The goddess’s temple was situated within the imperial palace. The previous emperor who had passed away a few years ago was so favorable toward the Kaine religion that it was hard to believe he was of pure northern bloodline. Even when the temple was first established in the deep center of the imperial palace, Jes had been full of hope that the Kaine religion could flourish in the north.
On the path to the temple following the previous emperor, how delighted he had been at the fact that the temple was located not far from the main palace! But today, walking the same path, Jes wanted to collapse several times while walking the not-so-far distance.
The emperor didn’t even wait, nor did he check on Rou’s party who had fallen behind. To make such a frail old man run in weather where snow was flying and stinging his nose. Jes felt like taking off even his shoes and throwing them at the emperor.
“Are you alright?”
Rou made a worried expression. White snow whiter than him had piled up on Jes’s white eyebrows, and his breathing was rough as if it would stop at any moment. Though he coughed, he nodded and staggered forward.
“Hold my hand.”
“I-I cannot do that! How could I touch the holy body!”
Jes said so without taking his eyes off the pure white hand extended to him. Rou pulled Jes’s hand. Though Jes said no, no like that, he quickly grabbed Rou’s hand. Rou looked at Jes who couldn’t easily control his body and said pitifully.
“If a child with a bright future ahead is already like this, it’s useless.”
“What……?”
Jes was so surprised that his eyes widened enough to be visible even between his fluffy eyebrows. But surprised only for a moment, he trembled his lower jaw as if deeply moved. A few years ago, due to a serious lung disease he had suffered, he was already in a weakened state.
The goddess’s representative who had come to him who didn’t know when he would die seemed like it would be a splendid ending to his life. Thinking so, he had thought to work for the goddess’s representative even if it meant death.
‘I’m…… not dying soon!’
His current weakened state was just the remnants left by the lung disease. His body would surely heal soon. None other than the goddess’s representative had given him the blessing that his future was bright. Even to not make that blessing in vain, he had to live bright and long like a young person.
“Thank you! Thank you!”
“……Uh, hm?”
“Ah! Representative of the goddess, look! Thanks to your blessing, my body seems to have recovered!”
He felt heat rising in his body and blood flowing vigorously. Jes was overjoyed, saying it seemed the goddess’s blessing had already started performing miracles.
“Let’s hurry to the temple! I’m so looking forward to what the goddess has prepared for you!”
Saying so, Jes began walking with large strides, cutting through the snowfall. It was quite different vigor from the staggering old man from earlier.
‘Right. Humans generally don’t even live a full century.’
Rou realized he had spoken too much from his own perspective and thought oops, but Jes was so happy that he missed the timing to correct it. However, seeing him full of vitality like a fire burning brightly again, it seemed better not to correct the misunderstanding.
‘They say the first human born on the continent also lived 300 years. So I didn’t completely lie.’
Rou tried to think so and followed Jes who was leading the way at an amazing speed.
“Representative of the goddess! Welcome!”
Jes said in a resounding voice. Rou tried to think that good was good. And he hurried his steps so the snowfall wouldn’t completely hide Jes.
Rou’s cheeks and ears seemed to freeze solid in the cold wind. Rou thought his skin frozen from the cold stung hot like when burned by fire. When walking became difficult in the snowfall that intensified to the point of making it meaningless that spring had come, Jes stopped abruptly.
Rou, who stood following Jes, realized a moment later why he had suddenly stopped. The goddess’s temple was so completely white that it was indistinguishable from the scattering snow. Jes muttered that His Majesty seemed to have already entered without loyalty and opened the door.
The pure white temple was warm like inside the greenhouse. At the familiar warmth, Rou trembled slightly. It felt like his frozen body was melting. Following Jes through the long corridor and entering deep inside the temple, the most discordant existence in the pure white temple came into view.
“You’re terribly slow.”
“It was snowing outside?”
Rou answered peacefully even to Brukisel’s sharp words. Brukisel didn’t even point out Rou’s speech that now had no trace of honorifics. It was already a look of half giving up as if looking at a madman.
“Ha. So. Did you see snow for the first time or something?”
“Right, it was my first time seeing it. It was cold.”
Brukisel scrunched up one side of his face. He turned his eyes to Jes as if giving up on dealing with him and pointed at the firmly closed door with his chin. Jes, who had been slyly standing in his way in case that violent emperor would harm the goddess’s representative, only then slowly pulled the door handle.
Though it was originally a white temple as if all colors had been robbed, when the door opened, the space that appeared poured out such white light that strength naturally entered the eyes. Rou blinked his eyes repeatedly. Only after becoming a bit accustomed to the blindingly bright light could he take in the revealed space.
Because of the light filling the room, not even shadows formed. In the space filled only with light, only the occasional sound of water drops falling echoed, and following that sound, there was a small puddle. And right above it, a round hole was drilled in the dome-shaped ceiling. Water drops fell at a constant speed from the center of the hole.
Though snow was pouring outside, the sound made by the falling water drops was only gentle.
“This is the Room of Declaration. When a faithful person kneels and offers prayers, the goddess graciously shows the sign.”
When someone with sufficient qualifications as high priest beseeched the goddess, dew would fall. The dew pooled on the floor like that would reflect the divine power that high priest possessed. Rou slowly nodded. When he walked to the center of the room and knelt before the small puddle, Rou felt more at a loss than he thought.
Was it because she was always by his side? It felt strange to offer prayers to the goddess with such a pious posture and heart. That was because the words Rou offered to the goddess always received immediate answers, making it closer to conversation than prayer.
Rou, as always, slowly confided to the goddess about what had happened. How fierce the empire’s cold was. How much the white snow falling from the sky resembled and didn’t resemble petals falling like a downpour.
‘The child seemed accustomed to that cold. I want to let the child who saved me know warmth.’
He confided trivial stories for a long while. When the trifling stories that would be written in a diary ended, he could clearly hear small but distinct laughter.
Rou opened his eyes wide without realizing it because the laughter was so close. He stood up from that spot and looked around, wondering if the goddess might be nearby. Brukisel, who had been watching Rou pray from a few steps back, was about to give the order to drag him out immediately upon seeing nothing happen.
At the same time, a fierce stream of water poured down from the round hole in the ceiling. The water stream as sudden as water pouring from a faucet instantly filled the room. Since it was a matter of moments for the water that had risen to the waist to reach the tip of the nose, when Jes’s feet couldn’t touch the ground, he began screaming in fear.
“Me! Save me! Oh, goddess!”
“No, are you crazy. Let go! Ah! I said let go!”
Jes grabbed Het’s collar as if wanting to grab onto something, but Het was about to suffocate not only from the water pouring into his nose and mouth but also from the high priest strangling his neck. Though he pushed Jes away to survive, somehow the old man’s strength was so vigorous that Jes showed no sign of falling off.
Unable to withstand the force of the rising water, the door opened and water poured along the corridor like waves. In the fierce current, Jes and Het were helplessly pushed like buoys on the sea and swept to the end of the corridor.
Rou stood still, quietly receiving the water pouring over his head. Mysteriously, the fierce water stream felt only gentle to Rou. Rou left the water resembling the goddess’s touch to flow down along his hair for a long while.
And when Rou took one step out of the water stream, the water stream that had been pouring like a lie stopped. Since the water that had poured down came up to Rou’s waist, walking was quite inconvenient.
Since everyone else had been swept away by the current, only Rou and Brukisel were in the Room of Declaration. Brukisel had an unbelieving face. He just watched Rou approaching him with a wet body.
Perhaps because of the goddess’s dew said to wash away all the world’s dust and worries, Rou’s face was particularly radiant.
Rou smiled brightly and affectionately stroked Brukisel’s shoulder. When his shoulder became lukewarmly wet, Brukisel instinctively pushed away Rou’s touch. Since Rou was half-floating on the water, he was pushed back as is.
Rou approached Brukisel again, walking as if floating. He asked with a bright face.
“Brukisel. Will you believe me now?”
His wet hair was stuck close to Rou’s shoulders and back. The part touching the water fluttered like silk swaying in a breeze each time Rou took a step through the current. In this room full of light, Rou’s brilliant lemon-colored blonde hair looked like the dawn breaking the morning.
Was it because that appearance was truly mysterious? Though he should rightfully scold him for daring to call the emperor’s name, Brukisel ended up missing the timing to speak.
At Brukisel’s appearance standing there blankly, Rou’s expression gradually became worried.
‘Perhaps. Not only is he afraid of loud sounds but also water?’
Of course, those were grand delusions only Rou, who viewed Brukisel with pity and sympathy, possessed.
