CH 356

The reason for not participating in the miss temple contest.

Olivia, whose attitude had already changed from her usual demeanor, looked down at Ellen with cold eyes.

"Why do you need to know?"

"Because I'm curious."

"So why should I tell you?"

Olivia seemed as if she would strike Ellen if she pressed further, her hostility not even allowing for the slightest opening.

Killing intent.

Ellen was truly feeling killing intent from Olivia right now.

"There's no reason for you to know. We're not even that close."

"Didn't you tell Reinhardt?"

Ellen insinuated that it must be related to the Rotary Club where Adriana was, given Reinhardt's involvement.

In response to Ellen's rational suspicion, Olivia pulled Ellen into her room.

-Thud!

Ellen, who was abruptly dragged into Olivia's room, found herself pressed against the closed door and faced Olivia's gaze.

"Yeah, Reinhardt knows. But what's your reason for knowing?"

"Riverrier Lanze died."

"…"

Ellen looked at Olivia.

"And that day, your whereabouts are unclear."

"So what? Are you saying I killed him?"

"I didn't say that."

Riverrier Lanze was killed by an attack from demons.

"I just have an absurd suspicion, and if you could make me believe it's true, that would be enough."

A plausible lie, if it was a lie.

Why you returned to the Royal Class dormitory late at night with Adriana that day, and why Adriana is staying at the Rotary Club instead of the monastery.

Whether Riverrier Lanze's death on the day your whereabouts were uncertain was a coincidence or not.

Why you lied.

What reason you had for having no choice but to lie.

All you have to do is tell a story that plausibly fits those pieces together.

However, such a lie cannot be fabricated instantly.

Olivia, with Ellen pressed against the wall, looked down at her as she stared back without fear.

"If I kill you, Reinhardt will never see me again."

"…"

Even in the face of the word "death," there was no fear in Ellen's expression.

Olivia's fingertips trembled.

She could make an extreme choice, but in doing so, she would lose the most precious thing.

Olivia had lost everything.

She did not want to lose the last precious thing she had left.

This reckless junior was trying to grab her by the scruff of her neck.

She showed no signs of backing down. She seemed to have a strange suspicion, although it was unclear what she was thinking.

If this girl spoke carelessly, not only herself but also Adriana and even Reinhardt would be in danger.

What should she do?

As Olivia stood at the crossroads of confusion and extreme choices, Ellen quietly opened her mouth.

"I'm no different."

"…"

"Though I dislike you, if you get hurt, Reinhardt will be sad."

Ellen looked at Olivia.

"I won't do anything to hurt my senior either. I'm just curious. What happened that day? Why is everyone lying?"

They dislike each other.

Nevertheless, knowing that Reinhardt would be saddened if either of them got hurt, neither Ellen nor Olivia would do anything to harm the other.

So even if I find out something, I won't hurt you.

Olivia had no choice but to know that Ellen's words were sincere and truthful.

Because of the strange resonance those words had for her, Olivia couldn't properly look into Ellen's eyes.

Nervously nodding her head, Olivia spoke as if to throw up.

"Ellen."

"...Yes?"

For the first time, Olivia called Ellen by her name.

"Promise me you'll keep the secret."

"I'll keep it. No matter what it is."

It wasn't Olivia's secret that Ellen was curious about.

She wanted to know what secret of Reinhardt's was entangled with it.

It had become too hard for her to be in the dark, to worry and feel sad alone.

"I was there."

"...!"

"When the demons attacked, Adriana and I were there."

It was an absurdly vague suspicion.

An unbelievably absurd suspicion, but hearing the truth that surpassed even that, Ellen could only be astonished.

------

In Olivia's room, Olivia sat in a chair, and Ellen sat on Olivia's bed as they talked.

Olivia told everything. Starting from why they were there at that time, she recounted the entire story that unfolded after that.

"The Five Holy Religions... Independence?"

"Yes, I think they were planning something like that. My stepfather tried to blackmail me to be its first Empress and used Adriana's life as bait for that. That's why we were there."

Ellen listened blankly to the unbelievable wickedness of Riverrier Lanze.

The demon knight raid.

Ellen had thought that Olivia might have been involved in the incident somehow, but she had no idea that the two of them were at the scene.

There was only a vague suspicion due to the faint similarities between the dead and Olivia, and Adriana.

However, the stories that followed plunged Ellen deeper into shock.

"...They saved you?"

"Yes, I don't know why. A winged demon saved Adriana and me. And then it dropped us off somewhere far away and disappeared. That's the end of it."

"Why on earth..."

"I'm the one most curious about that."

Just as Ellen couldn't understand the situation, Olivia was still confused about the problem.

"You understand why I have to keep this story a secret, right?"

"...Yes."

If someone found out about this story, regardless of the reason, they would undoubtedly face enormous misunderstandings. It was clear that they would suffer from vicious slander and suspicion that they had conspired with the demons, and the possibility of death was very high.

"The next day Reinhardt came looking for me. He asked what had happened, so I explained the situation... Then he said he would help Adriana."

"...I see."

Elen felt uneasy at those words.

She thought Reinhardt seemed to know something about the pair.

But after hearing the story, it was clear that Reinhardt couldn't have known at that point.

A misunderstanding, perhaps.

Just because you think you know someone well doesn't mean you truly do.

So, the feeling she had gotten from Reinhardt that day must have been a mere illusion.

Then, Reinhardt not attending the Miss Temple Contest that day must have been unrelated to Olivia.

In reality, the suspicion that Reinhardt might be the Demon King is not a thought that could arise within the realm of normal thinking.

Reinhardt met with the two the following day, and after a long time, they talked. He learned about the incident the day before and entrusted Adriana to the Rotary Club for her protection.

It turned out that Adriana hadn't entirely lied.

She was indeed unable to return to the monastery.

A newly discovered problem.

The demon attack.

Olivia and Adriana had been there, and for some reason, the demons had saved them.

But why?

"What reason would the demons have to save you two?"

"...I don't know."

Olivia frowned.

"Maybe they just felt sorry for us."

"...Excuse me?"

"Do you think demons are always evil and wicked?"

Olivia had been bitterly disappointed in humans, which led her to abandon a human-centric way of thinking.

"Demons could be more virtuous than humans, right? There are countless humans far more terrible than demons or devils, like my late stepfather."

Olivia spoke with deep contempt.

Someone hearing Olivia's words might consider them dangerously sympathetic towards demons.

Demons are evil.

Because they are evil, they must be eradicated.

This is a crucial axiom among humans and an irrefutable common sense.

It's natural to make enemies hateful and intolerable. That kind of hatred regenerates and spreads infinitely among people without being intentionally fostered.

Demons are the enemy.

That's why the notion that demons are evil is inevitable.

Humans have an instinct to define their enemies as beings that must be killed, rather than just being allowed to kill them.

Olivia and Elen might be somewhat free from such common sense, but they could never be entirely free.

However.

Olivia was almost unique among those who had participated in the Great Demon War in thinking that demons might actually be virtuous.

"Do you know why the previous demon attack happened, not this time, but before?"

"No."

Olivia was disappointed in humans.

She couldn't even understand what made humans better than demons.

Now, she was almost reaching the point of thinking that demons might be superior beings to humans.

"You know that the Holy Knights were the ones attacked during that incident too, right?"

"Yes."

Olivia stood with her arms crossed, narrowing her eyes as she stared out the window.

"The alliance has distributed the captured demons among themselves. They even opened a black market to auction them off."

"Captives? Why?"

Ellen couldn't grasp the reason for distributing or handling the captives in such a manner.

"To use them as slaves. There are demons that resemble humans, you know. Among them are the attractive ones like succubi and incubi. They cut off the horns of those demons, destroyed their magical circuits, and reduced them to mere cripples, only to use them as slaves."

"Ah..."

"Empires and subordinate states, as well as the holy knight orders and the five major churches, all received their share of captives. They claim it's for research, but that's just an excuse. I don't need to explain what they're really using them for, do I?"

Olivia spoke with a tone of disgust, implying that she didn't even want to mention the vile acts. Ellen nodded blankly in agreement.

"Back then, the demon raid wasn't aimed at attacking the holy knight orders. It was an operation to rescue the captured demons. And while there were injuries, they didn't kill any of the knights."

A raid to rescue the demon captives.

All groups distributed the demon captives to be used as slaves.

"Only a small portion of the demon captives were rescued. The empires, subordinate states, royalty, and nobility are probably using those demons in unspeakable ways. They say it's because they're enemies that deserve to die, but in reality, they're fulfilling their own filthy desires. How is that not disgusting and repulsive?"

"..."

Ellen lost her words at Olivia's intense tone.

"That's right, whether the Demon King is resurrected or a successor exists, they can't bear to see their own people being treated like that. They went so far as to do such things with just a handful of demons. And yet, they didn't harm any of the holy knights. I think the Demon King's actions are actually more noble, don't you?"

"Senior, that's enough."

As Olivia's expressions grew more aggressive, bordering on advocating for the Darkland forces, Ellen cautiously took Olivia's hand.

There was no reason for Olivia to act like this.

If Olivia crossed the line and displayed such behavior in front of others, it would be truly dangerous.

Olivia hadn't expected Ellen to comfort her in this manner, and she stared at Ellen with wide eyes.

"I think I understand what you're trying to say."

"...Alright."

Olivia took several deep breaths to calm her emotions.

"That's what the demon who saved me said."

Olivia murmured absentmindedly, as if recalling that moment.

"Humans, how can they be so wicked?"

The flying demon appeared with those words, killed the knight who had detained Adriana, and whisked Olivia away from that place.

As she soared through the sky, Adriana could see the demons casting a massive destruction spell on the abandoned monastery.

"I never thought they intended to attack in the first place. Maybe they were just watching. But they must have heard everything. They heard the stories coming from there. They heard about using the adopted daughter as bait to restore honor, and the life of a nun who hadn't even become a priestess yet as bait. They heard the threats to keep killing my precious ones until I surrendered."

Olivia, who had begun to view the demons more favorably, wanted to believe that they were kinder beings than humans, having saved her.

As she looked at the Nameless Monastery committing such blatant acts of injustice.

Perhaps they couldn't stand the heinous wickedness, malice, and injustice, and that's why they intervened.

"So, I'm imagining that they didn't attack the Nameless Monastery to destroy it, but rather saw what was happening while spying and came to save Adriana and me. I'm having such an absurd fantasy."

That they might have attacked to save Adriana and Olivia.

In the end.

Although some parts of the process might be wrong, Olivia's thoughts were a very close guess to the truth.

------

Are the demons truly good or evil?

After hearing the disgusting stories about the demon prisoners and learning the truth about the two demon raids that had occurred so far, Ellen couldn't make sense of anything.

The stories she had heard from Olivia weighed so heavily on her mind that she had completely forgotten about Reinhardt's problem.

Reinhardt had tried to help Adriana. That's why Adriana was at the Rotary Club instead of the monastery.

The two were rescued by the demons.

Within the relationship between stories, Ellen couldn't deduce an even scarier truth. The distance between truths was too far, so she couldn't find the connection.

She now knew for certain why Olivia had not participated in the Miss Temple contest.

Even Olivia herself thought it wasn't a situation where she could care about such things.

Olivia was uneasy about having revealed a secret that many people should not know, even though she knew Ellen had grasped some clues.

Because she had told a dangerous secret to someone who didn't particularly like secrets.

"You must keep this secret."

"I'm not the type of person who takes advantage of such things."

Ellen might not like Olivia, but she didn't hate her enough to want to kill her.

If this became known, not only would there be a huge backlash, but Olivia and Adriana could genuinely be accused of colluding with demons and face execution.

The guilt might spread to Reinhardt, but even if it didn't, Ellen had no desire to use this secret.

At Ellen's words, a frown appeared on Olivia's forehead.

"What? So you're saying I'm that kind of person?"

"I never said that. Why? Feeling guilty?"

"No! I'm not that kind of person!"

"Seems like you are, though."

"I said I'm not!"

Feeling embarrassed, Olivia's face turned various shades of red and blue as she sputtered.

Annoyed, Olivia crossed her arms and grumbled.

"Anyway, you should consider yourself lucky. If I hadn't been unable to go, you wouldn't have become Miss Temple."

"…"

If Olivia had actually participated in the Miss Temple contest, there was no telling how it would have turned out. However, being Miss Temple was certainly a good thing for Ellen.

Strictly speaking, it wasn't a pleasant memory.

After all, she hadn't been able to show the person she wanted to impress the side of her she wanted them to see.

"So, are you happy?"

"About what?"

"About winning Miss Temple."

At Olivia's question, Ellen stared at her intently.

Is she teasing me right now?

What was the point of asking her how she felt about winning the Miss Temple contest without Reinhardt there?

"What did Reinhardt say?"

But to Ellen's eyes, Olivia's expression didn't seem like that of someone who was teasing her.

It was a look of envy. Olivia was curious and perhaps even jealous about what Reinhardt might have said after seeing Ellen's carefully prepared appearance and her victory as Miss Temple.

And Ellen realized this.

"He didn't come."

"What?"

Olivia didn't know that Reinhardt hadn't attended the Miss Temple contest.

"Reinhardt, he didn't come."

"…What?"

Olivia couldn't help but be bewildered.

Olivia had assumed Reinhardt would have gone to the Miss Temple contest. He had told her to wait in her room, as if he had something planned for her.

She herself had had no choice but to rush out when she received the letter from the Riverrier Lanze.

"Why not?"

"How should I know?"

Ellen responded irritably to Olivia's question. Just as she herself hadn't been able to go to the Miss Temple contest, Reinhardt hadn't attended either.

"Why didn't he come?"

"…I don't know."

Was it enough to say she didn't know and leave it at that? Wasn't she curious?

Olivia found Ellen's response strange.

"Didn't you ask?"

"…No."

It was a reasonable question.

It was appropriate to ask why he hadn't come. It was a question that could be asked.

But Ellen hadn't asked Reinhardt why he hadn't come. She had forgiven him without even asking in the first place, knowing he wouldn't have answered. She still wasn't sure if that was something to be forgiven or not.

She had let it go.

Olivia looked at Ellen with her mouth slightly open.

"Wow, you... Are you kind or just dense...?"

"What?"

Reinhardt hadn't attended the Miss Temple contest, and Ellen hadn't even asked him why.

Olivia now knew that Reinhardt was involved with the strange organization called the Rotary Club.

Reinhardt had his own secrets, and sometimes, unavoidable situations would arise. Perhaps it was an extension of one such situation. Olivia could only vaguely guess.

What made her upset was the fact that Ellen knew more about Reinhardt than she did, which was only natural.

And so, it was quite displeasing to Olivia that they were the kind of friends who would bury and move on from secrets that couldn't be shared.

Of course.

Olivia looked at Ellen, who seemed gloomy, her eyes downcast as she thought about the Miss Temple contest.

"I don't know about anything else…"

Olivia tried to show a warm and tender smile as she looked at Ellen.

Thinking about Ellen waiting for someone who wouldn't come, Olivia felt a mix of emotions – sadness, amusement, and pity.

All sorts of complicated emotions welled up inside her.

"You really are a mess."

Of course, ultimately, the dominant thought was that she was a mess.

"Shut up."

"Can I cry? No, wait, didn't you cry? If I were in that situation, I would have been so heartbroken and wronged that I would have sobbed uncontrollably."

"I said shut up."

Ellen glared at Olivia with gritted teeth.

As expected, she really disliked this person.