I met a senior who had given me a weird vibe, but in the end, I couldn’t get anything out of her except her name.
Lydia Schmidt.
She was the type of person who made people feel uncomfortable. She was definitely different from Bertus and Charlotte, but I couldn’t put my finger on what was different.
Harriet was in Group C.
Olivia was also in Group C.
Anyway, since the 32-round matches were going to be held consecutively, it seemed like I had to get there early if I wanted to see Harriet’s match.
Only Harriet was a participant from the whole first-year Royal Class , so I thought there might be some guys from Class B who wouldn’t come to watch, but surprisingly, everyone showed up to the stadium.
Even if they weren’t close to Harriet, they were curious about the first-year, who was a magic major besides, who was competing in the Open Tournament, and they also seemed to want to support her because she was their classmate.
With no prior connections between Class A and B, there was little in the way of celebratory atmosphere, yet it was captivating to see the camaraderie born of being classmates.
Everyone from the first-year class was headed for the stadium, except for Bertus who was not in the dormitory, as well as Ellen and Cliffman who were to compete in the contest tomorrow.
“Haah….”
“….”
“Haaah….”
“….”
“Haaaa-”
-Slap!
“Hey! Do you realize your sighing is making me feel bad?”
While I was sighing, Liana slapped my back with her outstretched arm and shouted at me. All the other kids were looking at us, but I didn’t give a damn.
“Don’t you worry at all? That kid is going to fight those fierce seniors!”
That kid went directly into the tiger’s den!
It’s not even likely that there were some first-year students in the waiting room. What if some tough guy there says, ‘Hey, cute little junior, this isn’t a place for kids to play’ and picks a fight with Harriet!
What if some guy like me comes out of nowhere and starts a fight with her!
“Is Harriet a kid?”
“Isn’t she a kid?”
“….”
“….”
Ah.
I just remembered that we were classmates.
Anyway.
It’s frustrating….
I couldn’t help but worry. No matter how much she said she could take care of herself….
“Haah….”
I sighed again. Liana frowned at me as she saw me sighing again.
“Do you want me to perform a purification ritual for you?”
“…a ritual?”
At the mention of rituals, Dettomolian, who had been listening along absentmindedly, looked over at us and spoke up.
“It’s not a formal ritual, but I could do a simple incantation to bring in good energy….”
“Detto. If it’s effective… wouldn’t it be like cheating…?”
“Maybe….”
“Then let’s not do something like that, okay?”
“Okay….”
Charlotte interrupted Dettomolian, as he tried to volunteer.
Judging from Charlotte’s expression, it was clear that she wasn’t really worried about the cheating, but rather, what she was concerned about was the possible side effects of Dettomolian’s ritual.
“Don’t worry, Reinhardt.”
As I sat there feeling uneasy, Ellen, who sat next to me, spoke quietly.
“Harriet will do well.”
“Based on what?”
“Just because.”
Ellen didn’t even smile, nor did she appear worried.
It was just her usual stoic and sullen expression.
“I believe that she will do well.”
I believe.
That expression seemed familiar for some reason.
I had told the Grand Duke Saint-Owan that his daughter had the greatest magical talent in human history, and that she was capable of doing things that would astound the world.
And now I was here, sighing and groaning about her competing in a tournament among seniors.
It’s hard enough to believe that she was going to do something, that she was going to show us something great.
Was this how the Grand Duke felt when he listened to the Magic Research Society’s research proposal?
When someone was important to you, everything they did seemed insufficient and unsatisfactory.
You worry so much about them that you think they can’t do something that they’re perfectly capable of doing.
Harriet wasn’t good enough.
But was it because I cared about her that much?
Perhaps it’s because I’m hoping she won’t get hurt.
Even though I’m not her parent.
Still, it would be disrespectful to her to think of her in that way.
But… I was still her friend.
If she gets beaten three times in the first match….
What should I do….
It’s not easy to change your mind even if you try.
But it’s going to be a problem at this rate.
“It’s okay, Reinhardt. She’ll do well.”
It wasn’t Ellen who said those things this time, it was Louis Ancton.
Of course, the members of the Magic Research Society were also here to watch Harriet’s match, and so was our senior, Redina.
Their expressions seemed strangely unconcerned.
“Hey, Reinhardt! Stop worrying so much and get ready to be surprised!”
Redina laughed while covering her mouth.
Does she have some kind of secret weapon or something?
It seemed like the members of the Magic Research Society had put their heads together for this year’s tournament and came up with some results.
For the audience, the least exciting of the grade-level tournaments would be the first year one, because they’re obviously the lowest level.
Then one would think that the most exciting year-level tournament would be the 6th year tournament. But as you go up the grades, there were plenty of cases where the juniors were stronger than the seniors.
That’s why there’s the Open Tournament.
Since the introduction of the Open Tournament, where the winners of each year level tournament were matched against each other, instead of competing solely within their grade level, it had become the biggest highlight of the festival.
For generations, if the winner of the 6th grade tournament made it to the finals of the Open Tournament, they would often win, but there were also many cases where they couldn’t take first place..
Because of that, this was arguably the biggest event of the festival.
Soon.
This was the place where the strongest in Temple was determined.
Of course, that title would only apply to those who actually participated..
-Whoaaaah!
Therefore, the anticipation and cheers from the crowd could not be compared to those of the first-year tournament.
The place was packed with people, and all the seats were filled.
“Ugh, it’s so noisy.”
Liana’s voice came from beside me.
The seats reserved for the Royal Class were also packed.
Olivia Lanze, along with Harriet and other Royal Class competitors will be there. The cheers were overwhelming, and while others wouldn’t be able to distinguish the sound, I could enhance and focus on my hearing, so I could clearly distinguish the voices of people whispering.
-Who’s going to win?
-Won’t it be Lydia?
-No, I heard that Olivia’s in the race, too.
-Ah… Really? I’ve never seen her fight before. Wasn’t she a divine power major?
-Yes, that was her major… But I heard she’s also really good in close combat.
-Really? From who?
-Huh? I heard that somewhere too… Where did I hear that?
The stories floating around were mostly about Olivia, so even though they came to see other people, most of them ended up talking about her. There were even some fifth-year students who came to watch Olivia’s fight, including the student council president, Ceres Von Owen, and members of the religious club, Grace. It was so crowded that I could only exchange glances with them.
“….”
Even Saviolin Turner had acknowledged Olivia as the strongest among the next generation, so I could roughly guess Olivia’s skill without even seeing it.
To my right is Charlotte.
Sitting next to her is Saviolin Turner, the Dormitory Supervisor and Charlotte’s bodyguard.
Olivia kept telling me that she was a good fighter.
She also said she hated violence.
I knew both were true. But the Royal Class audience were mostly talking about Olivia’s skills.
Because here’s the thing.
It was clear that there were very few people who had actually seen Olivia’s skill in action.
There were many rumors about her greatness, but since she wasn’t the type to show off her strength, it seems like no one had really seen her true skill.
People said she was amazing, incredible, but since no one had actually seen her perform, no one could say for sure how good she was.
“Is Olivia really that amazing, Lady Saviolin?”
Charlotte, who was sitting next to me, whispered to Saviolin Turner.
Charlotte seemed to be bothered by the rumors she heard around her as well.
“You should call me ‘teacher’, Your Highness.”
Was that person really so sensitive about how she was addressed?
“…If that’s the case, shouldn’t you have addressed me as a Temple student from the beginning?”
“…I can’t do that. How could I be so disrespectful?”
“Oh, does that mean you consider everyone who just calls me Charlotte and talks to me informally as being disrespectful towards royalty?”
“That’s not it. There are rules in the Temple that must be followed….”
“No, when you put it this way, you’re the Dormitory Supervisor, so the rules require you to call me Charlotte.”
’This is confusing?’
’I misspoke.’
‘What should I do?’
Was it just an illusion that I felt like I could read her thoughts even when I couldn’t see her face?
‘Just… let’s just change the subject.’
“Well, Olivia Lanze is an excellent student. Among the outstanding talents in Temple’s Royal Class, she is particularly excellent and highly regarded.”
“Oh. How much is it?”
“Hmmm.”
Saviolin Turner gazed over the stadium where the competition that had yet to start would happen, with her arms crossed.
“I’d be very surprised if there was a student who could pose a threat to her.”
“Hm, Lady Turner…. No, teacher, how do you know about Olivia Lanze?”
“Mostly from my underclassman, Epinhauser. As far as I know, Olivia Lanze hasn’t been taking any close combat classes since her third year.”
Most of the students talked about Olivia’s skills, but have never seen her in action. There was no reason for her to even show it in class.
“Why?”
“She said she didn’t want to learn any more techniques to hurt someone.”
“…That’s an interesting thing to say.”
“Epinhauser said that Olivia was already at a level where she couldn’t learn any more.”
“…Ah.”
Charlotte seemed incredulous.
“So the moment she said she didn’t want to learn more, she had already learned enough that there was nothing more to learn?”
“…In a manner of speaking, yes.”
I don’t want to learn any more techniques to hurt someone!
What a funny gal.
Anyway, Olivia hasn’t taken any practical classes or participated in any competitions since then.
“Of course, I’ve never really seen her true skills.”
Even Saviolin Turner had only heard things from Mr. Epinhauser.
“So in the end, it’s just a baseless rumor?”
At those words, Saviolin Turner shook her head.
“Hmm, I suppose it could be a baseless rumor, but that’s unlikely.”
“Why?”
“Have you heard that Olivia Lanze went to provide support to the rear lines during the Demon World War?”
“That’s what I heard. She went to take care of wounded soldiers in the fields or the tents….”
“Your Highness.”
Saviolin Turner looked at Charlotte.
She had not participated in the Great Demon War. Or rather, she couldn’t.
But she could not help but be familiar with the details of the events that happened during.
“At a time when every single human was a precious resource, would a powerhouse with that level of divine power be allowed to do just that one job?”
“…Surely, they didn’t put her into actual combat, did they?”
“Of course, they didn’t put her into combat against her will, but anything can happen in the rear areas of the front lines. Demon raids, for example.”
Everyone at Temple, the Royal Class, and me as well..
We were too naive.
We all foolishly thought that just because Olivia went to provide rear support during the war, she simply tended to the wounded and injured soldiers.
As befits her nickname, the Saint of the Eredian District.
As for the news that she had done a selfless deed like that of a pure angel and returned, everyone just took it for granted.
“I won’t go into detail as it’s not really a good thing to hear.”
Saviolin Turner said, still gazing at the stadium where the first match was about to start.
“Olivia Lanze has faced numerous dangerous situations in terrifying places and returned safely.”
“….”
Olivia was not a potted flower.
She has experienced real war and survived it.
Perhaps that’s why she came to hate violence even more.
It would not be a good memory for Olivia. That’s why she said she just went out to volunteer.
“They say Olivia Lanze was called an angel of death in those lands, rather than a saint.”
Olivia killed countless demon soldiers on the battlefield where she went to save people.
So much so, that even her allies feared her and called her the Reaper.
While I didn’t think Olivia liked being called the Saint of the Eredian District.
There was, in fact, a nickname she hated even more.
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