Chapter 472: Seduce the Nun, Part 3

Kouhei waited for Aegis to arrive at the restaurant they had agreed on after talking over the phone. It was honestly a pretty good restaurant, much better than the kind of place Kouhei had initially expected them to meet in, and the atmosphere was quiet enough that they could have a private conversation without immediately attracting unwanted attention. The only problem was the restaurant’s location, since it happened to be fairly close to the Church, which made Kouhei a little more careful about how he behaved.

The situation was already complicated enough as it was, but for the moment, Kouhei figured that everything should be fine as long as he did not attract too much suspicion toward himself. He just needed to behave normally, keep his abilities under control, and avoid doing anything that would make someone nearby start wondering what exactly he was hiding.

"It’s good that you’re not putting suspicion on yourself, but you do realize that it doesn’t really matter if you accidentally let your power spill out, right?" Petra asked.

"You didn’t have to come all the way here just to tell me that," Kouhei replied, giving her a slightly annoyed look.

"If I don’t keep an eye on you, then for all I know, you’re going to screw something up," Petra said, sounding completely serious despite how casually she delivered the warning. "I don’t want that happening, especially when I also have something I need to ask the Holy Book about, so naturally, I’d rather help you while I’m here."

Kouhei glanced at her for a moment.

She did?

He wondered what exactly Petra wanted from the Holy Book that would make her so interested in helping him with this situation. She clearly had her own reasons for being here, and Kouhei had a feeling that whatever she wanted to ask was probably important to her. Still, he decided that there was no real reason to question her about it right now.

For the moment, having Petra around was not exactly a bad thing.

She understood the Church better than he did, after all, and if something went wrong, having someone nearby who knew how the Church operated could potentially save him from making an incredibly stupid mistake. Kouhei had already made enough questionable decisions in his life, so adding another one just because he was too stubborn to accept help seemed unnecessary.

"Just be sure not to get in my way, please," Kouhei said, keeping his attention toward the restaurant entrance.

"You’re doing fine so far," Petra replied. "You’re handling this in a way where you’re not going to get arrested for assault, so I suppose it’s better if you continue doing things your way. I promise that I won’t interfere unless something actually goes wrong."

At least Petra understood the important part.

If Kouhei simply did what she had originally suggested instead of taking this more roundabout approach, there was a very good chance that he would end up getting arrested for sexual assault.

It was also good that Petra had decided not to interfere with his plans and was willing to let him handle things himself.

Kouhei did not need someone constantly standing over his shoulder and telling him what to do, especially when he already had enough things to worry about. Petra’s presence was useful, but only as long as she remembered that he was the one actually handling the conversation.

After waiting for a little while longer, Kouhei finally noticed Aegis approaching the restaurant entrance.

He immediately recognized her.

"Do your thing," Petra said before stepping away from Kouhei and leaving him to handle the meeting himself.

Kouhei turned his attention toward Aegis as she entered the restaurant and looked around, apparently searching for him. She was wearing a rather modern outfit, and surprisingly enough, it looked really good on her. The clothes suited her so well that Kouhei had to remind himself that she was supposed to be a nun.

She certainly did not look like one at first glance.

In fact, she looked more like an ordinary young woman who happened to know how to dress herself properly. There was nothing particularly traditional about her appearance, and if Kouhei had encountered her somewhere else without knowing anything about her beforehand, he probably would have assumed that she was simply another student.

"Here!" Kouhei called out while raising his hand so she could easily spot him.

"O-Oh... h-hello," Aegis said, giving him a small wave before quickly walking toward his table.

Once she reached him, she immediately sat down and looked at him with an apologetic expression.

"A-Am I late?" she asked nervously. "I hope I didn’t keep you waiting for far too long."

Kouhei stared at her for a moment.

She was very late.

In fact, she was about forty-five minutes late, which was long enough that Kouhei had genuinely started wondering whether she was going to show up at all. He had spent a considerable amount of time sitting there and waiting, and after enough minutes had passed, he had even begun considering the possibility that something had happened to her.

Still, Aegis had already explained that there had been some kind of situation she needed to handle at the place where she was studying. Once Kouhei remembered that, he immediately understood that she had probably been delayed because whatever she had been dealing with was important.

Because of that, he could not really blame her for being late.

Besides, she had actually come.

That was what mattered most.

"It’s fine," Kouhei said with a small smile. "I could wait if it’s you."

"O-Oh, I see..." Aegis replied, her cheeks immediately becoming red as she looked away.

Kouhei noticed the reaction and almost smiled.

She was really easy to embarrass.

He decided not to tease her about it, though, since doing so would probably make her even more nervous, and he wanted the conversation to remain comfortable rather than turning into an awkward mess before they had even ordered their food.

With that settled, both of them started looking through the menu and eventually placed their orders. The food did not arrive immediately, so they ended up waiting for around thirty minutes before the dishes were finally brought to their table.

Fortunately, the waiting itself was not particularly uncomfortable.

Kouhei and Aegis had already started talking by then, and the conversation gradually became easier as they continued getting used to each other’s presence. Once the food finally arrived, they began eating while continuing their conversation, with Kouhei carefully choosing what information he was willing to reveal about himself.

"I come from Japan," Kouhei said casually. "I came here for some studies."

"I-Is that so?" Aegis asked, looking genuinely surprised by his answer. "I didn’t expect you to come all the way here just to study. What are you studying, if you don’t mind me asking?"

"Oh, I’m researching a sickness," Kouhei answered.

"S-So you’re aspiring to become a doctor?" Aegis asked, her expression brightening slightly. "That’s actually pretty cool."

Well, that was not exactly what Kouhei was doing.

Still, he did not really need to correct her.

Letting her believe that he was simply a student researching a sickness was considerably easier than explaining the complicated truth behind his actual circumstances. Becoming a doctor was not exactly the worst misunderstanding she could have about him, either, and correcting her would only lead to more questions.

Questions were dangerous.

The more questions she asked, the more opportunities Kouhei would have to accidentally reveal something he did not want her knowing.

"Anyway, what about you?" Kouhei asked, shifting the conversation toward her. "What are you studying?"

"W-Well, I am studying to become a nun," Aegis answered, her cheeks becoming slightly red again as she said it.

Of course, Kouhei already knew that.

He had known from the beginning that Aegis was connected to the Church, but there was something about her situation that had been bothering him for a while. Since they were already talking about their studies, he figured that this was probably the most natural opportunity he was going to get to ask about it.

"Are you sure it’s okay for you to be meeting me like this, though?" Kouhei asked. "Aren’t nuns supposed to, uh... aren’t they supposed to be forbidden from getting married?"

It was something Kouhei had wanted to ask for quite some time.

He had even considered asking Petra about it before, but the opportunity had never really presented itself naturally. As far as Kouhei understood, active nuns could not get married while they remained bound by their religious vows. When a woman became a nun, she generally took a public vow of chastity that required her to remain celibate while continuing to live according to those vows.

At least, that was what Kouhei thought.

"W-Well, it’s not exactly like that," Aegis explained, hesitating slightly before continuing. "I mean, it’s true that nuns are required to remain pure and vow to be chaste while they remain bound by their vows, but... I am a different kind of nun."

"Different?" Kouhei asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We aren’t nuns in the sense that we’re serving the Church directly," Aegis explained. "We’re nuns who practice because we’re training to pursue and eventually eliminate evil."

"I see..." Kouhei said quietly as he considered her explanation.

So basically, they were something like demon hunters.

That was the closest comparison Kouhei could come up with after hearing what she had said. They were still connected to the Church, but their actual purpose was considerably different from what he had originally imagined when he heard the word "nun."