Chapter 628: Dark Demon Family Throne (5k)
Seeing how Senior Pandora asked, Dark knew that she had already agreed.
Thus, Dark smiled and said, “Victoria, Phoenix, Aurora, and a few others from the club… After all, we planned to have a meal together in the clubroom.”
“In the clubroom?” Senior Pandora pondered, “Cooking ourselves?”
Dark nodded, “Exactly.”
Senior Pandora then exclaimed, “Could it be barbecue?”
Dark replied, “Barbecue… That could work, but tonight will mainly focus on hotpot.”
“Hotpot, is that the one you mentioned before?” Senior Pandora showed some interest, “When?”
Dark said, “In the evening… after six o’clock?”
Senior Pandora nodded, “Alright, I’ll inform Lady Bella, so make sure not to start before I arrive.”
“Of course not.” Dark stroked the baby pterodactyl that flew over and smiled.
…
After making their agreement, Dark did not stay long in the library.
He first went to the cafeteria, seeking advice from the halfling chefs there. Then he called two golems and prepared to head to Traveler’s Street to buy ingredients.
But just as he reached the castle gate, he sensed something and saw Victoria, dressed in Fool’s Academy uniform, suddenly leap out from a corner.
He quickly caught her, and she looked up at him with teary eyes.
“What’s wrong?” Dark asked instinctively.
Victoria sobbed, “You’re being unfair! Waaah!”
Dark, “Huh?”
Victoria wiped her tears and sneaked a glance, “Why do they all have pocket money, but I don’t? Waaah!”
Dark, “Who are you talking about?”
Victoria let go of him and stepped back, then counted on her fingers, “Anna, Angie, Aurora… They all do!”
Dark, “…”
So how did you find out?
…
Seeing Dark’s doubtful look, Victoria hurriedly pouted, “No matter what, I strongly demand equality!”
“Alright then,” Dark tapped her little nose, “One thousand credits, to be settled within seven days. Otherwise, pay three points of interest. If it isn’t cleared in two weeks, I’ll forcibly collect it. You should know what that means.”
“It’s just negative credits, I get it!” Victoria was overjoyed and almost jumped, “With this thousand credits, I’m sure I can earn more before Halloween!”
Dark said helplessly, “What about Phoenix?”
“She’s over there,” Victoria chirped happily.
Dark looked around the corner and said, “Tell her to come too.”
It wouldn’t be fair otherwise.
…
There were about four days left until the night before Halloween. If they made good use of these four days, both Victoria and Phoenix should be able to craft several useful Mana Spirit Cards.
After making separate agreements with them, Dark transferred a thousand credits to each of them. Then he watched his “precious ones,” who could only recall him when borrowing money, rush toward Lotus Pavilion, which led to Traveler’s Street.
They must have been thinking about what to buy before coming.
However, as long as they weren’t wasting, Dark wouldn’t interfere.
But…
“Has Victoria forgotten she’s a six-star ‘Vampire Noble’?” Dark pondered for a moment and muttered to himself.
“Whatever, considering the expenditure and replenishment of mana, she indeed isn’t suitable for battle.”
Then he slowed down and followed them into Lotus Pavilion.
…
After arriving at Traveler’s Street through the teleportation hub in Lotus Pavilion, Dark saw the street full of jack-o’-lanterns and knew there must be some event tonight.
October 31st was a Thursday this year. By tradition, October 31st and November 1st would be holidays.
And because it happened to coincide with the weekend, it formed a total of four-day holiday.
Traveler’s Street would reopen in the morning of October 31st.
Students had only today to buy items needed for the night before Halloween.
This day would inevitably be very busy.
Indeed, the streets were crowded, with people jostling shoulder to shoulder, and shouts never ceased.
Fortunately, not many people came to Traveler’s Street to buy ingredients. After finding the shop, Dark quickly bought everything he needed.
But he didn’t leave immediately; instead, he turned a corner and arrived at the Public Dueling Society’s shop.
Eve was free and rushed forward to greet him upon seeing him.
Dark looked at the shop decorated for Halloween and asked curiously, “Not doing well today?”
Eve smiled and said, “Not many people came to buy duel disks, Easter eggs, and card decks today. Most guests are probably busy picking out costumes for the Halloween ball.”
Dark thought for a moment and asked, “How about you? As a student of the academy, you should be eligible to participate, right?”
“Yes,” Eve nodded, “Professor Shylph told me I could participate in the masquerade ball as a first-year student. But since I don’t have a Mana Spirit, if I join, I would have to rely solely on my own strength, which doesn’t align with the school’s principles. So, I might just wander around.”
“Go ahead and do as you wish,” Dark entered the store and asked, “Are the Halloween-themed cards ready?”
Eve said, “Yes, in fact, we’ve started marketing outside the academy. Corresponding Easter eggs, card decks, and Halloween-themed duel disks will be officially released on the night before Halloween.”
“I see,” Dark thought for a moment and asked, “What about inside the academy?”
Eve smiled and said, “Regarding the academy, due to scheduling issues, they will announce it on Halloween and do some original activities during the opening ceremony of the Golden Cup.
Following the young master’s previous suggestions, we will also sell Halloween-themed Easter eggs with models and cards in the Golden Cup’s opening ceremony, which may contain limited edition Halloween-themed cards.”
“Excellent.” Dark couldn’t help but smile.
Rarity equals value, and limited editions add charm.
It seems his teachings have been effective all along.
However, since the shop isn’t as busy as he imagined today, inviting Eve for a meal wouldn’t be too much of a problem.
So he said to Eve, “Prepare yourself, around six o’clock tonight, come to my clubroom for a quick bite.”
Eve paused, understanding it was an invitation, and hesitated, “But there’s only me at the shop…”
Dark waved his hand, “It won’t be a problem for a short while.”
Eve couldn’t help but bite her lip, lowering her head in thought.
She wanted to go, but her rationality told her not to, causing her great distress.
Dark looked at her face and directly said, “This is an order.”
“Then… then okay,” Eve opened her mouth, “I’ll eat quickly then…”
Dark smiled, “That’s up to you.”
“Mm!” Eve couldn’t help but smile, her expression exceptionally bright.
…
After chatting with Eve for another ten minutes or so, Dark left the shop and made his way through Traveler’s Street.
He then climbed up the Spiral Bell Tower with a large amount of ingredients and brought them into the clubroom.
Besides the golem, no one else was present in the classroom.
Dark actually didn’t inform any of the club members… including Diana and Rose.
According to his plan, this was just a family-style gathering, and if someone happened to be in the club, they could join in.
If not, then it would save two mouths…
In the end, it was about who had better luck!
…
“I heard that some clubs also hold meals or events on Halloween, but they usually schedule them for the night of Halloween, avoiding overlap with the masquerade on the night before.”
Dark looked around and suddenly noticed the lack of holiday atmosphere in the classroom, so he called a small meeting with the golems.
MeowMeow immediately volunteered to make homemade jack-o’-lanterns, and the other golems were enthusiastic about decorating the club.
Dark assigned them the task and began processing the ingredients himself.
He had knives, cutting boards, and plates.
Currently, he mainly washed the ingredients and sliced them accordingly.
As for those needing to be cooked, they would wait until Aurora finished her own tasks and they could work together in her dorm.
Given the large quantity of ingredients, his workload was immense, taking a very long time, but he finally finished before noon.
Then he stopped and decorated the clubroom with the golems.
The atmosphere in the classroom was lively.
The ditto running around with garbage slime.
The tiny night bird playing hide-and-seek with Agumon.
The bear cub naturally integrating in.
And the moon spirit acting aloof on the side.
With everyone’s efforts, the classroom gradually took on a Halloween atmosphere.
Rarely did Dark relax, and the accumulated fatigue from days of hard work slowly dissipated amidst the busyness, leaving him feeling lighter.
By three o’clock in the afternoon, Aurora, coming to find Dark, was surprised to see the completely transformed clubroom.
Dark put down his work and summoned, “Finished?”
“Mm-hmm.” Aurora nodded, “Everything I needed to buy is ready. We’ll prepare tonight, and start the experiment tomorrow.”
Dark said, “Then… let’s push our night meal to after Halloween? If this causes us to miss out on the Crimson Star, I’d feel guilty.”
Aurora blushed slightly and said, “It’s fine…”
“Alright then.” Dark waved his hand, “Come, put the ingredients that need cooking in the baskets, shall we carry them together?”
“Okay.” Aurora quickly walked over and held two heavy baskets in each hand.
Dark picked up the last smaller basket and walked out of the clubroom with her.
…
Not long after, they arrived at the second floor of the Tower of Noble Academy.
Aurora temporarily placed the baskets, opened the door, and invited Dark inside.
This was the first time Dark entered her room, but he wasn’t拘谨.
Aurora’s room was very tidy. The shelves on her desk were filled with advanced books, and several cute plush toys were placed on the cabinet next to her bed. In the area where Dark set up his experimental table, there was a stove, cabinets, and various kitchen utensils.
Under normal circumstances, cooking in a dorm room would inevitably cause pollution from smoke.
But with the efficient smoke extractor from magical devices, she minimized the pollution.
If there was space in her room, Dark would really like to get one.
He praised her for a moment and then started cooking with Aurora.
…
Their cooperation went smoothly. However, not long after, Dark fell from the leading position to assisting.
Aurora’s culinary skills were high, especially her knife skills, which were like those of a culinary god. Her wrists and fingers were stable, astonishingly so.
—This would undoubtedly benefit her in magical experiments.
Dark had a lot of experience in this field and couldn’t help but observe her delicate, jade-like fingers.
Rora’s ears turned slightly red.
…
In less than two hours, they had completed almost all the work.
Dark thought for a moment and said, “Since there’s still time, why don’t we prepare some more dishes to bring over?”
Aurora nodded slightly and began to follow his instructions.
Dark then summoned the Imp Beast again, asking it to gather several Golems to go to the canteen and buy some bread and milk.
After Aurora prepared several dishes, he helped place them one by one in the baskets.
They came with three baskets but left with four.
They covered the baskets with white cloth and each took two, carrying the baskets out of the tower of the Noble Academy.
On their way, many people naturally paid attention to them.
But they were already well-known and had long been used to such attention.
When they returned to the clubroom, before Dark even entered, he heard the girls’ laughter.
Even without listening to the voices, he could guess who was so lively.
He pushed open the door and indeed saw Victoria and Diana causing a commotion.
With Diana here, Rose would naturally not be far behind.
However, neither Miss Catalystra nor Miss Broni were in the lounge.
Dark looked around and guessed that they were probably struggling with choosing costumes, so they did not come to the clubroom.
This was certainly good news.
He immediately called out, “Prepare tables and chairs, set up the venue!”
The Golems, meowing, sprang into action.
…
Tables, chairs, pots.
These items were moved to the empty space between six classrooms.
The Golems were very excited.
To them, any type of gathering was new and full of fun.
Dark and Aurora started boiling water, making soup, and preparing the pot base and sauces.
Aurora summoned the “Smog Beast” right from the start.
That cloud-like Golem flew into the air, instantly spreading out like a cloud.
All the smoke and steam from the pot were absorbed by that layer of cloud.
After trying it out, Dark felt relieved.
Then he buried himself in the work again.
…
At exactly six o’clock in the evening.
Pandora Dragon happened to walk up to the tenth floor of the Spiral Bell Tower.
She glanced at the clubroom door and turned towards the path between two classrooms.
The “Smog Beast” absorbed the smoke but couldn’t control the scent from seeping out.
Pandora’s appetite was gradually piqued.
By now, it was dark, and there were no magic lamps installed on the ground. The Golems made a few homemade pumpkin lanterns and hung them up, and also hung paper bats and ghosts from the ceiling.
Pandora walked into the tunnel, and the lively scene came rushing towards her.
She held back a smile and quickly entered.
Without Catalystra and Broni there, everyone present was someone she knew very well.
“This is what family gatherings are like?”
Pandora savored the word “family,” and her smile grew even brighter.
…
Dark didn’t stand up specially to greet the seniors; he just invited her to sit down after she entered and then enthusiastically introduced how to eat hotpot.
After introducing everything, he separated small bowls and told them how to choose their own condiments.
Baby Bear climbed onto the chair, its big round eyes sparkling.
This new way of eating was something it had never experienced before.
Pandora curiously glanced at it and casually asked, “Why are there monsters here?”
Baby Bear froze instantly, nearly dropping the fork in its hand.
Its monster instincts sensed a threat from Pandora, but there were so many threats around that it simply ignored them.
It hadn’t expected Pandora to point directly at itself.
It hurriedly looked to Dark for help.
Dark smiled and said, “It’s a monster brought from the dungeon, now being kept like a magical creature.”
Pandora frowned and asked, “Monsters from the dungeon can actually come out?”
Dark pointed to his head and said, “Generally, no. But the constraint isn’t physical; it’s mental. Their minds are restricted by the dungeon, unable to leave by their own will. In other words, as long as the monster has its own thoughts, this isn’t an issue.”
Pandora immediately asked, “Did you do it?”
Dark smiled and replied, “No.”
Pandora frowned again and then asked, “Secret?”
Dark nodded and said, “Yes.”
“In that case, it’s fine.” Pandora picked up a pair of chopsticks from the table and examined them curiously, “Is this the unconventional utensil you mentioned before?”
Dark explained, “Using chopsticks makes it easier to pick out the food you want from the hotpot.”
As he spoke, he demonstrated by picking out a cooked piece of meat from the pot, dipping it in the sauce, and putting it in his mouth to savor it.
Pandora immediately followed suit, picking out a piece of meat from the boiling pot…
By the time everyone was already eating, Eve arrived late.
She followed the sound to the open space and saw people and Golems gathered around a table, enjoying a hearty meal.
In the middle of the table was a large pot, with water boiling and steam constantly rising.
She couldn’t help but recall past training sessions in the wild, where they would set up a pot and throw in all the ingredients collected from the surroundings, cooking them until they were mush. The taste was truly unremarkable.
“Can this really be delicious?”
Eve couldn’t help but doubt.
Meanwhile, Dark immediately noticed her, “Sister Eve, you’re finally here, quick, take a seat!”
“Master…” Eve took a deep breath and whispered to Dark, “His Grace wants to see you.”
