Adventurers of Gjallarhorn

When the adventurers heard Kate's shocking announcement that she'd formed a fixed party, they clutched their heads and wailed.

"Aaargh."

"Another nun gone from the open parties!"

"Who's the dealer bastard who snatched up Sister Nun into a fixed party? Lucky ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠son of a bitch."

"She said he's her boyfriend. If he's dating the blonde bombshell nun, he's gotta be some top-spec, horse-cocked dealer."

Kate spoke once more to the crestfallen adventurers.

"Now that I have a fixed party, I won't be running open-party quests with you much anymore. So I'm not accepting any more gifts. Now, everyone disperse. As of today, Sister Kate has retired from open-party life and found her one true love. I hope you all find lovely romances of your own."

"Waaahhh. Sister Kate, how could you do this to us! You said back in your newbie days that open parties were so thrilling!"

"A nun's heart is a fickle reed~."

The adventurers all put on miserable frog-faces and scattered in every direction.

The reason they all dispersed was simple: sucking up to Kate no longer held any meaning.

'A fixed party... they often call it a nun's grave.'

It was like dealing with a married woman.

Dealers fawned over nuns because they harbored the desperate hope that maybe, just maybe, one might form a fixed party with them.

Approaching a nun who'd already been snatched up by another dealer—and therefore had an owner—became awkward in countless ways.

But for me, that was a good thing.

It meant everyone now knew that Kate had become my own personal little nun.

Abbreviated: My Little Nun.

When the number of drooling bastards decreases, it's a good thing from a boyfriend's perspective.

"Did you wait long? My Little Nun, Sister Kate."

"Whoa, My Little Dealer, Mongma-nim!"

Smack!

I walked up to Kate, now left alone, and gave her a high-five.

For some reason I'd really wanted to high-five her, and it seemed Kate had felt exactly the same.

"Huh? But where'd you get that robe and boots? You've got major mage vibes ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠flowing in those."

"Miss Bella gave them to me as a gift."

Kate's reaction told me she liked my new look quite a bit.

There weren't any mirrors nearby, but just imagining it, I had to be radiating a real mage-like aura right now.

A mage with demonic horns.

If I put on a little more gravitas, I thought I might even give off a Demon King sort of vibe.

"That fox of a Vice Guild Master didn't do anything weird to Mongma-nim, did she? Like demanding your body in exchange for the gifts?"

"Nothing like that happened. Who'd want an incubus's body anyway."

"What do you mean, who'd want it? I do."

"Ahem."

At her sudden, direct 'I do,' I felt a little embarrassed.

Before I knew it, Kate had glued herself to my side, wearing her trademark self-assured smile.

The sensation of her soft nun breasts pressing against my arm felt way too good.

"To celebrate the end of your promotion ceremony today, let's go on a date right now! I waited a long time, so you're buying me something delicious."

"Where do you want to go?"

"First, let's shop at the clothing stores downtown. You're going to pick out my clothes for me, Mongma-nim."

Kate flashed a mischievous grin, then whispered in a small voice right next to my ear.

"Pick out my underwear too~. I'll wear it next time I come over."

"Oh."

My girlfriend's underwear!

I get to choose it myself!

This was truly a happy, happy shopping date.

I was going to pick out such lewd panties that she'd regret ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠leaving the choice to me.

"Let's go!"

I linked arms with Kate and we headed out of the guild. We were walking through the city streets when it happened.

From a distance, a voice rang out, calling to the two of us.

"Luke! Sister Kate!"

It was a familiar voice. I turned my head to see Rebecca standing across the street.

A red-haired swordswoman with a single curved blade at her hip.

The bikini-like top and leather pants she always wore were nowhere to be seen. Today she wore a pure white blouse and jeans.

I liked the vibe—she looked incredibly innocent with less skin showing.

Honestly, whether on dates or just normally, she looked best in casual clothes.

I waved a greeting, and Rebecca strode briskly toward us.

"Rebecca. There aren't any quests up, so what brings you to the Adventurer's Guild? Don't tell me you came to see me?"

"Of course I did! You and Sister Nun both got called in for the promotion ceremony today. I figured it'd be wrapping up soon, so I came to see you. Glad I caught you before I missed you."

"Heh heh. You missed my face that much?"

I asked with a mischievous laugh, and Rebecca poked me lightly in the chest, her voice turning coy.

"Yeah. I came because I missed you. What are you gonna do about it? Having two girlfriends must make you so happy you could die, huh? If you don't treat both me and Sister Nun right, I'm gonna bite you."

"I'll serve you with the utmost devotion so I don't get bitten, Lady Rebecca."

"Lady? Where'd that come from?"

"I have to serve every woman I'm dating, so she's my Lady."

"Pffft. 'Lady,' she says. Hilarious."

Rebecca stifled a laugh at my antics, then turned her head to look at Kate.

For some reason, Kate had fallen into an awkward silence ever since Rebecca appeared.

Her arm, once tightly linked with mine, was slowly loosening, as if all the strength had drained from it.

"It's been a while, Sister Nun?"

"Th-thank you for coming to see us, Miss Rebecca."

The normally energetic Kate seemed strangely deflated whenever she dealt with Rebecca.

Well, I guess it was only natural for things to feel a bit awkward.

Kate probably saw Rebecca as something of a benefactor—the one who'd given her permission to date me as a second lover.

It was only natural she'd be twice as careful with every word and action.

Rebecca, on the other hand, approached the awkward-acting Kate first and struck up a conversation without hesitation.

That was so like Rebecca—always casually open about everything except the lewd stuff.

"Now that we're like family, of course I had to come see you."

"Huh? Did... we just suddenly become family?"

"We love the same man now, so we are family. That's how they taught it back in my homeland, you know?"

I'd heard this story before, while chatting with Rebecca before I started dating Kate.

She'd told me that in her homeland, the Zakarta Kingdom, the male population was so low that harems were considered a natural part of society.

Because of that, among all the kingdoms of the Midgard Continent, theirs seemed to have the most open and unashamed attitudes and customs regarding harems.

That was also why Rebecca was so comfortable approaching Kate, who was now her sister-girlfriend.

Although, judging by the look of it, Kate still seemed to feel a sense of distance.

"I-I see. Whatever Miss Rebecca says is absolutely right! We are family now!"

"Huh? I mean, I don't know about 'absolutely right'... Anyway, from now on, don't bother adding 'Miss' every time you call me. Just call me Rebecca."

"Since you're a year older than me, I'll call you Unnie! Rebecca-unnie."

Kate hesitated, then added,

"And you can drop the formalities with me, Unnie. You don't have to be stiff and call me Sister Nun. You can just talk to me comfortably, like a younger sister."

"Is that okay? Then I'd be more comfortable, so I'm happy to."

Rebecca grinned and started calling Kate casually.

"I'll speak comfortably from now on, Kate! Actually, I want us to get closer, so I'd like to use a nickname. How about I call you 'Kay'?"

"Kay...?"

For a split second, Kate's eyebrows drooped into a sad inverted-V shape, but they smoothed back out in the blink of an eye.

"Why? You don't like it?"

"I don't."

"Huh?"

"...I mean, I don't not like it! I absolutely love it, Unnieeee! Wow, your naming sense is amazing. You could seriously get paid to name babies. From now on, my nickname is Kay. I'll make all my sister nuns at the church call me that too. Hurry up and call me by my nickname, Unnie."

"Uh, uh... Kay."

And just like that, the matter of address between my two lovers was settled.

I quietly spoke to Kate, who was still clinging to my arm and wearing a subtle expression of discontent.

"You don't like the nickname Kay?"

"No? Who said I didn't? You should call me Kay too, Mongma-nim."

"I'll pass."

I gave up probing any deeper, since it felt like if I pushed it, she'd get mad.

But suddenly, watching the two women change how they addressed each other made a new desire bloom in me.

I wanted to hear Kate call me 'oppa,' too.

"Since Rebecca's become your unnie, you should call me Luke-oppa. You know I'm a year older than you, too."

If Kate called me that in her shy voice, I had a feeling it'd be the absolute best.

'Luke-oppa.'

I never really got it back when I was just hanging out with my real little sister at home, but once I got to college and had female underclassmen calling me 'oppa,' I understood.

That 'oppa' coming from someone of unrelated blood—the way it made my heart flutter was unreal.

"Ehhh? You want me to call you oppa instead of Mongma-nim?"

"Yeah. It's weird for you to keep calling me Mongma-nim forever, isn't it?"

"I don't mind, though? The 'mong-mong' sound in Mongma-nim has the cutest ring to it. I'm going to stick with Mongma-nim for the time being."

"For the time being? Until when, exactly? We've already known each other over a month now."

"Just three more months. It's stuck so firmly in my mouth, it's hard to get it unstuck-mongmong."

It was ridiculous, but the way she mumbled "mongmong" with her lips was kind of cute.

I resolved to patiently wait for the day Kate would call me oppa of her own accord.

'Looks like all the nickname talk is finally winding down.'

The way the two women addressed each other had finally relaxed into something comfortable.

I quietly hoped this might help them grow closer to each other.

Now it was time to go on that date.

Rebecca had joined us, and since our fixed party was assembled in one place for the first time in a while, going out and having fun together seemed like a great idea.

"I was going to go shopping with Kate. Rebecca, how about you?"

"Shopping? What are you buying?"

"Clothes."

"Perfect timing! I've been wanting to buy some new fall clothes, too. It's been getting chilly at night lately."

Just as I was smoothly steering the mood toward the three of us hanging out together...

Slip.

Suddenly, Kate quietly unlinked her arm and stepped back behind us, opening her mouth to speak.

"You're going on a date with Rebecca-unnie? Then I'll bow out."

"What?"

I was totally taken aback by her words.

She was the one who'd suggested the date in the first place, and now she was suddenly saying she'd drop out?

Did she not like the idea of the three of us dating together?

I'd assumed she was just insisting on a one-on-one date, but after listening further, that wasn't it.

"I like hanging out as a trio too! But I can't possibly get in the way of Rebecca-unnie's date. I'm the second one in the relationship, so I'm content to enjoy everything after Unnie. Wanting more than that would just be shameless of me."

"What are you suddenly talking about? What do you mean you're second to Rebecca?"

Rebecca looked just as dumbfounded as I did.

"You're not getting in the way. Come with us. If you really think about it, I'm the one who butted in later, so I'm the one who got in the way."

"U-Unnie, you got in the way?! The two of you must have been spending cozy time together all this time. The fact that I butted in at all already put me in your debt. That's why, for the past week, even when I missed Mongma-nim, I buried myself in the church and endured it."

"Whaaat?"

"Eep."

Perhaps realizing she'd let unnecessary words slip, Kate drew a sharp breath.

But what she'd just said cleared up a question I'd been holding onto for a while now.

'She'd been holding back for a whole week? It wasn't just that she was busy?'

The day after my first experience with Kate, after we'd parted ways.

From that day until the promotion ceremony, a full week had passed.

Honestly, from a girlfriend's perspective, she must have wanted to see her new boyfriend's face during that time.

But Kate hadn't shown even a glimpse of herself in front of me.

It was out of consideration for Rebecca, who was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠living in the same inn.

She hadn't wanted to intrude on our time together.

"If you missed Luke's face, then come see him! I've never once felt upset about having time stolen from me just because you showed up, okay? And honestly, Kay, I really wish you'd be a little more straightforward with me..."

"There's no way you wouldn't feel that at all!"

While Rebecca was mid-sentence, Kate suddenly spoke up.

With an expression far more serious than usual, she was staring directly at Rebecca.