cold storage facility.

　As you go deeper, the temperature does indeed drop significantly.

　Because of the light clothing worn in the summer, Dak even felt a slight chill.

　He subconsciously moved slightly closer to Lord Montilfarli, and sure enough, it wasn't so cold anymore.

　Once Arvit noticed this, she continued her downward movement.

　After climbing the stairs, we finally arrived at another door.

　Alvite placed her hand on the door, channeling her magic into it, and the door slowly opened.

　In an instant, a wave of extremely cold air rushed towards us.

　But the hot air that follows forms a flowing barrier, keeping the cold air out.

　Lord Montilfali smiled at Dark and told him to continue on his way.

　Dak accepted the offer and stepped inside.

　He then immediately discovered that the two sides of the cold storage were filled with a large number of magical beasts, just like freezers!

　This cold storage facility was different from what he had imagined.

　As they continued onward, more and more monsters came into view, each one showing no visible signs of injury, their "corpses" perfectly preserved.

　Even Dak couldn't be sure if those were actually "corpses".

　"It couldn't have been a gene bank created to ensure biodiversity, could it?"

　Read the full text for free here

　But when Dark thought this way...

　Alvit said slowly, "I captured these magical beasts myself. Each one is a leader-level creature. They are not dead, but their souls and bodies are completely frozen. Unless all the ice used for sealing is melted, they cannot be awakened."

　Lord Montilfali then asked curiously, "What's the point of doing something so troublesome?"

　Alvit shook her head and said, "We all know that magical beasts were originally created by demons who corrupted wild animals. Now that demons are nearly extinct, although there are no signs of a large-scale decline in magical beasts yet, many magical beast races are actually on the verge of extinction. For mages who need specific magical beast materials to complete magic card crafting, this is actually very fatal. That's why I built this cold storage to capture and preserve some endangered rare magical beasts, to keep a spark of life. It also prevents some magic cards that need them as materials from becoming rare and unavailable."

　"It really is a gene pool!"

　While astonished, Dak couldn't help but feel awe at the far-sightedness of Alvette.

　As magical technology becomes more advanced and the power of mages grows stronger, the originally ferocious and terrifying magical beasts will likely gradually become a vulnerable group and become the targets of slaughter.

　In this era of explosive development in magical technology, it is completely impossible to expect mages to have a concept of "sustainable development".

　In fact, these signs have already begun to appear.

　Some materials that were not rare in the past are now priceless and unavailable for purchase.

　Almost all the materials can only be purchased in Saint Marian, which has a special dungeon.

　However, the dungeons outside don't have the same respawn mechanism as St. Marian.

　……

　Walk along the passageway.

　After walking for a while, Arvit slowed down.

　Dark also saw Chris standing in front of the road.

　When Chris returned from her trip, she showed no signs of fatigue, as if it had been an easy task for her.

　Her petite frame, which seemed disproportionate to her age, exuded a vast, spiderweb-like aura in silence.

　It wasn't until the group arrived that she instantly became more reserved, her presence suddenly vanishing as if she had disappeared without a trace.

　"Chris, where is she?"

　Arvit broke the silence.

　Chris didn't move: "Inside."

　In the compartment originally used to seal away magical beasts, a person whose entire body was bound was curled up.

　The cold air that swept in from all around turned into thick fog, forming layers of frost on his face.

　If it had been any later, he would probably have been frozen into an ice block, just like those magical beasts.

　Dark quickly walked outside, examined the creature carefully for a while, and asked the Dream Demon, "Is this the person?"

　The dream demon immediately darted inside, circled the person once, and then flew back, calling out loudly, "Dream Fairy!"