Unquenchable Curiosity and the Forbidden Book

A moment later, Marie stirred awake.

"..."

I naturally greeted her good morning.

"Sleep well?"

Marie stared at me blankly for a moment, then rubbed her cheek as if feeling wronged.

"...Yeah, but... my cheek hurts..."

Come to think of it, her cheek was a bit red. I turned my head away without realizing it and replied.

"...M-maybe it's just your imagination?"

"Is it?"

"Yeah, definitely just your imagination..."

"...Ugh... it really hurts though..."

Putting my guilt aside, I decided ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to change the subject.

"Anyway, Marie."

"Yeah?"

"What happened yesterday? Did you call for the nun?"

"Yeah, Teresa sent the signal, right?"

"Me?"

Did I send a signal...?

"...Th-then, yesterday, there was this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠golden flash from the direction you ran off to."

"Ah..."

It must have been when Sister Vanessa's trap went off.

So she took that as the signal.

Marie tilted her head anxiously.

"Did I mess up? Was that not the signal?"

I shook my head.

"No. You did great. You nailed the signal."

I smiled at her, and she tilted her head toward me like she was begging for a pat.

"Really?!"

I stroked her hair and praised her properly.

"Yeah. You did awesome. I survived thanks to you, Marie."

After catching my breath for a moment, I reminded us both of reality and continued questioning.

"So, what's the atmosphere like at the monastery right now?"

"Total chaos. Not only was there a demon cultist hiding among the monastery kids, but a nun helped them too."

"Am... I gonna get in big trouble?"

When I asked anxiously, Marie pondered for a bit before answering carefully.

"Doesn't seem like it. We covered it by saying you were suddenly kidnapped. It looked serious, but more like everyone was worried than angry. And they said to tell you to rest here for the day once you woke up."

"You did great."

"Yeah. My heart was pounding like crazy while lying, but... if I didn't cover properly, you might've gotten in trouble, Teresa."

I stroked her hair a little more. Her small body burrowed into my arms happily.

"Ehehehe~"

Soon her eyes closed, and I heard her quiet breathing. She must have been exhausted, just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like me.

I slowly got up from my spot. I picked up Marie, who had fallen asleep in an uncomfortable position in my arms, and laid her comfortably on the bed.

"!?"

No, right as I was about to lay her down—

"Kyaa! N-no, don't!"

Marie suddenly opened her eyes and pulled away from me in shock.

"Don't? What's that mean?"

Her reaction threw me off too.

"It's just... I-I heard the rumors, and I get your tastes, Teresa... but I still need some mental prep to accept that..."

"...?"

I had no idea what she was talking about.

"No, I'm mentally prepared, but it's too soon for that... I don't even know how to do it properly yet... Don't I need basic knowledge at least...?"

"That?"

"Ah, uh... n-no, but... if you want it... I could accept that too... but right now, it's just... too sudden, you know? M-me... mental prep takes... time..."

Something was off.

"Marie?"

Come to think of it... her face was redder than before. It wasn't just from me messing with her cheek.

Does she have a fever?

I cornered the fleeing her against the wall and pressed my forehead to hers.

"!!"

No fever. But at that moment—

Thud—

Marie collapsed weakly to the floor.

"Marie!? You okay?"

"...Y-yeah..."

I helped her up and checked her face.

"!?"

Her face was now beet red, like a ripe tomato.

"Marie... you sick or something? Or did something happen?"

"...N-no. N-nothing... Ah, no! I-I... I gotta go pray!"

Marie bolted out of the infirmary like she was fleeing.

She really is sick somewhere...?

Leaving her behind, I sat on the bed. That's when I finally noticed I was in pajamas—probably changed by Marie.

"Hm..."

Looking around, my belongings from yesterday were neatly placed on the small table by the bed, along with fresh clothes. The amulet, and a book...

A book?

Upon closer inspection... it was the exact book I'd borrowed from Vanessa at lunch yesterday.

Ah...

Suddenly, Marie's weird reaction from moments ago flashed in my mind.

No way... did she see the book? She wouldn't misunderstand, right?

But I shook my head soon after.

No, probably not... She's not old enough to know about that stuff yet...

......

After Marie left, I changed clothes in case someone came by and sat obediently on the bed, waiting.

"Hm..."

I figured the nuns might come interrogate me, but no one showed. Only when breakfast time rolled around did Sister Nensi bring food, check on me once, and hurry off again.

"Hmnya..."

......

After breakfast, I headed to the courtyard for some training to aid digestion—and to make up for what I missed at dawn. Above all, I wanted to check if the Fate Defier's double EXP effect was working properly.

I did some light stretches to warm up, then started my routine with push-ups as usual.

Unlike dawn, a few nuns and monks were passing through the courtyard, but since I wasn't doing anything problematic, I ignored them.

Sweat beaded on my forehead and trickled down, giving me that satisfying feeling of a real workout.

I collapsed onto the courtyard ground after my final sprint, then checked the notification window.

Yep, the EXP was definitely doubled. A grin spread across my face involuntarily.

"Heh heh heh..."

I did some rough calculations in my head. As stats rise, the required EXP increases, but if I stacked 500 EXP a day across three stats... I could meet the main quest conditions in about two months.

The only eyesore in the status window was the minus from underweight.

But... this underweight thing is taking longer to fix than expected...

I pinched my slight belly fat, but it was still just taut, youthful skin stretching briefly—no real fat.

"Hmnya..."

Not that I had complaints about monastery meals... but they felt restrained, as expected from a monastery, and the lack of meat was a real bummer.

Compared to the orphanage or church days... I know I shouldn't think this way...

Still, regrets were regrets.

Last time, I couldn't even enjoy the barbecue because of Marco and his gang...

I really wanted meat.

No money to sneak out and buy some in the city...

Suddenly, I remembered the monster meat dish Reina had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠made before.

That was delicious... I'd love to have it again.

It was my first meat dish ever.

If only I could hunt monsters like Reina and cook my own meat...

But I was still too weak to hunt monsters solo.

No choice but to get stronger fast.

......

Back in the infirmary, I sat on the bed staring blankly around the room. At first, skipping classes sounded fun, but now just sitting here doing nothing was boring as hell.

Should I go to class now?

But lunch was soon, so timing was awkward.

Then... I remembered the book I'd borrowed from Vanessa yesterday.

"Hmnya..."

I was curious about the rest... but

Is it really okay to read it?

It's boring, right? No one's watching, so what's the worry?

Yeah?

I pulled out the book I'd hidden under the infirmary pillow, just in case.

"Hm..."

I carefully turned the pages.

Gulp—

Come to think of it... I'd been reading right at the important part.