episode_0028

*

Late at night,

Sola blinked her bright eyes and slowly rose from the bed.

Having spent the whole day napping and lazing around, there was no way she could fall asleep at night.

In fact, until recently, she had to stay awake at night to manage the lighthouse, so it was more awkward for her to be active during the day.

It wasn’t that Sola was lazy for not helping Anna.

Sola also wanted to help Anna with her busy work, even just a little bit, and she actually tried to help,

But because she was so clumsy, every time she lent a hand, she only ended up increasing Anna’s workload, so Anna sighed and sent her away.

“Still, this is a bit troublesome as it is,”

Sola muttered to herself.

“I don’t want to be a burden, and I especially don’t want to *be seen* as a burden.”

A lively and playful girl,

Sola might seem like just a carefree tomboy at first glance.

However, that wasn’t the case.

Having lived on this island her whole life, the monastery’s members meant more to her than family.

Until she was five, she spent time alone with the Monastery Head, then she was always with Lucia, and a few years ago, Anna came along, and she sent off Monastery Head Grandmother, whom she’d spent her whole life with.

And a few months ago, the Father came.

Just four people.

That was the entirety of Sola’s human relationships.

Seeing that the world had ended, this was probably the end of the humans she could meet in her life.

That was why she cherished everyone living with her on this island so much.

They were family, friends, parents, and teachers.

Sola didn’t want to disappoint them.

“First… I have to get some sleep somehow; I’ll stop napping from tomorrow. The work… I’ll get used to it eventually…”

Sola walked out of the bed and slowly headed out of the room.

She was thinking of going to the well, getting a glass of water, and then lying down again to try to sleep.

As soon as she came out of the room, a corridor covered in pitch-black darkness appeared.

It was literally so dark that she couldn’t see an inch ahead, but for Sola, who had spent her whole life in the nights of this monastery, it was a path she could navigate with her eyes closed.

Sola boldly stepped into the dark corridor.

Right at that moment,

“… Ugh,”

A strange sound began to be heard from somewhere.

“Huh?”

“Ah… Haaah,”

“What… what is that sound?”

“…Ah, ahh, hmm… Ungh.”

Sola froze and stopped dead in her tracks.

It was a sound she had never heard before.

“Ugh, there…”

At first, she thought it might just be the sound of the wind, but considering that there were recognizable words mixed in the sound, it didn’t seem to be the sound of the wind after all.

It was such a small sound that it was almost drowned out by the sound of footsteps, but it was echoing faintly throughout the empty hallway, so if you listened carefully, you could definitely hear it.

“Aaaah, there, like that… Haaah, I like it.”

What is it?

What is this sound?

Sola felt a chill down her spine.

Is it a ghost?

Even though the world had fallen apart, this was still a monastery, so to think that she was hearing the sound of a ghost.

Sola cautiously opened her mouth towards the empty air.

“… Um, by any chance… Are you… a ghost?”

“Haa, haa.”

“Eek!”

Instead of an answer, she heard a sound like someone breathing heavily.

Sola flinched in surprise, cowered, and thought.

This is definitely a ghost.

This beast-like panting.

It must be the voice of a ghost drooling as it tries to devour me.

If you listen closely, it sounds like you can hear some splashing water,

It must be the sound of the ghost’s saliva dripping as it thinks about eating me!

“Ugh…”

Sola looked around the dark void with trembling eyes.

It wasn’t that she wanted to make eye contact with the ghost, but she still needed to know where it was to at least run away.

But the ghost’s figure could not be seen anywhere.

Sola slowly pried open her trembling lips and spoke cautiously once more.

“A-Are you here… to hurt… me?”

“Fath… er, ugh, haaah,”

“Ah, not me?”

“I like… Father…”

Sola swallowed hard.

The cold sweat that had instantly broken out soaked her body all over.

Even though it was still a hot summer night, her body had turned ice cold.

Sola nodded her head cautiously and said.

“Ah, is that so. I’m glad it’s not me. Um, but the Father isn’t here…”

“Haaang!”

“Eek! I-I’m sorry. But… he’s really not here. He left this morning…”

“Ah, no… Not there…”

“Ugh, ugh, even if you tell me not to, what am I supposed to do about him leaving.”

Sola shook her head wildly.

Where am I supposed to find a Father who isn’t here right now?

Of course, it wasn’t that Sola was thinking of offering the Father as a sacrifice to the ghost.

If the Father were here, he would have gotten rid of this ghost in an instant,

‘No, that’s not right.’

No matter how immature Sola was, she wasn’t so stupid that she didn’t know how hard the Father worked.

The Father is too busy.

Even in this kind of world, he prepares for Mass without fail, helps Anna with her work, and periodically leaves the island to get supplies and food.

Even though he was so busy, if Sola complained about the food, he would remember it and hunt meat outside the island and bring it back.

Of course, the meat was a welcome gift, but even Sola had a sense of shame, and she was grateful but also very sorry.

Perhaps that was why,

Because the food situation had become even more dire recently, and the already insufficient meals had become even poorer, Sola reduced her complaints about the food.

Of course, it was impossible to not get angry when she saw the eggplant soup, which was almost pure water, but at least she was somehow managing to keep it from coming out of her mouth.

When she thought about the Father’s hard work, she couldn’t just throw a tantrum.

‘The Father is busy; I can’t make him worry about things like this.’

Sola clenched her fists tightly.

She didn’t know why that ghost was targeting the Father.

But right now, the Father was an indispensable and precious person to her and the nuns.

Even putting aside the role of the Father, she couldn’t just hand over the Father, who was one of only four human relationships, to a ghost.

“Aaaang, ugh, haaah,”

The ghost let out another scream-like sound.

Sola mustered her courage even while trembling in fear.

“I’ll get rid of you. You evil ghost.”

The Father isn’t here anyway.

Anna, who worked hard all day, must be tired and asleep.

In the end, unless she just trembled in the corner and waited for morning to come, she was the only one who could get rid of this ghost.

Having finished thinking, Sola calmed her trembling body and clenched her fists even tighter.

“But… how do I get rid of a ghost? I don’t have Holy Power or anything…”

Oops.

Sola tightly closed her eyes.

“No! Don’t be scared!”

This isn’t the time to say weak things like a fool.

Whether she goes and shouts at it or throws punches at the air, if she keeps annoying it, even a ghost will not be able to bear it and will run away.

‘Even Anna, who always hits me on the head, begs me to please go somewhere when I keep buzzing around her, so what’s so different about ghosts or devils?’

Sola decided to defeat the ghost, recalling Anna’s example.

From another point of view, Sola had unknowingly pierced the truth.

Having steeled her heart, Sola slowly listened to the ghost’s voice.

When she closed her eyes, her hearing became even more sensitive.

“Ugh! Huk… Grr, gug…”

Until now, she only thought that the ghost’s voice was echoing throughout the hallway, but when she listened carefully, she realized that it was flowing out from somewhere.

Sola, who had closed her eyes in the dark night, slowly touched the wall and moved forward, following the sound.

The more she moved, the louder the sound became.

“Ah, aah, aung, haa…”

As the sound became clearer, beads of cold sweat formed on Sola’s forehead.

It sounds like a woman with a hoarse voice screaming, or a vengeful ghost screaming.

But Sola didn’t stop and kept going.

And finally, she was able to find the place where the sound was coming from the closest.

“Huh? This is…”

The sound was coming from Anna’s room.

“Anna…?”

Sola’s legs trembled.

Anna’s room,

Could it be that Anna has already… been attacked by the ghost?

“G-Going… Gaaaat, aaaah!”

Going?

Taking Anna?

Anna’s nagging is annoying, but Sola swears she never thought she wanted Anna to disappear.

Rather, Anna was an amusing person who reacted the most to her pranks, and a strict teacher who pointed out her shortcomings.

Sola became indignant and drew out even more courage.

How dare you, target Anna?

Sola burst open Anna’s door.

“Leave Anna alone! You ghost!”

“Kyaa!”

Anna screamed and covered her body with a blanket.

Sola shouted at Anna.

“Anna! Are you okay? Don’t worry, I’m here!”

“… Wh-What? Sola? What are you doing!”

“Huh?”

“Suddenly at this late hour! What! Aren’t you… not leaving?”

“Huh?”

“Leave!”

Sola stared intently at Anna.

Anna seemed fine.

Her face was all wet with sweat, and the blanket was crumpled here and there as if she had been clutching it tightly, so she looked somehow strange,

But she didn’t seem to be hurt or sick.

The strange voice that had been echoing in the hallway just a moment ago had stopped as if nothing had happened and was no longer heard.

Anna felt confused and muttered like an idiot.

“The ghost is…?”

“… What?”

“The ghost’s voice…”

“What are you talking about…”

As Sola rambled, Anna, wearing the blanket like a cloak, covered her body and got up and approached.

“Sola, what’s wrong? Are you sick somewhere?”

“Anna, didn’t you see a ghost?”

“A ghost?”

“No… I heard a sound like a ghost screaming in Anna’s room… but…”

“Ah…”

“…?”

Anna paused for a moment, then shook her head from side to side and said.

“There’s no such thing as a ghost, Sola. Did you… did you have a dream?”

“No, I definitely heard it.”

Sola was sure.

There’s no way she could have misheard.

She even remembers what it said.

“It made a sound like a beast crying and said it liked the Father, and it said it was going some…”

“Uwaaaaaa!”

Anna suddenly shouted and cut off Sola’s words.

Sola was also surprised by the sound and shouted.

“Uaaah!”

“… Ah, sorry.”

“You startled me!”

“Sorry, ah, anyway, you must have had a dream or something!”

“It’s not a dream!”

Sola retorted, but looked at Anna with a puzzled expression.

Anna’s reaction was somehow strange, so Sola was even more confused.

Anna carefully swept back her bangs, which were soaked with sweat, and started to say something haltingly.

“Not you, but me. I… I said I had a dream. So, I was talking in my sleep, and… maybe that’s what you heard, Sola. You… you must have misheard that. Yeah, that’s definitely what it is.”

“Talking in your sleep…?”

“… Uh, yeah… I was tired today.”

“What kind of sleep talking is that? Who screams like that when they’re talking in their sleep.”

“I, I was tired.”

Anna shrugged and continued.

“Because someone didn’t think about helping and just lazed around all day, I was very busy.”

“Ah…”

Sola stepped back, speechless.

“I… I wanted to help too.”

“Ah, I know, I know, I know it well. Sola is kind.”

“… Yeah, I’m sorry. Anna.”

Sola hung her head and apologized to Anna.

Anna smiled softly, carefully reached out from the blanket, and patted Sola’s shoulder lightly.

“I know Sola was trying to help. It’s just that you’re not used to it yet. You can learn hard from now on.”

“… Yeah,”

“Ugh, if our puppy looks so dejected, it’s hard to say anything.”

Anna stroked Sola’s head.

For some reason, she smelled something a bit fishy, but Sola, who felt good from the soft touch that swept back her hair, smiled brightly and raised her head.

“Yeah, hehe, I’ll cheer up.”

“Yeah, that’s our Sola.”

“Yeah!”

“Let’s talk about the details tomorrow. I’m so sleepy.”

“Ah, okay! Sorry for waking you up for no reason.”

“Okay. Sola, go to sleep soon too.”

“Yeah,”

Sola slowly backed away and closed Anna’s door.

Before the door was completely closed, Sola suddenly peeked out from the crack in the door, looked at Anna, and asked.

“But Anna.”

“Yeah?”

“Why are you taking off your clothes?”

“Beca… because it’s summer?”

“Even if it’s summer, you can’t underestimate the night temperature on the island. You’ll catch a cold.”

“I know… Can you close the door quickly?”

“Yeah, good night.”

“Good night, Sola.”

Click,

The door closed.

“… Whew.”

Anna sighed and walked back to the bed.

Anna, who sat down slowly on the bed, was startled by the very wet sheets and got up again.

“Ah, geez… It’s all wet. So wet like this…”

Anna looked at the big water stain she had made and blushed red with shame.

She didn’t even realize that the bed was like this and rubbed between her legs, so she thought to herself that she seemed to be out of her mind.

“The Father isn’t here… I made a little too much noise, so to think that Sola was still awake.”

But, it couldn’t be helped.

Of course, it was disappointing that the Father wasn’t here, but it was also an opportunity to indulge herself to her heart’s content.

Until now, she couldn’t indulge in masturbation to her heart’s content because she was worried that the Father might hear her.

Even when her lower abdomen was throbbing, she had to endure it, or she had to force her mouth shut and suppress the sound, but today she thought she could go all the way to the end without having to worry about that.

Of course, it would be the most pleasant to indulge herself while peeking at the Father, but she couldn’t bring herself to try that much because her conscience pricked her.

“Still… it’s a little… embarrassing to have soaked it this much.”

Anna took off the blanket that was wrapped around her body and spread it out on the sheet as if to lay it down.

Under the soft moonlight coming through the window, her naked body was revealed.

Anna slowly approached the window and looked out.

Only the sound of the waves crashing on the night sea, shrouded in darkness where nothing could be seen, was carried in by the wind.

“The Father… must be sleeping now. With Lucia…”

Anna mumbled, gently twisting her chest with her palm.

“Lucia. I’m jealous.”

Lucia must be spending the night with the Father now.

Anna sighed.

Anna knew better than anyone that handing over her body to the devil was an unforgivable sin.

But honestly, having more time with the Father was something she couldn’t help but be jealous of.

“Lucia also… likes the Father.”

Could the Father, like he rejected her when Lucia seduced him, reject her?

The Father is kind to the nuns, but he tends to show a slightly gentler attitude towards Lucia.

Perhaps it’s because Lucia’s body is uncomfortable.

Anna could only guess that.

“Will the Father also reject Lucia.”

Anna quietly looked into the night sea where nothing could be seen.

“Or…”