CH 8

The next day, Maki and Chiharu were in the king’s study.

“Are you prepared to hear more now?”

“Yes, please tell us.”

“Hmm. That being said…”

The king began.

“The most important part was told to you yesterday. You two should live the rest of your days here as you please. As I said before, all necessities will be provided for you. If there is anything that you want, you need only tell us. I will do what is in my power to help.”

Rest of your days. So it was true. But she had to at least ask properly. Maki thought.

“So we can never return?”

“…I am sorry. No Saintess has ever returned.”

She had thought as much. Their mouths trembled a little as the king continued. He knew that these two would be able to accept it.

“And so…”

“Yes.”

“Today, Aeris and Zynis will talk.”

“I will go first.”

Aeris began.

“Of course, Saintesses purify the world of miasma by just existing. However, these human lands are much farther from the shadow world than other lands. Our own territories are along its border, and the miasma is thicker there. As you can tell by how the palace was purified in one day, it is much faster in areas close to the Saintess.”

Here he stopped and looked hard at Maki and Chiharu as if to confirm something.

“If possible, it would be of great help if you could come directly to the elf lands.”

“And the beast lands as well.”

“Do not forget the dwarven lands. Eh, Maki and Chihaaru?”

Grudo said with a mischievous grin.

“Us dwarves are famous for making cider.”

Maki’s eyes lit up. Cider!

“Hey, Grudo, play fair! Why must I explain the troublesome part only for you to come in like this!”

Aeris said frantically.

“Maki, Chihaaru. We elves have wine. And not only that. But honey wine as well. It is made from the honey of bees in our own elven forests.”

Honey wine! Chiharu’s eyes also lit up. And then both of them looked towards Zynis with mounting expectations. Zynis scratched his head with a slightly uneasy look.

“We beasts do not care for such drinks. But, we have skewers of layered meat that are broiled and covered in a special sauce. It is very popular among travelers.”

They thought that it sounded similar to a kebab, and their eyes danced with joy. Aeris saw this and his hopes rose. He would tell them more about their famous dishes to persuade them. However, there was one thing he needed to tell them first, for fairness sake.

“There is one thing.”

Maki and Chiharu gulped.

“Unless we are to take a much longer route, we will have to cross the sea. This means going by airship.”

“I’ll go!!”

“I’ll go!!”

“Uh, what was that?”

“I’ll go!!”

“I’ll go!!”

Perhaps he was hearing them wrong.

“Just now…”

“I will go.”

Maki said without hesitation. Grudo was in a fit of laughter.

“It looks like even elf ears lose their sharpness after 300 years.”

“That is rude, you are nearly the same age as I.”

Aeris grumbled. And then he asked the two with a concerned voice.

“These airships will fly quite high. Can you handle such heights?”

Maki answered him.

“I don’t really like high places. But it doesn’t really bother me if it is very high.”

“Ah, so you must have traveled on an airship before?”

“Not an airship, but an airplane.”

“And what might that be?”

“It’s a metal vehicle that flies in the sky at incredible speed.”

“The previous Saintess made no mention of that.”

“It must have become common later on then.”

From the sounds of it, their two worlds moved at the same pace. The previous Saintess had arrived 60 years ago, so she might have experienced the war when she was a child. Before her, it would have been someone from the Taisho or Meiji periods. She would have to ask about it later.

“I would like to hear about this vehicle you speak of.”

Grudo said with much interest.

“I don’t know if I can. It is very complicated, but I will try.”

“Yes, yes. I would expect nothing more as it is not your profession.”

“Grudo, stop changing the subject.”

“Pardon me.”

Aeris said with annoyance.

“Now, it would help us greatly if you could come as soon as possible.”

“Right…”

Maki hesitated. Maki, huh? Aeris thought that it would be Chihaaru who would object. He waited for her to continue.

“I talked about this with Chiharu yesterday, but both of us are still very ignorant about this world. We can communicate for some reason, but I don’t know if I can even read yet. Geography and History. How people live, the value of things. We want to study these a little before leaving.”

“Also, if we are going to go and purify as part of our job, then we need to consider how many days is the most effective to stay, and what order we should travel as well.”

Chiharu added after Maki.

“And…”

Chiharu continued.

“What about the budget?”

“…”

The room fell silent.

“Ah, you don’t know. Um…you know, transportation fees, hotel fees, food etcetera.”

“We understand, Chihaaru. It is just that…I had had not thought of that.”

Aeris answered.

“Not thought of it?”

Chiharu scowled.

“I did not even think that you would agree to go. The previous Saintesses were mostly very quiet and, um…not that you two are not graceful ladies in your own way.”

Aeris said in a panic. Graceful? They both narrowed their eyes.

“Well then, we elves shall prepare a private airship just for you.”

“The dwarves will private a private train then. You will have 3 cars all to yourselves.”

“Then you will have a private elephant in the beast land.”

Wait a second. A private airship, private train. Private…elephant?

“The larger elephants are good-tempered and move slowly. You will be able to enjoy the journey. And a special basket will be made to ride in.”

Zynis said with a smile.

Ah, I know! Maki said joyfully.

“It’s like a shallow basket weaved from branches that you can sit in, right?”

“Hm? Guests will ride in large box-shaped baskets.”

Box-shaped?

“Like a bird cage?”

“Ah, yes. Like a basket to keep a wounded bird inside.”

“Yes, that sounds like a cage.”

Hearing Maki say this, Aeris suddenly turned around as if remembering something.

“Zynis, you did say something about preparing a special cage, didn’t you?”

“A figure of speech.”

Zynis said hurriedly.

“It is to protect Maki and Chihaaru. It must be shaped like a box to protect them. Otherwise, they might come from above in packs.”

Maki and Chiharu looked at each other. They? Packs? Both of them suddenly thought of a certain Hitchcock film. Hahaha. As if.

Suddenly, the air in the room shook. The king shouted in surprise.

“What? It is not the day that the scheduled delivery is supposed to arrive! Zynis! Did you have it come early?”

“No! I have not made any contact, as I thought we should wait for the Saintesses to settle in. Wah!”

I gust of wind came into the study, documents fluttered around as two shadows appeared on the wide balcony connected to the window.

Maki and Chiharu had covered their faces at this sudden occurrence, but they slowly raised their heads as the wind died down.

“There.”

“There.”

The two shadows said, their large wings spread out in front of the sky.