The Black-Stockinged Nun Is Actually a Boy?! [2]

First things first, I need to head out—and make sure Father Anderson keeps drinking in the back all day!

Helen wasn’t stupid. Deep down, he had a rough idea of how to handle things. Without delay, he stepped outside and boarded the local steam-powered bus.

In Magic & Firearms, the tech tree was notoriously chaotic and unbalanced. Big cities had already entered the steam age; some wealthy households even owned magical crystals that functioned just like smartphones—chatting online was no problem. Meanwhile, the rural countryside still lived like it was the Middle Ages.

This collision of technology and the supernatural made the world’s development wildly uneven.

But that imbalance was intentional—to cater to global players. Some liked fantasy, others preferred steampunk, and Magic & Firearms chose to embrace everything at once. That, too, was part of what made it a global phenomenon.

Of course, NPCs like Helen bore the brunt of that decision. He lived in a barebones, church-provided single room that was basically a jail cell. Meals at the canteen consisted of black bread and watery salted porridge with barely a hint of vegetables.

So despite parts of this world resembling modern Earth, his daily life was pure medieval hardship.

Thankfully, the housing assigned to church staff wasn’t far from District 33. Two bus stops, and he was there.

“Sister Helen! You’re out early today!”

A factory worker hurrying to work greeted him warmly.

“Uncle Moore, any good news this morning?” Helen squinted, giving the man his best angelic nun smile.

He’d only been in this world for two days, but Uncle Moore had treated him kindly from the start.

“Ha! The paper says His Majesty has defeated the evil goblins and will return in triumph soon. I’m just waiting for my eldest boy to come home—he wrote me that he’s earned merit in battle and been promoted to an officer!” Moore beamed with pride.

Helen’s heart sank. If the plot continued the way it did in the game… Moore’s son might not be coming back at all.

History rolls forward like an unstoppable wheel. And the rotting Eastern Roman Empire would be the first to be crushed beneath it. The dust stirred by its fall would be enough to bury anyone alive.

“That’s wonderful news. May the Holy Light bless your family and keep fortune ever at your side,” Helen said, offering a standard prayer gesture.

“Ahaha, once my boy returns, by the rules he can marry a minor noblewoman—or a pretty young nun like you.” Moore chuckled, then scratched his head in embarrassment. His implication was a bit too obvious.

The Church—more specifically, the Radiant Church of this world—allowed clergy to marry. But doing so meant resigning from your post, returning to secular life. Children born from such unions were required to serve the Church for twelve years starting at age six, until their adulthood at eighteen.

It was, in effect, a system where your child repaid the Church for your time.

So it was common for nuns to leave after marriage—usually to a noble or wealthy merchant.

This system had been established after the Eastern Roman Empire and the Radiant Church formed their power-sharing pact. It strengthened ties between the nobility and the Church.

In fact, many of the empire’s nobles had mothers with Church backgrounds.

The Radiant Church was one of the twin heads on the Eastern Roman Empire’s double-headed eagle. Nobility and clergy ruled side by side.

Which was why, after hearing Moore’s words, Helen internally screamed a thousand curses.

He’s a man, damn it! No way in hell is he marrying another guy! His orientation was strictly women, thank you very much!

Just as he was about to change the topic, an older middle-aged woman came striding over, inserting herself between Moore and Helen.

“Your son? Please. Just a run-of-the-mill junior officer, and he thinks he can marry our District 33’s Sister Helen?” The woman sneered. “My son may not be a soldier, but he’s a businessman in the Upper City. Compared to yours, he’s far more qualified!”

“Oh, cut it out, Layla. Your son’s just a salesman! I saw him hawking beauty products the other day!” Moore fired back.

The two looked ready to start a shouting match. Helen quickly stepped in, separating them.

“Layla Auntie, Uncle Moore—remember to come for afternoon prayer, alright~? And no fighting, may the Holy Light bless you~”

With that, he pressed his hands together in a pious gesture.

Seeing Helen like that, the two had no choice but to follow suit, clasping their hands with awkward humphs, then turning to go—one to the market, the other to the factory.

But Helen didn’t get a moment to breathe. More people from District 33 came out to greet him.

Ever since he’d taken over Father Anderson’s duties, Helen had been a hit. Compared to the drunk, lazy Anderson, the locals clearly preferred the cute, sweet Sister Helen.

Especially the younger crowd. A few had even declared they’d marry him when they grew up.

Helen had no words.

After dealing with the usual neighborly chaos, he hurried to the church. Unlocking the front door, he found Father Anderson snoring away on a chair.

Helen leaned in and sniffed—cheap beer. Strong.

Clearly, the man had been drinking in the church again last night.

“Father, rise and shine!” Helen gave him a light kick.

“Ugh… quit kicking me. Lemme sleep…” Anderson cracked one eye open. Upon seeing Helen, he let out a sigh of relief. “You handle the morning shift. I’ll cover this afternoon. Then let Brother Mordes take the night shift.”

Perfect!

“Father Anderson, there’s a street performance outside my building this afternoon. It gets loud, so let me take the afternoon shift again.” Helen smiled with narrowed eyes.

This afternoon would decide his fate. No way he’d miss it.

“Huh? You want to cover for me?” Anderson sobered up instantly. Since when was this girl so… motivated?

“I’ve been thinking of finding a quieter place to live,” Helen replied, tone soft and pitiful. “Unlike you, Father, I don’t have a place of my own. My room’s practically a prison cell.”

“Oho~ I get it. I’ll add a little extra to your stipend this month,” Anderson said with a knowing wink, then got up to head to the back room.

“Father Anderson, may I borrow the armory key?” Helen asked.

Anderson gave him a wary look, but his drunken mind was too foggy to parse it.

Helen shrugged. “There’s a major inspection next week. I figured I’d get a head start on cleanup.”

The word inspection made Anderson flinch. If some superior—especially one who didn’t like him—found fault with his slacker church, he’d be in serious trouble.

“Alright, just leave the key in my spare office once you’re done. I’ll pick it up tomorrow morning.” Anderson handed the key over.

He’d long since come to trust Helen. Besides, that small body of his couldn’t possibly lift the armory’s weapons. What could a kid like her do?

And if she did try something… Anderson was a Tier 2 cleric. He had plenty of ways to shut her down.

“Thank you, Father Anderson.” Helen took the key, the corner of his lips curling up.

Supernatural power, as the name implied, was like magic or psychic abilities in traditional fantasy.

In Magic & Firearms, there were hundreds of classes, each with its own progression path. Levels ranged from Tier 0 to Tier 20.

Tier 20 was godhood. The rest were ranked downward from Tier 19 to Tier 1. Tier 0 meant you were just a regular person—like Helen.

You could multiclass, but your total tier cap was still 20.

The reason Helen had his eyes on the church’s armory was simple: he had no way to access supernatural power anytime soon. So he’d go for guns instead.

Guns were the great equalizer. They could close the gap between a regular person and even a Tier 1—or certain Tier 2—supernatural foes. Many players in the early game had taken this exact route.

And the church already had a stash. Waste not, want not.

Once Anderson headed off for his nap, Helen took a deep breath.

Hope there’s something good in there. Otherwise… I’m screwed this afternoon.

He was going with the girl—Natalie—to deal with low-level demons on her family’s farm.

That was one of his options.

He could’ve chosen to avoid her, sure. But that was just delaying the inevitable. The demons would be discovered eventually. And the Church would be held accountable.

Better to take the initiative than to sit around waiting to die.

As for telling Father Anderson the truth…

He’d definitely start by grilling Helen—how did he know they were demons?

There’d be no good way to explain that. And knowing Anderson, he probably wouldn’t want to believe it anyway.

Worst-case scenario, if everything blew up, “Helen” was expendable.

Once the harm outweighed the benefit, this so-called “novice nun” would be discarded or silenced.

“Natalie… After Version 1 ended, her revenge arc made her a Tier 4 witch boss,” Helen mused. “The launch version’s level cap was Tier 5. If she’s got even a little potential, she might be my insurance.”

He hadn’t done this quest in his past life—only read about it on forums. So the details were fuzzy.

Of course, he wasn’t counting on her entirely.

He had a final fallback: as a nun, he could report the incident to the Guard—or the Church headquarters in the Upper City.

But doing that would drag both him and Anderson into the mess. Demons appearing in Constantinople? No one wanted that kind of news getting out. For the sake of the empire’s face, both the nobles and the Church would silence anyone who knew too much.

Especially the one who reported it.

After all, this was the capital. The heart of the empire. In all its history, no demon had ever shown their face here.

If the public found out, the panic would be unimaginable. Fewer people knowing was better.

Of course, I have one last insurance policy. But I can’t rely on it—or gamble on it. Helen stood before the armory door, key in hand, heart pounding.

According to the game, this afternoon was when players would first arrive.

Getting help from them would be great—if they showed up.

But what if they didn’t?

What if this world only looked like the game he used to know… but wasn’t?

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T/N: WOAH I ALREADY LIKE THE LEVEL SYSTEM DND! and also teehee teehee i like misunderstandings GODDDDDDDDDDDDDD ILL BE STRAIGHT IF U GIVE ME A FEMININE MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is a fan translation of 黑丝修女姐姐居然是男孩子？ by 水滴磐石 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!