Otaku Translation: The villain only wants to live a Buddhist life Chapter 448

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Chapter 448: Dark Demon and the Real or False Execution

The consecutive victories of Winnie Skadi and Pandora Doragon sent the atmosphere in the arena into a frenzy. Magister House’s score skyrocketed from 80,000 to 120,000 points, firmly placing them at the top. Unless the other houses secured three successful cross-year victories, surpassing Magister House would be impossible. The pressure now rested squarely on their shoulders.

The Noble House fifth-year who had just been defeated by Pandora took a deep breath, refocused, and began channeling magic into his cards, preparing for an ambitious leap—to challenge a sixth-year student. Though it sounded foolhardy to attempt such a feat immediately after losing to a fourth-year, how could one know their limits without trying? Growth came through failure, and even fifth-years were no exception to this truth.

---

Noble House, Knight House, and Fool House soon followed suit, each attempting their own cross-year challenges. Meanwhile, Magister House chose to hold back, content with their lead. However, the difficulty of these cross-year battles became painfully apparent. Defeating someone from a higher year—especially when both competitors were exceptional—was no small feat.

One by one, the attempts faltered. The only success came from a Noble House fourth-year who narrowly triumphed over a Fool House fifth-year. But the previously resilient Noble House fifth-year met another crushing defeat when challenging a sixth-year. Subsequent efforts from Noble House’s second- and third-years also ended in failure, with not a single victory to show for their struggles. The other houses fared similarly, save for Knight House, which managed two cross-year wins. Yet, despite their efforts, they still fell short by, unable to surpass Magister House.

It seemed that Magister House had already secured their dominance. With nearly 100,000 points ahead before the competition, their victory here pushed the gap to a staggering 200,000 points—a margin nearly insurmountable through regular academic credits or final exam scores alone. This effectively guaranteed Magister House the House Cup.

---

As this reality sank in, the atmosphere outside of Magister House grew increasingly somber. Laughter and cheer remained confined to the Magister House section of the stands. Once all four house representatives submitted their requests to end further challenges, host Judy returned to the stage to announce the conclusion of the competition—and Magister House’s ultimate triumph.

For the global audience, this spectacle was unforgettable. For the students, however, pure excitement wasn’t enough to satisfy everyone. When it became clear that Noble House had no chance of winning, Doron angrily twisted the tail of a magical firework, hoping to vent his frustration. Instead, it fizzled out with a pathetic “pfft,” releasing nothing more than a squib. Dark struggled to suppress his laughter; though he didn’t care much about Noble House’s loss, he knew better than to laugh at a time like this. Still, Noble House’s defeat meant the loss of the Holy Grail—an undeniable blow.

But as a mere spectator, today had been a feast for the eyes.

---

With the final award ceremony complete, the House Cup Duel Competition officially concluded. Onstage, the five victorious students from Magister House raised their fists high, their confident smiles radiating pride. This year, Magister House had finally toppled Noble House’s long-standing reign, ushering in what promised to be a brighter, more glorious future for them.

“Just as the old aristocratic system is destined to fall, only those who wield knowledge deserve to ascend to the heavens,” murmured an elderly man with a monocle from a corner of the audience. His gentle expression belied the cryptic gesture he made over his chest, tracing a symbol resembling the number “4.” Slowly, he melted into the crowd and vanished without a trace.

---

The night sky shimmered brilliantly, as if the gods themselves gazed down upon the mortal realm.

---

Dark Demon walked amidst the dispersing crowd, flanked by two carefree girls oblivious to the weight of the moment. Nearby, Doron and Pistein grumbled, still unable to come to terms with Knight House’s elimination even as the event drew to a close. Passing by them, laughing and jubilant, were undoubtedly students from Magister House. Such was the nature of fate—what goes around comes around. Magister House securing the House Cup was now inevitable.

Students from Magister House couldn’t help but fantasize about the wishes they’d make upon the Holy Grail. Others, hearing their chatter, couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy. Why did happiness always seem to belong to others?

---

Time flowed like grains of sand in a river, fleeting and unrelenting. As Saturday’s duel competition ended, so too did the last remnants of joy fade away. Both younger and older students quickly returned to their studies, cramming for the upcoming exams. With only one day left until Monday’s tests, even those seeking peace of mind pretended to study, if only to ease their nerves.

And then, Monday arrived. The three-day marathon of final exams began. This year’s written portion for first-years consisted of six subjects: Summoning, Potion, Magic Theory, Dueling Class, and Magical Beast Studies. Each exam lasted two hours, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Afterward, students would have roughly two days to remain on campus until their results were released.

---

This morning, Dark Demon awoke amidst a sea of fluff. While such warmth was a luxury during winter, in the gradually warming summer air, it carried a hint of irritation. He inhaled softly, lifted the furry bundle resting on his chest, and placed it aside before getting out of bed to freshen up. Once fully awake, he sipped some apple juice handed to him by Sylveon and retrieved breakfast from the basket brought by DemiDevimon.

Breakfast was unusually lavish, and he consciously indulged, ensuring he replenished his energy for the day ahead. Even with exams looming, he maintained his daily habit—reading Daily Sage.

But the moment he saw today’s headline, he spat out his mouthful of apple juice.

Splashed across the front page in bold letters was the shocking proclamation:

[Breaking News! The Undying Demon King Is Set to Be Executed!]

The banner accompanying the headline featured an elderly man dressed in bishop’s robes, his small round glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, giving him the appearance of a scholarly old academic. His gaze was directed toward a swirling mass of dense black fog, sealed tightly but with faintly glowing crimson eyes visible within.

Further down the article, the identity of the elderly man was clearly stated: he was a scholar from the Holy Church, once known as “Sage of Suffering,” renowned for his vast knowledge before joining the clergy.

Dark’s attention was immediately drawn to the report. Setting down his teacup, he began reading it carefully. Moments later, he looked up, his eyes flickering with thought.

“Pfft.” DemiDevimon hovered close to his face, reading the newspaper alongside him, but couldn’t help bursting into laughter.

Dark asked, “Funny?”

“It’s killing me!” DemiDevimon grinned mischievously. “This thing dares call itself a Demon King?”

Dark blinked, surprised that DemiDevimon’s attention lay in this particular detail. Shaking his head, he began to reflect.

This report wasn’t an official statement from the Holy Church but rather information “leaked” by an outside source—though whether this person was truly an outsider remained questionable. The article focused on a Holy Church scholar named Abel Yekis, who, after more than a decade of research, claimed to have discovered a method to completely kill the Demon King!

[The Demon King is not dead.]

→ This, in fact, was no secret.

The Demon King had long been called the “Undying Demon King,” a figure shrouded in legends of immortality. In the tale of the Brave One’s sacrifice, the Demon King’s fate was sealed—not killed—but imprisoned. While the common folk didn’t understand the true mystery behind the Demon King’s immortality, they firmly believed in its invincibility.

Now, for Abel Yekis to suddenly proclaim that he had found a way to fully exterminate the Demon King naturally caused shockwaves. Such a report would undoubtedly be reprinted by other newspapers, stirring turmoil in the outside world. Rational individuals would seek to verify its authenticity, while those prone to blind belief would spread the news fervently in their astonishment.

If the report were credible, the “execution” mentioned in the headline might become reality—but only if the Demon King remained imprisoned in the Holy Church’s secret location.

---

After pondering for a moment, Dark muttered, “Perhaps it’s a smokescreen.”

From every angle he considered, he doubted the veracity of the report. If killing the Demon King were so easily achievable, the original game’s Demon King wouldn’t have survived until the later stages. It was far more likely that this was a smokescreen meant to address potential rumors of the Demon King escaping its seal.

But what benefit would such a smokescreen bring to the Holy Church? Or perhaps it wasn’t released by the Holy Church at all but by some other faction? But what faction would dare make such a claim in front of the Holy Church? And even if someone dared publish it, would the Daily Sage dare print it?

Many questions flashed through Dark’s mind in an instant. However, he didn’t dwell on them for long—he still had exams to focus on.

---

When he stepped outside, he temporarily set aside thoughts of the report and went to meet up with Dianna and Rose in the communal lounge before heading to class together. Many others shared the same idea, and when Dark sat down in the lounge, he noticed the crowd growing around him.

After a while, Dianna hurriedly emerged from the stairwell, clutching her Summoning textbook and muttering incantations under her breath, clearly cramming at the last minute. Beside her, Rose also held a textbook but appeared much more relaxed.

From the start, there had been a gap in their theoretical learning abilities. Dianna was the type who struggled with rote memorization, while Rose possessed excellent memory but lacked ambition and curiosity. If not for Dianna, Rose likely wouldn’t have studied as diligently; she only did so to help Dianna when she got stuck on problems. Now, they complemented each other well, and both had achieved decent academic levels.

Dianna, however, was harder on herself and thus felt more anxious. Dark interjected a few calming words, and she gradually relaxed. The trio then headed to the Summoning classroom together.

On the podium, Professor Silver was already waiting, a thick stack of exam papers beside her. Her demeanor was even more serious than usual, and the students entering the room fell silent. Those carrying textbooks or review materials quietly flipped through them.

“This feels nostalgic,” Dark thought as he took his seat by the window in the back row. None of the first-year professors had conducted mid-term tests, and even at the end of the previous semester, there had only been assignments instead of exams. He had almost forgotten the feeling of entering an exam hall.

---

At ten minutes to eight, Professor Silver, seeing that all students were present, gave a brief explanation before distributing the exam papers—but prohibited anyone from picking up their pens. Only when the bell rang at exactly eight o’clock did the exam officially begin.

Dark quickly skimmed through the entire paper to gauge its length, then started answering from the beginning. The exam duration was two hours, from eight to ten, a full 120 minutes. However, the paper was far shorter than Dark had anticipated.

This might be due to the lack of frequent testing in this world—no “Years of Practice Tests and College Entrance Exam Preparation” here—and students’ relative inexperience with exams limited their speed. As a result, the professors likely designed the test based on the average student’s pace.

For someone like Dark Demon, who had emerged from a rigorous exam-oriented education system, this felt unsatisfyingly easy. Within just half an hour, he had completed all the questions.

To ensure a high score, he began meticulously checking his answers. In his past life, he hadn’t developed the habit of reviewing his work after finishing an exam. But now, reborn in this world with awakened memories, his patience and resolve had been honed. After triple-checking his answers and correcting one careless mistake, he finally set down his pen and glanced at Professor Silver on the podium.

Professor Silver caught his eye and pointed to the blackboard. Written clearly on it was one of the exam rules:

“Students may not leave the examination hall before completing one hour of the allotted time.”

---

At exactly nine o’clock, Dark gathered his papers and prepared to submit his exam. Just as he stood up, he hesitated and sat back down.

“There’s nowhere to go after submitting anyway. Might as well wait here,” he thought. Turning his head, he gazed out the crystal-clear window, his thoughts drifting once again.

“The extra time in an exam hall” was perhaps one of the quietest, most worry-free periods in this world. With a calm mind, he revisited the morning’s Daily Sage report.

Judging by normal logic, the likelihood that the report was deliberately leaked by the Holy Church through an outside source was as high as ninety percent. But the purpose of doing so… surely wasn’t to carry out a belated “execution” of the Demon King, was it?

---

After the exam ended, perhaps he could discuss it further with Professor Silver.

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