Chapter 36
The soldiers lined up for their food and then ate together peacefully . Maki and Chiharu had now been working for two days, but as they were very good with their hands, they were put in charge of serving the soup .
It was very easy . While it had been years ago, they had done it many times when serving their school lunch . Children would often complain if their portions had too many vegetables or too little meat . Edwy watch from afar as Maki and Chiharu excitedly served the soup . He felt that his eagerness to take them back with him was weakening .
It had been fifteen days since Maki and Chiharu had left the castle . And while Grudo had sent guards, and while the birdfolk watched over them, they probably would have fared just as well if they had been alone . Perhaps both of them never wanted to be protected or treated as if they were special .
When the line was almost finished, Edwy entered at the end .
“You’re the last one, so you get a big scoop!”
Chiharu said as she poured it into his bowl . Just then, Edwy grabbed her wrist .
“Huh?”
Her dark eyes looked up at him quizzically . Yes, it really was Chiharu .
“Edwy…”
“Chiharu . I found you . And Maki . ”
Chiharu’s eyes widened as she froze . Maki looked surprised as well . Yes . I was stupid for not being able to see it, but they weren’t so smart either . There is no way people wouldn’t notice if you started flying in the sky .
How dumb were they to be surprised at this, when they had not been cautious at all?
His worry, his anger . All of it began to crumble .
“Chiharu . You’re so dumb!”
“Hey, Edwy . That’s no way to speak to a lady . ”
“Lady? Where?”
“Uh, um, shut up!”
“Hahaha!”
Edwy burst into laughter . Maki frantically called to him .
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“Hey, Edwy . Be quiet . We don’t want to draw attention!”
“Nothing will draw more attention then flying with the birdfolk . ”
“Ahhh . Sauro!”
The people around them now recognized the prince and began to talk amongst themselves .
“Hey, you . Take your dinner plates and move to that corner! You’re in the way!”
Paulo said to all three of them after seeing the scene they were creating .
“Fine . Edwy, sit over there!”
“Wait!”
“We won’t run away . Hold this for me . ”
Edwy was handed three bowls of soup and then left alone . Maki picked up three plates and went over to the grills in order to get the meat . Chiharu took three cups to where the barrels were . Edwy felt very uncomfortable allowing the girls to do this for him, but he waited quietly .
“Alright, we can talk while we eat . Anyway, good work today!”
“Yes . ”
They clinked their cups together . They were drinking ale . That was strange . He had meant to find Maki and Chiharu and cause an uproar .
“Ahh, it’s good!”
“Ahh, it’s good!”
“Yes . ”
While Edwy was used to dining in the mayor’s mansion, it was not exactly enjoyable . The only thing he liked about it was seeing how uncomfortable Kaider and Nyran were as well . I don’t like them . Edwy thought with a sigh . They treated him like a child .
“Edwy . This is what we cooked today . It’s boiled potatoes that have been cooked on a grill with cheese on top . You should eat it while it’s still hot . See . Hah-hhot . ”
“Ffff, hah, quickly, quickly . ”
“Ah, ahh . ”
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There were lots of potatoes with strips of meat on top .
“Ah, hot . It’s good . ”
“Right? It’s delicious . We got this cheese in Lapondo . ”
“They say it’s really famous . ”
They ate in silence after that . At the castle, Maki and Chiharu had eaten like the nobles . And they had acted as ladies in front of the ambassadors . But now they were sitting on the ground crossed legged and opening their mouths wide to be filled with potatoes .
“Ah, the meat is so good too!”
“This is the meat that Paulo was marinating in sauce last night . ”
“I see . It’s so good . ”
They finished off the mugs of ale with their food . It was fun . This dinner was much more fun than most meals .
“Edwy . ”
Maki began . Chiharu also sat up straight and looked at him .
“We’re sorry . ”
“We’re sorry . ”
“Yes . Everyone was so worried about you two . ”
The two of them looked like they were going to cry .
“Why did you leave the castle without saying anything? If you told us, we could have helped you enter the dwarf country in disguise . ”
“We couldn’t tell you . And you say disguise, but we would have still had guards around us, wouldn’t we? Besides, Arthur, Aeris, Grudo and Zynis all have their own important roles . Even you Edwy . You had enough to worry about in dealing with the other countries . ”
“I was so busy then . If I had even a little free time, I went with you two to the town . It was just so fun . But I never stopped to think about how you two felt . ”
And that was why he couldn’t stop the inlanders from saying such things . Edwy remembered this and clenched his fist .
“Are you thinking about the inlanders?”
Chiharu asked quietly .
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“I’m sorry . I’m sure that was the main reason why you wanted to leave . ”
“No-no . ”
Maki shook her head and laughed .
“Yes, it annoyed us a little . But it’s really nothing . We had decided way before that . ”
“Way before that?”
“We’ve always worked for entire days and made a living for ourselves . It was hard being taken care of so well just because we were Saintesses . ”
“Maki…”
“It might be hard for you to understand, Edwy . But hard work and the struggle to live can be very rewarding if it is a decision that you made on your own . But as a prince, you are not free with how you can work . ”
Edwy felt a little hurt by this . He had not been born a prince as a choice . He didn’t like that she said he wouldn’t be able to understand them because he didn’t know what it was like to be free .
However, Maki and Chiharu had not wanted to be Saintesses either . Perhaps that was something that he needed to understand .
“I do not want to be treated as a prince or eat fine meals with the mayor . However, it was still my decision to remain a prince . Is that it?”
“As Saintesses, we will purify the miasma . But we wanted freedom in our actions until then . No . That’s just me trying to sound cool . We really just wanted to run away from it all . ”
Maki said with a sad smile .
“And Chiharu just got pulled along with me . ”
“We decided on this together, Maki-chan . ”
The two of them looked at each other and laughed . Right now, their boy clothes seemed to suit them .
“Hey, Edwy . You should come back soon . ”
“Apparently, we’re not sufficient company . ”
It was Kaider and Nyran . Maki and Chiharu looked stunned and quickly faced the ground .
“Ah, you are playing with the other children then . How nice . ”
Edwy looked very annoyed at Kaider’s remark . But he then grabbed Maki’s shoulder and answered .
“Yes, I’m happier with friends close to my own age . You two can deal with the adults . ”
Kaider, Nyran . It’s because you two always run away that I end having to talk to them . Edwy thought .
“It’s too much trouble . I prefer to be swinging my sword . ”
Kaider scratched his head . It was no use . Edwy sighed and was just about to stand up .
“Edwy would also prefer to swing his sword or fly with bird people . ”
“Who are you?”
Chiharu stood up and shouted at Kaider .
“It doesn’t matter if you find it troublesome . You should do it . Edwy is still a child, isn’t he? How can an adult like you push your work onto a kid?”
“What! This has nothing to do with you . ”
“I’m the one who is now enjoying being with my friend . It does have something to do with me . If you want to call him a child, let him be free during the night, at least . Edwy, let’s go . Sauro’s waiting . ”
“Ah, uh, sorry . I’ll show up later . ”
Edwy said, and the three of them left . They looked very small from the back . And since it was night, the fact that they could not see colors sometimes made the truth more visible .
“Norfe? Chouze?”
Nyran muttered . But neither of the two children stopped . Kaider said lazily .
“I made the little ones angry . Oh, well . I guess we better go then . ”
“Hey, you should stop treating Edwy like a child . Humans are adults at 18 . ”
“You did it too . ”
Nyran turned around again and watched the three as they left . Maybe he had only seen what he wanted . Well, it was time to go back to work .