Wandering Mage Luke #6
Wandering Mage Luke #6
"I didn't want to cause any pointless misunderstandings."
"What kind of misunderstanding would I have?"
"Well, if the man you're seeing is out and about with another woman, it's only natural you'd be concerned. You're welcome to follow us and see for yourself, really."
"Aha."
Kate had actually given a surprisingly reasonable answer. I'd assumed she meant to push the unpaid labor off onto Rebecca. To think it was simply to avoid being misunderstood.
"Th-then I'll come along too."
Rebecca raised her hand and seconded Kate's suggestion.
The tense atmosphere between Rebecca and Kate had subsided to some degree.
Had the sight of Kate collapsing onto the street and pounding the ground been just too intense?
Rebecca could no longer take a sharp attitude with Kate.
"Good-. You coming along is actually better for me. Somehow, if we parted ways now, I had this feeling you'd be secretly tailing us, Miss Rebecca."
"H-hey! I wouldn't go so far as to stalk you!"
"It was a joke, so don't take every little thing so seriously. Alright, let's head out."
Kate turned her back and walked first toward the church. Once some distance had opened up, Rebecca and I followed behind Kate as before.
"Luke. Is it a job that'll take long?"
"We can probably finish by dinner. We just have to boil water and leave. So it won't take that long."
"I kind of feel sorry toward you. Feels like I got in the way of you earning money."
"Doesn't matter. It's nice to have someone beside me to chat with. Just standing still doing nothing but magic is boring as hell."
"Is, is that so? Then I'll tell you some fun stories while I'm at it."
"Don't make them too fun. I lose focus if I laugh. So I'm counting on you for moderately funny stories."
"Got it."
Rebecca pressed her brow with her fingers, lost in thought as if she was seriously preparing stories. The way she walked forward while doing that was absolutely ridiculous.
So ridiculous it didn't even feel like I was going to work.
It wasn't in the plans, but going to the church with Rebecca didn't seem so bad.
"...You two are just a match made in heaven, aren't you! Why don't you just get struck by lightning!"
I could hear Kate grumbling from a distance.
I watched her walk on ahead, now a third wheel, with a somewhat bitter expression.
Is this the sorrow of the third wheel?
The Luminous Church of Yoen-su.
A short while later, Kate reached the entrance of the church building, but she didn't go inside. Instead, she moved off to the side. She just kept walking along the wall that enclosed the church.
From this point on, there weren't many people around on the street, so we could stay close behind Kate.
"Everyone, this right here is the dog hole. Do you see it?"
"I don't see a thing? Where is this hole supposed to be?"
"I'll show you directly."
Kate briefly looked around, and only after confirming no one was there did she start moving. At the base of the wall where she reached out, a wooden board was attached.
And the moment she pulled the board aside with her hand.
A wide dog hole was revealed beneath it.
A large hole that a person could come and go through without any problem.
"Wh, what the.... I thought it was just a cracked wall with a board patched over it! It wasn't a board for repairing the wall?"
"It's just for camouflage. It's a dog hole for ordering food in secret from our dormitory late at night. We nuns order our late-night snacks through this hole."
"Crazy."
So nuns order late-night food deliveries to their dormitory? And there's a restaurant that delivers on the sly?
I couldn't help but think this was exactly like a high school dormitory.
Well, craving a late-night snack is just the law of nature when you're human.
"Quickly, come inside before anyone sees!"
Kate went inside first through the dog hole, and maybe because her pelvis was wide, her butt seemed to get stuck in the wall.
Only after Rebecca reluctantly pushed her butt did Kate vanish into the hole.
After Rebecca went inside, I was last to enter through the hole.
The moment I went in and straightened up.
"Yoink."
From inside the wall, Kate reached a hand through the hole and grabbed the wooden board. Then she fitted it back into place with practiced ease. The skill of someone who'd played hooky more than once or twice.
"Hmm.... Something's off. I haven't gained weight, so why does my butt get stuck in the hole? Even just a year ago, I could slip in comfortably."
"Hmph."
Hearing that, Rebecca wore a subtly indignant expression.
I quietly kept my mouth shut at Kate's question.
Because answering that would have sounded like sexual harassment.
I can't exactly say it's because your baby-making incubator has matured, now could I.
"The place for preparing the water used in the foot-washing ceremony is right over there. When you open that door and go inside, you'll find the kitchen."
Kate pointed a finger at one of the church's buildings. It was an annex attached near the church's large main sanctuary. Fortunately, the door to the annex faced the very wall where the hole was. Meaning we could go straight in and get inside easily.
"Insanely close."
"Of course it is, because the dog hole was deliberately dug on this side! Right after you order your late-night snack, you can bring it straight into the kitchen. It's a hole drilled through precise calculation. Ah, by my senior nuns, of course."
"Nuns are all just people after all."
"Then, are you ready to run? When I give the signal, sprint."
Kate walked a few steps ahead and surveyed the surroundings. A large tree was growing near the dog hole, so Rebecca and I had no problem concealing ourselves.
"Now-!!!"
The moment Kate gave the voice signal, Rebecca and I dashed nimbly toward the annex. We managed to open the door and slip inside the building before anyone spotted us.
"W-we're in."
"Success, Luke-!"
A space in the annex lined with cooking utensils.
The place I'd arrived at seemed to serve as the church's kitchen, just as Kate had said.
Because the very first thing that caught my eye upon entering was the hearth.
On top of the empty hearth sat a huge cauldron.
"Looks like I just need to heat water in that cauldron."
I realized that was my target even without an explanation. The largest water vessel around was only that cauldron.
"Let's get this done quick and go back."
"Yeah-!"
I walked straight toward the cauldron.
I opened the lid, intending to fill the empty cauldron with water using magic.
But a moment later, I had no choice but to stop forming the hand seal.
Because I realized there was someone else in this kitchen besides Rebecca and me. A young nun with a small build, clutching firewood in one corner of the kitchen, was staring intently at me.
"Um, hello?"
"...Eep."
A face I'd seen before?
Was it the last time I visited the church, when I went to the chapel?
That's the little kid who wailed loudly when she saw me.
Was her name Nancy?
The moment I saw the young nun, I tensed up and broke into a cold sweat.
Because the little kid's face right now was one step away from bursting into tears.
"Wa."
"Wa?"
"Waaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!"
At last, the moment the young nun burst out crying like a human alarm siren!
Someone darted in with ghostly speed and clamped a hand over the young nun's mouth. I was sure it had to be Rebecca. But upon closer inspection, it was Kate, who had followed us into the kitchen.
"Shh! You mustn't cry!"
"Mmph mmph!! K-Kate unnie?"
Thanks to Kate covering her mouth, a big commotion was fortunately averted. I stopped weaving the hand seal and watched as Kate soothed the young nun. Because if the young nun burst into loud sobbing again, I might have to flee this kitchen.
What is she, a human alarm siren? Fucking hell.
*
A fair amount of time had passed since then, but thankfully, the young nun didn't burst into tears again.
It was all thanks to Kate's full effort in calming the young nun.
"Don't be scared. That horned mister over there came to help you."
"T-to help me...? An evil Dream Demon?"
"Yep. Not that evil, but anyway, he's someone who came to help. That mister can use magic, you know."
"Magic! Then he's a mage? Why's a mage helping me?!"
"This unnie here paid money and bought that mister."
Kate's skill at handling children was quite remarkable.
In the middle of the conversation, she pulled a piece of candy from somewhere and popped it into the young nun's mouth.
Once the candy was in her mouth, the young nun stopped trying to cry.
She'd basically put a walking human alarm siren to sleep in an instant.
That aside, saying she 'bought' me with money rubs me the wrong way, though?
But I didn't exactly get angry at Kate's words.
Because the way Kate called me 'mister' was pleasantly tickling my ears.
If she had called me 'old man,' I'd have called her 'old hag' right here on the spot.
"Go play outside today. Play quietly with the kids on water duty. That mister over there will prepare all the water for the foot-washing ceremony."
"Thank you, Kate unnie!"
The young nun hugged Kate, then soon sprinted out of the kitchen with a bright smile. I was a little surprised seeing that side of Kate.
I thought she was a selfish woman who only cared about herself, but she's unexpectedly the type who's good with kids?
Come to think of it, Kate hiring me was also to help her juniors. She had paid me money for the sake of her juniors' free time.
"What're you staring at like that? Hurry up and prepare the warm water, please."
"...Fine."
At Kate's remark, I turned my head.
Then I started filling the cauldron with water as ordered.
I kept conjuring droplets of water using Water Magic.
"The foot-washing ceremony is scheduled to start at 8 PM. Since it's 4 PM now, there are exactly 4 hours left. You just need to make the water warm during that time."
"It doesn't need to be brought to a rolling boil?"
"Moderately warm is enough. Just warming it up a little from lukewarm?"
"I see."
For that level of temperature, 4 hours was plenty.
The cauldron was fairly large, but it wouldn't be a problem. I knew my own capabilities roughly from training in my room. I figured I could finish the work in under three hours.
"Boiling-."
After filling the cauldron to the brim with water, I rolled up my sleeves and plunged my arm into the water up past my elbow. Once my arm was in, the water's temperature slowly started rising.
"No problems with the magic? It's going well?"
"Yeah. Three hours will probably be enough."
"Then I'll step outside the kitchen and take up the role of doorkeeper. It'd be troublesome if someone walks in on us."
The door leading outside the annex had already been locked by Kate.
She had decided to guard the door leading further inside.
I couldn't stop her if she was volunteering for the work herself.
"Well then, you two have a nice time-."
With a suggestive remark, Kate went out the door. Then she stopped in the hallway and made no real move to come back in.
What's this? Could it be she was being considerate, leaving Rebecca and me alone together?
If so, then I'm grateful.
Thanks to that, Rebecca and I could chat while the water heated up.
If Kate had stayed in the room, we'd have been too self-conscious around her to have a conversation.
Meaning the uniquely gloomy loneliness radiating off a single person makes it hard to chatter comfortably.
"Did she need to leave? Couldn't we have just locked the door and all three of us stayed in here?"
"Maybe she wanted to be outside. To make absolutely sure no one comes in. If it's discovered a Dream Demon is inside the church, it'd cause an uproar."
"For that, her movements are a bit strange."
We'd finally gotten a chance to talk just the two of us.
But I kept worrying about Kate, who had gone into the hallway. The outline of her head was faintly visible through the opaque glass set in the door, but it kept disappearing and reappearing. I couldn't tell if she was really keeping watch properly.
"Is she off taking a break somewhere from time to time?"
"Could be. Someone who doesn't even stand night watch would never keep a proper lookout."
"Don't be so harsh on her, Rebecca."
"C-cough."
For three hours, I had no choice but to stare at the kitchen door and stew in anxiety. Because it'd be trouble if, just when Kate had left her post, someone flung open the door and walked in on us. Given the doctrines of the Luminous Church, I'd probably not end up fighting a believer, but I still had to be ready to bolt.
"Was that a footstep I just heard?"
"I don't know either."
Was it because I was tense about the sounds outside?
The three hours of boiling water flew by in the blink of an eye. When the time came and the door opened, Kate appeared before me. Luck or not, no one else had come in.
Kate returned to the kitchen and asked me with a prim expression.
"Have you prepared all the warm water?"
"Of course. Here, feel it yourself."
After dipping her hand into the cauldron, Kate gave a small nod.
It seemed to mean this temperature was sufficient.
"A perfectly adequate temperature for the foot-washing ceremony. You may head back now, you two."
"Isn't there still time left? Wouldn't the water cool down if I just leave now?"
"Putting the lid on and lighting a fire in the hearth will be more than enough. Here, as thanks for helping with the work."
Just as promised, Kate handed me 20 Copper. I thought I'd only be able to leave after a full 4 hours, but the work finished earlier than expected.
"You take care too, Miss Rebecca."
"......Yes."
I collected my pay and headed out of the annex.
Just as I was about to head back toward the dog hole with Rebecca.
"Ah, hold on! I have something to give you two."
Suddenly, as if she'd just remembered, Kate rummaged through her pocket and took out two small slips of paper. Then she held out one slip to Rebecca and one to me.
"This is?"
"Tickets! Tickets to see a play at the Yoen-su Theater! They were a present I got from some adventurer, but I really have no interest in plays. I don't have a male companion to go see the performance with either. So."
Kate took a deep breath and spoke again.
"You two go see the play together-! Go have a date this weekend!"
"You're giving us free show tickets so we can date? Why exactly?"
Not just me, even Rebecca looked flustered.
"I told you. I'm a nun who serves God. It's my place to bless you two for becoming a couple."
Kate answered with a gentle smile.
It was a pure smile, lightly mixed with envy but overflowing with goodwill.
Soon after, the door to the annex closed soundlessly.
Leaving Kate's voice behind.
"Congratulations on becoming a couple-! Those tickets are a special gift for you both. Well then, farewell."