Little Pink Starfish

After traveling for thirty minutes, they arrived at the lake of the Grand Temple, located outside the First Tower Gate. It was so vast that it looked more like a sea than a lake. The lake was an important place for purification rituals, and according to the priests, like the river that crossed Trastasa, this lake too was created by Amon. But Nine inwardly half-doubted that claim.

The priests’ words about Amon were composed of reverence, worship, and exaggeration — it was no exaggeration to say so. According to them, Amon possessed the true form of a divine beast so immense that when he swung his tail once, a river formed, and when he swung his hand, a lake was created. No matter how inhuman Amon’s strength was, or that he ate metal and minerals instead of food, such claims were ridiculous.

By the lakeside stood a structure built for the Sha. It was a roof resting on pillars without walls, designed for ventilation, and tall trees shaded it with cool shadows. But wanting to bathe in sunlight today, Nine moved to the area in front of the building. White cloths were stretched between the pillars with no roof, filtering the harsh sunlight into gentle waves.

Lying on a cool stone bench, Nine gazed blankly at the shimmering lake, the sunlight rippling across it like schools of fish. He recalled this morning’s act with Amon, the obscene and shameful sounds, and the priests who had heard them. He didn’t even glance at the refreshments the priests had prepared.

Several memories flickered through his mind. The Lesha Amon first took interest in, the duel of the bloodied slaves, the entertainment of Ossein Iyad… His golden eyes dimmed, and for a moment, his skin faintly shivered.

“Na-in-nim, would you like some wine? It’s sweet and cool.”

“No.”

“How about sweet-pickled melon?”

“Not really…”

“Shall I summon musicians and dancers? They’ll perform a new song.”

“No, too noisy.”

“Or would you like a massage with aromatic oil?”

“Don’t touch me.”

The priests, including Popo and Lu, tried hard to feed or entertain Nine somehow. But Nine just dismissed them all as bothersome.

He was aware that the priests whispered in worry, saying he had recently lost his appetite and spaced out often. They could not understand why someone who enjoyed such luxury would be in a slump. And Nine himself wasn’t sure why either.

Despite having attendants like his own limbs, treasures, and delicious food, he felt everything was troublesome and boring. Lately, he had sometimes thought he just wanted to sleep peacefully forever. It felt like he was slowly sinking into a swamp, suffocating. Everything was tiresome…

“Oh, that’s a really big one.”

Someone suddenly muttered, and Nine absentmindedly turned his gaze. Following his eyes, the priests also looked in that direction. Startled by the sudden attention, Iu flinched and opened his mouth. Seinka Hoan jabbed him hard in the side with his elbow, and Iu let out an “oof” and hurriedly spoke.

“Oh, it’s nothing! Please don’t mind it, Sha…”

“Insolent brat! Who are you to decide what matters or not? Explain it properly to the Sha.”

“Y-yes!”

Rebuked by his superior, Iu awkwardly smiled and pointed toward the lake. There, a priest had just reeled in a large, flopping fish from the water.

“That priest just caught a huge trout, and I accidentally said it out loud. I apologize for speaking out of turn, Sha.”

Nine stared at him silently, and Iu began to panic, adding explanations in a rush.

“Well, my father was a fisherman, so I’ve done quite a bit of fishing myself. A trout that big is really rare.”

“Hm, is that so?”

Half-losing interest already, Nine responded lazily. Meeting his superior’s glaring eyes, Iu began sweating and kept explaining. For Iu, who’d only ever trained and fought, rolling in dirt and swinging swords, talking suddenly with a noble Sha was extremely difficult.

“There’s a kind of big and delicious trout called rainbow trout. When freshly caught, its scales shine like a rainbow—truly beautiful. Oh, have you ever had fried trout? I mean—of course you have. Freshly fried trout is delicious, Sha. Especially with herb-seasoned salt sauce. Um, and also…”

As Iu stumbled on, Nine raised a hand and pointed to the priest with the fishing rod.

“I want that trout he just caught to be fried.”

“Yes, Sha! We’ll prepare it right away!”

Priests, brightening at Nine’s request, ran to the priest who had been fishing. Nine gestured Iu closer. Looking troubled, Iu knelt by Nine’s side, sweat pouring. His superior’s gaze behind him felt like an awl to the back of the head. He bitterly regretted having opened his mouth.

“Keep talking. Where are you from?”

“Yes, Sha. I’m from Aisura — born and raised there.”

Though Nine didn’t ask more, Iu, pressured, began to spill his story. Aisura was a region on the outskirts of Trastasa, frequently invaded by beasts. Iu had lost his family to a beast attack and was taken in by Seinka Hoan, his superior, who raised him. Having talent with the sword, he became a combat priest and now had the honor of guarding a Sha.

Iu was quite talkative. Realizing Nine was listening silently, his tension eased, and he began talking even more.

“…When the river swelled and we couldn’t fish, we’d hunt birds in the forest. On days with heavy rain, birds can’t fly well.”

As Nine ate the crispy fried trout the priests had brought, dipping it in sauce, he listened to Iu’s story. After hearing only about temples, rituals, banquets, and Amon, hearing someone’s actual life felt fresh and vivid.

“Especially birds with small feathers are easier to catch. Compared to larger birds, their feathers get soaked quickly. Among them, there’s a water bird called jitwha, and it tastes amazing. To catch them, you…”

“You make rice cakes with castor oil and place them in a trap.”

Nine answered without thinking. Iu opened his eyes wide in surprise.

“Huh? How do you know that? I thought that method was only used in my hometown.”

Nine blinked. Right — how did he know that? Momentarily confused, he assumed he must have subconsciously remembered it from something he read or heard.

“I’m a Sha. Would I not know such things?”

“Ah, haha! Of course, you’re a Sha. That makes sense. Sorry.”

Iu scratched his head and smiled sheepishly. Nine picked up another piece of trout, then gave the rest to Iu as a reward for speaking so much.

“You can have the rest.”

Quick-witted priests wrapped the fried trout in oil paper, then in linen cloth.

“Thank you so much, Sha! I’ll enjoy it.”

Iu brightly accepted the large trout Nine had left after eating only three pieces. Returning happily, he winced in pain as Seinka Hoan stepped on his foot. Seeing this, Nine let out a soft laugh. Talking with Iu had lightened his mood a little.

“You’re so unfair, Nine-nim.”

“What do you mean?”

Lu, who had been sulky for days, finally burst out while lying at Nine’s feet. He gently plucked the lute, making a soft “diling” sound. The handsome youth, raised in luxury, dabbed his eyes as if about to cry.

“Have you lost your affection for me?”

“Don’t be ridiculous…”

Knowing full well why Lu was acting this way, Nine snorted. Lu, putting down his lute, looked jealous as he softly stroked Nine’s foot.

“Are you really so pleased by the stories of a mere lowborn?”

By “lowborn,” Lu meant Iu, the guard of commoner origin. Since Nine had rewarded Iu with fried trout the other day, the priests had started pushing Iu to talk to Nine more. Iu, hesitant at first, soon adjusted and began showing off his talking skills.

His stories were simple — tripping during training, burning food while cooking with other combat priests, struggling in swamps trying to catch crocodiles — but hearing them made Nine smile. After seeing Nine smile once, Iu had begun to talk to him even without permission. His superior Seinka Hoan no longer glared at him.

Instead, the one now glaring was the jealous Lu — though even being glared at by a high noble didn’t faze Iu. To reach this position as a commoner, he must’ve had the heart of a lion.

“Then you tell me something fun.”

“Uh… Ah! Last week, I bought a new slave…”

“Lu, you buy slaves every month. Something else.”

“Right. Then, my house is hosting a banquet this month…”

“I’ve heard about your banquets hundreds of times.”

“Um, uhh, hmm…”

Usually chatty, Lu now struggled when given the spotlight. Popo stepped in to rescue him. After giving a few instructions to the priests managing ornaments, she smiled gently and spoke:

“Nine-nim, they say a banquet is being prepared for you at the Pavilion of Lotus Blossoms.”

“Hm, really?”

Nine, slouching lazily on the chair, slowly sat upright. Banquets were so frequent that he wasn’t very interested — but there wasn’t much else to do here anyway. As the attending priests helped change his outfit and ornaments with delicate hands, Nine remembered something he had forgotten.