The final match that followed was even more pointless.
Diana's summoning speed was already pretty fast, but she still couldn't break thirteen seconds. Her proudest summon, the Polar Bear, hadn't even appeared before the match was over.
In the end, even Professor Jones couldn't help covering her forehead.
She had never seen a match like this in all her years of teaching.
The gap was just too enormous!
The first bonus chapter since I started writing.
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Chapter 47: Dark Demon's Secret to Studying
The end of Dueling Class.m
After awarding the champion 1,000 credits, Professor Jones invited Dark Demon up onto the stage.
Dark Demon, who hadn't yet fully grown, stood beside Professor Jones, his head barely reaching below her chest.
Professor Jones was truly enormous, thanks to her one-sixteenth Giant heritage.
Dark Demon kept the corners of his mouth turned up just a little and faced his chattering classmates with composure.
Professor Jones said, "Dimon, would you mind sharing a few of your study secrets with your classmates?"
Dark Demon replied readily, "Of course not."
Professor Jones said with satisfaction, "Then I'll leave the rest of our time to you."
Dark Demon nodded and stepped toward the middle before speaking. "The truth is, there are no shortcuts to studying. If I've made it this far, it's thanks to self-discipline and Temperance."
"Those who can restrain themselves command the greatest respect. But too much restraint can sometimes have the opposite effect, so moderation is also very important."
"Whether it's controlling your desires or pacing your studies, both are necessary."
"Personally, I prefer balancing work and rest. I use enjoyable activities to ease the tedium of studying and give my brain some time to rest."
"Besides, everyone is the architect of their own destiny..."
Dark Demon spoke for about fifteen minutes in all.
Some understood the meaning behind his words. Others just wanted him to hurry up so they could go eat.
It was like the road of life, with a sign at every fork: the left path was rough but led to the summit, while the right was smooth but led downhill. Most people still chose to go right.
Wisdom remained mere wisdom because people knew it but did not put it into practice.
Dark Demon could only say that he had genuinely shared what he'd experienced over the past month or so.
He stepped down amid applause of uncertain sincerity, and then Friday afternoon arrived—the Traveler Street opened once more!
Dark Demon took out his Sorting Card and checked his credits: 1,570.
Compared to the first time Traveler Street had opened, this week's first-years were much more restrained.
In any case, it definitely wasn't for some nonexistent reason like "not having enough credits"!
Fortunately, some everyday items weren't all that expensive. One credit was enough to order a cup of coffee and spend a leisurely, comfortable day sitting in the Forest Coffee Shop on Traveler Street.
Before heading to Traveler Street, Dark Demon once again took out the notebook he used to record items.
Compared to the list from last week, this week's list had a few more items.
These were all containers that could preserve Thought matter for an extended period.
[Magic Brain Bottle: One of the alchemical tools in the Magic Brain series. It stores emotions, desires, knowledge, and other substances inside a simulated magic brain. Its advantage is that it's alive and can preserve things for a long time. Its drawback is also that it's alive, so the contents might become contaminated or spoiled!]
[Insect Tree: A potted plant with branches resembling insects. Emotions, desires, knowledge, and other substances can be infused into its Insect Branches. Since the branches are plants, there's no need to worry about the contents becoming contaminated. The drawback is that if the tree dies, the insects die too, and it's very difficult to cultivate.]
[Advanced Thought Bottle: An advanced version of the Thought Bottle. It has no drawbacks except being very expensive, and can preserve its contents for up to a month.]
But in fact, all these things were expensive.
The Advanced Thought Bottle was just a little more expensive!
Dark Demon's first goal for the day was to pick one and buy it.
From twelve to twelve-thirty was the busiest time for entering Traveler Street.
Dark Demon deliberately waited until twelve-thirty before leaving the Noble House's tower passage.
On the way to the Castle's main gate, he unexpectedly ran into Victor, Robert, and Emma again.
"Weren't they together on Monday, too?"
Recalling what had happened on Monday, Dark Demon kept an eye on them.
Emma Metis had, for once, taken the time to fix her fluffy brown hair, pinning it in place with a cute cat-shaped clip. She'd also applied a little powder to make her skin look fairer.
She'd never dressed up to this extent before. Her entire impression had changed.
"Could losing the dueling match have hit her that hard?" Dark Demon wondered hesitantly.
Victor and Robert, on the other hand, were as usual.
After losing their last chance, they had agonized over it for a long time and finally decided to apologize for their earlier argument and beg Emma to forgive them.
"I've already apologized, Emma!"
Robert once again stepped in front of Emma.
Emma puffed out her cheeks, looking annoyed. "I heard you. Can you move?"
Victor hurriedly grabbed Robert by the arm, at a loss as to how their apology had somehow ended up like this.
Robert's thinking was probably still at a child's level. He thought that as long as you apologized, you could put anything behind you.
But Victor had been through more. He knew that apologies couldn't solve most problems.
They were actually there to beg Emma to give up collecting the debt!
It was a full 640 credits, and in another half-hour it would double to 1,280!
If they were in her shoes, they certainly wouldn't give up that much money easily!
Remembering his earlier grand words about paying it back, Victor blushed a little and had no choice but to say, "Emma, we've realized we were wrong. We shouldn't have pressured you into lending us money to buy Magic Chess, and we shouldn't have insulted you afterward..."
Emma said, "You've already said all that! I accepted your apology, so can you please, immediately, hurry up and move out of my way?"
"No." Victor mustered the courage of the Son of the Hero and said shamelessly, "So, could we settle the debt? Maybe we could rewrite the contract and fix the amount at 640 credits?"
Robert cut in, "640 is already a lot!"
"Hiss!"
Victor was practically dumbfounded. He wanted nothing more than to seal Robert's big mouth shut right then and there!
Emma gave Robert a cold look, then finally said it plainly. "You don't owe me 640 credits. You owe me five, Victor. Pay me five credits, and we'll be even!"
Victor's ears twitched. He thought he'd misheard her. "What do you mean? How could it be five credits?"
Emma said, "Read the school rules, Victor! Credits are a special currency used within St. Marian, so the academy would obviously have rules about lending. Any loan exceeding ten times the original amount is invalid at the academy! The contract became invalid at one o'clock on Monday afternoon. You only need to pay back the principal."
Victor was practically about to fall apart. "But you said before..."
Emma said angrily, "Because Robert insulted me! I was in no mood to tell you! So what?"
Victor said, "Robert..."
Emma abruptly pulled out her Sorting Card. "Five credits, Victor, hurry up! The Ladies' Tea Party is at the Forest Coffee Shop this afternoon. If I'm late because of you..."
Victor hurriedly swiped his card and paid off the debt.
The burden that had weighed on his shoulders all week suddenly vanished. Victor felt so lightheaded that he thought he could fly if his feet left the ground.
But after Emma put away her Sorting Card, she said without the slightest hint of mercy, "Also, Victor, I think I should remind you of something. Stop hanging around with Robert! Think about your parents, who are gone!"
Please—╋═══
Chapter 48: Dark Demon Got Caught Watching the Drama
Emma left them with one final ripple, then walked away without looking back.
But the atmosphere between Victor and Robert instantly turned icy!
"⊙⊙"
Only Dark Demon, the heartless drama-watching machine, had seen the whole thing through.
Putting together what he'd seen on Monday and all the strange things the two had done lately, Dark Demon had more or less guessed how things had unfolded.
But what he couldn't understand was how the trio had fallen apart like this.
Was it because he, the villain, hadn't put any pressure on them?
Surely that couldn't be it?
Still, Dark Demon had to admit he was curious about what would happen next.
Emma had completely broken with Victor and Robert, and her final words had also driven a wedge between Victor and Robert.
Would Victor turn back to Emma and make up with her, or would he and Robert prove their friendship unbreakable?
"Hiss—this is starting to feel like a TV drama!"
There was no rush to head to Traveler Street, so Dark Demon kept watching.
No matter what, Victor had clearly taken Emma's final words to heart. More importantly, Robert's constant blunders over the past week had made him realize her warning wasn't baseless.
Yes, Victor was gradually realizing where the real problem lay.
That was the main reason the atmosphere had grown so tense.
Before the air could freeze completely, Robert finally couldn't hold back. "No way, Victor! You're not really going to listen to Emma and..."
Victor gave a dry laugh and patted Robert on the shoulder. "What are you talking about, Robert? We've been good friends since the start of term. How about this? Since that damn debt never existed in the first place, should we go hang out on Traveler Street or head back and play a game?"
"Ha, don't scare me like that." Robert relaxed. "Of course we should head back to... the library?"
Victor froze, astonished. "Seriously? The library?"
Robert gave a dry laugh too. "We still haven't finished our Arithmetic Class and History of Magic homework, have we?"
Emma probably never imagined that her final words to Victor would affect Robert even more than they affected Victor!
In that almost suffocating atmosphere, Robert finally realized that if he didn't change, he might lose his friend, the "Son of the Hero," for good.
Watching the two actually head toward the library, Dark Demon's expression turned strange. He couldn't help stepping out from the corner.
"So he picked the bromance route? Wonder how long they'll last?"
Once a crack appeared in a relationship, it couldn't be repaired so easily.
Dark Demon suddenly felt like the drama had lost its flavor.
He shook his head and walked in the direction Emma had disappeared.
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