By the time he woke, it was already Sunday.
Rain whispered against the window in a soft, steady rhythm.
Darc rose with half-lidded eyes, brushed his teeth, washed his face—leaving Sloth no opening to score.
He didn't head to the common room today. Instead, he sat quietly in his dorm, watching the rain beyond the glass.
The Sin indicators were sometimes hard to predict. Like now—doing nothing, thinking nothing, heart calm and unhurdened—and nothing triggered at all.
But this kind of state was difficult to maintain.
Around seven, Darc made the rare trip to the dining hall for breakfast, then went to borrow a Thought Vessel from Professor Kazel.
Kazel seemed to have already assumed Darc was researching emotions, so he handed it over with little questioning.
A Thought Vessel, as the name suggested, stored mental matter—memories, emotions, knowledge, thoughts.
Of course, none of these could be preserved forever.
Even a vessel worth several hundred credits could only slow the fading. It was a wall, not a seal.
The optimal preservation window was 72 hours. After that, deterioration accelerated noticeably.
Darc scheduled his next experiment for Tuesday afternoon or evening.
By then, there should be three points of Pride available.
Because the rain grew heavier, the first-years were forced to remain in the common room.
Some read. Some played board games. Some desperately rushed their homework.
Diana belonged to the last group.
She and Rose had taken a corner table, chewing on pen caps as they struggled through their assignments.
Diana wasn't stupid. She just needed twice the time to absorb what others learned in one pass.
Her talents were entirely concentrated in mana and physical strength.
Had this been the previous era, she would have become a legendary magic-knight.
But in the age of St. Marian—
knowledge was the primary force.
To be a mage, one had to use one's brain.
Half of why Diana hadn't fallen behind was thanks to Rose.
The other half was thanks to Darc.
Especially in arithmetic—the most painful subject for first-years—Darc had been a tremendous help.
Darc had always tried to avoid social interaction. At first, he feared losing his temper and triggering Wrath.
Now, he feared the opposite.
That his sense of superiority might slip out and feed Pride.
After all, among the first-years—
not a single one could compete with him.
Meanwhile, The Great Sage Daily once again stirred discussion around St. Marian.
Both heirs of the Twin Blades of the Kingdom had enrolled here.
Certain teachers and students from the Holy Ritual Academy were itching to expose any misconduct by Darc Dimon.
Rumor described the young duke as indulgent, arrogant, lazy, foolish, and short-tempered.
A perfect target.
Smearing Darc could also weaken Duchess Alvitr's dove faction.
But reality proved… inconvenient.
They found nothing.
Proper conduct. Excellent grades. Perfect routine. Self-discipline. Diligence. No greed. No jealousy. Gentle manners. Humility. Elegance.
Darc Dimon was, quite frustratingly—
flawless.
The young nun assigned to observe him nearly fell for him instead.
If they really wanted controversy, perhaps his demon-type familiar could be used…
In contrast, the other heir of the Twin Blades looked far less impressive.
The Son of the Hero spent his days fooling around with a rural noble's son.
Late to class. Missing homework. Credits slashed in half within a week.
And his familiar?
Also demon-type.
Two descendants of demon-slayers, both summoning demon familiars.
Meaningless to those who understood magic.
Explosive to those who didn't.
Still, even the hawks didn't dare attack both boys at once. Public backlash would be severe.
They had hoped to provoke rivalry between the two.
But how could there be rivalry when they weren't even on the same level?
A headache.
Thus, The Great Sage Daily filled with veiled jabs from both factions.
Across the kingdom, everyone now knew:
Both heirs chose St. Marian.The Hero's son had returned.
What people truly cared about, however, was this:
Had he inherited the Hero's power?
If so…
Did that mean the prophecies were about to come true?
Was calamity returning once again?
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