Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou (LN) - Volume 11 - Chapter SS6

Arifureta Academy X: The Apostles’ Days of Despair 

Early one morning, during the early hours of dawn when no one was awake, two figures could be spotted on the lawn. 
“Hurry, Hajime, hurry!” Yue said excitedly, looking surprisingly energetic for someone who habitually overslept and came to work late. 
“There’s no need to rush, Yue-sensei. The church isn’t going anywhere.” 
Hajime smiled as he watched Yue cavort merrily on the lawn. The two of them were on the way to visit the church located next to the academy grounds. The god worshiped by this church was named Ehit, but he wasn’t a piece of shit. Moreover, the followers of this church weren’t especially hostile to heretics. In fact, their tenets preached love and tolerance to all people, regardless of race or creed. Despite all that, there was a reason why Yue wanted to come here so early in the morning. 
“If we’re not careful, that muscle-brained bunnygirl will catch up to us! It’s only a matter of time before she realizes where we’ve gone.” 
“I can’t deny that. She’ll probably try every trick in the book to stop our marriage.” 
Indeed, the two of them were going to the church to fill out their marriage registration. 
“Mmm... The last sister we visited was too stubborn. And Bishop Simon is always off on some journey or the other, so he’s not here.” 
“To be fair, the old lady had a point. Normally, it’s wrong for a teacher to marry their student.” 
Incidentally, the old lady from the last church they’d visited had forced Yue to sit down for hours with a sign that said, “Please don’t talk to me. I’m reflecting on my actions,” while she lectured her about proper decorum. 
“But now there’s nothing to fear! The old hag retired, and I’ve heard the new sister will do anything as long as your paperwork is in order!” 
“Those aren’t good rumors, you know? Besides, I’ve heard that even though she’s supposed to be beautiful, she looks like an expressionless doll and won’t even help you if you’re not a believer.” 
“That’s fine. In fact, that’s perfect. The clergy should just follow the almighty vampire princess’ orders without complaint.” 
“If you’re so almighty, why did you end up getting lectured last time?” 
“Mrrrrrrrrrrrr!” 
Blushing, Yue angrily poked Hajime’s cheek. But that just caused Hajime to grin again. They continued flirting all the way to the church. 
“By the way, Yue-sensei, won’t the sister still be asleep?” 
“Hm? Why would that be a problem? If she’s sleeping, we just have to wake her up,” Yue said, looking confused as to why Hajime would even ask that. Her expression was so cute that Hajime completely forgot to explain why that would be a bad thing. Whenever he was around Yue, Hajime’s IQ dropped by 20 points. 
To their surprise, they found the sister already awake when they entered the church. She was kneeling in front of the altar in heartfelt prayer. Her silver hair glinted beneath her veil, and it appeared she hadn’t heard the two of them. She radiated a divine aura, and Hajime could immediately see why people claimed she wasn’t human. 
“Please let me find a new job. Please let me find a new job. Also, please kill my shitty boss, Ehit, in the most painful way possible. If you can’t do that, at least make him go bald. Also, make him incontinent and an insomniac, and give him gout!” 
Hajime and Yue’s expressions froze, and they took a few involuntary steps backward. The sound of their footsteps alerted the sister, and she turned to them with a start. 
“What might you two need this early in the morning, my not-so-lost lambs?” 
Hajime wasn’t sure if the sarcasm he heard in the sister’s voice was real or just in his head. Regardless, now that he got a good look at the sister’s face, he had to admit she was indeed a beauty on par with Yue. Her features were perfectly sculpted, but— 
“L-Look at those dead eyes...” 
“Well, I have had to pull five all-nighters.” 
Judging by how earnestly she’d been cursing her boss a second ago, Hajime guessed forcing five all-nighters on her wasn’t even the worst thing he’d done. 
“So? What do you want? We’re not open yet. Did you just come to flirt in my church? If so, I hope you don’t mind if I exterminate you.” 
“Is that really something a sister should be saying!?” 
“Ah, excuse me for a moment.” 
The sister completely ignored Hajime’s question and flicked her head back. Were it not for Hajime’s highly enhanced vision, he wouldn’t even have noticed what she’d done. 
“H-How can anyone down an energy drink that fast?” 
“I can’t believe someone with dead eyes like her can guzzle like that.” 
“Caffeine is the ultimate nutrient. With this, I can survive another day.” 
This sister was a real beauty, but the company she was working for was rotten to the core. 
“My apologies, this last all-nighter made me a little crabby.” 
“I think that’s more than just a little crabby!” 

“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Noint Seraphim, the sister who was assigned to this church one month ago. You may call me Sister Noint.” 
“It’s impressive how easily she ignores your comments...” 
Noint cracked her neck in such a horrific fashion that Hajime and Yue wondered if she really was a living creature. Mustering her courage, Yue timidly handed the marriage registration form to Noint. The sister skimmed over it, then suddenly started crying. 
“Wh-Wh-Wh-What’s wrong, Sister Noint!?” 
“It’s so nice that you two get to be happy. I’ll curse you and all your descendants until the day I die. I realize now that I’ll never find happiness myself, so I feel a little more of my heart get gouged out every time happy couples come to me with marriage forms. I honestly don’t know what I’m even living for at this point, but congratulations, you two.” 
“This atmosphere is so awkward!” Hajime and Yue shouted simultaneously. 
Yue reflexively retracted the marriage form and Hajime hurriedly offered Sister Noint a handkerchief. 
“Oh? For me? You’re so kind...” 
“It’s just a handkerchief! Just how starved for affection are you!?” 
“I-Is this a roundabout confession?” 
“Hell no! Are you really that desperate!?” 
“How cruel. Don’t you realize that superficial kindness like this is nothing more than poison to someone like me!?” 
“C-Calm down, Sister Noint. There’s nothing toxic about me offering you a handkerchief. You’re making me want to cry now!” 
Hajime and Yue couldn’t help but pity Sister Noint as they watched tears spill from her dead, lifeless eyes. They then sat her down and kindly offered to listen to her story. Apparently, Sister Noint and all eight of her sisters were all so good at their jobs that Ehit had made them his direct subordinates and was working them to the bone. 
“When I first heard I would be sent to the academy church, I was happy. I thought I would finally be able to work a job that wasn’t awful. I even harbored faint hopes that a promising young student would fall in love with me at first sight and propose.” 
“S-She sounds more like a depressed wage slave than a pious sister.” 
“But my asshole boss kept piling a bunch of extra work on me because ‘the academy church is in the center of the continent, so you can easily reach all these other places.’” 
“I see you refer to your god as just an asshole boss now...” 
“Moreover, this academy is a warzone. I get complaints day after day, and even though I have a bunch of church work already, people push the academy’s problems onto me as well.” 
Hajime and Yue awkwardly looked away. They were the cause of most of the fighting in the academy. They exchanged glances, determined to do something about Sister Noint’s awful work environment. Just then, the door to the church opened and someone walked in. 
“Hm? If it isn’t Hearst-nee-san. What brings you here from the main cathedral?” 
It appeared this was one of the Seraphim sisters, Sister Hearst. Hearst’s appearance was identical to Noint’s, all the way down to the dead eyes. Hearst hesitated a bit when she saw Yue and Hajime, unsure of whether or not she should tell Noint her business in their presence. In the end, though, she decided to just say it. 
“The truth is... I got a three-day vacation yesterday.” 
“Sorry, nee-san, but I think you’re speaking in a foreign language I don’t understand.” 
Hajime and Yue held back the desire to interject. 
“I thought this might be some horrific omen myself, too. Honestly, I’m worried Ehit had some awful, evil, horrible overtime in store for me after this.” 
“This is completely unprecedented, so I understand how you feel. I’m honestly amazed the concept of vacations exists at all in this line of work.” 
Hajime and Yue covered their faces in despair. How could such an awful workplace exist? 
“So, why are you here?” 
“There’s nothing for me to do at home.” 
“Ah, I understand. You have no friends to invite over.” 
“And if I go out, I’ll be crushed by guilt because I’m having fun when I could be working.” 
“Ah, I feel the same on the rare occasions I don’t have overtime and am allowed to go home before the sunset. I also get scared that the people around me might think I’m an unemployed bum.” 
“Indeed. So I thought I might come to this academy and try and experience a facsimile of youth.” 
“We were unable to enjoy our own youth, after all. My only memories are memories of work.” 
Please stop! I can’t bear to hear anymore! Hajime and Yue thought. 
Afterward, Yue used her power and influence to reform the Seraphim sisters’ workplace, while Hajime poured his blood, sweat, and tears into making artifacts that could make their lives easier. Unfortunately, this act of goodwill ended up making all nine of them fall for him, and they could occasionally be seen around the academy, staring silently at Hajime with their eerie, dead eyes.