The Blond Nun and the Promotion Battle #4
The Blond Nun and the Promotion Battle #4
Contrary to my worries, I found Kate in no time.
She was right by the village chief's house. The moment you stepped outside, you could see her sitting alone on the hill overlooking the village.
'What's she doing out here in the middle of the night? Not even asleep.'
Puzzled, I watched her from behind in silence. A wistful expression on her face, Kate had her head tilted back, gazing up at the night sky.
'The view is gorgeous.'
Since the village chief's house sat at the very top of the hill, there was nothing blocking the view—you could drink in the night sky to your heart's content. A dark night sky with the Milky Way spilling across it. Below that, the entire panorama of Kunbilia Village lay spread out before your eyes. Even I, jaded as I was, couldn't help but let out an admiring sigh at the scenery.
As expected of the village chief's place, I guess?
Best view in the village!
"......."
Up on the hill, Kate sat with her knees drawn up. She had her arms wrapped around her legs, clad in jet-black stockings.
She looked so oddly forlorn that I couldn't just leave her be.
I waited a moment, then approached from behind.
"What're you doing out here? Kate."
"Ah."
Kate turned around, looking startled.
Like someone whose secret had just been discovered.
"W-Weren't you asleep?"
"The halfling's sleeping habits are no joke, so I woke up. And when I couldn't find you, I came out looking."
"Ugh."
Kate spoke with a flustered look.
"I just stepped out for some night air, that's all. I was having trouble sleeping."
"I see."
It felt a bit awkward just standing there talking, so I plopped my ass down on the spot right next to Kate. The hillside ground was soft enough to sit on comfortably.
Wordlessly, Kate fixed her gaze on me, sitting there beside her.
She was shooting me a sidelong glance tinged with a hint of displeasure.
"I didn't give you permission to sit next to me, Mongma-nim."
"Did you ask my permission when you sat next to me in the carriage?"
"Well, no, but..."
Left with no comeback, Kate didn't press any further. She made no move to put any distance between us either, even with me right next to her. She simply turned her head back and gazed up at the night sky again.
We had a rare moment alone together, but Kate didn't try any of the lewd teasing she did in the carriage. She just seemed to be deep in thought about something.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Absolutely none of your business, Mongma-nim."
"O-Oh, I see."
Could she possibly be thinking about me? Her sharp, dismissive answer left me feeling awkward for no reason. But keeping my mouth shut would've been just as awkward. As I mulled over what topic to talk about, I realized there was something I needed to thank Kate for.
"Kate. Remember when you gave me those tickets the other day?"
"Tickets?"
"When I came to the church to heat water for the foot-washing ceremony. You gave one to me and one to Rebecca. Thanks to that, we had a great date. Turns out Rebecca really likes plays."
"Ah, the theater tickets, you mean."
I hesitated a moment before asking her.
There was something about the play I wanted to ask.
"But the plot was pretty bizarre, wasn't it? It was <Siegfried>, right? By the end, the main couple got completely annihilated. It ended on a miserable note. You didn't deliberately set us up with a play that had that kind of story, did you?"
It was something I'd been curious about for a long time after <Siegfried> ended. Because it concluded with a catastrophically screwed-up ending where the couple got wiped out. Had she shown us <Siegfried> just to fuck with me and Rebecca? I wanted to hear the truth from Kate.
"What? It had an ending like that?"
Kate's eyes went wide as she stared at me.
"I didn't know. They said it was just a run-of-the-mill heroic epic, so I bought the tickets without thinking. The couple all getting killed...?"
"You seriously didn't know?"
"Yes! Honestly, I don't even know that much about theater. I consider things like cultural life a luxury. You know how it is! Everyone from Evergreen Orphanage has frugality and thrift drilled into their bones."
It didn't seem like she was lying. Now that I thought about it, I'd also first heard about it from the ticket office clerk as just a simple heroic epic. Kate must've been fooled by the clerk's silver tongue too.
With that misunderstanding cleared up, only the genuine thanks I owed Kate remained.
"Anyway, thank you. Rebecca seemed to really enjoy the play."
"That's a relief."
After thanking her, a strange sense of incongruity suddenly hit me. Looking back at what Kate had said, there was definitely something odd.
"Hey, wait a sec."
"What."
"Didn't you say those tickets were a gift from some adventurers? So what do you mean you bought them?"
"Huhk."
At my remark, Kate's eyes flew wide open, as if she'd been stabbed in the throat. When she handed over the tickets back at the church, she'd clearly said with her own mouth that she'd been gifted them. But buying them with her own money? That didn't match what she'd said before!
Kate wore a troubled expression, then soon let out a sigh and spoke.
"Alright, fine. I bought those tickets with my own money."
"You paid for two tickets? Even though you said you don't have a man to go with?"
"What makes you think I don't?"
Kate's gaze was fixed on me. Her words threw me off. Did that mean she had a man to go see a play with? But in the very next moment, Kate came out with something I never expected.
"Who is it?"
"You, Mongma-nim."
"Wha— what did you say?!"
Seeing my utter shock, Kate tilted her head.
"Why so surprised? There wasn't any particular ulterior motive when I bought the tickets. I just wanted to build some rapport with you by watching a play together. You're important to me for making Holy Water, and you're also an old friend. Even though at that time, I was the only one who knew we were from the same orphanage."
Her voice carried no hint of personal feelings whatsoever.
Only then was I able to calm my startled emotions.
"After we met again, you were already dating Rebecca, Mongma-nim. No matter what, I can't ask a man who has a lover to go see a play alone with me. It would cause a misunderstanding with Rebecca."
"A misunderstanding... huh."
"So I gave the tickets, which I no longer needed, to the two of you. That's all there is to it."
Kate drew the line cleanly. She concluded it so curtly that, for a moment, I let my guard down. My heart relaxed in the presence of Kate, sitting right there next to me.
Maybe Kate was finally starting to sort out her feelings toward me?
That thought had vaguely crossed my mind.
"How much were the tickets?"
"Three silver each."
Those theater tickets were worth three silver apiece?
Come to think of it, in my previous life, expensive performance tickets often ran over 100,000 won.
Being a play staged at the grand theater in Yoen-su, it must have cost a fortune.
And the seats were first-class, with an amazing view of the stage.
I felt even more grateful toward Kate.
A gift's value can't always be measured in money, after all.
"Is there anything you want from me?"
"Want?"
"I feel a bit bad just getting free tickets without giving anything back. Is there something you want as a gift? Want me to get you a new mace or something?"
"I don't need a weapon. I barely use one anyway."
What? This heal-slut says she doesn't need a weapon?
Is she planning to freeload her entire adventuring career?
I was so taken aback I was at a loss for words.
Then suddenly, Kate looked at me and gave a meaningful smile.
"Instead of a gift, could I ask you just one favor, Mongma-nim?"
"Let's hear it."
"Let me borrow your arm and shoulder. Just for 30 minutes."
She wanted to borrow my arm and shoulder?
The way she called it a favor, I thought she was going to put me to some grueling labor.
Or maybe ask for a kiss just to mess with me.
If it's just an arm and a shoulder, then I could lend her that, couldn't I?
I didn't mind paying for the six-silver theater tickets with my body.
"Sure."
The moment I accepted without much thought...
Swish!—Kate suddenly threw herself against me.
She rested her head on my shoulder and slipped her arm between my armpit and mine. In the blink of an eye, Kate had pressed her body tight against me.
"Hoo, hoo-hoo-hoo."
Seeing me frozen stiff, Kate let out a delighted smile. Her glossy blonde hair cascaded over my shoulder. The nice scent from her hair and the tickling sensation made my head spin, no question about it.
"Hey."
"Why are you calling me? You said you'd lend them to me. Your shoulder and arm belong to me right now. You can't move."
The more flustered I got, the wider Kate's smile grew. Kate stayed perfectly still, her head resting on my shoulder. If someone saw the two of us from afar, they might mistake us for an affectionate couple.
And here I thought she was sorting out her feelings.
Seems like that wasn't the case. If anything, it got worse. I couldn't help but be filled with questions as I looked at Kate. What exactly is she trying to get by seducing me like this? Does she really want me to pounce on her?
"If you were going to ask a favor like this, you should've done it back in Yoen-su."
"No way. Once we're back, you'll be stuck to Rebecca again. Right now is my only chance to be alone with you, Mongma-nim."
At her firm answer, I had no choice but to surrender my arm and shoulder to Kate. Watching me obediently lend my body, Kate flashed a mischievous smile.
"Just for today, Mongma-nim, you are mine."
That single sentence made my heart tremble.
Thirty minutes!
For those thirty minutes, I was completely dominated by the sexy heal-slut. Resistance was impossible.
Because the sensation of being buried against Kate's voluptuous chest was simply too intoxicating. It was something I'd regret later, pounding the ground in frustration, but at that moment, I surrendered to her completely.
*
Kate really did keep her promise that night.
The exact moment 30 minutes passed, she detached herself from me. Enough to make me, who was being clung to, actually feel a bit disappointed.
"What happened tonight is a secret from Rebecca."
"Yeah."
As dawn began to break, Kate and I returned to the room we were staying in. I lay down, but I had no intention of sleeping anyway. Taking a quick nap here would only make it harder to wake up in the morning.
After morning came and everyone in the party was up and about...
I told the elderly village chief we were leaving.
"We're heading out now, Chief."
"Please, take care of those orc bastards! And if you find a kobold nest, you must let me know. Here, I've got a map of the abandoned mine prepared for you all."
I received the mine map from the chief. After thanking him, we immediately set off for the abandoned mine near the village. A kindly villager happened to guide us on the path there.
Kunbilia Village's abandoned mine.
Near the mine entrance, I stopped the party for a moment. There was a task I wanted to complete before we entered the mine, which was practically no different from a dungeon.
"What's the matter?"
"I'm going to make a Water Whip."
"A Water Whip? You could just make it once we're inside."
"Having it ready beforehand will be reassuring. Plus, there's a modification I want to apply to the whip."
Instead of a long explanation, I pulled out a Water Whip. Then, holding the neatly folded whip in my arms, I formed a hand seal.
"Boiling."
The spell to raise the water's temperature.
The moment I uttered the incantation, the Water Whip against my skin began to heat at high speed. Time passed, and before I knew it, a fiercely boiling Water Whip had been completed in my embrace.
"The water's boiling."
"Hot!"
This boiling Water Whip, which I'd practiced during the promotion match preparation period, was now about to see real combat. The downside was that my hand gripping the whip was also scorching hot, but I'd already thought of a solution to that problem beforehand. The heat-resistant gloves I'd purchased from the general store.
Three-silver heat-resistant gloves!
The moment I pulled the gloves from my backpack and put them on both hands, the heat being transmitted to my hands was cut off.
Meaning I could hold even a boiling Water Whip.
Now all preparations were complete.
All that was left was to enter the abandoned mine and execute those murderous orc bastards.
"Let's go, everyone."
At last, we advanced into the abandoned mine.
Relying on the lantern light, we pressed deeper into the pitch-dark cave.