I'm Playing as a Nun.

Before I knew it, the sky had turned bright red, and the surrounding commotion had gradually returned to stillness.

The cool breeze rustled the leaves, creating a quiet, rattling sound.

The faint cawing of crows in the distance added to the uncomfortable tranquility.

"......"

It was a very different feeling from when I had slain the demons.

In the eyes of the children, I must seem like an apostle of justice, but to myself, everything just felt futile.

Perhaps that's why I longed to return to the church even more.

I was just a mere vampire pretending to be a nun.

I was unworthy of the title of guardian, nor did I have any aspirations for such an ideal.

"Sister Levi, how did it feel when you received the sacred power from the World Tree? Did it make you feel really good?"

"...Well, I only felt uneasiness."

"Uneasiness? Why?"

"I don't know. If you ask me if it felt good, I can say firstly that it did not."

"Hmm... is it because you're different from us?"

"Maybe so. I'm not at all a vessel worthy of receiving the World Tree's sacred power."

Unlike the other children, who were engaged in a heated discussion about what I had just done, Rune, who seemed very interested in the sacred power, didn't participate and instead stuck close by my side.

She had asked me quite a few questions, but they were all ambiguous, and I couldn't give clear answers, so our conversation didn't progress much.

Yet despite that, Rune didn't show a hint of disappointment. Instead, she gazed up at me with shining eyes.

"Honestly, I'm envious that you received the World Tree's sacred power, Sister Levi. I'm a little jealous too."

"I'm sorry. I didn't come to the World Tree with that intention..."

"But if someone asks me if you are a fitting vessel, I will nod without hesitation."

"Huh?"

"Even though you stand in a different position from us, you are more humane than anyone else."

At first, I thought they were just empty words meant to comfort me.

But seeing Rune's eyes sparkling more and more, I vaguely sensed sincere respect and trust from her.

"Even if most people don't acknowledge you, I will acknowledge you to the end, Sister Levi."

As if that wasn't enough, Rune innocently conveyed her sincerity by directly quoting what I had said at dawn.

Seeing this up close, I unconsciously smiled.

"This should have been given to you, not me, Rune."

"Ah, no! I'm still young and have no talent..."

"Not every hero is born with talent from the start, you know."

"...Hero?"

"Yes, there are plenty of cases where talent manifests later on."

Of course, I wasn't saying that Rune was born with the qualities of a hero.

It was just a convincing example I gave for the sake of comparison.

Since everyone has potential, there's no need to feel depressed about lacking talent.

"What's a hero?"

But contrary to my expectations, Rune rapidly blinked with a puzzled expression at the word "hero."

For some reason, she seemed completely unfamiliar with the term.

"Oh... You must not know because you're still young."

"Yes, this is the first I've heard it."

"So, a hero is..."

Just as I took a deep breath, about to explain to Rune what a hero is,

- Thump

The faint presence of a stranger was heard from somewhere.

"Ah! It's the Great Elder!"

As soon as I turned my head toward the sound, Rune opened her mouth wide with a bright smile.

I also turned to look and saw an elderly man leaning heavily on a cane, barely standing.

"Great Elder...?"

"He's the most incredible person in the Roen Forest! I heard he received the World Tree's sacred power long ago and became the Great Elder!"

"So there was someone above the elder..."

"Yes! There are four villages centered around the World Tree, and the Great Elder manages them all."

Contrary to Rune's explanation, I couldn't sense anything remarkable about this skinny old man with a hunched back who looked like standing was a great strain.

He was so frail that one couldn't tell if he was trembling from fear or lack of strength.

"You... finally... caused trouble... Levande..."

The Great Elder muttered weakly.

He then slowly shook his head with a regretful gaze at the bodies strewn about.

"What a relief! Great Elder, you're not involved in this incident!"

"......"

The Great Elder indeed seemed largely unrelated to this incident.

The fact that he was here and unharmed was proof of that.

However, I privately had some doubts about whether an elf in the position of Great Elder could be completely uninvolved.

It seemed impossible for his position...

"My apologies for the late introduction... I am the elf who holds the position of Great Elder in this Roen Forest..."

"...I don't understand why you're only introducing yourself as an elf."

"It's because I am unworthy... The fact that I only showed myself after everything ended is tantamount to proving my patheticness as an elf..."

With those words, the Great Elder fell silent for a moment.

He seemed bothered by Rune's presence beside me, as he kept glancing at Rune while wetting his dry lips.

"Rune, sorry, but could you go play with the other children for a bit?"

"Oh, okay."

Even without much explanation, Rune immediately left to join the other children.

Her judgment of the situation seemed perfect enough to make even adults cry.

"Thank you for your consideration..."

"The fact that you showed yourself now means you intend to explain the situation to me, right?"

"Yes..."

With that single word, the Great Elder took a long breath.

"First, I sincerely apologize for involving someone completely unrelated to us in this way..."

"I have no intention of pursuing that any further. The elves who committed wrongs have already paid the price."

"I have no excuse even if I had ten mouths..."

His late appearance and explanation.

All of this combined to create the current situation, but quibbling over it now will not resolve anything satisfactorily.

It would only agitate the Great Elder's uneasy heart.

"The Roen Forest has always been under attack by all kinds of races since long ago... Not only magic beasts, but demons also frequently visited, and there was never a peaceful day..."

"......"

"The only thing we could trust and rely on was the World Tree... The World Tree's sacred power completely shielded us from external dangers..."

So, as soon as the Great Elder began his story, I naturally closed my mouth.

"At one time, we too gained power from the World Tree that rivaled humans and demons, wielding our own influence. But the stronger we became, the more arrogant the elves grew, and as a result, we lost the World Tree's trust."

"......"

"The World Tree no longer bestowed power upon us. It even took back the power it had previously granted and gradually turned its back on us."

"......"

"Because of that, our influence rapidly weakened, and we no longer had the capacity to even protect ourselves from the attacks coming from all directions."

The Great Elder's explanation was long-winded and lengthy.

No matter who heard it, it sounded like an excuse, but nevertheless, I listened attentively to the end without saying a word.

"However, as if offering us a final kindness, the World Tree continued to protect us by emitting sacred energy."

"I heard from Rune that it only emits sacred energy during the day?"

"...Yes. Thanks to the World Tree, we could walk at ease during the day, but we always had to tremble in fear at night."

"I see..."

Just how arrogant were the elves of the past that the World Tree, possessing this much power, shuddered and turned its back on them?

"That was the biggest reason we wanted a powerful ally, but Levande, the elder of this village, had a different idea."

"...?"

"By the way, I was the first one to suggest having you as an ally, Sister Levi."

"Huh? Wait, why?"

"Not only did a vampire, thought to be completely extinct, reappear, but you quickly took over the forest and exerted an exceptionally unusual influence in a short time."

"I was... that influential...?"

"Originally, the demon managing that forest was nothing short of a disaster for us. She would come to our forest at every opportunity, tormenting us for days and taking the lives of the residents like toys."

The demon the Great Elder was talking about now seemed to be the tentacle woman I had first faced.

It was said that the place I lived was originally managed by that tentacle woman.

"The fact that you continued to search for an ally even after that demon disappeared means there were problems elsewhere too..."

"That's right. Our enemies were not only demons but also monsters and humans."

The Great Elder lowered his head powerlessly and spoke softly, making the atmosphere even heavier.

"Humans?"

As the story progressed, the Great Elder's brows furrowed more and more.

"While our forest was nothing more than a plaything to the demons, the humans constantly eyed and waited for opportunities to get the World Tree's sacred power."

"......"

"They even offered money, telling us to sell the World Tree..."

Seeing the Great Elder barely suppressing his rising anger and struggling to speak, I was left speechless.

"To somehow escape from the clutches of this evil, I thought a powerful ally was essential. One that even humans couldn't easily oppose..."

In short, I seemed to be a powerful being who could pose threats to demons, monsters, and even humans in various ways.

Normally, I would be a terrifying and evil demon from whom they couldn't even hope for help, let alone an alliance.

But the elves were intrigued by me, who suddenly appeared one day, took over an enemy's territory, didn't invade the surrounding areas, and even raised human children.

Through scouts, they sensed an ordinariness different from typical demons in my daily life.

The Great Elder, convinced that this would become a ray of light for the elves, called the elders of each village to propose the idea, but...

"Levande seems to have aimed to raise his status and power through you, Sister Levi."

He was a rotten root and an internal enemy.

Even when the tentacle woman came every day to kill residents like toys, he was so vicious as to personally select sacrifices to offer to her.

On top of that, he coveted the position of Great Elder and constantly looked for opportunities.

"Upon hearing that you were caring for children, he probably thought your nature was similar to the previous demon."

"So he tried to win my favor with living sacrifices."

"I couldn't stop him. My authority as Great Elder remains, but my strength as an individual elf hit rock bottom long ago."

"......"

The Great Elder had already grown senile.

He seemed to acutely feel the pressure from the new generation rising up from below and his own powerlessness.

His eyes were thick with deep regret and sorrow.

"Levande was younger and stronger than me. He had the greatest influence even among the elders."

"......"

"He wielded that influence over the residents too, steadily building his own forces, and I failed to stop it despite knowing."

"......"

The Great Elder let out a heavy sigh.

"In the end, it's me who turned a blind eye to all this..."

"That's right. No matter how I think about it, you should also be lying on the ground like them. I don't know why you're still alive."

The Great Elder's explanation ended up being much longer than expected.

The conclusion was that the Great Elder also knew about all this from the beginning but had no choice but to ignore it.

"Well, if that was the World Tree's choice, I have nothing to say."

In any case, thanks to the Great Elder, the situation was gradually becoming understandable.

And I could roughly tell what ulterior motives they had been hiding, so it was a fairly beneficial time for me, but...

"As you can see, I was chosen by the World Tree and gained sacred power."

"Yes, I'm aware."

"Whether they tried to use me to raise their status and power, or turned a blind eye despite knowing, it has nothing to do with me anymore."

"...Pardon?"

I had no desire to care about matters across the river.

I only cared about the children, myself, and the church where I lived.

"I've roughly understood the situation, so you can handle the rest yourselves."

"Yes...? What do you..."

"I'm not a judge. I'm just an ordinary nun living across the river."

"...Nun?"

"I don't want to get unnecessarily involved in headache-inducing matters. So handle the rest amongst yourselves, elves."

The Great Elder immediately stiffened with a perplexed expression at my decisive words.

However, I didn't bat an eye.

"Ah, there's just one thing I want to ask about regarding this incident."

"Wh-what is it...?"

Staring intently at the Great Elder, who flinched for a moment, I spoke indifferently.

"I want to hear more about Rune."