Chapter 99

At a time when most people were asleep, Maki and Chiharu were with Zynis and the others at their campsite . As they had moved at the beginning of the night, they were hidden by the darkness, and no one knew of their presence . It was there that they rested a little and waited for the signal .

This was the plan .

Apparently, there were dwarves who were mining in a cave that was close to the lake . They were still in the early steps, but had recently dug up a vast chamber . And gazers were coming out of it .

And while they worked during the night as well, it seemed that the working environment wasn’t that harsh . Zynis had watched them for several days and then visited their settlement directly in order to speak to them .

All of the dwarves had some reason that prevented them from returning to the dwarf lands . They were suspicious at first, but Zynis told them about his friends from the other territories, including Grudo, and they slowly started to open up .

Even in the dwarf lands, there were rumors that the inland country was full of discrimination, but that hadn’t been the case in this town by the lake . The people who worked at the villa did tend to look down at them, but it wasn’t too bad .

However, monsters would sometimes come out while they were mining, and so they had to work with guards in the area . Not only were the monsters scary, but it was a little stressful to have the guards watching them at all times . They said with a laugh .

Apparently, Zynis had asked the dwarves to create a commotion near the caves . They would shout and say that monsters were coming out of the cave in order to distract the soldiers . A similar incident had occurred recently, so the soldiers would be wary of this happening .

Maki and Chiharu laughed when they heard this . It must be related to yesterday . But it was quite strange to think that it was just the day before . It felt like a long time ago .

While Maki and Chiharu couldn’t hear anything, the ears of the dogs, who were in their third form, began to twitch .

“It’s begun . ”

There was movement at the villa . It was time to put the plan into action .

Maki, Chiharu, Edwy, and Aaron were then picked up by the birdfolk, and were raised into the air . The dogpeople dashed through the trees along the lake and headed for the villa .

On the other hand, Maki and the others were let down on the other side of the lake, facing the villa .

“We will be able to see the chief’s room from here . As soon as the guards near the window move towards the caves, we’ll move as well . ”

Kleo explained the plan quietly . As Maki and Chiharu couldn’t actually see what was happening in the villa, he explained it to them .

“The soldiers on the lake have moved first . The boats are moving towards the cave . Alright, now the guards by the room have been called . No, wait, something is strange on the lake . ”

“Strange? What do you mean?”

Edwy asked . This was not part of their plan .

“Bubbles are rising to the surface . That’s…it’s merfolk . ”

Even Maki and Chiharu could see the bubbles . The boats with the lanterns were moving over the black surface of the water . And it looked like a lot of fish were gathered together . However, upon closer inspection, you could see that they had merfolk heads, and they were quietly moving to the shore .

“Hey, Edwy . Why don’t we just let the merfolk help him?”

Chiharu asked . Edwy shook his head .

“That would be bad . If they had to ‘save’ him, it would create hostility between the inlanders and the merfolk . We have to make it so that he visited on his own and then left by himself . The merfolk merely came here to greet him . Aaron!”

“I know . We have to reach the chief before the merfolk do, and release him . Birdfolk . I’m counting on you . ”

And so the four humans were picked up by the birdfolk . They would fly down from the cliffs to the other side of the lake all at once . They had plenty of experience when it came to rising in the air . However, when it came to plunging down… Chiharu prayed that she would be able to handle the fear .

“It won’t take long . Let’s go . ”

AAAHHHH! Chiharu screamed internally . The sense of a steep drop and the flight just barely over the surface of the water . Chiharu couldn’t even close her eyes as she saw the surprised expressions of the merfolk rush passed her . But it was true, they reached the chief’s room in no time .

Tonk . They landed quietly on the ground . The only reason they didn’t collapse, was because of the training they had earlier . The only thing that made Chiharu feel better, was seeing that Aaron looked quite pale . On the other hand, Edwy and Maki looked just fine . How tough were they? Never mind, they were on a rescue mission now . The birdfolk moved away so they wouldn’t draw attention . And then Edwy looked into the room and gestured for them to come .

He opened the balcony door wide and they quietly entered the room . Where was the chief? There! He was reclining on the sofa just like he was during the day . His tail hit rhythmically on it .

“Amia!”

“Beloved child . You came . ”

“What you do mean, you came!”

Chiharu was surprised by how bored he looked . Then she inspected him . He was two meters long . It would be difficult to carry him, but they could manage it if all four of them helped . Now, what would be heavier? The head or tail . Well, the head was heavier, but the tail was hard to grab .

“Maki and Edwy, carry the head! Aaron and I will carry the tail!”

Chiharu ordered as she grabbed onto the tail . Woah, it was heavy . On the other side, Maki put an arm around Amia’s head and tried to lift him .

“Edwy! Aaron! Hurry up!”

“We can’t carry him without your help!”

Chiharu and Maki said . However, Edwy and Aaron did not answer . They were sighing and looking somewhere else .

“Edwy?”

“Aaron?”

They called again .

“Chief . ”

Aaron said in an exasperated voice .

“Amia . Enough already . ”

Edwy sounded a little angry . And then Maki and Chiharu let go of Amia in surprise .

“It’s finished? How boring . ”

Amia said as he shifted his weight . What Maki and Chiharu felt next, was some kind of energy swirling around him . It was like wind, but it was warm .

Amia wrapped himself in a cloth and then stood up from the sofa .

“Huh?”

“What?”

As Maki and Chiharu looked surprised, Edwy sighed .

“Chiharu, you’ve been carried by him before . I don’t know why you would even think you could carry him . ”

“But he has a tail… Huh? Where did it go?”

Chiharu looked at Amia’s feet with surprise .

“He’s like the dogs, and can transform . Isn’t that right, Amia?”

“Mmm . ”

Amia nodded . His arms had stretched out and pulled Maki and Chiharu closer to him .

“Then why didn’t you just get up and go to the lake?”

Chiharu couldn’t help but ask . Amia looked a little conflicted .

“First it was because he couldn’t be bothered to . Then he started enjoying being rescued by you two . Isn’t that right, Amia?”

Edwy said . Amia ignored him and said,

“Well, let’s go to the lake then . ”

And then he pushed Maki and Chiharu’s backs as he started to walk .

“What? Couldn’t be bothered? That’s it?”

“And you involved all of these people? Really?”

Chiharu and Maki muttered .

“I won’t ask you any difficult questions . I think I understand now . They say that you are proud, noble, and free . But now I see you’re just spoiled creatures . ”

Edwy muttered . But he was ignored once again . Well, as they had to leave anyway, the others were forced to follow the chief . However…

“Are you alright, Prince Amia!?”

“Is the chief safe!?”

The doors swung open and in walked Chouze and Norfe .