46 ~ My Cleanliness OCD Acted Up

Coleman sat on the frontier of the continent—a truly neutral zone, a place untouched by war, and the sacred land every scholar dreamed of.

The population of Coleman City was rather mixed; nearly every race could be found there. Thanks to its central geographical location and the fame of Coleman Academy built atop it, commerce thrived. The peace that had lasted for centuries, unmarred by war, allowed its citizens to live and recover in harmony.

The city presented a scene of prosperity: rows of tiled houses, bustling streets filled with endless traffic. Residents living here generally enjoyed a higher quality of life than those in other nations—especially compared to those in the frequently war-torn borderlands.

One could say that the reason this strategic, war-prone location—so near to the Demon Race’s domain—had not been reduced to a hellscape was largely thanks to the Elf-built Coleman Academy.

As such, the local lords of Coleman, whether competent or not, had largely given up on micromanaging things. As long as no principle was violated, they supported the Academy as much as possible. Whatever land the Academy wanted, as long as the funds were in place, it was theirs.

Coleman Academy was renowned far and wide, rich beyond measure. In other academies, Divine Princesses and Divine Children had to book training grounds well in advance and wait in long queues. But Coleman Academy had over a hundred professional venues solely for Divine Princess training. There was no need to queue or draw lots—vacant fields were always available. The professionalism and quality of these facilities were top-tier.

Afternoon, Venue No. 23.

Dylin had arrived—but in another identity.

A blonde loli with strange winged headwear concealing her ears tiptoed to the audience seats. To avoid the embarrassment of losing a seat because of her small stature, she had come an hour early to claim her spot.

Using her hands to steady herself on the seat, she kicked her legs to climb up.

The sparsely scattered audience began to fill in. By the time the match was twenty minutes from starting, Venue No. 23 had become packed to the brim—there wasn’t even room to stand anymore.

“Ewuh...” Teresa folded her arms and sat unhappily among the sardine-packed crowd in the stands.

Her face was expressionless, her cheeks puffed up from the press of bodies around her. A bright red symbol hovered over her head like a comic drawing.

Good thing she had the foresight—otherwise, she might’ve been squashed into Elf jerky.

Even so, having a comfy padded seat didn’t make things any better for her.

So many people coming and going, back and forth—it was filthy...

There was even a faint smell in the air. Had they really bathed? Did they bathe this afternoon? Had they changed clothes since then? Don’t tell her they were wearing the same thing they’d worn this morning?

Covered in dust, possibly even with bodily fluids and flakes of dead skin from people’s metabolism—wasn’t it shameful to go out dressed like that??

Even if they had bathed and changed at noon, after squeezing around like this, they’d surely be drenched in sweat again. At that point, how was that any different from not bathing at all?

Just imagining unwashed people rubbing against her made Teresa’s scalp go numb.

Of course, she knew these people weren’t doing it on purpose, and yes, she was overly sensitive—but she couldn’t help how she felt.

She simply dislikes physical contact with strangers.

Holding a hand over her nose and mouth, Teresa hugged her hair like a blanket, eyes darting around warily like a kitten guarding its food.

Her clothing was beyond saving. If her hair got contaminated by flakes of dead skin or bodily fluids, she’d absolutely lose it!

Teresa leaned on the armrest, fiercely defending her small patch of territory, determined not to get swept away by the tide of bodies.

And the match hadn’t even started yet! This crowd alone made it clear how terrifying Astrid’s popularity at the Academy must be.

Faces from the morning matches—some familiar, some not—all had shown up. Teresa didn’t believe for a second that they weren’t here for Astrid.

Some might ask: with so many people in the audience, didn’t they have school?

That’s where Coleman Academy’s rules came into play. During the days of the Freshman Divine Princess Tournament, classes were suspended for all Divine Children, Mages, Alchemists, and other trainees.

So, the audience at Venue No. 23 now consisted of Divine Child trainees of various years, Mages, Alchemists, and Divine Princesses who hadn’t yet been scheduled for matches.

The Academy clearly had its reasons for doing this. For freshmen, the top priority was finding compatible teammates and forming a team. This setup boosted the exposure of Divine Princesses so that interested Divine Children could see them in action.

In other words, this break wasn’t for fun—it was for scouting. Divine Children were expected to watch the matches and find their ideal Divine Princess partners.

Once they found someone they liked, the social phase began. As long as a Divine Child wasn’t completely useless, being sociable and talkative enough meant they’d likely attract at least one Divine Princess to join their team.

The Academy was deliberately training their communication skills. After all, as the captain of a team, a Divine Child had to handle any issues within the group. Other roles could afford to be socially awkward—but not them. Even if you weren’t a social butterfly, you at least had to know how to talk.

In essence, Divine Children were being forced to communicate. Forced to socialize.

Couldn’t do it? Then learn. But if you didn’t even have the guts to try—if you just stood there tongue-tied in front of a Divine Princess—then sorry, once all the good ones were taken, you’d be left alone.

The smart ones had already realized: the first round of Divine Child elimination had quietly begun. Only the clueless ones thought these few days were a real holiday.

The Freshman Divine Princess Tournament wasn’t just a showdown between Divine Princesses—it marked the start of the Divine Children’s own competition.

Teresa wasn’t oblivious to all this—she had figured it out early on. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to join the scramble—she simply couldn’t.

Her hardware limitations made it impossible. Even with her Divine Appraisal skill being freakishly strong, she only had one Divine Child ability. That wasn’t exactly magnetic. Not to mention the few persistent jerks sabotaging things in the background, which only made it harder for her to get picked.

And honestly, she didn’t need teammates. Having them would just make things more complicated. In a three-person team, one person missing during activities would raise suspicion over time, even to an idiot.

Besides, she had nothing to offer. Why drag someone else into the mud just to suffer with her?

At this point, even her own Divine Awakening had been more of a gamble than a transformation.

Trick someone into joining her sorry little team? That’d just be ruining someone else’s life.

The first match wrapped up quickly. Despite the crowd, there was little cheering or sighing from the audience.

Clearly, no one was here for the opening act.

Speaking of which—where was that idiot John? Don’t tell her he hadn’t even managed to grab a seat?

As Teresa looked around, her eyes suddenly caught a flash of silver glinting through the crowd.

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