The Fishbowl Village
“No, that’s not what happened. I was practicing magic, and it went wrong.”
“Magic?”
“Yes. As you know, the Church doesn’t deny the existence of magic, does it? Maybe I annoyed the Goddess by becoming too obsessed with mysteries.”
Ekaterina looked unconvinced.
“What are you talking about? The Church doesn’t deny magic.”
“What? But the Magic Tower….”
“The problem isn’t magic. It’s the people who wield it. We’re on bad terms with the Magic Tower because those bastards can’t even manage to uphold the bare minimum of human decency. By that logic, why do you think the Royal Academy, which also deals in magic, keeps such friendly relations with us?”
“Is that true?”
“Don’t get it twisted. Miracles or magic, it doesn’t matter. What matters is the person holding the power and how they use it. Not the power itself.”
Come to think of it, that did make sense.
He couldn’t remember a single Church official ever denouncing magic to his face.
Neither Ignatius, the chief priest at Saint Dominic Monastery who had heard his confession, nor Sister Irene, who had no doubt heard stories of Lawrence’s exploits in the swamp, had said a word against it.
Yes, he had clearly misunderstood something.
What Lawrence had heard hadn’t come from the Church at all.
It had come from outside it. From what people commonly thought.
He’d simply been played by rumor, one layer of gossip piled on top of another.
“Good. Then help me clean up before you go.”
Ekaterina pointed toward the garden.
In his confusion, Lawrence had failed to notice it earlier.
The monastery garden, which he had not visited in nearly two weeks, had already grown wild with weeds.
If no one tended them for even a day, they sprang up everywhere.
It wasn’t strange at all that a few days of neglect had turned the place into this kind of mess.
“After what you did today, this is nothing.”
At his answer, the woman with the cigarette in her mouth lifted the corners of her lips.
* * *
Fortunately, Ulrick recovered quickly.
Not enough to spring out of bed and start walking around, but enough to show a clear improvement.
Not a single scar remained on the body touched by the Goddess’s miracle.
There were no lingering aftereffects from the poison either.
He looked completely fine as he sat down to eat.
“You’re unharmed, mage?”
“It wasn’t me who collapsed, it was you, Sir Ulrick.”
“The way you say that, I’d say you’re doing well enough.”
“I should be saying that to you. I’m truly glad you’re safe.”
Ulrick extended a fist.
With a faint smile, Lawrence touched his own fist to it.
“Thank you. If not for you, I wouldn’t have been treated in time. I never thought I’d receive one of those miracles I’d only heard about… Truly, I never imagined something like this.”
“I feel the same way. This was my first time seeing a miracle as well.”
He had never dreamed that even Ekaterina could wield one.
“I’ll make sure to repay this debt.”
“Then I’d appreciate it if you could introduce me to some jobs. I’m still lacking in experience, so I don’t have much of an eye for good requests.”
“A job, huh… All right. That shouldn’t be hard. I heard an old acquaintance of mine is setting out for Mistra soon. If you’re willing, I’ll ask him to make room for you.”
Lawrence nodded.
An escort job wasn’t a bad option.
He wouldn’t know whether the dates would line up until he went and checked, but there was no harm in securing the spot first.
“So, how is she doing?”
“Who are you talking about?”
Raul, who had been eating with them, tapped his bowl with a fork.
“Who else? Our lovely sister who wielded a miracle, of course.”
“You mean Sister Ekaterina.”
“Right, her. She’s got a kind heart, and her figure’s just as impressive. I’ve never seen a woman with such a huge chest before.”
“Mr. Raul. That’s a little… inappropriate to say about a sister.”
“What’s inappropriate about it? It’s a sincere compliment.”
Lawrence frowned.
“I’ll apologize on his behalf. Sorry. We’re both from Rombamel, so we don’t know much about the Church.”
“I accept the apology. Love and mercy are fundamental principles of the Church. But please refrain from making such remarks in front of the sister.”
“Honestly. Can’t even give a compliment anymore….”
The problem was the way he complimented her.
What mercenaries called a compliment was usually blunt, crude, and filthy.
It wasn’t the sort of thing one should say to a sister who served the Goddess.
“Sister Ekaterina is always at the monastery. Haven’t you gone to see her since then?”
Yesterday had been special, that was all.
If he saw her in her usual state, he’d wake up from the dream at once.
“Are you trying to get me killed? How could a lowly mercenary like me go see a sister? I might imagine it, but that’s all.”
“This guy keeps staring in the direction of the monastery all day. He doesn’t even go to see her; he just looks. Honestly, it’s disgusting to watch.”
What exactly was a grown man supposed to be doing with himself like this?
“Mr. Raul….”
“Ahem! You’re still young, so you wouldn’t understand. At my age, you know how hard it is just to stand in front of a woman you like.”
“That’s because you spend every day buying women with money. That’s how mercenaries are. They never learn how to treat women properly.”
“Then what, are you any different, Sir Ulrick?”
“Not at all. That’s why I don’t touch ordinary women. And a sister from the Church, of all people….”
It was a tree he could never climb, Ulrick said with a shake of his head.
“Mr. Raul. Just so you know, sisters can’t get married.”
“What? That’s true?”
“A sister of the Church must dedicate not only her body and heart, but her very soul, to the Goddess. Building a family and taking a husband is impossible.”
“……”
Did he really not know?
Raul’s face clouded over.
“I’ve heard that some sisters do step down and start families, but… to be honest, you should stop before you get any more hurt.”
Ulrick across from him nodded as well.
Even setting aside the difference in their professions—sister and mercenary alike—Ekaterina, in the flower of her youth, and Raul, who was already approaching forty, simply didn’t suit each other no matter how you looked at it.
“I know that. I know it well enough. But surely a man can still dream, can’t he? Just dream….”
“It’ll take him some time to let that go.”
“Looks that way.”
The two of them shook their heads at Raul, who let out a long sigh.
* * *
Lawrence was climbing the hill road with Luca at his side.
It led toward St. Pierre Monastery.
Unlike the noisy streets below, the slope was quiet.
There were only a few days left until the village festival.
The gypsies were frantic with preparations for their performances.
They checked the stage and rehearsed the timing of their dances and songs.
Elvira, delighted to have found work on a stage again after so long, had said, You can look forward to it.
Of course, it would have been a lie to say he wasn’t looking forward to it.
But by contrast, Luca’s position had become difficult.
She had refused the gypsy matter outright.
Elvira had told her not to worry about it, but Lawrence still felt bad about continuing to lean on her like this.
That was why he had brought her out today.
“The sister at St. Pierre Monastery is named Ekaterina. Her appearance may be a little… difficult to accept, but she belongs to the Holy See.”
“The Holy See?”
“The central headquarters of the Church. Even if ordinary clerics don’t, priests and shrinesmaids must pass the examinations set by the Holy See. Sister Ekaterina is someone who passed those very regulations.”
“She sounds like an extraordinary person.”
“She is. In more ways than one.”
A sister who could wield miracles.
He couldn’t afford to be deceived by the image she usually presented.
Her devotion to the Goddess was real.
“You’re here, junior?”
Ekaterina was smoking again today.
Her faded blond hair, exposed to the soft sea breeze, hung loose around her face.
She still wasn’t wearing the veil that neatly arranged her hair.
Lawrence patted Luca’s shoulder, noticing that the girl was staring at her as though she’d lost her soul.
“May the Goddess’s blessing be with you.”
He wanted to praise her for keeping her voice from trembling.
Even Lawrence had been taken aback the first time he saw Ekaterina.
Judging by this reaction, it seemed the day she had come to the inn must have been a more ordinary version of herself.
The version Raul had fallen for at first sight.
“Hm? I feel like I’ve seen that face somewhere before.”
Her composure shattered in an instant.
Luca looked at Lawrence, unable to hide her confusion.
That gaze clearly asked whether this woman was really a sister at all.
Yes. It was hard to believe.
He understood that perfectly.
“Sister Ekaterina.”
“What?”
“She’s a child who wants to become a servant of the Goddess Belche.”
“……”
There was no way she didn’t understand what that meant.
With a look of genuine dislike, Ekaterina puckered her lips.
At the sight of her chewing on the cigarette, Luca shivered.
“I’ve got no interest in raising kids. I’ll kick her out today.”
“I know perfectly well you won’t do that.”
“You’re serious?”
“Yes. I know now that you’re someone I can trust.”
Lawrence remembered how Ekaterina had seemed back then.
The pious bearing that had captured the heart of a mercenary in an instant.
The way she had faced a sudden disaster without the slightest wavering.
Her manner of speaking of miracles with the calm of meditation suited a sister in the service of the Goddess in every way.
This was someone he could leave Luca with.
She would surely teach the girl how to listen for the Goddess’s voice without wandering down the wrong path.
“……”
Ekaterina blinked in a daze.
Then she pointed a finger at herself.
Lawrence nodded.
“Hahaha!”
A laugh broke out of her that no sister should ever have made.
“You’re the first one besides the Saint to ever say something like that to me.”
As if truly amused, she wiped away tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.
“If you followed my example, even a decent person would turn bad.”
“How disappointing. If you’d told me that the first time we met, I might have believed you.”
“No. Not only what I say—there’s no way I can be a pious sister.”
“Scammers are always the first to call themselves good people.”
Perhaps she realized that nothing she said would work.
The laughter faded from Ekaterina’s face.
“Once this is done, I’m planning to return to the Holy See. At that point, I’ll probably take the girl with me. Is that all right?”
Lawrence looked at Luca.
“It would be an honor to hear the Goddess’s voice from the closest place possible.”
After confirming the girl’s resolve, Ekaterina slipped a hand into her skirt.
Just as she was bringing the cigarette back to her lips, she let out a sigh.
“What’s your name?”
“Luca.”
“Becoming a servant of the Goddess means offering your body, every drop of blood flowing through it, and even your soul to her. Are you truly prepared for that?”
“If that is what the Goddess desires, then yes. Gladly.”
Luca nodded without hesitation.
“Luca. From this moment on, your body and every drop of blood in it belongs to the Goddess. Swear here and now that you will not die until you are called before her.”
“I swear it before the Goddess Belche.”
“Good. From now on, when you address me, call me Sister Ekaterina. Put the baggage you brought in the first room and come back out.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Luca bowed to them both and stepped into the corridor.
“Thank you for taking Luca in.”
“I haven’t taken her in yet. All I can do here is the preliminaries. Everything depends on what happens once she gets to the Holy See.”
“That’s enough.”
“She’ll just be accompanying me. Whether she’s accepted is a separate matter.”
“Luca will do well.”
“That’s the one thing I can’t know.”
There was only so much Lawrence could do here.
From this point on, Luca would have to prove herself.
Not what the Goddess could do for her, but what she could do as a servant of the Goddess.
“So you’re done looking for the holy site?”
“Since I’ve entrusted Luca to the sister, I’m planning to begin the search in earnest from here on.”
“I told you not to go looking for that holy site anymore, and yet this junior of mine won’t listen to a single word from his elder. I swear.”
She clicked her tongue, saying he was impossible to talk to.
“You really aren’t going to give up?”
“I’ll stop searching the day my feet stop moving. Which will be the day I die.”
“Well, would you look at that. Another idiot with martyrdom dreams.”
In spite of her words, she looked bright.
Taking a long drag from her cigarette, Ekaterina exhaled a plume of smoke.
“Do you know what Lent is?”
“The… period for repentance, restraint, and fasting, as I understand it.”
He didn’t know the details very well, owing to his limited education.
“Right. Lent is a time for reflection and preparation. You’ve got one of two choices, junior. Leave before Lent ends, or stay. Either way, I don’t care.”
“...You already know which one I’ll choose, don’t you?”
“I do. That’s why I’m saying it.”
She flicked the spent cigarette into the ashtray.
“Let me ask you one thing.”
“Don’t. I’m not answering.”
“Is this because of the horn boar that showed abnormal behavior?”
“Horn boar?”
Ekaterina snorted, as if the idea were absurd.
“Junior. Do you know what a fishbowl is?”
“A box for keeping fish in, yes.”
“Good. This village is in exactly that kind of shape.”
“What do you mean?”
“A fishbowl village.”
He still didn’t understand what she meant.
“Then wouldn’t there have to be someone who owns the fishbowl?”
Ekaterina rose from the rocking chair.
Just then, Luca came out after finishing with her things and met the two of them.
“Clean the corridor and the garden first. That’s what the junior was doing before you arrived. Do you think you can handle it?”
“Yes. I’ll do my best.”
“That’s a good answer. The cleaning tools are at the end of the corridor. I’ll check how well you did a little later.”
Luca bowed deeply.
Her figure disappeared beyond the corridor.
Ekaterina moved the rocking chair to one side.
“From here on, there’s no turning back. Are you still going to follow me?”
“If that is the Goddess’s will.”
A soft laugh escaped her.
She placed both hands on the firmly shut chapel door.
“As the lamb once said: a single day in the courtyard of the Goddess’s house is better than a thousand others. Rather than live in the comfortable house of a heretic, I would choose the threshold of the Goddess’s house.”
A thread of light settled upon the door.
The chapel, which had been tightly closed, finally opened.
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