Those types, huh? Being a vampire and all, maybe she must consider nuns a natural enemy. But for someone so prideful to turn tail and run like that... She must have really meant it when she said she despised them. Either way, Suzuran and I were abandoned with all the groceries.
“What shall we do, Sir Rekka?”
“Hmm... She appears to be lost, so let’s at least ask if she needs help.”
Suzuran and I walked over to the nun, who—I gotta be honest—really stood out wearing her habit in the middle of town.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes?”
She reacted to my voice and turned around, her blond hair waving behind her. From what I could see, she didn’t look that much older than me. And it seemed she hadn’t expected anyone to approach her, because she looked a little surprised. She was clutching a map in her hands too, so I guess she really was lost.
“Do you need something from me?”
“No, it just looked like you were lost... We were wondering if you might need some directions.”
“Oh, my! That would be very helpful.”
The nun clapped her hands together in delight, smiling widely. Turns out she was headed for a church not too far from the shopping street.
“I’ve just been transferred to this town. My name is Yulia.”
“I’m Rekka Namidare.”
“And I’m Suzuran.”
After we all introduced ourselves, we took off for the church. Suzuran and I were going to show her where it was since she didn’t know her way around town. Yulia’s suitcase... was rather oddly shaped. It looked more like a guitar case, and awfully heavy even for that. If I hadn’t had Rosalind’s shopping bags to carry, I would have offered to help her out with it.
“So, Yulia, you’re a nun, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Did you come from overseas?”
“Yes, I’m from the European countryside.”
Europe, huh? That was where Chelsea was from, too. Granted, Europe was a pretty big place... They may very well be from different countries.
“What kind of job is a nun?”
Yulia tilted her head curiously at Suzuran’s question.
“You don’t seem very Japanese yourself, Suzuran. Have you never met a nun before?”
“I am ignorant of the ways of the world.”
“...”
Well, she had spent most of her life as a homunculus, so it’s not like she could really help her lack of knowledge when it came to human society. But despite the strangeness of it, it seemed like Yulia could tell Suzuran was being completely serious. She smiled gently and crossed herself as she answered.
“Our job is to help shepherd little lost lambs into the fold of God’s love.”
“God’s love...?”
“Yes.”
Yulia then paused for a moment as she folded her hands in prayer before smiling again. Suzuran was pensive and quiet for a moment, as well.
“Then... what is love?”
“Huwah?! We have to start there?!”
Yulia’s jaw nearly hit the sidewalk. But again, Suzuran did used to be a homunculus, so... yeah.
“V-Very well, then! As gratitude for leading me to the church, I shall make sure to teach you everything there is to know about love!”
“Please do.”
Yulia was strangely motivated, and Suzuran bowed politely to her.
▽
Three days later...
“Rekka, is that nun still in town?”
After school, Rosalind made her way over to my desk.
“Hm? By ‘that nun,’ do you mean Yulia? I mean, she said she was transferred here for work, so... probably?”
“Tch... I see.” Rosalind clicked her tongue in irritation.
“Are vampires bad with religious stuff and people?”
“I’m not bad with them. I just despise them.”
So... was that a yes?
“But vampires are typically depicted as weak to those affiliated with the light attribute...”
“The light attribute? You’ve been playing too many video games...”
“I guess that wasn’t the right way to put it... I mean those who do battle against demons.”
“Are you talking about exorcists?”
“That’s right, exorcists!
They used holy water to fend off stuff like demons, vampires, and ghosts, right? Did that really work? All my knowledge on the matter was completely sourced from video games and manga, so I had to ask Rosalind for confirmation. When I did, however, she just sighed.
“Rekka... Give it a moment’s thought. There’s no way something as plain as water could truly harm the likes of vampires and demons and whatever other nonhumans you can think of. The idea that some mystical, universal weapon exists... It’s pure hogwash.”
“What? But...”
“More importantly, Rekka, you’ve met not only vampires and demons, but yokai and biblical beasts before. While you may file us all under the general category of ‘nonhuman,’ we are all, in fact, different species. We may share some similarities, but that certainly doesn’t mean we all have the same weaknesses.”
“When you put it that way...”
“You see, those so-called exorcists with their so-called holy water have really just brewed concoctions to deal with each threat—one for demons, one for vampires, and so on.”
“Okay, so you’re saying that holy water for demons is different than holy water for vampires? That there are different flavors, I guess?”
“More or less. They’re like potions—poisons, if you will—catered to each species. And all those poisons go by the general name of ‘holy water.’ It’s far catchier for their religious marketing. The same goes for their other ‘holy’ weapons as well.”
“Huh...”
So... holy water was kind of a lie? Or, as Rosalind put it, a marketing strategy? I’d always thought it worked against anything evil. I mean, that’s kinda how they sell it to you... What a rip-off. That was a lot to think about.
“At any rate, if that Yulia girl is your run-of-the-mill nun, there’s no doubt she has it out for nonhumans like me. Vampires are especially hated in the West. I was a basically a fugitive there,” Rosalind said with an annoyed click of her tongue. “I guess I’ll have to avoid the area around the church for a while, which is a shame. That means I can’t go home with you, Rekka.”
After that, we said goodbye for the afternoon. Rosalind packed up her things and left the classroom.
“Rekka, let’s go home together.”
“Rekka! Time to go homey-home!”
“Right.”
Satsuki and Iris were waiting for me, so I grabbed my bag and left, too. The three of us chatted as we left the school gate, walking along the road with other students heading home.
“Hey, Rekka. Let’s grab something to eat at the shopping street.”
“Not again, Iris. I’ve told you before you can’t be stuffing your face all the time.”
“I’m not asking you, Satsuki! So, how about it, Rekka? Let’s go!”
“No, Rekka, don’t do it!”
Being pressured from both sides, I looked around for an escape route.
“Ummm... Ah, I know! Did I tell you guys I met a nun named Yulia the other day?”
Desperate, I started talking about the first thing that came to mind. And when I let my mouth run free, I ended up blurting out what I’d been talking with Rosalind about just earlier. But... Somehow I just managed to make things worse. The fire in Satsuki and Iris’s eyes increased twofold.
“Really?”
“Again?”
“What do you mean, ‘again’? I’ve never met a nun named Yulia before.”
“That’s not what we mean...”
“Jeez! Why are you like that, Rekka?”
“Wait, like what?”
I felt like I was being falsely accused of something here... But I’d at least managed to change the subject, so I decided to
run with it.
“Suzuran and I ran into her at the fork in the road just past the shopping street, so we showed her the way to the church. And then...”
“Oh, Sir Rekka.”
“Huh?”
Someone suddenly called to me from behind. I turned to see who it was—and speak of the devil! It was Suzuran carrying her basket in one hand.
“Oh, hey, Suzuran. Shopping again?”
“No, but I will be later.”
“Later? You mean you’re doing something else right now?”
“Yes.”
Now that she mentioned it, it was a little early for her to be out shopping for dinner. What was she up to, then? It was unusual for Suzuran to take detours.
“Where are you headed now?”
Unable to hold back my curiosity, I ended up asking her.
“The church.”
“The church?”
Wow, super speak of the devil—er, God? I’d just been telling Satsuki and Iris about the church.
“Would you all like to come along with me?” Suzuran asked.
▽
Since we didn’t have anything better to do, we all followed Suzuran to the church. It was a little off the beaten path, a couple blocks from both the main roads leading to the station and the shopping street, so it wasn’t a particularly popular destination. The building itself was getting pretty up there in age, too. For as far back as I could remember, it had always looked antiquated.
“Huh, the interior’s actually pretty nice.”
I’d walked by it plenty of times, but this was my first time seeing the inside.
“Oh, hello, Suzuran. And you too, Rekka.”
Yulia, who was sweeping the floor, noticed us as soon as we came in the door. She set the broom aside and approached us in a warm and friendly manner. Then, realizing we were accompanied by some unfamiliar faces, she tilted her head and smiled pleasantly.
“And who have you brought with you?”
“I’m Satsuki Otomo. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Hi, I’m Iris.”
“We bumped into Suzuran by chance on her way here, and decided to tag along.”
Following Satsuki and Iris’s introductions, I explained how we’d all ended up here at the church together.
“Oh, my! Are you two girls also interested in the teachings of God? Oh, pardon me. Where are my manners? My name is Yulia. I’m the one in charge of this church.”
Yulia delightedly led us over to a pew and urged us to take a seat. The church was so small, though, that the benches only sat three people. Satsuki, Iris, and I sat down on one, and Suzuran and Yulia sat down on the bench in front of us.
“Oh, I’ll just go and get some refreshments,” Yulia said as she retreated into the back room of the chapel.
The three of us who had come here on a whim fidgeted and looked around for lack of anything else to do. The silence of the church made the atmosphere strangely tense.
“So... have you been coming here ever since we met Yulia, Suzuran?”
“Yes, I come here every day.”
“Every day?!”
That was more than I’d expected. Although she did seem awfully friendly with Yulia now... They must have gotten close.
“If you don’t mind me asking, what exactly do you do here every day?”
“We mostly talk about the world, really. I tell Yulia about the town, and she tells me stories about her nunhood... But when I first started coming, it was to learn about things I don’t understand.”
“Things you don’t understand? Like what?”
“Love,” Suzuran answered decisively.
“Did you just say...”
“Love?!”
“Yes?”
Suzuran gave Satsuki and Iris something of a funny look for their over-exaggerated reactions. But, honestly, I wasn’t really expecting her to say that, either. I hadn’t realized she was so interested in love before. Did she have her eye on someone, maybe?
“Sorry for the wait!”
Yulia returned to the sanctuary with snacks and tea for everyone.
“Ahh... Today’s green tea is delicious, Yulia.”
“Yeah, this is good... But you should consider buying some traditional Japanese teacups.”
“Oh?”
Because, honestly, drinking Japanese tea out of a Western one was a little surreal.
“Well, then, shall we have a little talk today?” Yulia asked, turning to Suzuran.
“Yes, please.”
When Suzuran mentioned she was learning things from Yulia at church, I’d envisioned something like mass... But this was more like a low-key friendly chat.
“...So everyone is equal before God?”
“Indeed. God looks down on us all from heaven, watching over us and loving us. And before God’s love, we’re all the same.”
With the snacks and tea placed between two benches, Suzuran and Yulia began talking. Because we were here today, they were intentionally speaking loud enough so we could hear them, but it was basically like they were having their own conversation. We were just listening in.
“Then...”
Suzuran seemed to be quite an eager learner. Every time Yulia finished one explanation, Suzuran would throw another question at her. And Yulia took it in stride and then some, passionately answering each and every one of Suzuran’s questions. Satsuki has always been serious, so she was intently listening to the two of them, but Iris and I started to get sleepy midway through. I kept my eyes open, but Iris totally zonked. And so the afternoon passed like that until it was time for Suzuran to go shopping. The rest of us decided to use that as an excuse to make ourselves scarce, too.
“Thank you for today,” said Suzuran.
“It was my pleasure. Please come again tomorrow. And Rekka... We’ll be starting masses this Sunday, so if you and your friends have no other plans, feel free to drop by.”
“Okay, sure. Thanks.”
“Oh, and there’s one more thing I’d like to ask you.” Just as we were about to depart, Yulia stopped us. “Have you heard of anything strange occurring in this town?”
“Strange? What do you mean?” I asked.
“Let’s see... I mean something so out of the ordinary that you would never think it possible.”
“Uh...”
The four of us glanced at each other. We were all probably thinking about the same thing—the stories I kept getting wrapped up in. That, and all the other trouble we’d gotten into with ghosts and yokai and whatnot. But it wasn’t like we could just casually bring up that stuff, so... In the end, we all silently agreed just to say we didn’t know anything.
“Is that so? Thank you anyway.”
“No problem. Why do you ask, though?”
“Oh... It’s just that I’m bad with scary stories and such. I was hoping to hear there wasn’t anything like it in this town. That’s all.”
“I-I see...”
Now that I thought about it, this town sure did have a lot of strange stuff going for it... But nothing I could think of that would bother humans, so I didn’t think she had anything to worry about.
After that, we bid our farewells to Yulia and left the church.
▽
“Love, huh...?”
Later that evening, I was in my room working through my homework at a 1:4 ratio of breaks to slow progress as I reconsidered the events of the afternoon. Hearing me mumble to myself, R shook her head in slight exasperation.
“Good grief, if you have time to be saying things like that...”
“Wait, what’s happening? Did you say love? Don’t tell me a dramatic story of passionate love and hate has started to unfold around you again!”
The girl from the future spat her harsh words at me as the idiot angel who’d recently taken up residence in my room interrupted. Although, since I was the only one who could see and hear R, Rachelle had no idea she was interrupting.
“...”
Wow, her eyebrows were awfully scrunche
d up. It was pretty rare to see R so displeased. But putting her aside, I pushed Rachelle away from me as she started breathing down my neck.
“No, there’s no carnage.”
“Whaaat?”
The disappointment in her voice was palpable.
“Come on... Aren’t angels supposed to be at least a little bit angelic?”
“What are you talking about? I am totally angelic.”
“Shut up. I’m telling you to stop trying to bring carnage into everything you can.”
“But I can’t help it! I’m the angel of love and passion, after all,” she said, puffing out her chest proudly for some reason.
Like she said, she was an angel of love and passion... But a twisted one. She craved love and passion so intense that what she really wanted was violence. And ever since I’d helped snap her out of her love-drunk rampage the other day, she’d been freeloading at my house...
“Well, I’ll forgive you for whatever delusions you’re under, but no provoking everyone and starting another jealous war like you did last time. That’s strictly off-limits, and I’m not kidding. Got it?”
“Hmm... Whatever should I do?”
“I’ll seal you away like an evil spirit, you dumb angel.”
I was pretty sure I had Sakuya’s jar in the storehouse somewhere.
“I-I was just kidding!” Rachelle waved her hands in a fluster and tried to pretend like she was innocent.
I decided to let it slide this time.
“Jeez, I can’t believe a nun is more pure and inspirational than a freaking angel.”
“No kidding, huh? She’s definitely devoted. Mad respect.”
“You... Are you sure a fallen angel should be saying something like that?”
“I told you I’m not a fallen angel! I’m as pure as can be.”
Like hell she was.
“Aren’t angels also servants of God? How on earth did the two of you end up so different...?”
“Apples and oranges, really. We angels serve God directly, but that’s not the case with humans. Humans can’t meet God, after all. So really, what they operate off of is their own faith.”
“Faith? Huh...”
They seemed pretty similar at face value, but I guess they were kind of different. We continued to chat for a while as I ignored my homework, when all of a sudden there was a knocking at my window. And my room is on the second floor, mind you. There were only a few possibilities as to who it might be.
I Saved Too Many Girls and Caused the Apocalypse: Volume 11 Page 4
