CH 18

While Arthur had been harsh in his dealings with the inland nobles, Maki and Chiharu had already made up their minds about leaving before that.

It’s not that it was so bad, making money off their magic gems without doing anything, it was a good life in a way. If anything, they deserved more for being forcefully brought here in order to churn rocks out of their foreheads.

Arthur, Aeris, Zynis and Grudo had treated them very well. Edwy had become like a younger brother to them. Sera, while still in her thirties, had been like a second mother. The people of the castle were kind and warm.

But still, they had to pass guards every time that they left their room. They needed disguises when going out to the city. They were treated like delicate glass sculptures that would shatter from the smallest scratch.

Maki had not enjoyed that. A luxury trip around the world may have been waiting for them. But it would have felt suffocating when they were constantly surrounded by guards, by the king and his servants.

And they had seen poor children in the city, people doing their best to live their lives. It may have indeed been best for them to shut themselves inside of the Saintess Palace, like their predecessors. Silently purifying the world of miasma. It would be even better if they occasionally visited the three countries most close to the shadow world. Then, no one would be able to hurt them.

“The thing is, Chiharu. We’ve already died once, I think.”

“But we’re alive, aren’t we?”

“Yeah. But I don’t think that the Maki over there, who was lovingly raised, will ever be back. It ended at 25 for her.”

“Maki-chan…”

“When I think of it like that, what’s the point in living in fear, and shutting ourselves in the palace? Even if we asked, we couldn’t work the same jobs we used to, those jobs probably don’t even exist here. That being said, it just doesn’t suit me, staying in the palace forever.”

“I have an interest in libraries, so I could probably manage it for a while.”

“You could, Chiharu. But not me. Not now. I just want to go outside more. Without worrying about being watched.”

That’s the conversation they had that night.

“Maybe we should just leave then.”

“Chiharu?”

“Private airships, privates trains. Who needs them. How is that any different than what it’s like here? We are just normal citizens. We can ride in the second car.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m not as tough as you, Maki. Things get on my nerves pretty quickly, but I know how to handle money.”

“Chiharu…”

The incident with the inland people only made their decision easier. It wasn’t just a few people who disliked the Saintesses. Many people hardly grasped what they were, they seemed unrelated to them. And the further their lands were to the shadow world, the less value the Saintesses seemed to have. It was important to understand this reality.

They would ride the train. Not as sons of nobles, but dressed as common people. Maki and Chiharu used their height difference to pretend to be a brother and his younger sister. They had lost their parents and were now going to meet some relative who would take them in. The relative was their mother’s cousin. An Adventurer who explored dungeons.

The bird people could cross the sea in three hours. The train took five. How long could they run without getting caught? They would try to arrive in the town further in from the closest town by the shore without getting caught. It was the deepest dungeon town. They didn’t care where they went, as long as they were alive. So they may as well go to one of the three territories and collect miasma.

They withdrew some money from the bank. Fortunately, they had private bank accounts. They even bought old clothes to wear. And different colored wigs.

They would leave as soon as they had fulfilled their duty as Saintesses. When they were presented to the common people.

“Are you leaving?”

“Yes.”

“We didn’t carry any Saintesses dressed like boys. We carried Saintesses dressed like girls.”

“Sauro, thanks.”

“We bird people are not bound by anything. We are free.”

“I know that well, Saikania.”

It was obvious from the day they met. Maki and Chiharu chuckled.

“So, you two stay free as well. But are you sure that you do not want to cross the sea?”

“That’s too scary.”

“I probably wouldn’t drop you.”

“That’s not enough.”

Thankfully, the bird people were on their side. The bird people rarely cared if they were busy, and visited them whenever they liked. But they had become friends eventually. And so they carried Maki and Chiharu to the train station when they were ready. And then Maki quickly put on her boy disguise.

“Two children’s tickets to Noir.”

“Oh? Just children?”

“We are going to meet a relative.”

“I see. Well, hold tight onto your bags. You can find instructions on choosing an inn once you arrive at Noir station, so you should check there.”

“Thank you.”

“You take good care of your little sister.”

“Yes.”

The old man who sold them the tickets looked warmly at the two children holding hands. But they were really 25. And so when he was later asked:

“Did you see two noble boys here?”

He said:

“Who knows. They sure didn’t buy any tickets from me.”

That was all he could tell them. Maki and Chiharu had gone to the small store in the station with sparkling eyes. They carefully chose bottles of water and fruit juice and some sandwiches, before getting into their car. There was something a little too cheerful about them for children who were just orphaned, but it didn’t bother anyone too much. The place had an all-around festive mood due to the unveiling of the Saintesses.

It was during the afternoon when Maki and Chiharu got in the train and found their seats, which were four empty seats facing each other. The trains were full of excited people who had seen the Saintesses.

“Hey, the seats near those kids are empty.”

“Oh, how lucky. It would be squishy if it were four adults, but it should be fine with young children.”

Two men came towards them now. They must be adventurers, as they were tough and brawny looking. One was human and the other was a dwarf.

“Ho, mind if we sit here?”

“Go ahead.”

Perhaps these kids had never seen adventurers before because while they consented, they just stared at the two men with open mouths.

“Is it so unusual to see a tall dwarf then?”

The two kids nodded.

“I am on the big side for a dwarf.”

Well, he was really the size of an average human. He was also quite wide and looked like it would be cramped if they sat side by side. And so the kids said:

“Uh, could we take the window seats then?”

And so all four were able to sit comfortably.

“Is this your first time on a train?”

The kids nodded.

“While this runs underground, the walls are all illuminated. So you can clearly see outside. And it ain’t just walls all of the time. You can see underground lakes as well. Don’t you miss it.”

“Underground lakes!”

“What? Haven’t you heard of them? This tunnel connects underground areas that already existed. And so we will occasionally pass through open caverns and lakes. Dwarven skills are impressive, eh?”

The kids immediately pressed their noses against the window.

“Haha. It’s a little too early to be looking.”

A bell started to ring.

“And now, we’re off.”

The dwarf said, and the train started to move.