Chapter 865: The Affable Guide and the Silent Saint Maiden 4k
Unlike the Saint Son who perfectly blends in with the academy’s appearance and temperament, the Saint Maiden’s aura appears even more exceptional.
But I wish she could be as inconspicuous as the Saint Son.
Dark couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
Last year, during the Demon King’s execution ceremony, he had already observed these two individuals.
After their brief interaction, his judgment became even more certain.
Saint Son and Saint Maiden, after being endowed with religious connotations, naturally exude an otherworldly presence.
The education at the Secret Rite Academy of the Saints undoubtedly shapes them in that direction.
This artificial shaping is particularly evident on Evan Pearson.
Evan Pearson himself also strives to embody this role.
However, attempting to draw a tiger only results in a cat.
A cat can never become a tiger.
…
In contrast, Audrey Jeane is naturally a Saint Maiden.
“I should go see her.”
Dark attracted Evan Pearson’s attention with his words, saying, “Let’s go. Maybe we’ll run into him in the garden.”
Evan Pearson asked, “Who?”
Dark replied, “Wit Gold.”
…
The Saint Maiden Audrey Jeane caused quite a stir.
Perhaps soon, news of her arrival will spread throughout the entire academy.
By then, not just Wit Gold, but all students from the Knight Academy will come to watch.
Of course, Dark wanted to just watch the commotion rather than get involved.
But his current identity was not just a student.
“What’s happening over there?” Evan Pearson asked.
Dark replied, “The Saint Maiden is there.”
Evan Pearson looked strange, “She was discovered?”
Dark said, “It seems so. Anyway, it caused quite a stir, we should check it out.”
“Is that so?” Evan Pearson followed, muttering quietly.
After Dark crossed the corridor, he gradually quickened his pace.
Aurora tightly followed him, her face showing some worry.
The situation was unexpectedly surprising.
Both Evan Pearson and Audrey Jeane wanted to tour the Saint Maryann Academy unnoticed.
But no matter the reason, they were discovered naturally.
And Audrey Jeane’s situation seemed even more severe.
When Dark and the others reached the back of the castle, they saw the spring-filled garden had been crowded by students.
Some students even rode flying-type golems, looking excited as they peered inside.
They stood outside, unable to see what was happening inside.
Evan Pearson frowned, questioning, “Is this how your Saint Maryann Academy treats guests?”
Dark narrowed his eyes, saying, “Pearson, before things are clear, it’s best not to jump to conclusions.”
Evan Pearson seemed to have found an opportunity to challenge, smiling faintly, “I hope it’s like that.”
Behind him, Tommy Smith seemed to feel confident, mocking, “Demon, I think we should first figure out how to get in.”
Dark raised an eyebrow, turning to look inside.
Almost immediately, a voice suddenly came, extremely abrupt.
“Hehehe, isn’t this Saint Son Evan Pearson? Indeed, both the Saint Son and Saint Maiden are here? Why hide like rats?”
The voice was sharp and sarcastic, making people want to lash out.
Evan Pearson almost instantly felt anger, but a flash of green light on his forehead forced him to calm down.
Instead, his guardian knight, Tommy Smith, suddenly looked up towards the source of the voice, his brows flashing with killing intent, losing his composure.
It seemed the “brainy” role was merely superficial.
However, what he could see was empty space, while the students riding golems on the other side turned their heads, locking their gaze onto them.
More and more students turned to look at them.
These students blocking the garden entrance seemed to understand the key point—Saint Son is here!
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Tommy Smith reluctantly restrained his killing intent, standing stiffly in front of Evan Pearson.
“Can we let us in?”
At this moment, Dark Demon politely yet courteously spoke.
In Saint Maryann Academy, few people probably didn’t know him anymore.
Immediately, someone asked, “Junior Demon, is the person behind you really the Saint Son?”
Dark turned his head, apologized to Evan Pearson with a glance, and replied, “Yes, this is the contemporary Saint Son of the Secret Rite Academy of the Saints, Evan Pearson.”
“So this is what the Saint Son looks like?”
“He’s quite good-looking?”
“I heard he’s from the west. Could he be from my hometown?”
“Is the person behind the Saint Son his guardian knight? But he doesn’t seem very capable!”
“Hey, should we go say hello? Or take a photo, get an autograph?”
“Do you think he’d accept a duel challenge if I propose one now?”
“Hold on, he’s wearing the second-year noble uniform. That won’t do. Let’s try the guardian knight behind him!”
…
In an instant, various voices erupted.
The crowd in the back garden split into two.
Those who couldn’t squeeze in immediately surrounded Dark and the others.
Evan Pearson’s forehead twitched, his expression tightening instinctively, radiating a cold aura.
Seeing everyone surround them, Dark smiled calmly, saying, “Senior classmates, can we enter?”
The people blocking the way exchanged glances and stepped aside, smiling.
Dark turned and said, “Pearson, look, our academy’s students are very kind. Let’s go in and see.”
Evan Pearson, with a stern expression, said, “I want to see what’s going on!”
He gave a signal to Tommy Smith beside him.
Tommy Smith immediately understood and opened the path ahead.
Dark let him pass, following easily.
The students in front couldn’t step aside, so they summoned flying golems or used flight spells to scatter into the sky.
In a blink, a fairly open path appeared ahead.
Dark and three others quickly passed through this path and arrived at the center of the garden.
The center of the garden was originally a circular clearing, but now it was filled with square stones under the influence of field magic cards.
In the middle, there was a stone table and stool.
Saint Maiden Audrey Jeane sat on one side of the stone table.
As when first seen, Audrey Jeane sat like a doll, her eyes indifferent, expressionless, as if completely unrelated to the surroundings.
Unlike Evan Pearson’s feigned indifference, she was genuinely cold, with barely any emotional fluctuations.
Warm sunlight shone down, her golden hair taking on a reddish hue.
Her eyes were fiery red, but gave off no warmth.
Legend has it that the Battle Maiden, even after slaying millions, remains unmoved by the battlefield’s killing intent.
Audrey Jeane seemed to be cut from the same cloth.
Dark’s gaze shifted, immediately focusing on the Saint Maryann Academy student facing her.
Then he sighed softly, mumbling, “Why is Emma here…”
Facing Audrey Jeane was none other than the top student of the second-year Knight Academy—Emma Maltis.
…
Emma alone appeared here, not only precisely locating the Saint Maiden who should have remained hidden, but also immediately challenging her.
Was this coincidence or something inevitable?
Dark didn’t know, but he felt slightly relieved that the atmosphere wasn’t bad.
“It seems the Saint Maiden didn’t provoke her.”
Subconsciously thinking from Emma’s perspective, Dark immediately walked inside.
Many people gathered around the table, but a fence was set up around Audrey Jeane, appropriately separating the crowd.
Her guardian knight stood straight behind her.
That was a woman with a ponytail, looking cool and efficient.
From the school uniform she was wearing, she seemed to be a fourth-year student.
She gave the impression of a beautiful and upright female knight.
Of course, that was just her facade.
Perhaps her inner self was a filthy demon.
…
“Jeane.”
The first to speak was not Dark, but Evan Pearson who had stepped past him.
But neither Audrey Jeane sitting on either side of the stone table nor Emma Maltis looked up.
In front of them lay a military chessboard emitting mana energy!
Of course, this world wasn’t limited to just mana chess.
In the ordinary world, military chess, which showcased strategic thinking, had always been popular.
However, Audrey and Emma’s military chess was different.
This was clearly a mana-embodied board—almost like a sandbox.
On the sandbox, the pieces were also mana-embodied soldiers from both sides.
The battlefield environment on the sandbox constantly evolved based on certain rules.
Both sides controlled their mana-embodied soldiers, battling fiercely on this evolving battlefield, with soldiers’ shouts and rising dust seeming real.
This type of military chess required extremely high mana control.
Dark only glanced once and knew this wasn’t something available for purchase.
“It seems quite interesting,” he thought, relaxing and preparing to stand and watch with the surrounding students.
Such non-confrontational intellectual contests were within his acceptable range, requiring no intervention.
He actually wanted to use this opportunity to gauge the Saint Maiden’s strength.
But seeing his greeting ignored, Evan Pearson furrowed his brows and asked Audrey’s guardian knight, “Jessie, what’s going on?”
Jessie Louise, who had noticed his arrival, replied somewhat helplessly, “Lady Jeane and this student named Emma Maltis had a disagreement about flowers, and it somehow escalated to this point.”
Dark observed carefully and noticed a hint of happiness in her brows.
Clearly, she was optimistic about Audrey arguing with someone.
But Evan Pearson was shocked, “Jeane actually argued?”
Jessie Louise bowed slightly, “Sorry, I failed to stop it beforehand.”
Evan Pearson looked deeply at Audrey Jeane, saying, “It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have stopped it. I didn’t expect Jeane to bring out a military chess game.”
Dark’s heart stirred, and he casually asked, “Is this military chess your academy’s specialty?”
Evan Pearson shook his head, “No, it’s Jeane’s own field card.”
Dark furrowed his eyebrows, perceiving carefully.
After a moment, his expression relaxed, but he grew wary.
This field card called “Military Chess” was no simple thing.
The Audrey Jeane who developed such a field card must have profound expertise in field cards.
And Audrey Jeane was still just a first-year student!
“Did she grasp mana technology before entering the academy, or did she reach this level in just one year?”
Dark couldn’t help but ponder.
Given what Audrey Jeane displayed, she might even surpass Aurora among the first-year students at Saint Maryann Academy.
He glanced at Aurora, noticing her intense focus, and suddenly realized he had misjudged.
He fell into the same trap, subconsciously treating the Saint Son and Saint Maiden as opponents.
But in reality… they were enemies!
So it didn’t matter what grade they were in.
Dark’s smile grew, and he continued watching the game.
More and more people gathered.
But the players were unaffected… or perhaps they had little time to care about the onlookers.
They needed to fully concentrate to counter each other’s moves.
The intensity of this match was no less than a mana duel.
After about ten minutes, they suddenly paused.
Both sides had exhausted the total value of troops allowed by the rules.
“It’s a tie.”
Both frowned, showing dissatisfaction.
But Emma’s expression flickered, while Audrey’s quickly faded.
After a few breaths, they suddenly looked up at each other: One more round!
“Jeane! Wait!” Evan Pearson seized the opportunity, clearly trying to remind Audrey not to waste time.
But Audrey Jeane didn’t even glance at him, picking up the pieces again.
It seemed she didn’t even bother to say “go away.”
Seeing him frustrated, Dark kindly patted his shoulder, informing him, “The Wit Gold you’re looking for has arrived. Want to go see?”
…
[Vote (；′⌒`)]
[End of Translation]
