CH 105

Chiharu wasn’t great when it came to getting up in the morning. And so she always used an alarm clock that sounded like a bird chirping.

Yesterday, after they had talked around the fire, they returned to the airship in order to sleep. The sofa in the airship could turn into a bed if you put down the armrests. And there were sheets and blankets underneath.

“It’s very rare to have to sleep inside of the airship, but I often rested here while we were still constructing it.”

Aeris said as if lost in his memories. At first, Edwy and Aaron had insisted that they would sleep outside. But it wasn’t as if there were any enemies for them to fear, and so it was settled that they would only leave when Maki and Chiharu had to get changed. After all, Aeris said he would sleep inside as if it was the most natural thing. So it would be strange if Edwy and Aaron were the only ones to sleep outside. Aaron then whispered to Edwy.

“Edwy, I’m quite sure that you will regret it if you don’t sleep on this ship.”

“Fine! I’ll sleep here.”

Edwy said with a red face. And so it was decided.

Chiharu was so excited and kept talking about how she would wake up to a beach that was blindingly bright as the sun reflected on the white sand, or how she would wake up to the sounds of the sea that she would hear all night.

However, something was now covering the windows from outside, and they were so loud that she couldn’t hear the sounds of the waves. The sounds of flapping and even splashing. In the first place, the window had been open during the night, but now they were closed and the curtains were drawn. Edwy and Aaron stood by the entrance with tired faces. It seemed like they were there in case someone tried to get in.

“Good morning, Maki and Chiharu.”

“Morning.”

Said Edwy and Aaron.

“Morning!”

“Is that…”

Edwy nodded with a chuckle.

“The birdfolk arrived early this morning. Thankfully, you two didn’t wake up. However, when we went outside, we saw that there were also merfolk, for some reason.”

Maki and Chiharu were not surprised.

“Not only that, but they say that they are here to ‘sightsee.’”

Aaron added.

“Sightseeing? Like Sauro talked about at the mirror lake?”

“Surely not…”

It had not even been two days since they had left Sauro and Saikania. Two days.

“They’re here. Those white ones.”

Aaron said with vacant eyes.

Maki and Chiharu looked at each other. From Lowland to Midland. And then probably the beastlands. A strange light is seen by the shore of the elf lands and there is a report about an airship. Then they come here.

“How much energy do they have…”

“It’s amazing that the birdfolk don’t rule the Sun World.”

They muttered. Aaron replied.

“You can’t rule anything if you just play all day.”

“That’s true.”

As there was no point in complaining, they got dressed and then went outside.

“Maki!”

“Chiharu!”

Sauro and Saikania came immediately. Aeris hadn’t been on the ship, but they found him on the beach, talking to the merfolk.

“I thought you had business to attend to. Didn’t you go back to the beastlands?”

Maki asked Sauro.

“We did.”

“So why are you here now?”

“We flew.”

“I know that! I’m asking you why you are here!”

“Because we finished our business.”

“Ha…”

Maki sighed.

“Brother. I think you have to explain it a little better than that.”

“Yes, Saikania. That’s right.”

Maki raised her head at this surprisingly decent observation from Saikania.

“I see.”

Sauro thought for a moment and then explained.

“First, we went to Midland and made a report to Arthur. And then I went back to the beastlands and talked to Mira and we had a meeting with the other birdfolk. And just like we suggested, the plan to send lots of birdfolk inland was immediately accepted, and we gathered all the volunteers during that day. I rested that day and saw the volunteers off. And then it was just as I was feeling bored that evening, when word of you leaving Lowland reached us. I was considering going to the elf lands to meet you, but then there was a report about a bonfire being seen on this island. So I came to sightsee.”

“Do you think you just need to say ‘sightsee’ to make everything okay?”

Sauro looked away.

“Maki-chan, that’s not what’s important.”

Chiharu said to calm her down. To be honest, she could hardly believe this stuff about the meeting being held and gathering volunteers and sending them all off on the same day. However, that wasn’t important.

“What do you mean by inland volunteers?”

Sauro glanced at Chiharu and then to the sky.

“Up until now, there were conflicts because we had no interest in them and never spoke with them. And so now, it’s time for them to know who we birdfolk are. In other words, we have to go and play there regularly.”

“Brother, you always say what you really mean towards the end.”

“Really?”

Saikania admonished him.

“Well, we just thought we could send a lot of birdfolk over and do some scouting along the way.”

Yes, that was easy to understand.

“I just heard from Aeris. You’re going to be here on this island until the afternoon, right? Would you like to fly above the island? I can even take you out to sea.”

Sauro said. But Maki had other ideas.

“We came all of this way to the beach. So we want to spend time here. Right, Chiharu?”

“Huh? Uh, yes.”

Chiharu didn’t really care. She wanted to gather sea shells more than she wanted to swim. After all, that was something you did on the beach too.

After that, they hurriedly ate their breakfast and drove the others out of the airship. Then Maki pulled out some small clothes from her bag.

“Ta-da!”

“What’s that?”

“It’s my shorts.”

“Shorts…”

Maki looked quite pleased as she showed them. They were the kind of shorts that the female birdfolk often wore. Chiharu had always found it odd that people would get angry if they showed their legs, but no one said anything about the birdfolk.

“Birdfolk are tall, so I think it should fit.”

“Where did you…”

“I traded it for some fish scales in Lowland.”

“That’s when you did…”

Chiharu remembered what Maki had been doing when they left the castle. She had been negotiating with the birdfolk.

“Now I can swim in the sea.”

“Okay. But I’m going to play by the beach.’

Chiharu replied to the excited Maki.

“Why?”

“Why do you want to swim? I’m fine with just feeling the waves on my feet.”

“That’s too bad.”

“But I can still play without worrying if I have this.”

And so the two of them got changed and stepped out of the airship.

“Chiharu. It’s dangerous, so don’t go too far out…huh?”

Edwy gasped as he approached them.

“Maki. Where do you want…woah!?”

Aaron nearly lost his balance.

However, Maki and Chiharu didn’t understand why they would be surprised, since they constantly saw the slender bare legs of the birdfolk. In comparison, their legs were a little thicker and shorter.

“Oh, you won’t be too hot like that. Now, let’s go to the beach.”

Aeris said calmly as he pushed their backs and walked towards the sea.

“He-hey…”

“Aeris, wait. They need something to cover…!”

But Aeris ignored them. Amia was waiting for them by the beach. Saia was right behind him.

“Maki. Chiharu.”

Amia tried to hug them as if it was the most normal thing, but Aeris stopped him. Amia squinted his eyes.

“White Philosopher. I finished talking to you. Now I have business with Maki and Chiharu. This summer sun must be tiring for your old bones. Why don’t you go and rest under a tree?”

“I’m not so old that I need to rest in the morning, thankfully. Well, if you have business with them, make it quick.”

Amia’s white hair was bathed in sunlight and the light that reflected off of it looked like fire and water. Aeris’s intricate platinum braids blew in the wind. It was clear that Amia was annoyed, by the way his hair moved. At the same time, Aeris’s green eyes had a sharp light in them.

“A fight between equals…”

But Maki and Chiharu just wanted to play at the beach. And yet, their vacation seemed like it would never begin.