Chapter 32
Maki and Chiharu were tasting freedom again . Or more accurately,
“Oh, there are human boys . ”
The stares seemed to say . But they were used to it, and so they did not care . They didn’t know if the position was still open, and so they needed to hurry .
Chiharu talked to Maki as they jogged towards the castle .
“Hey, Maki-chan . What is freedom anyway?”
“I think I was free in Japan . ”
“Work five days a week and be lazy for the other two days . But even in those two days, I would spend a lot of it stocking up on groceries and cleaning my room . I didn’t have that much time to myself . ”
“Still, I could buy the books I wanted and watch funny videos . ”
“I could eat what I want and make my own decisions in life . ”
“Like going on dates . ”
“Or being dumped . ”
“Right, oh, that’s right . ”
“I…don’t care about it anymore, though . ”
Okay, it still hurt . Just a little .
“An overly anxious elf . ”
“A worrywart king . ”
“An easygoing beastkin . ”
“Birdfolk . Merpeople . ”
They looked up into the sky and waved . Surely, they were watching over them .
“A kind dwarf . ”
“And a prince . ”
“Those two . ”
“Yes . ”
They laughed . Still, they hurried towards the castle .
“It’s the people of this world that I keep thinking about . ”
“That’s true . ”
“Hey, Maki-chan . ”
“What?”
“What we are doing right now . Maybe it is something that we decided on ourselves?”
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“…It is something we decided . ”
“Right!”
“Oh, we’re free then . ”
“We are . ”
They weren’t running away . They were moving forward . Somehow . Just thinking of it like that allowed them to breathe much more easily .
“Then let’s choose our own path and move forward . ”
“Yes!”
Now, to the castle!
“That’s unusual . Children of the human tribes . ”
“We’re trying to reach some relatives . And we heard that we could go to Gromble while working . ”
“Indeed . I think the position is still open too . Just go in straight through here and you will see a large barracks . Go ask the people there . ”
“Okay, thank you!”
The dwarf castle was really flat . The building had two stories, with the left side echoing with the sounds from the smithy . The right side seemed to be for living quarters . The castle was filled with not only dwarves, but humans who were preparing for tomorrow’s journey, and so it was very lively .
And the barracks was close by .
“Um, we’re here for the catering position!”
“Ah . Well, go tell that old man over there!”
It was evening now, and preparations for dinner had started . And so they headed towards the middle-aged, slightly balding man that had been pointed at .
“Um, we’re here for the catering!”
They shouted .
“What? Who are you two?”
“We heard that you were hiring people to help during the trip to Gromble . ”
The man stared at them .
“Show me your hands . ”
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They showed him their palms . They were smooth .
“Hmph . Interesting . So, you wish to go to Gromble?”
He put a hand to his chin and considered it .
“Alright, I’m going to test whether or not you will be useful . Peel those potatoes . ”
There was a basket full of potatoes there .
“You can wash them over there . Here are the knives . Put the peeled potatoes in here . Let me know when you are finished . ”
“Yes . ”
“Yes . ”
It was very sudden, but they had to do it . First, Maki washed the potatoes, and Chiharu peeled them . When Maki was finished, she helped peel them as well . They were careful but also quick . When they were done, Chiharu gathered up the peels while Chiharu washed the potatoes again .
“We’re finished . ”
“That was slow . ”
Their shoulders slumped .
“But you are good with your hands . Better than nothing I suppose . 5,000 gil a day . You will be free when you’re not preparing food and cleaning up . However, most of the time will be spent traveling . You will have three meals a day and sleep in a tent . At least until Gromble . How’s that?”
“Thank you so much!”
“Thank you so much!”
“My name’s Paulo . What’s yours?”
“I’m Kenneth . This is Ryan . My younger brother . ”
“Brothers, huh? You look alike . But you’re so skinny . You better eat as much as you can while you’re with us . ”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
“Do you want to start tonight?”
“No, there is someone who is helping us, so we would like to come tomorrow . ”
“We leave in the morning . So you better be here very early . ”
“I understand . ”
We’re hired!
“We got hired!”
“Good for you!”
“Yes!”
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They reported it to the gatekeeper . Something about how their hands slightly ached over doing something that they hadn’t done in a while made them very happy . And like that, they returned to Edmond’s mansion .
That night .
“Prince Kaider, are you leaving tonight as well?”
“I am . ”
“By the way, I heard that the cook hired some helpers . ”
“I see . ”
“They were human children . Quite rare . ”
“Human children!”
Kaider jumped on the gatekeeper who was talking to him . It was not impossible that they would come to him .
“What did they look like? Uh, they were brothers who looked poor and had light brown hair . Ah, they were also quite cheerful . ”
“They didn’t have blonde hair?”
“It was brown . ”
“Was one an arrogant kid?”
“They were very pleasant . ”
“Was there a girl who always looked down?”
“Both were boys . ”
So it wasn’t them . If Maki and Chiharu had heard this exchange, they would have been exasperated, annoyed and then laughed . They had no choice but to act like that because of Kaider . However, just as Kaider was about to leave the castle, someone came to stop him .
“Prince Kaider, you are supposed to dine with the Midland people tonight!”
“Tsk . Tell my brothers to do that . ”
“But you are the representative of the dwarf team!”
And so Kaider and Nyran solemnly returned to the castle . Ah, Norfe, Chouze, I hope that you are doing well .
During that time, Maki and Chiharu were cheerfully enjoying their dinner .
“To think that you two were the Saintesses…”
Kreis seemed just a little disappointed . He was honored to be able to meet them . However, there was now no possibility of love .
Dwarves, beastkin, and elves all lived to be 300 years old . On the other hand, humans could barely live to be 100 . Unlike the other races who stayed young for many years, humans aged rapidly . So while romance between them may occur, marriage between different races was not very common . Because it was too hard when one died .
And yet Maki and Chiharu had been appealing enough to make him ignore that . But Saintesses have never married before . But they at least wanted to enjoy this night .
“So Anne and Mary are…”
“I’m sorry . I’m Maki . ”
“And I’m Chiharu . ”
“Maki and Chihaaru . ”
“Yes . ”
“Yes . ”
They smiled . It was nice to be called by your real name . They talked about fashion with Edmond’s kind and calm wife . Or talk about their travels with Kaider and Nyran .
“Now, Maki and Chiharu . ”
When they were finished eating, Edmond smiled and said,
“You will be children again starting tomorrow . But today, you are grown-ups . Kreis . ”
And then Kreis brought over a steel plate and some ham .
“Now this is the man’s job . ”
He said as he began to slice the ham into thin sheets, which Kreis would cook on the steel plate . When it started to sizzle, Emma put the slices onto some bread .
“Now, try it . ”
Both of them took a bite . The ham was hot and the juices and oil spread in their mouths as the bread softy enveloped it .
“Take a sip of this as well . ”
It was the apple wine from last night . It washed away the slight oily taste from their mouths . Only the soft smell of apples remained in their mouths .
“It’s delicious!”
“It’s delicious!”
“This is actually a winter dish . People make it at home, so it’s not served in restaurants very often . I wanted you to have some . Now, eat some pickles too . ”
They had already eaten a lot for dinner, but somehow, they could eat even more when wine was involved . Emma was just like a mother to them . Was Sera alright? They wondered .
And so Maki and Chiharu were able to once again experience the warmth of the dwarves during their last day in the capital .