Episode 2. Tutorial (2)
[You are not that kind of person.]
[How could such a scam exist?]
[How could you not have noticed?]
[Notice that this story is contrived.]
'Shut up.'
Odd voices had started echoing in Aiden Oliver's head just moments ago. Everything he'd heard, seen, and felt in his dreams was now bleeding into his real senses. Precisely since encountering the Player.
"Yeah, it's really strange. That enough?"
He hadn't failed to notice how bizarre it was. Strictly speaking, it wasn't wrong. Even granting that the scam was sloppy enough to exist, could he truly have been blind to it? What thought process had led him to decide to come here in the first place? And why couldn't even such obvious reasoning yield a conclusion?
"Your doing?"
No answer came back.
"Damn it…."
He scowled, trying to recall events from about a week ago, but nothing surfaced. It was as if he'd been born just days earlier; his most recent memory was only about three days old. The day he'd witnessed death in his dream.
His thoughts were growing tangled.
"It hurts. I have legs and can walk, so could you let go?"
"I know you'll run again. Everyone's in a bad mood, so just behave for once. Please."
"If the mood's bad, you can all just go die. No reason to get mad at me anyway."
"You little—"
To make matters worse, he could hear the clerics arguing among themselves nearby. Was this place really okay? It felt like a total cesspool no matter how he sliced it. At least, there didn't seem to be anyone truly competent here.
"Hey, you there! Mister! Help me out! This guy's dragging me away!"
"Shut up! Don't say crazy shit!"
The clerics had even paused their fight to call out to Aiden.
"Those guys from earlier?"
Surprisingly, the two clerics' voices belonged to people he'd heard just dozens of minutes ago. Their tones had changed so much from before that he hadn't recognized them at first, but it was definitely her.
"You got caught again, huh. Too bad. That coat was so warm, I wanted to just scoop you up and bolt."
"You finally got nabbed. Were you a nun?"
"You didn't know? You're clueless."
The two brawling clerics turned out to be the villagers Aiden had met earlier. The silver-haired woman who'd been thrilled to get his overcoat from him, and the cleric who'd been searching high and low for her. Seeing them tussle in front of the convent finally pieced the situation together for him. Probably some delinquent nun who'd ditched a tedious event or ceremony. Something like that.
If his guess was right, there was no good reason to get involved.
"Not helping this time. Can't help."
"What's the deal? Come on, tell me. Reasons mercenaries come here are obvious. You don't believe in God, right?"
"Quit yapping and come on!"
The woman urgently pleaded with Aiden for help in her frantic tone, but the other cleric, his patience worn thin, was trying to drag her into the convent.
"Need healing? I'm great at that. Want me to help?!"
Even as she was pitifully dragged along, the woman refused to give up and kept begging Aiden.
"Or maybe you're a mercenary looking for backup? I can do it. Me!"
And luckily, she nailed exactly what Aiden wanted.
With her coming in so low in negotiations like this, he couldn't exactly refuse to help.
"Hey, don't even think about it. No need. There are way more capable people than this one."
"Think about it, mister. You let me go earlier—think these folks will like that? Village people are soft; they scam mercenaries but don't really help for real, right? See?"
For a nun, it was shockingly irreverent, but not wrong. Aiden had helped hide her from the clerics, so he wasn't exactly welcome in their eyes. He could've kept quiet about it, but he'd already spilled.
Plus, these villagers were the type to post scam quests to exploit and deceive mercenaries. No doubt the clerics here were in on it too. Weaklings, like she said.
"Got it. I'll help."
Recalling his poor first impression of the village, Aiden made his decision. Of course, if she lacked real ability as a nun, he'd drag her back himself. But just giving her a slight pretext to rebel against them would suffice.
"Hear that? Let go. Or should we have a proper argument in front of everyone?"
"It'll be a hassle, but I don't mind."
"Yeah, we never really cared about that stuff anyway. Fighting won't change a thing."
"Right? So just…."
The nun, gripped by her right arm, shielded her body with her left. She tried shaking him off repeatedly, but lacked the strength. Even forcing it would only delay the inevitable.
So the nun snapped her fingers with her left hand and uttered words laced with power.
"You forget hundreds of things every day. How about forgetting this incident too?"
⟨ Forgetfulness Charm ⟩
A clumsy phrase some fool might've tossed out habitually. The cleric, hearing it, unwittingly loosened his grip.
"Just, I… uh…."
"Yeah, just tell whoever sent you that you couldn't find me. Got it?"
"Yeah, got it…."
The cleric's aggressive demeanor vanished; his body went limp, barely able to stand. No thought of grabbing her again—he just stared at the ground and released Claire, the nun.
"Now take me with you, mister."
"…Sure."
For some reason, an unfamiliar book was clutched in the nun's left hand.
* * *
Aiden ended up hiring the freshly adult nun on impulse and took her to the inn. At her strong insistence that they should at least eat since they'd met like this.
"Aiden Oliver. One of the countless mercenaries cluttering the streets."
"Claire. Nun who gets cursed at for a living, as you saw."
Having rented a room and ordered dinner, Aiden sat at the empty table introducing himself and the nun to each other. Claire introduced herself as a nun without wearing her habit, her face blooming with an obvious smile. Aiden found her a bit suspicious. Especially how she'd boldly asked the innkeeper for credit when ordering dinner.
"No money? Or did you just forget it?"
"Nah, it's fine. He's taken care of me since I was little; he'll spot me this much!"
"Noted as no money."
"Worried? No need…."
As Aiden feared, this odd nun had no money. The moment he confirmed it, worries flooded in: Was he wasting time? Had he just earned resentment from others for nothing? Did this Claire even have decent skills? She wasn't old, but was she just an apprentice? She looked frugal enough, but not ascetic. And was she really a nun who could cast blessings?
Claire was definitely not a normally assigned partner.
"One thing, Claire."
"Yees?"
"If you lack ability, I'll send you back."
Claire's face stiffened briefly, then she clapped as if remembering something, switching back to a smile.
"Don't drop lines like that to set the mood. Scary."
She reached into the overcoat Aiden had given her and pulled out a small object. A sacred bell that nuns used for blessings, ringing only when casting them. The Holy Spirit.
"This is the Holy Spirit my nuns grudgingly handed over. Know what it is? The one nuns dramatically pull out to show off while healing."
"Can I check?"
The Holy Spirit Claire readily offered bore the name 'Claire' engraved by magic. Meaning it was made for her. That sufficed as identity verification, so Aiden returned it.
"Good enough."
"See? I'm untrustworthy, but a nun's a nun."
She knew her own type. A formal nun fleeing and getting chased by clerics gave a rough idea anyway.
"Still, I'll judge for myself. Sword doesn't make a soldier."
Claire eyed him lazily.
"Tomorrow okay? I finally made it here."
"I'm impatient by nature."
"Come on, first proper food in forever."
"Don't like it? I'll send you back myself."
"Tch…."
Claire pondered with her hand to her mouth, then tossed the freshly returned Holy Spirit back at Aiden. If he hadn't caught it quick, it would've shattered on the wooden floor.
"Show you later. Hold it."
"Sure."
"Yay."
Claire grinned, savoring her brief freedom, but contrary to her words, she didn't use it for eating. At first, it seemed she'd eat in silence, but suddenly she started chatting nonstop.
"Monks ever grab you and spout weird stuff? Like you've earned tons of grudges."
"Never heard that, and don't think I've done anything grudge-worthy."
"Weird. Feels like something's clinging to you… like a ghost."
And bluntly, this nun was undeniably strange.
"Sorry to interrupt, but one thing before it's late."
"Yees?"
"Planning to handle this just us two, so if you're not up for it, say so now."
"Oh, confident?"
"Probably."
Claire was slightly impressed by Aiden's confidence. Even nameless mercenaries gathered to ponder quests; claiming two could solve it tomorrow was bold.
"I'm fine. Just curious where that confidence comes from."
"No need to worry. Just use a few blessings well."
"Way too reassuring compared to earlier."
"…If you bail, it'll be hard to find replacements."
Aiden hadn't fully gauged her skills yet, but liked that she hadn't bolted. Plenty fled at mentions of elite squads; her face grew expectant instead.
"No plans? No scouting?"
"Planners are rare; usually improv on the spot."
"Wow, then you prove your skills, not me."
"Right now if you want."
"Nah, too lazy."
Aiden blinked blankly; Claire laughed like it was hilarious. Far from doubting, she acted like it was already settled.
"Anyway, info's good regardless of plans, right?"
"Unless it's better not to know…."
"Lucky you. I scoped some out alone."
"Alone?"
"Yup. That cave I told you about? Spotted it while poking around."
"Hm."
No big deal timing-wise, but Aiden rated Claire higher. Village outskirts were dangerous, yet she'd investigated bandit spots solo—basics at least.
"Tried handling it myself. Can't do much alone, so stuck to scouting."
"Why bother? Not a mercenary."
"Money. Desperately needed it."
Claire shrugged nonchalantly, giving a pitiful reason. Aiden's expression might've darkened slightly. Needing money 'desperately' here implied something serious—
"To run away. Hate living in this dump."
"Pardon?"
"Never tried convent life? Boring as hell. Hate it. Bunch of fakers pretending to be good… Never mind."
"Uh, yeah…."
"And money's nice! Villagers pooled quest funds; split with you? Sticking it to the scammers."
Aiden quietly retracted all prior thoughts. Speechless. Every image of a nun in his head shattered. She looked like a typical bounty-hunting, money-grubbing monster slayer.
"Different from expected. Thought it'd be nobler. Family issues or…."
"Nope. Hope it flops, actually."
"Haha…."
Really, what a strange person.
