September had turned cool. The morning air at St. Marian carried a faint chill—beautiful, distant, and a little merciless.
Darc was shaken.
He never imagined that thirst for knowledge could be judged as Greed.
Was this Demon God bloodline so shameless that it would twist even learning into a sin?
So what now?
Do I keep reading or not?
Do I go to class or not?
Where was the balance between diligence and sloth… between curiosity and greed?
Was he studying too seriously?
Or simply for too long?
Darc glanced up at the cuckoo clock above the fireplace. It was already 7:20.
"I probably studied for about sixty-five minutes. But I only truly got into the zone for fifty or less. It was only after prolonged reading that I developed the strong desire to learn more related knowledge."
"When that desire grows too intense and forgets satisfaction… it becomes greed."
Ordinarily, most people would never reach that point.
Darc was self-aware enough to know he wasn't some obsessive knowledge maniac.
Which meant the awakening Demon God bloodline had lowered the threshold for triggering the sin indicators.
If others needed a desire level of 10 to be considered greedy…
He only needed 9. Or 8. Or even 7.
So the answer wasn't to stop studying.
It was to avoid becoming too absorbed in studying.
Attend classes normally. Complete homework normally. That should be within safe margins.
Active learning and passive learning were definitely not the same.
As for whether this theory was correct… he'd need to run a few small experiments.
Darc took a deep breath.
A foolish person would retreat at this point.
A clever person would search for a workable method.
[Pride +1]
( … )
Darc closed the book.
Only now did he realize the common room had filled with students at some point. He had been so immersed in reading that he hadn't noticed.
After packing up, he slung his bag over his shoulder, left the tower, crossed the bridge, and entered the castle.
The castle interior was a maze, but the Sorting Card guided him.
Breakfast in the cafeteria was varied and reasonable—unlike the feast last night, which had been mostly meat.
Darc chose a simple meal and ate with extreme restraint.
Then, following the card's directions, he found the classroom for his first lesson.
It was nearly eight. Most new students were arriving at about the same time.
The Summoning classroom was large, an amphitheater that could fit two classes.
It seemed House Nobility would be sharing this first class with House Knights.
Darc quietly went to the last row, left side, near the wall, put his bag away, and sat down.
"Hey!"
He had barely settled when Diana, as if she had already claimed him as hers, shamelessly appeared at his side.
Darc glanced at her face—smooth as a freshly peeled egg—and immediately suppressed the urge to pinch.
Good thing my reaction speed is fast!
He casually pointed toward the front rows.
Diana, who was about to sit next to him, paused curiously. "Darc wants me to sit with her?"
Darc hadn't said a word.
But Diana had already decided for herself. "She looks a bit shy. Diana will go help her!"
Before he could respond, she happily skipped to the front and glued herself to a timid-looking girl.
[Envy +1]
"Dodged the first day, couldn't dodge the fifteenth…"
Darc fell silent.
…
The timid girl Diana latched onto was Rose Floty.
Just turned fourteen, Rose had never stepped outside the castle before coming to St. Marian.
Her parents had died to the Demon King's army. She spent four years in an orphanage before being taken in by her uncle, a viscount, at age five.
The viscount and his wife had been childless for ten years and had originally intended to raise her as their daughter.
But six months after she arrived, the viscountess became pregnant.
Rose's brief six-month life as a little princess ended.
Unable to send her back to the orphanage for the sake of appearances, they simply confined her to a room and left her to the maids.
She was fed, educated, and taught etiquette—but little else.
She watched from her window as her cousin grew up happily in the garden with his parents.
Her personality gradually turned inward. She grew timid, prone to fantasy, afraid to reach out.
And then Diana appeared.
A beam of sunlight bursting into her life.
The two girls quickly grew inseparable.
…
Childhood friendships were pure—rare treasures that were hard to regain later in life.
And Darc, who had accidentally set all this in motion, was quite happy with the outcome.
"With Diana busy, she probably won't come bother me anymore…"
He tilted his head back, letting the breeze brush his face, then followed the wind's direction to the window.
The unique lilies of St. Marian were in bloom.
…
The first-year Summoning instructor, Professor Sarah Sylph, stepped into the classroom precisely one second before the bell rang.
The noisy classroom fell instantly silent.
Not because the students shut up.
But because a Wind of Silence swept in with her, erasing all sound.
Most House Nobility students, with their elite pre-academy education, immediately recognized it as a Silencing Card.
But many in House Knights had no such concept.
Robert, sitting beside Veit, panicked and began screaming, face turning red all the way to his neck.
When Professor Sylph reached the podium and lifted the silence, Robert's scream resumed mid-note.
"AAAA—"
She calmly brushed a strand of light-gold hair behind her pointed ear.
"Broheim. Since this is the first lesson, I won't deduct points—for now."
"I am Sarah Sylph, half-elf, Professor of Summoning at St. Marian Academy. Before we begin, let's review the school rules. I'm sure most of you haven't read them yet."
Each class at St. Marian lasted ninety minutes.
First class: 8:00 AM.
Thirty-minute break.
Second class ends at 11:30 AM.
Afternoon: one class from 2:00 PM.
The academy operated on a credit system. Like Hogwarts, it had a House Cup—
Except this one was real.
The Marian Holy Grail.
A magical artifact that had existed since the academy's founding. Also known as the Wishing Cup.
The house with the highest credits could claim the cup. Every student from first to sixth year in that house would be granted one wish.
An inscription was carved into the cup:
"The greedy shall gain nothing."
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
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