I'm Playing as a Nun.

"S-sorry... I just sat down because you told me to sit..."

"No one told you to sit on Sister Levinia's lap."

The atmosphere around me had become even colder.

I tried to ease the situation in my own way, but it only made things worse.

"Rune is a guest, so don't be too hard on her."

"No, Levi! We have to be more wary at times like this."

"That's right."

The children had gathered in front of me, forming a strict guard.

Their small bodies huddled together to protect me, which was quite admirable.

On the other hand, it was a bit burdensome.

After all, the other party was just a young elf.

She didn't give off an atmosphere of trying to harm us, nor did she seem to have any suspicious intentions.

I didn't think there was a need to make such a fuss and be so wary.

"I-I won't do it again... I really didn't know..."

"It's too late, even if you apologize!"

"To think you dared to sit on Sister Levinia's lap! I haven't even sat on it once..."

"Unforgivable."

I somehow finished introducing Rune to the children.

Given the situation, I wrapped it up briefly.

But I clearly conveyed that Rune was an elf guest from across the river, so they wouldn't make such a fuss anymore.

"Alright, everyone, that's enough. As you can see, Rune is an introverted child, so she'll have a hard time if you keep pressuring her like that."

"But Levi..."

"For now, let's check the medicinal herbs you each gathered. We'll deal with the rest later."

"Eh?! Do we have to do that now...?"

"Of course. That's why we came here."

At my quiet words, the expressions of the three changed, looking quite tense.

"Sorry, Rune. We can talk about the rest a little later, right?"

"Ah, yes... Of course..."

Sitting quietly at the edge of the mat I spread out, Rune stared blankly at the ground with her body curled up.

Her shrinking appearance was clearly visible whenever the children's wariness grew, making her look pitiful.

But there were things that needed to be done, so I decided to put aside the matter of Rune for now and check the medicinal herbs the children had gathered.

"...Aizen, why did you only gather weeds?"

"Huh? Aren't they medicinal herbs?"

"None of the medicinal herbs written in the book are here. They're all weeds."

As expected, the admirable Aizen never disappoints me.

He's showing with his own body that enthusiasm and results are not proportional.

Indeed, his steadfast pioneering of his own path as the party leader is commendable.

As a reward, I think I should gift Aizen the rest of his studies.

"Ellie's is perfect. You gathered them well."

"Really?!"

"Yes. Studying hard is already showing results."

"--!!"

Ellie, who showed even more passion and enthusiasm than Aizen, perfectly distinguished the medicinal herbs without a single mistake.

It was roughly the expected result.

Still, seeing Ellie jumping up and down with joy in front of me, I couldn't help but smile with pride.

"Lastly, Iris..."

"Yes."

Lastly, I checked the medicinal herbs Iris had gathered.

But for some reason, the medicinal herbs Iris gathered all had unfamiliar appearances, and their sizes were too varied.

Even when I opened the book to check, I couldn't find any information on these unidentified plants.

The difference was even more stark when compared to the medicinal herbs Ellie had gathered.

"...Iris, what are these?"

"I don't know. I just picked them because they looked interesting."

"You didn't know what they were when you picked them?"

"Yes."

It was an ambiguous feeling that seemed to align with the purpose of this field practice, but also not quite.

Where on earth did Iris gather these from?

"Ah, I know what those are..."

Just as I was staring intently at the plants Iris had gathered,

Rune, who had been keeping her distance from me, shyly raised her right hand and carefully opened her mouth.

"Oh, as expected of an elf, you seem knowledgeable about plants."

"Those are narcotic plants..."

Rune's blunt words instantly made me terrified.

I threw the plants I was holding far away without a moment's hesitation.

But the confusion that had surged up didn't seem to subside easily.

"N-narcotics...?"

"Yes... Just touching them won't do anything, but... they're still extremely dangerous..."

"But this book doesn't mention these plants at all...?"

"Of course not... They're not well-known plants..."

I was quite shocked to learn that the plants I had been holding were narcotics.

But what was even more worrisome was that Iris had been holding them and walking around for quite a while.

"Iris, you don't feel dizzy or nauseous, right...?"

"No. I feel the same as usual."

"Phew... That's a relief..."

To think there were narcotic plants growing around here...

I was so focused on worrying about demons, monsters, and beasts that I never thought of such dangers.

"Anyway, thanks for letting me know. We almost got into big trouble..."

"It's nothing..."

Rune blushed as if embarrassed and scratching her head.

It seemed she wasn't used to being praised.

"Iris, don't just pick anything from now on because it looks interesting. Got it?"

"Did I do something wrong?"

"Yes. You need to reflect on this."

"... I'm sorry."

Iris's expression became extremely gloomy after being scolded.

There were clear signs that she had tried her best in her own way, but the fact was that the result could have posed a danger to everyone.

I need to firmly warn her this time to raise her awareness.

"If you understand, that's good. Just be careful next time."

"Yes..."

My heart was still pounding and not calming down.

Seeing the cold sweat running between my hair, I seemed more shocked than I thought.

I wasn't this shocked even when I first met a demon.

"......"

Just as I was about to roughly summarize the situation and tell the children the results of this field practice,

Rune, who had been quietly sitting at the edge of the mat until a moment ago, had suddenly approached right next to me and unexpectedly showed the top of her head.

"...Yes?"

"......"

The atmosphere around me instantly became silent.

Everyone's gaze naturally shifted towards Rune.

"P-pat my head..."

Rune's quiet words soon followed.

Although she outwardly pretended to be indifferent, she seemed to have expected more praise.

"Ah... alright. Thank you very much."

When I slowly patted Rune's round head, Ellie, who had been watching this closely, began to stomp her feet more and more urgently, frowning.

"Me too... me too...!! I got 1st place in this practice...!! But why only her..."

"I know. Ellie did really well, too."

Leaving Rune behind, who showed a bashful expression after receiving my praise.

I gently turned my body and extended both arms to Ellie with a faint smile.

"Come here."

"Gasp!"

Ellie showed a moment of hesitation.

But soon, she charged straight into my arms like a raging bull and began to hug me tightly.

"Hehe, I'm so happy."

A strong embrace that felt like all my internal organs would pop out.

Unlike my intention to wrap things up warmly, Ellie showed a more intense reaction than ever before, pressuring me.

"What... so Ellie got 1st place in this practice?"

"... That's right. Ellie was the only one who gathered them perfectly without any flaws."

"Ellie probably isn't interested in demon hunting anyway."

"No, Aizen. Ellie was really looking forward to demon hunting."

"Huh? Ellie was?"

"Yes. Can't you tell from how hard she worked?"

"......"

As expected, the first field practice ended with Ellie's victory without any major changes.

There were some gains, and it seemed to be quite a unique study for the children, so I was inwardly proud.

If things had gone according to the original plan, I would have stopped talking about medicinal herbs at this point and intended to spend time leisurely with the children until we returned to the church, but...

"C-congratulations...!! Since it seems to be a joyous day, how about holding a small party in our village...?"

The issue with Rune still remains.

"A party?"

"Yes...! I'll prepare lots of dishes that you can only taste in our village! If I tell the elder, he'll gladly help...!!"

"Oh... an elf village..."

For some reason, Aizen began to show a strange interest.

I wondered if this was the same Aizen who had been glaring at Rune as if he would devour her until a moment ago.

"S-so, what do you think...?"

As the children began to show more and more interest, Rune naturally turned her gaze towards me and blinked her eyelids innocently.

It was an obvious motive that could be seen through, but it was a cute suggestion that I couldn't easily refuse.

At this point, I became curious about why Rune was trying so hard to invite me to the elf village.

"Do you want to visit the elf village?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

"...Honestly, I'm a bit curious."

"I really want to go."

I don't particularly sense any ulterior motives from Rune.

But I feel an uncomfortably strange aura from the elves hiding behind her.

I wonder if they really want me to visit the village for assistance.

Or if there's an even greater reason for inviting me to the village.

"Going to that village is also part of my mission, right?"

Whatever the reason, there's something fishy with the elves.

"No...! They didn't say anything about that. They just told me to treat you well..."

"What?"

Rune, constantly fidgeting with her hands clasped together, looked troubled.

The difficulty clearly shown in her expression made the current situation even stranger.

"I thought you might find me strange... I just said that to try to dispel any suspicion, even a little..."

"So, inviting us to the village is Rune's own decision, right?"

"Yes... But I'm sure the elder will also be pleased if I invite you to the village. That's what I think."

No matter how much I think about it, I can't view this situation positively.

It felt like Rune had been thrown out like a sacrificial offering for some unknown reason.

"I see."

Moreover, they even spread a bizarre rumor that I like children.

Visiting under the pretext of clearing up this misunderstanding might not be too bad.

"Alright. Since things have come to this, it wouldn't be bad to go across the river for once."

After all, I can't be tied to this land forever.