Playing the Role of a Nun

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“This is more chaotic than I imagined.”

The faint moonlight scattered through the dense forest at dawn.

The sound of leaves rustling in the wind heightened the tension in the air.

– Swish

Facing Can, who was fully armored in what looked like sturdy metal, pulling out a spear like usual wasn’t the right choice.

I needed something bigger, heavier—a weapon that could deliver a simple yet effective blow to Can, whose body was essentially just armor.

That weapon was a hammer.

It was the perfect tool to vent my current anger while dealing solid damage.

– Thud!

As soon as I felt the hammer’s weight in my hands, I lunged forward, aiming for Can’s weak spot.

Startled by my sudden move, Can flinched and took a step back, quickly raising his arms in a clumsy defensive stance.

– Crash!!

My massive hammer struck Can’s arms hard, instantly breaking his balance despite his defensive posture.

“Ugh, ugh…!!”

Can had no weapon to fight back with. His only greatsword had melted away, leaving it unusable.

– Thud! Thud! Thud!

Despite that, I mercilessly swung the hammer at him. His defense had already crumbled, and his body dented with each hit.

Every time the hammer struck his armor, his condition worsened. Can tried to block with his arms, but without a proper weapon, it was nearly impossible to fend off my attacks.

– Creak…

After some time, the surroundings looked as if they had been bombed. A desolate wind began to blow eerily.

Broken trees with only stumps remaining, craters scattered across the ground, and chaotic cracks everywhere.

The weeds and bushes were completely destroyed, unrecognizable.

Despite having few skills compared to my high level, my physical abilities were undeniably superior. Even in this situation, I showed no signs of fatigue and continued to overwhelm Can with my heavy hammer.

“……”

Finally, Can knelt on the devastated ground, making unpleasant metallic noises. He no longer had the strength to lift his arms, and the creaking sounds from his limp limbs grew louder.

“Every time I get hit, it feels like an earthquake is happening in my head…”

“You don’t even have a head to feel that, so what are you talking about?”

“…Even after turning the surroundings into this mess, you still have the nerve to joke…”

“I wasn’t joking.”

Contrary to what Can felt, I wasn’t relaxed at all. Dawn was approaching, and I was worried about the kids at the church.

I just wanted to wrap this up and return to the church as soon as possible.

But Can’s resilience and strong willpower surprised me. His body was a wreck, on the verge of collapsing, yet he kept his head held high, refusing to give up.

“You keep stubbornly protecting your left chest. Was the weakness you mentioned back then not a lie?”

“Hah, of course… Everything I said back then was true.”

“…?”

As I stepped forward to finish things, Can suddenly made a strange remark, disrupting the mood.

“Worried about the kids at the church?”

“Obviously.”

“So that joke earlier wasn’t out of relaxation.”

It felt like a final statement, but there was something oddly unsettling about his words. It wasn’t just a passing feeling—it was too distinct to ignore.

Why did I feel so uneasy looking at him, who seemed to have lost all will to fight?

“Don’t worry. The kids will be fine.”

Pushing aside the unease, I gripped the hammer again to finish the job. But just then, a faint voice came from within his crumpled helmet.

“Are you begging for your life now?”

“No. I’ve already prepared myself.”

“Then is this a tactic to make me let my guard down?”

“No. I’m just stating the facts.”

I couldn’t make sense of it. Can’s slumped body still radiated a sense of resignation. It didn’t seem like a tactic to catch me off guard. After all, he had no proper weapon and was just defending with his bare body. Trying to trick me now would be pointless.

“Nothing you need to worry about has happened.”

“What are you even talking about?”

Instead of answering, Can slowly tilted his head back, looking up at the sky with a relieved expression.

“As you can see, I never intended to win against you. My weapon, the Severance, is completely destroyed. My defeat was inevitable.”

“You held out pretty well for someone who thought that.”

“It’d be too pathetic to just give up without a fight.”

In short, most of what Can was saying seemed like meaningless rambling. It felt like he was just spouting whatever came to mind as he faced his end.

– Whoosh

Just as I was about to swing the hammer again, I faintly sensed someone approaching from behind.

“Levi—!!!!”

A familiar voice echoed through the devastated forest. Without hesitation, I quickly dismissed the hammer from my hand.

“You damn demons—!! I’ll definitely protect Levi!!”

Aizen boldly stepped forward, pointing his small iron sword at Can. I blinked in confusion at the sudden turn of events.

“A-Aizen…?”

“Don’t worry, Levi! I’ll definitely defeat him!”

Ellie and Iris followed, timidly pointing their weapons at Can.

“W-We… have Lady Faelia’s blessing…!”

“W-We… can win… we can win…”

The situation had become complicated. Why were the kids, who were supposed to be hiding at the church, here? I couldn’t understand it no matter how much I thought about it.

“S-Sister…!!”

To make matters worse, Priscilla joined the fray, further confusing the situation.

“Huff… huff… Thank goodness… you’re still safe…”

“Priscilla…?”

“We waited and waited, but you didn’t come… The kids were worried… Huff…”

Priscilla looked like she was about to collapse, having apparently run here without stopping.

“……”

“I’m sorry… I should’ve stopped them…”

“How did you even find this place…? And were there no other demons?”

“Oh, you mean that weird-looking demon with round glasses?”

No matter how I thought about it, it seemed impossible for Priscilla and the kids to have made it here safely after escaping that demon. It shouldn’t have been easy to run away—

“I found him lying in the forest nearby, gasping for breath, so I finished him off!”

“…What?”

“For some reason, there was a round hole right in the center of his chest.”

I was even more confused after hearing Priscilla’s answer. But she paid no attention to my bewilderment and quietly whispered something in my ear.

“That was Sister’s doing, right…? I still don’t fully understand what’s going on… but at least I’m sure he’s not an enemy…”

I had never inflicted such a horrific wound on that demon, so I couldn’t help but be even more baffled.

No matter how hard I tried to make sense of the situation, the unanswered questions and the strangely smooth flow of events were hard to grasp.

“Hahaha!! You think you can protect anyone with that tiny sword, Aizen!”

Amidst the chaos, Can’s hearty voice suddenly rang out from a distance.

“W-What…?! How do you know my name…?”

“But stepping forward without hesitation to protect someone is commendable!”

“Who are you?! How do you know my name?!”

Ignoring Aizen’s flustered question, Can continued to laugh heartily and stubbornly kept talking.

“Small things accumulate to achieve great things. Your current attitude is very admirable, Aizen.”

“W-When did we get so close?!!”

“Ellie, Iris, you two are the same. You may seem insignificant now, but in the future, you’ll grow to be incomparably strong.”

“Y-You know our names too…”

With those words, Can slowly rose from his crumpled position.

“Levinia. I know it’s not my place to ask, but I have one last request.”

“…What is it?”

“I want to fight these kids.”

I frowned at Can’s unreasonable request.

“You call that a request…?”

“Levi! I want you to stay out of this!”

Before I could finish, Aizen suddenly interrupted, shouting with all his might.

“This time, we’ll defeat the demon with our own strength. We can’t keep relying on your help forever!”

“Y-Yeah…! We’re pretty strong too…!!”

“Hah, hah, hah… Surrender… surrender…!”

What had happened at the church to make the kids so determined? Their resolve to achieve something on their own was so admirable that I almost teared up.

“In return for granting my request, I’ll give you some very useful information.”

Standing at a distance, Can picked up a nearby tree branch.

“And my weapon will be this branch.”

“Huh?! Are you underestimating us?!”

“Y-Yeah…! We’re pretty strong, you know…?!”

“H-Hey… don’t… don’t look down on us…!”

Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t have entertained such a ridiculous request. The kids were too young and inexperienced to fight a demon.

But Can’s sincere desire to fight them, even in his battered state, and his attempt to reassure me by using a branch as a weapon, felt oddly trustworthy.

“…If you do anything stupid, I won’t let it slide.”

“Of course.”

In the end, I agreed to Can’s unreasonable request.

Considering he was a demon and all he had done to me, my trust in him was almost nonexistent. But since I’d be watching closely, I could step in if things went south.

Besides, this moment of the kids showing such enthusiasm could be a great foundation for their future. I knew well that shielding them all the time wasn’t the right thing to do.

“Aizen, starting today, you’re the leader of this party.”

Perhaps Can had hoped for this outcome. I couldn’t understand why he genuinely wished for the kids’ growth, but it seemed sincere.

“Please, give it your all in this fight.”

Though it was unsettling and worrying to see the kids preparing to fight a demon, some things in life are unavoidable.

Simply protecting them isn’t always the right thing to do—

 

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