NOVEL NEXT chapter 30
30. The Nun Who Flees in a Panic
“Nun Clotilde, thank you for resolving the incident caused by the succubus. Although it’s a pity she escaped, I’m sure you will continue to track her down until she is completely eliminated. Oh my, you’re so impressive at such a young age, truly worthy of being a battle nun who can wield ancient relics! It’s truly admirable!”
Because Clotilde successfully resolved the incident of the adult men falling unconscious in the town, the lord and lady of the castle were warmly hosting her at their home.
This would normally be a good thing; if it were the usual Clotilde, she would have placed her hands on her chest, displaying a gentle and serene professional smile, humbly accepting their praise.
“Um, um, I will. Please don’t worry.”
But today, she seemed somewhat lacking in confidence, her smile a bit forced, and the beautiful, pure expression on her face was marred by an unmistakable fatigue. Her posture was also oddly awkward.
The lord and lady, thinking she was exhausted from battle, kindly arranged for her to stay in their most luxurious guest room. However, Clotilde smiled and declined.
Despite their repeated insistence that she shouldn’t be so polite and that it was perfectly fine to stay a few more days, Clotilde still rejected their kindness, ultimately choosing to find a nondescript inn to stay alone.
“Even without anyone saying it, I would definitely track her down, but, but, not only was I careless and lost my power, but I also had that detestable mark of lust inscribed on me. There’s no way I can say something like that out loud…”
Lifting her specially tailored nun’s habit for combat, Clotilde saw a pink mark on her lower abdomen in the mirror that could only be described as ‘seductive.’
Wings symbolizing lust, a heart representing desire, and an inverted cross denoting sin, along with some other patterns, collectively formed a terrifying curse known as the ‘mark of lust.’
To specify what kind of curse it was, of course, it was the kind that would render her a disqualified nun just by speaking its name.
It was bad enough to have lost her power; now she had this inscribed on her. Clotilde felt utterly ashamed to face anyone.
Especially that gentleman who had kindly warned her before.
She had originally thought to have a good talk with him about the church next time, and if possible, persuade him to join the church.
But now, if he found out that she had completely ignored his warning, he would surely be very disappointed in her.
She didn’t want to see that happen, so she decided to keep it a secret.
Of course, not just from that gentleman, but from everyone.
The immediate priority was to resume her training, to hunt monsters to regain her lost power.
After all, lamenting in front of the mirror about the mark was pointless.
Lowering her nun’s skirt to cover the mark on her abdomen, Clotilde attempted to summon her ancient relics, the ‘Holy Lance of Destruction’ and the ‘Grimoire of Rebirth,’ but as expected, she felt no familiar sensation in her hands.
“…Sigh, I guess I’ll have to buy some ordinary weapons at the weapon shop.”
Actually, this wasn’t the first time Clotilde had tried, so she wasn’t too disheartened. After a resigned sigh, she perked herself up and set off to purchase equipment.
The inability to use ancient relics wasn’t because they rejected her; it was simply because her current total magical power was insufficient to maintain and wield those two weapons with astonishing attributes.
Through the magic card that reveals the current attributes of the magic master by simply inputting magic, Clotilde understood that she was currently quite weak, only at LV1.
Although due to differences in physique and talent, even at LV1 she was stronger than many LV10 adventurers, it was still too pathetic.
So pathetic that even the weapon shop owner worried whether this nun should just use Holy Light magic honestly instead of fighting with weapons.
To this, she could only smile awkwardly, indicating that she had to pass through an area where she couldn’t cast magic, which was why she prepared her weapons.
Fortunately, this weapon shop had the firearms she was accustomed to using, which were said to originate from another world, so she wasn’t in a position where she had to resort to melee weapons.
It wasn’t that she was boasting; although she wasn’t completely unathletic, her breast development had reached a somewhat obstructive level, and if possible, she didn’t want to wield blades or guns.
Due to her physique, archery was naturally out of the question.
Luckily, she could use firearms; otherwise, she would have to specialize in Holy Light magic.
Although the firearms, after special modifications, also required magic to operate, their low consumption and damage made them a very cost-effective combat method compared to high-consumption magic.
For someone like her, who was already somewhat self-conscious about her body, firearms were simply the most suitable weapon.
…That said, she hadn’t expected that even after finding a suitable weapon, the battles between her and the monsters would be several times more difficult than she had imagined.
After an afternoon of hunting low-level weak monsters in the nearby wilderness, she had only managed to recover from LV1 to LV4. At this rate, if she wanted to return to her original LV80, it would take at least two years.
The thought of having to hide the fact that she had become weaker for the next two years made the nun lower her head in disappointment as she returned to the inn alone.
It had been a long time since she felt this anxious; clearly, as a nun, she should be listening to others’ suffering and helping them alleviate their troubles.
But, somewhat embarrassingly, she now wanted to find someone to confide her inner unease to.
However, that was impossible. If she reported the truth of the situation, she would definitely be scolded and confined, and it was very likely she would be expelled from the church due to the ‘lewdness’ involved.
For someone deeply devoted to the goddess, that was absolutely unacceptable.
Thus, she could only bear this unease alone, after all, it was all because she had been careless; if she had been a bit more vigilant, she wouldn’t have had her powers taken away.
As the saying goes, “A fall teaches a lesson,” so from now on, she would no longer be careless!
For instance, she had just noticed, due to her heightened alertness, that someone was slowly approaching her from a dark corner!
“…What’s wrong, sir? Are you lost? Would you like me to take you to the church to rest for the night? You must be lost, right? Otherwise, I might get angry!”
It was night, a man was walking towards a lone woman from a dark corner, and Clotilde, unable to rule out the possibility of danger, wore a ‘kind and loving’ smile while her hand discreetly reached under her nun’s skirt to the firearm strapped to her thigh.
If the other party made any strange moves, she would definitely draw her gun and shoot without hesitation.
“Not speaking… It seems you might need to calm your mind, sir… Huh?!”
Since the other party remained silent, Clotilde couldn’t see his face as he approached from the shadows, so she had almost convinced herself that he was an attacker targeting women.
Just as she was about to draw her gun, she finally got a clear look at his facial features.
He was a young man with jet-black hair; while he might not be considered a handsome man popular with women, he was certainly a ruggedly handsome type, especially with those sharp, deep-set eyes that seemed to see through all secrets.
But that wasn’t the key point; the key was that she recognized him.
After all, it was he who had warned her to be cautious of the lewd demons.
That’s right, the person standing before her was Noah.
As soon as Sister Miss recognized Noah’s identity, she lost the calm and composure she had previously displayed, and after a three-second pause of looking at Noah with a shocked expression, she turned her head and ran away suddenly.
Oh no, it’s terrible! Why did I have to run into him at this moment? If he finds out that I was warned but still got tricked, I won’t be able to maintain my nun’s demeanor in front of him anymore!
In a state of panic, Sister Miss ran back the way she came, her beautiful face no longer bearing a serene smile, but instead, a mixture of panic and shame.