CH 83

“Hey, isn’t that the local Nezu wine? Surely you didn’t go out today to…”

Maki spread out her hands and shrugged.

“We went out because we wanted to see the town. I just bought this along the way. Regardless, there must be an emergency for you to come in without knocking? Chiharu and I were about to enjoy a girl’s party.”

Maki said bluntly. Chiharu looked at her with excitement.

“What do you mean, ‘girl’s party’? Anyway, I was going to ask if you needed anything. But it looks like you’re really enjoying yourselves already.”

Then he stepped into the room without any hesitation and confiscated the bottles from them.

“Kids shouldn’t be drinking. Now hurry off to bed. Really, what is wrong with Saintesses these days.”

He muttered to himself as he left the room.

☆

Aaron held both bottles in one hand and opened the door to his room and said,

“I can’t believe it. They were about to have a party.”

He showed Edwy the bottles.

“I thought they would be tired, so I went to their room to give them some ointment. But I forgot all about it because I was so exasperated.”

“And then you took their drinks. You have a long way to go, Aaron.”

Edwy also sounded exasperated. Then he chuckled.

“What do you mean?”

“Besides, they are both grown adults. 25 years old.”

“What? 25? That’s only 2 years different than me. You must be joking.”

“They are the same age as Nyran. They may look younger because of their height, but they are grown women. So you must treat them as such.’

“But, still…”

After seeing them in their disguises during the day, it was hard to not see them as children.

“They really looked like they wanted to drink our ale during dinner as well.”

“I’m sure they just wanted the meat. Or, that’s what I thought when I gave them some of mine.”

“No, you’re wrong. They just found it too awkward to reject you. I saw it on their faces.”

“I didn’t notice.”

So much that had happened today was confusing. Aaron scratched his head.

“Well, then. We should go soon, so you can really come to understand Maki and Chiharu. Though, it doesn’t really matter if you do or not.”

“Huh? What are you saying?”

Aaron tilted his head to the side. Edwy took out a small paper bag and accepted the two bottles from Aaron.

“Do you think they will give up just because you took their drink? With those two, it’s much better to act with them instead of trying to stop them.”

He said. And then he left the room.

“Uh, hey. Wait a minute. What’s wrong with him?”

Aaron ran after Edwy.

☆

“What was that? He comes in without knocking and then steals our drinks. How rude.”

Maki was quite prickly. Chiharu was also disappointed.

“Ahhhh. I really wanted to drink that Nezu wine.”

“Yes, it’s a rice wine made near the Lowland sea, combined with the Nezu fruit.”

“Ohh, Maki-chan. It looked so good.”

Chiharu lamented. Maki grinned mischievously and rummaged in her bag and came out with two more bottles!

“What!”

“Yes. I thought we might all drink it together, so I bought four. But I don’t care about that anymore. Let’s drink.”

“I’m with you, brother.”

“I’m not your brother.”

Maki said.

“Now, we should lock the door this time. That’s what started this whole problem.”

Just as she stood up to lock the door, they heard someone knocking.

“Maki. Chiharu. It’s Edwy. Can I come in?”

“Edwy, wait just one minute. Chiharu, did you hear that? He’s so polite. There’s a certain fourth prince who could learn from him.”

“I’m here too.”

“Ugh, there’s some other guy here too!”

Maki was being extra rude. In the meantime, Chiharu put the bottles back into the bag. Maki slowly opened the door.

“What is it? Edwy.”

“Uhh. Nothing much. It’s awkward standing in the hallway. Do you mind if we come in?”

Maki glared at Aaron for a second, but then opened the door and invited them in.

“I came to return these.”

“The Nezu wine!”

Chiharu was overjoyed.

“You two are both adults, after all. It was a ridiculous thing that they were confiscated. Also, if you want…”

Edwy then took out the small paper bag and handed it to Chiharu.

“What is this? It smells nice.”

Chiharu said as she sniffed at it.

“It’s the Nezu fruit after it’s been soaked in the Nezu wine. They cover them in sugar and let them dry out in the sun. It should go well with the wine.”

“Wow. Thank you.”

There was something childish about how happy Chiharu was. Edwy smiled.

“Well, then. We won’t disturb you any longer.”

He said as they were about to leave.

“Wait.”

“Maki?”

“Ahh, I have no choice. This is out of respect for Edwy.”

And with that, Chiharu took out the two other bottles from the bag.

“Y-you have more!”

“Didn’t I tell you? Taking away their drinks wasn’t going to solve anything.”

Edwy said with a sigh as Aaron looked on in shock. And then he thought for a while. Maybe he had gotten too used to Maki and Chiharu, and it was he who was starting to lose sight of what was normal.

As Edwy wondered about this, Maki waved a bottle in front of his face.

“Well, I originally bought four so we could all drink together. So you might as well drink with us now.”

She said.

“Do you mean it?”

“Yes. Just one bottle won’t affect us tomorrow.”

“Then I accept. Aaron?”

“Uh, thank you.”

The first sip of the Nezu wine was quite sharp at first, but then a mild aroma like that of pine needles filled your nostrils. And then the sweetness of the rice lingered in your mouth.

“Ahh, it’s delicious.”

“Nezu wine is pretty great.”

Maki and Chiharu said as they enjoyed their wine. Edwy looked at them with gentle eyes. Edwy was quite strong when it came to alcohol, as he had to drink it a lot socially. But he felt as if he was getting drunk off of one sip as he watched them.

Chiharu nibbled on a piece of the sugared Nezu as if it were precious.

“I’ll buy some more for you if you like it.”

Edwy said. Chiharu shook her head.

“I think it tastes so good because we’re eating it here.”

“That’s true.”

While they were drinking the Nezu wine slowly, the bottles were quite small, and so they did not last very long.

While they wished that they could drink more, the small drinking party came to a close, and Maki and Chiharu went to bed with a feeling of happiness.

Edwy and Aaron returned to their room. It was clear that Aaron had something on his mind.

“We should get some sleep as well.”

“Hey.”

“What is it?”

“While it was one day, I’ve been swung around a lot and…”

“By the birdfolk?”

“No.”

“I know what you mean.”

Edwy said with a snort. He supposed that there was now one other person who had awakened to Maki and Chiharu’s appeal.

“But for some reason, I’m not mad about it.”

“If you’d like, I can talk all night. About how wonderful they are.”

“No thanks.”

“By the way, you’re royalty and not even an Adventurer. I understand that you see yourself as a man for the common people, but you should do something about the way you talk.”

“I do. When I’m making a public appearance.”

“Really, I don’t see how you are able to treat Maki and Chiharu like children.”

“I won’t anymore.”

Edwy wasn’t necessarily sure if that would be good for him or not.

“In any case, let’s get some sleep.”

“Yes. Good night.”

And that was how their first night ended.