episode_0003

＊

After eggplant soup was served for lunch following breakfast, and then again for dinner, Sola sulked and locked herself in her room.

In truth, the meals had been getting meager for about a week, so it was understandable.

Even I found it a bit of an ordeal to swallow the soup in the evening.

After dinner, I returned to my room and began rummaging through the pile of luggage in the corner.

From within the heap I had brought when I came to the island, a pouch filled with gold coins appeared, revealing its weighty presence.

“Good thing I brought emergency funds.”

Bringing emergency funds to a monastery that values abstinence and temperance as virtues.

If the Bishop saw, he would surely nag me for a long time.

In fact, I was quite a troublemaking priest who received a lot of disapproving looks.

Just as I was annoyed by the nuns’ behavior, the Bishop must have been annoyed when he saw me.

Ah, so that’s why he sent me here.

To put myself in his shoes, to feel the feelings he experienced?

“Ha,”

I chuckled and put the pouch of gold coins in the drawer.

In any case, I have money at my disposal right now.

Now that supplies aren’t coming, this is the most appropriate moment to use these emergency funds.

If I leave early tomorrow morning, I should reach Mora Village by lunchtime.

After getting the necessary supplies from the village, I can return to the island as early as tonight, or at the latest, tomorrow morning.

The image of Sola, excited about a meat dish she hasn’t seen in a long time, popped into my head.

I opened the door, went out into the hallway, and gathered the nuns.

Since I was leaving early tomorrow morning, I wanted to hear if they needed anything.

When I knocked on Lucia and Anna’s doors, they slowly opened them and came out.

Since Sola would be spending her time on the lighthouse, I first explained the situation to the two of them.

Then I asked if there was anything they needed or any ingredients they wanted.

Lucia shook her head, saying there was nothing in particular she needed.

Anna also seemed to not need much, except for a few spices.

Whether it was politeness, or they really didn’t need anything.

Even after saying they could ask for anything, and asking again, their answers remained the same.

I nodded and sent them back.

As expected, the person who would speak most freely when asked something like this would be Sola.

I started walking towards the lighthouse where Sola would be.

＊

As I climbed the stairs to the lighthouse, I saw the large, blazing fire for the lighthouse, and Sola sitting on a chair facing it.

I called her softly.

“Sola.”

“Eung-at?”

Sola was startled and made a strange noise, turning her head towards me.

“What are you so surprised about?”

“Ah, Father… you startled me.”

A black cat was standing on Sola’s lap.

It wasn’t that the cat stood up on two legs, but because Sola was holding the cat’s paws and pressing them firmly against her cheeks.

The cat was standing calmly, staring blankly at Sola with an indifferent face.

That cat was the one who came with me when I first came to this island.

It was a harbor cat that had secretly hidden on the ship, and it seemed to have gotten on and off while the ship was docked for a while.

It’s a contemporary of mine on this island, so to speak.

It was grabbed by Sola last week and has now become her pet cat.

“… Eut.”

Sola blushed, let go of the cat’s front paws, and hugged it in her arms.

She seemed to be aware that she was doing something embarrassing.

In fact, it was cute rather than embarrassing, but girls of that age are sensitive.

I quickly changed the subject for Sola, who was feeling embarrassed.

“Sola, I’m leaving the island early tomorrow morning.”

“Huh? Are you leaving, Father? Abandoning us?”

Sola looked at me with wide eyes.

Contrary to her innocent expression, the words that came out of her mouth sounded very subversive.

I shook my head and said.

“No, I’m just going to a nearby village.”

“You say that, but you’re not coming back, are you?”

Sola said bluntly.

In fact, Sola was the only one who said it outright, but Lucia and Anna also showed a slightly reluctant attitude.

They all thought I might not come back.

It seemed that the fact that supplies weren’t coming was making them anxious.

I put a little strength in my voice and said.

“…I’ll come back. If I’m fast, I’ll be back tomorrow, at the latest the day after tomorrow.”

“Hmph,”

Sola exhaled through her nose and turned her gaze away.

Sola’s green eyes, staring blankly at the blazing bonfire, somehow seemed empty.

“So? Did you come all the way up here to say that?”

Sola’s attitude is a little cold.

I still don’t know why.

The thoughts of girls of this age are originally unpredictable, but Sola is especially difficult.

She’s like an innocent and confident country boy, but she also has the picky side of a girl her age.

I threw out a light joke to ease her worries a little.

“There’s no morning Mass tomorrow, so you can sleep in as much as you want.”

“Ooh, that’s good? Hehe.”

“…You like it too much.”

“Ah,”

Sola smiled awkwardly and turned her head towards me again.

I shook my head with exaggerated gestures, and Sola scratched the back of her head and started smiling sheepishly.

Her smile, reflected in the large, blazing flames, was like the sun, just like her name.

Relieved by that smile, I got down to business.

“What do you want to eat? Like, what supplies you want.”

“Anything would be really good, as long as it’s not eggplant soup, and, oh, I’m tired of potatoes too.”

“How about meat?”

“Meat!”

Sola’s eyes widened and she jumped towards me.

“Meat, like, that meat? Real meat, not fish?”

“Yeah, that meat.”

“Wooaaaa”

Sola’s mouth dropped open.

The bluntness she had shown a moment ago was nowhere to be seen.

In a way, it was a very natural reaction.

Meat is almost impossible to get on the island, except for the occasional migratory bird.

The supplies that come to the monastery also rarely include meat.

“Meat, meat, if you bring meat, I don’t need anything else.”

“Really? Think carefully. Is there anything else you need?”

“Umm… I don’t know, I can’t think of anything. My head is full of meat.”

Sola stared blankly into the air and said foolishly.

The anxiety that I might not come back seemed to have flown far away.

That appearance was so cute that a laugh naturally escaped.

“Okay, then that’s fine. Well, I’ll go down now. How much longer until Sola’s work is over?”

Sola pointed to a large hourglass placed in front of the furnace.

About half of the sand remained.

That meant there was about an hour left.

“Okay, work hard.”

“Uh-huh,”

Sola grabbed the cat’s arms and shook them gently from side to side.

It was a gesture as if she was saying hello to me.

I chuckled and went down the stairs.

＊

Dawn, before the sun had yet risen.

Awake from my sleep, I prepared to leave and put the money pouch in my bag.

I was sure I closed the window before going to bed, but it was open again before I knew it.

I carefully closed the rattling window that seemed about to fall off and left the room.

The nuns were apparently still asleep, as the monastery was filled only with silence.

I silenced my footsteps and left the monastery.

Not as much as Sola last night, but my mood was also a little excited, and my face was flushed.

It was understandable, as it was the first time I had left the island in three months.

Life on the island was more monotonous and boring than I had imagined.

In fact, as soon as I remembered the existence of the emergency funds, I decided to go out, partly because I wanted to get books or things to relieve my boredom on this occasion.

In an ordinary monastery, I would have to pray during that time, but since all three nuns don’t seem to be interested in religious life anyway, it would be ridiculous for me to be engrossed in prayer alone.

I don’t know if there is one, but it would be nice to have a chess set.

“Okay… shall I use my body for a while?”

I got on the small boat with expectations.

Then, after taking a moment to catch my breath, I slowly began to row.

Rowing for several hours was clearly an ordeal, but it was a price worth paying.

Compared to fighting with devils, it was a very simple task.

After a long time, when the muscles in both arms were burning as if they had been burned, the mainland began to come closer.

That beautiful, tranquil fishing village that I saw when I first came to this island.

Mora didn’t seem to have changed much from three months ago.

“…No,”

No, something had changed.

I felt a strange sense of unease and stopped rowing for a moment.

“…What is it?”

The atmosphere is strange.

Even though I’m this close, I can’t hear anything but the sound of the waves.

Neither the shouts of the scolding fishermen, nor the voices of the shouting fish market merchants. Not even the laughter of the reckless children who were running dangerously on the planks, avoiding the eyes of the adults.

Only a silence close to desolation filled the harbor.

Even if it was a tranquil fishing village, it wasn’t like this.

Three months ago, this village I saw was full of healthy vitality, even though there were few people.

It was by no means this ruinous atmosphere…

“There are almost no boats either… What is it? Did everyone evacuate the village?”

In order to find out what happened, I had to set foot on land first, so I started rowing again.

While I had stopped for a moment, the boat had been pushed back little by little by the current.

Is it just my imagination?

It felt as if this small boat I was on was afraid of approaching the land.

After a while, I arrived at the harbor and slowly looked around.

Just as I saw from afar, there was not a single person to be found in the harbor.