Chapter 82
Maki and Chiharu sat in the back with the cargo . They dangled their feet down and watched the scenery .
“It’s been a while since we dressed like this . ”
“It’s a lot easier to move if I wear pants underneath this one-piece dress . But it’s a little hot . It’s perfect for flying, though . Still…”
Chiharu felt a little gloomy .
“How long were we in the sky? To be honest, wasn’t it just as long as crossing the sea?”
“Yes . I wouldn’t say anything to Sauro, but I bet it would only take 3 hours to fly to the dwarf territory from here . Also…”
Maki seemed hesitant to speak .
“Maybe he feels more confident now . ”
“Yeah . ”
The wind felt comfortable .
“Well, now they know that there are small children in Lowland that want to play with them . ”
“What a cute sacrifice . ”
“Ki-kids are fine . They always enjoy it . ”
Chiharu muttered as she looked to the side .
“Eventually, they’ll have a team of birdfolk in Lowland . People might train with them from childhood and be able to take messages to other places . ”
“‘Changes in the dwarven dungeon . Questing help immediately . ’ Like that?”
“Yes, yes . Because birdfolk messengers aren’t very reliable by themselves . ”
“Ahh . Yeah, they are too free . ”
Currently, it was probably Maki and Edwy who were able to fly with the birdfolk for the longest distance . Though, Chiharu wasn’t that bad either . The truth was that it was much more likely that Maki and Chiharu would be asked to work as messengers, rather than having some Lowland birfolk team set up .
The carriages started to go up a hill as they headed for the border town . A forest spread out at the bottom of the hill, and the carriage was moving down the road that winded through it . The dwarf lands had many ups and downs in the terrain, but the journey between Lowland and Highland was relatively gentle .
Flatlands stretched out on the other side of the forest, and beyond that, was a blue sea .
Sponsored Content
“Ahh, it feels so nice . ”
“It almost makes me forget why we are here . ”
“Hey, we’ll be arriving soon . ”
They heard Edwy shout from up ahead .
“This town is our first stop . ”
“I hope we can take a bath . ”
“I doubt it . ”
“But my muscles are so sore . ”
“Mine too . ”
But they wouldn’t expect such luxuries for a while . Maki and Chiharu continued to sit in the back and watch the town’s scenery as they traveled to the inn . The people here looked similar to the people who lived by the Lowland sea . But perhaps there were more people with dirty blonde hair . Just like Maki and Chiharu had now . Merchant carriages were not unusual . And so they just looked like a brother and sister who were enjoying themselves . And the people just smiled at them .
The carriages stopped slowly at the inn . Maki and Chiharu hopped out and walked to the driver’s seat .
“You two are really starting to look as if you are related . ”
“That’s no good, Edwy . ”
“What do you mean?”
“The way you talk . People will think it’s strange . ”
“I-I see . Uh, no . You are right . ”
Aaron chuckled as he saw Chiharu admonish Edwy .
“So, you’re the one who isn’t able to disguise himself at all . ”
“It’s not my fault . Well, maybe it is . I am so used to being around people that are older than me . ”
Edwy grumbled .
“We will stay at this inn tonight . As we will be leaving early in the morning, you should all get a good rest tonight . ”
“Can we explore the town a little after getting our room?”
Sponsored Content
“Well, it should be safe here . What about you, Edwy?”
“I told you to call me Ed . I’ll go with you, Chouze . ”
“Let’s go then! Ed!”
They took two rooms, as was expected .
This wasn’t the only town near Highland’s border . However, this was seen as a checkpoint for trading, and so it was quite prosperous . And many special products, such as dyed cloth, were sold here .
“Maybe I’ll buy something for Sera . Oh, wait . Nevermind . ”
“Is it because our journey just started?”
“No . But these are special items from the border town in Lowland . She will wonder why we have them when we were supposed to go to the elf lands . ‘I would never have imagined that you two would put yourselves in danger . What is that useless elf?’”
“You sound just like her, Maki-chan . ”
Chiharu was impressed . Even Edwy was holding his stomach and laughing next to them .
“So I can’t give anything that would be evidence . ”
“Ho ho . Alright, Maki-chan . ”
They looked at each other and laughed .
“Ah, that food over there looks interesting . ”
“Wait a minute, Chihaaru . ”
“Edwy, watch your mouth!”
“Ah, wait! Chouze!”
“Just a little!”
Chiharu and Edwy went running off . In the meantime…
“Mister! Please give me 4 of those small things . ”
“Aye, coming right up . Are you old enough to drink, boy?”
“It’s for my older brother . See, over there . ”
“Ah, that handsome man . ”
Sponsored Content
Edwy stuck out after all . Oh, well . In her heart, Maki was shaking her head .
“Also, what’s this?”
“You don’t know? It’s a kind of dried meat that is made by stretching out the meat and seasoning it . ”
“Alright, I’ll take these too . ”
“Thank you . ”
The man was quite happy that this merchant child was buying a lot .
“This is our first time traveling inland with our older brother . Have you ever been there?”
“Have I? Of course, it’s just right over there . In fact, they have much the same traditions as us . So don’t worry about that . ”
“Oh, thank you . ”
“Now that I think of it, we haven’t gotten any fish from inland recently . ”
“Fish? We’re going to the mirror lake in order to sell some Soluna oranges . ”
“Soluna oranges? Would you sell some of them to me too? My wife just loves them . ”
“I can bring a little bit if you like . ”
“Thank you . Still, we’ve never been unable to get fish before . There must be some serious shortages . If there are no fish, you might have trouble selling your oranges as well . ”
“If that happens, we’ll go to a different town . ”
“That’s a good idea . ”
“Okay, I’ll bring you some oranges then . ”
“Thank you!”
Maki hurriedly put the food into her bag and then ran to the others, who were walking towards her .
She delivered the oranges, and then they had dinner . Hot water was brought to their room so they were able to freshen up before bed .
“It’s too bad that these disguises mean we can’t drink out in the open . ”
Chiharu muttered . She was not happy that only Aaron and Edwy were allowed to have ale with their dinner .
“We had to drink water . Water! Though, it was good water . ”
It was cold water drawn from a well . It was the best thing to have in the summer .
“I knew you’d say that, Chiharu . So here!”
Maki said as she took out two small, pretty bottles from her bag .
“This…”
Chiharu gulped .
“Is it what I think it is?”
“Yes, it is . ”
Chiharu’s eyes shone .
“You’re so cool, Maki-chan!”
“Yes, and?”
“You’re so pretty . ”
“Hahaha!”
Maki looked over her should with a hand on her hip . And then she brushed her hair out of her face with her other hand .
“It comes with some dried meat as well . ”
“Maki-chan! You’re the best!”
“Well, save the rest . ”
And so they both sat down . Chiharu took out some sweet snacks from her bag and added them to the pile . Then they clinked their bottles together . Just then…
“Hey, you two…huh?”
“Eh?”
“No, Maki-chan, you’re supposed to scream . ”
Chiharu joked . Apparently, they had forgotten to lock the door .
The person who had come in without knocking was Aaron .