I’m Playing as a Nun.

– Clatter, clatter

As the sun slowly rises.

A delicious aroma spreads slowly with faint smoke in the kitchen, where a peaceful stillness lingers.

Taking out well-organized dishes one by one, putting food on them, heading to the dining room, and carefully setting them on the old dining table.

The faint scent of warm vegetable soup and the deep flavor of toasted meat fill the kitchen.

Finally, wiping hands with a handkerchief and pouring a glass of cold water, taking a brief rest from the busy morning’s work.

“Thank you for your help, Miss Priscilla.”

“As someone living off of you, of course, I should do at least this much.”

Said the same Priscilla who abandoned me at the lake.

But when morning came after a day passed, as if nothing happened, she naturally became my hands and feet and sincerely helped with meal preparations.

I didn’t even ask for help.

For some reason, she was already moving her hands familiarly in the kitchen, washing dishes, chopping ingredients, and swiftly participating in setting the table.

To the point where I wondered if she was really the same person from back then.

“Shall we call the children now?”

“…Ah, yes. We should.”

At the trivial question, I was momentarily at a loss for words and trapped in awkward silence.

It was a morning scene no different from usual, but the outside scenery visible through the small window in a kitchen corner somehow felt uncomfortable.

“What’s wrong?”

“……”

Priscilla, who sensed the strangeness, asked carefully while slightly tilting her head to the side.

I hesitated for a moment but soon slowly moved my lips, heavy like a thousand pounds, while deeply sighing a gloomy sigh.

“What do you think… about Mr. Bel Ros?”

“Pardon?”

“There’s no particular meaning. I’m just asking, so answer comfortably.”

The reason I was drooping lifelessly from the morning?

None other than the helmet still staying at the church even though the sun has risen.

According to my plan, the helmet should have disappeared by now.

But unfortunately, an unexpected variable suddenly appeared and disrupted the plan.

The identity of that variable was none other than Aizen, who came out of his room for a moment to take care of business.

“He’s a really kind person. Moreover, he’s diligent too, so he’s playing outside with the children even now.”

I, who spent almost half the dawn in the convent corridor where a strange tension lingered.

While conversing with the helmet, I gradually built a plan to kick him out of this church naturally.

But unexpectedly, Aizen suddenly appeared, and the situation quickly flowed in a direction I didn’t want.

“Especially with Aizen calling Mr. Bel Ros’ master’ and following him around, doesn’t that already say it all?”

Since the day I gifted him the sword, Aizen has shown much more interest in swordsmanship than before.

Maybe that’s why, not only are his eyes sparkling at the helmet’s reliable appearance, which can be called a man’s dream, but now he’s even calling him master and following him around.

“…I really don’t know. If this is right.”

“Why?”

“In the end, Mr. Bel Ros is an outsider.”

Aizen, who accidentally ran into me and the helmet in the dawn corridor, requested the helmet while rubbing his eyes with a half-asleep face.

To teach him swordsmanship when the day breaks.

It was nothing particularly special, but because of those words, I ended up in an ambiguous situation where I couldn’t kick the helmet out.

If the helmet hadn’t answered then, I would have chased him away with some plausible excuse.

But he nodded without a moment’s hesitation at Aizen’s request.

“Well, that’s true, but… Still, he’s not doing anything particularly suspicious, so wouldn’t it be okay?”

“But it still bothers me. I’d like him to leave here quickly if possible.”

“But don’t the children like him…”

It may seem strange that I was uncomfortable almost to the point of aversion.

But unlike the children or Priscilla, the current situation is very uncomfortable and suffocating for me, as I have complicated circumstances entangled.

Putting aside the fact that the helmet’s identity is a demon, the colleague he was looking for, whom he called intermediate-level, just happened to be the guy I dealt with early on.

Moreover, as soon as I naturally realized that the helmet’s mission was to deal with me, I felt like I was sitting on a bed of thorns no matter where I was.

So yes, I was beyond uncomfortable.

And yes, I was restless.

“… Let’s have a meal first.”

…

…

When the children energetically played outside, gathered in the dining room, and sat in one place, a lively energy different from usual slowly began to spread.

The children’s laughter and lively conversation made the breakfast on the table even more abundant.

However, in that bright atmosphere, only I was emitting a dreary energy with a sullen expression.

“It would be nice if mister ate together with us.”

“He said he’s not hungry.”

“Mister is fun.”

Because the topic of every conversation coming out of the children’s mouths was none other than the helmet.

It’s not that I felt particularly left out or competitive about this.

But still, seeing the children become this close to the helmet in just a day made me feel somewhat uncomfortable.

If I weren’t a vampire, I would have also had fun playing outside with the children…

“Iris, don’t just eat meat, eat vegetables together too.”

Iris, whose smile bloomed on her face until now, immediately turned gloomy at my words.

“… It’s not tasty.”

“But you still have to eat it. Because it’s not good for your body to only eat meat.”

“Besides, the meat is smaller than usual… There seems to be more vegetables…”

“I think you’ve been eating too much meat lately, so I put in a lot of vegetables for you this time.”

When I went through the stuff I bought from the peddler, I found an encyclopedia of plants among them.

Before heading to the lake, I went into the forest and struggled to dig up edible plants for several hours.

The area near the church was already close to a barren field after the demons and beasts had eaten everything.

I could only find the edible plants listed in the encyclopedia one by one after going quite far.

“It’s more delicious than you think, so try eating it once.”

Since it’s the first time, I carefully made dishes with plants that the children would have less aversion to, so I’d like them to eat everything if possible.

“I like it better with just meat.”

“No, Iris. If you only eat meat, you’ll gain weight quickly.”

“I still like it better with just meat.”

“…Then, try eating the vegetable soup next to it at least once.”

“The taste is weird.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s not tasty.”

Iris’s whining is unusually severe today.

No, maybe it’s because I’ve been feeding her too much meat, but her aversion to vegetables is much more severe than I thought.

“Do, don’t be like that and just try one bite… I had quite a hard time digging up these vegetables…”

“Ugh… Sister Levi is strange today… Forcing me to eat things I don’t like…”

“What? Fo, forcing…? I was just thinking about Iris’s health…”

“I’m plenty healthy. It’s fine to just eat meat. There’s no problem at all.”

“You may be fine now, but later on, definitely…”

“I hate Sister Levi for forcing me to eat things I don’t like. I hate you─.”

With those words, Iris abruptly stood up from her seat.

And without a moment’s hesitation, she immediately left the dining room and ran straight towards somewhere.

“……”

The dining room instantly became quiet.

The liveliness from earlier is nowhere to be seen, and gradually, only an uncomfortable silence begins to fill the dining room.

“Le, Levi… Are you okay…?”

Aizen carefully opened his mouth, looking at me, who had frozen like a stone statue with my eyes wide open.

But right now, I don’t have enough sense to answer Aizen’s question immediately.

“Sister Levi, look at me. I ate everything.”

Ellie’s bright remark follows.

Only then did I barely regain my hazy senses and forcibly move my stiffened facial muscles.

“We, well done…”

“Hehe, I got praised by Sister Levi─.”

But I couldn’t believe it.

Although it was somewhat alleviated thanks to bright Ellie, my body is still frozen.

As I thought more and more about Iris, who was usually blunt on the outside but very warm on the inside, showing such a sharp reaction, it felt like tears would burst out at any moment.

“Whi, whining is something everyone does once in a while when they’re young, right…? I’m sure she didn’t mean it when she said she hated you, so don’t take it to heart too much…!”

Priscilla, who was quietly observing the situation while looking around, also comforted me.

I thought that comfort would melt my coldly frozen heart even a little, but rather, those warm words began to strangely stimulate the emotions inside me even more.

“Co, con… Continue eating…”

Finally, losing focus and moving like a corpse.

I slowly put down the spoon I was holding on the table and blankly got up from my seat.

…

…

…

After the disastrous breakfast.

The church once again regained stability in the calmly flowing time, exuding a peaceful atmosphere.

But I’m still trapped in various complicated thoughts, unable to find a proper answer.

Iris’s sharp reaction and the anxious feeling deeply settled in my heart afterward.

It may feel like I’m making a fuss over just one instance of whining.

But for me, who is experiencing this situation for the first time, there is nothing more serious than this.

I want to erase the memory from earlier altogether if possible.

“When I do it like mister said, I really feel like I’m wielding it properly…!”

“It’s much more beneficial than the training I received at the training camp!”

“Hahaha, that’s right! That’s how you swing it! You’re getting better and better!”

The scenery of the garden that I’m blankly looking at while standing on the stairs in front of the church entrance.

Aizen and Priscilla receive training from the helmet.

Behind them, Ellie and Iris sit on the floor, leisurely watching.

It’s a truly nice sight to see.

Like a picture, everything is perfectly harmonized.

“……”

What is it, this inexplicable sense of alienation?

It’s definitely the place where I should be, but for some reason, it feels like that helmet is standing in that place instead of me.

That guy is clearly the number one target to be wary of.

Every moment he stayed here was dangerous.

It feels very frustrating and anxiety-inducing that I’m the only one who knows that fact.

If only his personality was bad like the other demon, I could have sent him to the afterlife without any guilt.

“……”

– Swish

Slightly sticking out a foot beyond the darkly shaded boundary line.

Then, a painful sensation, as if a hot flame were rising from the tip of my foot, spread throughout my entire body in an instant, making me dizzy.

“…It hurts…”

Thanks to rapid regeneration, there are no visible wounds on the outside at all.

Nevertheless, I can’t hide the pain, so I’m hesitant to go outside the shade.

“Mister, do you happen to know how to use magic?”

“Hm? No, not at all.”

“… That’s a shame. I wanted to learn from Mister, too.”

Meanwhile, Iris’s remark was faintly heard from afar.

I couldn’t hear it clearly because it was quite far away. Still, I could roughly understand that she said something related to magic.

“…I know how to use it.”

Honestly, it’s far from the magic commonly used in this world, and there’s quite a difference in how it’s cast.

But I think there’s no magic impossible for Levinia, who is a rather intelligent character.

Due to various incidents, I haven’t been able to properly guide Iris in magic in the past few days.

Wouldn’t it be a good way to properly teach her this time and reconcile?

“Iris…”

The moment I somehow mustered up courage and struggled to open my mouth and vigorously call Iris’s name like that.

“These days, even magicians learn basic defense skills. So take my word for it and try learning it once.”

“Defense skills?”

“Yeah. When you fight various demons, there will definitely come a time when you have to protect yourself alone sometimes.”

“But I don’t have good stamina.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. I have no intention of being harsh from the beginning.”

The helmet intervened again.

I know it wasn’t intentional, but anger rose to the top of my head for some unknown reason and my expression gradually distorted.

“……”

Before I knew it, even Iris, who was just watching, had participated in the training and had a chatty conversation.

Maybe it’s because it’s the most active time of the day for the children, but there’s no sense of competition or stimulation between them, only pure joy.

“…Tsk.”

A nasty feeling slowly rose from within me.

The helmet didn’t do anything particularly wrong.

He’s just getting along well with the children, playing with them, and even giving them training at the same time.

– Stomp

It’s definitely something I should be thankful for, as well as playing well with the children on my behalf who can’t go outside during the day.

If the children are also satisfied, that’s good enough.

But…

– Creak…

“…Excuse me…”

Why is it so annoying?

Translator’s Corner

I was thinking if I should tell advanced readers to leave a comment on chapters so I have something to read for later chapters. Then I realized I’ll have to go through hundreds of chapters at some point.

I appreciate you Xt3100.

-Ruminas