IWBAACTWITOS Chapter 36

Roxana looked down with worried eyes at Thaleia, who slept with her head on her lap. She couldn't forget Thaleia crying alone after slipping away the night before they left home.

When she'd asked why she was crying, Thaleia had said she'd dreamed of a bad dragon making Mama, Papa, and Rayan sad. At the time she'd comforted her that it was just a nightmare, but watching Thaleia become strangely quiet after that day, she felt it hadn't been crying over a nightmare.

'I thought she'd gotten better.'

While playing with children her age, that strange look and atmosphere she'd occasionally shown had almost disappeared. But starting that night, it had returned. No matter how much she coaxed and comforted her, she didn't pretend to smile and brush it off like before.

On top of that, carriage life seemed hard on her—she slept more and didn't eat well. They'd even delayed the schedule and let her rest for a few days, but nothing changed.

"Papa."

Perhaps finding the inside of the carriage stuffy, Royna fussed, pulling on Julian's hair. At that crying, Thaleia, who had been sleeping, opened her eyes.

"Are you awake?"

When she swept the soft platinum hair behind her ear, the purple eyes that had been hidden by hair were revealed. Her unfocused eyes, drunk with sleep, gradually became clearer.

"I want to see the ocean."

"The ocean?"

The carriage happened to be approaching a coastal city near the Holy Land. Roxana asked the coachman to go to the shore. After riding for about thirty more minutes with Royna's crying, the ocean began to appear outside the window. Thaleia pressed her face right against the window, looking at the ocean.

"Tilly, is this your first time seeing the ocean?"

"...No."

At Thaleia's denial, Roxana tilted her head. When Thaleia had come here for her baptism, she'd been just a newborn baby, so Roxana thought she wouldn't remember.

"I saw it in a picture book."

"Ah, a picture book. Isn't seeing it for real different from pictures?"

"Yeah, it's different."

"Royna seems frustrated too—shall we get out of the carriage and look at the ocean for a bit?"

At the suggestion to look at the ocean, a faint smile bloomed on Thaleia's lips. It was a smile she hadn't seen in a very long time. Before getting out of the carriage, Thaleia took off her shoes. Following Thaleia out of the carriage, Royna opened her eyes wide looking at the ocean.

"What?"

"It's the ocean. Ocean."

"...Ochea?"

"O-cean."

"Ocheaaa."

At Royna's clumsy ocean pronunciation, Thaleia giggled and walked toward the ocean without hesitation. Royna followed Thaleia eagerly, then stopped in front of the water. The approaching waves seemed scary.

Thaleia walked until the water reached her knees, then stopped. It was a precarious position—just enough that her clothes wouldn't get wet. Roxana was glad she'd dressed Thaleia in short shorts today.

"Sishta."

Royna called to Thaleia as if telling her to come out before the waves ate her. Even at her little sister's call, Thaleia didn't look back.

Even after the waves hit several times, when Thaleia remained standing perfectly fine, Royna grew curious and approached the ocean when the water receded. Of course, when the water rushed back in, she quickly retreated.

"Mama, fee. Fee."

Perhaps wet sand had gotten into her shoes—Royna complained of discomfort. Roxana took off Royna's shoes.

"Shall our Royna go into the ocean too?"

"Scawy."

"Then shall Mama hold you?"

Gaining courage at the offer to be held, Royna nodded. Roxana also took off her shoes, rolled up her pants, and entered the ocean.

The sand swept by the waves tickled her feet. But unlike the sand in her shoes, it felt more like happiness than discomfort. She thought she should have taken off her shoes from the start like Thaleia.

The clear sky and blue ocean—neither had a visible end. Roxana had also only seen the ocean a few times, so she was briefly captivated by the beautiful sight.

"Tilly."

"...Yeah?"

"Mama was thinking about that scary dragon in your dream."

"Yeah."

"Couldn't our Tilly just defeat it?"

"...Me?"

After moving her lips a few times, Thaleia let out a deep sigh.

"Are you scared of the bad dragon?"

"No, it's not that. I was the bad dragon."

"Then you've been down all this time because Tilly made Mama, Papa, and Yan sad?"

"...Yeah."

"Tilly, that was just a dream."

As if the comfort that it was just a dream backfired, Thaleia's eyes grew teary. Roxana hurriedly changed her words, comforting Thaleia.

"If Tilly is like this without energy, the dream becomes real, you know? When Tilly is sad, Mama and Papa are sad too."

"Okay. I won't cry."

"You can cry. But after crying, I hope you'll cheer up again."

Even though she'd said it was okay to cry, Thaleia seemed to have no intention of crying and rubbed her face with her sleeve.

"Later, shall we take a family trip to the beach? With Yan too."

"...Yeah, let's travel to the ocean later."

"We greet those who follow the god's will."

"It's been a long time, Priest Lumos."

Royna, scared of the priests in white clothes, gripped my hand tightly. Priest Lumos, who had greeted us, looked at Royna and me and smiled gently.

"Royna and you two must enter purification bathing starting today. Please come this way."

Before the baptism ceremony, the child receiving the ceremony and their parents must purify their bodies by bathing every day for twenty days. Since I only needed to participate in the baptism ceremony, I had to stay apart while the three of them performed purification bathing.

Julian looked back at me anxiously, so I waved my hand with a smile to reassure him. The three left with the young priests, leaving only Lumos and me.

"Up we go."

Lumos seemed to have trouble with his legs, but he forced himself to kneel to meet my eyes. When I was startled by his action, Lumos smiled gently. That smile deepened the years settled into his face.

"You've grown so much."

"...Oh, yes."

"Unlike Royna, Thaleia received baptism when you were a very small baby, so you probably don't remember me."

"......"

"I apologize to Thaleia, but the other priests are busy preparing for the baptism, so it seems I, with my inconvenient body, will be attending to you. If there's anything uncomfortable, please tell me anytime."

"...Yes."

"Oh, would you like some of these? They're something I really like, but I'm not sure if they'll suit your taste."

What Lumos fumbled out was a handful of small caramels. Like a grandfather giving candy to his grandchild, I couldn't help but giggle.

"Thank you."

"I'll give you a tour of the temple. Please follow me."

When Lumos tried to stand, I hurriedly picked up his cane for him. Lumos very politely thanked me for my consideration. I held Lumos's hand and walked slowly. After walking for a while, Lumos stopped in front of a statue and let go of my hand, pointing at it.

"Thaleia, can you see the god's face?"

"...No."

The statue, which seemed close to twenty meters tall, only showed up to the chin in my field of vision. Lumos chuckled and told me probably no one had ever seen the god's face.

"It is said the god never showed their name or appearance. The founding priests who built this temple respected the god's will and created statues, but did not carve the faces. Instead, they raised them high so no one could see the god's empty face. All the statues in this temple are enormous like this."

'Yes, well, the sculptors must have suffered terribly. When the client says do it, you have to do it—that's the tragedy of artists.'

After hearing Lumos's explanation, I had an ominous feeling. A feeling that for twenty days I'd be dragged around by him listening to lessons.

'Well, it's not like I have anything else to do.'

It felt oddly like old memories. I was someone crazy enough to go to graduate school because I liked studying this stuff. Being dragged around serving a profess... no, professor was a hundred, a thousand times better than this.

Lumos glanced at Thaleia following him, standing on the side where he didn't hold his cane. Even though they'd been touring the temple for ten days, Thaleia didn't seem tired at all.

'Maybe because she's a child. Good stamina.'

Whenever Lumos occasionally felt pain in his leg and deliberately stopped to rest, watching her munch on the caramels he gave her was utterly endearing. During the ten days together, Thaleia had called Lumos "grandfather."

If Lumos hadn't chosen the priesthood and had lived ordinarily, he might have had a good granddaughter like Thaleia.

'But no matter how I look at her, she just seems like an ordinary child.'

Though he'd deliberately dragged his uncomfortable leg around guiding her, there had been no reaction. They'd now toured the temple as much as there was to tour. Lumos felt half resigned, half relieved.

'I suppose I can stop now.'

He should stop the meaningless temple tours and just give the child snacks. Just as Lumos was thinking that and about to take her to her room.

"Grandfather, what's that place for?"

The small finger pointed behind the statue. The statue Lumos had first shown her—back then she'd been so absorbed looking at the statue she hadn't noticed the space behind it.

At Thaleia's question, Lumos's cane, which had been tapping the floor rhythmically, stopped.

"Grandfather, what's wrong?"

"What do you see?"

"A long corridor."

"...I see."

"Grandfather?"

At his strange reaction, Thaleia looked up at Lumos with puzzled eyes. Lumos couldn't see the corridor she was talking about. He'd lived here for decades and even cleaned it directly, but this path had never appeared to him.

"Thaleia."

"Yes?"

"The scriptures contain these words: If a path appears before you, it is the god's will."

"Yeeees..."

Having heard Lumos's theological stories to the point of boredom for ten days, Thaleia answered with an expression that said "here we go again."

"There, you will probably find the path you've been seeking."

"...Grandfather, what are you saying?"

"The Prophetess is waiting. Since it is a prophecy only Thaleia can hear, please forgive me for guiding you only this far."