I'm Playing as a Nun.

Chapter 42: The Cat's Worries

Meanwhile, at that time, in a village near the Elm Forest.

"Extra! Extra─!!"

A boy's voice pierced through the village's quiet air.

A bundle of freshly printed, still-warm newspapers was in his hands, and on his shoulder hung a large, worn bag.

He ran barefoot along the dirt road, spreading newspapers here and there.

"This can't be... What is this nonsense..."

The shop owner, who had been organizing items in front of his store, held the newspaper and frowned severely.

Not just him but everyone in the street who picked up the newspapers the boy had scattered burst into hollow laughter with thoroughly pale expressions.

"Ah... So this is why we haven't seen many monsters around the village lately..."

"Li-liar... This can't be..."

"How could such an absurd being be in such a remote place..."

The shocking news had reached even this rural village where few people passed through.

The adventurers in the village, in particular, paid the most attention to this news.

-BANG─!!

"Don't be ridiculous─!! Since when did our village fall into the hands of a mere demon─?!!"

Someone's voice echoed loudly through the guild hall, where only awkward silence had been flowing.

A male adventurer who had read the newspaper belatedly ground his teeth with a thoroughly furrowed brow.

"Just when did such a being settle near our village..."

"This is unbelievable..."

While others began to speak up in response to that voice, one by one.

They were all negative comments, and their faces were unmistakably full of anxiety and doubt.

"Hey, Priscilla─!! Say something! Didn't you say there was no one there when you went scouting before!!"

"Wh-what?!!"

As the atmosphere grew increasingly darker with time.

Eventually, the arrows of blame were directed at Priscilla, who had been sitting quietly in the guild.

"I-I-I... really don't know... I told you clearly back then..."

"If what's written here is true, it means that demon corpse you brought from that abandoned church was this being's doing!!"

"I really don't know anything... When I went there, there was definitely no one, and only that corpse was lying there..."

"Do you think that makes any sense..."

-BANG!!

Just as all the adventurers in the guild began to glare at Priscilla with increasingly dissatisfied looks.

A man suddenly slammed his palm on the table, instantly drawing everyone's attention to himself.

"Arguing about that now won't change anything. Get a grip."

"B-Blue Bell..."

The warrior Blue Bell, who boasted the highest skill in the guild.

Although he was an adventurer active in a rural village, his skills were remarkable enough to be recognized even outside.

"It was strange to begin with to assign such an important mission to a rookie. Don't push the blame unnecessarily."

"But if she had just scouted properly, the situation wouldn't have become this serious..."

"I said stop. None of us knew the importance of that request back then."

"......"

"What's important now isn't figuring out who's at fault, but how we're going to deal with this demon mentioned in the newspaper."

Struck by Bell's direct words, the man naturally closed his mouth.

As everyone fell silent and watched each other's reactions, a woman questioning the newspaper's contents carefully raised her hand and spoke softly.

"According to the information here, the demon seems to be a vampire... Aren't vampires a species that went extinct long ago?"

Bell slowly furrowed one eyebrow at the woman's question.

"That's probably right. It's such an old story that even I don't know well, but from what I've heard, they were said to be the weakest among demon races."

"Doesn't that mean this newspaper is fabricated? It doesn't make sense. How could a single vampire capture the Roen Forest and make the elves bow their heads..."

"Well. I'd like to believe that too, but somehow I can't be certain."

"Besides, Roen Forest has the World Tree that even most demons can't easily approach. No matter how you look at it, this is likely fabricated."

"If you go see it, you'll know, but that World Tree doesn't function at all at night. Despite appearances, it's full of gaps."

"...What?"

Questions that couldn't be resolved no matter how deeply they thought about it.

A vampire, known to have gone extinct in ancient times, not only reappeared in the world but conquered the Roen Forest in a single day and made it their territory.

Moreover, the newspaper boldly claimed the preposterous news that even Bell's village had already fallen under this vampire's territory.

"Then how do you explain this story about our village falling to the vampire...?"

"When such an absurd being suddenly appears and instantly makes the elves kneel, do you think this village, located even closer than the Roen Forest, would be safe?"

"Th-that..."

"To us living in this village, it's just an absurd story, but from outsiders' perspective, they couldn't help but think that way. That's why such content was published in the newspaper."

As the discussion progressed, the atmosphere became increasingly serious.

Especially for Bell, who held the greatest influence in the guild, the burden of this incident couldn't help but weigh more heavily than ever.

"There's still too much we don't know. How did a vampire that went extinct long ago reappear in the world, why did they capture the Roen Forest... We can't possibly understand from just this newspaper's contents."

"If this newspaper's contents are really true... That vampire will soon visit this village too..."

"Probably. From the looks of it, they seem to be an independent entity with no connection to the Demon Lord."

"What are you going to do now, Bell...?"

Bell had much to think about.

He could hardly believe that the elves of Roen Forest, who had tenaciously endured through all sorts of troubled times and maintained their lineage, would fall so quickly to a single vampire.

"...There's nothing particularly we can do right now. We can only desperately hope there won't be any damage."

"Wh-what are you saying?! Are we just going to pray and do nothing?"

"We're talking about someone who openly invaded and conquered the Roen Forest with the World Tree in a single day. Do you think we, living in a rural village, could handle such an absurd being?"

"Even so, this is too passive... You said vampires are the weakest among demons..."

"Maybe that got distorted over time. Otherwise, how could they conquer the Roen Forest alone?"

Bell maintained his composure while barely suppressing his anger.

Though his head was spinning with a mix of frustration and complexity.

Nevertheless, to prevent everyone from falling into confusion, he took a deep breath and painfully collected himself while slightly biting his lower lip.

"Even if we move, we won't be able to cause any damage to that being, and we'll just end up irritating them."

"......"

"Don't escalate things with misplaced righteousness. For now, we need to stay quiet as mice."

Bell judged that even if all the adventurers in the guild attacked at once, they wouldn't be any match for the vampire.

So he raised his voice even more and earnestly pleaded with everyone.

"Those who have the means can leave this village right now, but please don't do anything foolish like asking someone for help."

The guild gradually grew solemn at Bell's sincere words.

"And I recommend those with children leave this village even if they don't have much means."

"Wh-why is that?"

"It's written in the newspaper. That vampire had several children with them."

Bell habitually ran his hand through his hair with a complicated feeling.

"They must have taken them as either hostages or food. There's no worse scum than this."

"Ah..."

"If you don't want your children to be taken by a mere demon, leave this village right now."

Bell's voice was more resolute than ever.

Like an order, it echoed heavily and seriously through the guild, cutting through the cold air.

"......"

Priscilla, who had been watching Bell quite awkwardly from her corner seat.

A drop of lukewarm sweat rolling down her right cheek seemed to show her complicated feelings.

It felt like sitting alone on a cushion of thorns.

"Ugh..."

Priscilla had known from the start.

The vampire mentioned in this newspaper was none other than Levinia.

While Priscilla knew nothing about the Roen Forest matter, she vaguely knew that Levinia wasn't the kind of demon who would plot such horrible things.

This made the situation even more difficult for her to watch.

"What in the world is going on..."

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While a serious atmosphere had formed in the nearby village with talk about Levinia.

At that same time, an untimely grand confrontation unfolded quite breathtakingly at a church in a remote part of the Elm Forest.

"Heeeeek─!!"

Levinia wore a hollow expression mixed with anger and sadness in front of the towering tree in the middle of the church's front garden.

Sitting heavily on the weeds, she began to tremble her lips more and more while looking at the broken leaf in her hands.

"This leaf was something Rune worked hard to get for me..."

When Levinia kept trying to sneakily follow the children despite strong opposition.

The World Tree had no choice but to tear apart the giant leaf that Levinia had been wearing like a parasol.

Levinia was shocked to witness such a miserable sight up close.

-Thunk

Then, a palm-sized leaf fell in front of the pouting Levinia.

Levinia tilted her head with a puzzled expression for a moment but soon realized the meaning of the leaf and gradually furrowed her brows.

"Wow, you're really nasty..."