Chapter 109
After the club activities ended, I went downstairs with Adriana.
“How was it?”
“It was alright. Everyone seems nice.”
They hadn’t particularly forced their faith on me, and seeing them contemplate how they could use their powers for good made me feel somewhat ashamed of myself.
In the face of such overly-kind people, one could feel a sense of shame without even knowing why; that’s exactly how I felt.
“You don’t have to join if you don’t want to. If you’re ever bored, come hang out anytime. We can listen to your concerns, and we can also help with things like career paths or studies.”
In the end, it seemed Adriana was more interested in introducing me to good seniors than forcing her faith on me. These people were willing to help out whenever needed, regardless of whether we shared the same faith or not.
When I thought about it, it was actually an incredible opportunity.
The Royal Class was filled with powerful families and individuals with exceptional individual abilities, especially the seniors who had been around for longer. Now, I had a permanent link that allowed me to meet them and ask for help whenever.
It would be strange not to take advantage of such an opportunity, right?
“Yes, I’ll come by occasionally.”
“Good decision, junior!”
Adriana beamed with joy, clearly happy that I had decided to visit the club occasionally.
The sudden acquisition of such a vast network was good, but there was one thing that I was curious about.
“What’s this about there being a Demon God Cult in the Temple?”
Achievement points are always welcome. They were more valuable to me than money.
Adriana tilted her head in confusion.
“I’m not sure... It seems like the student council president and the seniors know something, but I don’t really know anything. It’s not something I should ask about either... Since they said it’s not a big deal, it’s probably fine. Senior Daressa just tends to worry too much.”
It appeared that Adriana didn’t know much about it either. However, the senior, Daressa, and the student council president had both agreed that it wasn’t a big deal.
This seemed like something I needed to look into myself.
And there was another problem...
“By the way, is there something wrong with the club president?”
Everyone seemed to know something, but were keeping quiet about it.
“Ah, th-that...”
Adriana hesitated as if she found it difficult to speak, then led me outside the dormitory. That suggested that it wasn’t something that should be discussed indoors. It was midnight, so we quietly walked over to a bench that was gently illuminated by a street lamp and sat down side by side.
“Do you even know who the club president is?” Adriana asked.
“No, I have no idea.”
“Ah, junior, you really don’t pay attention to those in the higher years, do you?”
She was the president of the club with the largest membership in the Royal Class, and I had no clue who she was.
“She is quite a famous person. Olivia Lanche.”
Olivia Lanche... I didn’t recognize that name. It seemed like another story hidden in the margins.
“The club president herself is famous, but there’s someone even more famous than her.”
“Someone more famous?”
“Yes. Leverier Lanche. Haven’t you heard of him?”
“No... I’m not really sure if I have.”
I hadn’t heard of him either.
“He’s the commander of the Order of the Holy Knights.”
‘Ah...”’
I had completely forgotten.
‘So that’s who he is.’
It was mortifying. I felt utterly embarrassed upon realizing that I had forgotten the name of such an important figure.
“So that means... the club president is...?”
“Yes. She’s the daughter of the commander.”
Olivia Lanche, a fifth-year student.
She was the daughter of the commander of the Order of the Holy Knights.
***
The Order of the Holy Knights was a collective of consecrated knights and priests, drawn from all factions of the Cult of the Almighty. It was expected that they would disband after the end of the Great War, but they continued to exist.
They operated under the decisions of the five High Priests, but ultimately, the commander of the Order of the Holy Knights was himself a tremendously powerful figure. The Divine Cult of the Almighty transcended nations, so the actual power and influence of the commander of the Order were such that even the ruling dynasties of significant principalities had to yield to him.
And this was Olivia Lanche, the daughter of Leverier Lanche, the commander of the Order of the Holy Knights.
She was known by the nickname “The Saintess of Eredian”. Not only was she devoted to volunteer work, but she also seemed to possess exceptional skills.
“To be completely honest... My dream is to become like her.”
Adriana apparently admired her as a role model, and saw her as someone who was perfect in every aspect.
“She said she would join the Order of the Holy Knights after graduation.”
It seemed Olivia desired to join the Order of the Holy Knights to continue to do more than what she was already doing as a student, and was not focusing solely on her present studies. She was a model student and a saintess in every sense of the word, as her nickname suggested.
“Lately, however, she hasn’t been attending meetings for some reason... and I’ve heard that she rarely attends her classes at the Temple as well.”
Adriana seemed worried about her.
It was as if a student, known for her impeccable behavior, had suddenly veered off-course. Despite having been devoted to volunteer work and even being the club president, she wasn’t attending meetings, and she was even skipping her regular classes at the Temple.
“I’m not sure what’s going on since she’s a senior, but it seems the teachers are having a hard time too.”
If it were any regular student that was misbehaving, they might be simply expelled or disciplined, but things were different when it came to a student who was known for her exemplary behavior. That was why the teachers were also trying their best to guide her back to the right path. It must have been frustrating for them, especially since she was graduating that year.
A top student who had gone astray...
“That’s why I’ve been feeling a bit down lately. It’s frustrating not knowing what’s happening, and it makes me worry as well.”
Adriana’s struggle as she watched her role model and spiritual pillar crumble was apparent.
“Why don’t you ask her what’s going on?”
“Uh... What?”
“She might not be attending classes, but she’s still around the Temple, right?”
“Ah. Yes. But... she’s such a lofty senior...”
‘Oh give me a break.’
Right. Adriana was still just a second-year high-school student after all. I supposed it was difficult for her to casually approach a senior who held such a high status to ask if they were facing any life problems.
“Why wait until you’re frustrated to the point of breaking? If you’re curious, just ask.”
“Maybe you’re right...”
After a moment of silence, Adriana seemed to make up her mind, and nodded firmly.
***
The next morning...
Adriana, who had come for early morning training, looked worse than the day before.
“Did you go see her yesterday?”
“Huh? Ah... Yes. Yes, I did...”
Judging by her expression, it seemed she hadn’t received a very positive response. Or perhaps she’d been told off for meddling in the senior’s affairs?
Normally we would have started running immediately, but Adriana pulled me to a nearby bench and we sat down.
Ludwig and others who were exiting the dawn exercise greeted me.
“Reinhart, have a good training session today!”
“Yeah, thanks.”
Scarlett and Charlotte were also doing their morning exercises every day. Ellen was already far ahead, running off into the distance.
Adriana looked deeply troubled.
“So, what happened?”
Adriana looked as if she had experienced something unbelievable.
“The club president... She’s going to quit.”
“... Quit? The club?”
I could understand that she would be feeling betrayed, but was it enough to warrant such a reaction?
“No, not the club...”
There was a reason why Adriana was so shocked.
“She’s going to leave the Temple...”
With graduation just around the corner, Olivia Lanche was planning to leave the Temple.
“And that’s not all... She said she’s abandoning her faith altogether.”
It seemed there was more to the story than it appeared.
The seniors were keeping quiet about it, and they probably knew the truth but chose not to speak, perhaps to avoid causing confusion among the younger students.
“Why would she do that?”
“I don’t know... She wouldn’t tell me why.”
I couldn’t know exactly what had transpired during their conversation, but it was clear that she’d told Adriana she was going to give everything up, but had refrained from going into the reasons behind her decision.
This wasn’t just a model student veering off-course; this was a model student, who until then has been devout, deciding to abandon both her faith and her studies at the Temple. What on earth had happened to this Saintess of Eredian?
Could it be that she’d gotten into the Demon God Cult? Could there possibly be a connection to that?
However, it was hard to see how someone who had been faithfully devoutly adhering to the tenets of their faith for so long could make such a complete turnaround.
This was surely a tremendous shock to Adriana, and understandably so. Discovering that her idol was suddenly planning to abandon both her studies in the Temple and her personal faith must have been startling.
“There’s definitely something going on...”
It was clear that something significant had happened to Olivia Lanche. However, she was a senior that wasn’t close to us, and so she probably wouldn’t take us seriously.
“Hmm... Even if we know something’s happened, it doesn’t seem like there’s much we can do. If she’s determined to quit, it’s not our place to intervene.”
“... That’s true.”
Adriana stared at the ground dejectedly.
Seeing Adriana, who was always so poised and calm, in such a dispirited state made me feel...
‘Huh.’
Strangely, it was kind of cute.
...
It was just like with Harriet.
‘Am I some kind of sadist? No. Considering everything I’ve been involved in, the probability of me being a sadist is practically one hundred percent. Saying I’m not one would be even more absurd.’
“Junior, would it be rude of me to try to find out what happened to the club president?” Adriana mumbled in a disheartened voice.
She knew she couldn’t change Olivia’s decision, but she seemed curious as to why someone with such strong convictions and steadfast faith would suddenly want to give everything up.
There had to be some kind of reason, but Adriana seemed to think that trying to dig into it would be rude.
“Yes, I think it would be rude.”
“... Right...”
Adriana let out a deep sigh, seemingly at a loss.
I had considered just leaving it be, but I just couldn’t get myself to do that.
Snooping around behind a senior’s back wasn’t a task that suited Adriana.
“But being rude is my specialty, you know.”
“... What?”
“I’ll take the liberty of being rude for you.”
Adriana seemed greatly taken aback by my declaration.
Rude behavior? That was my area of expertise.
“You will, junior...?”
Though Adriana looked cute when she was deflated, she was better off being her usual self.
***
Only uncovering the truth behind the rumors of the Demon God Cult was going to get me achievement points, and finding out any information about Olivia Lanche didn’t involve any specific rewards, which probably meant that it was completely unrelated to the Demon God Cult. The probability that whatever was going on with Olivia Lanche had anything to do with the Demon God Cult was terribly slim.
Nevertheless, despite my constant rudeness and foolishness, Adriana had been the one to take care of me. Even though I must have made an awful first impression on her, she, like a true saint, looked after me regardless.
To me, Adriana was like a version of Eleris within the Temple.
Even her efforts to connect me to her club had eventually turned out to be solely in my favor. Though she’d be happy if I embraced her faith, her actions had been more about wanting me to get to know and mingle with various other sorts of people.
Having constantly been on the receiving end of help, I now found myself wanting to be of assistance this time.
Adriana appreciated the thought, but asked me not to pick fights with the seniors or cause trouble. Though she seemed grateful, she was worried that I might charge into the situation head-first as usual without thinking.
Of course, charging in recklessly would hardly reveal anything. I knew that.
We were talking about a fifth-year student... In the Royal Class, most fifth-years with combat talent had accumulated enough experience and would not be easily defeated when it came to physical confrontations. Among them, there were those who had reached near-superhuman levels of ability, and Olivia Lanche was perhaps among them.
Olivia Lanche, a fifth-year...
Why was she planning to quit the Temple and abandon her faith? I may have boldly declared that I’d rudely investigate her case, but in reality, I didn’t have a clue where to start.
If it was due to personal reasons, wouldn’t uncovering that be near impossible?
Deciding that doing nothing wouldn’t help, I first went to Vertus after class had ended.
“Ah, Reinhart. What brings you here?”
After the deserted-island group mission, Vertus seemed to have a noticeably more favorable attitude towards me. Part of it might have been inspired by my actions during our moments of indecision.
Perhaps he even secretly believed that, without me, the group mission could have ended in defeat.
‘Eek.’
It was definitely good to keep increasing my favor with this guy, but somehow, it was also intimidating and awkward.
My feelings about it were complicated.
Nonetheless, this matter did not require any secret snooping around, so I didn’t need to be wary of Vertus or Charlotte’s opinions.
“Oh, I just wanted to ask about something.”
“What is it?”
We were on the dormitory’s teatime terrace, and there was still plenty of daylight left.
“Do you know Olivia Lanche?”
“Ah, the daughter of the commander of the Order of the Holy Knights?” Vertus nodded in recognition. It was expected that he would know of her, since she was the daughter of the commander of the Order of the Holy Knights, and a notable figure.
“Do you know her personally?”
If Vertus had a personal acquaintance with her, it might be easier for me to find out more.
“Hmm, I’ve seen the commander of the Order of the Holy Knights at official events a few times, but I haven’t had any dealings with his daughter. She’s famous, yes, but she doesn’t hold a formal position or office, so there was no occasion to meet her. But I’ve heard quite a bit about her. What was it? The Saintess of Eredian? Pfft. Oh, oops, um... that was a mistake. Forget you heard that. Anyway, that’s what some people call her, apparently.”
Vertus chuckled, seemingly embarrassed to say the word “saintess” himself. He had seen the commander a few times, but didn’t have any direct acquaintance with his daughter.
That made sense. The commander of the Order of the Holy Knights was an important figure, but since the position wasn’t hereditary, his daughter wouldn’t be of significance because of that alone. It was understandable that Vertus wouldn’t know her personally.
“Why do you ask?”
Vertus seemed curious as to why I was unexpectedly inquiring about a senior.
“Well, I heard she’s quitting the Temple and giving up her faith too, and I just got curious as to why. It’s not for any major reason.”
“... She’s quitting?”
“Yeah, that’s what I heard.”
Vertus appeared surprised, as if this was the first time he was hearing such news.
“Hmm... I don’t need to concern myself with senior affairs, but this is unexpected.”
Vertus didn’t seem interested in gathering unnecessary information. However, this unusual piece of news had intrigued him.
“That’s strange. Even if I don’t know her well, she’s a prominent figure both within the Temple and outside it.”
“How famous is she exactly?”
Although Vertus might not know explicitly the affairs of a fifth-year student, he was in a position where he had access to a vast network of information, so he was much more informed than I was.
“Even though she was a Temple student during the Great War and couldn’t participate in it, I heard she possesses abilities well beyond what would be required for actual combat. She didn’t end up participating, but it’s known that she took a special leave of absence for a year to provide medical support to the soldiers. Now that the Great War has ended, she’s returned to her studies. It seems like she can use high-ranking divine magic, akin to that of a high priestess. She saved the lives of many people, and the widespread stories about these people made her famous. The nickname ‘The Saintess of Eredian’ originated from there.”
She was not just an ordinary priestess, but could wield divine magic on the level of a high priestess. Even as a student who couldn’t directly participate in combat, she must have saved numerous lives during the Great War.
“She is indeed remarkable,” I said.
“Yeah, that’s about it. If she were to join the Order of the Holy Knights, she’d be on track to become the next commander. And if she were to join the Ouen Order, she could be the next High Priestess.”
Her reputation was grounded in her exceptional abilities and her dedication to using those abilities for the benefit of others. Despite still being a student, there was no opposition to the idea of her eventually being the head of one of the five Orders.
“But to suddenly decide to quit everything... Hmm. That’s problematic.”
Vertus frowned, seemingly troubled by the thought.
‘Why would he find it problematic?’
“Problematic?”
Vertus took a sip of his tea and crossed his arms.
“Well, I was hoping she would become the next commander of the Order of the Holy Knights.”
Although he didn’t know her personally, Vertus had hoped for Olivia Lanche to step into the role of the next commander of the Order of the Holy Knights.
“Why?”
“That sort of person is a strong fit for such a position, don’t you think? It looks better, in many ways.”
Despite his words, I could read between the lines and see Vertus’s true meaning.
From the empire’s perspective, the Order of the Holy Knights was a troublesome and colossal power. It would be ideal for someone who was naively good-natured and devoid of strategy to occupy the position of leader, which would prevent any misguided actions from the group.
His tone further hinted that he didn’t particularly favor the current commander of the Order of the Holy Knights.
The Order of the Holy Knights was known to keep demon slaves, and indeed, during a recent incident, they had attempted to seize more succubi for themselves. Vertus had to know these details, which would make him view them negatively, thus further cementing his desire for a change in leadership.
‘Hmm? Now that I think about it... Could it be...?’’
“There seem to be two possible reasons for her decision.”
Vertus gazed out at the dormitory’s surroundings, bathed in the afternoon sun.
“One is that she realized the Order of the Holy Knights is a different kind of organization from what she believed them to be and felt disillusioned...”
Vertus looked at me and gave me a slight smirk, as if he was about to make a rather mean joke. “The second possibility is that she’s found a man.”
Just then, something I had overlooked came to mind.
Priests and priestesses in the Ouen Order were not allowed to marry.
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