Chapter 9 : Protecting the Town (Part 2)

Just like that, Samimi and Niubao spent several days living together in the Sweet Melon Town chapel.

But soon, Samimi discovered a major and very troubling issue…

She was broke !

As a local nun, she received a meager stipend each month—barely enough to support herself.

Feeding a second mouth made things tight.

Not to mention that Samimi dreamed of renovating the entire Sweet Melon chapel—and even expanding it to build her own grand estate in this fantasy world.

Every time she looked at the vast empty land surrounding her, her heart ached.

She had the space, but not the money to build or decorate.

Sigh… Forget building for now. Let’s focus on getting enough to eat.

Her job was to serve as a priest—healing the townsfolk and earning a little income.

But the problem was… Sweet Melon Town wasn’t some remote countryside village.

It already had its own doctor’s clinic.

Unless someone had a serious wound requiring healing magic, there was little demand for a nun’s services.

And the food left by the old nun was almost gone.

“So expensive… No, the real issue is—I’m just too poor.”

Samimi and Niubao went shopping at the local general store.

Every item was carefully compared for price and value; Samimi scrutinized every purchase down to the copper coin.

“If you’re gonna buy, hurry up. If not, move along.”

The shopkeeper grew impatient with their penny-pinching behavior.

But he was already kinder than most.

At least he didn’t kick out the “penitent nun” and the little beastkin outright—he still sold them some supplies.

In fact, most other stores in Sweet Melon Town refused to do business with Samimi.

The black blindfold she wore over her eyes marked her as a sinner—and people kept their distance.

Even though she walked confidently without stumbling, with just a cane in hand, people didn’t believe she was really blind.

She looked more like someone pretending to be blind.

Still, dislike was one thing—no one dared actually provoke her.

She was a penitent nun , a feared figure out of old legends.

It was an ancient form of punishment, and now that a real black-cloaked, blindfolded nun had appeared in town, no one wanted to be the one to mess with her.

“Miss Nun, please wait.”

Just as they left the shop, Samimi and Niubao were stopped by a well-dressed middle-aged man, followed by several kingdom knights—clearly someone important.

“Greetings, I’m the mayor of Sweet Melon Town. Sorry for not welcoming you sooner,” the man introduced himself.

“I’m Samimi, the new local nun. I’ll be in your care,” she replied politely.

“Likewise, likewise.”

The mayor forced a smile.

Then… awkward silence.

It was obvious the mayor didn’t welcome this new “penitent nun.”

To him, she was a destabilizing presence in town.

But she had been sent by the central church in the capital.

No one had the authority to remove her.

“If there’s nothing else, we’ll take our leave. If anyone gets injured, feel free to come find me. I’m a priest,” Samimi said.

“Yes, of course,” the mayor replied with a stiff smile.

After exchanging pleasantries, Samimi and Niubao returned home.

As they walked away, the mayor’s smile vanished completely.

Though the conversation had been polite, he hadn’t felt the slightest bit of respect from the penitent nun.

But after thinking it through, he decided to let it go.

She hadn’t caused any real trouble.

As long as she stayed quietly in her remote little chapel, she wouldn’t interfere with the town’s business.

No need to stir things up.

He’d heard rumors that she had healed a beastkin slave and brought her back to the church.

People feared she might be using the slave as a test subject.

But the girl walking beside her just now was probably that slave, right?

She looked plump and healthy, with no signs of mistreatment.

If anything, it was the penitent nun who looked haggard—too poor even to buy a proper cane, just using a random stick from the ground.

“Mayor.”

Suddenly, Samimi returned with the little slave girl in tow.

“Is there something else, Miss Nun?” the mayor asked.

“This is a bit embarrassing, but… do you know of any jobs where I can earn some money?” Samimi asked bluntly.

“Uhh… Let me think.” The mayor was dumbfounded. So she really is dirt poor. Just like I thought.

“Mayor, we’ve received reports from multiple caravans that a pack of wolves is roaming the nearby forest,” said the kingdom knight captain beside him.

“We’re about to mount a subjugation. If we had a priest with us, it would help.”

“Oh, right! I was attacked by wolves on my way into town too. I even treated a coachman,” Samimi chimed in.

“Then let’s do that,” the mayor said. “Miss Nun, I’d like to hire you as our expedition’s priest. I’ll pay according to the Adventurers’ Guild rates—you’ll be fairly compensated. How about it?”

“No problem. I’m ready to go now.”

She turned to Niubao.

“Take the supplies and go home first. I’m heading out on a mission and will be back soon.”

“Miss Nun, please come home safe! Don’t leave me behind!”

Niubao obediently took the bag and key, and headed back to the chapel on her own.

Seeing this, the mayor and the knights suddenly found their assumptions about the penitent nun shattered.

Turns out, she was just another ordinary person working hard to survive.

“Let’s move out.”

Samimi joined a small unit of kingdom knights and left Sweet Melon Town, heading toward the forest where the wolves had been sighted.

This kind of mission was practically a genre cliché—fifty percent of all isekai protagonists probably go on a wolf-hunting quest as their first job.

As for the kingdom knight squad—they were the town’s permanent garrison, maintaining local peace and order.

In modern terms, they were like sheriffs guarding a frontier town.

Their authority was substantial.

Eliminating local threats like wild beasts was their duty, but for truly dangerous monsters, the mayor would hire professional adventurers with guild backing.

Blades flashed and swords clashed in the woods—the rampaging wolves were all cut down by the knights.

Honestly, the mission didn’t even require Samimi’s help.

It was an easy victory.

No one was injured.

The wolves’ fangs couldn’t even scratch the knights’ armor—it was a one-sided slaughter.

“Captain, thank you for including me,” Samimi said sincerely.

She knew full well they didn’t need a priest for this job, but the captain still brought her along so she could earn some pay.

“No need to thank me. That stingy mayor’s been hoarding cash—time he forked some over,” the captain waved it off.

“Captain, bad news!”

Suddenly, one of the knights burst out of the bushes, stammering in panic.

“Th-th-there’s a b-big…!”