Chapter 104

And so Aeris took Maki and Chiharu towards the airship . On the way, they saw many birdfolk in the castle garden . They were carrying the children up into the sky as concerned adults watched . They could see Kilian as well .

“Ah, wait a minute!”

Maki said suddenly . Then she ran to the closest bird person .

“Ahh . Now that she’s getting involved with them, our trip shall be delayed . ”

Aeris muttered a little bitterly .

Just as expected, Maki was quickly surrounded by the birdfolk . After a while, some of them took off into the sky and then returned a few minutes later . They were holding something that was small and folded . Maki took a few merfolk scales out of her pouch and handed it to them . It looked like she was trading .

“Oh, they are actually being reserved . I’ve never seen a reserved bird person before . They took the scales when Maki showed them in the light . Those scales really are pretty, you know? I knew birdfolk would like shiny things!”

Chiharu sounded quite impressed . While crows liked sparkly things, not all birds did . Edwy chuckled as he listened to her . While Chiharu didn’t seem to realize it, she was being rather rude . But then again, Sauro and Saikania would not have been bothered at all if they heard her .

“Ah, she’s coming back . ”

Maki jogged back on light feet .

“Okay, let’s go . ”

As it was past midday and they were a small group, they were able to reach the airport without attracting much attention .

Chiharu stared at the square ship . It was hard to believe that it had only been a few days ago that she was surprised by how strange it looked, before stepping inside .

However, it is all finished . Now they were beginning a journey that would take them to the elf lands .

“We must catch up with the advance team so we can go to the dungeon . I’m sure Kaider is happy to swing his sword, but Grudo is not very active, and I’m sure Nyran is having a difficult time . ”

Edwy muttered as he too looked at the ship .

“Ye-yes . Kaiser and Nyan . Hmm . ”

Chiharu frantically looked towards Maki . Maki looked a little tired . She must have forgotten . When she looked up, Aaron was looking at her with an exasperated expression . They couldn’t help it . These past few days had been very hard .

“Well, it’s over now . We have to switch gears and keep moving . ”

This was said by Maki . Huh? How did she sound so cool?

“I think that’s what Kaider would say . Now, Chiharu . We decided to rest, so let’s rest tomorrow . And then we can work hard after that . ”

“Maki-chan…”

She was just copying Kaider . Yes, those guys were never depressed, and they wouldn’t blame them for acting . If they did say anything, it would likely be about how they drank in secret or how they snuck out or how she dropped the orange . And so she just needed to keep that information from them . Chiharu looked up .

“Okay, let’s go!”

“That’s the spirit!”

“What are you doing? We’re leaving . ”

Aeris called . And so the four of them got onto the airship .

They would travel by airship on the same route that they had traveled by ship previously . Chiharu looked at the town of Bakka, which was growing farther away .

“I think it was this area where the birdfolk carried us . ”

She said .

“Let me see . Yes, it was around here . Ah . ”

Just as Aaron moved next to Chiharu and looked out of the window, the airship began to shake . And their vision was filled with white and brown feathers .

“Damn it . I can’t see anything . They really are troublesome . ”

It seemed like some of the birdfolk from the castle had come to see them off . Whenever their eyes met through the glass, they would wave . But after a while, they got bored and flew back to the castle .

For the next three hours, Aeris and Edwy took turns piloting the airship .

“Look up ahead . We’ll be able to see the elf lands soon . ”

Aeris said from the pilot’s seat . When they looked, they could indeed see the shadow of the land .

“Now look down . ”

And when they did, they saw that there was a small island with a forest in the center . The side that was owned by humans was just sharp cliffs, but the elf side was a white beach .

“An island!”

“An island!”

“This is where we will stay tonight . It’s very close to the elf lands, so we can leave tomorrow in the afternoon . You can rest until then . ”

Aeris looked at Maki and Chiharu with a worried expression .

“This is an uninhabited island . So you will have to sleep in the airship and we won’t be able to eat anything fancy . ”

“An uninhabited island! Amazing!”

Maki was overjoyed and Chiharu was grinning . If he was being honest, Aeris was afraid that they wouldn’t want to stay at an island like this . And was prepared to fly to a health resort that was by the shore of the elf lands . But seeing their reaction now, he was quite happy he had brought them here .

He then carefully landed the airship on the beach . As there was no port, he had to search for a place that was flat . Maki and Chiharu were so excited that they nearly flew out, but Edwy stopped them . Aaron was to go out first and make sure that it was really safe .

“Hmm . It’s fine . ”

“Is there something dangerous here?”

Aaron put his hand behind his head and looked a little troubled .

“Nothing dangerous . But you are still Saintesses . That means you’re important . ”

“Important…”

Wasn’t a prince more important? Oh, well . They now had permission to go outside . And when they did, they saw a vast white beach .

“Wow…”

As they ran along the water’s edge, the waves splashed at their feet and then drew back . The evening sea reflected the light and sparkled . Behind them, Edwy and Aaron were likely standing watch . Aeris was probably tying the airship down . However, there was no one in front of them . It was as if Maki and Chiharu were the only people in this world .

They could see the elf lands in the distance . The waves crashed at their feet . The wind was just slightly warm, signaling the end of summer as it blew through their hair .

“It’s sad . ”

“Chiharu?”

Chiharu muttered as she looked at the sea . Maki turned to her in surprise . Chiharu’s eyes were just a little red .

“I felt so stifled and held back . But now I feel sad that there is no one around . ”

“Yes . ”

Maki silently offered her hand .

“Hmm?”

Chiharu looked puzzled .

“Yes . Give me your hand . ”

Chiharu did, and Maki squeezed it .

“You’re not alone . ”

“Yes . ”

And so they held hands as the waves silently came and pulled away .

“Ah, why don’t they call for us?”

Edwy asked as they watched from afar .

“I could hold their hands if they wanted . I could even embrace them . ”

“Can you?”

Aaron sounded exasperated .

“Well, if it is what they wanted, yes . ”

Edwy turned a little red . This prince was still too inexperienced, and could not hold Maki and Chiharu’s hands by himself . It was then that Aeris completely ignored them and caught up with Maki and Chiharu .

And with his big body, he wrapped his arms around both of them as they held hands .

“Ahh, I am so jealous!”

“Edwy . You need to be bolder in order to go against the White Philosopher . ”

“Bold? I see . But I…”

Just when Edwy made his decision and took a step towards Maki and Chiharu, the two of them laughed and slipped away from Aeris . Then they ran towards Edwy and Aaron . Maki grabbed Edwy’s hand .

“Edwy . Let’s go and gather some firewood!”

“Huh? Uh . Okay . ”

Edwy looked a little embarrassed . At the same time, Chiharu called to Aaron .

“What about you?”

“I will wait with the Philosopher . ”

“Really?”

Chiharu looked a little puzzled, and then she grabbed Edwy’s other hand .

“Chiharu?”

“Now, let’s go get the firewood!”

They pulled Edwy away towards the forest .

“Ahh . He is probably very red right about now . ”

“While they treat him like a little brother, that’s not bad either . ”

“Not bad?”

Aaron looked at Aeris with an exasperated expression . Aeris just grinned back .

“Use what you can . Isn’t that the key to getting what you want?”

“I wish all of the elves in the castle could see you now, Philosopher . ”

“They will see more than enough of me tomorrow . ”

“So you’re not going to deny it . ”

Well, at least he was aware .

“We have magic tools for making a fire, so we don’t need firewood . But I suppose it has its charms . ”

“Yes . ”

That night, they had a simple meal around the campfire . And perhaps it was a more memorable event for Edwy than it was for even Maki and Chiharu . It was just a little chilly for a summer night . But the fire was hot . Chiharu’s cheeks looked soft on the other side of the flames . Her dark eyes seemed to dance when they caught the light . And the friendly banter seemed to continue on forever .

Of course, they had no idea that the light of the fire showed their position in the darkness of the night . From the sea and sky .