The temperature in September had already begun to drop, and the morning breeze at St. Marian carried a hint of chill, much like the indifferent world, beautiful yet freezing.
Chill and tremble!
Dark never imagined that the thirst for knowledge could also be seen as "greed"!
Has the Demon God bloodline become so shameless in its quest for awakening?
What to do now?
Should he continue reading?
Should he attend classes?
Laziness and diligence.
Curiosity and greed.
How exactly should one balance between these?
Is it that Dark studies too seriously?
Or is it that he studies for too long?
Dark looked up at the cuckoo clock above the fireplace; unknowingly, it was already 7:20.
"I've probably studied for sixty-five minutes, but the time truly spent in the zone should be less than fifty minutes. It was through prolonged reading that I gradually developed a desire to acquire more related knowledge."
"When the desire becomes intense enough and insatiable, it turns into greed."
"But generally, people shouldn't reach that level."
Dark had some self-awareness in this regard; he knew he wasn't someone who was desperately thirsty for knowledge.
So, it must be that after the Demon God bloodline entered the awakening stage, the threshold for triggering the sin indicators became extremely low!
Suppose others need a level 0 desire to be considered greedy.
He, however, only needs a level 9, or even 8, or 7, to be considered greedy!
So, it's not that he can't study.
But he can't study too intensely!
Ordinary classes and completing homework should still be within the margin of error.
Active learning and passive learning are definitely different.
To determine if this is indeed the case, a few small experiments are needed.
Dark took a deep breath; the greed index was at 73, leaving plenty of room for trial and error.
Foolish people would choose to retreat at this point.
Smart people would try to find a suitable method.
[Pride +]
(?⊿?)?
Dark closed the textbook. The common lounge had already filled with quite a few people, but he had been so immersed in the sea of knowledge that he hadn't noticed.
After packing up his textbooks, Dark slung his shoulder bag and walked out of the tower alone, crossed the bridge, and entered the castle.
The interior of the academy's castle was complex, but the House Card would guide you.
The meals in the academy's cafeteria were rich and varied, unlike last night's opening banquet, which had almost no vegetarian options.
Dark picked some simple food and finished a decent breakfast very sparingly.
Then, following the guidance of the House Card, he found the classroom for the first class.
It was almost eight o'clock by then, but most freshmen arrived just in time.
The summoning class was held in a large lecture hall that could accommodate two classes.
It seemed that the first class for the Noble House was to be taken together with the freshmen of the Knight House?
Dark quietly took a seat in the corner of the last row on the left side, placing his bag in the drawer.
"Hey!"
He had just sat down when the elusive Diana, as if she had already decided on him, shamelessly stuck close.
Dark glanced at her face, as smooth as a freshly peeled egg, and quickly suppressed the urge to pinch it.
"Good thing I reacted quickly!"
Dark held his fingers down and casually pointed to the front row.
Diana, just about to sit next to him, curiously asked, "Does Dark want me to sit with her?"
Dark hadn't said anything yet.
Diana happily said to herself, "She looks a bit gloomy, so Diana will go help her!"
Dark still said nothing.
Diana had already run to the front row and started sticking with the girl who looked a bit timid.
[Envy +]
"Escaped the first, couldn't escape the fifteenth."
Dark remained silent.
...
Rose Flotti was a bit flustered dealing with the overly enthusiastic Diana.
The girl, who had just celebrated her birthday half a month ago, hadn't even stepped out of the castle before coming to St. Marian Academy.
Her parents were killed by the Demon King's army, and she stayed in an orphanage for four years before being taken home by her uncle, a viscount, at the age of five.
Viscount Flotti and his wife had been married for ten years without children, intending to raise her as their daughter due to their blood relation. However, just half a year after she entered the castle, the viscount's wife became pregnant!
Thus, Rose, who only enjoyed the "little princess" treatment for half a year, became a burden, unloved and unwanted.
The viscount couple, concerned about their reputation, didn't send her back to the orphanage but left her in the castle to be cared for by the maids.
She had three meals a day, preschool education books were bought, and noble etiquette was taught, but that was it.
She was confined to her room in the castle, occasionally seeing the viscount couple playing with her growing cousin in the garden through the window, which made her feel stifled.
A person's character is greatly influenced by their family environment, and Rose gradually became introverted, fond of fantasizing, but clearly timid and afraid to reach out.
At this time, Diana, appearing before her, was like a beam of light shining into her heart.
Rose was gradually won over by Diana, and the two little girls became inseparable.
...
Childhood friendships are pure and precious, hard to regain once grown.
And Dark, who inadvertently facilitated this development, was happy to see it happen.
"With Diana having a new friend, she probably won't bother me anymore, right?"
He slightly tilted his head back, letting the wind caress his cheeks, and looked out the window in the direction the wind was blowing.
The unique lilies of St. Marian were in bloom.
...
The first-year summoning class teacher, Professor Sara Silf, stepped into the classroom a second before the bell rang.
The classroom, which had been particularly noisy due to the novelty of new enrollment, fell silent in an instant.
It wasn't that the freshmen closed their mouths, but with Professor Silf's entrance, a wind of silence blew into the classroom, making the sound disappear instantly!
Most students in the Noble House, having received elite preschool education, realized immediately that Professor Silf had used a [Silence Card]!
However, many in the Knight House had no such concept.
Robert, sitting next to Vitt, even screamed in fear, his face and neck turning as red as a boiled lobster.
When Professor Silf reached the podium and lifted the silence, Robert's scream suddenly echoed!
"Ah——"
w(?Д?)w
...
"Broheim, considering it's the first class, I won't deduct your credits for now."
Professor Silf brushed the light golden hair that flew to her face behind her pointed ears and said indifferently.
"Before class, let's talk about the school rules. I believe most of you haven't read them yet. I am Sara Silf, a half-elf, and the summoning class professor at St. Marian Academy."
A class at St. Marian Academy lasts ninety minutes, with the first class starting at eight in the morning, a half-hour break between classes, and the second class ending at eleven-thirty. The afternoon has only one class starting at two.
The academy uses a credit system, and like Hogwarts, it has a House Cup—not just a simple honor, but a real Holy Grail!
The "Marian Holy Grail" is said to be a magical artifact that has existed since the founding of the academy, known as the "Wishing Cup" because it possesses the power to fulfill wishes.
Among the four houses, the one with the highest credits can win the House Cup, and the Wishing Cup will grant everyone from first to sixth year in that house a chance to make a wish.
—The Wishing Cup is inscribed with the words: "The greedy shall have nothing."
...