episode_0092

*

Perhaps because winter had arrived and the days were shorter, by the time Paolo and I finished shoveling the snow that covered the village, the sun had already set.

I gathered with everyone, ate the meal Anna had prepared, and then went to the Cathedral with the nuns for Mass and prayer.

Meal followed by Mass. And then prayer.

This had been our daily routine, pretty much, ever since life in the village had settled down to some extent.

Paolo refused to participate, saying he had no interest in playing religious games.

He even took a hard line, adding that if God were watching humanity, the world wouldn’t be in this messed-up state.

Well, there’s a saying that you shouldn’t recklessly bring someone without faith into the Cathedral, so I didn’t want to force him either.

Following Mass, Anna and Lucia included confessions about their lewd conduct in their prayers, and Sola focused on prayer to shake off the wicked words that the devil within her constantly spewed.

I prayed earnestly as well.

Even though I knew that the Goddess didn’t have the capacity to look after the world right now,

it brought me an inexpressible sense of stability to humble myself, a worthless being, and bow my head towards the Almighty, praying earnestly.

That’s what religion is.

The belief that our fate, which is impossible to foresee even an inch ahead, will ultimately be according to God’s will.

The belief that the conclusion that came after my confusion and anguish would ultimately be God’s intention gave me an indescribable sense of stability and became the driving force that allowed me to fight against fearsome devils.

Even if I die fighting, that too would be God’s will.

If I thought that way, there would be nothing to fear in the world.

“…”

However, I feel that my faith, which was once so firm, is now slowly cracking and getting mossy.

This isn’t from external enemies or internal doubts that gnaw at me.

The constant temptations of the nuns that have recently begun to break me down.

Could this even be God’s will?

What exactly is the Goddess, whose power has been greatly weakened by some sort of wicked trick, hoping for from me?

Is it just that I’m vulnerable to temptation and desire now that her protection has weakened?

Why is it that the earnest prayer that always cleared my mind brings only more doubts these days?

I prayed even more earnestly to shake off this anguish.

“Ugh, my legs hurt…”

“Has it already been that long… Alright, let’s stop here for today.”

How much time had passed?

When I started to hear Sola’s grumbling, I declared the end of the prayer and slowly rose from my seat.

In fact, there’s no set time for prayer, but since it’s done kneeling, I would end it when Sola started complaining, which was on average just under two hours.

Lucia got up right away.

Sola leaned on a chair and got up unsteadily, and Anna got up relatively unscathed, but she seemed to limp a little, perhaps because her legs were numb.

“Good work, everyone. Sola, how was it today?”

“The devil laughed at my prayer.”

“… How?”

“He said, ‘What kind of idiot asks God to make their legs not fall asleep?’”

“…”

Even the Demon King, who was trying to win Sola over somehow, couldn’t do anything about Sola’s purity… it seemed.

I chuckled and stroked Sola’s head.

“God will definitely be listening.”

“Really? Father, then will my legs not fall asleep? Will the Goddess make my legs like steel?”

“No, she’ll make sure you don’t have to kneel anymore. I promise. Once I solve the devil in your head, you won’t have to pray for the rest of your life.”

“Wow, I love it.”

Sola smiled brightly and swung her arms around.

She would have been running around already if it weren’t for her numb legs, so it seemed like she was waving her arms instead.

I tapped Sola’s thigh with my knee.

“Ugh!”

Sola made a strange noise and collapsed limply to the floor.

“Ah, Father!”

“Hahahaha,”

“Jerk… I’m going to open your window and throw snow in when you’re sleeping.”

“Go ahead.”

I brushed off Sola’s words lightly.

Since she had eaten a lot for dinner and then prayed in the quiet Cathedral, she must have been very sleepy already.

In fact, Sola used to spend most of her prayer time dozing off.

I quietly looked over at Anna.

“…”

“… What is it, Father?”

The first cause that made my prayer uneasy.

The lewd Nun who tempts me.

Looking at Anna, I felt inexplicably mean, so I poked her thigh with my knee as well.

She straightened her back as if she had been electrocuted and trembled her legs.

“Hyaaheueung… Eup,”

“… What, what is that sound?”

“Ah, heue…eung, Father… Your knee is too hard.”

“… You’re talking about my knee, right?”

That’s when it happened.

Lucia came up to me in a normal gait and tapped my arm.

“Father.”

“Yes, Lucia…”

I answered, hiding my tension.

In fact, I felt a little awkward seeing Lucia ever since I was caught having oral sex with Anna the night before.

It felt like I had become a husband caught cheating.

Of course, I’m not Lucia’s husband or anything, but since she was the first to cross the line, I had once been prepared to love only her, so it couldn’t be helped that I felt a little awkward.

Of course, it’s meaningless now that I’ve developed a deep relationship with Anna as well.

In short, Lucia was a witness to my corruption and the first arrow fired at my target of corruption.

Anna hit closer to the center, but still, Lucia was also someone who had entered my target area.

“…”

Lucia walked up to me with short steps, stood on her tiptoes, and brought her lips to my ear.

She spoke as if blowing a breathy whisper into my ear.

“It’s my turn today.”

“…”

“Then… See you later.”

Lucia blushed and slipped out of the Cathedral.

I was blankly watching Lucia walk away, and Anna, watching me, muttered with a strange smile.

“It was big even for me, but did Lucia swallow it well?”

“… Be quiet. We’re in the Cathedral. And Sola’s here too.”

Sola was sitting on the floor, looking up at us and said.

“Huh? Me? Are you talking about me, Father?”

“No…”

“What is it, what is it? Don’t hide it. Don’t leave me out!”

“That’s not it…”

Sola squirmed and floundered on the floor, and Anna was picking her up and patting her.

I sighed slowly, leaving the two of them behind and headed out of the Cathedral.

Paolo was standing outside the Cathedral door, leaning against the Cathedral wall.

“Oh, Paolo. What’s up?”

“… What’s up? I was just curious what you guys were always doing, so I came to see.”

“What would we be doing in the Cathedral? Mass and prayer.”

“Hmph, it’s true, it seems that Father is indeed a religious nut.”

I frowned slightly at the strange aggression I felt in his tone, but soon shook my head.

He’s someone who’s lived like that all his life and survived in a world teeming with monsters.

There’s no way his nature could be kind.

There’s no way he’ll change in the short term.

“Well, I am a religious nut, as you say. Cleric, Father, Priest. That’s me.”

“Hah, and here I thought you… Ah, never mind.”

Paolo spat on the floor and dropped the back he was leaning on.

The spit he spat fell near my feet.

It was a deliberate provocation.

“Let’s share some, shall we? Huh?”

“… Paolo.”

“What?”

I smiled.

As kindly as possible.

“Is it because you’re used to the rough life?”

“Huh?”

“If you miss the struggle, tell me anytime, I’ll gladly be your opponent.”

“…”

“I may not be as dangerous as the monsters outside, but I can definitely be a threat to your life. If you miss the tension, tell me anytime.”

“…”

Paolo twitched his lips and turned his back to walk away.

Actually, I knew why he was acting like this.

His attitude started to become more aggressive ever since he witnessed me and Anna performing oral sex.

A man who lived as a bandit ends up living in a village full of religious people, so even if he’s guaranteed safety, it must be difficult to endure the ascetic life.

Moreover, he had even been intimate with Elena, who was religious, so he might feel even more frustrated.

Besides, he witnessed me, the one who was stopping him, committing lewd acts, so he couldn’t help but see me as a hypocrite.

Of course, I was a little wronged since Anna covered me with the Succubus’s scent at the time, but considering what I’ve done with Anna since then, it’s natural that I have nothing to say.

I felt the depth of my corruption clearly again.

I drove him away threateningly, afraid that Paolo might do something terrible to the nuns, but in good conscience, I had nothing to say even if I had ten mouths.

In fact, stopping Paolo from mistreating the Nuns was a measure for him rather than for the Nuns.

Now, the three nuns in this village all have the power of the devil, and if he were to attack them, he would be the one who gets hurt.

But, I couldn’t bring myself to tell an outsider that the Nuns were possessed by the devil, so I could only shut my mouth.

This village was made for humans.

It was made in the hope that it would be the last haven for humans who survived struggling in this dying world.

That’s why I firmly ordered Kunat to stay out of Paolo’s sight as well.

“The situation is complicated…”

Human relationships.

They’re always so difficult to handle.

There are only five people, including me, but why is it so difficult and complicated?

Before the world ended, how did people manage to form so many relationships and manage them?

Before the world ended, I only fought against devils, and it was too difficult for me, who had started forming human relationships around the time the world ended.

I sighed and went back to my room.

As I stepped into the room, stepping on the ground that had melted snow and started to get muddy, I felt a small presence.

The moment I thought it was Kunat and raised my head.

“You’re late.”

“…”

Lucia was lying on my bed.

It seemed she had already come into my room and was waiting.

She was naked, without a thread on her body.