The Demon Prince goes to the Academy

tt, who was attacking by burning her life force.

 

Halting the match.

 

Or.

 

Olivia giving up the contest.

 

Those were the only two options.

 

“Lady Turner, stop the match immediately.
I'll take full responsibility.”

 

“Yes, Your Highness.”

 

Charlotte spoke with a serious expression, and the moment Saviolin Turner nodded his head.

 

“I forfeit…”

 

Olivia, with a lost expression, declared her forfeit.

 

——

 

Olivia sat in the waiting room for the competitors, covering her face with both hands, trembling.

 

She had forfeited.

 

'I want to be like my sister when I grow up!'

 

'Heh, your dream is too small? You should aim to be much greater than your sister.'

 

'But my sister is the prettiest, kindest, and most amazing person I know.'

 

'Hey, don't flatter me too much.'

 

She forfeited.

 

'Thank you, Olivia.'

 

'No problem.
It's my duty.'

 

'But now, with the circumstances…
I hope you don't push yourself too hard.'

 

'Madam Principal, I'm still fine.
I think I can earn a lot of prize money at the Temple Festival this time.'

 

'Prize money?'

 

'Yes, the tournament and other competitions…
Um, there's that stuff anyway!'

 

She had forfeited.

 

She had no choice.

 

There is no second-place prize in the Temple Tournament.

 

Most of the audience was bewildered.

 

The highly anticipated final had ended all too anticlimactically.

 

Very few knew the details.
A discussion was needed on whether Lydia Schmitt's actions warranted disqualification.

 

So for now, the tournament had to be concluded, even if it felt lukewarm.

 

Olivia couldn't even bear to watch the award ceremony.

 

It wasn't just about the prize money.

 

It was painful to not win, but more than that, Olivia felt like her head was about to explode.

 

She felt like she was going insane.

 

She couldn't understand why she was doing this to herself.

 

How long had she been sitting there in a daze?

 

“Olivia.”

 

Lydia Schmitt was walking towards Olivia.

 

-Thud!

 

She threw away the dazzling trophy, the symbol of winning the Unrestricted Tournament.
As if she had no interest in it whatsoever.

 

Lydia approached Olivia.

 

“Why did you forfeit?”

 

“…”

 

“You needed the money, didn't you?”

 

There was not a trace of happiness in Lydia Schmitt's expression from winning.

 

All she wanted in return for choosing to burn her own life was for Olivia to use her divine power in public.

 

Because of that, she was willing to risk her life to be brought to a religious trial and forcibly made to walk the path of a priestess again.
As if it was only natural to risk her life.

 

If she had used her divine power, Olivia could have subdued Lydia Schmitt, who had activated her berserk mode.

 

But Olivia did not do so.

 

If she had continued to fight, Lydia Schmitt would have met her death.

 

Olivia was forced to make a choice.

 

She had to choose between a life of poverty, unable to feed the starving children, or reluctantly living as a religious person.
She chose one of those paths.

 

She had to make a choice, and Olivia made her choice.

 

“This isn't the Olivia I know.”

 

Lydia didn't feel the slightest bit of joy in her victory.
Instead, she was angry, staring down at Olivia.

 

“The Olivia I know would have subdued me in an instant, taken the prize money, and helped people.
She should have done that, without a doubt.”

 

In Lydia Schmitt's mind, Olivia wasn't someone who would forfeit in such a situation.
She had participated in the competition to help people with the prize money, so she should have used her divine power without thinking about herself.

 

Everyone expected her to act that way.

 

And Lydia Schmitt was angry that she hadn't.

 

Olivia, her face pale, was trembling.

 

“Yeah, I'm selfish.
I'm going to live selfishly from now on.
That's how I'm going to live.
This is me.
This is who I am now…
So, leave me alone.”

 

“No, Olivia.
No.
It shouldn't be like this.
You should have used your divine power just now.”

 

Lydia Schmitt shook her head adamantly.

 

Then, she knelt down in front of Olivia, looking up at the terrified girl.

 

Her dark, abyss-like eyes stared at Olivia.

 

“Olivia, you can be a good person again.
Look at me, I put my life on the line, not caring about myself, just to help you.
I wasn't always like this.
I admired how you always helped people, Olivia, so I tried to become someone like that too.
That's why I acted this way.
So now, let me help you, Olivia.
If this continues, you'll only suffer more.
More hardships will come.
More cruel things will happen.
No, this situation, where you're drifting away from the divine, is already unbearably cruel for you.
It's not for nothing that I did this.
This was the only way to avoid harming anyone.”

 

Olivia couldn't even properly hear Lydia Schmitt's rapid speech.

 

She didn't want to listen in the first place.

 

Lydia Schmitt thought the person she admired was falling apart.

 

That's why she believed it was time for her to help Olivia.

 

“I never asked you to do that…
Please…”

 

“No.
No, Olivia.
I'll give you my prize money.
I don't want you to become a bad person.
You can help the children.
But promise me one thing.
Promise that you'll return to the divine's embrace.
It's not too late.
It's not too late.”

 

No words would reach the ears of one who would not listen.
Olivia could no longer bear to meet the eyes of Lydia Schmitt, so she tightly shut her own.

 

In the end, Olivia burst into tears.

 

“Please, don't do this to me…
Please…
Just leave me alone…
I beg you.
Why me? Why does it have to be me…
Please…
Just leave me be…
I don't think I'm wrong.
I don't think I'm doing something wrong…”

 

“No!”

 

Lydia shouted, as if she couldn't let that particular statement slide.

 

“Olivia! You mustn't say such things! You were chosen by the gods! A perfect person like you, who was born with the blessings of all five great deities, cannot deny the gods! Yes, yes, that's right.
You're going through a period of wandering.
Oh, the gods are giving you this trial to make you even more perfect.
Oh yes, this is all part of the gods' will to lead you to greater glory.
So, let's think about it slowly.
Starting from going back to the temple.
No, from talking about their grace with others, starting slowly…”

 

“Damn, you talk a lot.”

 

At the sudden voice from the hallway, both Lydia and the crying Olivia turned their heads.

 

“Why do you keep trying to convert someone who's not interested? Even street preachers don't cling like this.”

 

The one approaching with rough strides was none other than Reinhardt.
Reinhardt strode over and forcibly pulled the weeping Olivia to her feet by her hand.

 

“If they spout nonsense, why don't you just slap them instead of listening to such drivel?”

 

“…”

 

“This isn't your business, Reinhardt.”

 

Lydia Schmitt said to Reinhardt with a stern expression.

 

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

 

Reinhardt pulled the trembling Olivia behind him, as if to hide her.

 

“It was never your place to meddle between us in the first place.”

 

“…What?”

 

“You should mind your own business.”

 

Reinhardt grabbed Olivia's hand and began to drag her away.

 

“Hey, where are you going! You can't take Olivia! You mustn't do this!”

 

At Lydia's cry, Reinhardt shot her an icy glare.

 

“Leave it be.
Stop babbling nonsense.”

 

“…”

 

Olivia, with her head hanging low, was led away by Reinhardt's hand.
Lydia watched with clenched teeth as Olivia was taken away, powerless to resist.

 

Reinhardt.

 

That name, like a thorn in her throat.

 

Olivia, who was once delicate and gentle, had become unbending in her stubbornness.

 

But she was infinitely generous to that one person alone.

 

The pure saintess, who should maintain her purity, behaved as if she loved him.

 

No, it was only since becoming close with that Reinhardt that Olivia had changed like this.

 

He was the root cause of it all.

 

If only he would disappear, the problem would be solved.

 

Everyone was focusing on the wrong thing.

 

“He shouldn't be touched,” they say.

 

And yet, they are trying to sacrifice another pitiful child.

 

'Parasite, trash.
A demon-like creature.'

 

In Lydia Schmitt's eyes, Reinhardt was nothing more than the person responsible for leading the once-righteous Olivia astray.

 

He must be gone.

 

Only without him can Olivia return to her original self.

 

Return to the proper path.

 

Lydia, clenching her teeth, stared quietly at the hallway where Olivia had disappeared.

 

'That's right…
It's you…'

 

She could do anything for Olivia.

 

'It would be better if you died.
If you die instead of Adriana, Olivia will be alright…
All we need is for you to be gone…
Why should a child embraced by the gods be sacrificed because of someone like you…
No, it can't be.
It should be you.
A single unbeliever like you is all it takes to solve the problem.'

 

Lydia Schmitt's eyes were wide with rage.