CH 57

Chiharu: Saintess. A good friend of Maki. Age: 25.

Maki: Saintess. Was summoned along with Chiharu. Age: 25.

Edwy: Prince of Midland. Age: 18.

Aeris: Elf. White Philosopher. Age: over 300.

Grudo: Dwarf. Invented the train. Age: over 300.

Kaider: Third prince of the Dwarf Lands. Adventurer and Blacksmith.

Nyran: Fifth prince of the south lands. Adventurer and chaperone to Kaider.

“Maki. It sure is peaceful now.”

“It really is. I can hardly believe it considering how it was recently.”

Maki and Chiharu were talking while they looked at the garden from the castle balcony.

When they thought back on it now, their travels had been going well up until they were kidnapped by the mayor of Gromble.

Though, if Edwy had heard them, he would have said:

“No, things went bad the moment you left the castle.”

Of course, he would. As for Kaider…

“It was when the merfolk tried to kidnap you.”

And Nyran…

“What about when you were attacked by the Gazer by the lake?”

He would probably say that. But to Maki and Chiharu, there had been nothing worse than being held by the mayor. 

“Well, the stuff with the dungeon couldn’t be helped.”

Maki said. But it wasn’t exactly true. And then Chiharu added:

“Well, at least it’s all been resolved.”

Who cares if we slept an entire day after that. They thought.

“And we ended up at the dwarf castle after all.”

“Kaider’s ‘house.’ Come to my house! He said. But it’s a castle!”

Maki said as she angrily raised a fist into the air. Chiharu said,

“Now, now. He is a prince after all.”

And then she covered her mouth to stop herself from laughing.

“You can’t hide it, Chiharu.”

“Hehe.”

Well, they had seen the castle from the outside when being interviewed as cooks. But now they could see inside.

At first, they had wanted to continue helping in the kitchen. But they were persuaded that Saintesses were officially above royalty, and so they were forced to present themselves at court.

Along with Edwy, Chiharu was escorted by Nyran and Maki by Kaider as they greeted the king. They were both wearing their layered, formal dresses now, and the hall erupted into cheers. Chiharu had thought this the last time she was here, but the dwarves seemed to care a lot about fashion. But as they were just one race, the trends did not change often. And so they became excited when the saw something new.

When Nyran and Chiharu appeared together, many people said that they made a good-looking couple. As Nyran had lived at the castle since he was a young boy, many of the dwarves were very fond of him. Even more so when he began to act as a bodyguard fo Kaider. Still, as the life spans were different, there were no women who started any serious relationships with him.

Even if they were different in height or size, humans looked better with humans. The dwarves said as they nodded to each other. But then they gasped when Kaider and Maki walked in together. They looked perfect together! Prince Kaider!

While not as tall as a human, Kaider was still quite tall and muscular. And so dwarven women looked very small next to him. But Maki was just a little shorter than Kaider and incredibly slender and delicate-looking as she held onto Kaider’s arm.

It wasn’t bad. Yes, it could work. They looked nice. That’s what the gazes in the audience seemed to say.

On the other hand, Maki and Chiharu’s minds were somewhere else. Back at the castle in Midland, they just had to smile and be quiet. And so it was there first time in a place like this. And they were quite nervous and stiff. Kaider patted Maki’s hand as if to encourage her. Maki gave him a reassuring smile.

“It’s really nothing. You shouldn’t be nervous.”

“You’re right. This is nothing.”

But in the heads of those that watched it looked like:

“Maki, don’t worry, I’m with you.”

“Oh, Kaider. You are so reliable.”

Of course, Maki and Kaider had no idea that this was so.

Nyran seemed worried as he saw how small Chiharu’s steps were.

‘I hope she’s not going to trip on the carpet.’

But in the minds of those who watched:

‘What a delicate princess. I must protect her.’

Aeris and Grudo were also there. The king was grateful that the monsters of the dungeon had been reduced to a normal level, and the ceremony was soon finished. After that, the soldiers and Adventurers split from the officers and two separate parties were held. This was so the soldiers could enjoy themselves without worrying about formalities.

Of course, Maki and Chiharu tried to go with the soldiers, but they were promptly caught by Kaider, Nyran, and Edwy.

“Surely you weren’t thinking about forcing all the work onto me?”

The prince said with a smile as he pulled them away. And so Maki and Chiharu were forced to attend.

There were Kaider’s father, mother, brother #1, brother #2, brother #1’s wife, brother #2’s wife, brother #1’s three children, and brother #2’s two children. And then there were other relatives as well. They were all big dwarves like Kaider.

“So these are the humans that Kaider was running around in search of.”

“No. They are the Saintesses.”

“Of course, the fact they are Saintesses is important. But what is most important is that Kaider finally found someone and had grown attached to them. Now that is rare.”

Kaider’s brother said to his wife.

“You sure are skinny, Saintess. What do you eat?”

Said one of the children of the second brother.

“Saintess, this outfit you are wearing…”

Said the daughter of the first brother. Her eyes were shining as she looked at them. She looked about the same age as Maki and Chiharu. In fact, the king and queen didn’t look that much older than them either. Aside from the very young children, it was hard to tell who was older than Kaider. This was one thing that was annoying about races with a long life span.

Of course, Maki and Chiharu wanted to ask what they meant about Kaider’s fate and about finally meeting someone, but they found it difficult to enter the conversation. And without ever getting to touch the food and drinks on the table, the party ended with them being confused and surrounded by dwarves.

They continued to smile politely until the end. This resulted in them being seen as ‘polite and quiet Saintesses from another land.’ Later, Maki and Chiharu would hear about this with much surprise.

“Uh, I’m so tired.”

Maki said as she fell onto the bed in the guest room.

“It’s unlike you to sound so defeated, Maki.”

Chiharu said as she sat heavily on the sofa. Maki’s face remained in the sheets as she muttered.

“Being out in society is completely different. That Kaider! He said we would only have to be there for a short while, and then we could eat as much as we wanted!”

“Things really are different here. Uh, do you want some tea?”

The guest room had a tea set and a place to boil water. Of course, it used magic stones to heat the water.

“This is the dwarf lands alright. They really think of everything.”

Chiharu said as she boiled some water and smelled the tea leaves she had found.

“You seem really tired Maki, so I’ll avoid anything too strong.”

“Thanks. I don’t want anything smelling of flowers right now.”

Knock-knock. Maki raised her face.

“Oh? Visitors? I wonder who it is.”

A voice rang on the other side.

“It’s Aeris and Grudo. Can we come in?”

Maki and Chiharu looked at each other in surprise. What could it be? In any case, we should open the door.