CH 22

The carriage came to a halt.

“We’ve arrived in Garonce. Do you folks have an inn to stay at?”

The driver asked them. Kaider quickly replied.

“Not yet. Is there an inn here that we can take these children to?”

“They were all packed because of the Saintesses recently, but I think there should be some that are open today. I would recommend the White Horse Inn up ahead. Well, it is really the only place.”

“Sounds good.”

Let’s go then. Just then, there was a loud fluttering of wings and a bird person descended.

“You! Why?”

“I could ask you the same question.”

Kaider and the bird person glared at one another. The bird person looked away with a turn of his nose and addressed the two children.

“I could carry you to the inn.”

“Uh, no thank you. It’s supposed to be close by.”

“I could carry you to the next town.”

“No, it’s too late tonight.”

“But I can fly during the night.”

“Night is for sleeping.”

“But I would really like to carry you to the inn.”

Chiharu and Maki looked at each other. Well, this was typical of a bird person. Yeah.

“Maki, uh, I mean, Norfe. Are we moving on tomorrow?”

“No, I think we should stay here for a day, because of how thick the miasma is.”

“Yeah.”

Chiharu looked at the bird person and said:

“We’ll be here tomorrow, so can you carry us then? We’ll come here after breakfast.”

“Tomorrow. Alright. Just call if you get in any trouble, someone will come.”

“Thank you.”

The bird person flew away. The driver looked at them curiously.

“Are you two friends with that bird man?”

“I think he’s a friend of a friend.”

“Huhhh, I’ve never seen one up this close before. They are an impressive sight.”

“Yes, but just in appearance. Okay, well, we’ll be going to the inn now!”

“Aye, be careful.”

“Wait-wait!”

Kaider called frantically.

“We’re going to the same inn. It’ll be easier if we go together.”

“Oh, that’s right. Let’s go then.”

And so the five of them went towards the inn together. Apparently, it wasn’t unusual for children to travel alone, and so the two were able to smoothly get a room together. Meals were served in the dining hall on the first floor.

“Hey, over here!”

Kaider called them over to their table. They looked for the menu.

“These places generally don’t have menus. You have one choice, which is whatever they want to serve.”

“I see.”

“We’ll take four plates of what you recommend, and two cups of apple wine!”

“What!” “What!”

“Eh? Can’t we have a little wine?”

“Then I’ll have some too.”

The brother said.

“It ain’t for children.”

“But, isn’t there no age restriction here?”

“You won’t grow if you drink, you know?”

“…”

“You kids should stick to cider. Two ciders please!”

The two children looked very annoyed. Perhaps they wanted to be treated like adults now. Nyran chuckled.

They were quickly served some stew, bread and some sort of meat. The children’s portions were much smaller. Maki and Chiharu quietly ate spoonfuls of stew. It had a complex yet rich taste. Large chunks of vegetables and meat were inside. A part of them wanted some chopsticks.

“You can use that knife there, yes, cut the meat into smaller pieces. Yes, like that.”

The kind dwarf instructed as they ate. They couldn’t finish the bread and meat, so they gave their meat to Kaider and Nyran. The younger sister wrapped her bread in a handkerchief to take back. Now the two children stared wistfully at the apple wine. Still, they seemed to enjoy their cider well enough.

“So, will you be heading to the next town tomorrow?”

Kaider asked the older brother.

“No, we will stay here for one day. And then leave the next day.”

“Then why did you need to hurry to Garonce?”

“Abrupt change is part of the nature of traveling. But why are you two leaving tomorrow?”

Norfe asked. It seemed to Kaider that it was normal for people to go and rely on people who were headed in the same direction. But these two children seemed to be different. But why? Kaider was a little annoyed by this.

“Well, we do actually have to stop by the capital before going to Gromble.”

“But, Nyran…”

“And it’s not as if you two know that your cousin is there for sure, right? If you have the money, why don’t you just stop by the capital of Grid for a while? I know a safe and cheap inn.”

They didn’t look convinced. Nyran continued.

“This is the country of blacksmiths. They know how to use fire, and they make the best cooking tools. The capital has the finest steamed and roasted meats, and the biggest variety of baked pastries.”

Ah, that did the trick. They had a very different look in their eyes now.

“We weren’t taught any of that.”

Is that right?

“There are also hot springs in the towns along the way.”

“Hot springs?”

Oh, even better.

“Yes, natural, hot water. You can even have them reserved. It’s quite popular with adventurers and families.”

“The capital is in the valley, right?”

“Ah, yes it is. I’m surprised you knew that.”

“Well, yes.”

The brother thought about it before saying:

“If we do go, we’d want to stop by the towns on the way. We might stay more than two nights at some places. So it would be better to go separately.”

“Good, but we aren’t in any rush. We can go to the capital together!”

“…I’ll discuss it with my sister. We’ll give you an answer tomorrow.”

“That’s fine.”

“Okay, well, we’ll be going to our rooms now. Thank you for everything.”

“It’s nothing.”

The siblings went upstairs together. Then the brother came back down and said something to the innkeeper. The innkeeper smiled and said she would bring it to their rooms. Was it hot water?

“Nyra, weren’t you against it? You said I cared too much about those children.”

“Did I? I was only concerned about taking a detour, as we are supposed to be making a report. I have no issue if they come with us.”

“There is something about them. And I sense a purpose there that I can’t quite understand.”

“There is also Ornie.”

“He almost blew our cover. What is a bird person doing all the way over here? Well, they do appear almost anywhere.”

“Still, that sister does seem to attract just about everyone.”

“Chouze?”

“Norfe as well. And I can almost understand it…”

“Hey…”

“Ah, I don’t mean it in any strange way!”

Next to them, a worker brought up a bucket of hot water to the second floor.

“Yes!”

“Here, one bucket of hot water. That will be 100 gil. Also, this. That will be 500 per bottle. Half of it is for the bottle itself. It would only have been 300 if you drank it downstairs.”

“It’s fine. It is a gift. So that is 1100 gil altogether? Here.”

“Yes, thank you.”

The door closed.

“Hah…”

“Maki-chan, I’m impressed!”

“Oh, it’s nothing Chiharu. You just need to use your head. Now, let’s get cleaned up and open these bottles!”

“Alcohol!”

“Yes!”

They used the hot water to clean themselves. It was mostly just cold sweat that they had to wipe. Their hair felt quite damp by now, but they couldn’t wash their wigs, so they just had to bear it. Lastly, they washed their undergarments and hung them up to dry. As they didn’t know what could happen, they opted to wear their day clothes instead of pajamas.

“Now, Chiharu.”

“Yes, Maki-chan.”

Maki took out the two bottles of Hamanasu wine and two bottles of apple wine and placed them on the small table.

“This is today’s haul.”

“Oh, you’re so cool, Maki-chan.”

“Yes, yes.”

“So awesome!”

“Ahahaha. Now, which should we drink first?”

“I heard that each town has a different kind of apple wine. Let’s try that tonight.”

“Yes, I guess we should avoid overdrinking.”

“Alright, cheers.”

They drank directly from the bottle.

“Ahhhh.”

“It’s so good.”

As it was a simple drink made in every town, the alcohol content was quite low. But that only meant that the flavor of apple was strong, leaving a delicious mildly sour and richly sweet aftertaste.

“I feel so alive.”

“So do I. Hey, Chiharu…”

“What?”

“Who do you think is the one following us from the castle?”

They were not so childish as to believe that they were really free.