The youth sitting before the railing had slightly brownish blond hair that just brushed his shoulders, neatly trimmed bangs, a high nose bridge, and rather full lips. He was decent-looking enough.
But his shoulders were broad and his frame short, so his upper body looked too big and his lower body too small. The proportions were a little off.
And this young noble was none other than the president of the Noble History Research Society, Angus Jeffrey.
Outside the school gates, Angus Jeffrey was missing his flock of "considerate" club members, but he seemed to have gained a few unfamiliar hangers-on in exchange.
His father, Earl Jeffrey, was one of the Kingdom's Thirty-Six Councilors, and that really had earned him an extremely high standing.
Beyond the Academy's walls, he was still the center of attention, the moon surrounded by stars.
But Dark barely knew him, so he gave him a casual glance and was about to walk on.
Then a young noble beside Jeffrey spotted him, tapped Jeffrey's shoulder with a mischievous glint in his eye, and leaned in to whisper something in his ear.
Jeffrey whipped his head around, and the back of his skull swept right across the young man's tall nose bridge.
If there was a filler implant in there, it must have been knocked crooked by now (/ω\).
Jeffrey's expression stiffened for a moment. Then he chose to ignore the youth, put on a show of easy familiarity, and walked toward Dark.
"Hey, isn't that Demon? Do you remember me? I'm Jeffrey, president of the Noble History Research Society."
"Senior Jeffrey?"
Dark had no choice but to stop. Behind him, the Magic Guide Spirits, who had been playing about, halted one after another.
Jeffrey very discreetly glanced over the group of Magic Guide Spirits, and his heart sank a little. But his face stayed warm.
No matter how much he disliked Dark, keeping up appearances was a must.
Inside the Academy, they were both just students.
Outside it, one was an earl's son and the other a duke's son. Even if Jeffrey's father held real power, that couldn't make up for the gap in formal rank.
Besides, the factions of the First Prince and the Eldest Princess were nowhere near the point of tearing off their masks.
Jeffrey warmly invited Dark to sit, and opened with: "It's been over a month since the break began. I thought we'd run into each other sooner."
Dark set his Magic Guide Scribe on the table and smiled faintly. "My family discipline is rather strict. I've been forced to cram this whole time."
Family... discipline... rather... strict?
The young nobles around Jeffrey didn't react at first. After a long moment, one noble girl couldn't help laughing. "Little Brother Demon, if your family discipline counts as strict..."
Dark turned his head slightly. "And you are?"
The noble girl smiled, and a deep dimple sank into her pale, soft cheek.
Her hair was done in spiral curls very much like those of Joy, the younger of the twin siblings. It seemed to be the latest fashion.
Her face was a little round, her eyes very large with especially long lashes. Her nose bridge wasn't high, but it was small and dainty, and paired with her rosy cherry lips it gave her the delicate look of a porcelain doll.
Her clothes were just as exquisite: a gothic black dress covered in lace.
On her feet she wore a pair of red high-heeled dancing shoes.
Faced with Dark's question, the noble girl covered her face with a folding fan and said, "Felice Laman. Earl Rex Laman is my father."
"Earl Rex Laman..."
Dark's mind whirred, and he was certain he had no idea who Earl Rex Laman was.
But that didn't matter.
He stretched out his arms along the back of the sofa and said lazily, "Sister Felice Laman, just call me Dark. Times have changed. I can never go back to those carefree days."
"Oh? Did you fail a class at the Academy?" Felice Laman asked curiously.
Probably it was Dark's mention of "cramming" that gave her the idea.
But the moment she said it, the corner of Angus Jeffrey's mouth twitched, and he had no choice but to say, "Felice Laman, Demon is actually..."
"Dark is first in his year!"
Diana's eyes went wide and she shot back at once.
"You're... Diana, right?" Felice Laman said, covering her mouth with the fan to hide her surprise.
Naturally, Angus Jeffrey was not about to brag to them about Dark's grades.
In fact, he hadn't mentioned Dark at all during this whole stretch.
So the young nobles in this little circle had no idea that he and Dark were on bad terms.
And out of the instinct to seek profit and avoid harm, nobody wanted to casually provoke an opponent with such a formidable background.
Felice Laman even meant to use her looks and her gender to leave a good impression on Dark.
After all, more paths meant more choices.
Young nobles might look carefree, but more often than not they weren't free to do as they pleased.
So when the legendary dunce, the Son of the Valkyrie, suddenly turned into a top student, this crowd was stunned for a moment, then immediately started flattering him.
Jeffrey stood right in the middle of it, yet suddenly felt that the circle had become unfamiliar.
A vein throbbed faintly at his temple, but on the surface he had no choice but to join the others in congratulating Dark on ranking first in his year.
To regain the initiative, he changed the subject. "Speaking of which, since Demon is first in the first-year class, once you become a second-year you'll be the top student. All you'll need to do is apply to a professor, and you can easily become the second-year Year Prefect. There aren't many standards to go by in second year, so it's always been decided purely by grades."
"Second-year Year Prefect?" Dark said with a smile. "That sounds like too much trouble."
Let whoever wants it have it.
"Being a Year Prefect has plenty of perks," Jeffrey said, smiling on the surface. "The professors open up certain privileges for prefects, and they teach Magic Guide Card Forging methods that prefects need, like [Mute]."
"But you can learn those without being a prefect," Dark said, shaking his head. "Professors are always glad to satisfy a student's thirst for knowledge."
"That's for good students," Jeffrey corrected.
Dark couldn't help smiling. "And aren't I a good student?"
Jeffrey froze for a moment, then gave a dry laugh. "True enough. Haha."
The two sides got along surprisingly well.
Diana and Aurora sat beside Dark.
Trina stood attendance behind him.
And the Magic Guide Spirits, led by the Vampire Young Lady, pressed against the edge of the railing to watch the equestrian show in the arena.
Two performers were on the floor, one woman and one man, both in tight leotards like gymnasts' outfits that left large stretches of skin bare.
The woman wore heavy makeup and had a graceful figure. The man had short hair and sword-straight brows, and cut a dashing figure.
Their mounts were a pair of white-browed tigers with slanted, glaring eyes!
The two performers and the two big cats worked together seamlessly, and the show never let up in excitement. The Magic Guide Spirits watched without blinking.
Eventually the Vampire Young Lady couldn't help glancing over at the Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon. At home they had no tiger, only cats. But if you couldn't ride a tiger, you could ride a dragon!
The Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon might be a "baby dragon," but it was a good three meters tall. Perfectly rideable!
"Hiss~"
The Blue-Eyes Baby gave a violent shiver and darted suspicious looks in every direction.
Although it had been Forged from the Fruit of Pride, the Blue-Eyes Baby Dragon had been docile and obedient ever since it was born, and had never once shown any "Pride."
Sometimes it didn't even look like a "dragon."
But that was exactly what emboldened the Vampire Young Lady.
"Wow!"
In the arena, the equestrian show suddenly reached its climax.
The crowd gasped.
The Magic Guide Spirits' eyes lit up too, and they stared without blinking as the two performers steered the tigers through all manner of unbelievable maneuvers.
Meanwhile, Dark noticed Diana glancing that way from time to time and said with a smile, "How about we go take a look too?"
"Sure," Jeffrey said. Of course he had no reason to refuse.
Today was clearly not a good day to pick a fight, and this was a fine chance to have more contact with Dark and probe his depths.
So the whole group moved to the glass railing and watched the equestrian show in perfect "harmony."
But the best moments are always short.
Only three minutes later, the show was winding down.
Dark asked, a little disappointed, "What's the next act?"
Jeffrey said, "Next should be the swordplay show."
"Swordplay?" Dark mused briefly, then asked, "A two-person Swords Dance?"
Jeffrey shook his head. "There is a two-person Swords Dance act, but today should be the Hero-slays-the-dragon piece."
"Hero versus Evil Dragon?" Dark said, curious.
Jeffrey explained slowly. "Just as you'd guess. It's the classic play of the Hero fighting the evil dragon."
In this world, tales of the Hero and the dragon, or the Hero and the Demon King, never go out of style.
Literary works centered on them were as numerous as the stars, and countless had been adapted into operas.
But people in this world lapped it up.
Of course, in recent years plays about the Hero and the Demon King had been more popular than those about the Hero and the dragon.
In fact, now that the Holy Church had publicly announced the "Execution Ritual," every major theater was finding ways to stage plays about the Hero and the Demon King.
This Dreamhaunt Hall was no exception.
As a result, the "Hero versus Evil Dragon" piece had been pushed into the daytime slots, when fewer people came.
That didn't mean it wasn't spectacular.
Once Dark learned the title of the play, he couldn't help turning to look at his own Magic Guide Spirits, then smiled.
Among his Magic Guide Spirits were two with "Hero Aptitude," plus a genuine Dragon Breed.
If they performed this play, it would be the real thing, wouldn't it?
Just as he was imagining it, the swordswoman playing the Hero made her entrance first.
She was a handsome swordswoman disguised as a man. Every step landed precisely on the beats of the background music, and dazzling starlight scattered from her enchanted longsword.
The music in the arena swelled. The beast pen on the west side suddenly burst open, and a rock dragon that looked as though it had been piled together from boulders charged out roaring, its dragon might exploding outward in an instant!
Though it was only a sub-dragon breed, the rock dragon was nearly five meters long, and the dragon might it unleashed filled people with dread.
As the music grew more stirring, the swordswoman playing the Hero leapt up like a gale and traced a gorgeous Swords Dance through the air with her footfalls.
A sword wave, charged up and fired from the magic blade in her hand, slashed across the rock dragon's forehead and sent it into a sudden rage!
Beneath the surface of the play, this "Hero versus Evil Dragon" sword show still couldn't escape being a beast fight at heart.
Only, to spare the audience's sensibilities, the "beast" chosen for the fight was a rock dragon that wouldn't splatter blood.
Elegant music and gorgeous swordplay, paired with the violence of the "beast fight," fully captured the nobles' attention.
Even Dark couldn't help focusing.
The swordswoman's strength was beyond doubt. The fearsome-looking rock dragon was entirely in the palm of her hand, reduced to a mere prop for the show.
A Magic Sword user this powerful was truly breathtaking.
When she finally cut the rock dragon's head off right there, stepping through a brilliant dance, a roar of cheers erupted along the railing of the circular gallery.
Dark narrowed his eyes slightly and noticed the rock dragon's claw twitch, ever so faintly.
A startled thought crossed his mind: "Could this rock dragon be a reusable prop?"
Some elemental beings really were unafraid of blades, and could recover fully even when hacked to pieces.
This rock dragon might be a semi-elemental type.
But thinking it over, it made sense. Otherwise every performance would burn through a sub-dragon breed, and the costs would skyrocket.
"After all, it's just acting."
Dark reached his verdict.
But as the swordswoman planted her foot on the rock dragon's "corpse," she suddenly raised her sword and pointed it at the spectator seats on this side.
The abrupt gesture instantly quieted the sounds around them.
Everyone followed the sword tip, turning curiously.
And the spot where Dark stood became the center of attention in an instant.
"What is she doing?"
Dark couldn't help frowning.
Beside him, Jeffrey's mouth curled up in amusement. "She's challenging you."
Dark said in surprise, "The sword show has this kind of bonus act?"
Jeffrey smiled. "It's Dreamhaunt's custom. Whether it's riding, swordplay, or a Magic Guide duel, once the performance is over the performer may name one expert no weaker than themselves and issue a challenge. If they win, the performer receives a handsome reward."
"No weaker than themselves. How do they judge that?" Dark asked curiously.
Jeffrey said, "By how exciting the match is. If it isn't exciting enough, it doesn't count as a win."
Dark asked, "So the hall has the final say in all of it?"
Jeffrey was surprised by how quickly Dark's mind worked, but nodded. "You could say that."
Dark asked again, "Then what if I don't accept her challenge?"
Jeffrey laughed. "Other than possibly picking up a few unflattering nicknames, nothing much. Besides, when a performer challenges a noble, the noble is perfectly free to send a subordinate in his place. And people like us, Magic Guide Masters, can even summon Magic Guide Spirits into the arena."
"I see."
Dark turned to his Magic Guide Spirits and asked, "Who wants to go down and meet her?"
At the question, Gatomon's ears shot up and she grew restless.
The combative Hawlucha was itching to go as well.
Leomon had already pressed a hand to the hilt of the demonic blade Shishiomaru, clearly ready to answer his master's request.
But as Dark weighed the Magic Guide Spirits, Trina, standing straight behind him, said in a casual tone, "Young Master, allow me."
Dark's gaze swept back and forth between Leomon and Gatomon for a moment, and then he made his decision. "Come back quickly."
"Yes, Young Master." A flash of cold light crossed Trina's eyes.
It was true that there was a rule allowing performers to challenge someone after a show.
And a rule like that often made the atmosphere more heated.
But those who knew, knew: in cases like this, there was usually a prior arrangement.
A challenge issued with no warning like this meant either the performer was acting on her own, or someone had given the order.
And whoever could give orders to Dreamhaunt had to be of no low standing.
"Who could it be?"
Trina's gaze turned frosty as she scanned the surroundings.
But apart from Angus Jeffrey and his group, she found no one to suspect.
"Clang!"
In the arena, the swordswoman suddenly flicked her sword and issued the provocation again.
Trina smiled coldly to herself and said to Dark, "I'll be right back."
The instant the words left her mouth, her figure flickered and she leapt straight down from above, one foot crushing the rock dragon's "corpse."
The swordswoman's expression changed sharply, and her eyes grew deadly serious.
She seemed quite taken aback by Trina's appearance.
But with things already at this point, all she could do was give it everything.
Battle was about to break out, and the atmosphere turned tense in an instant.
Two great auras surged forth, one as majestic and domineering as a lion king, the other as alluring and eerie as an iridescent serpent.
From her very first move, Trina unleashed her full sword momentum. A lion king's momentum gathered upon her blade and turned into terrifying blade qi.
The swordswoman resisted with her own momentum as well, but the gap between them was laid completely bare after a single exchange.
How could a swordswoman confined to performing at a hall stand against a swordswoman personally taught by the Valkyrie?
The gap between them was like a chasm.
The overwhelming "Lion King's Momentum" crushed the "Venomous Serpent's Momentum" and ended the fight with irresistible force.
When Trina ruthlessly planted her foot on the swordswoman, applause rolled through the gallery like thunder.
"Hmph."
With a cold snort, she flickered and was back at Dark's side.
But amid the thunderous applause, cold sweat was seeping from Angus Jeffrey, on Dark's other side.
He clutched a tiny paper ball in his hand, and his eyes darted about.
Not long after Trina left the floor, someone had walked up beside him, entirely naturally, and passed him a slip of paper.
He didn't need to unfold it.
The moment his fingers touched it, a voice reached his ears.
It was the voice of First Prince Charles!
However unwilling he was, Jeffrey dared not defy the First Prince's order.
He just couldn't figure out what the First Prince was thinking.
Was it a chance opportunity to trip up a rival's son?
Or was there some secret that he hadn't yet touched upon?
But when he turned his face back, his warm manner had already returned. "Junior, while the mood is so lively, why don't you and I have a duel too?"
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