Chapter 107

“Aah, it’s one thing with Maki…but even Chiharu…”

“What do you mean by that, Edwy?”

Edwy watched Maki and Chiharu play in the water with a worried expression . Aaron just chuckled .

“Still, I’ve never seen women play in the water before . ”

“I could hardly believe it . And they seem accustomed to wearing bathing suits . Look how natural they are in the water . Ah . ”

“She jumped out of the water and was caught by the birdfolk . Maki really is used to them . Ah, she fell . ”

But as she fell through the air, Maki put her hands together beautifully and dove into the water . And then her face immediately popped out from the surface .

“That surprised me . So it was on purpose . ”

“They are moving around so much that their legs are showing . ”

“Well, it’s just us that are here . I think it’s fine . ”

Aaron sat down on the sand . Edwy also sat down somberly and sighed .

“Well, I’m just going to see it as a side benefit . ”

“You’re young . ”

“Yes, compared to everyone else . ”

Edwy shrugged his shoulders . He would never catch up to Aaron or Nyran, no matter how hard he tried . And so there was no point in being upset .

“In the palace, it was always me and Norfe who were treated like children . I thought that I would get bigger one day and catch up with the others . But the gap between us was never filled . Hell, even Aeris and Zynis treat my father like a child . ”

“Norfe, huh? From what I saw at the villa, he’s grown up a lot . ”

“Yes . He is a little proud for my liking, but he’s aware of his responsibilities and cares about his people . But I don’t know why he acts that way around the Saintesses . ”

Edwy recalled the way Norfe had been during the unveiling . And what he saw at the villa had been no different .

“Perhaps for him, you and the others are the ones who changed . ”

“Us?”

Aaron pointed his jaw at Aeris, who was watching over the Saintesses .

“I understand that they are important, but to outsiders, they are being pampered to a surprising degree . We’ve never seen birdfolk and merfolk become attached to people like this before . And so I think some will object to it . ”

“Object . ”

Edwy had never thought about it .

“Other people cannot see the pain that they experience . I think most citizens are very thankful for what they do . But as the Saintesses are human, it’s hard for some to not compare . They are living too lavishly . They are too blessed . Things like that . ”

“I see . ”

This was a view that he would have to consider carefully when he had time . But not now . The hand that brushed away the wet hair, the delicate arms, the white feet that sometimes showed from below the water . Right now, he could do nothing but watch Chiharu so that he would never forget .

He didn’t care if Aaron was grinning next to him . It was fine . He was young .

Maki and Chiharu came out of the water before it was midday, and they all ate an early lunch and then took a short rest . And then it was time to leave for the elf lands .

“Being caught in a fishing net and being carried by Saintesses . Both were very amusing experiences . ”

Amia said before they left .

“If you call it carrying . You were too heavy . ”

Chiharu pointed out .

“But it was cute seeing you try . ”

“That’s not the problem . You shouldn’t make Saia worry so much . ”

“Yes . ”

As Chiharu looked at him worriedly, Amia nodded with satisfaction . Next to her, Maki looked straight at Saia, but he would not meet her eyes .

While the merfolk just waited idly, Chiharu had practiced flying with the birdfolk in spite of being scared and was exhausted now . And yet she was still worried about Saia . Perhaps this was better than any words that could be said . But if he didn’t feel anything, there was nothing to be done .

“Now, let’s go . ”

Aeris said . The merfolk were sad to see them leave, but the birdfolk followed them off of the island .

“We weren’t able to get enough water, so you won’t be able to shower . I’m very sorry . But we’ll be landing directly in the palace gardens . So you will have a room immediately . ”

“It’s fine . We had a lot of fun . ”

“Hahaha . ”

Chiharu laughed dryly when she heard Maki say they had fun . Chiharu never did like roller coasters . Or heights . And yet she had felt like she was a dolphin in a show .

Hm? What’s happening? I don’t even like swimming, but I’m suddenly swimming very fast . Especially that moment she had shot out of the water . That hadn’t been fun at all . Chiharu thought that maybe she was starting to fit in with this world more than she had known .

And so the airship took the two satisfied Saintesses and headed to the elf lands . However, Aaron’s expression was dark .

“Hey, Aeris . Are we really going directly to the castle?”

“What? Because we didn’t tell them in advance? It should be fine . In any case, Maki and Chiharu will have to meet the king . It will be quicker this way than returning to the laboratory . ”

“I think you’re being too optimistic . ”

Maki and Chiharu didn’t quite understand what this conversation meant, and they turned to look at Edwy . He just lightly shook his head to the side . He too had not visited the elf lands much, and didn’t understand . However, the elf lands were right under their eyes . Maki and Chiharu were quickly fixed to the window .

“Hills . ”

“Yes . I thought the elf lands would be deep in the forest . ”

From the window, they could see that the elf lands were vast stretches of land with gentle hills . There were forests and rivers as well . But the land where people lived was surrounded by fences, and not inside of the forest . They could see many houses there, and small white dots that might have been sheep . People seemed to be moving horses and with carriages . Some even saw the airship and waved .

“There are a lot of flat lands and hills near the palace . But you will see more trees and forests the closer you get to the Shadow World . The dwarf lands had similar plantlife to the human territories, didn’t they?”

Aeris asked them as he piloted the airship .

“Like the human territories? Yes, aside from the fruits, it seemed quite similar . Are the elf lands so different?”

Chiharu turned her head and asked . Aeris nodded .

“It is quite strange, but is different in the elf and beast lands . They say that it has to do with the miasma from the Shadow World, but no one knows for sure . I’m sure I told you before, but most things are bigger . ”

Were the sheep and horses also bigger? They started to get excited by the thought . Or were they? Horses were already big . Chiharu and Maki started to worry .

“Look . You can see the palace from here . ”

And so they went closer to Aeris .

“Woah, it’s so big…”

The Midland castle had been a complicated structure that was on a hill, overlooking the sea . The dwarf castle had been big, but it also felt like it was part of the town . The Lowland castle felt like a collection of large mansions .

However, the elf castle was on wide, flat ground, and almost looked like a single town by itself . There was a vast garden, and in the back they saw a huge three-story building that was likely the castle where the king lived . From above, they could see that it was shaped like a rectangle with empty space in the center, showing there was a large courtyard . A white pattern ran through the green garden, and they could see carriages moving towards and away from the buildings . Each road led to a different large castle . And to the right side, there was a large forest and to the left, a large lake .

“As you two were expecting, there are elves that live in tree houses deep in the forest as well . However, the king lives here . It is said that dwarves were called here a long time ago, and they built this castle with stone bricks . While elves did not meet other races too often back then, they wanted to make a place that everyone would feel comfortable in . ”

“So that’s why it looks close to a human castle . ”

“Most castles are made by dwarves, regardless of country . So it is not exactly human . Anyway, let’s go down . ”

Aeris said as he quietly landed the airship near the largest of the castle’s entrances . Then things suddenly became very noisy outside of the airship . Aeris heard this and clicked his tongue .

“So this is what happens, even when you don’t tell them . How annoying . That’s why I didn’t want to return to the elf lands . Aaron!”

“I know . Maki . Chiharu . Listen carefully . ”

Aaron called them with a serious expression .

“Aeris is very popular in the elf lands . You may be surprised, but all we have to do is overcome this obstacle and meet with the king . Then our business is finished . Stay behind Edwy and me and we’ll quietly go to Aeris’s room . ”

Maki and Chiharu gulped . Elves were generally not interested in people . It didn’t matter if they were a prince or a Saintess . Well, it was more that they weren’t interested in ‘humans . ’ So, was Aeris like some kind of idol here?

They had not imagined this situation at all .