After the club activities were over, I went down to the first floor with Adriana.
"How was it?"
"It was fine. They all seem like good people."
They didn't force their beliefs on me, and I was slightly embarrassed seeing people thinking so hard about how they could help others with their power.
When one was before people that seemed too good, one felt a certain kind of shame for some unknown reason; the club had made me feel like that.
"You don't have to sign up; you can just come over if you ever feel bored. If you have any troubles, you can share them there; they can also help you in deciding what career you want to pursue with your studies and many more things."
In the end, Adriana was more interested in introducing me to some good seniors than in forcing her belief on me. They were people who were willing to help whenever it was needed, even if they didn't share the same faith.
Come to think of it, wasn't that huge?
There were many children of prominent families in the Royal Class and many of them were excellent individuals—especially the older seniors. I had just created a link with them, meaning I could meet them at any time and ask them for help.
Wasn't it weirder not to agree to that?
"Yeah, I'll come hang out sometime."
"You thought well, junior!"
Adriana smiled broadly because she was happy that I decided to visit the club occasionally.
It was nice to suddenly have such a large number of connections, but I also had a question.
"By the way, what did they mean by there being Demon God Cultists in Temple?"
Achievement points were very multifaceted—they were also more valuable than money. Adriana tilted her head at my question.
"Well… I think the student council president and some of the seniors know something about that, but I don't really. It's not something you can just ask… Since they said it's not a big deal, it probably isn't. Darissa is probably just someone that worries a lot in general."
Apparently, Adriana didn't know anything. She mentioned a senior called Darissa and the student council president, although the latter said it wasn't that big a deal.
With that, I figured I had to get behind it on my own.
And there was another question.
"By the way, is there a problem with the club president?"
Everyone seemed to know something, but no one was talking about it.
"ah… That."
Adriana was also reluctant to talk about it, scratching her cheek. She told me that we shouldn't talk about it there, and she took me out of the dorm. It was midnight, so we tried to walk quietly and sat down next to each other on a bench with the light of a street lamp quietly illuminating us.
"Do you know who the club president is?"
"No, I have no clue."
"Ah, you're really not interested in the seniors, are you, junior?"
They were the president of the club with the highest member count in the Royal Class.
"She's famous. It's Olivia Lanze."
Olivia Lanze. I didn't know that name. It seemed like she was someone existing in the margins of the story as well.
"The president is pretty famous, but there's someone even more famous than her."
"And who would that be?"
"Yes. It's Riverrier Lanze. Haven't you heard of him?"
"Yeah… I don't know him."
I hadn't heard of that guy either.
"He's the commander of the Knights Templar."
Ah.
I had completely forgotten about him.
He was that guy.
I felt terribly ashamed that I completely forgot about a character I wrote myself—and someone with a lot of power at that.
"Then… Who's the president?"
"Well, she's the commander's daughter."
Olivia Lanze. A fifth year.
She was the daughter of the Knights Templar commander.
The Knights Templar was a group consisting of paladins and priests of any of the Five Churches. After the end of the Demon World War, it should have naturally been dissolved, but it would remain as it was.
In other words, it was a group that moved according to the Five Popes' will, but in the end, the Commander of the Knights Templar had a lot of power as well. Religion is a concept independent of the state, so even the Emperor had to step back when faced with the influence and actual power of the Knights Templar commander.
Olivia Lanze, daughter of Riverrier Lanze, the Commander of the Knights Templar.
She even had the nickname 'Saint of the Eredian District'. Not only was she incredibly passionate about volunteer work, but she also seemed to have incredible skills.
"To tell the truth… My dream was to be someone like her."
She was such a perfect person in almost every way that she was Adriana's role model.
"She said that she wanted to join the Knights Templar after she graduated."
It seemed that she immediately wanted to join the Knights Templar instead of continuing her studies. She was such a kind person that people called her model student and saint—that was the kind of impression she left on others.
"But, for some reason, she hasn't come to any of the meetings lately… I heard that she doesn't attend any of Temple's classes anymore as well."
Adriana seemed worried about her.
The student who had only been leading an upright life up until then suddenly became truant. The girl who was so devoted to volunteer work suddenly didn't come to her club meetings or classes.
"I don't really know what is going on with her because she's a senior. I guess the teachers are also having a hard time."
If someone who was undisciplined from the start did such things, they would be expelled or disciplined, but instead it was a case that involved the student among students. Therefore, it seemed like the teachers were trying to lead her to the right path again. She was even graduating soon. If she wasn't careful, she wouldn't fit into her uniform anymore.
A truant student.
"Things have just felt a little off recently. I'm frustrated because I don't know what's going on. I'm really worried."
It seemed pretty hard on Adriana, seeing her role model and mental support gradually falling apart.
"Couldn't you just go and ask her what's going on?"
"Huh… Pardon?"
"Although she doesn't go to class, she's still in Temple, right?"
"Ah. Yes. Yes, but… She's such a lofty senior and…"
Really, that girl.
Well.
She wasn't wrong. She was only a second year in high school, after all. It might be a bit difficult for her to tell a senior that had been around much longer that she was worried about her recent behavior.
"You're frustrated, aren't you? So are you just going to wait until your stomach explodes or something? If you're curious, go ask."
"I mean…"
Adriana fell silent for a moment, but then she nodded firmly, seeming as if she had made up her mind.
The next day, morning.
Adriana, who came down for her morning training, looked worse than she had the previous day.
"Did you go visit her yesterday?"
"Huh? Ah… Yes. Yes…"
Looking at her expression, it seemed like she didn't get a very positive answer. Or did she get told that it was none of her business? Normally, she would just tell me right away, but instead, Adriana led me to a bench and sat down next to me.
"Reinhardt, good work today!"
"Uhm, thanks."
Ludwig and the others who were there for their morning training greeted me as they rushed past me. Scarlett and Charlotte were also exercising every morning. Ellen was already too far away.
Adriana looked very pensive.
"What's going on?"
Adriana looked like she had experienced something unbelievable.
"The president…. wants to quit."
"…She wants to quit? The club?"
Of course, she would feel somewhat betrayed, but was that really something over which one had to make such an expression for?
"No, not the club…"
There was the reason why Adriana was so shocked.
"She wants to quit Temple…"
With her graduation just around the corner, Olivia Ranche wanted to quit Temple.
"Not only that… She also said that she abandoned all her faith."
From what I heard, this story wasn't all that simple.
The seniors didn't say anything, but they probably all knew. I guessed that they didn't tell their juniors because they feared it would cause confusion.
"What happened?"
"I don't know… She didn't tell me."
I didn't exactly know what they talked about, but she probably just told her that she would quit everything without getting into her reasons as to why she would do that.
She didn't only deviate a little; she was about to turn her whole life upside down—abandoning both her faith and Temple. She was even called Saint of the Eredian district, the area where Temple was located. Just what the hell happened to her?
Did she join the Church of the Demon God? Was there a possibility that it had something to do with my quest? However, I wasn't sure if she would be able to completely abandon her religious life and make a total U-turn in the opposite direction.
Adriana seemed absolutely devastated. That was understandable because she had suddenly found out that her idol decided to give up on her faith and Temple, after all.
"I'm sure there's something going on..."
It was clear that something tremendous had happened to Olivia Lanze. However, she was a far-off senior, so we wouldn't be able to find out anything more.
"Well… Even if we knew what happened, I doubt we could do much about it. She said she wants to quit, so we couldn't just tell her to come back to her senses, right?"
"...That's true."
Adriana looked towards the ground, disappointed.
Seeing Adriana, who had always been calm and collected, looking down like that…
What the hell.
Wasn't that strangely cute?
I had similar thoughts when I was with Harriet.
Was I a sadist?
No, I mean, if I compiled all the things I did up until then, wasn't there a 100% chance that I was a sadist?
Or was I simply weird?
"Junior, would it be rude if I tried finding out what happened to the president?" Adriana mumbled in a sullen voice.
She knew she couldn't change that person's decision, but she still wanted to know why someone with such strong convictions and beliefs suddenly decided to give up on everything.
Why would she be scared? However, Adriana seemed to think that it was rather rude for her to try and find out the reason.
"That would be rude."
"I guessed as much…"
Adriana let out a sigh of relief. As expected, she wanted to stop thinking about it, but she couldn't.
It was rude to dig up things on a senior behind her back. Something like that didn't suit Adriana at all.
"I'm an expert in being rude."
"...Huh?"
"I'll be rude in your stead."
When I told her that I'd find out these things for her, she seemed greatly perplexed.
Being rude was my specialty.
"Ju-junior…?"
The flustered Adrianna was cute as well, but I liked her usual self a lot more.
I would get achievement points for finding out the truth behind the rumors about the Demon God Church, I wouldn't get any for the thing with Olivia Lanze. I figured that the connection between those two things was either not there or very vague.
Still, despite my rude behavior and mischievous acts, Adriana had taken care of me up until then. Even though she must have seen me as a very bad person, she was still kind to me and helped me out.
Adriana was like Temple's version of Eleris to me.
In the end, it was only advantageous for me to have made a connection with that club. Although she would have been happy if I found a belief, she just took me there so that I could get to know various people.
As I kept on receiving help from her, I wanted to give her something back.
Adriana was grateful, but she asked me to not pick a fight with the seniors or cause any trouble. She was grateful for my intentions but still worried that I might punch someone again like usual.
Of course, it was highly unlikely that I would end up hitting someone.
I mean, they were in their fifth year. Someone who reached the fifth grade in Royal Class and had a combat talent should be pretty confident in winning a fight if they weren't completely stupid. There should be some monsters among them that already reached a superhuman level, and wasn't Olivia Lanze the same?
The fifth-year, Olivia Lanze.
Why did that girl want to quit Tempel and abandon her faith? I had shouted out quite confidently that I would be rude in Adriana's stead, but I couldn't really think of any reason.
If it was for a personal reason, wasn't it pretty much impossible to find out?
If I didn't move, I would never find out a single thing. I started my investigation by going to see Bertus after class.
"Ah, Reinhardt. What's the matter?"
After the group mission on the uninhabited island, I felt like Bertus was pretty kind to me. While he was busy contemplating whether he should give up or not, I was able to make him move to action.
He might think, deep down, that they might have lost the group mission if not for me.
Urgh.
It was definitely a good thing to build a good relationship with the guy. How should I say it? It felt a bit scary and a bit uncomfortable.
I had rather complicated feelings about it.
Still, it wasn't something I had to keep a secret. I didn't have to be wary of Bertus and Charlotte.
"I just want to ask you something."
"What might that be?"
We were at the tea terrace adjacent to the dormitory, the sun was still up, so it wasn't quite evening yet.
"Do you know Olivia Lanze?"
"Aah, are you talking about the daughter of the Knights Templar Commander?"
Bertus nodded, saying he knew her as she was quite the celebrity. Since she was the daughter of the Knights Templar leader, one couldn't help but know about her.
"Do you know her personally?"
If she was acquainted with Bertus, he might be able to find out those things a lot easier than me.
"Hmm, I've seen the Knights Templar Commander in official settings a few times, but I have never seen her before. Although she is quite famous, she doesn't have any actual title or position. I've heard quite a few rumors, though. What did they call her? Saint of the Eredian district? Pfft… Hm, yeah, that's what they call her."
Bertus burst into laughter, sounding as if he got tickled by the remaining sunlight when he brought up the word saint. He saw the Knights Templar Commander a few times but didn't know his daughter.
That was right. The Commander was an important person, but that title wasn't hereditary, so therefore she wasn't all that important. It couldn't be helped that she wasn't acquainted with Bertus.
"Why do you ask?"
Bertus seemed curious as to why I asked him about one of our seniors so openly.
"No, it's just that she seemed to have said that she would quit Temple and abandon her faith… I was wondering why she would do that. It's not anything big."
"...She's quitting?"
"Yeah, that's what I heard."
Bertus seemed surprised as if it was the first time he heard of that.
"Hmm… I thought I wouldn't have to worry about the senior years, and yet this happened."
It seemed like Bertus didn't intend on gathering information that didn't concern him. He began to ponder over the strange piece of news reaching him out of nowhere.
"That's certainly strange; even though I don't know her that well, she wasn't only famous inside of Temple but outside of it as well."
"Just how famous is she?"
Although Bertus didn't know much about the fifth-years, he knew more than I did because he was in a position where a lot of information converged.
"She was a Temple student—so she couldn't participate in the Demon World War—but I heard that her abilities were already at a level where they could be used in actual combat. She knew that she wouldn't be able to participate in the war, but she took a special leave of absence for a year to give out free medical support. I know that she has returned now that the Demon World War is over. She was already thought to possess divine powers similar to a High Priest. There were a lot of people saved by her, so she became famous as the rumors far and wide. That's how the nickname "Saint of the Eredian district" was born."
Her divine powers weren't merely on the same level as a regular priest, but a high priest. She was still a student, so she couldn't participate in the war, but she ended up saving a tremendous amount of people during the Demon World War.
"She's an amazing person."
"She sure is. If she were to join the Knights Templar, she would be their next Commander. If she were to join the Church of Towan, she would be its next pope."
She had excellent abilities and strived to use them for the people. With the reputation gained from her actions, there would be no one against her becoming the next Commander of the Knights Templar.
"But she suddenly decided to abandon everything… Hmm. This is troubling."
Bertus frowned for some reason. Why was he so troubled?
"Troubling?"
At my question, Bertus took a sip of black tea and crossed his arms.
"No, I just wanted her to be the next commander of the Knights Templar."
"Why?"
"Wouldn't it be nice for someone like her to sit in such a position?"
That was what he said, but I was able to read the intention behind Bertus's words.
The Knights Templar was a huge and powerful organization, difficult to deal with for the Empire. He thought there should be some nice, virtuous person at their head so that they wouldn't get any dangerous ideas.
In other words, judging by those words and his tone of voice, it seemed like the current Commander wasn't someone that suited Bertus's taste.
Obviously, the Knights Templar had demon slaves, and during the incident last time, they actually tried to take those succubi for themselves. Since Bertus knew what was going on inside of their organization, it was clear that he didn't like them all that much.
Hmm? Come to think of it.
No way…
"Perhaps the reason for her decision is one of two things," Bertus said while looking at the scenery unfolding outside of the dormitory, where there was still some gentle sunlight kissing the ground.
"One would be that she became disillusioned when she learned that the Knights Templar were a very different group than she first thought…"
Bertus looked at me and smiled. He looked like he was about to tell a pretty nasty joke.
"The second would be that she found herself a man."
At that moment, I remembered something I had forgotten.
Priests of Saint Towan couldn't marry.