"Isn't this the [Son of the Hero]?"
As Mike Owen reached out to take the chocolate box, he saw Virt's face clearly.
"Thanks."
So, he revealed a habitual smile.
Watching his forced smile, Virt couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. "No need to thank me, do your best, Senior!"
Although Owen didn't quite understand, he responded politely, "Mhm, you do your best too!"
Virt pumped his fist at him, then continued walking toward the lakeside with Robert.
The snow outside was very cold.
Just like his heart, it was ice-cold.
Mike Owen watched Virt's retreating figure and murmured, "No matter what, this was a nice encounter."
Then he rallied his spirits, carrying the chocolate as he walked toward the direction where Dark was.
But after taking just two steps, he froze. He lifted the chocolate to look at it and smiled bitterly. "Why am I still carrying this?"
...
Half an hour later, Mike Owen returned.
He had just gone to knock on Maggie's door but couldn't get her to open it, so he had to leave the chocolate back in his own dormitory.
Without Maggie, and without the chocolate, even that seemingly terrible idea was gone.
Owen had to come up with a new idea.
He strolled slowly in the snow, thinking hard.
...
Noble House Tower, Room 501.
Angus Jeffrey, the President of the Noble History Research Society, looked out the window for a while but still didn't see Owen take action.
He couldn't help but take a sip of tea, feeling somewhat irritable.
Just as Mike Owen had said, he didn't really want to get revenge.
In fact, after the [Rookie Tournament], he had given up on the idea of recruiting Dark.
Originally, his goal in recruiting Dark Demon was to corrupt him, not because he actually valued him for anything.
Standing from Jeffrey's perspective, because his father, [Earl Jeffrey], was of the Iron Prince faction, he was destined to be irreconcilable with Dark Demon.
This was a political vortex with no room for maneuvering.
But Dark Demon's performance in the [Rookie Tournament] was simply too terrifying.
Combining that with his reputation in the academy, a deduction could be easily drawn.
This was a great talent who completely contradicted past rumors—a collection of wisdom, talent, and diligence in one body!
Against such a person, methods like corruption or influence were difficult to achieve.
Although the conflict between the two sides had not yet manifested, as Dark Demon rose to the second year and the kingdom's situation intensified, the relationship between the two parties would inevitably become irreconcilable.
What Jeffrey needed to do instead was to subtly position the members of the Noble History Research Society against Dark Demon without angering him.
In other words, bind those members to his battlefront.
Stabilize the base!
The members of the Noble History Research Society were actually mostly fence-sitters.
Whichever faction had the louder voice, they would echo it.
Therefore, he had to find a way to prevent them from being influenced by Dark Demon, lest they, in turn, influence their fathers and interfere with the political situation.
Jeffrey was worried sick.
After a while.
He drank the last drop of tea, turned around, and mused, "Let's go, we'll go admire the snow too!"
...
The large-scale mobilization of these core members of the Noble History Research Society was still very eye-catching.
The snowy ground became a bit livelier.
...
And by the lakeside.
Under the guidance of [Professor Lily], Dark was actually building a snowman.
By tacit agreement, they did not use magic power but relied solely on the strength of their hands to push the snowballs.
But building a snowman is actually a technical skill. How to ensure the snowball doesn't fall apart as it gets bigger is a difficult problem.
Moreover, if the snowball is too big, it can be very dangerous.
So in the end, [Professor Lily] quietly cheated.
Of course, if they didn't use magic power, they couldn't possibly have stacked a snowball with a diameter of over ten meters on top!
When [Professor Lily] waved her fingers to move a gigantic snowball onto another even larger snowball, the eyes of everyone playing in the snow outside the entire castle focused on them.
That was simply too big!
Students usually acted with subconscious restraint within the school. If such a huge snowman were to fall, it would be no laughing matter!
So for everyone else, making a snowman four or five meters high was already considered very exaggerated.
But they didn't expect there to be a little fairy professor here who wasn't restrained in the slightest!
"Hahahahaha!"
The little fairy flapped her wings and flew around the two successfully stacked snowballs, her silver-bell-like laughter ringing incessantly.
She hadn't been this happy in a long time.
The two huge snowballs had their centers frozen by her magic, and there was an ice pillar serving as an axis connecting the two snowballs.
This was what made them huge yet stable.
After being happy for a while, [Professor Lily] quickly flew down and shouted to Dark and the others, "Quick! Get the eyes, nose, arms, and hat up there!"
"Haha." But standing there, Dark only gave a dry laugh.
After seeing the two huge snowballs stacked up, he suddenly realized that he simply couldn't find eyes, a nose, arms, and a hat that matched the scale.
"What do we do, Dark? It's too big!"
Diana had long since joined in. She stood beside Dark, looking up at the snowman, grinning from ear to ear with joy.
Dark had a sudden flash of inspiration and said, "How about painting them on?"
"Paint?"
[Professor Lily] tilted her head to think, then immediately clapped her hands. "Good idea!"
So she refined colorful substances on the spot and began to paint on the snowman.
Slowly.
Not just people, but the [Magic Guide Spirits] also gathered around, squatting beside Dark and the others one by one, looking up as [Professor Lily] sketched and painted on the snowman's body.
Her drawing skills couldn't be called excellent, but the precision of her strokes was definitely full marks.
As the completion level got higher, more and more people were attracted over.
Hundreds of students stood at a certain distance, watching this giant snowman gradually take shape.
After today.
This snowman would surely leave a colorful stroke in their memories!
...
In the crowd.
Virt and Robert stood side by side, having unknowingly gathered here with the flow of people.
Robert's gaze was entirely on that snowman, but Virt's gaze couldn't help but drift toward [Pandora Dragon] beside Dark.
Pandora stood there, naturally revealing a bright and beautiful smile, looking completely different from when she faced him.
Clearly, he felt that he had already become disillusioned with Senior Pandora, but seeing that smile now, his expression became entranced again.
So-called love at first sight is mostly a superficial cognition based on appearance.
However, he had indeed secretly crushed on her for a full half-year, and had even been greatly depressed because of it during Christmas.
This experience and dedication were hard to cut off.
He felt that he was okay again.
"I still like her."
"It's normal for her to ignore me; after all, we are just strangers who nod at each other."
"She accepted the gift sent today; this is a start."
"At least the next time we meet, I won't count as a passerby."
Virt reached out and pulled [Forbidden Love] from the secret compartment in his sleeve.
He wanted to try and see how much Pandora's favorability toward him was!
But there were too many people now, and with people blocking the way, it wasn't very convenient.
He restrained himself slightly.
...
It wasn't until [Professor Lily] drew a circle on top of the snowman's head that the number one snowman of [St. Marian] was finally considered complete!
She flew down with a face full of satisfaction and said proudly to Dark, "Well, aren't I awesome?"
Dark couldn't help but sigh, "Very awesome!"
It was truly awesome!
She had forcefully painted this snowman into colored pottery!
"Clap clap clap!"
The surrounding students suddenly began to applaud.
The applause gradually became thunderous.
[Professor Lily] smiled proudly, spinning non-stop in front of Dark.
...
By this time, the sky was slightly dim, and the sun had begun to move toward the west.
The students, having played all afternoon, felt a bit of fatigue amidst their enjoyment.
This giant painted snowman became the best curtain call.
After viewing it, many people left the snowy ground in groups of three or five, returning to the castle and heading toward the canteen.
Dark and the others returned to the center of [Paradise] and sat on the stone stools.
Amidst the snacks piling up on the table, those three boxes of chocolate had long been quietly put into the schoolbag by Dark.
Since they were chocolates sent by those three, he naturally didn't want to leave them out to be lost.
He would find a time to open them and take a look when he got back.
...
Standing over there, Virt saw the crowd gradually dispersing and picked up [Forbidden Love] again.
He now needed to give himself a goal.
A tangible, quantified favorability rating would be a guide.
"Let's go back, Virt."
Robert glanced at Dark and the others, unable to help sighing for his best friend beside him.
But Virt clearly didn't want to go back yet.
Just then, the two suddenly noticed someone walking straight toward this side not far away.
That person's curly hair looked somewhat familiar. Virt thought for a while and finally remembered that he was the poor guy who had lost his love earlier.
He instinctively felt that something was about to happen.
Therefore, he put away the [Forbidden Love] he had just picked up again.
...
Mike Owen walked forward, biting the bullet.
He had watched for a long time and thought for a long time, but in the end, he still couldn't find a way to intervene that wasn't terrible.
But Angus Jeffrey had actually brought people out.
Under the President's gaze, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and come over to cause trouble.
So much time had passed.
Dark had not recalled the [Magic Guide Spirits] all this time; theoretically, he shouldn't have much magic power left.
Anyone else would probably have long since suffered from magic power exhaustion.
But Owen always felt something was wrong.
He looked at [Professor Lily] and [Pandora Dragon] sitting beside Dark, trying his best to adjust his line of sight to ignore them, pretending they didn't exist.
Before long, he arrived near Dark.
Then, as if it were an accidental encounter, he said in surprise, "Isn't this Dark Demon? Do you still remember me?"
Dark was teasing the re-energized [Trash Slime]. Hearing this, he couldn't help turning his head to look.
Owen's image was actually quite striking.
Standard blond hair derived from pure-blooded nobility, curling upward at the tips. His face shape was a highly recognizable large face, but paired with equally large facial features, he could still be considered to bear the word "handsome."
Dark thought carefully and realized, "Isn't this Senior Owen?"
"It's me."
Owen breathed a sigh of relief slightly.
Dark's good memory saved him some embarrassment.
He deliberately sighed sorrowfully, "I really envy you, surrounded by beauties on Valentine's Day. As for me, your Senior... I was just dumped by my girlfriend."
"Ah, this..."
Dark blinked, not knowing how to answer for a moment.
Virt, who had inched closer, heard this and thought to himself that the senior was indeed heartbroken.
Breaking up on Valentine's Day, how tragic!
But Owen immediately followed up, "Meeting is fate. Junior Demon, can you comfort me?"
How could you say such an illogical sentence?
Dark said silently, "I wonder how Senior needs to be comforted?"
Owen rejoiced in his heart but remained sorrowful on the surface. "Let's duel! Only a duel can soothe my sorrow!"
Dark looked around and hesitated, "Senior, that's not good, right? If I remember correctly, you are a third-year?"
Owen hurriedly said, "It's fine, Junior. Just a spar, I will go easy on you."
Dark's mouth corner twitched instantly.
I am afraid that you, a third-year, getting miserably crushed by a first-year in full view of the public, will suffer social death!
"Dark, agree to it!"
[Professor Lily] blinked her big, sparkling eyes, speaking as if afraid the world wasn't chaotic enough.
Pandora originally wanted to mock this third-year student a bit, but [Professor Lily] seized the initiative, so she couldn't help but close her mouth.
Diana and Rose also had varying expressions.
Virt and Robert, who were already not far away, suddenly looked at each other, instinctively feeling that this senior was up to no good!
Owen added another sentence that no one believed at all: "If possible, please use the duel to ruthlessly beat me awake!"
"Then I'll follow your wishes."
Dark stood up with a smile and immediately asked, "Right here?"
Owen felt settled in his heart, but still wore a mournful face. "Right here. A street duel."
A new vocabulary?
Dark couldn't help but ask curiously, "What is a street duel?"
Owen said, "A street duel is a duel with absolutely no rules except that the person themselves cannot enter the field. Because one can perform freely, it is loved by some people and is one of the more common duel modes nowadays."
"So that's how it is."
Dark understood quickly, "Unrestrained, free performance—isn't this the original way of dueling?"
Owen said sorrowfully, "Yes, the original, which is also the past way of dueling. Just like my romance, it has already become past tense."
Dark comforted, "Senior Owen, it's better to restrain your grief and accept the change. I've heard a saying: a breakup is just a new beginning; the next breakup will be better and faster."
Owen: "Thank you... Hmm???"
But Dark had already stood up and said, "Then, Senior, allow me to prepare for a moment."
Then he recalled the excited [Magic Guide Spirits] into their [Magic Guide Cards] one by one, and afterwards, he even casually tidied up the snacks and trash on the table.
The time was about right too.
After helping this senior soothe his sorrow, it would be about time to go eat.
After all, there was still class tonight.
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