I didn’t make peace with Ellen.We didn’t even fight in the first place.
We both exchanged unsaid grievances and ended up apologizing to each other for it..
There was still the issue of Harriet.
That night, I called Harriet to the terrace where Bertus and I occasionally talked and had tea.
“It’s okay, I’m getting better.”
When I asked if she was okay, Harriet forced a smile and said that. In the end, there was no other way but to overcome it. It’s a different kind of horror from seeing a corpse.
“I just can’t understand it. I don’t really know why he did such terrible things like stitching corpses together or creating monsters.”
Magic is supposed to make the impossible possible. But she didn’t understand his reason for doing those terrible things.
Harriet’s complexion was still bad, but she seemed to be getting better. She still looked somewhat unstable and drank some black tea.
“How about Ellen?”
“I said enough to make things right.”
“That’s a relief.”
Harriet smiled a lonely smile.
“…You said you fought with a zombie horde in the Darklands, right?”
“That’s right.”
“I’m struggling just from seeing those things, so how difficult must it have been for you and Ellen to fight them directly?”
We’ve fought terrible things ourselves, and Ellen is the one who dealt with the chimeras.
Even just seeing the traces of that fight was hard for Harriet.
I wanted to tell her that these were different kinds of worries, but it seemed like Harriet was thinking about her own weakness right now.
“If you weren’t there, Ellen would have died.”
“I only used one scroll, that’s all.”
“That doesn’t make what I said any less true.”
Harriet looked at me quietly.
Without Harriet, Ellen might not have chosen to fight in that situation. But once she decided to fight, Harriet’s role was absolutely essential.
Even if it was a trivial action to her, it was undeniable that it was a decisive help.
“I want to work harder.”
Harriet says as she looks out at the dark autumn night.
“But you’re already working hard.”
Harriet looks at me.
“Still, I can work harder.”
I’m not sure when it started, but there’s always a hint of sadness mixed in with Harriet’s laughter.
“During the break, I want to stay here.”
Working on magic research.
It seemed like Harriet planned to put in effort into her studies there instead of going back home.
I could see the desire for strength in Harriet’s expression. Did seeing Ellen fight fiercely this time make her feel something?
I’m the only one who thinks there’s not enough time.
Is it because of my influence?
Both Ellen and Harriet seemed anxious.
I need to gather information from the Magic Society. And when the inevitable happens, I must use my status as the last Archdemon to my advantage.
I must at least pretend to be the next Demon King. An unproven successor to the throne is a good target, but not a threat.
People need to know that the next Demon King exists.
For that, I need a minimal amount of power.
The Vampire Council.
First, I want to subjugate them, even if it’s against their will.
But while the old vampires may fear the holy sword, I don’t know if they’ll fear me.
The Vampire Lords seem to be mostly mages, and I may get some clues about the Magic Society from them.
The Black Order will approach me, and I will give them information about Cantus Magna, but I don’t expect them to contact me soon.
And even though they may have killed Aaron Mede, they won’t try to kill me for providing false information.
They already know I’m a dangerous guy with a Vampire Lord as my follower.
They won’t betray me to the Empire. It’s the kind of thing bad guys don’t do to each other.
So.
I have some time before the Vampire Council assembles.
Finals are approaching.
After that, there will be festivals, and then winter break.
The busier you are, the harder it is to feel the change of seasons, and that’s exactly how I felt.
The short autumn is almost over.
It’s not because I’ve been busy, but that’s just how fall and spring are.
Before you know it, they’re gone.
-Sarak
The sound of stepping on fallen leaves could be heard everywhere on the campus.
“What is this?”
I cleared a fallen oak leaf from Ellen’s hair. She was standing still with her back against the entrance of the dormitory.
The large leaf sat like a cap, and Ellen sat there without even caring. She was staring at me, whether she realized it or not.
To be precise, not at me, but the person next to me.
“Do you make that face only when you see your senior?”
“…What?”
She was giving a hostile glare at Olivia Lanze.
“Do you have a problem with me?”
“No.”
“Do you hate how I’m getting along with Reinhardt?”
“Oh, really, what are you saying? If you’re going to talk nonsense, just leave!”
I was on my way back from running errands with Olivia Lanze when we ran into Ellen in front of the dormitory. Olivia gave Ellen a somewhat stern hostile look.
I’ve run into Olivia a few times lately when I’m running errands.
I’ve had some business with her lately too.
Ellen and Olivia have a really bad relationship.
But you know what they say about bad relationships - at least there’s still a relationship.
Did they even have such a thing in the first place? I don’t know.
“If I were only five years younger, you wouldn’t have been able to be by Reinhardt’s side, would you? I can teach you everything too.”
At Olivia’s words, Ellen tilted one corner of her mouth.
What’s this?
It’s the first time I’ve seen her make such an expression.
Ellen, with an obvious sneer, spits out.
“You must be happy because you’re older.”
“T-That’s not it! I-I’m still only twenty-two! I-I’m still young! I’m at my prime!”
“After all, you’re older than me and Reinhardt, by five years.”
“Hey, hey, can I hit her, Reinhardt?”
Olivia glared at me, as if she had finally lost the argument.
“Why are you even asking for permission to…?”
“You can hit me”, Ellen said, confidently tilting her head.
Ellen…
Why are you doing this? You’re not that kind of girl!
Olivia scowled and turned away.
“I’m just putting up with it because I hate violence, you know!”
Olivia stuck her tongue out and marched back into the dorm.
That girl.
Wow, such a good, well mannered girl.
Sometimes she does things I hate so much that I wanted to punch her.
Ellen glanced at Olivia, who was walking away, then turned to me.
“Do you really have to be friends with her??”
“……Come on.”
“I don’t like her.”
Ellen was fuming.
“Why, did something happen?”
“I don’t know. I hate her. It sucks.”
I had never heard Ellen express her emotions so openly.
“That……. She’s helped me with a lot of things and……. there’s some things I really need to do right now…….”
“Is it ……important?”
“Yeah, a lot.”
I know it’s not good for people to see Olivia Lanze flirting with me, but it’s really necessary, and I can’t help it this time.
I don’t know what to say to that, but Ellen looked very uncomfortable.
“Make it clear then.”
“What…what do you mean?”
“She keeps acting like that because you’re not taking a clear stance.”
This time, Ellen’s anger is directed at me. Under her cold gaze, I froze.
“Or do you actually like it when she acts that way?”
“No, not at all. Absolutely not. I don’t like it.”
“But it seems like you do. You’re just pretending not to.”
“No! I hate it! I really do!”
I wonder why.
Why do you sound like you’re scolding a boyfriend who can’t maintain proper distance with the opposite sex?
It’s a strange situation, and I don’t know what to say.
Who are you to say that?
I felt like if I said anything even remotely similar, my tongue or throat might be cut.
It’s really fucking scary.
“Then make her stop.”
“Um…yeah…”
In the end, I answered like a boyfriend who couldn’t manage his girlfriend.
I had too much to do.
If everything related to the gate was considered “work”, I had too much work to do.
Dealing with various human relationships issues felt like it was going to make my head explode.
So my studies took a backseat.
Being last again would be dangerous. Therefore, I wouldn’t deliberately try to be last, but being in the lower ranks was certain.
“That’s why you should restrain yourself.”
“Hmph, is showing affection wrong?”
When I finally told Olivia what Ellen had instructed me to do, Olivia responded with a fit of pouting and huffing.
“Seriously, you act like I made a promise to you or something. I have no intention of marrying you!”
My comment made Olivia’s mouth drop open and her face turned white.
“Really…? You weren’t kidding about that?”
“Why are you getting flustered!”
She’s a senior I really like, but haven’t I repeatedly emphasized that I’m not interested in that kind of relationship?
“I… I thought you were just joking about not being serious…”
“Ah, I’m getting a headache…”
“Well, if not now, maybe you’ll like me in the future?”
Olivia’s radiant smile made my head spin.
I was speechless.
“Come on, if you’re going to use me whenever it suits you, and then complain about things like this, it’s going to upset me. Don’t you know how scary that is?”
Olivia had a point.
I was left with nothing to say when she asked if I could just overlook something like this while taking advantage of her whenever I wanted.
Because that’s what I was doing.
“Do you really like her that much? To the point where you’re being so harsh to your senior?”
“It’s not like that.”
“If it’s not like that, then what is it?”
Olivia’s expression suddenly became stern, and she seemed about to say something, but then stopped.
“I’ll tell you one thing. Did she do anything wrong to me? No, she didn’t.”
Olivia was serious now.
“But I don’t like her, and I can’t help it. Don’t tell me things like not to hate her, don’t bully her, don’t pick a fight with her. You understand?”
Olivia looked at me, biting her lip slightly.
“The more you say those things, the more I hate her for no reason.”
With that, Olivia slammed the door shut on our conversation.
Why.
Me.
It’s a pain, but it’s all in the name of saving the world.
Why do I have to go through this shit…….
“I hate her too,” Harriet nodded in agreement.
“Well, but… they say she was really nice before she turned into this…”
Liana shook her head at Adelia’s words.
“She’s like a bitch.”
“A bitch…?”
Adelia seemed fed up with Liana’s exaggerations.
-Nom, nom, nom
Ellen, who had brought up the topic and suggested going out for dinner, had ordered five dishes and was eating them voraciously.
It was a bit unusual.
For some reason, they had a strong feeling that she was eating to relieve stress because she was angry.
When Liana asked about it because Ellen’s expression looked bad, she said she didn’t like Olivia Lanze, the girl Reinhardt goes to school with, for no reason.
At that moment, Ellen was talking behind someone’s back for the first time in her life.
Harriet agreed, Adelia didn’t know much, and Liana commented that she was a bitch.
“By the way, since Reinhardt is an asshole, wouldn’t the two of them make a good match?”
Ellen and Harriet glared at Liana at her innocent words.
“Why? What do you mean?” Ellen asked.
“….”
“….”
“L-Liana…”
Liana de Grantz doesn’t seem to have a sense of tact in certain areas.
Liana was nibbling on cheese salad, saying she wasn’t that hungry.
“That senior is acting weirdly clingy. He says that he doesn’t like her clinging to him, but he can’t seem to get rid of her, so maybe he’s interested… Ah, is something wrong with me? Why am I suddenly feeling chilly? Did the weather get cold?”
Liana continued talking nonchalantly, but suddenly shivered from a sudden chill. Of course, she didn’t realize it was because of Ellen’s gaze.
“I don’t know about anything else, but it’s kind of unlucky. She knows she’s pretty and acts all high and mighty. It’s so annoying.”
The four of them didn’t have much to say about that.
Olivia Lanze.
The title of the Saint of Eredia has long disappeared, but the fact that she stands out wherever she goes never changed. Even Reinhardt, as much as he refused to admit it, had been known to get genuinely flustered and blush at times when she flirted with him.
Watching her stick to Reinhardt so obsessively made even those who didn’t have any thoughts about her feel a little uncomfortable.
These girls just started to vent without any restraint whatsoever.
And these thoughts come naturally.
“So what. What do you want to do about it?”
“…It’s not about what I want to do. I just don’t like it. She picks a fight with me for no reason.”
Ellen said so, focusing on eating.
Ellen always has a binge-eating disorder, but today it feels like she has a stress-induced one.
“She picks a fight? With you?”
“Yeah.”
If she just stayed still, Olivia wouldn’t bother her.
But recently, she’s been annoying her for no reason every time they run into each other.
Since they’re in the same dormitory, they inevitably bump into each other from time to time.
-Oh, hi. Reinhardt’s friend?
-Please take care of our Reinhardt!
-Aren’t you too close with Reinhardt? Do you know why?
“Oh, you’re pretty now that I see you. Not as much as this senior, though.”
“You’re good at fighting, but don’t bother Reinhardt too much.”
“Sorry, you’re my rival. It can’t be helped.”
“Oh, are you angry? If you hit me, I’ll tell Reinhardt. Is that okay?”
Ellen grabbed her fork as she ate.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she got.
-Growl
Everyone looked at her wide-eyed as the fork bent.
But in the end, Ellen wasn’t the type to hold a grudge against someone she didn’t like, even if it was Olivia, whose headstrong personality reminded her of Harriet.
Although Harriet used to be like that before, now she’s not.
“Well… that senior is a bit strange.”
“What?”
Liana shrugged at Adelia’s response.
“She came to major in sacred power, right? But if she gave up her faith, what is she going to graduate with? It would be strange even if she graduated with a major in sacred power.”
At her words, everyone’s expressions became strange.
“That’s true.”
There was no reason to worry about a senior’s graduation who they didn’t like, but everyone was curious.
How does Olivia Lanze plan to graduate?
“I don’t know.”
Ellen quickly finished five meals and took a sip of water, her eyes shining.
“But if she keeps doing that, I won’t be able to bear it.”
“Um, um… Bear with it, Ellen…”
Although Harriet secretly hoped that Ellen would do something, she restrained her because she thought something terrible might happen.
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