Dear God, please give me luck with work.
Praying for yourself like that is against the rules, so I don’t say anything like that.
“Kiyori, how’s it going lately?”
Another Sister, Miss Hasper, brought her friends over and said hi.
“It’s going,” I answered, almost carelessly.
Miss Hasper seemed to think that was a strange response and raised her eyebrows.
Honestly, I don’t know why she was talking to me. To be frank, I’m pretty sure she and her friends hate me.
So there’s no misunderstanding, I’ll add that for some reason most of the Sisters hate me, so it’s probably not them, but me. Because I’m an annoying woman.
“Hmmm? I thought you would mumble about work, but you’re a bit different now. Is it maybe because you slept with a guy?”
“So you’ve graduated from being so serious? You were always so popular, so you must have found a good catch, huh?”
“She’s probably doing them all. Ah-ha-ha. With that face and that chest, getting guys must be a piece of cake!”
What is all this about? It’s really uncomfortable.
I don’t recall ever doing anything to them. If they’re going to bother me so blatantly, I wish they would at least tell me why they don’t like me. I asked once before, but they just said, “Ask the mirror,” so I gave up.
“I’m sorry.”
I figured if I apologized that would make things better. Then I thought I would leave, but Miss Hasper called out to stop me.
“Kiyori, I heard you want to go into the forest.”
I turned around without thinking.
Miss Hasper is a more experienced Sister who has had a boyfriend and been going to the forest for a long time. That said, I know she doesn’t do it for peace or exploration.
She and her Sister friends go with their adventurer boyfriends in groups of couples to hang out. To let off steam. I don’t think I should have too much to do with them.
But Miss Hasper said something I didn’t expect.
“Actually, Killak is one of our friends.”
“He said he wanted to see you again.”
“Yeah, he asked us to give you a message. He said he would make you his partner and take you into the forest. What do you say?”
What do I say? Honestly, I didn’t trust Mr. Killak very much at that point.
But since I wasn’t a virgin anymore, it would only get harder for me to find a partner.
More than anything, if I didn’t find one soon, I wouldn’t be able to catch up to Miss Haru. It was a really pressing issue for me.
“I-I want to go. My friend went into the forest!”
I clenched my fists and told them my genuine feelings, and they nodded, grinning. “Oh? Okay, then.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll be there too.”
Going with them actually made me even more nervous, but I thought I should try to be optimistic since I was finally going to go on an adventure.
This has been Kiyori.
＊
Registering with the Adventurers’ Guild was far simpler than I expected.
Or rather, the old man at the window hardly looked at the paperwork. Mr. Killak and the others said, “Hurry up, old man,” rudely rushing him, so he just stamped the approval and handed it back.
What? It was this easy?
But my name was on the license. This is Kiyori.
I had wanted a license for so long, but they didn’t give me time to bask in those emotions. And I didn’t get to savor the moment of stepping over the adventurer line for the first time, either— they grabbed my hand and pulled me into the forest.
At the entrance there were several torches along the path, so it was bright, but deeper in it got dark and I was scared I would be swallowed up.
This is the demon forest. I’m sure Miss Haru is somewhere up ahead...
“Oh, that’s where the serious ones go.”
“We have girls with us today, so we’re going this way.”
But they tried to take me down a side path. That one was dark, too, but somehow it felt even worse.
“Please wait. I want to go this way. Don’t worry. I brought my holy objects and holy water, I’ve been purified, and I’m at full holy power.”
“Uh, are you serious? That’s hilarious.”
“You don’t need that stuff. We have drinks, so let’s just have fun today.”
“I-I can’t. Sisters who serve God are prohibited from drinking alcohol.”
“Hey, hey, girls. This one’s got some issues.”
“Kiyori, get a clue. You’re just going to ruin the atmosphere if you start acting all serious now.”
“Let’s party, de-virgin’d Kiyori!”
“Please wait, what do you mean ‘party’? We Sisters are meant to use the power of God to assist adventurers in the fight against dangerous demons and—”
“Okay, okay. Assist, right. Let’s assist and unite!”
At the end of the narrow path was a more open area.
There were bottles and food remnants scattered around. For some reason there were even shoes and clothes abandoned there, and it smelled strange. They sat me down and tried to get me to drink. Miss Hasper and the others drank on their own.
I didn’t really care that the others were drinking, but for a Sister, drinking is a foolish act that weakens their powers and their faith.
“Miss Hasper, girls, you shouldn’t! We’re servants of God!” When I shouted, everyone was shocked into silence.
Then they sighed in an exaggerated way.
“Shut up, Kiyori.”
“Why do you always...gotta be such a goody two-shoes?”
“Don’t get on your high horse just because your face is a little prettier than the rest of ours.”
“You think you’re on the side of justice if you act all serious and modest with that face of yours. Our superiors and the men all like you and think you’re cute.”
“You’re not a virgin, anyways! You’re having fun doing whatever, so don’t try to be all holy woman!”
I really don’t understand why Miss Hasper and the others got so angry. I didn’t say anything wrong. Watching all the girls fight, Mr. Killak and the other men smirked.
“Hey, Hasper. Ready to do it?”
Miss Hasper scowled at me for a moment and then said, “Do it.”
The men stood up and surrounded me.
I got the sense that I was really in danger, and I wanted to run away, but they knocked me down in the blink of an eye and a man got on top of me.