CH 23

“Definitely not that bird man.”

Maki said. Chiharu thought about it and answered.

“He must be part of Sauro’s birdfolk network. I don’t think he is related to the castle.”

“So much for wanting us to be free.”

“It’s the result of Sauro acting freely as well. I’ve given up in regards to him.”

Chiharu sighed. It was better to accommodate them a little, than to outright resist them. However, it was not easy for her as a Japanese person, who disliked saying things clearly. It made her think how hard it must have been for the previous Saintess.

“To be honest, I don’t think Arthur or Aeris knew.”

“Then…”

“Grudo.”

“Grudo.”

“Right?”

Grudo had always watched us warmly and carefully as we went out into the city. He must have had an idea that we would run away.

“So, is it Kaider?”

“I think that he is just a friendly dwarf.”

“Nyran.”

“He’s the same.”

“The fifth man.”

“I think it is him.”

He had watched from afar and came in to help them.

“Maki, do you want to be completely free?”

“Hmm. To be honest, I still feel like I’m suffocating at this point. Not only with this mystery man, but I’m a little annoyed by Kaider and Nyran as well.”

“Mmm, they were a little forceful.”

“They should just leave us kids alone.”

“Well, that wouldn’t be so easy…”

Chiharu chuckled. Because she knew that if their positions were reversed, that Maki would do the same.

“Honestly, I didn’t think the miasma would be so thick here.”

“Yeah.”

They had already generated a full gem since they crossed the ridge. Another was already growing on their foreheads now.

“One a day. Three in three days.”

“You’re not going to lose two just because you made three.”

“It’s going to amount to a lot if we stay for a whole month. It’s too bad that we can’t sell them.”

“We need to get rid of these scales.”

“Scales.”

Chiharu’s eyes became vacant.

“Those mermaids were really scary.”

“They surpassed the birdfolk for sure.”

It had been a long day.

“We should open the hamanasu wine after all.”

“Yeah, let’s drink that too.”

The hamanasu wine was a little sour, but also mildly sweet, and tasted like the bitter ground cherries she bit into as a child. They slowly took sips as they thought back on the day. No, it was better to not think about it.

Chiharu looked at Maki, who chuckled. Chiharu said:

“If we want to keep running from everything, we should just sneak out of this inn right now and have the bird people take us far away.”

“And then we’ll just get caught by another friendly dwarf, I think.”

Maki said with a little exasperation.

She reluctantly drank the last sip before continuing.

“We’re moving forward and having fun now. That is fine.”

“Yes. I hope you can get more alcohol tomorrow.”

“I’ll try!”

It had been a while since they last crawled into separate beds. Before she fell into a tired sleep, the last image that appeared in Chiharu’s mind was the worried face of Aeris.

I’m doing fine. Don’t worry.

Breakfast was a light vegetable soup, a slice of meat and some jam and bread. And you could have as much bread as you wanted. Chiharu was handling the meat carefully. It was ground meat and chopped vegetables that had been compressed, sliced and roasted. Kind of like a meatloaf. It wasn’t as juicy as hamburger steak, but it smelled of herbs and was delicious. Yes. So good.

“Have you never eaten sausages in the inlands?”

Kaider saw how serious Chiharu was as she ate, and asked the unfortunate question.

“They taste different at every inn, don’t they? Chouze really likes to eat. Don’t let it bother you, or you’ll be asking her every time we sit down to eat.”

Maki said for her.

“But still, right, Nyran? The inlands…”

“Kaider. How was the airship?”

Maki said as if to interrupt Kaider from inquiring any further.

“A-airship?”

“Commoners or adventurers like us would usually not be able to ride on them, right? I was thinking about how amazing it must have been.”

Hmm, back to that. So they weren’t fooled after all. Nyran thought with a grin as he saw Kaider become a little flustered. This was amusing.

“We-well, it was amazing.”

“Ohhh.”

“Uh, your sister seems to have finished eating.”

“Oh, yeah. Kaider, Nyran, my sister and I are going to spend the rest of the day meeting with the birdfolk and seeing the rest of the town.”

“Ah, uh, right.”

The two children went up to the second floor.

“Norfe won that round.”

“I didn’t think he would counterattack like that.”

“You’re just bad at this, Kaider.”

“It just came out.”

Kaider scratched his head.

“Well, we have no business in this town. Might as well make sure they are alright.”

“True.”

After they had finished eating, Maki and Chiharu left the inn in order to meet the birdfolk as they had promised. They left their large bags inside and carried smaller ones on their shoulders.

“You came.”

The birdfolk were waiting restlessly.

“My name is Orne. This one’s Puel.”

“Uh, call us Norfe and Chouze.”

“Not Maki and Chiharu?”

So they did know. Just like with Sauro and Saikania, Puel was also a woman.

“Yes. We are hiding, after all.”

“Fine. Where should we take you?”

“Somewhere high, so we can see the town and the surrounding terrain.”

“I am fine with just being taken around the town a little.”

Maki and Chiharu had different answers.

“Alright, I’m going to run now.”

Maki started to run down the open street, and Orne swept down and picked her up into the air. She had practiced doing this at the castle with Sauro. Chiharu was still too scared, and so she was only carried to a nearby area.

The children of the town gathered when they saw this.

“That looks fun.”

“I want to do that.”

They looked on with envy. Dwarf children were a little smaller than children of the same age. They all had matching red hair and bright brown eyes. Chiharu was 155 cm, Maki was 165 cm, Grudo was about 150 cm. Grudo was considered about average for a dwarf, which made Kaider quite tall at 170 cm. Aside from being short, dwarves were also known for being powerfully built.

“Puel?”

“I do like to carry children, but it can be dangerous when they get scared.”

That’s true.

“Go and ask your parents if you can play with the birdfolk and be carried up in the air.”

Chiharu told them, and they all scattered in different directions. After a few minutes, they returned while dragging skeptical-looking adults.

“Oh my. There really is a bird person here. But, are you sure?”

“Yes, just tell them not to be scared and not to move around.”

Puel answered. Chiharu flew first to show them. And without looking the least bit displeased, Puel took all of the children into the air one by one. Eventually, Maki returned, and Orne joined in the play. This went on until midday.

Kaider and Nyran watched this from a short distance away.

“They clearly have some strong connection with the birdfolk. They would not be able to be carried like that unless they were with birdfolk for a while.”

“But you were with them since you were young, and they always dropped you.”

“By Orne, yes. I guess I was too heavy.”

“Huh? It looks like they are leaving with the other children?”

“It seems that they’ve been invited to dinner.”

“Well, we might as well go to the inn then.”

“I won’t say no to that. It’s good to relax once in a while.”

Kaider looked up at the sky. He didn’t know if it was just him, but the air seemed cleaner than usual.

“So, do you think they are from the midlands and not the inlands? Well, the three human territories are all connected. You can’t really tell just by their names or appearances. But there are hardly any birdfolk near the inlands.”

Their boring days were becoming more interesting. He looked forward to testing Norfe again tonight.

“I know what you’re thinking, but I think that you’ll lose. Also, you better tell Orne to keep quiet. Or you’ll lose before it even begins.”

Yes. Sometimes having a childhood friend around could complicate things.