Chapter 17: The Lingering Cold and a Guide’s Secret

“What is it? Did you scratch yourself on a rock?”

“Looks like it. It’s nothing.”

“There’s more than I thought. Did I get any too?”

“You… hmm, no. You’re fine.”

Having played together, Emil showed his back, wondering if he too had sustained any scratches. However, Jack merely ignored him, pulling on his still-damp clothes.

Worried about Jack’s wounds worsening, Emil repeatedly offered to treat them. Yet, Jack, seemingly annoyed by Emil’s concern, simply waved his hand dismissively.

“Ah, I’m hungry.”

“Come eat at my place. It’s perfect timing.”

Jack mentioned that he had wanted to invite Emil over. He claimed he wished to treat his long-unseen friend to a meal.

Following Jack down to the village, Emil’s gaze instinctively sought out Yanis’s house. It remained shrouded in darkness.

Considering that not only the Father but also the Sisters were unwell, the consultation might be prolonged. This was especially true if Yanis also had to prepare medicine, not just provide a diagnosis.

The next day was the scheduled meeting with Yanis. Emil knew it would be less awkward to visit him if the Father’s condition had improved.

Unbeknownst to himself, Yanis had become the focal point of Emil’s thoughts, though Emil remained entirely oblivious to this shift.

Emil, heading to Jack’s house, ate and drank his fill that night. Despite Jack having lived alone for a long time, his cooking skills were quite dreadful, yet the food was, at least, edible.

“Hmm? This is actually edible. Jack, have you been practicing cooking?”

“Ah, that. Lauren made it for me.”

The pie, baked with button mushrooms, tasted familiar and delightful. When Emil asked his teasing question, Jack replied casually.

“Your mother?”

“Yeah. I told you. She cooks for me every time I do her a favor.”

“Hmm.”

This was a dish he hadn’t even eaten when he visited his mother’s house. Though it was a simple, humble meal for a guest, Emil ate the pie with gusto.

Somehow, it felt as though he was hearing a lot about his mother from Jack. That made sense, of course. Jack and his mother seemed to have grown quite close during Emil’s absence from the village.

Yet, an unsettling feeling lingered within him.

Why was that? It was a riddle on the verge of being solved, yet just out of reach.

While Emil pondered the matter intently, Jack produced a bottle of gifted liquor. He explained it was a sweet, potent drink, perfect for when one wished to get drunk.

“Emil, how about some alcohol? Can you drink?”

“It’s not forbidden.”

“Really? Then how about tonight?”

“Sounds good.”

“Excellent. Tonight, we drink ourselves to death!”

Jack grinned, approaching with the cups in hand. Emil, dismissing his earlier worries, smiled and accepted a cup.

There wouldn’t be many more days left to spend such leisurely time.

****

Ultimately, Emil spent the night at Jack’s house. True to Jack’s word about its potency, Emil felt his head spin after only a few drinks.

Yet, simultaneously, a buoyant exhilaration surged through him. Finding the hazy sensation pleasant, Emil continued to drink.

Jack grumbled about him consuming expensive liquor too quickly, but nevertheless kept refilling Emil’s cup.

He continued drinking until, at some point, he lost consciousness.

“Ugh…”

When he opened his eyes, the dawn stars were already visible. Emil gazed at the pale blue pre-dawn sky, then drifted back to sleep.

He knew Sister Agnes would scold him if she found out, but at that moment, he couldn’t have cared less.

In any case, the Sisters would likely be preoccupied with caring for the Father. The alcohol had brought out Emil’s stubborn, childish side.

Jack, who had woken earlier than Emil, handed him a warm, chocolate-infused tea. Drinking the sweet, comforting beverage helped settle his stomach.

After helping Jack tidy up the house a little, Emil left Jack’s home before breakfast. It had been quite an effort to pull himself away from Jack, who insisted he stay longer and enjoy himself.

As the sun hadn’t fully risen, the outside was quiet, and most houses had yet to begin their day.

Emil had been walking leisurely, feeling peaceful, but the moment the cathedral came into view, a slight unease began to churn within him. The belated worry of being scolded resurfaced.

Emil, treading carefully, entered the rectory and made his way to the stairs. Unlike yesterday, the building was incredibly quiet, with no one moving about.

Suddenly, the Father’s face came to Emil’s mind. Yanis had visited yesterday; would there be any improvement in his condition? Emil was secretly curious about Yanis’s skills.

He tiptoed towards the Father’s room. He hadn’t noticed it in the corridor, but as he drew closer to the room, he heard voices.

“It’s a relief your fever has subsided, Father.”

“We should have called for a doctor sooner, shouldn’t we?”

It was the Father who said they should have called a doctor sooner. The old nun, who had been rejoicing at his improvement, stammered, unable to find an appropriate reply to his words.

She seemed eager to diminish Yanis’s contribution to the Father’s recovery. As if sensing her thoughts, the Father chuckled softly and added an explanation.

“What we know is but a speck of dust. It is true that their existence is not mentioned in the scriptures we possess. However, whether they are truly saved or not, we cannot know. Only the One who knows all resides there.”

Though unseen, Emil could surmise the Father was pointing towards the ceiling. The Father gently added, “Let us not jump to conclusions carelessly.”

“Whatever the case, I would have died if that person hadn’t been here.”

“…”

The Sister remained silent at the Father’s words. She clearly seemed displeased, yet she couldn’t find anything to say in response.

“By the way, I slept wonderfully last night. For the past few days, my body had been shivering, and I couldn’t get any proper sleep.”

“Oh, I experienced the same thing.”

The old nun nodded in agreement with the Father’s statement. When she remarked that her body felt lighter, he added that he was relieved.

“Indeed, recently, the room has been so persistently cold that it was truly unbearable. I don’t know why it’s been so chilly, even though the weather has warmed up.”

Was that so? Emil recalled his days over the past week. He hadn’t woken up from the cold or suffered from it. He had, however, lost sleep due to his own thoughts.

The conversation between the two shifted to inquiries about the parishioners. Emil quietly returned to his room.

****

The next day, Emil emerged feeling lighter than before. The morning mass had been canceled entirely, but the evening mass proceeded as usual.

After mass, as he headed into the village with others, someone inquired about his destination.

“I’m going to Yanis for a moment.”

“Ah, really?”

The villagers didn’t seem to mind that he was going to see Yanis. Since Emil was Lauren’s son and Lauren was Yanis’s fiancée, they likely assumed he had some business to attend to.

There was nothing untrue about that assumption, except that his business had nothing to do with Lauren.

Neither the Sisters nor the church helpers stopped Emil, even though they knew his destination. This was largely due to Yanis’s significant role in the Father’s recovery.

Feeling a surge of unwarranted pride, Emil walked towards Yanis’s house with more confidence than ever before.

“Achoo!”

A young boy walking in the same direction coughed loudly.

“Ugh, it’s cold.”

“Are you cold, my dear?”

“Yes, Mama.”

As the boy coughed, his mother pulled out a worn handkerchief and wiped his nose. The child shivered as his mother’s hand tended to him.

“The cathedral seems strangely cold.”

Emil felt as though he had been hearing that remark a lot lately. However, he merely assumed a draft was coming in from somewhere and paid it no mind.

Though the day’s work should have concluded, Yanis’s clinic still had lights on. As Emil drew closer to Yanis’s house, he felt his heart begin to pound.

He couldn’t explain why, but simply going to his house made his lips part slightly.

“Ah.”

“Oh, Emil.”

As Emil stood before the door, contemplating whether to knock, it swung open. He quickly hid his awkwardly raised hand behind his back, and Yanis greeted him with a welcoming smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes.

“You’ve arrived. I was just starting to worry since you hadn’t come.”

“Oh, I just came from mass. The Father has improved, so they held mass today.”

“Is that so? That’s fortunate.”

“They say that on the day you visited, both the Father and the Sisters slept better than usual. It seems there’s a draft somewhere in the building. They mentioned it’s been quite cold.”

“Ah. Is that right?”

“Yes.”

Emil observed Yanis’s reaction, recalling what he wanted to tell him. He wished to convey that even the people of the clergy were favorable toward him and thought highly of him.

Though this was merely a patchwork of select reactions, Emil hoped Yanis would be pleased to hear it. Yanis tilted his head slightly at Emil’s words, then smiled and led him into his home.

The room’s interior was no different from what Emil remembered. However, a small vase now sat on the desk, holding several sprigs of freesia.

“Oh, these flowers…”

“They’re freesias. I met with Lauren yesterday. She said the freesias were blooming beautifully and gave them to me as a gift. Lauren mentioned she wants to decorate her wedding lavishly with flowers. It seems I’ll have to go looking for them. I hear there’s a spot on the mountainside where many flowers bloom, full of unnamed wildflowers. Do you happen to know about it?”

‘Do you know about the freesias blooming by the water?’

That was exactly what Jack had said to him just the day before yesterday. They had gone to admire the freesias and swim.

Had his mother also visited the same spot? A strange sense of déjà vu washed over him, and memories he had dismissed as insignificant began to surface vaguely.

‘I visited Lauren’s house yesterday. We had something to discuss regarding the wedding.’

On the day Emil had visited his mother’s house without warning, he had distinctly heard Lauren’s moans. These were not cries of distress or pain. Instead, she had sounded overjoyed. It was a cry filled with ecstasy and pleasure.

However, Yanis had claimed he wasn’t there at the time—

‘I went to Lauren’s for a bit. She said she wasn’t feeling well. I drop by sometimes. Lauren waits for you to visit every day.’

‘How do you know that?’

‘Know what?’

‘That Mother waits for me every day.’

‘…Well, how could I not know? We live in the same neighborhood, and I occasionally greet Lauren… And you’re going to a completely different village once you become a priest, right? It’ll be even harder to see her then, so it’s obvious.’

When Emil had asked Jack so thoughtlessly, Jack had seemed somewhat flustered, then uncharacteristically offered a long-winded explanation. At the time, Emil had considered it perfectly plausible.

Jack was not only his old friend but also like an older brother to Emil, who had no siblings. Moreover, Jack had claimed to have helped his mother considerably while Emil was away.

And his mother was an Esper, and Jack was—

“Emil.”

Jack was a Guide.

The only one in this village.

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