I’m Playing as a Nun.

“I’m sorry. The only clothes I have are the ones I’m wearing now and my pajamas.”

“… I-It’s okay…”

Early evening, after the sun slowly dipped below the horizon,

Priscilla, an unwelcome guest, has somehow entered the church and is now sitting demurely like a shy girl.

Up until a while ago, she was definitely wearing shiny iron armor.

However, due to an unfortunate incident at an even worse timing, she had no choice but to borrow my pajamas and stay at the church for a while until her washed armor dried.

“You said you’re Priscilla from the Shield Guild?”

“Yes… That’s right…”

Although the first impression was the worst, after talking to her, Priscilla didn’t seem that dangerous.

She was just a low-ranking member of the Shield Guild, and the reason she came to this place was also because of the injustice of her superiors.

“Pee-pants.”

“Shh─ Iris. You shouldn’t say that.”

“But it’s embarrassing for a grown-up to pee in their pants, isn’t it?”

“That’s true, but she didn’t do it on purpose. You have to consider the other person’s feelings too.”

“… I’ve never done that before.”

Since that incident, Iris has been sticking to my side like glue and not leaving for a moment.

Putting aside being surprised, imagine how perplexed she must have been to suddenly experience such a thing during the most peaceful time─

“See, Levi. I told you she was suspicious.”

“……”

“She seemed strange from the first time I saw her. And to think she would even…”

“Don’t make fun of me…”

Priscilla’s already flushed face became even redder, and she eventually began to tear up.

She seemed to try her best to somehow hide her embarrassing appearance.

But even that small effort only stimulated the children and made the situation more pitiful.

“…Ellie is sleeping in her room now, right?”

“Yeah. I saw her sleeping in the room before coming here.”

“Then, Aizen, please take Iris and go back to the room for now.”

“Why? Can’t we stay here?”

“I have something to talk about with this person. I’m also worried about Ellie being alone.”

“…Well, if that’s the case, there’s no choice.”

I sent Aizen and Iris back to the room first, thinking we wouldn’t be able to have a proper conversation if they stayed in the church.

It took some time to separate Iris from my side.

But thanks to Aizen, I was able to handle the situation much more easily than I thought.

– Click

In the quiet church where only Priscilla and I remained.

The situation was awkward in many ways.

Nevertheless, this moment was necessary to more clearly grasp the current situation.

“So, what did you want to know about this place?”

“I-I just… I was just going to find out the identity of the sound coming from here and go back right away…”

“From what I saw, you seemed to have determined from the start that I was a monster.”

“Honestly, there’s no nun who lives normally with children in the middle of a forest like this, not even in a village…”

“Then do you still think I’m a monster?”

“…I don’t know. From the outside, it seems like it, but when I look at your actions, it’s not…”

From what I briefly heard earlier,

It seemed that even in the village of Erdelin, where Priscilla lived, proper information about this church was not yet available.

Even the request note she had hidden in her arms was simply written to reveal the identity of the sound coming from here.

Not a single line was written about me and the children.

In a way, it’s fortunate, but thinking differently, it might be a slightly dangerous situation.

The very fact that someone is starting to take an interest in this place is the worst possible scenario for me as a vampire.

“I’d like to tell you to lose interest in this church if possible, but it won’t be easy since the location is what it is.”

“A-Are you really the nun of this place…?”

“As you can see.”

“Then why on earth is your skin so pale…”

“It’s because I haven’t been exposed to sunlight for a long time. There’s no particular reason.”

I gave a very brazen answer to Priscilla’s question.

Even if the children believe it, such a nonsensical excuse would not work on Priscilla, who has already grown up.

But considering my current situation, there was no other answer I could give besides this.

So, I had no choice but to act brazenly with a straight face.

“…Pardon?”

Priscilla’s expression turned puzzled.

“If I were really a monster, the children in here would have already left this world. There’s no reason to go through the trouble of taking care of them.”

“T-That’s true, but…”

“Especially you, who trespassed into this place without permission. There’s no reason to let you live or show mercy, right?”

“……”

“I’m human. In the first place, where in the world would there be a monster pretending to be a nun.”

A monster in the form of a nun who takes in lost children and takes care of them with all her heart, even going through unnecessary trouble.

It was all referring to me, but I continued to speak calmly without blinking an eye.

It was absurd and funny to brazenly say these words with my mouth.

But it was an inevitable thing to do in order for me and the children to live peacefully here.

Because this is the only way I can reduce Priscilla’s suspicion even a little.

“Then… can I ask one last thing…?”

“As much as you want if that clears your doubts.”

“When our eyes met earlier… about that tremendous and strange energy you emitted…”

“You were just seeing things because you were too scared. There’s no way an ordinary nun like me can emit such nonsensical energy.”

“But I definitely felt it… At that moment, if I had made one wrong move, my head would have instantly flown off…”

Honestly, I had nothing to say.

It was too brutal to just blindly deny it, and it was true that I emitted murderous energy.

If that moment had been night instead of day, I might have shown an even worse appearance.

“……”

At this point, beyond being confused, my head began to throb.

How the hell am I supposed to get through this situation smoothly?

No matter how much I think about it, I can’t come up with a proper method.

“Then what should I do…”

– Knock knock

Just as I stopped thinking for a moment and muttered a word in a self-abandoning mood.

Beyond the tightly closed door of the church, the sound of a knock was heard clearly.

“…?”

Priscilla and I simultaneously turned our heads and fixed our gazes toward the entrance of the church.

“Didn’t you say you came here alone?”

“I definitely came alone… Could it be the children?”

“… There’s no way. They’re not the type of children who act recklessly without permission.”

As soon as I confirmed that the person who knocked was not Priscilla’s colleague.

I slowly narrowed my eyes and slightly furrowed my brows.

For some reason, a strange energy is felt beyond the tightly closed door.

“Priscilla.”

“Yes…?”

“Get behind me.”

As soon as I finished speaking, the closed door began to slowly open with a creaky hinge sound.

And through the opened door, someone unknown gradually revealed themselves.

“Excuse me.”

It was a man I had never seen before in my life.

A heavy voice.

A tall stature.

A neat suit.

And small, round glasses that glinted uniquely with the reflection of light.

Priscilla showed a momentary look of surprise.

But soon, as if sensing the seriousness of this situation, she immediately grabbed her sword next to the wooden bench.

“W-Who are you…?!”

Priscilla carefully opened her mouth with a tense expression.

However, the man lightly ignored Priscilla, who was pointing her sword at him, and naturally made eye contact with me, raising the corners of his mouth strangely.

“I apologize for suddenly visiting at such a late hour.”

“……”

“I also wanted to visit during the day when the sun was up, if possible, but it was a bit regrettable that I couldn’t.”

A strange smell that stings the nose.

An unpleasant scent that I feel like I’ve smelled somewhere before.

An ominous energy rushed fiercely behind my back for some reason.

“Would you please stop illegally occupying this forest? Vampire.”

Difficult situations always come suddenly and rush in all at once.

Of all times, a devil had to visit at this time─.

“V-Vampire…?”

“Don’t be deceived, Priscilla. The man in front of us right now is a devil.”

At my calm words, Priscilla showed an even more confused expression.

“Ah, no… What do you mean… Why would a devil be in this remote forest…”

“Oh, dear… This has become troublesome in many ways. I can’t believe a devil is calling me, a human, a devil…”

For a moment, my brows furrowed deeply.

What on earth is his purpose?

The man who suddenly claims to be human himself, and on top of that, naturally pushes me, who was quietly standing as a devil.

Priscilla immediately flinched greatly at his crafty remark and began to look at me suspiciously.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“That’s what I should be asking. What are you doing here?”

The round glasses reflected in the light cleverly hid his eyes, so I couldn’t see well what kind of expression he was looking at me with.

However, despite that, his emotions were vaguely felt from his exceptionally crafty tongue.

“Whoever you are and wherever you live, it would be best for you to stay far away from that devil for now.”

“T-The nun is a devil…?”

“Deceiving people is a devil’s specialty. Even someone like you who lacks skill should know that very well, right?”

“……”

“Moreover, that devil has illegally intruded and occupied this forest, and is indiscriminately hunting and driving out the creatures living peacefully in this forest.”

His crafty tongue moves incessantly.

As if trying to use the clueless Priscilla to get rid of me.

“I’m terribly sorry to suddenly visit and say this, but I still find your life very pitiful.”

“Excuse me…?”

“Because at this rate, you will surely be brutally murdered by that devil.”

Priscilla’s body begins to tremble even more severely than before.

If she’s this confused, no matter what I say, it definitely won’t reach her ears.

“In the first place, where in the world is there a human with such skin color?”

I can’t believe he’s plunging me into the abyss in such an annoying and infuriating way.

As expected of a devil─

“Now that you understand, I hope you’ll slowly turn that sword pointing at me in the opposite direction. Your enemy to aim at is not me, but…”

– Thud

As I lightly struck the back of her neck with the side of my hand, Priscilla immediately collapsed limply on the floor.

Knowing her skill level to some extent, it was obvious that she would only be a hindrance if she stayed awake.

Therefore, before things got more troublesome, I needed to knock her out and settle the situation first.

“You’re really making things complicated. Did you think I would falter because of that?”

As soon as he saw Priscilla lying limply on the floor, the man seemed to be at a loss for words for a moment.

But still, I continued to speak calmly with a serene expression, not caring at all.

“As you can see, I’m not very good at verbal fights. I’d rather you move your body than your mouth.”

With those words, I immediately made a wound on my palm and created the same rough and crude spear as before.