Shortly after Rosaria left the pub, all annoyed and put out, she found her favorite spot atop one of the mills in town. From there, she could look down on the whole city and see everything that was going on.     

After the encounter with the weirdo called Yomite, she had a lot to think about, but first things first—she needed a smoke.     

Searching her nun's habit for a cigarette was hard enough when she was wearing it; her pockets were quite small and didn't have much room to store anything. But with a little bit of effort, she managed to retrieve one from the depths of her habit, though it took a while to find.     

When she finally did, she lit it up with a nearby lantern which was burning bright whether it was during the day or night and inhaled deeply. The pleasant smell of a Glaze Lili spread through her lungs as she savored the momentary relief from the stress.     

As tobacco didn't exist in this world, people found other ways to make their lungs feel better by using all kinds of herbs instead. One such method was smoking a Glaze Lili, a tradition that was handed down from generation to generation until it became a daily activity for some people.     

The only thing Rosaria ever looked forward to was drinking and smoking.     

She'd grown so accustomed to doing both every single day that they had become a part of who she was.     

There was nothing like smoking to calm her nerves and take away her worries. It helped to clear her head and think straight. And while it wasn't particularly healthy, at least it didn't lead to any major illnesses.     

She took a huge puff off the cigarette and blew it into the wind.     

Smoke wafted up before gently floating up into the sky.     

"...That jerk. How can he say something like that?"     

Rosaria was looking down on the city from her vantage point high above the ground. She couldn't believe what had happened.     

What was Yomite thinking? Saying that kind of stuff to her?     

That he liked her skin.     

That she was pretty...     

No, not just pretty—gorgeous...He even said she was beautiful...     

He'd complimented her without any care in the world.     

It made no sense whatsoever.     

Why would someone compliment her like that?     

"I'm sorry, but it's true," Rosaria muttered to herself. "Your skin really is beautiful..."     

His words echoed across the empty mill.     

She couldn't believe that someone like him, someone who was a complete stranger, could say that to her.     

He must've been drunk.     

Maybe he was just being nice. Maybe he felt guilty because he'd kicked her crotch prior.     

Whatever the case, it still didn't change the fact that he'd said those things.     

And now she was left thinking about why he'd said them.     

"Tch. What a drag."     

She didn't know what to do next.     

All she knew was that she wanted to give him a piece of her mind. And then maybe she'd beat his ass.     

But that wasn't possible...even now, she ran way from him simply because she could no longer listen to his sweet words.     

In the end, he hadn't given her any reason to hate him. In fact, he was incredibly kind to her. So, if she was really honest with herself, she couldn't bring herself to want to hurt him.     

"Fuck. I wish he'd never said anything at all. I shouldn't have attacked him..."     

Rosaria sighed deeply and closed her eyes. She took another deep drag of her cigarette, but she wasn't able to enjoy the taste this time around.     

She'd lost her appetite.     

Her thoughts were clouded, and she was unable to think clearly.     

"Damn it!"     

Thinking back on it now, perhaps she'd been a bit too harsh with him...     

She didn't understand why she had lashed out at him like that.     

Why was she so angry?     

Because he complimented her? That made no sense!     

It was ridiculous. There was no need for her to be pissed off over that.     

So why did she feel so upset?     

Perhaps because he'd made her feel good...?     

Maybe she'd gotten so used to being ignored and treated poorly by everyone that it was hard for her to accept any praise or compliments.     

It was possible that she'd taken offense to Yomite's words because she was afraid that if she allowed him to treat her nicely, she'd lose her edge.     

What a joke.     

Someone who could be so easily manipulated by compliments was pathetic.     

She forced herself to stop.     

Her eyes snapped open, and she glared at the city below her.     

It was a long way down. If she fell from here, she'd probably break a few bones on the way down. No doubt about it.     

"Hmph..."     

She grumbled at her own foolishness.     

At that moment, she heard a lovely voice coming from down below.     

"Sister Rosaria! I have something I need to tell you!"     

Rosaria looked down to see the young woman running toward her. It was Barbara.     

She sighed, knowing another headache was coming her way.     

Why was she forced to expend so much energy in a single day?     

Rosaria climbed down the side of the mill, not bothering to hide her irritation.     

Once she reached the ground, she turned her gaze on the girl waiting for her.     

"Well? Do you feel better than before?"     

Barbara nodded vigorously. "Yes! Thank you very much! You helped me out a lot with my feelings."     

She smiled at Rosaria.     

The smile was full of innocence and joy.     

"Well, whatever. I don't really care anyway. Just leave me alone."     

She snorted derisively and stomped away.     

But then she felt a hand on her shoulder.     

"Sister Rosaria, please wait a second," Barbara said softly.     

"Why should I listen to you? Go away already," she replied rudely.     

"I wanted to tell you I'll be resigning from the Church. I probably won't be going there anymore."     

"...Why?" Rosaria froze.     

Her heart throbbed for whatever reason.     

"...I'm no longer interested in the Church, and I have no desire to continue living my life as the Deaconess and being restricted. I'm tired of pretending to be someone I'm not."     

"...You're leaving the Church? Seriously?"     

"What? Could it be that Sister Rosaria wants me to stay?"     

Rosaria scoffed and shook her head.     

"Of course not. I just don't get how you could be so happy about this. Wasn't your whole life basically the Church?"     

"Well...you aren't wrong, but..." Barbara shrugged. "I no longer have the conviction to live as a nun. My faith has disappeared, and I can no longer pretend that it hasn't."     

"Your faith...Is gone?"     

"Exactly. Something happened that I cannot talk about and it opened my eyes...Besides, I'll be busy travelling with Yomite."     

"..."     

Rosaria's eyebrows furrowed together.     

"Wait...how about you stay at the Church...just take a few weeks off if you're travelling. Or months. It doesn't matter. Just come back eventually."     

It sounded strange to Barbara, hearing her say that.     

The emotionless Rosaria was basically begging her to stay?     

Was this the same person she had known all this time?     

"Nope," Barbara replied flatly. "I'm going to go on an adventure with him, and we'll see where our journey takes us. We'll be training somewhere and I hope to gain the strength I'm missing."     

"..."     

"I don't think I'll be returning to the Church. And...I'm not sure what will happen to me after that, either. But I promise we can spend some time together once I return."     

"..."     

"Until then, please take care of yourself."     

With that, she gave Rosaria a tight hug. Rosaria tried to pull away, as hugs were like an allergy to her, but Barbara wouldn't let her go.     

"I'll miss you, Sister Rosaria."     

"..."     

A lump formed in Rosaria's throat. It was as hard as stone.     

She didn't know what to say.     

Her mouth opened and shut repeatedly, but she couldn't form the right words.     

Finally, Barbara released her and smiled sadly.     

"Take care."     

Rosaria's face was emotionless as usual, her feelings, however, were not.     

"What a drag this is," she muttered quietly to herself.     

It was getting late, and unfortunately for Rosaria, Yomite had to show up.     

He came strolling up to Barbara and greeted her with a friendly smile.     

"Heya, did you finish packing up?"     

"Yup. I finished packing just a little while ago," she replied happily.     

"Alright. Oh, if it isn't Rosaria! I'm sorry for earlier, I went a bit overboard."     

"Tch! Jerk!"     

Rosaria, however, ran away from him as fast as she could without saying anything else.     

She hid behind some barrels from his blind spot and spied on them from afar.     

"Why would Sister Rosaria run away like this?" Barbara asked Yomite.     

"Hmm, well, I guess I was a bit rough with her today. Sorry about that."     

"Rough with her? I didn't think she'd react like that, so I was a little surprised myself. To think even someone like her could get mad."     

"Yeah, well, it was my fault."     

Yomite was serious about everything he'd said in the pub, but the alcohol forced him to be more honest and blunt than he wanted to be and this resulted in Rosaria's angry reaction.     

"I wanted to apologize, but I guess she'll be avoiding me now."     

"Oh no. Don't say that. I'm sure Sister Rosaria just needs time to forgive you for whatever you've said to her."     

"I suppose you're right."     

Little did Yomite know at the time, that after conquering one cute stalker called Barbara, he would soon face another...