Little Pink Starfish

Nyne also hit the combat priests a few times. In fact, it would be more accurate to say that the combat priests let themselves be hit. After dipping his feet into the lakeshore a few times, shooting the combat priests’ bodies here and there, and accidentally hitting Iyu’s shoulder once, he wandered around before soon sitting under the shade of a tree to watch the water gun fight. It was because he realized he was more of a troublesome obstacle than a proper opponent for the combat priests. The attendant priests quickly came running, laid down a mat made of sedge on the ground, and carefully fanned him, drying his slightly wet hair and robe.

This was the most gentle and pleasant scene of combat he had ever seen. The corners of his eyes, the line of his lips, and his shoulders all drew soft lines. The attendant priests, who had been anxious that someone might accidentally commit disrespect toward Sha during that chaos, sighed in deep relief as Nyne peacefully rested.

Even Resha, who ranked just below Sha, was no less troublesome for the combat priests to deal with. Gwen, who like Nyne had barely gotten wet, approached with a gentle smile and knelt down.

“I’m sorry, Sha. It must not be very entertaining, right?”

“Watching like this is entertaining too.”

He meant it. Not having to watch slaves fighting for their lives, or young warriors risking everything to revive a declining family name, swinging swords to the death—it couldn’t be better than this. Seeing streams of colorful dyed water splash instead of blood was much more pleasant.

It was fun to watch, too. Ordinary people playing with water guns wouldn’t be very interesting. But these were combat priests capable of slaying giant demons with a single blow.

One of them dodged a stream of water drawing a long arc through the air by jumping as high as a palm tree. In midair, they spun twice to gain speed before landing, sliding long over the wet grass. Even so, they precisely shot and hit the hems of four passing opponents before diving behind cover.

Another one bent backward gracefully, spinning rapidly to hit enemies in succession. Though they gave up their wrists and ankles, they were an efficient, excellent rapid-fire shooter. One even dove underwater for a surprisingly long time, then barely peeked out their head to hit the unguarded.

As Gwen amusingly watched the water gun fight, he tidied Nyne’s messy hair with his fingers.

“Seeing them all enjoy themselves, it feels worth it, Sha.”

“Hmm…”

Nyne made a vague sound, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. To his eyes, it didn’t look like they were playing so much as desperately fighting, unwilling to show incompetence and be covered in stains in front of Sha. Otherwise, why would their neck veins bulge from clenching their teeth so hard? At least it was good that no one got injured or killed.

The water fight grew more intense, and now fists and kicks were starting to be exchanged. It was strange that no one had a nosebleed yet, so Nyne clicked his tongue lightly. No matter how he looked at it, it was far from play.

“Tell them to stop now.”

“Yes, Sha.”

The attendant priest bowed and hurried off toward the lakeshore. At his shout to end the fight, the combat priests returned, soaked from head to toe. Seeing those usually solemn people now entirely covered in pink and blue, Nyne couldn’t help but chuckle a little.

“Sha, the blue team has won.”

As Nyne wondered how on earth to determine who got hit more or less, Seinca Hoan informed him of the result. The captain of the royal guard shot a disapproving glare at the subordinates who had gotten hit the most. It was the kind of look that made one worry if special training awaited them afterward.

But actually, the red team had won. Since Nyne and Gwen had not participated, the blue team had been short by two people. Nyne had seen a few combat priests intentionally smear dye on themselves to rig a win for the blue team, which he led. Smiling, he said:

“Since you all had fun, what does victory matter? But because the dye ruined your clothes, I will grant enough cloth and silver for each of you to have two new outfits made.”

The unexpected reward left the combat priests startled and quickly offering grateful bows. Iyu, clearly the one who had the most fun, beamed like the sun. After thanking Sha for the reward, Seinca Hoan politely asked for permission.

“Sha, if you allow it, we would like to cleanse ourselves.”

Nyne nodded in approval. After all, it would be troublesome to walk around the palace in such a blotchy appearance. Half the guards began clearing the obstacles, while the rest entered the lake to scrub the dyed spots off their skin with water plants.

Suddenly, Nyne realized Gwen had been idly fiddling with his hair the whole time. So intently was he examining each strand that Nyne called out to him.

“Stop touching my hair now.”

“I’m sorry, Sha.”

Startled, Gwen let out an awkward laugh. His movements, as he took his hand away, showed some reluctance. Feeling good, and unusually playful, Nyne leaned in and whispered.

“Why? Do you want to touch me more?”

“Eh? That, uh…”

Gwen, rarely flustered, stammered with an embarrassed face. From up close, his irises looked like fine petals had been layered in. Nyne narrowed his eyes and called, “Gwen.” Gwen stared at him without blinking. In the eyes that always held a hint of a smile, something like a freshly bloomed flower rippled.

“I…”

Gwen slowly swallowed. His gaze brushed past Nyne’s golden eyes, the flushed cheeks beneath, the high nose bridge—and landed on the red lips…

Suddenly, a cold stream of water splashed across his right cheek. Gwen blinked, dumbfounded. It was a jet from Nyne’s water gun that painted his cheek blue. Being so close, a few drops even hit Nyne’s nose and chin.

Nyne bit his lip trying to maintain composure, but soon couldn’t help laughing. It was a cheerful, clear laughter that matched his young and beautiful appearance perfectly. The priests, who had never heard Nyne laugh like this before, stared in surprise.

“I can be excused, but you needed to be hit at least once.”

Even to Nyne himself, his voice sounded overly gentle. As Gwen continued to be speechless, Nyne handed him his own water gun. Then, pressing the nozzle to his own chest, he smiled and said:

“If it’s unfair, you may shoot me too.”

Gwen stared blankly at the water gun in his hand, then lowered his gaze. Pointing the nozzle down, he murmured.

“Sha… That sounded like a line from a movie.”

“Movie? You always use strange words. Isn’t it time you stopped picking up odd habits from faraway continents?”

Though it was amusing, Nyne suddenly worried the blue dye might leave an indelible stain on Gwen’s fair, smooth face.

As he turned to order Popo to bring a wet cloth, the smile on his face slowly stiffened.

At some point, Amon had been watching from the entrance to the temple of the lake. It was the first time they faced each other since that painful night of the Hunting Festival. As Nyne noticed his presence, Amon began walking over. The warmth that had gathered like sunshine in Nyne’s chest suddenly turned cold.

As Nyne slowly rose to his feet, the priests, now recognizing Amon, prostrated themselves all at once. Those washing in the lake even buried their heads in the water. The faces of the still-blotchy combat priests went pale.

“We greet Sha Amon.”

After calmly offering his greeting and lifting his head, Nyne saw Amon’s gaze sweep around. His eyes passed over the combat priests stained blue and pink, and over the bamboo water guns floating on the lake’s surface. Though surely new to Amon, the golden eyes showed not even a trace of curiosity. He showed interest in only one thing—Nyne.

“What was so amusing?”

Uncertain if Amon was reprimanding him, Nyne hesitated. But Amon appeared genuinely curious.

“…I heard you laughing.”

Nyne couldn’t respond immediately, unsure how long Amon had been watching him play. The fact that he found joy in the combat priests’ water fight—it was, after all, childish. A moment ago, what made Nyne laugh was something unthinkable to witness in the Grand Temple.

“You seem to have liked this quite a bit.”

As Nyne remained silent, Amon’s gaze settled heavily on Gwen, who was bowing. Unlike how he looked at other Resha, this stare lingered far too long. The banquet when he first met Gwen came to Nyne’s mind. That day when Amon, for the first time, showed interest in someone other than Nyne…

Without realizing, Nyne stepped forward.