Chapter 4: Sarvas Village

The Sarvas Village.

Leon headed there with his bag slung over his shoulder, on his way home to where he and his little sister lived. Along the way, he encountered someone. It was a woman wearing a nun's habit, watering the flowers in the garden of the church.

"Ah, Sister Iris."

"Oh? Leon!" The nun beamed upon seeing him. She was Sister Iris, a nun serving at the Aldera Church. Aldera was the saintess who assisted the hero, Arthur, in defeating the God of All-Evil, Mercura, preventing the world's end. Due to her significant contributions, Aldera became a figure of worship, and Iris, in admiration, chose to become a nun.

"Back from work already?" Sister Iris inquired.

"Yeah."

"Must have been a hard time, huh? Doing adventurer's work at night?"

Sister Iris had no idea that Leon was working as a prostitute; she only knew about his role as an adventurer. If she were to find out, she would likely be disappointed in him, which was why he kept it a secret.

"Yeah. Oh, right. I've got something for you."

Leon handed Iris a bag full of chips.

"Oh, Leon. You didn't need to do this."

"You've been helping me and Seres ever since we were young. Doing something like this isn't enough to repay you for what you've done for us." Leon smiled at her.

Something began to color Iris's face as she looked at that smile. She immediately shook her head to dispel the warmth starting to burn on her face, thinking, 'What am I thinking? I'm already a nun. I can't be having feelings like this. Don't entertain unworldly thoughts! Don't think!'

"Uh, Sister?"

Leon's voice pulled her back to reality.

"Ah, uhhh, thank you for this, Leon," stammered Iris.

"You're welcome?" Leon tilted his head, perplexed by the nun's unusual behavior.

"Anyway, I should get back to my work. The plants can't water themselves, after all."

"Uh, okay. Sorry to have disturbed you."

Iris returned to watering the flowers, her face now tinged with a blush. Leon observed her with a puzzled expression. Then, a thought crossed his mind.

"I sense your desire to engage in intimate acts with that nun, Master. I reside within you, privy to your innermost desires."

He recalled Eve's words from his dream.

Did he truly desire Sister Iris in that way? Upon reflection, it seemed plausible. Iris was beautiful and possessed an attractive figure. Despite having numerous admirers and suitors in the past, she had forsaken those pursuits upon becoming a nun. Leon, like many others, had been captivated by her beauty, but his feelings were more akin to a younger brother admiring an older sister. However, with the succubus exposing his deepest desires, could he still dismiss the undeniable allure of this nun? It seemed impossible. It seemed impossible. Leon was currently appreciating her figure, focusing on her rear and the curves beneath her habit. She had an alluring body.

Leon was accustomed to having sex with older women, so encountering someone close to his age who exuded such sexiness was unfamiliar. The habit only covered up to her knees, revealing the black stockings she wore. The sight of her watering the plants, with her black stockings visible, struck him as quite provocative, making him gulp involuntarily.

"Didn't I tell you? You desire her intensely."

"What?!"

Startled, Leon jumped at the echoing voice. He recognized it as Eve's voice.

"Why are you surprised? Didn't I mention that I am within you?"

"Well, I didn't think you could communicate with me through my mind," he said, calming down after a few deep breaths. "Anyway, what are you talking about? I have no desire for Sister Iris. I see her as my sister."

"You can't deceive me, Master. I can perceive your innermost desires. You can't conceal them."

"You're just toying with my mind."

Leon decided to walk away from the church. As he strolled away, Iris gazed at his retreating figure, her expression betraying a sense of longing. However, she quickly shook her head.

"No unworldly desires. No unworldly thoughts... I have made my vow of celibacy. I can't entertain such notions."

***

Leon lived at the very corner of Sarvas village, where no house other than theirs stood.

"Now that I can speak to you, Master, I must say that your living conditions are not what I envisioned for a person. Look at how ragged and vulnerable it is. It's practically made entirely of wood."

"Well, this is the best I can afford, so there's no choice for us but to live here. I kind of wish I could do something more so that Seres could live comfortably," said Leon as he gazed at the small house. "Anyway, how about you, Eve? You were a queen, right? I'm sure where you lived must have been a castle or something. That's probably why you can't see this place as suitable for living."

"Well, where I lived was so vast; you could practically fit a million people there. My army of thousands stayed there, with their families, and there were still many rooms available. My own room was enormous, even a hundred giants could fit."

"I thought as much..."

Leon entered the house, the door making a creaking sound. That noise seemed to serve as a signal to someone else, as Leon heard a pair of footsteps running toward the entrance from the kitchen.

The person appeared and made a beeline towards Leon. With a happy smile on her face, she jumped towards Leon's chest. "Brother!"

"Seres! Don't come out here. The sun is already up, you know?"

"I was lonely last night! I missed you so much." His little sister, Seres, buried her face more in his chest. She had white hair tied in a short twintail and red, almost blood-like colored eyes. Her complexion was so pale that one might think she was suffering from a terminal illness; it was almost translucent.

With her hugging him like that, he returned the favor by squeezing her into a hug. "I missed you too, Seres."

After his exhausting job, Leon had finally made it home.

***

Leon and Seres commenced their breakfast, consisting solely of vegetables harvested from the backyard. Being mindful of budget constraints, Leon opted to cultivate vegetables in their backyard, ensuring a readily available food source. Presently, the table hosted a simple breakfast of tomatoes and lettuces stuffed in bread—a modest meal that, given their financial circumstances, they appreciated.

"So, what's my souvenir?" inquired Seres as she chewed on her mouthful of vegetables.

"Eat first. I'll give it to you afterward."

"Eh~! But I want it now!" Seres pounded both her hands on the table.

"Manners, Seres. We're eating, and there's no need to be so impatient. You'll receive it in due course."

Seres pouted, but then she regained her mischievous grin. "Hey, how about you show me where you work tonight?"

Leon glanced at Seres, questioning, "Why? It's merely an adventurer's assignment. There's hardly any excitement in it, you know?"

Seres gazed back at him, a playful expression on her face. "Being with you is entertainment enough, brother. So, pretty please, can I accompany you to your workplace?"

She batted her eyelashes coquettishly several times, attempting a cutesy attack, but Leon remained steadfast against the charm offensive.

"My profession involves risks, Seres. It's not suitable for you to come along."

"Eh~ Why? Adventurous quests can't be that perilous, can they? Plus, I can handle myself. I'm tough." She flexed her bicep, devoid of any actual muscles, for emphasis.

"Listen, even if you are 'tough,' I won't permit you to leave this residence. You're aware that exposure to sunlight is off-limits for you, right? Otherwise, your skin will suffer burns."

Seres suffered from an unknown illness that rendered her susceptible to burning if exposed to sunlight. This condition confined her to their small house, prompting Leon to make every effort to provide Seres with a connection to the outside world. Despite its inherent cruelty, Leon sought to show her its beauty.

"Yes, that's why I'll be coming in the night."

"That's not the point," Leon remarked, sighing. "Dangerous monsters are more active at night, and, not to mention, non-adventurers aren't permitted to visit hazardous sites."

"Nah," Seres waved off the concern, "They don't prohibit it; they just don't advise it. Right?"

"It's the same thing," Leon insisted.

"No, it's not! Prohibit means it's forbidden, right? Because of the caw, or something like that."

"It's the law."

"Yeah, that's it. Advising not to go means you can, but be careful, right?"

Leon looked at his younger sister, feeling exasperated. 'She sure is persistent... Why does she want to visit my workplace anyway?' he pondered, observing Seres supporting her chin with her hands, staring at him mischievously.

"Still, it's a no."

"Why? There's nothing wrong at all, is there?"

Leon sensed that Seres would argue incessantly, so he chose to ignore her and focused on his breakfast. While eating, he pondered that there wasn't really anything objectionable about her accompanying him—if his nightly job was genuinely that of an adventurer. True, he took on side jobs and handled easy quests like locating missing pets, engaging in pest control, or safeguarding merchants, but those were only lower rank quests. He had no intention of bringing his sister along to witness him performing menial tasks for others. Moreover, he certainly didn't want her to discover that, in addition to these straightforward quests, he also undertook side quests in the brothel. He was determined to keep his sister in the dark about his involvement in sex work.

After several minutes of maintaining silence, enduring Seres' glaring, Leon sighed and decided to address the issue. "I just want to keep you safe, Seres. I don't want anything bad to happen to you. At least here, you are safe. Sister Iris and Millis are also here. They won't allow anything untoward to happen to you while you're here."

"You're so overprotective of me. I can handle myself just fine, you know." Seres sighed dejectedly as she took the last bite of her bread. Subsequently, she stood up and left the kitchen.