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Chapter 117

Olivia, who feared her adopted father, could not do anything herself.

In the end, the Temple decided to step in to resolve all the issues, including the matter of custody.

Olivia had her fair share of personal issues, and had made hardened enemies within both the Order of the Holy Knights and the Cult of the Almighty. Of course, as long as she was a student of the Temple, they couldn’t lay their hands on her that easily.

Anyway...

After classes ended on Tuesday, Adriana and I headed to Main Street. It seemed that Olivia was now back to attending her classes regularly, and since she knew that remaining in the Temple and laying low was her way to survival, she wasn’t about to cause any trouble.

“We might have to wait a bit. The senior probably has more classes than us.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

It appeared that members of the Grace Club, including Adriana, did not consider Olivia a traitor for abandoning her faith. Rather, knowing what she had gone through, it seemed they had begun to question their own beliefs as well.

I wondered if this incident could lead to everyone in the Royal Class abandoning their respective faiths.

“By the way, what’s that senior going to do with the club?”

“Well, she might not participate in prayers, but she will still show up.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Since forcing faith on members was not the club’s policy, Olivia seemed willing to rejoin. However, having someone who had renounced their faith as the president of a religious club was indeed troubling.

We whiled away our time near the Main Street tram stop, and soon saw Olivia getting off the tram.

“Ah, Adriana, Reinhart. Have you been waiting long?”

“No, we just arrived too, senior.”

Olivia wore the Royal Class uniform as if it had been made just for her, naturally drawing the gazes of the passersby.

Unbeknown to me, she was quite the celebrity, and it was clear that everyone recognized who Olivia was.

“Let’s go.”

Olivia took my hand and Adriana’s, one in each of her own.

“W-Why do we need to hold hands...?”

“Why? Do you dislike it?”

It was not like we necessarily had to hold hands. More than anything, it felt somewhat awkward holding hands with her, as if I were a child being led around.

Moreover, the stares from the other students, seemingly questioning why on earth I was holding Olivia’s hand, were rather sharp.

“Oh, no... It’s not that I don’t like it...”

“Well then, let’s go, shall we?”

Olivia even winked at me while saying that.

‘She’s doing this on purpose! She’s definitely doing this on purpose!’

The glares from the people around us grew even sharper.

***

The three of us went to a restaurant that Adriana liked and had pasta. It was quite a nice place indeed.

“I... I’ve also decided not to join the Order of the Holy Knights.”

“Hm... It must be quite confusing for you because of my situation, Adriana. I’m sorry.”

“No, no... Senior, you’ve been through much more.”

So, Adriana had also given up on joining the Order of the Holy Knights. The change in leadership of the Order was already a foregone conclusion, but it didn’t seem like she was expecting anything substantial to change because of it.

The two of them shared various stories, and occasionally, Olivia also spoke to me.

“By the way, Reinhart, they say you have supernatural powers?”

“Huh? Oh, well... yes.”

Olivia seemed intrigued by the fact that I was a supernatural being, and asked me various questions about it.“What kind of powers do you have?”

“Well, it’s a power called Self-Deception...”

“Self-Deception? Is it similar to self-hypnosis?”

“Yes, something like that.”

“What exactly can you do with it?”

“Well, it’s... a bit... ambiguous. If I instill a certain belief or suggestion within myself, my body becomes stronger or accordingly, and such...”

“Hm...?”

“It’s hard to explain, but if I make myself believe that I can run faster, then I actually become a bit faster... That’s basically all it is.”

This was the greatest flaw with my power: it caused me extreme embarrassment when explaining it.

It was incredibly embarrassing to explain that it was a power that made me win if I just believed that I would win.

“Actually, Reinhart’s ability was really helpful in the recent event, senior.”

“Oh? Really?”

Olivia steered the conversation on, and Adriana detailed how I had enhanced my hearing to eavesdrop on her conversations, which led us to decide that intervention was necessary.

‘Right. My supernatural power did indeed play a crucial role.’

“I see. Thanks once again, Reinhart.”

“Yeah, no worries...”

Olivia’s expression darkened slightly as she remembered that incident, but she still thanked me.

“Hm. I guess it can’t be helped then, Reinhart.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Olivia looked at me with a grin.

“Once we graduate from the Temple, you’re going to marry me, okay?”

“What?!”

Cough, cough!

I let out a yell at the totally unexpected statement, and Adriana choked on her food, tearing up and coughing for a while.

“What are you saying?”

“Since I’ve received such a favor, it’s only proper to repay that debt, beyond the doctrines of faith and morality.”

Olivia was smiling mischievously.

‘Oh please, stop it!’

It was impossible to handle it when someone with a face that pretty said something like that to you.

Return the favor how, exactly?

“Reinhart, you saved my life. So, I’ll give you something similar in return—my life. How about that? Isn’t it fair?”

‘Oh, please... If she keeps saying things like this, I actually might start to give in, and that’s troubling!’

“Once you graduate from the Temple, you’re probably just going to forget someone like me, so why even say such a thing?” I asked.

When I expressed my disbelief and asked her not to spout nonsense, Olivia shook her head.

“I’m planning to attend the Temple’s graduate school, so I’ll still be here at the Temple by the time you graduate. I’ll come and visit often.”

‘Damn it.’

Originally, she had planned to join the Order of the Holy Knights after finishing her high school education, but now, she had decided to stay at the Temple longer, which meant that she would still be around when I finished my high school studies.

Adriana looked stunned as she watched the senior she admired apparently making advances towards a boy in his first year.

Her expression suggested that she very much wanted to deny the reality before her.

“What? Is there someone else you like? Maybe someone like... Adriana?”

“Senior!” Adriana exclaimed.

Adriana, sweating profusely, protested against such an absurd idea. Although she had decided against joining the Order of the Holy Knights, Adriana was still devoted to the god of purity, Ouen.

“Why don’t you just give it up, Adriana? Give it up and become carefree, like me.”

“No, I-I cannot!”

Olivia was even trying to tempt Adriana into her own downfall.

This lady was abandoning everything, and was essentially becoming heresy incarnate. It was so bad that if she were caught red-handed, she could be dragged to a religious tribunal without any way to defend her.

Adriana and I had turned into Olivia’s cherished dolls.

She had already been friends with Adriana to begin with, and it seemed she felt closer now because of this incident. In my case, it might have been due to the incident as well, but it seemed more that she found my reactions amusing and kept wanting to tease me than anything.

Given how freely she was making dirty jokes, it was a marvel how she had held back until now.

Moreover, while Adriana might have been clueless, the fact that I was actually a grown man, and that Olivia had so casually hugged me and held my hand, made me want to scream. It seemed like she didn’t see me as a man at all, but just as something to play with.

It reminded me of how I always teased Harriet because I enjoyed her reactions.

‘So this is what being on the receiving end feels like... It’s downright agonizing.’

Not that I strictly hated it, though—it felt more like a tremendous inconvenience rather than pure dislike.

And if I did say something like, “Senior, I have to confess... I actually do love you!”, she was clearly someone who would respond with, “Oh... sorry, I was just joking and didn’t know you took it that seriously. Sorry, perhaps I’ve hurt you deeply...”

I could clearly see where this was going, and I was absolutely not going to fall for it.

“I had a great time today. See you both at the club.”

“Yes, sure...”

“Have a good evening, senior...”

I felt as if my soul had been thoroughly shaken, and Adriana, having witnessed the corrupt behavior of her admired senior all day, had a vacant look on her face, but for a different reason.

“I feel like I’ve become a toy of hers...”

“I wonder how on earth senior Olivia has been holding this back until now.”

Adriana seemed amazed purely by the fact that Olivia had managed to suppress such a personality all this time.

***

Although the friction between the Order of the Holy Knights and the royal family hadn’t been resolved, Olivia was going to be safe.

In the end, I didn’t join the Grace Club, since I had already gained the trust of the members of the club without even officially putting my name down as a member.

I didn’t want to create a fixed place that I had to go to routinely. Of course, whenever I ran into the seniors from the Grace Club, they would greet me, especially Olivia, who found teasing me fun. She would act overly familiar whenever she saw me, which was problematic.

She would suddenly hug me tightly or ruffle my hair before leaving. Even kissing me on the cheek had become a daily occurrence.

I was clearly either a pet or a cherished doll...

And it was more problematic because she did this regardless of whether we were alone or in front of others.

Therefore...

“...”

People who didn’t know me would look at me with a bewildered expression, as though wondering “What’s up with this guy?”. While some wished that they could hold her hand just once, she was clinging to me incessantly.

The guys who knew me, mainly the male students from Class A, started to whisper among themselves.

—Look at that guy. He’s pretending that he isn’t, but isn’t he throwing himself all over every girl?

—Exactly.

—What’s with him? Why is he on good terms with all the girls? Even the seniors, despite his nasty character.

—He treats women nicely, unlike us.

I wanted to retort, but upon closer examination, all of their statements were true, so I had no way to properly refute them.

The only male classmate I could say I was close to was Vertus.

And now, following Ellen, Harriet, Charlotte, and Adriana, I had also become friends with the fifth-year senior, Olivia.

Therefore, I knew better than anyone that I was in no position to argue against such comments.

Connor Lint approached me hesitantly.

“Hey, um, Reinhart.”

“... What is it?”

“What’s your... secret...?”

Rumors had turned into direct requests for me to share my supposed techniques.

***

It was Thursday, which meant it was time for common classes.

During the break after lunch, Connor Lint approached me as I sat idly outside the classroom building that was reserved for common classes. He whispered his question to me as if asking for some earth-shattering secret.

I could see the other guys who had been grumbling behind my back, clearly holding their breath, waiting to hear my response. Even though they probably disliked me, it was ultimately because they envied me. How petty of them.

“What secret are you talking about?”

“You know... you’re only friends with girls.”

The word “only” felt shameful, but I couldn’t deny it.

The secret to becoming friends with girls...

“Honestly, I don’t really know.”

To tell the truth, I genuinely didn’t know. In Harriet’s case, it started with me teasing her, and even now, Harriet often reacted to me with a snort or a scoff.

Ellen and I happened to attend classes together, and to be precise, we had become friends while eating. We were the only ones who regularly picked up food outside the usual meal times.

With Charlotte, it had begun with her blackmailing me. But as things grew complicated, I ended up being a sort of liaison between her and Baalier, and that was how we got close.

Adriana’s first impression of me had been incredibly awful as well. She only offered help to me because I’d been ready to dive head first onto concrete, which was how we became friends. That was purely because Adriana was a kind-hearted person.

Olivia’s situation was slightly special, but in the end, I’d gotten involved because of Adriana, so even there, it hadn’t been intentional.

Strictly speaking, there wasn’t a single person I’d become friends with because I wanted to. So, when asked how one could become friends with female students, I really had nothing to say. I didn’t know it myself.

Connor Lint seemed to think I was holding back rather than being truly clueless.

“Come on, just tell me anything. Please?”

Among the trio of idiots, Erhi and Kaier were the ones with problematic personalities, but Connor Lint’s issue was his lack of skill. He wasn’t a bad guy, he was just overly interested in girls.

The fact that he approached me, Reinhart, about this matter was a pretty remarkable demonstration of his determination.

“Who do you even want to be friends with?”

“H-Huh?”

He seemed taken aback by my rather direct question. Asking him who he wanted to be friends with was akin to asking him who he liked.

“Uh... It’s not like I’m particularly interested in someone... Just, uh, just asking... in general.”

He probably really didn’t have anyone specific in mind. He was just that kind of guy.

I wasn’t some love guru, and the way things turned out for me was purely accidental, to begin with.

In fact, I was actually single before I entered this world!

‘You got the wrong person, kid.’

The only reason I didn’t get nervous around the kids here was because, to me, they were just that—kids.

However, if I were standing in front of an adult woman like Olivia in real life, I’d lose all my composure.

‘In reality, I turn into a complete wimp in front of adult women. It’s only because these were kids that I could interact with them with confide—

Wait, what? Is that it?’

“... Just approach them with confidence, that’s all.”

I had treated them ordinarily, without thinking of them specifically as women... Was that the method?

“With confidence?”

“Yeah, kid. If you approach them with some weird intentions, it’ll show. Just empty your brain and act.”

“Empty my brain?!”

“Like, just say you’re hungry and ask if they want to go eat together.”

That was the case with Ellen.

“If you act crappy, instead of being overly conscious and embarrassed about it, just speak your mind.”

That was the case with Harriet.

“If it seems like they need help, just help them.”

Though the reality of it was a little different, this applied to Charlotte.

“Just wing it. If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out. Acting too nervous or being too obvious will only make you more unapproachable, right?”

I wasn’t sure if this was correct, but that was just what I’d done.

“Oh, ohh... So that’s how it is...”

However, Connor Lint took my words as if they were some divine strategy for love, and pondered over them seriously.

‘... It feels like I might have said something I shouldn’t have.’