Chapter 72
While they were a little surprised by it all, the group made their way to the river cottages where they could hear the murmur of the water . The cool wind blew in from the windows in a most delightful way .
“There were also places where you could eat over a river, but I never got to go to any of them . ”
Said Chiharu, who was especially happy .
“However, you can’t choose from a menu here . It’s all boiled fish . Can you eat fish, Maki, and Chiharu?”
“Of course, they can . I saw them hogging down fried fish before . ”
Kaider said . While it was true, he could have used different words . But the food arrived before they could complain .
“Wow…”
Each person was served a large soup bowl with a lid over it . Then a basket of sliced bread was placed in the center of the table . Then the waiter pulled the lids off of their bowls and the fumes and the smell of spices filled the air .
A large, white fish was in the center of the soup bowl as it peeked out from the golden soup . There were also black clams that they remembered eating back at the castle . But what was the yellow, long thing?
“Ah, the yellow stuff . That was scraped off a sea snake . ”
Edwy said light-heartedly .
“Scraped off…”
Chiharu’s eyes seemed to lose focus . But Maki…
“So this sea snake must be pretty big then . ”
She sounded interested .
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“Yes . They are a mere 3 meters long . But are as thick as a grown man’s arm . There is lots of edible flesh and they are especially good in soup . Chiharu?”
“Yes, snake, yes . But 3 meters seems quite big? Uh, soup? So, it tastes good . I see . ”
“Yes, very . It’s quite popular with women, for beauty purposes . ”
“Oh, it must be the collagen! Yes, I’m eating this!”
Chiharu recovered . She didn’t like to look at such wormy things, but she could eat them .
The shrimps and clams were out of their shells and the whitefish had no bones . She wasn’t sure about the sea snake broth, but the meat was like jelly . The whole thing was so delicious that she used bread to scoop up every last drop . As for the men, they had two servings .
After the meal, they were served large cups of citrus water .
“We should take a short walk around town before returning to the airship . ”
Edwy suggested . And so Maki and Chiharu decided to walk through the town by the river . While it was a riverside town, the river connected to the sea, so it was also a seaport in a way . Unfortunately, the market had already closed . Still, Tram was filled with the smell of unfamiliar spices and eye-catching tapestry . It did not take long for them to find things they wanted to buy .
However, the trip would be quite long . It would just be baggage if they bought stuff now . And so Chiharu only bought some twirly-shaped sweets that looked like they would last long . She put it carefully in her bag so they wouldn’t get crushed .
The others all wanted to tell her that she was better off getting a pretty handkerchief or a scarf, if she was worried about space . But they held their tongue .
While the others watched Chiharu become excited, Maki quickly finished her own shopping . It was just like when they had traveled in the dwarf lands .
And then they returned to the airship .
“I’ll pilot it this time . ”
Edwy said as he grabbed the handle . It was a little high for him, but Aeris had been thorough when teaching him how to pilot it .
“Can I sit next to you?”
“Nyran . Sure . You should take this opportunity to learn . ”
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Aeris sat down next to Chiharu . Chiharu sat next to him, and Grudo and Kaider sat on the opposite side . Van was sitting further off and talking happily . After a while, Maki and Chiharu started to feel sleepy .
And so Aeris moved so that Chiharu could rest on his shoulder .
“Uncle…”
“Is that the wisdom of age?”
“Are you jealous?”
“Wh-, no, I’m just…”
Kaider looked away . Maki was leaning on Chiharu as she slept . Aeris thought that it was very cute .
“Grudo and I are at an age where we can live as we like . Don’t you agree?”
Aeris said to Kaider with a grin .
“Well, it’s true that we are very proud of Grudo . And we respect you as well, Aeris . However, I think you have always lived as pleased . ”
Aeris chuckled .
“Well, then . It’s because I lived as I pleased up until now, that I will continue to do so . ”
He said . And then he picked up some of Chiharu’s hair and enjoyed the sensation .
“Tsk . Most people cannot live so freely . ”
Kaider said as he looked at Maki . Of course, for him, the bigger problem was that he didn’t know his own feelings .
“Well, they must be tired . They went out on the balcony last night as well . ”
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“The gazers?”
“I couldn’t really see . But that was probably it . ”
“I see . To think that gazers would come all of the way to Midland…”
“According to them, there were gazers in the past as well . However, they only appear now because of the Saintesses . ”
“We just don’t know enough about the magic stones or the monsters . ”
Aeris said with annoyance . Then he continued as if suddenly remembering something .
“That being said, while you have been useful, I don’t know if it’s a good thing to snoop around a lady’s room at night . ”
“Are you jealous?”
Kaid asked . However, the old were wise .
“To be honest, yes . ”
He answered plainly .
“By the way, you’ve looked rather red for a while now . ”
“Hey, shut up, Nyran . Chiharu might wake up…”
Kaider looked a little frantic .
“She’s sleeping soundly . ”
Aeris said .
“Well, it’s because Maki talked about swimming in bathing suits . ”
Kaider said hesitantly .
“Bathing suits?”
“Swimming?”
“They are tight clothes that come up to here . ”
Kaider showed them .
“What? And they have nothing under it?”
“Edwy, keep your eyes up ahead!”
“Oh, uh, yes?”
At some point, Edwy had become distracted by their conversation .
“And she said the top and bottom are separate and they show their stomach . ”
“Their stomach?”
“Their stomach?”
“Their stomach?”
Everyone looked at Maki’s stomach . Then they turned red and looked away . Except for Grudo .
“Being young is so troublesome . Oh, some of you aren’t young . ”
“Shut up . ”
Aeris shot back with a red face . Then Nyran mumbled .
“I’m so glad that Chiharu wasn’t awake . ”
That was something they could all agree on .