Chapter 81
How many hours did it take for them to reach the border town? They took several breaks, each one longer than the previous one . And the birdfolk traded places at least four times .
“Agh, I’m tired . ”
Even Maki was exhausted . Chiharu wasn’t able to say anything . Aaron got up on shaky legs and thanked them .
“It would have taken three days by carriage, and that would have also drawn a lot of attention . It’s because of you that we were able to come here so quickly and unnoticed . You have my gratitude . ”
“We didn’t to it for you . It was because Maki and Chiharu asked us . ”
Sauro answered bluntly . He merely glanced in Aaron’s direction and then muttered to himself .
“But it’s not easy for a big human to be carried such a long distance . The royals of Lowland are not as bad as I thought . ”
Chiharu found this comment amusing . She managed to stand up and turn to Sauro .
“There are lots of children in the Lowland castle . Including one who we befriended during the ceremony . Maybe there will be more birdfolk near the castle now . And they can play with the children . Then it will become normal to ‘have the birdfolk carry you . ’”
Sauro looked at Saikania with an expression of realization . Yes, yes . Chiharu thought she heard them say . But she wasn’t sure .
“Chiharu, I am not sure if those words are a blessing or a curse . But as the birdfolk have little interaction with Lowland, it may be a good thing . But for now, it just seems like a curse . ”
Aaron muttered with exasperation .
They had landed just a short distance away from the border town . And someone was already there, waiting for them .
“Now, people will notice if we stand here for too long . Aaron went through the trouble of sending his men ahead . So let’s hurry up and go . ”
Edwy said . Maki and Chiharu nodded and turned around in order to thank the birdfolk one last time . Perhaps they felt that there was no need for modesty once they had carried them, because all twenty birdfolk hugged Maki and Chiharu tightly, before leaving with expressions of regret .
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“Now, many birdfolk know how close the human lands are . It’s thanks to you, Maki and Chiharu . ”
Sauro said . He was the last one to leave .
“I can’t go with you, but be careful . ”
“Come back soon . ”
And then he and Saikania flew off . Chiharu watched them fly away and muttered .
“I feel like we unleashed something that wasn’t supposed to be unleashed . ”
Maki patted her on the shoulder and said,
“It would have happened sooner or later . Now, let’s go . ”
“Yes . ”
The carriage that was provided had a roof, and there were lots of oranges piled up in the back .
“Now we look like proper merchants . ”
Maki said as she looked at it with satisfaction .
“Do you want to sit with the driver or under the roof?”
Aaron asked as he held the reins . They wanted to be able to see the scenery, but there was only space for one person to sit next to the driver . As for the back of the carriage, the tarp roof was tied in the back, but there was opening there that you could see out of .
“We’ll sit in the back . And then we move to the cargo if we get tired . ”
“I see . We’ll arrive in the town in thirty minutes, so hang in there . ”
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“Thank you . ”
Maki and Chiharu smiled and ran to the back . The first carriage started to move slowly, then Maki and Chiharu’s carriage was next . And then after there was some distance between them, the last carriage moved as if a coincidence .
“To be honest, I thought they were just acting like spoiled princesses at first . ”
“You must be so surprised . ”
The two princes talked in the driver’s seat .
“Yes, I see them differently now . I’m impressed that you can fly with the birdfolk without getting tired . For me, I was so terrified and exhausted . But they did it without complaining at all . They don’t even complain about riding in the back of a carriage like this . ”
“Well, that’s Maki and Chiharu for you . ”
Edwy felt a sense of pride when listening to Aaron praise them .
“They are so small and cute, that you think you have to protect them . But they will run out and do everything by themselves . ”
“I heard about that . I was surprised when they started the journey dressed as Saintesses, but I was even more surprised when they started changing their clothes outside . ”
Aaron said with a red face . If Maki were there, she would have said,
“What are you saying? You couldn’t even see anything . ”
Edwy thought with a chuckle .
There is no end to it when talking about their good points . So, let’s talk about the magic stones . ”
“The Saintess’s stone? The one on their foreheads?”
“No . The Saintesses can turn monsters into magic stones . ”
“Ah, that . To be honest, I find it hard to believe . ”
“Van was like that until he saw it too . ”
“Really? I thought he didn’t go to the dwarf lands . ”
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“Yes . ”
Aaron looked confused for a second . If it wasn’t in the dwarf lands, then where…
“No . ”
“Yes . On the road . ”
“In Midland”!
“The last time was in a border town . We could see Lowland on the other side of the river . ”
Edwy said this as if to say that this concerned Lowland as well .
“One of the gazers that they met had apparently come over the mountains . ”
“It said that? A monster?”
“Yes . A monster . ”
“That’s ridiculous . ”
“The Saintesses can speak with them . ”
“It’s impossible . ”
Aaron sometimes went to the dungeons while he was in the elf lands, and so he knew more about monsters than most humans . The elves were not very passionate about fighting, and so sometimes monsters would come out of the dungeons when there weren’t too many human Adventurers around . However, the elves didn’t care unless they attacked someone . And even if they did attack, the elves would just sigh and shoot them down with their bows .
It was because of this, that they weren’t able to react in time to the sudden rise in monsters and miasma . And so things had become very dangerous .
“Still, I want to believe . ”
“Well, you don’t have to believe it until you see it . There’s no point in spending time trying to persuade you . ”
“I-I see . ”
Edwy was rather harsh .
“You don’t have to believe . You just have to understand why the Saintesses accepted this request from the merfolk . ”
“I suppose there is a possibility that something is happening inland . ”
“Exactly . ”
Edwy nodded as if to say, ‘well done . ’
“They will be a brother and sister of 14 and 12 . This is the Aaron company, and you are protecting them . And so you must treat them as if they were ordinary, hard-working children . ”
“But they are princesses . ”
“They worked as the cook’s helpers back in the dwarf lands . ”
“Oh…”
Aaron was shocked .
“I have too little information . These are not the Saintesses I was expecting at all . ”
“Well, you made too many assumptions . So in a way, it’s your own fault . ”
Edwy said harshly .
“We will be brothers, so you can call me Ed . I’ll call you Aaron . ”
“And them?”
“Norfe and Chouze . ”
“Norfe and Chouze? But those are the names of the prince and princess . ”
“Do you know how many babies were named Edwy and Aaron when we were born?”
“I see . You’re right . It’s quite natural, actually . ”
“Now, I will spend the rest of our time telling you how great Maki and Chiharu are . ”
“Give me a break…”
Of course, Edwy would do no such thing . They did not have the energy to share information with each other during the remainder of the trip .