CH 108

“Listen. Aeris will go out first as bait. People will gather around him, so you will use that opportunity to quietly leave through the door. Maki, you walk behind me. Chiharu will be behind Edwy. Walk into the castle like you don’t know anything. Once we are inside, we will go to Aeris’s room, since it is the closest. Do you have your bags? Hold them up to your chest if you can.”

Really? Was it such a big deal? Maki and Chiharu gulped.

“We have them.”

They both held the bags up to their chest as if they were shields. Sera had filled the bags with extra clothes. Aaron saw this and nodded.

“Alright, Aeris.”

“Yes.”

Aeris looked at Maki and Chiharu and then nodded as if to reassure them. Then he took in a deep breath and opened the door of the airship.

“It’s the philosopher!”

“The White Philosopher!”

Aeris acted as if he couldn’t hear these voices. He just walked casually towards the castle entrance. However, just as his foot was about to tough the stairs, he was surrounded. It was hard to tell the ages of people who lived so long, but to Chiharu, most of them seemed to range from teenagers to people in their twenties. There were about thirty of them, and they were mainly male. They had rushed towards Aeris, carrying stacks and stacks of documents.

“Lord Aeris. Please forgive us. We just saw the airship. Would you please look at this idea I had?”

“This is the plan for a small airship that uses levitation stones.”

The four who remained in the ship stuck their heads out from the door and watched this scene.

“I see. It’s not like he’s an idol. He’s just a popular philosopher.”

Chiharu said with a relieved expression. But Maki shook her head.

“Not so fast, Chiharu. Look at the top of the stairs.”

There was a short flight of steps leading to the castle entrance, and at the top of these stairs, was a group of about twenty women.

Chiharu saw them and sighed with amazement. They were all so beautiful. They were tall and had golden hair that shone like the sun, and eyes of the deepest green. Their hair was bound up on top of their heads.

And while Aeris generally wore simple gowns that were black or white, it appeared that women dressed quite differently. They generally wore a plain one-piece dress underneath, though the sleeves spread out more than they did on the men. Furthermore, they wore several layers over that of varying colors. It was very pretty.

While Maki and Chiharu’s clothes were held together with a kind of belt, their clothes fitted tighter and they used buttons and strings to hold it together underneath their chest. As for the area above the buttons…

“Uh, you know, elves in the stories are…”

“Don’t say it, Chiharu. I know. I’m more shocked than you are.

Maki said as she slapped Chiharu’s shoulder.

“That’s just ridiculous. Isn’t it enough that they have pretty faces!”

“It’s not fair that the gods favor the elves so much.”

They nodded to each other. However, Aaron ignored their reaction and called them. It wasn’t that he didn’t agree, however, elves were not romantic options, and besides, he was used to seeing them. So it was neither here nor there for him. He was quite uninterested.

“Now, we must go through the entrance behind the guards to the left. From where we are, the left side would be best. Alright, follow me.”

And so they followed Aaron’s signal and left the aircraft while trying to act natural. They headed towards the guards as if they had meant to all along. It seemed like the youth that surrounded Aeris had not noticed them. However, as the women were at the top of the stairs, they saw them.

“Oh? Isn’t that Aaron?”

“I’ve never seen the one next to him before. He has beautiful blue eyes. Maybe he is from Midland.”

They heard the voices. However, the four of them pretended not to hear as they rushed to the entrance. Just a little farther. But then they heard the voice.

“Aaron.”

It was clear and a little high-pitched. Aaron looked like he had been caught. A woman had stepped forward from the group of elves. She was a little shorter than the others. She appeared to be similar in age to Edwy. Not quite twenty. And she had large, cute eyes.

“It is the fifth princess. I didn’t realize.”

But Maki and Chiharu had no idea what he was talking about. However, they were very taken in by her beauty.

“Aaron. If you have returned to the castle, you must meet my father. And who are these guests?”

Her voice was soft but also admonishing.

“But that’s what we were trying to do.”

Maki muttered. Aaron nodded.

“That’s right, Maki.”

“Aaron?”

Aaron turned around and faced the direction of the stairs. Then he bowed.

“We were headed there right now. These are friends from Midland.”

When he said this, the other three bowed as well.

“Oh, in that case…”

“Of course, princess. We must go and meet His Majesty, as you say. Excuse us.”

Aaron interrupted her and then led the others into the castle. Make and Chiharu could feel the eyes on their backs.

The guards seemed to recognize Aaron, and after exchanging a few words, they nodded and let them through. While they did glance at Edwy and looked surprised at the sight of Maki and Chiharu, they were satisfied when they saw the hair and foreheads.

“She’s really insistent, that person. Now, let’s hurry.”

While Aaron said this, Maki and Chiharu nearly stopped in their tracks. Though you could go to the main hall from the front entrance, the side entrance connected to the hallway that went towards the living quarters. This hallway was very big, and light flooded in from the windows over the wall tapestries.

They were likely telling some kind of story. They didn’t know if it was embroidery or woven like that, but there were depictions of people and the changes of the seasons.

They stared at the walls in awe until Aaron chuckled.

“It seems like those who live long end up having too much time on their hands. That’s why they can make things like this.”

He said with a little bitterness.

“While the Midland castle has similar works that the elves sent, these are so much more impressive.”

Edwy said as he gazed at them.

“Now, we must go up to the second floor. The room isn’t far from there.”

Aaron called them. And so they put their hands on the beautifully decorated hand railing as they climbed up the stairs. As soon as they were on the second floor, Aaron inserted a key into the lock of one of the doors and opened it without hesitation. Once they were all inside, he locked the door again. Maki watched him suspiciously.

“It’s just a precaution.”

He said.

“Now, there is a bedroom and a bathing room in the back. So you can go and clean yourselves.”

“Thank you.”

If they were being honest, they were quite sweaty, and so they were grateful. And so Maki opened the door to the bedroom.

Then she closed it. She looked worriedly at Chiharu, who hadn’t moved.

“Maki, what are you doing? You need to hurry up and prepare.”

“Yes, I know. But…”

“What? We won’t look.”

“That’s a very insensitive thing to say. And that’s not what I mean. Here.”

Maki grabbed Aaron’s arm and took him towards the door. And then she opened it.

“What is it? Was Aeris hiding something strange again…”

And then Aaron closed the door.

“What is it?”

Edwy asked as he saw how troubled Aaron was.

“It’s the first princess.”

“First princess?”

They had called that other woman the fifth princess.

“Maki-chan. I think we might be in the way if we stay here…”

“Chiharu, it’s probably not that.”

“Yes, if you think about it, Aeris is quite handsome. So it’s not surprising that he has a lover or two.”

“No, you don’t have to think about it to realize that he’s handsome. Also, yes, it would be strange to have two. No, that’s not what I mean…”

Chiharu looked a little depressed, and Maki frantically tried to cheer her up.

“He finally got to return to his home after such a long time. I don’t think we should bother this reunion for him.”

“Hey. I’m sure you’re completely wrong. Right, Aaron? Say something!”

Maki was at a loss, and so she turned to Aaron.

“Chiharu. Don’t worry. I’m quite sure that Aeris doesn’t have a lover.”

“Then who is that inside of the bed?”

“In the bed?”

Upon hearing this, Edwy opened the door to the bedroom. Then he closed it. He was stunned.

“I saw a bare shoulder…”

In spite of the situation, Maki couldn’t help but be amused by how pure Edwy was.

“Just say you saw a naked woman in the bed. Geez.”

“Surely Aeris wouldn’t do something so indecent…”

“It’s not indecent.”

Aaron finally said.

“The princesses of the castle are trying very hard to earn Aeris’s attention. But I didn’t think any of them would be waiting in his bed.”

“She’s not his lover?”

Maki asked for Chiharu. Aaron shrugged.

“It’s not a lie that he only cares about his research.”

“What a relief. Otherwise, I would never have forgiven him.”

Maki said as she cracked her knuckles.

“Why are you the one that’s angry?”

“I won’t forgive anyone who does that to Chiharu.”

Just then, they heard the sounds of a key entering the door. It was Aeris. He entered the room and hurriedly locked it. But before he did, they saw the crowd of women behind him.

“I finally arrived. That’s why I hate being here.”

Aeris looked like he was out of breath. But then he noticed that the others were quiet.

“What is it? Don’t you need to take a bath, Mak and Chiharu?”

“Uhh.”

Maki wasn’t sure how to respond. Then Aeris opened the door to the bedroom.

“Damn it. Let’s go and meet the king so we can leave.”

He said as he closed the door and rubbed his forehead. He strongly regretted coming to the castle.