As of Wednesday, everything I had to participate in at the festival was over.
Since Liana was helping Cliffman and Ellen prepare for their respective pageants, there’s nothing for me to do even if I interfere.
Today was Thursday, and the main event of the Open Tournament was being held later. And tomorrow, which is Friday, the Miss and Mister Temple Contest and the Open Tournament finals will take place.
I won the first year tournament and earned a spot in the Open Tournament main event, but I decided not to participate.
I guess it wouldn’t be a bad idea to participate just for the experience, but I’ve been having problems with my condition deteriorating more than I thought it would when I’m using Magic Body Enhancement, and I don’t want to risk injuring myself.
The first-year tournament, which I thought would be an easy win, turned out to be unexpectedly difficult, and with looming meetings with the Black Order and the Vampire Council, I didn’t know when I’ll have to fight in a real battle. That’s why I couldn’t afford to push myself any further in tournaments.
So now I don’t really have a schedule to follow.
Even that stupid cross-dressing contest ended, though I can’t help but think that the Black Order concluded that I was someone with weird interests.
Harriet was in the group C of the Open Tournament.
Since the participants needed to go to the stadium in advance to prepare, Harriet had no choice but to leave early.
Before leaving, I was able to have a brief conversation with Harriet
“I don’t know what to say, but… Do you think you’ll be okay?”
It’s hard for me to say this, but I really don’t know how Harriet made it through the preliminaries and into the main tournament.
“I can take care of myself.”
Harriet seemed to twitch irritably at my concern.
I’ve been nervous since this morning, so I’ve been asking her a lot of questions, and while she didn’t seem overly confident, she didn’t seem particularly anxious either.
“Where are your earrings?”
She wasn’t even wearing the earrings enchanted with the calming spell.
She sighed at my question.
“Aren’t artifacts off limits?”
Was that so?
Come to think of it, that’s true.
Of course, I was a full-time artifact user since I had Sarkegaar’s ring, but they didn’t really check to see if I’ve brought an artifact with me.
So that means she had to fight without any artifacts to assist her excitable state of mind.
“Anyway, don’t push it. If you can’t win, just forfeit. You probably won’t get hurt, but you still might get hurt, so be careful. Almost all of the finalists will be able to use Magic Body Strengthening, so think about that….”
“Hey! Even my mom doesn’t nag me this much!”
In the end, Harriet let out a sigh and then looked at me with a sad smile.
“Are you worried about me that much?”
It couldn’t have looked any other way.
“Uh… no. It’s not that….”
“No, I know. I understand. And actually, I don’t feel that bad about you acting this way.”
Harriet sighed.
“I know you’re just worried about me, thank you.”
Harriet seemed to have decided to take it positively, instead of taking it as a sign that I didn’t trust her and getting hurt by that.
“Nevertheless, I’m trying to change.”
She wanted to become stronger.
It wasn’t just about strength in a physical sense, but also in the mental sense as well.
I had always thought that Ellen was ready in her mind, but not in her physical strength.
Whereas I thought Harriet was ready for neither.
In the end, after countless events and incidents, both Ellen and Harriet had changed a lot. It wasn’t any one thing in particular, but rather an accumulation of numerous experiences and incidents that instilled the desire to be stronger.
For both Ellen and Harriet.
“I’ll show you this time.”
Harriet said proudly. It was the first time I’d seen her smile in a long time, even though she’d always seemed so serious and grim about things lately.
“What can I expect to see?”
“No matter what you expect…”
Harriet chuckled.
“I will show you more than that.”
With those words, Harriet left.
It’s hard to believe, but those words didn’t seem like a lie.
Among the people I know, there were only two who joined the Open Tournament.
One of them was Harriet de Saint-Owan, who just left for the stadium.
The other one was, of course, Olivia Lanze.
She wasn’t provoking Ellen when she told her that she could beat her in both Miss Temple and the Open Tournament, she was actually participating in both.
After Harriet left, I went to the doors of the dormitory.
“Hmm, were you waiting for your noona?”
“Well. That’s right.”
“How surprising. I didn’t expect that.”
When Olivia spotted me on her way out of the dorm, she narrowed her eyes and smiled.
“By the way, senior, you’re not allowed to use your divine power, are you?”
Olivia was confident in her abilities. Though it’s unclear how skilled she actually was.
Still, Olivia’s greatest strength was her divine power.
However, naturally, once Olivia gave up on her faith, she wasn’t allowed to use her divine powers, regardless of whether she could or not. Upon hearing my words, Olivia smiled.
“Right, because I don’t want to get the attention of the Inquisition.”
“It’s… really that bad?”
“Unauthorized use of divine power is naturally prohibited.”
Was she confident of winning the tournament without even using her divine powers? Of course, she’s already proven herself just by making it to the main round.
At my question, Olivia tilted her head and smiled coyly.
“What? Are you worried about me?”
“Yeah… Well, I’m sure you’ll do fine.”
“Tsk.”
Olivia clicked her tongue, saying that she almost felt happy for nothing.
Even in a situation where she can’t use her most powerful ability, she’s still confident. I wonder how strong Olivia really was.
And, there was one more thing that I was curious about.
“I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“You said you didn’t participate in Miss Temple last year, senior. You didn’t enter the tournament too..”
“You said it was because you were busy with volunteer work, right?”
“You said it was the same in the previous years… You weren’t interested.”
“Ah, yeah. That’s right.”
Olivia was not a person who liked to show off. Before this, she was always humble, considerate, and even took a year’s leave of absence to participate in the Demon World War, even if only as rear support.
Anyway, although Olivia Lanze had changed a bit, she’s not someone who liked to show off. She had participated in neither pageants nor tournaments alike..
“Do you want to know why I chose to participate this year?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
I’m sure she’s been bombarded by people telling her to take part in Miss Temple or the tournaments, but why did she suddenly enter both this year?
“Well… actually, it’s nothing special….”
At my question, Olivia’s face turned red and she scratched her cheek with her finger.
Olivia Lanze, who had no interest in showing off her beauty or strength, suddenly became interested in both of them.
Olivia hesitantly opened her mouth, appearing somewhat embarrassed.
“Um… It’s because of… money….”
“Money?”
“Uh… Yeah.”
Money?
So someone who couldn’t seem to be more indifferent about wealth was participating in a tournament just for the sake of money?
Olivia laughed lightly.
Well, how should I put it?
Her expression was somewhat foolish and innocent.
It was the first time I’d seen a genuine expression on Olivia Lanze’s face in a long time.
It was like seeing the Olivia Lanze from our first encounter, when she had willingly accepted the abrupt request to meet a rude first-year student and had a serious conversation with him.
“Actually, I’m unemployed, technically speaking. Although, if you want to be precise, I didn’t have a job in the first place.
“…Ah. Yes.”
“So… I don’t have money anymore, so….”
Ah.
Was that it?
If nothing else, she’d have lived without knowing poverty, as the adopted daughter of the Commander of the Knights Templar.
But now that Riverriere Lanze has been dismissed from the position of Commander of the Knights Templar and his relationship with Olivia Lanze has been cut off, Olivia, who had always been able to maneuver her way through all sorts of problems, found herself facing a bizarre problem that she couldn’t find in herself to talk to others about.
She had nowhere to get her pocket money.
So she entered the tournament and the Miss Temple pageant for the huge cash prize.
In the end, it was all just because of money.
Just admitting it made Olivia blush with embarrassment.
Nevertheless, it is quite amazing.
“…Don’t they give us a largesse for the sake of Temple’s dignity?”
Students in the Royal Class received an allowance every month under the pretext of maintaining their dignity.
Four gold coins per month.
4 million won. It may not be a significant amount to some people, but it was still a considerable sum of money.
On top of that, Olivia was someone who didn’t have any interest in luxury. She didn’t wear any accessory or jewelry, nor did she have any hobby that cost money.
Then, wouldn’t the pocket money that Temple gave be enough?
“Well… That’s true but…”
Olivia bit her lip slightly.
“It’s kind of silly and a bit embarrassing. Saying it myself makes me feel like a showoff, so I was trying to keep it under wraps….”
Olivia finally sighed heavily and looked at me in frustration.
“There’s an orphanage that I’ve been personally sponsoring for a while now. I may have given up my faith, but I hadn’t given up on them. I used to have a pretty good allowance from my foster father, so it wasn’t a problem back then, but after all of that, I’ve had to cut back on the amount I give them. These are just the kind of places that are always lacking in money….”
“….”
“That’s why the money I’ve saved up until now has been slowly running out and I’m close to hitting the limit in various ways. So….”
I could see why Olivia didn’t want to talk about it.
She knew that what she was doing was foolish, so if she told someone, she was bound to be criticized.
She was supporting someone else with money that wasn’t her own.
But even now when money was tight, she just couldn’t allow herself to withhold her sponsorship or quit. For the sake of continuing that commitment, she had joined both the Open Tournament and the Miss Temple pageant, which she wouldn’t have been interested in otherwise.
In the end, she joined for the sake of charity, it wasn’t about Ellen at all.
Olivia’s lips twitched, as she looked at me apologetically.
“Well, at least… it wasn’t like last time?”
“What’s that?”
“It’s not like I’ll go get the money by promising to join Shanapell or something… It isn’t that serious.”
I once asked Olivia why she couldn’t live for herself.
I wondered if she thought I’d be upset if she told me the real reason she needed the money.
“Actually, I’ve been thinking about it since we talked last time. I think it’s a bit much… but honestly, I’m still considering it. Anyway, this should be okay.”
Regardless of how the prize money was used, it ultimately belonged to the person who earned it.
I’m sure Olivia’s beneficiaries aren’t financially well off. I don’t know how much she gives them via sponsorship, but I’m sure they’re affected by any reduction in the money they receive.
When I didn’t say anything, Olivia smiled weakly.
“As expected, you think I’m a fool….”
Olivia muttered quietly with a defeated look.
“I do think it’s naive.”
“….”
Was it stupid to try and help others when you couldn’t even look after yourself?
I used to think so. To some extent, I still do.
“But still, what’s the harm in that?”
But there was no reason for someone who didn’t live that way to look down on someone who did.
Just like how I lived my life.
There were people who lived just like Olivia.
I didn’t have the right to judge whether it was right or wrong.
At my words, Olivia looked at me with wide eyes, surprised.
It wasn’t a bad thing.
But I didn’t say it was a good thing either.
“Thank you, Reinhardt.”
But Olivia beamed as if she had cheered up. Every time I saw Olivia’s genuine expression, not her usual fake one, I felt my breath catch in my throat.
“That helps more than you realize.. So much more.”
Olivia wickedly grinned and lightly stroked my head, then gave me a slight wink.
“Noona will definitely win.”
“… I didn’t tell you to win the tournament.”
“That’s not what I meant, don’t just jump to conclusions!”
Olivia spun on her heel and stormed out of the dorm.
…Well, she was always like that anyway.
By the way, Olivia didn’t participate in the annual fifth year tournament.
If prize money was the goal, she could have participated in the year-level tournament as well.
Did she think it was unfair because her opponent would be in their fifth-year? Actually, Olivia repeated a year and that’s why she wouldn’t be able to participate in the sixth-year tournament.
So it seemed like that was the reason she only participated in the Open Tournament.
As I watched Olivia storm away, I became even more troubled.
Miss Temple, and the Open Tournament.
Olivia was an overwhelmingly strong candidate for both contests.
And it’s clear that Harriet and Ellen, who participated in one competition each, were at a disadvantage compared to her.
Therefore, setting aside personal emotions, I was mentally supporting Ellen and Harriet because they were the underdogs.
However, Olivia was participating in both contests not for the sake of simple interest but because she had some serious concerns in her own way.
Now, I didn’t know who I would root for.
However, the financial situation of the orphanage was a problem.
But it didn’t sound right to me.
Something was off….
“Oh, hey.”
After Olivia left, as I was heading back into the dormitory, someone called out to me.
It was a student, and it had to be a senior, because there was no way I, a first-year Royal Class student, could have a junior.
“Yes?”
“Are you Reinhardt?”
“Yes, but why do you ask?”
The senior, a nice-looking woman, stopped me and looked off into the distance, not at me.
More precisely, she was staring in the direction where Olivia had disappeared.
“What did you talk about with Olivia?”
“…Well, it was just a small talk.”
But seriously, who was this person?
“…Is that so?”
The senior in front of me began to stare at me intensely.
But I didn’t feel any hostility in that gaze.
How should I say this…?
I was engulfed in a strange feeling that sent shivers down my spine. She’s smiling at me, and I don’t know what to say.
It’s a weird feeling, like she wasn’t really smiling.
“So, who are you?”
“Oh, I haven’t introduced myself.”
The senior extended her hand to me.
“My name is Schmidt. Lydia Schmidt. I’m in the sixth year.”
“…Ah, yes.”
I shook her outstretched hand.
Despite her seemingly reserved appearance, I felt it as I held her hand.
She wasn’t normal.
For some reason, I felt uneasy and looked at the senior warily.
“What brings you to me?”
“Oh, it’s nothing, Reinhardt. I don’t have any business with you.”
The mysterious senior gave me a subtle smile as she looked at me.
“Not yet.”
What the hell was that?
Leaving behind a chilling remark, the strange senior slowly walked away.
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