Bertus didn't mention the type of people the Knights Templar actually were. If he wanted to do that, he would have had to tell me first that the country divided the demonic prisoners among themselves to sate their lustful desires.
Of course, even if Bertus didn't explicitly tell me, I knew about it.
I had no idea what became of Olivia Lanze in the original novel.
Her desire to quit Temple and abandon her faith might or might not be a result of this terrorist incident. However, since it was an event that had a significant impact on the Knights Templar, Olivia Lanze, the daughter of the Knights Templar Commander, might have been affected as well.
Of course, her leaving might have happened no matter what.
If she had found out that the Knights Templar were keeping the demon prisoners as slaves, she would have felt an incredible sense of betrayal.
After graduating, she had planned on joining them; if she found out that such ugly desires actually corrupted the Knights Templar, it was more than understandable that she would want to quit Temple and give up on her faith from the sense of betrayal.
She devoted her whole life to that group, but because she found out that it was all rotten inside, she couldn't keep going as if nothing had happened anymore.
She could have found out that both the Knights Templar as well as the Church of Towan were completely corrupted. Just listening to the stories told about her, one could get a sense that she was someone with a strong sense of justice, with a deep faith and kindness in her heart.
That was the first possibility.
As for the second possibility Bertus had mentioned as a joke…
Priests of Towan couldn't get married, so she might have wanted to let go of her faith because she actually had a lover.
It wasn't entirely impossible, but if that were the truth, that would be kind of shocking. Just what kind of fiery love was that?
Bertus remained silent for a while after stating those two speculations.
"Hmm… I think this might be a serious problem, Reinhardt."
"Is it that serious?"
"Don't you think she's going to get into some serious trouble?"
Bertus even looked slightly nervous; it was really unlike him. What did he mean by trouble? It was already pretty troubling that someone like her had decided to throw away her faith and quit school voluntarily, but she was going to get into even bigger trouble?
"What do you mean?"
"I can't tell you much in detail, but if she were trying to abandon her faith and quit Temple because she found out about the corruption in the Knights Templar… Wouldn't she try to reveal it out of guilt?"
"Ah…"
I would think so.
"The ones causing the most trouble aren't slick guys like you but honest bastards like Olivia Lanze."
Bertus simply described the Saint of the Eredian district Olivia Lanze as an honest bastard.
No, but why was he saying that all of a sudden?
She had discovered the corruption of the church—corruption so great that she was compelled to give up on her faith. However, her disposition was honest and good. She would try to reveal that the organization she believed in was internally corrupt—even if it was her father who stood right in the center of such corruption.
The image of the Knights Templar and the whole religious group would be severely damaged. Of course, something like that didn't happen in the original novel. I wasn't even aware at that moment that the Knights Templar was like that. I mean, that wasn't even the main focus of their description.
I wrote that they were just a group called the Knights Templar and that they mainly consisted of paladins and priests and that they also fought when the gates opened; that was all the description they got.
In other words, one could conclude that the incident was caused by the butterfly effect as a reaction to my terrorist incident. Another possible outcome was that Olivia Lanze wouldn't even be able to make her move.
At that point, we couldn't know how the events would unfold. However, Bertus was aware of that fact.
"Hmm… If I can, I'd like to just wait and watch it crumble…"
Bertus didn't like the Knights Templar anyway. Even if one wasn't an insider, it would be a huge deal if the reputable saint suddenly went public and revealed things like that.
However, if that were to happen, the truth about the demon prisoners getting divided among the participating countries would also be revealed. The general public had no clue about the true story behind the terrorist incident at all.
It would be a lethal blow not only to the Knights Templar but to all the nations that participated in the Demon World War.
"I want to go meet her."
Bertus was the Imperial Prince.
No matter how young he was, she wouldn't be able to turn down Bertus' request for a meeting.
Bertus stood up, saying that he would talk to her. The nature of their talk wasn't something that could be shared with me, so he didn't bring me with him.
"Uhmm…"
How come things felt like they were getting blown more and more out of proportion?
Did I stir up a hornet's nest just then?
Bertus returned around evening. After dinner, he called me back to the tea terrace.
"What do you think?"
"…How should I say it? She herself felt like a good person, but I felt strangely uncomfortable around her. There's nothing wrong with her though… Hmm… It was the first time I felt that way."
Ah.
Interesting.
It seemed like he felt what I felt when I went to that religious club before, that strange uncomfortable feeling when faced with someone simply too good and nice.
As expected, I had that strange feeling because my nature was closer to Bertus's, huh? He sighed and sipped on his tea.
"Of course, it was as bad as I expected. I can't even communicate with that idiot."
Being good was nice and all, but Bertus seemed to have seen her as an idiot he couldn't communicate with. I didn't know what they talked about, but he had probably tried and failed to negotiate with her.
However, one had to admire Bertus' toughness, being able to call someone with a grandiose nickname like 'Saint of the Eredian District' just an idiot.
"To answer your questions. You just need to know this…"
Bertus was actually giving me an answer to my original question.
"She discovered a problem within the Knights Templar; that is why she wants to give up on everything. And also…"
Bertus wore a strange smile and tilted his head.
"This isn't just a matter of her wanting to quit Temple and abandon her faith. If she keeps being like that, she won't have a simple death."
Looking at Bertus talking about someone's death with a smile reminded me again what type of person he originally was supposed to be.
"You can't be thinking…"
Of killing Olivia Lanze, are you? I couldn't even finish posing that question. Olivia Lanze was an influential person who could cause a lot of trouble if left alone. This also involved the image of the Empire, after all.
If so, Bertus might try to get rid of her before she could cause any damage.
"No way, I won't do something like that."
As if he knew what I was thinking, Bertus expressed his displeasure.
"Aren't we in Temple?"
Bertus added that to make me understand. I nodded.
Yeah, Olivia Lanze blabbing carelessly was a problem. However, it would cause a lot of problems for the Empire if something were to happen to one of Temple's Royal Class students.
Causing a bigger problem just to cover up another one was a tremendous disgrace—that was what Bertus was trying to say.
Hence, Bertus wouldn't do something like that, but—to be honest—I wasn't sure.
"By the way, she doesn't know you, so why did you suddenly become curious about her?"
Bertus seemed more curious as to why I suddenly got interested in an unrelated senior's personal affairs.
"…A senior I know is worried about her."
"Ah, that one?"
Bertus nodded his head, knowing that Adriana and I were pretty close.
"This won't end well for her."
No matter if Bertus would do something or not, his tone of voice betrayed a feeling of certainty that a big incident would happen soon.
The palms of my hands were covered in a cold sweat.
I couldn't give Adriana such information as is.
Honest bastards would cause big problems. Adriana was probably one of those bastards as well. If she found out about it, she would definitely try to do something herself and put herself in danger.
Damn it.
The life of someone I hadn't even met yet was in danger.
Bertus had a conversation with Olivia Lanze, who was obviously going to do something stupid for the prestige of the Empire. However, I realized that they couldn't communicate at all.
Because of me, things might have gotten worse. Although the odds were very slim, Bertus might still take some drastic measures.
I decided to go up to the fifth floor myself. Talking to Adelia would only have only increased the number of troublemakers.
When I reached the Class A year five dormitory lobby, everyone's eyes were focused on me, opened wide. They were probably wondering why someone of the lower years would come there.
"I, erm… I'm looking for a senior named Olivia Lanze."
"Oh… I see. Okay. Wait here a second."
"Okay, thank you."
As if they knew what was going on, the senior I asked just let out a sigh.
Olivia seemed to have played a certain role in the creation of the gloomy atmosphere permeating the Class A year five.
The senior who told me to wait in the lobby for a bit kindly went in person to call her.
The students that were in their fifth year in Temple's high school section were 21 years old. They were already adults. However, because she had shut herself in for a year, she would be 22.
I was told that Olivia Lanze, whom I was about to meet, already possessed immense divine powers to the point where she could use high-ranking divine magic.
I didn't know if she was just as talented combat-wise, but I guessed she was.
After some time, someone that seemed to be her—wearing a Royal Class uniform—walked towards me with that other senior beside her.
She must have fallen into the deep pits of despair, so her expression seemed a little stiff, but she couldn't hide her gentle personality and good nature…
"There have been a lot of people looking for me recently. What's going on?"
I didn't know much about her, but I could tell that she was a stunning beauty.
Just seeing her goddess-like appearance was enough for me to understand why they called her Saint of the Eredian district. Her rich platinum blond—almost white—hair came down to her waist, and her face was adorned with beautiful slanted, green eyes as well as slightly warm, pink lips.
Even just looking at her, I wondered how such a picturesque person could even exist. She was so perfectly beautiful that it almost felt unnatural.
"U-uhm… Well. My name is Reinhardt. A first-year student."
"Ha, aah… So you're Reinhardt. Yes. I see."
She smiled and patted my head a little, perhaps because she heard about me a little from Bertus.
"You seem to worry about me, although I don't know why. Thank you, Reinhardt."
Even though she had only touched me a little, it felt divine. I clearly felt my heart pounding. No. I was in trouble. I didn't go there for that. I couldn't concentrate.
It wasn't like it was love at first sight or anything, but I felt like someone who had just dived into a completely different world. I wondered whether I was even allowed to face her like that.
What was it?
There were a lot of kids, even in my grade, that were able to turn others' eyes, but for some reason, I felt so embarrassed meeting this person's eyes.
I felt like I was faced with the world's most beautiful woman.
"So, what do you want to talk about?"
"Eh, uhm… Could we talk in a more quiet place?"
I couldn't even make proper eye contact with her, but I had no choice but to say it.
My behavior was bound to cause some misunderstandings.
No matter how one looked at it, it was the perfect picture of a first-year kid falling in love at first sight with their fifth-year senior!