Chapter 69 – Wandering Mage Luke #6

“I don’t want to cause unnecessary misunderstandings.”
“What am I misunderstanding?”
“That’s right, if the guy you’re dating moves with another girl, he’ll be annoyed. You can follow along and watch.”
“Aha.”

Kate gave a surprisingly common sense answer. She thought she was going to give Rebecca a job she was trying to do without pay. I guess it was simply because she didn’t want to be misunderstood.

“Then I’ll follow you.”

Rebecca raised her hand and agreed to Kate’s proposal.
The tension between Rebecca and Kate had subsided somewhat.
Was Kate’s figure sitting down on her sidewalk and knocking her on the floor too intense?
Rebecca was no longer sharp on Kate.

“Yes-. It’s better for me if you follow me. For some reason, if we part like this, Rebecca-sama will secretly pursue us.”
“Hey, hey! I have no intention of pursuing you!”
“It’s a joke, so don’t react too hard to each one. Then let’s go.”

Kate turned her back and walked toward the church first. After a short distance as we were walking, Rebecca and I followed behind Kate.

“Luke. Does it take a long time?”
“Can you finish it by dinner? Just boil the water and leave. It won’t take that long.”
“I feel sorry for you for some reason. I think I’ve interfered with making money.”
“It doesn’t matter. It’s good to have someone by your side to chat with you. It’s boring to just use magic quietly.”
“Yeah, right? Then I’ll tell you a funny story next to you.”
“It shouldn’t be too funny. If you laugh, you lose concentration. I’ll ask for a moderately funny story.”
“Okay.”

Rebecca was lost in her thoughts, pressing her fingers between her brows to see if she was really preparing for the story. At the same time, the way she walked in front of her was ridiculous.
She’s so funny that you don’t even feel like going to work.
Although it wasn’t planned, she wouldn’t mind going to church with Rebecca.

“…You just match perfectly! Get hit by lightning!”

In the distance, Kate’s murmuring could be heard.
I stared at her for being her loner and moving forward with her bittersweet look on her face.
Is that the sadness of a loner?

Church of the Light of Light in Joensuu.
Some time later, when she reached the entrance of the church building, Kate moved beside her without going inside. She continued walking along the fence that surrounded the church.
From here on, there were few people on the street, so we were able to keep up close behind Kate.

“Everyone, this is a dog hole. Can you see it?”
“I can’t see it at all? Where is the hole?”
“Let me show you.”

Kate looked around her for a moment, then realized she was empty, and then she started moving. There was a wooden plank at the bottom of her wall to which Kate reached her hand.
And the moment she kicked the plank away with her hand.
Underneath it, a wide dog hole was revealed.
It is a large hole that people can come in and out without any problems.

“What, what… I thought I put a board over a broken wall! It wasn’t a board to repair the wall?”
“It’s just a gimmick. It’s a dog hole to secretly order food in the dormitory at night. Our nuns use this hole to order late-night snacks.”
“Crazy.”

Do you mean that the nuns’ dormitory ordered food to be delivered late at night? Are there any restaurants that secretly deliver them?
She felt that there was nothing different about high school dorm love.
Well, it’s like nature’s providence to crave late-night snacks since you’re born as a human.

“Come in quickly before anyone sees!”

Kate went inside through her dog hole first, feeling her ass wedged against the wall because of her large hips.
It wasn’t until Rebecca reluctantly gave her ass a push that her Kate disappeared into her hole.
After Rebecca went inside, I was finally able to get into the hole.
The moment I went inside and got up.

“Yap.”

Kate reached her hand through the hole from inside her fence and grabbed a plank of wood. She then, with her deft hands, mended the planks back to their original form. She doesn’t seem to have the skills to hit polka dots once or twice.

“Uh…That’s a bit strange. I haven’t gained weight, so why does my butt get caught in the hole? I was able to come in comfortably until a year ago.”
“Kuk.”

Hearing this, Rebecca had a strange expression on her face.
I quietly shut her mouth at Kate’s question.
I thought it would be sexual harassment if I answered back here.
You can’t say that because the incubator that gives birth to a baby has matured.

“The place to prepare the water for the foot washing ceremony is right over there. Open that door and go inside, there is a kitchen.”

Kate pointed her finger at one of the church buildings. It was an annex attached to the large nave of the church. The door to the outbuilding was fortunately to face a wall with a hole in it. If you go straight like this, you can easily get inside.

“It’s very close.”
“It’s only natural that they drilled a dog hole on this side on purpose! You can take it to the kitchen right away after ordering a late-night snack. It’s a hole that was drilled through careful calculation. Oh, of course, my senior nuns.”
“The nuns are all human too.”
“Then are you ready to run? When I give you the signal, run.”

Kate took a few steps forward and looked around. There was a large tree growing near the dog hole so Rebecca and I had no problem hiding her.

“Now-!!!”

The moment Kate gave her signal with her voice, Rebecca and I sprinted toward the outbuilding. I was able to open the door and enter the building before anyone discovered me.

“D-I’m in.”
“Success, Luke-!”

A detached space with a lot of cooking utensils.
The place I arrived seemed to be used as a church kitchen, as Kate had said.
As soon as I entered, the first thing I saw was the furnace.
A large cauldron was placed on top of the empty fireplace.

“It looks like I can heat the water with that cauldron.”

I realized that it was my target without any explanation. Because that cauldron was the largest water bowl around.

“Let’s finish it off and go back.”
“Yes-!”

I walked straight towards the cauldron.
He opened the lid and tried to magically fill the empty cauldron with water.
But after a while I had no choice but to stop making handsigns.

I realized that there were other people in this kitchen besides me and Rebecca. A small, young nun was staring at me from a corner of her kitchen holding a firewood.

“Oh, hello?”
“…Whoa.”

Is it a face you’ve seen before?
Was it the last time you visited a church and went to a chapel?
At that time, he was a little boy who cried loudly while looking at me.
Was your name Nancy?
As soon as I saw the young nun, I was nervous and broke into a cold sweat.
That little boy’s face was on the verge of bursting into tears.

“Like.”
“Like?”
“Hoeheeeee

The moment when the little nun finally burst into tears like an alarm!
With ghostly speed, someone shut the young nun’s mouth. I thought it must be Rebecca. However, upon closer inspection, it was Kate who had followed into her kitchen.

“Shh! You can’t cry!”
“Eup!! Ke, Kate sister?”

Fortunately, no fuss was caused by Kate covering her mouth. I had to stop her lockdown and watch Kate soothe her young nun. She didn’t know that if the little nun started crying loudly again, she might have to run out of this kitchen.

A human alarm, damn it.

*

Quite a bit of time had passed since then, but fortunately the young nun did not burst into tears again.
It was thanks to Kate’s diligent efforts to soothe her young nun.

“Don’t be afraid. That horned brother is here to help you.”
“I-I came to help me…? An evil dreamer?”
“Yes. He’s not very evil, but he’s here to help. He knows how to use magic.”
“Magic! So you’re a wizard? Why does a wizard help me?!”
“This sister bought me her brother with money.”

Kate’s skill at caring for her little one was pretty amazing.
In the middle of her conversation, she brought out her candy from somewhere, which she put into the young nun’s mouth.
With her candy in her mouth, the little nun didn’t want to cry anymore.
In other words, the walking human alarm was put to sleep in an instant.

By the way, you bought me with money, so the way you talk is a little uncomfortable?
But I wasn’t particularly upset when I heard what Kate had to say.
Kate’s voice, calling her brother, tickled my ears pleasantly.
If she had been called Mister, I would have called that nun Auntie at this place.

“I’m going out and playing today. I’m playing quietly with the kids in charge of the water. My brother will prepare all the water for the foot-washing ceremony.”
“Thanks Sister Kate!”

The young nun hugged Kate, and she soon ran out of her kitchen, smiling brightly. I was a little surprised to see Kate like that.

I thought she was a selfish woman who only knew herself, but surprisingly she is the type who takes good care of children?
Kate hired me because, after all, she was helping her juniors. She was paying me for her juniors’ free time.

“What are you staring at? Hurry up and prepare some warm water.”
“…Yes.”

At Kate’s point, I turned my head.
Then, as instructed, he began to fill the cauldron with water.
Using water magic, drops of water were constantly falling.

“The foot washing ceremony is scheduled to start at 8:00 PM. It’s 4:00 PM now, so there’s only about 4 hours left. You can make warm water during that time.”
“You don’t have to make it too hot, do you?”
“It’s enough as long as it’s moderately warm. How about raising the temperature from lukewarm water?”
“Right.”

At that temperature, 4 hours was enough.
The size of the cauldron was quite large, but there was no problem. Thanks to my training in the room, I know how much my capacity is. It seemed like I could finish the job before three hours had passed.

“Boiling-.”

Filling the cauldron with water, I rolled up my sleeves and shoved it into the water up to my elbows. As I put my arm in it, the temperature of the water slowly began to rise.

“Is there any problem with magic? Is it going well?”
“Yeah. Maybe three hours will be enough.”
“Then I’ll go out of the kitchen and act as the gatekeeper. I’m in trouble if someone comes inside.”

The door leading out of the annex was already locked by Kate.
Kate decided to guard the door leading inward.
It’s something that you can’t stop even though you’re going to work hard.

“Then have a good time with the two of you.”

With her meaningful words, Kate walked out her door. She then stopped in the hallway and she didn’t really try to get inside.

What? Could it be that he was considering being alone with Rebecca?
If so, I am very grateful.
Thanks to that, Rebecca and I were able to chat while we were heating the water.
When Kate was in her room, she couldn’t talk because she was watching her.
It is said that it is difficult to make noise because of the gloomy atmosphere unique to solo.

“Do we need to go out? Isn’t it just the three of us locking the door inside?”
“She must have wanted to leave herself. Isn’t she trying to prevent anyone from coming? There will be a commotion if the dreamer is found out in the church.”
“The movements are a bit odd for something like that.”

It’s been a long time since I’ve had a chance to have a conversation with the two of you.
I kept worrying about Kate who went out into the hallway. The outline of her head caught a glimpse in the hazy glass embedded in her door, which kept disappearing and reappearing. She couldn’t tell if she was on the right track.

“Where are you going to rest for a while?”
“It could be. He’s a person who doesn’t stay up all night, so there’s no way he’s vigilant.”
“Don’t be so mean, Rebecca.”
“Keuk, kuhm.”

For three hours I could only stare at the kitchen door, engulfed in anxiety. It would be embarrassing if someone burst open the door and came in when Kate was away. You won’t fight with believers because of the doctrines of Kwangmyeongseong Church, but you should be prepared to bounce.

“Did you hear footsteps?”
“I do not know either.”

Is it because you are nervous about the noise outside?
The three hours of boiling water passed in the blink of an eye. When the time came and the door opened, it was Kate who appeared in front of me. Maybe she was lucky, she didn’t let anyone else come in.

Kate returned to her kitchen and she asked me with a sullen look.

“Have you prepared all the hot water?”
“Of course. Touch it yourself.”

Putting her hand in her cauldron, Kate gave her a small nod.
It seems that this temperature is sufficient.

“It’s the perfect temperature for a foot-washing ceremony. You can leave now, everyone.”
“Isn’t there still more time left? Isn’t it because I went back and the water cooled down?”
“It’ll be enough if you put the lid on and light the fire in the fireplace. Here, thank you for helping me with the work.”

As Kate promised, she handed me 20 coopers. She thought she would be able to go back after 4 full hours, but she finished work earlier than expected.

“Rebecca-sama is well too.”
“…Yes.”

I packed up my pay and went out of the annex.
It was time to go back to the dog hole with Rebecca.

“Oh, wait! I have something for you.”

Suddenly, Kate rummaged in her pockets as if she had just remembered, and from there she pulled out two small pieces of paper. She then held out a piece of paper to Rebecca and me.

“This?”
“It’s a ticket! A ticket to see a play at Yoensu’s Theater! I got it as a gift from an adventurer, but I’m not particularly interested in plays. I don’t have any men to go see a performance with. That’s why.”

Kate took a deep breath and opened her mouth again.

“You two go to a play-! Go on a date on the weekend!”
“You’re giving out free concert tickets for us to go on a date? Why?”

Rebecca as well as I looked puzzled.

“I told you. I’m a nun who serves God. I’m in a position to bless the two of you.”

Kate replied with a soft smile.
It was a pure smile full of goodwill with a hint of envy mixed in.
Soon, the door to the outbuilding was closed without a sound.
Leaving behind Kate’s voice.

“Congratulations on becoming a couple-! The ticket is a special gift for you guys. Then, have a good trip.”