“Didn’t you hear me? What are you staring at?”

“…You’re just so beautiful.”

“What, have you never seen a pretty woman before?”

“No, I’ve never seen someone this beautiful… I almost fell for you, oh, I’m sorry if I offended you.”

Lady Evotte let out a small laugh, perhaps finding Rarien’s response absurd.

“Flattering me like that, what are you after? Trying to latch onto me, hoping to gain something?”

Oh my. This is crazy.

Even while she’s making wild assumptions and getting annoyed, she’s incredibly beautiful.

Especially when her cat-like eyes met mine, it felt like my heart dropped. Rarien tried hard to maintain her composure.

“…I do have an ulterior motive, and I do intend to latch on.”

Rarien unexpectedly admitted calmly to the sharp questioning.

“What?”

“But it’s not for free. Listen to my proposal, and if you don’t like it, you can refuse.”

Lady Evotte still had an incredulous expression. Regardless, Rarien, who wasn’t affected in the slightest, began to take out what she had prepared from her bag.

Rarien took out a bottle of wine and placed it on the table with a thud.

“It’s the wine you wanted. I carefully selected it from the year when the vineyard at the monastery had the best harvest and taste.”

She seemed like an awkward fool, yet she knew about such things? Lady Evotte’s eyes widened at the unexpectedly thoughtful gift.

Then Rarien took out something like a piece of paper and placed it down.

“This is the schedule for the High Priest’s services and confessions this month. If you aim for these times, you’ll be able to meet the High Priest, Sebastian Klein, easily. Of course, I’ll reserve the best seat for you, where you can see clearly during the service.”

Rarien had already known through prior investigation that Lady Evotte was interested in High Priest Sebastian Klein. The High Priest was in charge of the temple, alternating with Nicholas to conduct services.

Rarien adjusted her thick glasses, her eyes gleaming. Thanks to being a pushover, Rarien often took on difficult tasks. Eventually, her problem-solving skills had developed for survival. The sense and thorough preparedness honed through years of being a pushover were Rarien’s greatest strengths.

Rarien, who was still rummaging through her bag, took out a small vial.

“And this, take it after drinking.”

“What is this?”

“It’s an herbal infusion. It’s good for relieving hangovers. I guarantee its effectiveness.”

Herbal infusion? Lady Evotte shook the vial as if she couldn’t quite trust it.

“Wine hangovers come with splitting headaches and thirst, and this will help alleviate those symptoms. My dad is a drunkard, so I’m well-versed in this area.”

“What exactly do you want? Don’t beat around the bush, just get to the point.”

Lady Evotte asked nonchalantly. Still, her eyes had changed a bit. Her face, which had been full of irritation, had softened, but Rarien was a bit nervous about what her reaction would be when she finally voiced her request.

Rarien swallowed dryly and continued.

“…A-A Night at the Immoral Temple.”

“What?”

“I’ll read it neatly and return it. I can finish it quickly… in a day or two.”

“A Night at the Immoral Temple? The one I know?”

“Yes.”

Lady Evotte kept asking, as if she couldn’t believe it. It was because the clumsy-looking nun in front of her didn’t match with <A Night at the Immoral Temple> at all.

Lady Evotte looked Rarien up and down, who was trembling like a scared puppy. Why did she make such a bold request if she was going to be so frightened? It was baffling.

“Why do you need such a novel?”

“I want to learn about the techniques and process of s*x in detail.”

Hearing the reason made it even more shocking.

“You’re a nun. Do nuns need that?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because nuns are people too.”

Lady Evotte stared at Rarien’s face for a long time, as if it was absurd no matter how much she thought about it, and then burst into a hollow laugh.

“Your name is Rarien, right?”

“Yes.”

“I’m Sera. Sera Evotte.”

Sera’s eyes curved gently. The cold wind seemed to blow, but when she smiled, it was as if a spring breeze had come.

Can a person be this beautiful? Sera Evotte was reputed to be a thoughtless little devil and the devil’s child within the temple, but her face was nothing short of angelic.

Rarien looked at her with somewhat bewildered eyes.

“Well, Rarien, are you free right now?”

“Pardon?”

“If not, make time.”

Sera pulled Rarien by the wrist and sat her on the sofa. Startled by the sudden action, Rarien widened her eyes and gasped.

“I was bored anyway. It’s dull to drink alone, so let’s have a drink. You’re going to learn about s*xual intercourse from erotic novels, so a glass of wine should be fine, right?”

“Ah, that’s….”

When Rarien hesitated for a moment, Sera made an irresistible offer.

“If you drink with me, I’ll lend you a few more books. Especially the masterpieces I highly recommend.”

Masterpieces?

It was already evening, and there were no special activities planned afterward. She was determined to do anything if it meant successfully acquiring <A Night at the Immoral Temple.>

Rarien decided to become Sera’s drinking companion.

***

“You’re really something else.”

Sera laughed heartily as she downed the remaining wine in her glass in one go. As soon as the glass was empty, Rarien eagerly filled it up again.

“Drink up.”

“…Yeah, yes!”

Gulp, gulp. Rarien obediently drank the wine as Sera instructed.

Rarien placed the glass down with a strange sound.

It was her first time drinking wine. It was sweet but also a bit astringent. Her throat felt like it was burning, as if she had swallowed a fireball. After gulping it down, the tip of her nose tingled, causing her to frown.

“Eat this with it.”

“What is it?”

“Chocolate. Wine pairs well with sweet things.”

When she hesitated, Sera popped a piece of chocolate into Rarien’s mouth. As the chocolate melted, a sweet taste spread in her mouth.

Rarien’s eyes widened at the intense sweetness. This was truly the taste of heaven. Having had no luxury to enjoy things like chocolate due to living on a tight budget, Rarien felt as if she had discovered a new world.

“How old are you?”

“Twenty.”

“My goodness. Twenty? I thought you seemed young. You’re a complete baby.”

According to her research, Sera Evotte was only three years older than Rarien. Sera was twenty-three, and Rarien was twenty.

Yet, being treated like a baby was mortifying.

“So, you want to have s*x with someone you have a crush on?”

“…Yeah.”

“How adorable. That’s such a cheeky thought for a baby, isn’t it?”

Sera playfully pinched Rarien’s soft cheek and then gave her a peck. Thanks to that, Rarien’s face, which had been frozen, turned bright red.

“Who’s the lucky person? Tell me quietly.”

“…….”

“Hmm?”

Should I say it? She might laugh at me for dreaming above my station.

Even I thought Nicholas was out of my league.

So what if he is?

Thinking that I didn’t have much time left made me feel like I had nothing to lose.

Rarien downed the remaining wine in her glass and spoke solemnly.

“…Nicholas Reinhart. The High Priest.”

“Oh.”

Sera’s expression quickly turned curious at Rarien’s answer.

“Why?”

“It seems like you have a peculiar taste.”

There were many followers who liked Nicholas besides Rarien. Seeing that, she couldn’t agree with the notion that her taste was peculiar.

‘Still, it’s fortunate that I don’t share the same taste as such a dazzling beauty.’

It would have been a big problem if they became rivals. Rarien secretly thought it was a stroke of luck that her taste differed from Sera’s.

“So, you’re going to learn about s*x from books and put it to use?”

“Yes, although I don’t have a concrete plan on how to use it yet.”

“You can just make a plan.”

Sera leaned in close to Rarien’s face and smiled mischievously.

“Your wish is to sleep with a priest. We have the same goal, don’t we?”

“That’s true.”

“I think we’ll get along very well. You seem quite the oddball too.”

“Me?”

“Yeah.”

An oddball? Maybe because she usually followed orders obediently. It was the first time she’d heard such a thing. Even as Rarien made a bewildered face, Sera just laughed.

“You’re not an overt oddball. There’s something subtly odd about you.”

“A subtle oddball?”

“Yeah, that’s why I like you.”

Whatever the reason, it was a relief that she liked her. Sera approached the bookshelf, took out a few books, and handed them to Rarien.

“Here.”

“Th-thank you.”

“But there’s a condition.”

Just as she was about to hand over the books, Sera set a condition.

“We’ll help each other succeed. I’m with His Excellency the High Priest, and you’re with that bastard, oh, I mean that High Priest. Got it?”

She thought it was just a matter of taste, but it seemed like she had some grudge against His Excellency.

Rarien tilted her head in confusion.

“Got it?”

“Yes, yes!”

“Right. We’re strategic allies from now on, or something like that.”

Sera patted Rarien’s head as she accepted the erotic novel.

It felt more like she was becoming a subordinate than an ally, but having such a pretty woman pat her head made her feel good for no reason.

Anyway, Rarien gained a reliable ally.

***