“Oh my...!”

Celine clasped her hands over her mouth, her eyes sparkling with delight.

“….”

I tightly gripped the hem of the nun’s habit, trying to avoid her overwhelming gaze.

But her eyes were relentless, fixed on me without letting go.

Finally, I managed to hide behind Journey, escaping the intensity of her stare.

“What an adorable little nun you are! Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you joined the Edel Church?”

“No, no way…! Kana agreed to travel with me!”

“Oh, you can still travel as a nun, you know.”

“…If I become a nun, I’d have to wear the habit all the time, right?”

“You can dress comfortably during rest, but yes, while active, you would.”

“Well, that settles it, then. While Kana certainly looks adorable in a nun’s habit, it would be a shame to limit her to just one outfit.”

“I see… If that’s your reason, there’s nothing more to say.”

I could confidently say that whatever they were discussing wouldn’t do my mental health any good.

So instead of trying to understand their conversation, I busied myself fiddling with the hem of the habit.

I’d never worn anything like this before…

I mean, this kind of clothing that only women wear.

…Why does it have slits on the side of the legs?

If it has those, then there’s no point in having such a long skirt.

Complaining about the habit wasn’t going to change the fact that I had to wear it, but if I didn’t, I felt like I’d lose my mind.

“Don’t worry. It suits you well.”

“…I wasn’t worried.”

It’s not like I wanted it to suit me.

Journey, excited for the festival, might be disappointed, but I’d need to finish my business quickly and leave.

I pulled on Journey’s arm.

“Huh? What’s up?”

“Relay a message.”

“A message? Oh, to Celine?”

“Yes.”

Journey’s face broke into a mischievous grin.

“I’ll do it if you say, ‘Please, big sis~!’”

“….”

The translator I brought along just for moments like this was suddenly broken.

I tilted my head, puzzled by this unexpected situation.

Hmm… What should I do?

As I pondered, a memory from the past surfaced.

‘Damn…’

‘What’s wrong?’

‘Oh, Sub-Commander. As you can see, the magic device is broken. We can’t continue with the mission like this. Should we retreat?’

‘Move aside.’

‘Huh? What are you planning to—wait, Commander! That’s an expensive item! You shouldn’t just fiddle with it like that!’

‘It’s broken anyway.’

‘But if you keep pounding on it like that! A repairman might’ve fixed it. Now it’s completely ruined….’

‘…? Look, it’s working.’

‘How is this even… functioning? It should be completely broken…’

‘Broken things get fixed if you hit them.’

-That’s right. That happened once.

Maybe this memory was surfacing to remind me to apply that lesson?

Yes, that must be it.

“Hold on! Let’s talk this through!”

As always, I have to give Journey credit for her uncanny sense of danger.

I hadn’t even raised a fist, but she immediately took off, fleeing as if she’d seen a ghost.

Feigning ignorance, I hid my disappointment and asked nonchalantly,

“Why are you acting like that all of a sudden?”

“Don’t try to play innocent! I could feel it! I sensed the killing intent coming from you!”

“It’s just your imagination.”

Even if I weren’t one to hold back, there’s no way I’d actually commit murder inside the Holy City over something like this.

“…What am I even supposed to question here?”

Should I question the ‘over something like this’ part? Or the ‘inside the Holy City’ part?

Journey muttered quietly to herself.

“Forget it! So what’s the message?”

“Oh, it’s fixed.”

“Huh? What’s fixed?”

“Nothing. Just ask if I can use a private prayer room.”

“A private prayer room?”

I nodded.

“Yes.”

Given the time and the content of my prayer, it would be better to use a private prayer room rather than a public one, where others could see and hear.

Not that there’s any guarantee Edel would answer my prayers…

If that’s the case, then it can’t be helped.

“Is Kana really such a devout child…?”

Muttering skeptically, Journey relayed my message to Celine.

Celine listened with a serious expression and then responded,

“‘While it’s normally reserved for members of the Church, I’ll see what I can do.’… That’s what she said.”

Journey imitated Celine’s tone.

Hmm, did I ask for too much?

Feeling a bit guilty, I glanced at Celine’s face, but she still wore the same gentle expression I’d seen for the past few days.

Was she not bothered at all, or was she just hiding it well?

I couldn’t tell, so I just bowed my head in thanks.

“Thank you.”

“Thank you… Ma’am.”

“Thank you… sir?”

“Please, there’s no need. But first…”

Celine waved her hand with a soft smile, then gestured toward the dining area.

“Shall we eat?”

“Mmm~! This is delicious…!”

“Does it suit your taste?”

“Suits my taste? Ha.”

Journey put down her fork, raising her eyebrows with a serious look.

“Who wouldn’t like such excellent food?”

Celine chuckled at Journey’s playful words.

“I was worried it might not suit your taste, but I’m glad.”

“Not only did you provide us with lodging, but you’re also treating us to a fantastic meal… I don’t know how to repay you.”

“As I said before, you’ve shown me far more kindness, so don’t worry. I actually feel sorry I couldn’t do more.”

“This is more than enough! If it weren’t for you, Kana and I would be hugging each other on the cold, hard ground… Wait, maybe that’s not so bad after all?”

Journey paused mid-sentence, caught in her own thoughts.

Kana watched her with a pitying gaze and took another bite of bread.

“Since she’s eating without complaint, it must suit her taste. You wouldn’t know, but she’s quite picky.”

“Oh, really?”

“Don’t even get me started. She has such a childish palate. She won’t even touch vegetables. Last time, do you know what she said? She said—”

Journey prattled on about how much Kana hated vegetables and how much she loved sweets.

After hearing Journey’s long explanation about Kana’s taste, Celine’s reaction was simple.

“That’s cute.”

“Eh—”

“Isn’t it?”

“Well, I mean, if we’re talking about whether it’s cute or not, then yeah, it’s cute.”

Whining at vegetables and losing it over chocolate—there’s quite the gap between this and her usual self, which just adds to the cuteness…

Though agreeing with Celine, Journey looked slightly unsatisfied with the lack of reaction she was hoping for.

Celine looked warmly at Kana.

“I understand how you feel, Journey. You’re concerned about Kana’s health, aren’t you?”

“Uh, not really—”

Who’s worrying about whom here?

Journey, teasingly complaining, was about to deny it, but Celine spoke first.

“There are children among those we care for who are like that. I used to wonder what to do, just like you, but over time, they seemed to change on their own. Kana will, too.”

“I see…”

The unexpectedly sincere answer made a bead of sweat run down Journey’s forehead.

“That girl over there, too, is one of those kids.”

“Sister Celine…!”

A young nun at a nearby table, glancing over at Journey’s group, blushed when Journey’s gaze met hers, and hurried away.

Watching the girl, Celine then turned back to Journey and said,

“So, don’t worry.”

“Hmm…”

She’ll grow out of it, huh?

Journey mulled over Celine’s words, glancing at Kana.

The same expression as always.

But Journey could see it clearly.

‘Her eyebrows are raised by about one degree, and her lips are slightly pursed.’

When she eats, there’s a slight pause before she puts food in her mouth, unlike when she eats meat right away.

Adding all this up, Kana is currently dissatisfied…!

With almost manic observation skills that only activated when she was watching Kana, Journey came to her conclusion.

Shudder—

“…?”

Kana looked around, sensing something strange, but found nothing and returned to her meal.

Journey sighed in relief, fearing her thoughts might have been noticed.

“That would be nice.”

Whether she’ll really grow out of it remains to be seen.

Crunch.

Journey kept her thoughts to herself as she chewed her vegetables.

“Oh, by the way, about Kana’s request earlier. I found a way.”

“Huh? Already?”

That was fast, maybe even too fast?

Journey relayed the message to Kana.

“But I’m not sure if Kana will like it…”

Celine’s gaze fell on Kana’s nun habit as she spoke.

“What’s going on?”

“Well—”

After some hesitation, Journey finally got Celine to spill the details.

After hearing Celine’s explanation, Journey could only say one thing.

“…Will she accept that?”

“I don’t know…”

In this situation where no one could be certain, Kana, the only one left out of the loop, tilted her head, puzzled.