漫画大王

Chapter 142

“Thanks as always, Reinhart.”

“It’s nothing. It’s not that hard to do anyway.”

Even though it seemed about time to get used to it, every time Charlotte delightedly received the secretly hand-delivered reply, I couldn’t help but feel a twinge in my heart.

I felt like I’d become a professional con artist, having even created a different style of handwriting for this very endeavor.

“Anyway, about the thing we were supposed to look into last time—let’s start digging into it.”

“Oh... that?”

The Demon God Cult, or the Revolutionary Forces.

Due to one thing and another, we still hadn’t looked into those matters. The rainy season had come, and then there was my kidnapping incident. Apparently, Charlotte had judged that we couldn’t delay any further, since the break was about to start.

“... But what about the final exams?”

Charlotte looked a little shocked at the sudden mention of final exams.

“Reinhart... You seem to forget sometimes, but I am the princess.”

It was her way of saying that, from her perspective, those two issues were obviously more important than the final exams.

‘No. Haven’t you been dragging your feet and procrastinating too much for it to be just that?’

“Anyway, things might not be as serious as I think they are. But don’t worry, I’m still preparing adequately for the final exams,” Charlotte said.

Charlotte seemed to believe that she would handle the final exams just fine on her own.

“Ah, now that I think about it, Reinhart, you actually might be stressed about this exam... Hmm, should I look into it by myself, then?”

It was only then that Charlotte seemed to remember my midterm ranking, and realized that I might be concerned over the final exams as well.

Despite coming in first in the class rankings, the fact that I didn’t fit the image of a studious person meant I would forever have to give up on the idea that I could cultivate a nerdy image.

“No, it’s fine. I’ve decided not to worry about the finals.”

Of course, I had no intentions of fretting over my studies any longer.

Charlotte’s eyes widened at the unexpected declaration that the one who topped the midterms intended to ignore the final exams.

***

There were rumors within the Temple that both the Demon God Cult and Revolutionary Forces were operating in secret.

While the existence of the Demon God Cult was uncertain, Charlotte believed, based on her own conjecture, that the Revolutionary Forces definitely existed.

Spending a long time in the unique environment of the Temple inevitably caused dissatisfaction with the hierarchical system of society and its futility to accumulate. The Temple was a place where commoners routinely observed others much dumber and inferior to themselves strut around, claiming superiority just because they were nobility.

“How can a worthless piece of trash like that be considered superior simply because of the family they were born into, especially when compared to someone like me, who is clearly more competent?”

The Temple would inevitably become a place where those who could not accept such disparities banded together.

However, in the original story, there was never an episode where either the Demon God Cult or the Revolutionary Forces within the Temple stirred up any trouble.

In the end, they never ended up in particularly important positions until the conclusion of the story. Or, perhaps, their activities were entangled in events that unfolded outside of the main storyline.

In any case, I believed that they would ultimately just remain small fry, regardless of who they were, since a much larger incident later on would swallow up all these minor players.

On Thursday after the common classes, Charlotte and I met at a cafe near the classroom building.

“Swimming... I hate it,” Charlotte said.

“Should we take a break today, then?”

At my words, Charlotte shook her head.

Her golden hair, sprawled across the table like the tentacles of a jellyfish, wriggled about with the movements of her head.

“It’s always like this... If we take a break today, that’ll be the end of it.”

The last class of the common class block was always physical education.

Charlotte, having just finished the day’s swimming class, was listlessly draped over the table, whining.

There was the kidnapping incident on top of various other things, but ultimately, the reason we could not proceed with our investigation was due to the physical education classes, swimming in particular, which were even more demanding than usual.

Monday’s common class (swimming) → Charlotte’s stamina worsens, resulting in her being under the weather for two days → By the time she starts to recover, it’s Thursday’s common class (swimming) again → Charlotte’s stamina worsens, so she spends the weekend under the weather → Monday’s common class (swimming) → Under the weather again.

This endless cycle was the reason why Charlotte’s stamina wasn’t recovering.

Of course, in addition to swimming, the early morning training she took part in every day with Scarlett was another major reason she couldn’t return to her optimal condition.

Still, she really was hopeless when it came to physical activities. Of course, it was impossible for her fitness to improve by leaps and bounds in just a few months, but even my own stamina had shown some clear improvement over the same period.

The aftereffects of her kidnapping and imprisonment within the Demon King’s castle definitely played a large role in this prolonged recovery.

Charlotte slowly lifted her head and slurped her lemonade, then let out a long sigh.

‘Sometimes, she really does seem like an actual doll.’

At some point, I found myself meeting Charlotte without worrying about what Vertus might think. I wasn’t sure what he was planning, but he didn’t seem to have any immediate intention of interfering.

Honestly, if I worried about Vertus’s reactions to everything while trying to live my life at the Temple, I wouldn’t be able to do anything. So, I was just going along with things as they happened.

Anyway, I was in Class A, and I was talented, so Vertus would ultimately still need me. I was just doing what I wanted while balancing on a tightrope.

There were other seniors in the spacious cafe besides the two of us.

“How are we supposed to find out who follows the Demon God Cult in this vast Temple...?”

Charlotte seemed overwhelmed at the prospect of starting the investigation. She seemed more interested in finding the Demon God Cult than the Revolutionary Forces.

“Did you find anything out on your own?”

“Hmm... If there were any noticeable signs, it would have reached my ears, but there hasn’t been anything like that. If they do exist, they’re definitely operating on a small scale.”

Essentially, it was like looking for a Mr. Kim[1]in all of Seoul, with the added complication that Mr. Kim was trying to hide the fact that he was Mr. Kim.

Charlotte and I were sitting near the window, which allowed us to see the people passing by outside through the large glass window.

I naturally locked eyes with someone walking by.

—Oh?

—Reinhart!

“Ugh, damn it.”

“... What’s wrong?”

Charlotte tilted her head, wondering why I suddenly seemed flustered.

‘Ah...’

I had made eye contact with someone I didn’t want to. The person who made eye contact with me didn’t just walk away; they actually entered the cafe.

“Reinhart! It’s been so long, hasn’t it?”

It was Olivia Lanche, a fifth-year student who had been going around telling everyone not to mess with me because I was going to marry her once I graduated.

***

Olivia Lanche wasn’t alone.

Ceres Van Owenne, the student council president and also a fifth-year student, was there too.

“... Is there something you want from me?”

“Oh, no, not really! It’s just... how could I ignore my favorite first-year student when I see him?”

Squish, squish.

Olivia squeezed in next to me, hugged me, and aggressively rubbed her cheek against mine.

“P-Please... stop.”

“Why? Don’t I smell nice?”

“Ugh, just... go away, please.”

“Hehe, you say that but you can’t push me away. So you are a man after all!”

“Please...”

‘Ah, this ajumma... just stop it!’

Both Charlotte and the student council president who had come in with Olivia seemed slightly shocked by her ridiculous behavior.

‘What is this brat doing?’ Charlotte’s expression seemed to say.

The student council president’s expression was easy to read as well. ‘Why has she suddenly gone all clingy?’

That was the vibe.

“Oh, the princess is here too. Hello, I’m Olivia Lanche, a fifth-grader.”

“... Ah, yes. Please, just call me Charlotte... I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Charlotte’s face was pale, thanks to the sudden appearance of this strange character and her unexpected behavior.

“About me? What did you hear about me? Did Reinhart talk about me?”

Olivia’s face lit up with excitement, immediately intrigued to know what I might have said about her.

‘Why does she keep spouting nonsense?!’

“... No. Not Reinhart, I heard it from somewhere else.”

“Oh, I see,” replied Olivia, seeming uninterested about talk from other sources.

Olivia stared at me pointedly.

“Reinhart, don’t you talk about me elsewhere?”

“Why would I talk about you anywhere?!”

“Why not? You should go around saying that I’m your future bride. Isn’t that something to be proud of?”

“Why would I ever say that?!”

Really, she was so difficult to deal with.

I felt like I was losing my mind.

At my exasperated response, Olivia glanced over at Charlotte, sitting across from her, and flashed a sinister smile.

‘What’s with this person? I never knew she could make such an expression!’

“Well, I’ve heard a rumor going around the Temple that you’re quite popular with the ladies.”

“And whose fault is that?!”

‘It’s because of you meddling and making a fuss that the newspaper club went wild with the story!’

“It looks like the competition isn’t as easy as I thought. Maybe I took it too lightly.”

Even if she was a senior, Olivia started to give the imperial princess a slightly dismissive look, as if taking her lightly was somewhat playful.

‘You? You’re my competitor?’ she seemed to be thinking.

‘Why would you even bring up the suggestion that there would be anything going on between a street beggar and a princess?! Isn’t that almost blasphemous toward the royal family?’

Even considering that she’d stripped away her “Saintess” title, this was too much.

Charlotte was utterly flabbergasted by the nonsensical stare that Olivia was giving her.

It seemed Charlotte was at a loss for words.

‘What kind of reaction am I supposed to have after being treated this way?’

***

Charlotte finally regained her composure.

“Reinhart is my friend,” she stated calmly.

“Oh, is that so? That’s a relief then.”

Olivia, as if satisfied with that reply, clung even closer to me. Charlotte saw this and smiled enigmatically.

“Not just a friend, but a precious friend.”

“... Hm?”

“So, please don’t trouble my friend any further.”

Faced with Charlotte’s polite request, Olivia seemed to ponder for a moment, but quickly pouted her lips and put a bit of distance between herself and me.

I felt like I was going to lose my mind.

Above all, I despised myself for not entirely hating Olivia’s foolish antics.

“Reinhart, you really are popular, huh?” Charlotte said.

Charlotte looked at me with a teasing smile, and I couldn’t help but feel a chill run down my spine.

‘Wait, what’s going on...? What’s happening here?’

It seemed like some subtle tension was brewing between Olivia and Charlotte... Or was that just my imagination? Maybe I was overthinking it?

‘Charlotte is only interested in Baalier, right? Although Baalier is technically me as well. Huh.’

“I’m sorry, Charlotte, the president usually isn’t like this. She just particularly enjoys tormenting Reinhart. It’s odd to say that this is an apology, but here, have this.”

“Thank you.”

The student council president had, at some point, ordered drinks and desserts, and she set them down on the table.

‘Um, when did we agree on them joining us?’

“It’s not tormenting. It’s how I show affection, right Ceres?”

“That is tormenting.”

Charlotte tilted her head at the mention of “president”.

“But aren’t you the president, senior?”

At Charlotte’s confusion over who exactly Ceres was calling the president, Ceres shrugged.

“Oh, she’s the president of the club that I’m a part of.”

The president of the president...

Olivia puffed up her chest as if filled with pride.

“Yep! And so, I’m also Reinhart’s president!”

“... But I never joined the club.”

“You’re an associate member!”

‘Who decided that for me?!’

“Reinhart, are you part of a club too?”

“No, I’m not... I just stopped by once.”

As if hearing this for the first time, Charlotte looked over at Olivia.

“What club is it?” she asked.

“It’s a religious club. It’s called Grace. Of course, I’ve left the faith now, though!”

She was essentially a non-believer, but also the president of a religious club.

“Ah... So that’s it.”

Charlotte seemed to know about the religious club, but finding out that Olivia was related to it seemed to be a bit unbelievable for her. The affairs that involved Olivia Lanche were quite renowned around the Temple, so it was impossible for Charlotte not to know.

I wondered if Charlotte knew why Olivia was behaving this way around me. Vertus knew, but I wasn’t sure about Charlotte.

“Anyway, what were you two talking about? Was it about someone Reinhart likes? If it was, then it has to be about me, right?”

“We were talking about the Demon God Cult,” Charlotte blurted it out abruptly, cutting through Olivia’s rambling.

Instantly, both Olivia’s and Ceres’s expressions hardened.

1. Kim is the most common last name in South Korea. ☜