Nick was a man who kept his word. Before long, the temple’s front courtyard was filled with offerings people had sent, and Jes smiled so broadly his mouth nearly reached his ears.
Then one dawn. Rou opened his eyes at the sound of people stirring. The room was sweltering with heat, and the bedding touching his skin was surprisingly soft, making it difficult to leave the bedroom, but he couldn’t ignore the expectant whispers.
Those voices full of anticipation resembled the trembling of wings ready to take flight before the morning dew had dried.
Whether Brukisel didn’t even care about the temple’s visitors, the guests coming up from the south were extremely diverse in status and origin. Jes and Yan had organized the crowd and lined them up for now, but they were at a loss for what to do about those who rushed over at every opportunity and pounded on the temple doors.
Most of those who visited the temple wanted to see even just Rou’s fingertips. Despite Jes’s dissuasion, Rou willingly went out before them.
“You don’t need to do this, High Priest. Right now we haven’t even established proper procedures for meeting you, and without a gatekeeper, just anyone is barging in.”
“How can I turn away those who visit the temple? Even if it takes a long time, I want to see them all.”
At Rou saying this with a gentle smile, Jes couldn’t bring himself to say no. In the end, Yan came out with embers and made a brazier near Rou. And installed a windbreak. Only after Rou was wrapped in a thick blanket could he go outside.
Thus anyone with the will to see the High Priest could meet Rou. The wealthy who had pushed through harsh roads from the south couldn’t accept having to wait and threw tantrums, but once Rou greeted them with a smile, they became docile sheep and beamed.
“Welcome! May the Goddess’s blessing be upon you abundantly.”
“…High Priest! It’s an honor to meet you!”
Rou was happy. Those who had come all the way here from the southern edge to feel the Goddess closer were admirable and lovable. Under the clear morning air, Rou, smiling brightly, sparkled even more. He personally stood in front of the temple doors and made eye contact with each person climbing the stairs.
“Welcome.”
“High Priest…!”
When an old woman struggled up the stairs, Rou ran down the steps without a moment’s hesitation and grasped her hand. Rou willingly allowed his face to the old woman whose eyes were white, and the elderly woman stroked Rou’s cheek with her trembling fingertips.
“May this year’s spring linger long with you.”
Rou stroked the old woman’s thin hair. At behavior that would be fitting for a five-year-old child, Jes gaped from behind, but seeing a childlike smile appear on the old woman’s face, he closed his mouth again.
Rou treated everyone the same whether they were small children or elderly who wouldn’t seem strange returning to the Goddess’s embrace tomorrow, and the guests who were initially surprised by his affectionate casual speech only marveled at first before soon understanding.
The one who spoke while letting lemon-colored hair cascade down to his ankles and making his honey-like eyes shine was too beautiful and mysterious to be human. The still-cool spring breeze and hair swaying in rhythm with it felt reverent the more one watched.
Rather than a High Priest for humans, the Goddess had temporarily lent them a jewel She had been cherishing preciously in Her embrace. They naturally came to think so.
The audience that began early in the morning continued late into the afternoon. The tea Yan brewed tasted as sweet as apples, matching its sweet fragrance, and the jar was full of sugar. Thanks to this, Rou saw off the last guest without showing a trace of fatigue.
Even after the last guest left, Rou looked around as if waiting for someone. Jes noticed the High Priest was waiting for the Emperor and his heart seemed to tear. Waiting for someone who would absolutely never come would be like hoping for a miracle to happen right now.
“You must be tired.”
“But everyone seemed happy.”
Rou half-buried himself in the chair Yan had brought. He hadn’t felt it while meeting the believers, but once the surroundings quieted down, fatigue rushed over him. When Rou’s face became quite languid, Jes was about to suggest they go inside now. All the High Priest, who had given blessings to countless people, had consumed today was a few cups of tea close to sugar water.
“…High Priest.”
“Hm? It’s Het.”
Het was just entering the temple’s front courtyard with something in his arms. Though their eyes met, Het only bowed in greeting then immediately turned and disappeared. Had he perhaps brought news about Brukisel? Rou, who had briefly hoped, felt only disappointed.
When they unwrapped the bundle Het had left behind. Inside were heavy gold coins packed full. To a temple that had many offerings but lacked immediately needed cash, this might be the most necessary item.
“Let’s go in now. Yan will have finished preparing the meal.”
“…”
Rou’s gaze followed the direction where Het had disappeared.
‘Is Brukisel over there?’
Though it was early evening, the sky was already violet-blue. Rou looked at the orange shadow in the distance and prayed that Brukisel would spend a night as warm as embers.
Once thoughts about Brukisel arose, they completely consumed his mind. Rou’s heart was heavy, feeling like he had briefly forgotten about Brukisel in his joy at meeting the believers. Because of that, silence lingered long over the dinner table.
Rou finished his meal by picking at a few candied cherries placed to garnish the pork. When the High Priest, with a somehow sunken face, said he would rest, Jes carefully asked.
“High Priest. If you take a bath, it will refresh you.”
“A bath?”
At the word bath, light appeared in Rou’s eyes. He recalled experiencing something similar to bathing in the past.
As a bumblebee, Rou’s main duty was dropping honey into cups, but that weighty task didn’t always end in success. There were days when the honey he’d been holding in his mouth slid down the back of his throat, making him eat all the honey meant for the Goddess, and there was a time when, curious about what tea the Goddess was drinking, he leaned his face in and slipped, falling into the cup.
In both cases, Rou felt wronged. For him, whose staple foods were honey and pollen, carrying honey in his mouth was not an easy task. The honey pooled deep in the violet flowers had an especially sweet fragrance that day, putting his patience on trial.
The tea was the same. Rose tea, even more fragrant from being steeped with sugar and lemon together, had tempted Rou first, and though he’d only meant to smell it, his head was heavy and he slid right into the teacup.
Fortunately, the tea water had cooled to lukewarm and warmly embraced Rou’s body. That moment, warm and fragrant like the Goddess’s embrace, still remained vivid in Rou’s memory.
Jes, delighted at Rou’s suddenly lively face, urged again.
“Yes. It will relieve your fatigue.”
“Well…”
Rou hesitated for a moment, then spoke in a small but very clear pronunciation and voice.
“Do you put in flowers too?”
“Of course! Shall I float rose petals for you?”
Rou nodded gladly. Jes rejoiced at discovering the taste of this High Priest who never really demanded anything of him, and led Yan to prepare the bath water.
Rou soon met the bathtub full of water. He carefully dipped his fingertips into the water where red roses floated. The slick water didn’t have as sweet a fragrance as he’d thought, and when he touched his fingertips to his lips it tasted rather bitter, but the scent of fresh flowers and the temperature of the water felt pleasant.
“Is it to your liking?”
“Mm. It’s fragrant.”
Among those who came from the south, some had somehow brought fresh flowers and offered them. Jes and Yan created the High Priest’s bath water by carefully plucking petals without damaging them in a short time. Perhaps because of the blessing he’d given them, even though Jes spent the whole day assisting the High Priest, he didn’t feel fatigue.
Rather, he was worried. This was the first time he’d prepared someone’s bath water too. Would it even suit the taste of the High Priest who must have been raised preciously? Because of that, when Rou had earlier briefly touched water droplets falling from his pinky finger to his lips, Jes had truly felt dizzy.
“I like it. Thank you.”
“Then we’ll take our leave now. Shall we help dry your hair after you finish bathing?”
“Please do.”
Jes and Yan withdrew with somehow pleased faces. Rou briefly pondered which of his words had made those humans happy, then came to his own conclusion that they too must be going to bathe.
Rou looked at the water and contemplated for a moment.
‘How do humans bathe?’
Should he enter the water with clothes on? Or was it right to take them off? Rou, to whom clothing was still unfamiliar, had no way of knowing. Seeing how humans put on more clothes when cold, it seemed right to take them off when entering this hot water, yet hadn’t he been wearing clothes when he came out soaked from the Room of Declaration?
‘This is difficult.’
Rou had seen humans who came to offer prayers to the Goddess and humans who came to play in the flower gardens. Being familiar with human life, he knew what they ate and drank, what worries they had—he understood their psychology to that degree. But having never seen anyone bathe, Rou faced difficulties in an unexpected place.
‘Should I at least dip my feet in before the water cools?’
Since this body was human anyway, if his body touched the water, some clue might appear. With that thought, Rou carefully perched on the edge of the bathtub.
“Aah!”
And the moment he tried to place his bottom down, Rou stepped on flower petals that had sunk to the bottom and slipped instantly.
— Splash!
The bathtub was quite spacious compared to Rou’s build. Thanks to that, the amount of water that overflowed onto the floor wasn’t much, but Rou became thoroughly soaked like the day he’d first offered prayers in the Room of Declaration. As Rou peeled off the hair stuck to his face, he missed Jes and Yan.
“High Priest! Are you all right?”
As if reading Rou’s heart, an urgent voice came from outside. Rou spoke toward the door.
“Can you help me bathe?”
“…Oh my. My thinking was too short… May I enter now?”
“Mm. It’s fine.”
Jes and Yan carefully opened the door. The air that had been hazy from the hot bath water cleared a bit. Yan skillfully removed his clothes, and while reproaching himself, Jes diligently removed the flower petals lodged in Rou’s hair.
When Yan lathered evenly from scalp to the tips of his hair, Jes arranged Rou’s hair with a comb. Rou simply entrusted his body to their hands. Then he saw Jes preciously storing the long strands of hair caught in the comb.
Moreover, when Yan secretly extended his palm to Jes, Jes reluctantly handed Yan one strand of hair. Rou saw all of that somewhat peculiar scene, but since they had turned their bodies away from him as if not wanting to be caught, he didn’t bother to comment.
