CH 101

And so Maki and Chiharu were carried by the birdfolk, and just according to the plan, they were brought to a checkpoint in the mountains that was far away from the road. This way, it wouldn’t matter if someone tried to chase after them. They had no reason to disguise themselves as merchants now. If anything, their purpose was to get to Lowland as soon as possible.

The empty area they had chosen was quite large, and once Zynis and the others who were running below also arrived, it became quite lively. They would all camp here for the night.

They also found it quite amusing that the gazers had followed them all of the way here. And while the birdfolk were wary of them, the gazers remained very quiet. They had been suddenly unleashed from the caves. And they had likely enjoyed being able to fly in the open air at night.

For a moment, a ring had been made around the gazers, and some were in their second form and seemed to have their guard up. But once Maki and Chiharu quietly returned them to magic stones, the birdfolk all breathed a sigh of relief.

“We’ve never seen it up close before.”

Saikania said with deep interest.

“I thought this in Gromble too, but does it really not affect your body at all?”

Sauro sounded worried.

“I’m fine. But thank you.”

Chiharu said. And though she was actually tired, she turned to face Sauro with her hands on her hips. Sauro tilted his head as if he didn’t understand.

“You promised that you wouldn’t come inland.”

“That…”

He finally looked a little guilty when Chiharu said this.

“And you even suggested that the other birdfolk should go to Highland to sight see.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

Now he looked smug. She could understand how gazers felt, so Sauro was even easier to read. But that just annoyed her even more.

“Maybe it will be good in the future. But this time, this job was supposed to be a secret. It seems like you hindered Zynis and the others. It could have resulted in Arthur’s country taking the blame.”

It wouldn’t do if people thought that they were always listening to Sauro’s unreasonable requests. Especially since this time, it affected the chief of the merfolk.

“Why do you care so much about borders? We happen to be in the beastkin territories, but as the lands connect, we often visited the dwarf and elf lands. They have never told us not to come. It was the same in Midland.”

Chiharu felt that there was no point arguing. And she was all the more impressed with Norfe, who didn’t back down when facing the birdfolk.

“But even Norfe said it. You were stationed at the Midland castle, weren’t you? So it’s no wonder that you’re associated with Arthur. This kind of stuff is going to cause him such a headache!”

Chiharu persisted. There were future matters to consider. She needed to tell him this.

“Then everyone else should change.”

“What?”

“Up until now, I hadn’t really gone to Highland, because it seemed kind of unpleasant. But maybe that was my mistake. We should always go wherever we want regardless of borders. Well, at least us birdfolk.”

“Your mistake…”

“I am saying that they thought I was giving Midland preferential treatment. I had no such intention. The chief just wanted to be near the Saintesses, and we had just gone to visit Edwy. The message was just something we took on the way.”

That was clearly your main job. Chiharu was exasperated but also in danger of being convinced. She felt a wave of fatigue fall over her.

“I don’t care anymore. I just want you to listen properly next time.”

“I know.”

Chiharu knew that he didn’t, but she was too tired to go on. She wanted to rest. However, as things had moved so fast, they didn’t have any tents. Thankfully, the weather was nice, and it was summer. So she could sleep on the grass.

However, Chiharu and Maki had worked hard, and there was a reward waiting for them.

“Maki. Chiharu. Come.”

Zynis said in a gentle voice. He was lying on the ground, and now he turned over onto his back. He was saying that they could sleep on top of him.

“Really?”

“Of course.”

And so they waddled over to where Zynis was.

“Hey, father. Two is too much. One of them should sleep with me.”

Said Ortha. Maki and Chiharu looked at each other. I prefer Rasche’s color. Chiharu, since you’re smaller, you go to Ortha. Fine. Then you go with Zynis, Maki. Okay. They agreed.

Then they heard the flutter of wings.  

“Maki. Chiharu.”

It was Sauro. His wings were gently crossed in front of him.

“Why don’t you sleep while wrapped around my wings. These are the best feathers. Baby birds love them.”

Feathers! Sleeping while wrapped up in beautiful white feathers! Chiharu nearly started to walk towards Sauro, but Maki stopped her.

“But Maki-chan. Feathers…”

“Control yourself, Chiharu. The owner of said feathers is Sauro.”

That shook her out of it. That’s right, they may be feathers. But they were attached to Sauro! It was ridiculous.

“Maki. You just had to interfere.”

Maki glanced towards Sauro and chuckled. While she had left the scolding to Chiharu, she was also annoyed at the free birdfolk. And so it was what he deserved.

And so Maki leaned on Zynis’s stomach and Chiharu lay on Ortha’s. And on the grass, they fell into a deep sleep before they had any time to enjoy the feeling of the fur. In any case, they had accomplished the mission that the merfolk had asked them to do. It was the end of a very long day.