“Oh.” The priest bowed towards the rest of the group. “Please, forgive my inattentiveness. You all must be terribly road-weary.”

“No, please don’t be sorry.” Reigen reflexively bowed back at an even deeper angle. “If you and Doppio want to go up ahead, the rest of us can wait. One of our friends is down at the beach right now, but she should be back soon.”