漫画大王

Chapter 245 [Illustration]

Given that that was the amount intended to entice Olivia, I would probably not receive as much.

Olivia was deeply moved by Shanapell’s decision to support us and expressed her gratitude profusely.

Sabioleen Tana seemed satisfied with Olivia’s reaction. It seemed that Sabioleen Tana believed she had made the right decision in supporting me to gain influence over Olivia.

Support had been secured from two large groups: the Merchants’ Guild and Shanapell.

This alone changed the atmosphere significantly.

“Ahem, ahem. You are Mr. Reinhart, correct?”

“Ah, yes.”

“I’d like to discuss that sponsorship you mentioned earlier in more detail...”

.

.

“Mr. Reinhart, could we have a word?”

.

.

“Sorry, I was too hasty before to listen properly earlier...”

.

.

There was a strange change in the atmosphere, and there was only one reason for this.

The Guildmaster of the Merchants’ Guild, Owen de Getmora, still seated in a corner, was smiling at me.

Everyone thought my plan was absurd, even to those who did not know much about magic.

But results were what mattered. News that both the Merchants’ Guild and Shanapell promised me sponsorships spread throughout the sponsorship hall.

Neither the Merchants’ Guild nor Shanapell would pledge support for something baseless, especially not for magical research that bordered on impossible.

That made people start to believe that there had to be something substantial in what I was planning.

The sponsorship from the Merchants’ Guild was for strengthening ties with the imperial family and Shanapell’s sponsorship was to win over Olivia Lanche. However, these details were not known to the others at this sponsorship gathering.

What mattered was the fact that two groups with little to no relation to magic had promised to support magical research.

As a result, I went from being “the guy who’s talking nonsense” to “the guy who’s up to something big” thanks to the two sponsorships obtained for completely different reasons.

Many who initially ignored me or thought I was spewing nonsense suddenly changed their attitudes and also promised sponsorships.

Sponsorships weren’t considered a form of direct investment. Even if they sponsored me, they would not be able to reap any direct rewards from our research. They were merely putting their faith in the judgment of the Merchants’ Guild and Shanapell, a subsidiary of the imperial family.

If the seemingly impossible things I spoke of did get created in the future, they would have no share in the future earnings, but the mere fact that they sponsored us could provide significant advantages.

Moreover, there was another simple mechanism at play: people tended to flock to whatever attracted a crowd.

Thus, I suddenly received promises of sponsorship from nearly 30% of the attendees at the sponsorship gathering.

All of this was likely orchestrated by Owen de Getmora. He not only initiated the offers of sponsorship with the Merchants’ Guild’s money, but also created an environment where people couldn’t help but be interested in sponsoring me.

“... What’s this all about?” Olivia said.

“I’m a bit puzzled myself,” I replied.

“Good things lead to good outcomes, right?”

“Probably?”

Unfortunately, while the sponsorship list was growing, I doubted I could remember the names of all those who promised to support me.

In the end, both Olivia and I were wrong, and I ended up securing an overwhelming number of sponsors.

It was even more baffling because it stemmed from a misunderstanding, and not my own abilities.

***

As the sponsorship gathering was wrapping up, Sabioleen Tana approached me once again.

This time, it seemed she had personal business with me rather than issues about sponsorship. She took me aside before starting the conversation.

What could this personal matter be about?

“I heard about the Orbis Class incident, Reinhart.”

“Ah, yes...”

I glanced over at Mr. Effenhauser, standing a distance away. It seemed he had told her everything about me.

This sponsorship gathering had originally been organized for both members of the Royal Class and the Orbis Class. However, not a single Orbis Class student could attend this time.

She lowered her voice so only I could hear, speaking in a cautionary tone.

“You need to understand that you have made many enemies.”

“Yes, I’m aware of that.”

The Orbis Class was in turmoil because of the internal issues I’d exposed thanks to my duel with Oscar de Gradias.

The Orbis Class incident was already a historical turning point. Because of this incident, students would be expelled and teachers would be dismissed, making them all my enemies.

Though it might be useless for them to hate me, there would still be many who harbored a desire for revenge against me.

That was what I was referring to when I said I understood, but Sabioleen Tana shook her head.

“Don’t think your only enemies are from the Orbis Class.”

“...”

“How many people here do you think were sponsoring students from the Orbis Class? And how many do you think chose not to attend at all because they heard the Orbis Class students wouldn’t be participating?”

When I heard that, my entire body froze.

“If the students who were receiving sponsorship from the Orbis Class face trials, serve prison sentences, or get expelled, you will incur the wrath of their sponsors as well,” she continued.

Those sponsors who had made promises to these students and were supporting them would see their future investments rendered worthless. While the students’ abilities wouldn’t disappear, the gap between graduates of the Orbis Class and those who were expelled would still be significant.

If they had to serve prison sentences, accepting them would be a risky move.

I had turned not only the Orbis Class but their sponsors into enemies as well. While not all of them would hate me, every sponsor was a significant figure.

Even if just one of them decided to take me down, it would be catastrophic.

Sabioleen Tana was informing me of this before leaving, to make me aware of something I hadn’t considered. That I was in a much more dangerous position than I thought.

I sighed at her cold expression.

“The cost of one fight is too high, it seems,” I said.

“That’s why there’s an old saying: don’t swing your fists recklessly.”

I was a bit dumbfounded, considering I was getting such advice from the world’s strongest person.

“But it’s strange,” Sabioleen Tana said as she looked at me. “Oddly enough, people like you don’t seem to die early.”

With a faint smile, she walked out of the sponsorship hall.

Sabioleen Tana, the strongest person in this world at the time...

For some reason, she left a good impression on me. Perhaps because she was so similar to Ellen.

All in all, I managed to achieve my goal by securing a vast number of sponsors, while also realizing that I was in a situation in which it wouldn’t be surprising if I died at any moment.

***

Late at night, after the sponsorship gathering ended, Olivia and I returned to the dormitory. I didn’t mention anything to Olivia about me having too many enemies and being in a dangerous situation.

Knowing her personality, she’d probably get all scared but insist on guarding me at night, trying to protect my sleeping quarters, which was an even scarier prospect.

“Well, it all worked out somehow, didn’t it?”

“Yes. All thanks to you, senior.”

Olivia was the one who brought up the sponsorship gathering, and it was also thanks to her that the connection with Sabioleen Tana was formed.

So, ultimately, Olivia was entirely responsible for securing the budget for the Magic Research Club.

Olivia smiled brightly at me.

“If you’re grateful, saying thank you isn’t enough, you know.”

‘Oh no, here she goes with her nonsense again. She’s probably going to ask for a kiss or something equally absurd.’

“Do you want me to actually do it?”

“Wh-What?”

“Do you want me to do it or not?”

‘What’s the big deal about a kiss? It’s night, and there’s no one around to see anyway. Should I just go for it?’

Olivia was stammering, her face turning red even in the nighttime.

I clicked my tongue while looking at her.

“Tsk, look at you, all talk and nothing else.”

“Wh-What?! All talk? Did you just call me a coward? I can do it! I can!”

“No, you can’t, you fool!”

‘There may not be people around, but there could be ears listening in from somewhere!’

“Do you know that you’re the only one in the entire Temple, no, in the whole world, who treats me like this, Reinhart?”

That was actually true, when I thought about it.

Everywhere she went, people called her “Saintess” and treated her with the utmost respect. Even at the sponsorship gathering, everyone longed to secure her talents for themselves, but here I was, treating her rather harshly.

Olivia, seemingly quite angry with my attitude, started rambling and shouting.

Smooch!

And then, suddenly, she kissed me on the cheek.

‘Wait. What. Just out of the blue like that?’

She sometimes launched these surprise attacks, but this time, the timing was so unexpected that I was left speechless.

Was being a coward just a fa?ade?

“You don’t worship me, you don’t idolize me, you don’t force me to be anyone, nor do you expect me to be someone I’m not. You treat me as I am,” Olivia said as she looked at my stunned face. “That’s why I like you.”

She smiled at me radiantly.

Olivia, perhaps expecting me to freak out any second, quickly dashed off and disappeared from my sight.

Seeing her run that fast in a dress and heels, I could understand why Sabioleen Tana valued her talent so much—

Slip!

“Ahh!”

Only for her to stumble as one of her heels broke.

“P-Pretend you didn’t see that!”

I could picture the expression on Olivia’s face even without seeing it.

***

Ellen was sitting absentmindedly on a sofa in the dormitory lobby.

Why wasn’t she inside the dorm, and why was she just sitting in the lobby?

It seemed she just couldn’t bear to do anything else.

Ever since she had seen Olivia Lanche in a dress, holding Reinhart’s hand and being dragged off somewhere from the training hall window, she hadn’t been able to focus on her training sword.

She knew there was a sponsorship gathering today, and that was why Olivia was dressed up and wearing makeup. She was aware of that.

But still, she felt uneasy.

Unable to do anything, she sat there, staring blankly.

Reinhart’s senior, the one who was close to him... Dressed in a gown and wearing makeup, she looked incredibly beautiful.

Ellen knew he was attending the meeting for the sake of the Magic Research Club.

She told herself it was nothing personal. It was a formal event, after all. She was aware of that.

Yet Ellen couldn’t shake off her unease and sat in the lobby, not knowing why.

Not knowing why she was sitting there, and not knowing what she was waiting for. She just couldn’t bear to do anything else.

She sat there, staring blankly for hours.

The sun had long set and night had deepened. Few students were coming or going, and she was the only one sitting in the vast lobby.

—Ugh, so embarrassing... Why did it have to break like that...

A voice she wasn’t very familiar with but had heard before came from the entrance of the dormitory.

Olivia trudged in, still an eye-catching beauty in an off-shoulder dress, holding a shoe with a broken heel in one hand.

Reinhart wasn’t with her.

As she entered, Olivia noticed Ellen sitting there on a nearby sofa and their eyes met.

“Oh. Hi there, you’re our Reinhart’s friend.”

“... Hello.”

“What are you doing here at this hour?” Olivia asked as she tilted her head curiously as if she had seen it all now.

Ellen didn’t know why Olivia was coming in holding a shoe with a broken heel. And Reinhart, why hadn’t he come back with her?

She didn’t know.

‘What am I doing here?’ Ellen thought.

She didn’t know that either.

But, she felt somewhat uncomfortable.

“Our Reinhart’s friend”... That phrase felt a bit off to Ellen.

‘It doesn’t sound like she meant “our”, but rather “my”.

‘No, I’m just overthinking it.’

But Olivia looked at Ellen intently and then smiled knowingly.

“... Are you waiting for Reinhart?”

“... Yes.”

Ellen nodded, unable to deny it.

“Why are you waiting?”

“...?”

Why...? Ellen never really thought about why she was waiting. That she was waiting for Reinhart was true. But why she was doing it, she didn’t know.

Olivia quietly looked at Ellen, who couldn’t find an answer.

“Do you know?”

“... What?”

“That you’re kind of annoying?”

“... Sorry?”

Ellen was taken aback by Olivia’s blunt words.

They shared hardly any connection, and only just occasionally ran into each other. Olivia was the person who saved Reinhart and helped him in various ways.

Since Reinhart was precious to Ellen and Olivia was precious to Reinhart, Olivia should have been precious to Ellen too. But for some reason, Ellen couldn’t feel that way about her.

Olivia said that Ellen was annoying and stared at her quietly.

“Don’t you know?” she said.

“I don’t understand what you mean,” Ellen replied, a spike of annoyance showing in her response to Olivia’s thorny remark.

Ellen was surprised at herself for reacting this way. She was always so calm.

“If you don’t know, then just live your life not knowing. Keep acting ambiguously like this. You’re doing me a favor by doing that.”

As Olivia walked past Ellen, she whispered in her ear, “From now on, please take good care of our Reinhart.”

“...”

It wasn’t a misunderstanding. Olivia was deliberately trying to provoke her.

Ellen quietly watched as Olivia walked away barefoot, her figure slowly receding.

‘Indeed... Reinhart’s savior or not, I don’t like her.’

A while later, Reinhart returned.

“Why do you look so upset? Did something happen?”

“... No.”

“Are you mad?”

“No. I’m not mad.”

“Did I... do something wrong?”

“No, you did nothing wrong.”

Reinhart hadn’t done anything wrong.

But, for some reason, Ellen felt an unwelcome sense of disappointment writhing inside her. She disliked that about herself.

Reinhart kept pestering her, asking if she was really okay, why she was upset, and if there was anything he could do for her, sticking close by her side.

And although she didn’t know why, in the end, that made Ellen happy again.