6. Today as Ever, the Light Shines Only to Be Defiled

Author: Kiki
Raw: https://novel18.syosetu.com/n2498fn/4/
Translator: Lilia v4
Editor: Yuriko AYA

That night, the rain fell with the force of a storm.
At times like these, being alone in this dim church left me feeling strangely lonely.
The childish thought would suddenly come to me—if only someone would visit—yet those were always the times when no one came.
Naturally. There was a downpour outside.
In my room, illuminated by a magical lamp, I turned the pages of my book, now and then casting an uneasy glance at the rain striking the window.
Rustle, rustle.
It was an oft-read novel about an aristocratic boy and girl who abandoned their stations to elope—a book existing solely as entertainment, of the sort no woman of the cloth ought to read.
Then again, I had never been an officially recognized nun in the first place.
I was merely a woman who had let herself into an abandoned church and taken it upon herself to call herself a nun.
It was hardly something to concern myself with now.

“Has the rainy season begun, I wonder?”

Now and then, a murmur escaped my lips to ward off the loneliness.
The temperature had risen of late, and I could feel summer drawing closer.
The height of summer, with its punishing sunlight, would soon be upon us—but before that came the rainy season, when rain like today’s drenched the ground day after day.
It was a depressing prospect.
The damp made food quick to mold and laundry slow to dry.
Above all, foul weather had a way of clouding people’s hearts as well.
I would no doubt receive more requests for counsel.
There was little sense in fretting now over a future that might never come to pass, but this pattern had held true without fail ever since I arrived at the church.
Experience could, at times, prove more reliable than any theory.

“I do hope it will be clear tomorrow …”

Another murmur.
Then, almost overlapping my voice, I thought I heard a rustle from outside—the sound of something moving.
It was already dark, and the hour late enough that the city had fallen asleep.
Was it a thief, perhaps? Or someone burdened by a trouble that could not wait until morning?
I slipped a bookmark between the pages, closed the book, and left my room.
When I reached the large front door of the church, I opened it timidly and peered outside.
There, two girls sat huddled close together.
Perhaps sensing my gaze, one of them—a black-haired girl—looked up at me without rising.
Her eyes were crimson, unmistakable even in the darkness of night.
I found myself so captivated by their beauty that, for one brief moment, I forgot even to breathe.
After we had stared at one another for a time, the girl lowered her brows, assumed a troubled expression, and spoke.

“Um, if you would not mind, could you let us inside? We have nowhere to go, and we don’t know what to do.”

Her voice brought me sharply back to my senses, and I turned to the orange-haired girl, whose eyes were as red as the black-haired girl’s.
The clothes she wore were little better than rags … One glance was enough to tell me that she came from the Discard District.
Once before, a girl from the Discard District had come to the church in much the same way.
It had been at night then as well, though it had not been raining.
That time, I had looked out my bedroom window, realized that the person pleading for help was from the Discard District … and abandoned her without a moment’s hesitation.
I had foisted responsibility upon some unknown stranger, telling myself that even if I did nothing, someone else would surely help her.
The next morning, a girl was found on the roadside not far from the church, lynched and crushed almost beyond recognition.
When I heard about the body, I felt no pang of conscience whatsoever. I experienced not the slightest guilt.
Though I called myself a woman of the cloth, some part of me believed that people of the Discard District deserved to die.
That realization appalled me. I was ashamed of myself.
If the same thing ever happened again, I must help without fail.
Looking at the two girls before me, I remembered the vow I had made.
Even if saving people from the Discard District meant breaking the law—

“You will catch cold if you remain out here so wet. Please, come inside at once.”

Discard District or otherwise, a person was a person, and a life was a life.
No one should be treated differently merely because of where she was born or how she was raised.
Seeing the girls smile with joy at having found shelter only renewed my conviction.

 

◇◇◇

 

The two girls sat charmingly shoulder to shoulder on a pew in the chapel, and I handed each of them a towel.

“Thanks!”

The orange-haired girl gave me a warm, friendly smile.
People from the Discard District received no proper upbringing and therefore had no manners—or so those who lived in the city commonly believed. She appeared to be an exception.
Indeed, were it not for those ragged clothes, no one would ever have guessed that she came from the Discard District.
I also fetched two spare habits from my room and gave them to the girls.
Even if they happened to be fond of their clothes, remaining drenched would be uncomfortable and make sleep rather difficult.

“Are you sure we can borrow clothes as well as stay the night?”
“It is a cleric’s duty to aid those in need, so please use them without reservation. Er—”
“Oh, if you’re asking my name, I’m Chigusa.”
“And I’m Ellis.”
“Chigusa and Ellis, then. My name is Nunnally. I suppose I am some five years older than the two of you. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

When I bowed after introducing myself, they both bowed to me in kind.

“Mm-hm! It’s nice to meet you. Same goes for Sister and me!”

Her use of “Sister” struck me as rather curious, but given that they had the same color eyes, I assumed they must be sisters.
For a person from the Discard District, however, this city was an exceedingly harsh place to live.
Now that I had given them shelter once, I had also taken upon myself the obligation to let them remain here until they found some means of making a life.
I did not know how long our association would last, but judging by all I had seen of them thus far, I felt certain we would get along quite well.

 

◇◇◇

 

It happened late that same night, after Chigusa and Ellis arrived at the church.
I had fallen asleep, only to awaken unexpectedly in the middle of the night.
Perhaps the clammy air had made it difficult for my body to rest.
Still half asleep, I sat up and looked at the clock. It was 2:23.
Even for a cleric, it was far too early to rise.
I could have gone straight back to sleep, but I found myself strangely thirsty, so I left my bed and made my way to the kitchen.
I took a cup from the shelf, turned on the tap, and soothed my throat with the clear water that flowed from it.
When I was a child, my parents had taught me never to drink water straight from the tap, so the progress of magical purification never failed to astonish me.
My thirst relieved, I left the kitchen and began walking back to my room.
It was then, however, that I noticed another sound mingling with the rain.
It came from the opposite direction from my room—from the room I had given Chigusa and Ellis.
Eavesdropping was wrong—my better nature sounded the alarm, but the unfamiliar, high-pitched noises aroused my curiosity. Silencing my footsteps, I crept slowly, ever so slowly, toward their room.

“Ah … mm … ngh …”

The nearer I drew, the clearer the sound became. By the time I stood outside the door, it was distinct enough for me to identify the voice.

“Hah, haaah … Sisteeer!”

There could be no mistake. It was Ellis.
Ragged breathing, a heated voice very much like a moan, and wet sounds echoing from within the room.
They were sounds I recognized.

“Surely the two of them cannot be in that sort of relationship …”

No, even if they were, indulging themselves the moment they took refuge in a church was surely rather improper.
Yet I did not possess the courage to enter the room and reprimand them.
After fretting over it until I was quite at a loss, I decided to turn a blind eye for tonight and leave.
If, from tomorrow onward, their conduct inconvenienced me in some fashion—then I would admonish them.

Yet even after returning to my room and slipping beneath the covers, I fancied I could still hear Ellis, though the distance made that impossible.
My face burned with embarrassment, and sleep was entirely out of the question.
In the end, I remained awake for nearly the entire night and was obliged to spend the following day short of sleep.

 

◇◇◇

 

The next morning, the two awoke earlier than I had expected and greeted me as though nothing had happened.

“Good morning, Nunnally.”
“Morning, Nunnally.”
“Did the two of you sleep well last night?”
“Yes, thanks to you.”

Chigusa answered without the slightest sign of unease.
She was so composed that I nearly convinced myself the previous night had been a dream.
Once I knew the nature of their relationship, however, I could not help noticing their every gesture.
The way their bodies touched from time to time without apparent cause, the way their gazes intertwined—it seemed to reveal the strength of the bond between them.
My thoughts elsewhere, I continued preparing breakfast in that state—

“Ouch!”

I had cut my finger with the kitchen knife.
As I grimaced and clutched it in reflex, I felt something warm against my back.
Before I knew it, Chigusa was embracing me from behind.
She took my hand in hers and closed her mouth around my finger.

“Ch-Chigusa?!”

Paying no heed to my distress, Chigusa licked and sucked at my bleeding finger, coating it with her saliva.
The movements of her tongue brought the previous night to mind, and my heart began pounding violently.
Moreover, though she had merely taken my finger into her mouth, each time her tongue lapped at its tip, a shiver ran the length of my back.
Any more and I feared I might lose my senses—I had reached my limit.
I pulled my finger from her mouth, hurried to the tap, and rinsed the wound with water.
Perhaps thanks to her licking it, the bleeding had stopped.

“I am sorry.”

I worried that I might have offended her by reacting as though something filthy had touched me, but Chigusa appeared not at all displeased.
On the contrary, she tenderly stroked my hand and watched my fingertip beneath the flowing water as though she were worried from the bottom of her heart.
But still … why was this?
Whenever she touched me, my skin felt peculiarly sensitive, even if only her fingertips brushed mine.
It felt so even now.
It was as though something other than warmth were flowing from her body into mine.

“I startled you by acting so suddenly.”
“N-No, I do understand that you were concerned for me, Chigusa. I simply was not accustomed to that sort of act.”
“I am glad. I was a little worried that you had come to dislike me.”

Chigusa gave me an enigmatic smile as she spoke.
Her red eyes stared straight into mine, seeming to draw my heart toward them.
If I continued to meet her gaze, I felt I might be dragged down into their profoundest depths.
My blood boiled as my heart beat faster.
It was like the time I had once fallen wrongly in love with that person.
No—this was far stronger. A heart-melting sensation enveloped my very soul.

Ah … This woman was bewitchment itself.

Whether she bore any ill intent or not, if we continued gazing at one another, she would eventually steal my heart away.
Having reached that conclusion, I hastily averted my eyes.
To her, the sight of me turning away with flushed cheeks may have looked like mere shyness.
At the sight, Chigusa raised a hand to her mouth and laughed with elegant, sensual grace. “Hee hee.”