Konoha: Naruto will win no matter what choice he makes! Chapter 194

December 24th, Sunday.

Sunday was the most special day of the week, being both a day of rest and a day of worship.

Believers usually went to church to worship on this day.

Since it was also Christmas Eve tonight, thousands of families went to church to pray for everyone’s safety.

Although the Holy Church of the Kingdom was actually supportive of the hawks, this did not hinder the underlying believers’ yearning for peace.

After the baptism of blood in the Demon War, the current peace seemed all the more precious.

People’s wisdom grew rapidly during the war, and they had a relatively clear view of so-called gods and beliefs, not being overly blind.

Most of the underlying believers went to church for worship to seek peace of mind, not truly to believe in some never-before-seen god.

After all, when they were in distress, it was not some god who saved them from dire straits.

It was those heroes who rushed to the front lines and sacrificed themselves fearlessly!

…

As the most famous hero production base, St. Marian Academy’s reverence had actually surpassed that of the Holy Church.

It was just that St. Marian Academy was not open to the public and did not set up churches in various towns, so people had no place to worship.

No way, that’s life.

If you couldn’t get the best, you could only make do with the second best to comfort yourself.

After all, the Holy Church had produced a few heroes, hadn’t it?

The Battlefield Saintess, who inherited the title of “Joan of Arc,” was one of the more famous ones.

…

Amidst the soft whispers of prayers, the Kingdom welcomed a new day.

The same was true for St. Marian.

Sister Kalian, after completing her daily worship, casually picked up a coat and draped it over her shoulders.

The work that had been piling up for the past few days was finally completed yesterday.

Starting today, she would also have a holiday—if she was lucky enough!

Unfortunately, according to past patterns, there would always be a few glitches during Christmas every year.

So much so that she didn’t dare to drink freely at the ball.

However, for this year’s Christmas ball, she came prepared and specially prepared a hangover cure!

With just one dose of the sobering potion, no matter how drunk she was, she would instantly sober up.

Although the cost was double the drunkenness afterward…

“Ah~”

She yawned, planning to take advantage of her free time to visit Traveler Street and buy a few small gifts.

Normally, she hid in the infirmary and didn’t socialize much, but now she couldn’t avoid it.

Teachers usually exchanged gifts.

Especially the professors who remained at the academy.

Namely Professor Lily, Professor Kazel, and Professor Silf.

They were all homeless people, so they had to stick together and keep warm, otherwise, how would they get through the cold winter?

…

Speaking of those professors.

Lily was drunk again last night, sprawled on the sofa like a dead pig, probably wouldn’t get up until the afternoon.

Professor Kazel and Professor Silf were busy preparing for the Christmas ball.

Professor Silf was responsible for the specific arrangements of the ball, while Professor Kazel was using the Holy Grail to create disposable wish-granting devices—Christmas stockings!

Thinking about it carefully, Professor Kazel was truly miserable.

More than eighty percent of the Halloween ghosts were made by him.

The thousand Christmas stockings were also made by him…

But at St. Marian, he only received the salary of an ordinary professor.

Miserable!

…

Frost had already appeared on the buildings in the early morning, and there were thin ice flakes on the lake.

As the temperature of the sunlight gradually increased, the frost melted, and St. Marian Academy slowly regained its vitality.

Students began to walk out of the tall tower one after another.

All the previous savings and preparations would be decided tonight!

Dark, in the Noble House dormitory, was still reading “Claire’s Travels.”

This book was unexpectedly interesting.

Although Aunt Claire herself was like that, her writing style leaned towards humor and lightness, and she wrote stories vividly. She also drew pictures for every scenic spot and wonder, which showed how dedicated she was.

Reading this book was like following her footsteps, traversing thousands of mountains and rivers.

It was hard to imagine walking such a long distance alone.

The lightness and humor in the text could not hide the hardship of traveling.

Not to mention the dangers in deep mountains and wild forests, and the ferocity of bandits and thieves.

Dark suddenly felt that he shouldn’t have given her that bottle of wine called “Eight Desolations”; perhaps he should have bought a whole set of cosmetics.

Of course, Claire herself would definitely prefer that bottle of wine.

48 hours passed in a blink of an eye, and he wondered if Claire had arrived home yet.

Perhaps tonight on Christmas Eve, she would light a candle on the dining table and savor that bottle of fiery red wine, filled with the scent of battle and blood, with Alvit!

…

Another afternoon passed.

Dark packed his bags, ready for battle.

He liked this festive atmosphere overflowing with youthful vigor from the bottom of his heart, but too much in-depth contact sometimes brought many troubles in social interactions.

The Christmas ball entrance time was exactly 7 PM.

The ball’s location was still the hall from the sorting ceremony, which students occasionally referred to as the “Great Hall” or “Banquet Hall.”

Unlike Halloween, because there was no masquerade ball or similar activities, and most of the professors were no longer at school, the school’s regulations for the Christmas ball’s time were not strict.

If you wanted to, you could even enter the Great Hall at five or six o’clock.

Tonight’s ball didn’t have guests like princesses, but it was rumored that a magic circus that had performed on Traveler Street was invited.

Although the little mages themselves could summon magic spirits, the magic circus always gave people a refreshing feeling when commanding magic spirits to perform.

Around 6:30 PM, Dark had just changed into his Night Prince set when he heard a knock on the door.

He pushed the useless Black Raven mask to the corner of the table, then straightened his collar and went to open the door.

“Good evening, ladies.”

The moment he opened the door, he performed a perfectly standard gentleman’s bow.

Diana at the door paused slightly, then happily extended her hand.

“Good evening, Dark.”

Dark took her hand and lightly tapped her palm, which was covered by a black lace glove, making her giggle.

Rose immediately showed a look of disappointment.

Dark then looked up and surveyed the two elegantly dressed ladies.

As expected, Diana had changed into the Night Princess set, a black velvet princess dress that perfectly matched Dark’s attire. The skirt, supported by a crinoline, had a particularly voluminous feel.

The exaggerated decorations and cute ruffles covering the dress were definitely not something an ordinary person could pull off.

Diana’s silver hair was neatly combed, clearly Rose’s handiwork.

The expensive hair ornament pinned to the side of her head gave her an extra touch of noble elegance and less childishness.

The high-heeled crystal shoes slightly compensated for her height, which was a bit shorter than her peers.

Diana’s usually too outgoing personality often made people overlook that her maternal lineage came from royalty.

Even though they were only distant relatives of the royal family, her soft silver hair still exuded an untouchable nobility.

Twelve-year-old Diana, after being meticulously dressed, actually had a hint of a beautiful woman.

…

Dark’s gaze then turned to Rose.

Unlike her officer’s attire at the masquerade ball, today Rose also wore a dress that suited her temperament.

She clearly preferred clean, pure white tones. Her taller stature compared to Diana, with the help of a corset, had some curves, making her waist slender. The skirt, also supported by a crinoline, was like a blooming flower, and its multi-layered design gave a strong visual impact.

Rose, who chose flat red dance shoes, stood about as tall as Diana and would not create a reverse contrast.

It seemed she always made sure not to overshadow Diana’s radiance, but her natural beauty could not be concealed by these small details.

Her light golden hair, inherited from her noble parents, made her look like a true princess.

Even if Anna and Angel were here, they couldn’t completely steal her glory.

Unlike her timidity when she first arrived at St. Marian, Rose was clearly more relaxed. This was partly due to Diana’s influence and partly because their small circle had a boy who gathered all the light.

Although it might not sound like a good thing at first, it was indeed the case.

No matter where one was, the quality of one’s social circle had a very important impact on one’s psychology and external perception.

Their small circle of three, among the first-year students of the Noble House, was undoubtedly top-tier.

The unobservant Diana did not notice.

But the meticulous Rose could always see envy in her classmates’ eyes, which improved her deep-seated inferiority complex.

So she always felt that meeting Diana and Dark was truly a lifelong blessing.

Her smile grew brighter.

…

Dark averted his gaze, feeling slightly relieved.

Fortunately, he was no longer the person he used to be.

After the tempering from Senior Pandora and the adorable attacks of the Catnip, his mental fortitude was now strong enough not to unleash his primal power so easily.

“The timing is just right.”

Dark locked the door and walked towards the stairwell.

Rose quickly nudged Diana’s arm, and Diana then reacted, quickly reaching out to link arms with Dark.

But she was clearly unaccustomed to the high heels, and her body leaned forward.

Dark reacted quickly, taking a step back and reaching out to steady her hand.

Small, radiating warmth.

Diana’s face flushed slightly, revealing a shy smile.

Then she naturally linked arms with Dark and walked downstairs.

Dark didn’t mind, just glanced at Rose.

Rose winked at him, indicating that she was fine walking alone.

The three then walked one after another to the common room.

It was an awkward time, and many people were still chatting in the common room, killing time, so they happened to see the three of them.

Golden boy and jade girl, people got used to seeing them.

But tonight’s meaning was a bit different.

The students of the Noble House still remembered the sixteen invitations from the night before yesterday. Now, seeing Dark and Diana walking together, they suddenly realized that the ultimate winner was here!

Especially the first-year girls who were rejected on the spot, they showed full envy towards Diana.

They mumbled something about “the early bird catches the worm,” then gestured at their chests, and then one by one showed disappointed expressions.

They were all in the same age group, so why?

Yudora was huddled in a corner reading a book. Her grades were only average.

Although there seemed to be only a one-year difference between eleven and twelve years old, the mental growth during this period was changing every day, and she was actually having some trouble keeping up.

But fortunately, she was diligent enough.

“I’m still young.”

Glancing at Diana’s chest, Yudora indicated that she still had potential.

As for not receiving a reply the night before yesterday.

That was within her expectations.

She didn’t know that only she hadn’t received a reply, after all, no one would publicize such things, and they had already been rejected once openly.

Dark’s act of replying seemed like a sincere and polite gesture, but for the girls, it was also a second rejection.

He had no relevant experience in his previous life, and in matters of emotion, he was ultimately negligent.

…

The moment Dark’s group pushed open the main door became a trigger, and the students in the common room also stood up one after another and walked out.

The light emanating from within the main door illuminated the bridge, and every student who walked through it felt an extra sense of ceremony.

The Christmas ball, from this point, had already begun in their hearts.

It would take about five minutes to walk from the Noble House tower to the Great Hall on the first floor.

Dark was very worried that Diana might accidentally fall, so he kept holding her hand.

Outside the main entrance of the Great Hall stood two glowing reindeer, both wearing cute Santa hats on their heads.

Dark imitated the senior in front of him, took off one of the reindeer’s Santa hats, and sure enough, another Santa hat spun down from above its head and landed steadily on the reindeer’s head.

This seemingly simple scene contained extremely strong technology.

Dark admired it in his heart, then put the Santa hat on Diana’s head, and then he took one for himself and put it on.

The two first-year students, wearing Santa hats, then pushed the door open.

Instantly, the entire Great Hall’s setting came into view!

The Great Hall’s iconic four long tables were still there, covered with red tablecloths embroidered with Christmas trees, reindeer, and sleighs. Silver candelabras floated above the long tables, but the candles were not yet lit.

On the stage directly in front, stood a gigantic Christmas tree!

The Christmas tree was hung with gift boxes of all sizes, and countless decorations.

Among the most eye-catching decorations were a crown, a magic book, a lance, and a [Fool] tarot card!

These were the symbols representing the four academies, the spiritual outlines of the academy.

Glowing little elves frolicked and danced around the Christmas tree, emitting bell-like laughter.

The atmosphere of the Christmas ball overflowed!

…

…

[Two-in-one 4000 words]