At that moment,
Ellen had just returned to the Royal Road after completing her rest in her hometown village of Rezaira.
She was curious about the secrets of her hometown, but her parents had told her it wasn't time for her to know yet.
However, Ellen had acquired two artifacts, just like her older brother, although they were different from his.
The Cloak of the Sun God.
She could have returned earlier, but she had delayed her return to become accustomed to using the Cloak of the Sun God.
More than anyone else, Ellen wanted to show the cloak to Reinhardt first. She wanted to tell him that she had gained another artifact in preparation for the battle against the Demon King.
She hadn't yet decided how to explain the strange occurrences in her hometown village. After all, she would have to explain something she didn't understand herself.
Reinhardt never talked about his own secrets. Could she easily reveal hers?
No.
If anything, she thought that if she shared her own secret, he might feel compelled to share a little about his own in return.
Ellen held onto that vague hope.
Honestly,
She didn't care about anything else.
She had been away for too long, and she wanted to see Reinhardt as soon as possible.
What had he been doing in the meantime? His personality might be bad, but he wasn't lazy, so he must have been busy training in various ways.
Ellen felt restless in Rezaira, wanting to return quickly.
Since she wasn't there, he would have had to practice swordsmanship with someone else. And he must have practiced with someone else.
In Ellen's mind, there were two people who could have trained with Reinhardt.
First-year instructor Saviolin Turner.
Or.
“…….”
Fifth-year student, Olivia Lanze.
The thought that he might be training with a senior she disliked made Ellen want to return even sooner. After all, he was prone to strange behavior.
As soon as she passed through the warp gate in front of the temple, Ellen quickly entered the temple entrance.
Would she be scolded for arriving so late?
But she hadn't been away for that long.
Amidst her groundless worries and impatience, Ellen boarded the tram heading to the Royal Class Dormitory.
Of course, he wasn't training with Olivia.
"Reinhardt? I haven't seen him since yesterday."
That was Cliffman's response to Ellen's question about Reinhardt's whereabouts.
No one outside knew that Charlotte, Saviolin Turner, and Reinhardt had gone to the Demon King's Castle.
It was vacation time, so Reinhardt could be off somewhere, and it was not unusual for him to be absent for a few days.
So where had he gone?
Ellen could have waited in the dormitory for Reinhardt to return, and it wouldn't have mattered much.
Nevertheless, she was restless. She wanted to show Reinhardt the new artifact quickly and share her stories.
And also,
She was strong and confident in becoming even stronger.
He would probably get angry if he heard her say it, but Reinhardt was still weaker than her.
If she wanted to.
Feeling truly sorry for the parents who had given up the village's treasure.
Ellen thought that it would be better for her to die than to witness Reinhardt's death.
Would it not be better for Reinhardt to possess the Cloak of the Sun God?
Ellen thought so to herself.
She could give it to him if he wanted.
Ellen longed to see Reinhardt's face when he heard that, out of curiosity.
Where could Reinhardt have gone?
It did not seem like he had told anyone where he was going. Ellen wanted to ask Harriet, but Harriet had also left the dormitory, and it appeared that Harriet was currently conducting magical research in the royal palace.
Ellen did not know what business Harriet had with magical research in the royal palace, but she knew at least that Harriet and Reinhardt were not together.
Then, what next?
-Knock, knock
"Who's there?"
Fifth-year dormitory.
Upon Ellen's knock, Olivia Lanze opened the door and stared at Ellen with a cold expression.
For some reason, Olivia seemed different from before as Ellen looked at her.
Usually, she laughed and teased people, but now there was not a trace of a smile on her face, only a chilly demeanor.
The strange feeling that Olivia Lanze had changed from before was only momentary.
"Do you know where Reinhardt is?"
Ellen wasn't particularly intimidated by Olivia and simply stated her purpose.
"...Isn't he in the dormitory?"
"I heard he left yesterday. I thought you might know."
"Ugh, he's off playing again without telling me."
Olivia muttered as if she was hurt, then smirked at Ellen.
"But I don't feel as bad since you don't know either."
"..."
In the end, Olivia picked a quarrel as usual.
Olivia didn't know Reinhardt's whereabouts either.
Ellen had no more business with Olivia.
"If you don't know, that's fine."
"Yeah, get lost."
-Bang!
Ellen stared at Olivia's door as it slammed shut.
"...?"
This person.
Before, she had the feeling of openly hiding a thorn in her side.
But now, should she describe her as being more like a hedgehog?
Ellen couldn't help but feel that Olivia had changed from before.
As Ellen walked through the fifth-year dormitory hallway, she thought.
Harriet was doing magical research in the royal palace.
Olivia was holed up in her room.
No one in the dormitory knew where Reinhardt had gone.
Then, there was only one place to go. If Reinhardt had not left the capital altogether, there was only one place worth going.
The Rotary Club.
It wouldn't matter if he wasn't there.
She could also spar with the white-haired old lady for the first time in a while.
Ellen left the dormitory she had just arrived at once again.
Ellen was basically not very interested in others.
After becoming close with Reinhardt, things changed a bit, and as she made friends, she tried to take an interest in them.
However, fundamentally, Ellen was generally indifferent and nonchalant about the events happening around her. Therefore, there were only a few subjects she observed closely.
As a result, Ellen didn't know much about what the Rotary Club was specifically. All she knew was that it was a group with a suspiciously strong white-haired lady as their leader.
She had been curious about what the white-haired lady did, but she had never delved deeper than that.
The lady who got angry when called an "aunty".
That was about the extent of her understanding.
What Ellen did know was that Reinhardt's secret was somehow related to the Rotary Club.
The Rotary Club was connected to a thieves' guild, which meant that Reinhardt and his secret were involved with something akin to a criminal organization.
That was about all she could roughly surmise.
The white-haired aunty used to smack her around when Ellen visited her, but lately, there hadn't been much reason to visit.
Ellen left the temple and went to the new headquarters of the Rotary Club.
A connection, however tenuous, had formed between her and the Rotary Club since the incident of Reinhardt's disappearance.
She had recently learned that their situation had improved significantly with the opening of the shops on the magic train.
But what lies beneath the surface of the Rotary Club?
Since Ellen believed that Reinhardt's secret was connected to a criminal organization, she thought the suspiciously strong white-haired lady was the leader of a dangerous crime syndicate.
Because of that misunderstanding, Ellen overlooked some very suspicious facts.
The lady was undoubtedly a criminal, but since she was important to Reinhardt, Ellen decided not to pry.
So Ellen never crossed that line.
At the Rotary Club's headquarters.
"Oh my, if it isn't Reinhardt's girlfriend."
"...?"
Those who lived at the club's headquarters had seen Ellen a few times, so they referred to her that way when they saw her.
Girlfriend.
Ellen couldn't help but tilt her head at the word, but she nodded to the club member who recognized her.
Girlfriend.
Girlfriend.
Girlfriend.
The word strangely echoed in her head.
Then another club member, standing next to the one who had called her Reinhardt's girlfriend, playfully slapped that person’s shoulder.
"Hey, what are you talking about? Reinhardt never said anything like that himself."
"Oops, so the girlfriend is Adriana then?"
"If he trusts her that much……. Doesn't that pretty much say it all?"
Adriana.
Upon hearing that name, Ellen tilted her head even more.
Why would the people of the Rotary Club know about Adriana, her senior who had withdrawn from the temple?
Bang!
"Ouch!"
Suddenly, the door burst open, and someone rushed out.
It was the white-haired aunty.
She ran out with a panicked look, as if fleeing from something.
Her hair was covered in white foam, as if she had been doing something.
“Won't you come in?! You need to rinse out all the foam!”
From inside, an angry shout could be heard.
"No! I don't want to wash my hair! Why do I have to wash it every day!"
"What on earth is that?! Hey, stay still!"
"I can handle my own hygiene...?"
At those words, the white-haired woman exclaimed in surprise before stopping herself abruptly. She had made eye contact with Ellen, who was standing idly in front of the headquarters.
"Um... you?"
Then, someone came running out of the headquarters.
The person's black dress was drenched, although it was unclear what had happened.
"…Um… you are?"
It was Adriana, a senior from the old temple.
Adriana washed her hair first, then dragged the drenched Loyar along to wash her hair too.
Ellen sat quietly in the top floor office of the Rotary Club headquarters.
Ellen didn't know the details, but she was aware that Adriana had withdrawn from the temple.
She also knew that Reinhardt had visited the monastery Adriana returned to because of the withdrawal issue, which was how he knew Harriet's parents.
Ellen had heard from Reinhardt during the last night of the festival that Adriana's original monastery was in the Saint Thuan Duchy.
And on that night.
Ellen had seen both Olivia Lanze and Adriana return to the royal-class dormitory late at night.
She didn't know what had happened or what events had taken place afterward.
However.
Since then, Adriana seemed to be staying at the Rotary Club headquarters rather than returning to the monastery.
It seemed like a matter Ellen didn't need to be particularly concerned about.
But an odd sense of unease was wriggling in Ellen's heart.
Above all.
The expression Adriana had made when she encountered Ellen.
That unmistakable look of embarrassment.
It gave Ellen a hunch that there was some unusual secret.
How much time had passed? Adriana, now wearing a clean white dress instead of her wet clothes, came up to the top floor of the headquarters.
The white-haired woman was nowhere to be seen; Adriana was alone.
Adriana and Ellen weren't particularly close. Of course, their relationship wasn't bad like the one between Olivia and Ellen.
A senior who was close to Reinhardt.
Now gone from the temple.
It was just such an insignificant senior-junior relationship.
"Ah… um… Ellen, right? It's been a while."
Adriana felt the same way, so she sat down awkwardly across from Ellen with a smile.
"Yes, it has been a while."
Ellen had no right to interrogate her.
However, Adriana had come to meet Ellen, who seemed to be waiting for her as if she had no choice but to face her.
"I didn't know you'd be here."
"Ah, well… various circumstances. Somehow…"
Adriana gave an awkward smile.
Ellen was sure that she was not good at lying.
"Reinhardt isn't here, is he?"
Ellen brought up the most important reason for her visit.
Although now, she couldn't tell whether it was truly important or not.
"Um, he hasn't been here before. Is there... something going on?"
At Adriana's anxious question, Ellen shook her head.
"No, I just stopped by to see if he was here since he's not at the temple. There's nothing going on. Even if there is... it's something I don't know."
It wasn't a matter she needed to explain.
However, Reinhardt had been involved in various affairs in places unknown to her. The fact that Adriana was staying at the Rotary Club was likely due to Reinhardt's influence.
Even so, Reinhardt had no obligation to share Adriana's personal circumstances with her.
Yet.
The sight of Adriana and Olivia returning to the temple late at night.
Their tense expressions.
Reinhardt's reaction, as if he knew something.
What could it be?
What was it?
"May I ask why you're staying here?"
At Ellen's question, Adriana fidgeted with her fingertips, grasping and releasing the hem of her dress.
"Well... there was a problem at the monastery I was staying at, so I couldn't be there anymore. So... I asked Olivia for help last time. That led to Reinhardt finding me a place to stay... and that's how I ended up here... Yes, that's what happened."
A person who can't lie well.
Ellen thought that again as she looked at Adriana.
Reinhardt wasn't at the Rotary Club.
Adriana had lied to her.
Ellen didn't press Adriana further, and there was no reason to do so. The white-haired lady barged in with a towel around her neck, whisking Adriana away to somewhere, insisting they had to play together.
Ellen returned to the Royal Class dormitory.
Reinhardt had stepped out for a while. It was a reasonable thing to do during a break.
However, Ellen intended to find out more about this strange situation.
Asking Adriana more questions was impossible due to the white-haired lady.
There was one more person to question.
Knock, knock
Ellen went back to the 5th-year dormitory and knocked on the door.
Click
"…You, again? What do you want? I already told you I don't know where Reinhardt is!"
Upon seeing Ellen, Olivia immediately snapped irritably.
Ellen considered how to begin.
"You were with Adriana last time."
"…What?"
Olivia's already irritable expression hardened further upon hearing that name.
"I have something to discuss with her, do you know where she is?"
Olivia stared at Ellen.
"What is it about? I can pass the message along."
It seemed less like annoyance and more like caution.
"I'd rather tell her directly."
"…"
Olivia stared at Ellen for a moment before abruptly saying,
"She went back to the monastery."
Another lie.
Ellen confirmed that both Adriana and Olivia had lied to her.
"Is that so?"
"Right. Even if I tell you where it is, it'll be hard to find. Unless it's really important, it's best not to worry about it…"
"That senior. Adriana."
Ellen tilted her head.
"I just met her at the Rotary Club on my way here."
"…What?"
At Ellen's remark, Olivia's expression became even more hostile.
"Senior."
Ellen looked straight at Olivia.
She induced her to lie, and after finding the weak point,
"Why didn't you come to the Miss Temple Contest?"
Ellen asked the most important question.
