I’m Playing as a Nun.

Early dawn, with faint moonlight sparsely settling between the dense forest.

The sound of leaves slightly swaying and brushing in the wind further heightens the current atmosphere.

– Clang

Bringing out a spear like usual against Bel Ros, who is armed with solid-looking armor all over his body, is definitely not the right choice.

A weapon that is bigger, heavier, and can deliver a simple yet effective blow to Bel Ros, whose armor is his main body.

That is none other than a hammer.

It is an excellent means of communication that can most refreshingly release my current anger while also definitely dealing damage.

– Wham!

As soon as the heavy weight of the hammer was transmitted through my fingertips, I immediately kicked the ground and rushed in, aiming for Bel Ros’s opening.

At my sudden action, Bel Ros flinched momentarily and stepped back. He hurriedly raised both arms before his face and took a somewhat clumsy defensive stance.

– Boom-!!

Soon, my large hammer heavily struck Bel Ros’s two arms, instantly shattering his defensive stance.

“Ugh…!!”

Bel Ros currently does not have any weapons to face me with.

For some reason, his only greatsword was now so damaged that it was almost unusable.

– Boom! Boom! Boom!

However, I still swung the hammer mercilessly at Bel Ros.

His defense had already collapsed, and his body crumpled bumpy every time it was hit.

His condition worsened more and more each time the hammer struck his armor.

Bel Ros tried desperately to block with his arms. Still, it was virtually impossible to completely block my attacks with his bare body without proper weapons.

– Creak…

After some time passed like that.

The surroundings had shattered as if bombed, and an eerie wind blew ominously through it.

Trees were torn and broken, leaving only stumps and pits deeply hollowed out on the ground.

And cracks spread out chaotically.

The weeds and thickets were so completely damaged that their shapes could not even be recognized.

Although I have few skills compared to my high level, my physical abilities are excellent nonetheless.

So, even in this situation, I showed no signs of fatigue and continuously swung the large, heavy hammer, completely overwhelming Bel Ros.

“……”

Eventually, Bel Ros begins to make an unpleasant metallic sound as he kneels on the desolate ground.

As if he no longer had the strength to even lift his arms, the creaking sound from his drooping arms was particularly louder.

“Every time I get hit, it rings so badly in my head as if there’s an earthquake…”

“What are you talking about when you don’t even have a head to ring?”

“…After destroying the land like this, you still have the composure to joke…”

“I wasn’t really joking though.”

Unlike what Bel Ros feels, I don’t feel composed at all.

It seemed that the day would break soon, and I was very worried about the condition of the children at the church.

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

However, I was quite flustered by Bel Ros’s much sturdier-than-expected toughness and strong willpower.

His outer appearance was not just a mess but on the verge of completely crumbling.

Nevertheless, he showed an unyielding attitude, raising his head high until the end.

“Seeing how you’re persistently blocking only your left chest, I guess what you said about your weakness earlier wasn’t a lie.”

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

“…?”

As I stepped forward to try to wrap things up, Bel Ros suddenly dampened the mood with strange words.

“Are you worried about the children remaining at the church?”

“Of course I am.”

“Then you aren’t as composed as you let on.”

It was like his last will, but his words gave off a strange feeling.

A strange feeling that is too distinct to be simply due to mood.

Why does it feel so iffy seeing him look like he has already lost his will to fight?

“Don’t worry. The children will be safe.”

Putting the persistently rising iffiness aside for now, the moment I properly grabbed the hammer again to finish the job,

A few words that I couldn’t help but doubt my ears flowed out quietly from inside his crumpled helmet.

“Are you begging for your life now?”

“That’s not it. I’ve already made a firm mental preparation.”

“If not, is it a tactic to make me let my guard down?”

“That’s not it either. I just stated the facts as they are.”

It was hard to grasp.

That’s because I could still clearly feel the energy of giving up on life from Bel Ros’s drooping body.

It didn’t seem like a tactic to induce me to let my guard down.

In the first place, it was useless for him to try to make me let my guard down now, even if he wanted to, as he was only defending with his bare body without proper weapons.

“Nothing you need to worry about has happened.”

“Can you make some sense?”

Instead of properly answering my question, Bel Ros slowly raised his head toward the sky as if feeling refreshed.

“As you can see, I had no intention of winning against you at all. My plan to use my weapon, Severance, has been flawed from the beginning. It’s obvious that I will be defeated.”

“For that, you endured quite a bit.”

“It’s too unsightly to show a completely defeated attitude.”

In short, most of what Bel Ros is saying now seems to be rambling that doesn’t really need to be focused on.

Feeling that his end has come right before him, he’s blurting out whatever comes to mind to endure a little longer.

– Swish

Thinking I suffered a loss for nothing by listening, I straightened my posture again. I was about to swing the hammer at Bel Ros immediately.

Suddenly, someone’s presence was faintly heard from behind me.

“Levinia─!!!!”

A familiar voice rings loudly from beyond the underbrush that barely covers the devastated forest.

As soon as I heard that voice, I quickly made the hammer in my hand disappear without a moment’s hesitation.

“You wicked demons─!! I will definitely protect Levinia!!”

Then, boldly revealing himself before me, Aizen raises the small iron sword he holds toward Bel Ros.

I could only blink with a puzzled expression at the sudden situation.

“Ai-Aizen…?”

“Don’t worry, Levinia! I will definitely defeat that guy!”

Following behind, Ellie and Iris also approached next to Aizen and timidly pointed their weapons at Bel Ros.

“W-We… will also have Lady Paellia’s grace…!”

“W-W-W… We can… We can win…”

The situation became complicated in an instant.

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand why the children, who should be hiding in the church, appeared here.

“Si-Sister…!!”

Moreover, the situation became even more confusing as Priscilla was with the children.

“Huff… Huff… T-Thank goodness… You were still safe…”

“Priscilla…?”

“No matter how long I waited, you didn’t come… The children were worried… Huff…”

Priscilla looks like she’s about to run out of breath at any moment.

She must have run all the way here without resting.

“……”

“I-I’m sorry… I should have stopped them somehow…”

“How did you even know about this place… No, more importantly, were there no other demons?”

“Ah, yes. You mean that weird-looking round-glasses-wearing demon, right?”

Putting everything else aside, it’s virtually impossible for Priscilla and the children to safely reach here while evading that demon.

It must not have been easy to run away─.

“We found him lying in the nearby forest, gasping for breath in a half-dead state, so I finished him off and came!”

“…What?”

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

As soon as I heard Priscilla’s answer, I made an even more puzzled expression.

However, Priscilla didn’t pay attention to me and suddenly approached me quietly and whispered something in my ear.

“That was your doing, right…? I still don’t know what’s what… But at least I’m pretty sure you’re not an enemy…”

I could only be more confused because I had never inflicted such a horrible wound on that demon.

No matter how hard I tried to understand the current situation.

I couldn’t easily catch up with these questions that wouldn’t be solved and this atmosphere that flowed smoothly as if orchestrated.

“Hahaha!! Do you think you can protect someone with that tiny sword, Aizen!”

Then, Bel Ros’s hearty remark suddenly comes from afar.

“Wh-What…?! How do you know my name…”

“Still, that attitude of stepping up without hesitation to protect someone is fully praiseworthy!”

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

Ignoring Aizen’s flustered question, Bel Ros continued his words persistently while laughing heartily until the end.

“Small things accumulate and eventually achieve a greater cause. Your current self is very desirable, Aizen.”

“H-Hey, since when were we close?!!”

“Ellie, Iris, the same goes for you. Although you may seem insignificant now, you will grow incomparably and tremendously in the future compared to now.”

“H-He even knows our names…”

With those words, Bel Ros slowly raised his crumpled body from the spot.

“Levinia. I know very well that you’re not in a position to do so, but I hope you’ll listen to one last request of mine.”

“…What is it?”

“I want to fight these children.”

I immediately frowned at Bel Ros’s unreasonable request.

“What sort of request..”

“Levinia! I hope you won’t step in this time!”

Aizen suddenly cuts in and raises his voice with all his might before I finish speaking.

I was momentarily at a loss for words.

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

“Th-that’s right…! We’re pretty strong too…!!”

“S-S-S… Surrender… Surrender…!”

What on earth happened at the church that the children suddenly became so reliable?

I almost shed tears without realizing it, seeing the children trying to achieve something on their own.

“In return for granting my request, I’ll tell you a very useful piece of information.”

Standing at a distance, Bel Ros said that and slowly picked up a branch lying around.

“I shall use this branch as my weapon.”

“What?! Aren’t you looking down on us too much?!”

“Th-that’s right…! We said we’re pretty strong too…?!”

“D-D-D… Don’t… Don’t look down on us…”

It was an unreasonable request that I would never have listened to under normal circumstances.

The children are still too young to face demons, and their skills are lacking.

However, Bel Ros’s attitude seemed quite sincere. He wanted to fight the children somehow with his crumpled body.

And his action of even replacing his weapon with a branch, subtly reassuring me, was strangely trustworthy.

“…I won’t let it slide if you do anything improper.”

“Of course.”

I ended up granting Bel Ros’s unreasonable request.

Even considering the fact that he is a demon and what he has done to me so far, it’s no exaggeration to say that my trust in him is close to zero.

But since I’ll be watching right next to them anyway, I can step in and get rid of him immediately if the situation flows even slightly strangely.

Moreover, this very moment when the children are showing such enthusiasm could serve as great nourishment for the future.

I know very well that I shouldn’t keep coddling the children for their sake.

“Aizen, from today, you are the leader of this party.”

Perhaps that’s what Bel Ros hoped for when he made the request.

Although I don’t know why he sincerely wishes for the children’s growth.

“Please, fight with all your might.”

While it feels icky and worrisome that the children are already fighting demons.

Some things are ultimately unavoidable in life.

Simply protecting them is never the right thing to do for the children.