“The next destination is quite far from here.”
“What? We just finished one job and we’re heading to the next one right away?”
“It’s better to finish quickly. That’s why I took on so many at once.”
“Ugh… When will this tedious job finally be over…?”
The dark night sky was heavily draped over the evening. Neatly stacked firewood crackled on the messy dirt floor, and a group sat around, chatting lightly.
“Well, what can we do? This is our job.”
“That’s true, but… I can’t help but miss the church…”
“I told you that if you keep thinking about the church, you won’t be able to do what you need to.”
“To be exact, I miss the nun…”
Ellie began to sulk, pouting her lips like a duck under Aizen’s scolding. At first glance, it seemed like she was just complaining about the exhausting camping life they had been enduring, but in reality, Ellie was drooping from her longing for Levynia.
“Are you still on about that? How long are you going to cling to Levynia?”
“Until I die.”
“You have no intention of becoming independent, do you?”
“Of course not. After this journey, I’m going to become a nun and be with the nun forever.”
“Are you out of your mind?”
“I think it’s perfectly normal.”
Aizen frowned. This was because Ellie was already revered as a saint by those around them. There was no way she could become a normal nun once the journey was over.
“Sigh, if Levyn hears this, she might faint… What if your thoughts are still stuck at the age of 8…?”
“Now that I think about it, you always frown at what I say first. Aren’t you going back to the church?”
“I am going back.”
“What? So you have no intention of becoming independent either.”
“Unlike you, I’m already mentally independent, so it’s not a big issue.”
“What nonsense…?”
Similar to Ellie, Aizen also seemed to think of returning to the church to lead a normal life after the journey. However, it was unfortunate that he, who was already referred to as a hero by those around him, was very unlikely to be free from the world.
If things went wrong, he might end up living an even more restricted life than now.
“Aizen, you might get married right after you defeat the Demon King.”
Iris, who had been quietly reading a book by the campfire, suddenly chimed in. Aizen immediately flinched and frowned in shock.
“Wha-what?! M-marriage?!”
“Yeah. With the princess.”
“Are you talking about that princess in the royal capital…?”
“Is there another princess?”
Aizen’s face began to bead with cold sweat, and his complexion turned pale.
“N-no way… How could I possibly have a connection to the princess to get married… Don’t say random things…”
“Why wouldn’t you have a connection? You’re about the same age.”
“We’re ten years apart, what’s similar about us?!”
“You might think so, but the king is probably thinking similarly to me.”
“……”
Despite Aizen strongly denying Iris’s words and rejecting reality, for some reason, the more the conversation went on, the more ominous a feeling swept over him, making his spine feel cold.
“Well, someone like Aizen would certainly catch the king’s eye. He’d want to keep you in his kingdom by any means necessary.”
As if that weren’t enough, even Ellie, who had been quietly observing their conversation, chimed in, which only made Aizen feel increasingly awkward and left him with no choice but to remain silent.
“Ah, crap… I hadn’t thought of that…”
“It’s amazing that you’re realizing this now. You were sending out vibes of that when we were called to the castle. Didn’t you feel it at all?”
“I thought she might just want to brag about her daughter since she suddenly started talking about the princess…”
“Wow, are you serious?”
“Am I the only one who didn’t notice…?”
In response to Aizen’s astonished question, everyone nodded without a moment’s hesitation.
“If you all knew, you should have at least given me a hint… I was cheering for her without even knowing…”
“I thought the princess had caught your eye.”
“Is that reasonable?! The princess is only ten years old…”
“Well, it’s already spilled milk, so what can we do? Just handle it. You should pick up on things a bit more.”
With Ellie’s cold remark, Aizen finally drooped his head. The indifference that was palpably felt in her words transmitted fully to him.
– Rustle, rustle
As the somewhat chaotic conversation finally wound down, Ellie immediately turned her head to survey the surroundings without any particular thoughts.
Then she caught sight of Rune’s back next to Iris, completely absorbed in something, indifferent to whatever the children were discussing, which seemed quite peculiar.
“Rune, what are you doing?”
At Ellie’s question, Rune finally lifted her head and paused her activity.
“Huh?”
“What are you doing without saying anything since earlier…?”
“I was writing a letter.”
“A letter?”
“Yeah. A letter to Levynia.”
Everyone’s eyes widened at Rune’s calm statement.
“W-hat?! How are you sending a letter from here?!”
“I have a mystical connection. After all, I’m an elf, so it’s easy for me.”
“If you could do that, you should have told us much earlier!!”
“I thought it was comfortable since you always sent it from the village.”
“That can’t be true… There are very few places where I could send letters, and I’ve been so inconvenienced…”
“Then do you want to write one too, Ellie?”
At Rune’s question, Ellie nodded vigorously. Not only Ellie but also Aizen and Iris subtly joined in to start writing letters, and the previously gloomy atmosphere quickly turned lively.
“I wonder what the nun is doing right now…”
“I think she is probably hunting in the forest.”
“Levyn isn’t an ordinary vampire, so she might be preparing well.”
The sight of grown adults crouching on the floor, seriously writing letters, was indeed a spectacle. No one questioned their behavior, nor did they burst into laughter at their awkward postures. Instead, they wrote letters with more seriousness than when they were hunting demons or monsters.
“Ugh… Writing this letter makes me miss the nun even more…”
“Me too…”
Seeming to have many things to say, the paper in front of the children was teeming with words. The content of the letters reflected the children’s pure hearts, and the words flowed freely, filled with all their dedication.
“By the way, where’s our next destination?”
“Ah, it’s a bit far from here. I heard there’s empty land untouched by human hands next to a village called Belgirin. That’s our destination.”
“What are we doing there?”
“What else would we do? Obviously, we’ll hunt demons.”
“Was that also demon territory?”
“Well, I’m not sure. I heard that if you’re lucky, you might occasionally see a dragon there, but I don’t know the details.”
“A dragon?!”
While Aizen continued to speak calmly, his gaze fixed firmly on the letter, the other children immediately reacted to the word ‘dragon,’ their eyes sparkling.
“Do they really exist?!”
“There are surprisingly many sightings of dragons there. It doesn’t seem to be just a rumor.”
“That’s insane… a dragon…”
“Looks like you’re getting pumped up now. They say the scenery is nice and the air is clean, so it should be a good time to relax while hunting.”
The one who reacted the largest to this was none other than Iris. She didn’t make a big fuss like Ellie, but nonetheless, her eyes sparkled with intense focus, unlike the other children.
“I’ll write my letter later.”
“Uh, why?”
“I want to write it after I see the dragon. I want to tell the nun.”
At Iris’s low remark, the children all stopped their hands simultaneously, their expressions turning thoughtful. Soon, one by one, they put away the letters they were writing back into their pockets, straightening up.
“Yeah… No matter how much you’re a nun, she probably hasn’t seen a dragon yet.”
“We should let Levynia know as much as we can.”
“Iris is smart…”
The children, who had just been busy writing letters, transformed into calm figures in an instant. Despite wanting to say many things to Levynia, they decided to briefly look at each other in silence, organizing their thoughts in their hearts to communicate more about what they had experienced and seen.
They believed that sending meaningful letters would be much more special than just writing about their mundane daily lives.
“I wonder how Levyn will react if we say we saw a dragon?”
“She’ll definitely be amazed! No question about that.”
“I’m already looking forward to it.”
“Well, but did Levynia really not see a dragon…?”
As they each held different thoughts, the night in the fading forest advanced slowly.
The children were already filled with anticipation, yet they still did not forget their goal.
Their steps were aimed at relaying their adventures to Levynia at the church to which they would someday return. The children’s night, which was no different from any other, gradually faded away.
.
.
.
At that moment, Levynia was─.
“Pray with all your heart. How can someone who claims to be a nun say prayers so half-heartedly?”
“I-I’m sorry…”
“You should never neglect prayer just because you’re a pilgrim. You must be more diligent.”
In a village located just above Warrior Bill, Levynia was unexpectedly praying and receiving strict guidance from the abbess in the nun’s building.
“Sit up straight.”
“Yes, yes─!!”
Even though it was late at night, there was no sign of the strict training ending anytime soon. Levynia, who was unexpectedly receiving such training in a village she thought would only be a brief stop, had many questions, yet she couldn’t express them to the abbess, who took great pride in being a nun.
“Haha—!!”
While forcing herself to continue a prayer she didn’t want to do, Levynia secretly grimaced when suddenly the bright laughter of Binya came from behind her.
Upon hearing the laugh, Levynia felt even more gloomy.
“What on earth is this…?”
“Stop mumbling uselessly and focus on your prayers.”
“……”
Originally, this was just another ordinary village that she could have passed by. However, the abbess, who she encountered at the village entrance, didn’t have a good impression of Levynia, who lacked even the basics.
“As long as you wear a nun’s attire and travel as a pilgrim, any half-hearted behavior is absolutely unacceptable.”
“Y-yes…”
“Since you’re in a hurry, I won’t keep you long. However, Levynia, please commit wholeheartedly to your education.”
“Yes…”
Thus began the basic education of being a nun. Since Levynia had been half-heartedly pretending to be a nun so far, everything was bound to be in chaos. Especially since the faith that was most important for a nun did not exist at all within Levynia.
“I-I don’t want to do this…”
