And coming back, the two humans moved exactly as Rou had predicted. Yan, who had been crying so much one might suspect Patricia had been reincarnated, seemed to stop crying when something sparkling was placed in his hand.
Rou felt relieved as if he could finally breathe, but it didn’t last long. Jes spoke in a voice mixed with even more sorrow.
“High Priest. Did you perhaps share this with everyone? I saw ‘that fellow’ who serves by the Emperor’s side with a similar accessory.”
Saying this, Jes openly glared at Het, who was just opening the door and entering. Het didn’t want to be swept up in this emotionally draining whirlwind of criticism without any profanity mixed in, so he quietly closed the door and disappeared with backward steps.
Rou was at a loss for words. Jes had always been troubled by his actions, but once he’d done them, he would still exclaim that it must all be the Goddess’s will. He hadn’t expected him to oppose and step forward against something already done.
“Now everyone on the street will have a part of you, High Priest. Dozens of humans whose names and faces you don’t know will have your hair—doesn’t that disgust and horrify you?”
Jes’s words were quite plausible, making Yan tearful again.
Jes’s worries continued after that.
“Please listen to my words carefully. Your hair will be circulating like sacred relics, High Priest. How could I not say something!”
Jes wasn’t opposing and worrying without reason. Sacred relics were originally belongings left behind by saints. It was quite disturbing for the hair of a perfectly living person to be circulating through people’s hands like sacred relics.
Moreover, being elevated to sainthood generally happened after returning to the Goddess’s embrace. It was ominous for mentions of saints and sacred relics to already come up when the person wasn’t even facing death.
“Jes, that’s enough.”
Not understanding his concern, the High Priest was only focused on stopping him. It wasn’t like he’d said anything wrong. He’d just said a word out of anxiety because this person with a weak body kept doing things related to death. Jes felt hurt by the High Priest’s reaction.
And more than anything, constantly relying on Het upset Jes. Did this mean that lackey of the Emperor was more trustworthy than himself? Why did he have to be notified belatedly of results already concluded? He felt only disappointment.
“Oh my. Of course. I should stop. I should stop spouting nonsense and stop living too, I suppose. This must be why they say to weigh your words more heavily as you age.”
After that, Jes went on about how his treatment was like this because he was getting old, and how he was so hurt he should just embrace the Goddess’s bosom, spouting words he didn’t mean.
To discuss age in front of him. Rou felt so absurd he wanted to snort. It wasn’t something that young greenhorn should say. Rou’s insides were boiling, but at this point, he couldn’t reveal his age. It would be the same as revealing he wasn’t human.
In front of the two whining humans, Rou felt the need for a new breakthrough.
‘Come to think of it, Goddess Kaine eventually soothed Patricia and stopped her crying.’
Patricia had cried ear-piercingly loudly, so she would probably have been kicked out of the temple if she’d kept crying like that. But when the Goddess soothed her, Patricia would laugh in a high voice as if glass would shatter whenever she entered the temple, and the Goddess would show a kind smile.
How had She done it? The answer came quickly.
The Goddess gently stroked Patricia’s two cheeks as she shed tears and caressed her forehead. Then, when her forehead was revealed between her bangs, She lightly kissed it. The Goddess’s kiss was full of affection, so Patricia, who received that gift, hiccupped and soon burst into laughter.
“You two. Try kneeling.”
The two humans’ foreheads were at positions Rou’s mouth couldn’t reach. It seemed kneeling would be better for comfortably giving the gift of a kiss, so Rou called out like that for now.
Jes was still hurt and had much to say, but at Rou’s firm attitude, he was somewhat cowed.
‘Did I go too far?’
No matter how generous the High Priest was and how he loved all people equally, he was a representative sent down by the Goddess. Nothing remaining on the continent could dare treat the High Priest coldly.
It was true he was upset that those beautiful locks had been cut and distributed to everyone without even asking him. But then again, it was the High Priest’s hair in the first place, so it wasn’t a matter requiring Jes’s permission, and above all, the High Priest’s beauty didn’t diminish in the least just because some hair was cut.
Jes was at an age where his knees were cold and his legs stiff. But what could he do when the High Priest was so firm? Jes knelt on the cold marble, and Yan, who had been watching from the side, also prostrated himself.
Rou stood in front of Jes and grabbed his bushy hair. Whether the Goddess’s Blessing was still maintained, his hair remained abundant. Rou parted the hair exactly in half to create a perfectly symmetrical part, revealing his forehead.
What on earth was the representative doing? Jes, who had been waiting with bated breath, eventually forgot to breathe when the High Priest slowly lowered his head and soft skin touched his forehead. Already lacking in lung capacity, he began to grow increasingly pale, but since a quiet stillness had arrived, Rou judged it effective and performed the same act on Yan before anyone could stop him.
“Ah, no…”
“Jes. You’re the first person whose forehead I’ve kissed.”
Of course, that was based on having a human body. To the Goddess who adored Rou and was reluctant to let him go from her hands, Rou would rub his body and their mouths would touch several times a day.
Not knowing such circumstances, complex and varied thoughts came and went through Jes’s mind. From why the High Priest bestowed such a kiss upon him, to what would happen if he gave his lips (?) away so easily outside as well. Rather than thoughts organizing themselves, they mixed into fragmentary pieces, turning his mind into a quagmire.
But even amidst such confusion, what he could feel clearly was that his mood was now astonishingly ecstatic. This sensation was exactly like when he’d gone to some charity event in the southern part of the continent and glasses had been switched with some dissolute noble.
This feeling of being completely drunk was hard to describe. Since he deliberately kept wicked things far from his mouth by his own will, he had little experience being intoxicated by alcohol or forbidden drugs. Therefore it wasn’t easy to express, but if he had to put it into words, it was similar to when his head spun from gulping down a lot of sweet honey water at once.
Wondering if it was only Jes, Yan tried to get up, but all he ultimately succeeded in was crawling and wiping the floor with his bottom.
Rou was pleased that his plan had succeeded. If this could ease the hurt feelings of the two, he could ask for nothing more. Rou waited until the panting Yan calmed down, then plopped down in front of him.
Yan began grooming his hair with trembling hands. Since the fine-textured hair didn’t need anything else, grooming amounted to about applying fragrant oil.
Even that—Yan, whose hands trembled so much he almost dropped the oil several times, eventually had the oil bottle taken away by Rou. The scent of orange blossoms that he was smelling after a long time was profound, and Rou, pleased that it had finally become quiet, thoroughly soaked the ends of his hair with more fragrant oil than Jes and Yan had intended.
“Well, I’m off!”
Rou excitedly opened the door himself and came out. Het looked with a puzzled face at the High Priest bringing out an intense, rich fragrance, and the two humans staggering out like grass insects drunk on that scent.
Though he didn’t know the reason, the High Priest looked happy and the two humans had quieted down, so Het at least judged that the situation had concluded peacefully. His heart much lighter, he carried on his back the sacred relic to be presented to the Emperor. It was the High Priest’s procession, and a sacred relic that was a national treasure of one kingdom was coming and going, yet there was no escort unit, only himself as the sole knight.
Het resolved not to let down his guard until the last moment and double-checked the sword tied at his waist.
“I’m off, Het.”
“Yes!”
And so Het guided the High Priest to the Main Palace.
Rou walked under the sunlight for once. He seemed to have spent so much time inside the temple that he hadn’t even noticed the seasons changing. Summer had begun. All the air touching his skin was refreshing. Thanks to that, Rou’s steps were light as could be.
Since not even a bit of weight seemed to be placed in his steps, Het occasionally glanced to see if his feet were really touching the ground.
The Empire’s summer was neither cold nor hot. It was a perfect day for flowers to bloom fully and honeybees to fly about. Even on the modest green flowers hanging on trees, the buzzing sound of life rang out, and Rou’s mood was refreshing.
‘To be born on a day like this. It’s truly a good birthday.’
Brukisel might not like blessings that much, but Rou still wanted to bless him. He wanted to make him feel spring—him who was quietly closing his eyes beneath firmly frozen ice.
‘I wonder if we’ll pass by Brukisel’s palace.’
Rou looked around. But in such a vast palace, there was no chance their routes would overlap. Het guided Rou down a path where the Emperor’s Palace could be seen from afar, for the flushed-faced High Priest who was looking around. This was possible because Yan and Jes still hadn’t regained their senses and were staggering along far behind.
Rou gazed at the Emperor’s Palace from afar for a while. The Emperor’s Palace seen during the day looked even more desolate than expected. Rou hoped it was just his own illusion.
“The birthday banquet is being held in the Main Palace. This way.”
While Rou was blankly staring at the Emperor’s Palace, Jes and Yan drew closer. Jes returned with an angry face as if he’d realized the route was suspicious, and Het, wanting to avoid a collision with him, hurriedly continued his guidance.
“Ah…”
Rou hesitated a bit. Might he perhaps encounter Brukisel? He was still in a state of not letting go of the thread of hope.
“His Imperial Majesty the Emperor is probably in the Main Palace.”
But Het already knew well how to handle the High Priest. The High Priest was blindly devoted to the Emperor to a degree that seemed a bit strange from the side. And his thought was right on target.
“Really?”
The High Priest’s eyes sparkled. When Het nodded his head vigorously, the High Priest even urged Het to lead the way quickly. Het diligently moved his legs to avoid encountering Jes.
Rou walked vigorously. Though he knew it wasn’t good to overdo it with this body, his heart was pounding and ticklish, making it rather harder to stand still. Rou’s cheeks were dyed a soft pink, and his steps gradually quickened.
The palace paths were well-paved, so there was no need to step on fresh grass, but Rou could clearly smell the scent that bloomed when sprouts emerged from the earth. The scent that came when sprouts budded was full of anticipation and hope, making Rou smile softly.
