It's Nothing Special, and I'm Not Even Curious
It's Nothing Special, and I'm Not Even Curious
The first place we arrived at was the Convent. It was primarily to sort out my attire.
As always, this place was inside a game. Moreover, it was an unhealthy Adult Game, which meant the heroines' outfits were rather explicit.
Agnes's outfits were like that due to her concept, and Flora's didn't matter whether she wore them or not since she'd be subjected to exposure play through hypnosis anyway. But looking at the clothes given to Linda and me, most of them were tight-fitting, revealing the body's curves.
I also wondered if, when Kylon arbitrarily changed the heroines' clothes, they would all be revealing or tight-fitting.
Anyway, Kylon and I, having arrived at the Convent first, cautiously looked at the nuns inside.
Then, a nun who approached first looked at me and Kylon in turn, with a surprised expression.
The white Nun's Habit indicated it was the Saintess's Robes, and the splendid white armor with gold decorations revealed it to be the Hero's Armor.
Therefore, she seemed to recognize us quickly and mumbled.
"Saintess-nim and Hero-nim? I heard you had left on an adventure, but how...?"
"Ah, it just happened that way. More importantly, could we borrow some clothes? Our Saintess-nim seems quite uncomfortable, so something comfortable. And some spares, please."
Kylon, leaving behind the nun who couldn't hide her bewilderment, calmly gave my back a slight push, allowing me to go and change.
Thanks to that, I could accept the favor without saying a word.
"I see. Then, Saintess-nim, this way..."
Kylon waved his hand as if to say 'go well,' and soon I was briefly separated from Kylon.
*
Thump. Before the iron-barred door closed, the nun who seemed to be in charge spoke.
"It is a rule of the Convent, so we ask for your understanding that even Hero-nim cannot be admitted inside."
Well, I knew something like that. In the game, this place was marked as an inaccessible area, so I knew I wouldn't be able to enter, whether system-wise or in terms of adhering to the original lore.
Thinking that they wouldn't let me in no matter what, I cautiously peered inside, and the nun carefully began to turn her back.
"...Just a moment, I have something to ask."
Veronica is too timid.
Because she wants to go back, and fearing that a mistake might prevent her return, she felt like a foolish child who, even seeing a stone bridge in front of her, couldn't be sure it was stone and just kept tapping it.
So, when it came to such bold actions, it was better for me to step forward directly.
"Do you happen to know the Pope-nim's whereabouts?"
So I asked. The name of the Pope, whom I had never heard of while playing the game, and his location, which I had no reason to know.
The nun, who had blinked a few times at my question, then let out a "Hmm" and looked at me.
"Pope-nim has gone to another country for a temporary matter."
Was she weighing whether she should tell me because I'm the Hero? Or was there something she was hiding?
I couldn't properly discern the truth, so I cautiously looked around.
It's the Holy Kingdom, but strangely, the Saintess's status is arbitrary. I'm trying to unearth what I hadn't deeply considered in the development where she's rescued from being captured by the King, but I wondered where to start digging to reveal the true nature of it all.
If I dug in the wrong place, I might just hit air, and the truth could sink deeper, making it impossible to uncover further, so I had to act cautiously.
I list the truths I can be certain of.
Thereby, I increase the probability.
First, the Saintess was captured by the King, and the King imprisoned her in a torture chamber to research whether she could be used as an Elixir of Immortality. And that torture was carried out.
Second, the Saintess was not protected by the Holy Kingdom. This means that the current highest authority, the Pope, is absent, and because of this, the King has become the highest authority.
Having listed the truths I can be certain of, I then recall things that can be doubted.
First, even if the Pope is absent, why wasn't the Saintess protected by the Holy Kingdom after her appearance?
Second, although the Saintess appeared, the world wasn't swept up in the commotion of her appearance. It merely spread as a rumor, known by those who knew and unknown by those who didn't.
After recalling a fact that was so natural on the streets I almost overlooked it, I pondered with a "Hmm" and cautiously looked down the path where Veronica had disappeared.
Then, I cautiously grabbed the closed iron door with a bang and glared at the nun.
"...Nun-nim. I have something I genuinely want to ask you."
If it were a game choice, it would have been impossible, but now it was something closer to reality, not a game.
No, for me, it could even be called reality itself right now.
Therefore, it was much more comfortable to ask directly, hinting that I could use force without having to go back because of game choices.
I had to create a situation where I could go straight ahead without turning back.
"...Yes, please speak."
"Do you know the Saintess-nim's awakening area and the location of her assigned Nun-nim?"
Where is the Pope? That's just supplementary information.
Of course, if the Pope were here right now, the situation would undoubtedly be dramatically overturned in an instant.
But at this moment, it was clear that the developer had intentionally hidden the Pope so that it wouldn't end so blandly.
That's probably why the narrative of the Saintess's salvation by the King was born.
Therefore, under the judgment that there must be a nun somewhere who brought the Saintess to the King instead of the Holy Kingdom's center, rather than the Pope who was designed to be unfindable right now, I asked the nun who seemed to be the representative of this place.
"......That is kept in secret. Because of it, the Nunnery Training Center in that area, and that Nun-nim, could suffer harm."
"It's possible to ask Saintess-nim directly, right?"
"Yes."
This was a bluff, but it didn't work.
After all, Veronica hadn't played this game, and she wasn't a Veronica born and raised here, but a Possessor dragged from the same world as me, so I didn't think she would know.
However, hearing the nun answer so easily made me utterly displeased.
The fact that she spoke that way, unaware that Veronica was a Possessor, meant many things.
Originally, nun trainees who grew up in the Nunnery Training Center, orphans, grew up without knowing maps or the name of this place.
And at the same time, it meant they didn't even know the name of the Nun-nim who educated them.
The fact that my bluff didn't work meant that the other party was just as confident, so I could feel my irritation rising sharply.
"Nun-nim."
So, I spoke to her in a low, level voice.
"This Convent, for whom does it operate?"
"It operates solely for Goddess-nim, to serve her."
"Of course. Otherwise, she would judge you."
"...Are you threatening me?"
"No? I'm just stating a fact. Am I not the one who came at Goddess-nim's call? It's just to make things clear."
"......."
Seeing that she had closed her mouth, it seemed she had no intention of saying anything more.
It was indeed a threat from the start. By all accounts, it was a situation where she couldn't say she wasn't aligned with the King.
At this moment, with the Pope absent, the Saintess herself would be considered no less than a proxy Pope, yet seeing the King's tyranny of keeping it silent and using her as a material, it was clear there must be an insider disguised as a nun.
If I only knew who Veronica's assigned nun was at the Nunnery Training Center, I'd find out quickly, but seeing her intent to keep silent until the end, it seemed this damned nun in front of me was also on their side, though I couldn't easily confirm it.
Still, it seemed better not to force a breakthrough, which Veronica disliked.
Furthermore, I, who had just recalled the existence of the True Ending, didn't want to do anything foolish that would send the heroines away.
Anyway, I had made myself clear, so I could only hope she'd be scared into submission on her own.
After waiting for quite a while, nuns slowly walked out.
And among them, the one shining brightest was Veronica, dressed in pure white.
Her appearance, dressed in what seemed like richer clothes than before, made my mind go blank.
In the Adult Game, I had only seen revealing Saintess's Robes, but what she was wearing now was a dress-like garment.
Yet, there was an elegance in its restrained flutter.
And above it were numerous decorations; a Cape enveloped her shoulders, and a golden cross on her chest revealed its presence.
Finally, a Veil covering her head neatly arranged her hair.
With golden embroidery adorning the pure white garment, making it even more beautiful in places, my gaze couldn't help but be drawn to her.
As I directed my blank gaze towards Veronica, she mumbled and then bowed her head deeply.
"...I, I'm here."
The closed iron door creaked open, and the nun who followed handed me a paper bag.
Looking inside, I saw the original revealing Saintess's Robes, a regular Nun's Habit, and a thick winter Nun's Habit.
I had asked for spare clothes, but I hadn't expected them to provide so much, so I bowed my head and offered my thanks for now.
"Hero-nim, weren't you bored?"
"I wasn't bored, as I was drawing Saintess-nim."
With that, we exchanged light greetings where the nuns could see and then left.
And finally, just before leaving completely, I glared once more at the representative nun I had spoken with, and then walked beside Veronica again.
As we moved away from the Convent, Veronica suddenly turned her head and looked at me.
"...Kylon."
"Hm?"
It was her sudden call, but it wasn't particularly surprising.
Well, there's no reason for us to dislike each other just because she called out suddenly.
As I responded to her call, she just looked at me and mumbled.
"Really, it's nothing much, and it's not like I'm curious, but... well, it just came to mind somehow, and it's not like I have a way to know, so anyway, that's why I'm asking..."
I wondered how irrelevant the story she was about to tell would be, for her to ramble on like that.
So, I chuckled and urged her on, as she seemed embarrassed and flustered, as if she didn't know what to do.
"Alright, alright. What do you want to ask?"
Then, Veronica alternated her gaze between the floor and my face, and then cautiously voiced her question.
"...Is semen originally sweet?"
What in the world is she talking about?
This one really came out of nowhere.
But, I don't know either.