Gematrail — Echo Observer — Lævateinn Chapter 18: Echo16 – Checkmate Under the Moonlight

↓↓↓ Click here ↓↓↓ 📀 the soundtrack and theme songs 💿 🎶🎧 Spotify 🎧🎶 track Num : 26 / 27 — The Following Morning When consciousness surfaced, the first thing I registered was the sound of steady breathing beside me — Maya, turned away in the futon, her warmth just barely reaching me. I slipped out of the dim room and stepped outside. Morning sun hit like gravel against the eyes, light bouncing off every surface with a sharpness that made me squint. The early air was cool against my still-warm cheeks, and I stood there a moment longer than I needed to. “Good morning!!” Anna came rushing over, broom in hand. In the morning light, her skin had the luminous quality of fruit still wet from the tree. “Morning. Beautiful day.” “Perfect weather for a ritual!” “… Ritual weather. Is that a thing people say?” “Ah — haha… force of habit, I suppose.” “Where’s Yuka?” “Nee-san is in the shower.” “Morning shower person, huh.” “Yes, though it’s less a shower and more of an event — she likes to float medicinal herbs and flower petals in the bath and just… stay there.” (Wouldn’t have guessed that from looking at her.) “It works out for me, actually, since we split the morning and afternoon duties. So I get the early shift to myself — hehe.” “What do you do in the afternoon?” “I walk into town, browse the bookshop, pick up groceries. Nee-san handles visitors and sells the medicinal herbs.” “Surprisingly efficient system.” “I’m still learning the herbs — Nee-san knows far more than I do. I have a lot of catching up to do.” “You’re working hard, Anna. I’d better do the same.” Without thinking, I reached out and rested my hand on top of her head. Her hair was soft under my fingers — the same texture as Mika’s — and the warmth beneath my palm was easy to mistake for something familiar. “Hyah!? W-what is—” “Ah — sorry. I just thought you were… it’s a reflex, I suppose.” “The Executor is patting my head — I — thud —” Overcome, Anna folded herself into a seated position on the ground, face buried completely behind both hands. “Hey — are you all right?” “You know, she’s not a visitor. You could at least make yourself useful.” I turned around. Yuka had emerged from the bath — towel draped over one shoulder, trailing the mingled scents of warm water and medicinal wood. “N-Nee-san, this isn’t the Executor’s fault—” “Look, you can be a little more direct with people. We still have ritual preparations to get through, and I’m going to need everyone helping.” “Haha — yeah, sorry about that.” “Um — then — please water the garden!! ” “It’s called purification sprinkling , Anna.” “Ahaha…” Anna in a fluster, Yuka quietly setting everyone straight. I listened to the two of them while looking up at the sky, and somewhere inside, the decision I’d already made about Amana settled a little deeper. A quiet heat pulsed beneath my ribs. Meanwhile, inside the room, Maya was still completely committed to unconsciousness — burrowed into the futon like something hibernating, savoring the weight of the blanket against her skin. “Mmmm… still sleepy…” From morning to evening, clumsy as we were, we worked. Sweeping the grounds, carrying supplies, directing visitors who wandered in with questions. “Haaaaah… I’m done ~” “Maya, you did maybe half of what I did.” “I’m just a regular high school girl~” “So what does that make Yuka and Anna?” “They’re horned humans, and I am a regular human being. ” “Sure, sure.” “Hmph… somehow that annoys me.” She complained freely, but her easy warmth had a way of putting the visiting worshippers at ease — something I hadn’t expected, and couldn’t quite explain. “I didn’t know you had that in you.” “Ehehe… maybe I’ll retrain as a shrine maiden. Just kidding.” “Um — Executor-sama, Maya-san — dinner is ready.” “That’s a good stopping point.” At Anna’s call, Maya and I both stretched with the kind of full-body cracks that come from an honest day of physical work, and made our way to the shrine office. Outside, the forest breathed — the wind fi