“Rael!”

Bastian, passing through the corridor after finishing his morning routine, shouted in surprise when he spotted Rael in the distance. She was stomping on wet blankets inside a large washtub with the children.

Alarmed by this sight, Bastian approached her with quick steps.

“Bastian, what’s wrong?”

Rael and the orphanage children simply stared blankly at the flustered Bastian.

“I told you not to do anything strenuous.”

“How is washing blankets strenuous? You’re overreacting. I thought something serious had happened.”

Rael waved her hand dismissively with a hollow laugh, but Bastian remained anxious.

The temple had no one who could properly advise a pregnant woman. Moreover, Rael, having no parents, lacked the knowledge typically passed down from mothers. 

Bastian felt that he, having grown up with her like family, should at least partially fill that role. Though he couldn’t do it perfectly, he needed to try his best.

“High Priest! You told us we need to do laundry diligently and play actively to grow up strong!” 

Ethan, one of the two mischievous 10-year-old boys at the temple who had been listening to their conversation, protested to Bastian.

“Rael needs to take special care of her body right now.”

“If it’s special, shouldn’t she make it stronger?”

Michael, stomping on laundry beside Rael, tilted his head as he added his thoughts.

“Well, children, I’ll explain this to you.”

Seeing Bastian hesitate to properly explain to the children, Rael smiled and began her explanation.

“Look, can you see my stomach?”

“Yes.”

“There’s a baby growing inside.”

“A baby?”

The children’s eyes widened, and simultaneously, Bastian looked at Rael with surprised eyes. He had been reluctant about others learning of Rael’s pregnancy and had assumed she would feel the same way.

“Yes. Because the baby is tiny like a seed, even small impacts can be dangerous. That’s why the priest is telling me to be careful.”

“Wow! How is there a baby in there? Shouldn’t your belly be big and round like this?”

Michael looked at her seemingly flat stomach and mimicked a full-term pregnancy belly with his hands.

“Well, that happens when it grows more. Right now, the baby is very small. That’s why I need to eat a lot and sleep a lot, so the baby can grow well.”

After Rael’s gentle explanation, the children stomped their feet in excitement, finding it fascinating.

“Then, is the baby the High Priest’s baby?”

Ethan looked back and forth between Bastian and Rael as he spoke.

“Ahem.”

Bastian choked on his saliva. Rael awkwardly averted her gaze in embarrassment.

“Children, you shouldn’t say things like that elsewhere. You’ll ruin our priest’s career prospects.”

Rael giggled, finding the children’s misunderstanding both absurd and amusing.

“So it’s not true?”

“That’s right.”

“Then where is the baby’s father?”

At Ethan’s final question, Rael couldn’t open her mouth, seemingly with honey glued to her lips. This time, Bastian intervened on her behalf.

“Children, you should finish up quickly if you want to go to lunch. I heard they’re serving your favorite meat in the dining hall today.”

“Oh! Ethan! Let’s hurry and get fresh water for the bucket!”

At Bastian’s words, the children forgot their questions and rushed off to fetch rinsing water.

“Thanks.”

When Rael expressed her gratitude, Bastian let out a soft sigh. Her awkward smile made him feel inexplicably frustrated.

As her belly grew, she would increasingly face such questions: How many months along are you? Who is the father? 

Such ordinary questions, but Rael would clearly be at a loss for words each time, just like now.

“You shouldn’t tell the truth to others.”

“I’m not that tactless.”

“You’re not good at lying either.”

“Not everyone can be like you, priest. Just keep the secret yourself.”

Rael kicked some foam floating on the water, splashing it toward Bastian, who looked even more distressed than she did. When the bubbles hit his priestly garments, he frowned but said nothing.

His reaction made her want to tease him more. She splashed water again, causing Bastian to take several steps back.

“You never change… still playing pranks like always.”

“When you stiffen your face like you’ve eaten a rotten chestnut, I can’t help but feel mischievous.”

“Rotten chestnut?”

“Yes. Don’t you remember? When we were kids and gathered lots of chestnuts from the mountain, there were always one or two rotten ones. Strangely, they always ended up in your mouth.”

Rael giggled, thinking of the distant past. Oddly enough, whenever they sat together eating chestnuts, the rotten ones invariably found their way to Bastian. She suddenly remembered how they would laugh, wondering how he could be so unlucky.

“The chestnuts should be ripe now. Since we’re on the subject, shall we go gather some this afternoon?”

“We’re not children anymore….”

“I think it’s a good idea. Let’s take a pole with us, okay?”

Looking at Bastian always made Rael feel like she’d returned to her teens. Perhaps it was because of his face, which still retained traces of his younger self.

“Let’s gooo.”

When she asked again, dragging out her words, he considered his afternoon schedule. Whether by Rael’s good fortune or not, he happened to have free time.

“…Fine, whatever.”

Figuring she wouldn’t be deterred anyway, and that it was better for him to accompany her than let her go alone and risk danger, Bastian surrendered.

“We brought water!”

Seeing the children struggling to carry their buckets, Rael quickly increased her pace stomping on the blankets. She pushed the fabric evenly with her feet, giving it one final thorough trampling to remove stubborn stains.

“Let me help with the heavy work, then we’ll go eat together.”

Bastian ended up taking on the most difficult task—wringing out and hanging the heavy laundry.

* * *

The once-verdant mountain had changed into various colors. Rael felt strange realizing autumn was already passing. She thought about how time had steadily flowed while so many things happened to her.

“That looks like a chestnut tree.”

After filling their stomachs, Rael and Bastian had indeed come to gather chestnuts. Given Bastian’s personality, Rael had expected him to keep his word, but she hadn’t anticipated heading straight for the chestnut trees immediately after eating. She wondered if she had created unnecessary trouble.

“Some don’t seem ripe yet. I’ll need to be selective.”

Bastian, holding a pole, chose which chestnut burrs to knock down. After carefully examining the tree, he raised the pole and tapped the burrs he had marked.

“When we were young, we couldn’t reach even on tiptoes, so we climbed on each other’s shoulders. Remember?”

Rael tried to find traces of young Bastian in the man now comfortably maneuvering the pole.

“The climbing was mostly on your part. I was tall even as a child.”

“Pfft.”

Rael burst into cheerful laughter at Bastian’s insistence that he hadn’t been small. Just then, a chestnut burr fell with a thud.

“Wow! The first chestnut!”

Rael approached the fallen burr with her basket. As she sat before it and gently poked the spines with her finger, she noticed a crack on one side of the shell. Inside was a smooth, glossy chestnut filling the space completely.

“When we were kids, I would grab them eagerly and end up with blisters on my hands.”

“Wrap them with a towel. Don’t hurt yourself again.”

Bastian diligently knocked down well-ripened burrs. Since they had come all this way, he planned to fill the basket and share the chestnuts with everyone at the temple. Rael happily placed the first chestnut in her basket.

More burrs fell in succession, and Rael excitedly gathered them.

“Bastian, an unripe one fell too.”

Rael complained, looking at a burr that still had some green coloring, forcing Bastian to concentrate even more.

“The temple children would enjoy gathering chestnuts too.”

“We can bring them next time.”

“In a little while, they’ll be falling to the ground without needing to be knocked down. Let’s fill baskets with the children then.”

“You’ll leave no chestnuts on the mountain at this rate.”

While Bastian diligently knocked down burrs, Rael looked around.

“There’s surprisingly a lot to eat here. Those are wild raspberries over there, and there are arrowroot vines beside them. The children wouldn’t have a dull moment if we came here to gather things one by one.”

“Was all this here?”

“Living with such a wonderful mountain nearby and not knowing about it. Bastian, the temple must be overflowing with food.”

Bastian burst out laughing at Rael’s remark.

“Who gathers food from mountains these days? Only country folks like us do that.”

“You have no sense of romance. Romance! Wow, the basket is already almost full?”

“We should have brought a bigger one.”

Bastian said regretfully as he lowered the pole.

“Look who’s getting greedy now, after saying ‘who gathers food from mountains these days.'”

“The more the better, right?”

“Bastian, take off your outer priestly robe.”

“Huh?”

Though confused by the sudden request, he obediently removed his outer garment.

Rael pointed to the chestnut burrs scattered on the ground.

“We can’t just leave these behind. We should at least carry them in your clothes.”

Just moments ago, she had teased him for being greedy, but Rael hadn’t changed at all since childhood. Young Rael would also regret leaving even one burr behind and would pile them onto her skirt before descending the mountain.

“Priestly robes shouldn’t be carelessly soiled….”

The snow-white priestly garments were supposed to be kept clean to maintain their color, according to protocol. But Rael had already taken the robe from his hands and was busily filling its folds with chestnut burrs.

“Hmm?”

When Rael, who seemed not to have heard Bastian’s words, looked up at him after concentrating on her task, he could only laugh resignedly.

“Who could stop you?”

The white priestly robe was already soiled with dirt and chestnut burrs. The High Priest’s dignity crumbled so easily in Rael’s presence.