Not a Nun
“Oh my…!”
Celine covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes shining.
…
I clutched the hem of the nun’s habit as tightly as I could and looked away from her, but those glittering eyes were so overwhelming it was almost physically uncomfortable.
Her gaze, however, clung to me with stubborn determination and refused to let go.
At last, I ducked behind Journey, and only then was I finally freed from the attention pinned on me.
“You’re such a cute little nun! Wouldn’t it be lovely if you joined the Church of Edel like this?”
“N-No! Kana said she was traveling with me!”
“My, but you can still travel even if you become a nun.”
“...Wouldn’t I have to wear nothing but a nun’s habit if I became one?”
“You can dress comfortably when you’re resting, but when you’re active, yes. That would be proper.”
“Then it definitely won’t do. I can’t deny that Kana in a nun’s habit is adorable. But it would be such a waste to make Kana wear only one outfit.”
“I see... if that’s the reason, then I suppose it can’t be helped.”
I could say with confidence that listening to whatever those two were talking about right now would do nothing for my mental health.
So instead of trying to understand their conversation, I kept fiddling pointlessly with the edge of the habit.
I’d never worn anything like this before....
Well, I mean, something only women wore.
...Why on earth was there a slit up the side of the skirt?
If something like that was there, what was even the point of making the skirt long?
Complaining wouldn’t change the fact that I was wearing the thing, of course, but if I didn’t grumble about it in my head, I felt like I might lose my mind.
“It suits you, so don’t worry about it.”
“...I wasn’t worried.”
Not that I’d ever wanted it to suit me.
Sorry to disappoint Journey, who was clearly thrilled by the festival, but I needed to finish this as fast as possible and leave.
I tugged sharply on Journey’s arm.
“Hm? What is it?”
“Tell her something for me.”
“Something? Oh, to Celine?”
“Yeah.”
At my answer, Journey broke into a wicked grin.
“I’ll do it if you say, ‘Please call me big sister~’!”
…
And here I’d brought— or rather, taken a translator for moments like this, only for it to break down.
At this unexpected turn, I tilted my head.
Hmm... what should I do?
While I was thinking, something from the past suddenly came to mind.
This is bad....
What happened?
Ah, Vice Captain. As you can see, the magic tool is broken. At this rate, we won’t be able to continue the operation. Should we fall back?
Move aside.
Huh? What are you going to do— no, Captain! That’s expensive! You can’t just handle it carelessly!
It’s broken anyway.
That doesn’t mean you should just pound on it like that! If a repairman saw it, maybe it could still have been fixed, but to just beat on something that expensive so recklessly—
...?I am fixing it.
How is that fixing it?! You’re smashing it b—
Ah, never mind.
—ing... it...?
Here. You check it too.
...Why is this working? It should honestly still be broken....
Broken things get better when you hit them.
—That had happened once too.
Maybe the reason I’d suddenly remembered it was because I was supposed to apply the lesson I’d learned then?
Yes. That had to be it.
“W-Wait! Let’s talk this out!”
As always, her crisis detection abilities were uncanny.
She had merely thought about it and hadn’t even raised a fist yet, but Journey had picked up on it instantly and fled in a panic.
Suppressing my disappointment, I asked as if I had no idea what was going on.
“Why are you suddenly acting like that?”
“Even if you pretend to be innocent, it won’t work! I felt it clearly! The killing intent radiating off Kana...!”
“It’s your imagination.”
Even if I didn’t notice such things, it wasn’t like I’d start murdering people inside the holy kingdom over something so trivial.
“...Where exactly am I supposed to even begin objecting to that?”
Should she object to the part about “something so trivial”? Or to the part about “inside the holy kingdom”?
Journey muttered under her breath.
“Ugh, whatever! So what did you want to say?”
“Oh, it’s fixed.”
“Huh? Fixed? What is?”
“Nothing. Ask her if there’s a private prayer room I can use.”
“A private prayer room?”
I nodded.
“Yeah.”
Both in terms of timing and content, it seemed better to use a private prayer room than the chapel, where other people’s eyes and ears were everywhere.
Of course, there was no guarantee that Edel would answer my question....
But if that happened, there was nothing for it.
“Was Kana always such a devout child...?”
Even as she murmured in suspicion, Journey relayed my words to Celine.
After hearing them with a solemn expression, Celine replied.
“She said, ‘It’s generally a place open only to members of the order... but I’ll see if I can find a way.’”
Journey echoed Celine’s words in her own voice.
Hmm. Had I made too unreasonable a request?
Feeling a bit apologetic, I looked at Celine’s face, only to find the same gentle expression I’d seen these past few days greeting me in return.
Was she truly not troubled at all, or was she simply too polite to show it?
I couldn’t tell, so I simply bowed my head in thanks.
“Thank, you.”
“Thank you, my lady.”
“Thank you...?”
“Hehe. Don’t mention it. More importantly, first....”
Waving her hand with a smile, Celine pointed to one side.
“Shall we eat first?”
* * *
“Mmm~! This is delicious...!”
“Is it to your liking?”
“To my liking? This food?”
At Celine’s question, Journey set down her fork.
Then she arched her brows and put on a most serious expression.
“Is there anyone who wouldn’t like such wonderful food?”
At her theatrics, Celine laughed pleasantly.
“I was worried it might not suit your tastes, so I’m glad.”
“And to think we were given lodging and then treated to such a splendid meal on top of that.... What am I supposed to do with myself? I’m positively embarrassed....”
“As I said before, the grace you two have already shown me is greater, so please don’t worry about it. In fact, I feel it’s I who should be sorry I can only offer this much.”
“Only this much? If it hadn’t been for Celine, Kana and I might have ended up lying down on the chilly roadside, clinging to each other and trying to sleep. ...Oh? Now that I think about it, maybe that wouldn’t have been entirely terrible?”
Journey fell into genuine thought midway through her own sentence.
Kana looked at her with utter contempt and took a bite of bread.
“The fact that you’re eating without complaining means it must suit Kana’s tastes. ...You may not have known this, but this one has a remarkably picky palate.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
“You have no idea. She’s got the taste buds of a little kid, so she won’t even touch vegetables. Do you know what she said last time? Well—”
Once Journey got going, she never knew when to stop.
She rambled on and on about how much Kana hated vegetables, and how much she loved sweets by comparison.
Celine’s conclusion after listening to her little lecture on Kana’s palate was simple.
“How adorable.”
“Eh—”
“Is she not adorable?”
“...Well, I mean, if we’re asking whether she’s adorable or not, then yes, she is.”
Her sulking at the sight of vegetables, her complete lack of self-control around chocolate.
Because the gap was so large compared to her usual self, the cuteness did stand out even more....
Even as she agreed with Celine, Journey still looked dissatisfied that she hadn’t gotten the reaction she wanted.
Celine turned her warm gaze toward Kana.
“I understand your feelings, Miss Journey. You’re worried Kana will fall ill, aren’t you?”
“Uh, that’s not—”
There were other people to worry about; why would she be worrying about me?
Journey, who had been grumbling jokingly, tried to deny it, but Celine’s words came out a step faster.
“Among the children we care for, there are often those like that. At first, I worried about what I should do, just as you are now, Miss Journey, but with time, they naturally improved on their own. I’m certain Miss Kana will be the same.”
“I-I see....”
Her response was far more serious than Journey had expected, and a bead of cold sweat ran down her forehead.
“That child over there who’s watching us right now was one of those children as well.”
“M-Miss Celine...!”
A young nun sitting at a nearby table had been sneaking glances at Journey’s group, and when Celine’s words reached her, she flushed bright red before hurriedly fleeing the scene.
Watching her go with a satisfied smile, Celine turned back.
“So please don’t worry.”
“Hmm....”
It gets better with time, huh.
Journey mulled over Celine’s words and looked at Kana.
The same expression as always.
And yet, Journey could see it clearly.
The angle of her eyebrows has gone up by about one degree, and her lips are sticking out just a tiny bit.
And when she brought food to her mouth, there was a slight pause before she put it in, unlike when she ate meat, which she took in immediately.
Taking all of that together, the conclusion was obvious: Kana was currently dissatisfied...!
It was Journey’s conclusion, drawn with an observation skill so intense it bordered on madness, and it was reserved solely for when she looked at Kana.
Shiver—
“...?”
Sensing some ominous presence, Kana shuddered and looked around, but in the end she found nothing and returned to her meal.
Journey, who had been nervously worrying she might be caught out, finally patted her chest in relief.
“I hope so too.”
Though judging from how much she hated it, I honestly wasn’t sure she would.
Crunch.
Rather than continue speaking, Journey swallowed the rest of her thought along with the vegetables.
“Oh, right. About what you asked earlier, Miss Kana. I found a way.”
“Really? Already?”
It was fast, which was nice, but wasn’t this too fast?
Even so, Journey relayed the news to Kana.
“Though whether Miss Kana will like it...”
Celine trailed off, and her gaze landed on Kana.
More precisely, it landed on the nun’s habit Kana was wearing.
“What is it?”
“Well—”
Celine hesitated, unable to say it outright.
After some impatient prodding, Journey finally got her answer.
After hearing the “method” Celine proposed, Journey’s impression was this:
“...Do you really think she’ll accept that?”
“I’m not sure....”
With no one able to give a definitive answer, Kana, the only one left out of the conversation, tilted her head.