Chapter 277
Olivia Lanche was in the training grounds of the fifth-year dormitory.
—“You said you don’t want to learn the sword anymore?”
—“Yes, father.”
—“Why is that?”
—“Because I don’t want to learn a skill that can hurt someone, even if I don’t intend to use it that way.”
—“...”
She knew those words were meaningless.
She had already learned as much as she could and knew long ago that there was nothing more to learn, after having been told so back in the third year.
Nevertheless, Olivia Lanche was afraid of becoming more adept at violence. She was scared of how easy it was becoming for her to hurt someone. Olivia distanced herself from violence and even the potential for violence.
But now, Olivia was holding a sword.
Controlling the power flowing through her body was something she hadn’t done in a long time, but it was excessively easy.
Olivia was now about to enter a tournament. An open-level class tournament, and Miss Temple.
Neither Miss Temple nor the open class tournament interested Olivia in the first place.
She didn’t care whether that annoying first-year Ellen participated or not.
—“Miss Lanche. It’s okay if you don’t push yourself so hard anymore.”
—“... No, it’s fine. I still have some leeway.”
—“I know the situation. But no matter how tight our facility’s budget is, Miss Lanche, you’re still a student.”
Nothing else mattered.
Money... Money was needed.
There were countless war orphans caused by the Great War.
Just as even the nation couldn’t alleviate all poverty, the empire couldn’t support all those war orphans.
Everywhere, there were gaps, and children lacking clothes and food were all over the place. Olivia had been supporting them since she went on a volunteer mission after the Great Demon War.
Now that she was no longer seen as the daughter of the Commander of the Order of the Holy Knights, though, Olivia was increasingly unable to support them.
However, she couldn’t abandon them. She had abandoned her faith, but not those children.
‘If Reinhart finds out, he will scold me terribly, and tell me to stop doing such foolish things,’ Olivia thought.
She couldn’t even tell Reinhart because she knew he would harshly reprimand her for it.
The prize money on offer at the tournament and Miss Temple were substantial. With those two prizes, the facilities she supported could hold out for a while.
She also knew that the empire would soon announce official policies that provided support for war orphans. She just needed to provide them with food and clothing for a little while longer.
That was all.
That was why Olivia Lanche now held a sword.
‘Has it been about a year now...?’
She had put down the sword in her third year.
However, she’d been forced to pick it up again not long after.
She had gone to the Dark Land under the guise of volunteering, but there was no place there for just a mere volunteer.
There were times she felt both revulsion and gratitude for the power she possessed.
She had put it down again ever since.
She was confident she would win, but she didn’t think it would be easy.
She would have to put in the effort to regain her senses, to learn to calm her mind and draw upon her strength.
“It would have been better if you were born a bit later.”
Crack.
“Ugh, seriously!”
Clang!
Olivia, suddenly overwhelmed by a rising thought, threw her sword away in frustration.
‘What was that supposed to mean?’
Her face turned bright red as she fumed alone in the training grounds.
Creak.
In the midst of this, the door to the training grounds opened, and someone walked in.
“Olivia. There you are.”
The person who had apparently been looking for her approached her with a bright smile.
“Oh, hey Radia.”
Olivia’s odd behavior was limited to the first-year students; she was still kind and gentle to her juniors in their fifth and sixth years.
The person who had come was not a fifth-year student but a sixth-year student, Radia Schmidt, Number 2 from class B. She approached Olivia with a cheerful smile.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you holding a sword. Are you planning to enter the open tournament?”
“Oh, uh... yes. That’s the plan.”
“I see... That’s too bad. I was hoping to aim for the championship this time.”
“Are you participating too, Radia?”
“Oh, you didn’t know? Yes, this is my last chance. Windsor is entering too.”
“Oh... I see.”
As a sixth-year, she was practically on the verge of graduation.
It was understandable that she would want to test the skills she had honed over six years in the open class tournament.
Radia Schmidt continued to smile brightly at Olivia, but Olivia felt a lump in her throat, making it hard to breathe.
“But you know, Olivia...”
“... What?”
“You can’t use Divine Power.”
“... Yes, I know.”
It didn’t matter if she could still do so or not. It would be absurd for someone who had renounced their faith to use Divine Power.
Divine Power could not be used without authorization.
[New Event Update - Miss & Mister Temple Contest]
[Vote in the Miss & Mister Temple Contest. If both the people you vote for win, you will receive a reward.]
[Reward: One talent from each winner.]
‘... Here we go again.’
This universe seemed determined to make my life difficult, and was now dragging me into another mess.
‘What should I do?’
I had just said I wouldn’t go in a million years, and immediately, an irresistible challenge had popped up. If I went to watch the contest without saying anything... ‘It won’t end well.’
The most likely candidate to win Miss Temple was Olivia Lanche, which meant that I would naturally vote for her.
I’d be getting one of Olivia’s talents as well, and so it was practically a no-brainer.
It would be weird not to participate in this.
Couldn’t the system have announced this a little earlier? Why not show it to me before I said I wouldn’t go?!
‘Wait. Now that I think about it, this is weird.
I can’t enter the Miss Temple contest, but if I enter and win the Mister Temple contest, what would the reward be? If I win, I already have all my talents, so what would I get?’
[If you win Miss Temple yourself, you will be granted a ‘Talent Selection Ticket.’]
‘Oh, for crying out loud.’
So, even if I won Mister Temple, there would be no reward.
If I became Miss Temple, however, I would get a Talent Selection Ticket.
‘... No, that’s not possible.’
There was no way I could beat Olivia Lanche, who already has a solid standing.
This was no different from offering me 4,000 points for winning a cross-dressing contest.
Since I couldn’t disguise myself, I’d have to do something ridiculous to enter Miss Temple.
The conversation would look something like this...
“I’m entering Miss Temple.”
“Do you mean Mister Temple?”
“No, Miss Temple.”
“... But you’re a man...”
“Is there a rule that says men can’t enter Miss Temple?”
“I’m sorry???”
Was I really going to do such a crazy thing?
Anyway, I wasn’t going to participate, but I did have to go to the Miss Temple contest.
There was no way I would miss out on such an easy score.
If I said I wouldn’t go and then snuck in, I’d get caught eventually. I would be utterly at Ellen’s mercy then.
If I didn’t vote for Olivia, I’ll just get asked why I went in the first place.
“Well... You know, I guess I could go and check it out...” I muttered.
Both Ellen’s and Harriet’s eyes narrowed when I suddenly changed my tune.
“No, listen! It’s a festival! And that show is part of the festival! So, we should all enjoy the festival. Right?” I said, flustered.
“...”
“...”
The atmosphere was so tense that my skin prickled.
‘I appreciate the system offering me this event, but... why does it feel so awful?’
To break the cold atmosphere, I felt compelled to say something, even if it was nonsense.
“I mean... I could be going to watch Mister Temple, not Miss Temple!”
“Yeah, right, like you’d go to watch that, you idiot!”
Whack!
Harriet smacked me on the head with her notebook, admonishing me for my nonsense.
“Why’d you hit me!?”
‘Both Mister Temple and Miss Temple are chosen together, so I’d end up watching both anyway!’
As I endured the girls’ cold stares, I fell into thought.
‘Miss Temple and Mister Temple... Wait. Does that mean I get two free talents? If I get both Miss Temple and Mister Temple correct, do I get two talents?’
But that meant I had to guess both Miss Temple and Mister Temple correctly.
Miss Temple would be Olivia Lanche... But who would be Mister Temple?
In the original story, Olivia Lanche didn’t appear. She probably wasn’t even at the Temple.
That year, the crown of Miss Temple was taken by Scarlett from Class B. The scene where Scarlett, scorned for her red eyes and red hair, won Miss Temple was as significant an episode as Ludwig’s participation in the tournament.
In the original story, the Mister Temple for this festival was Vertus.
He was a prince, after all, and handsome to boot. But would Vertus participate this time as well?
If Vertus participated and won, I would get one of his talents in Swordsmanship, Mana Reinforcement, or Mana Manipulation. Since I already had the latter two, I would receive his Swordsmanship talent.
I couldn’t predict which of Olivia Lanche’s talents I might get. It could be Divine Power, which wouldn’t be bad. Since she was as much of a monster as Ellen, it would likely be something incredible.
‘Good.’
The situation wasn’t just good; it was the best I could hope for.
At the very least, if I got Vertus’s Swordsmanship talent, I’d be better at using the sword than I was at the moment.
“I’ll be right back,” I said.
When I got up from my seat, Ellen and Harriet seemed even more annoyed.
“No, I’m not going anywhere else; I’m just going to see Vertus for a bit!”
“...”
“...”
However, their eyes did not reflect even the smallest amount of trust for someone who had just blatantly gone back on his own words.
‘Ah... If only the candy vendor had given me this event a bit earlier... No, they probably gave it late on purpose just to shove it in my face!’