For lunch, they did not use fire, but instead, ate premade food in the main square of the village they stopped by. The party arrived in Lapondo in the evening and set up camp around the mayor’s mansion.
Maki and Chiharu had work to do now. As Maki was a little taller, she was made to run around and do errands, while Chiharu peeled vegetables nonstop. Aside from ordering her to peel vegetables, no one paid her any attention. The vegetables were then dumped into the soup pot and it began to bubble with a delicious smell.
When the sun set and the soup was ready, several large grills were prepared in the garden and a fire was made. The head cook stood in front of the grills and started to cook the meat. Soldiers and Adventurers lined up by these grills while holding their soup and bread. When the meat was ready, the cook would give each man a few large slices of meat. It wasn’t until after everyone had finished having their second helpings that the cooks were allowed to eat.
“Don’t worry, I saved some meat for you two.”
A small pot of soup had been set aside for them and a single grill was used to cook their meat. By the time they were able to eat, Maki and Chiharu were starving after working so hard for the first time in a while.
The meat sizzled while the cook seasoned it simply with a little salt and pepper. They sat down on the ground and stabbed the meat with a fork and brought it to their mouths. What part of meat they would get was mostly up to luck, but on this day, Maki and Chiharu were very lucky. It was red, dense meat that had been grown in the mountains. With one bite, it was a tug of war with your fork. When they chewed it off and ground it between their teeth, the meat’s juices flowed into their mouths. It was delicious.
“Here, eat as much as you can before it’s all gone.”
Paulo added more meat to their plates.
“Here, you want a drink too?”
“It might be a waste to give it to children.”
“I’ll have some!”
“I’ll have some!”
A young person had come them with some ale. It was Jean. He was carrying ale in a barrel.
“Well, you know, ale is like a water substitute.”
No, it wasn’t. Still, Maki and Chiharu had finished soaking up all their meat juices with their bread, and so they were very prepared to end their meal with a drink with the others.
“It’s so good.”
“Yes.”
They felt very satisfied.
“Now, one last bit of work to do!”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
They had to work with some of the soldiers whose turn it was and wash the dishes before going to bed. They slept in inns when they could, but when there weren’t enough rooms, they slept in tents. Instead of pitching a huge tent, everyone had small, single-person tents that they slept in. As Maki and Chiharu were learning how to set their tents up, the bird people came.
“Hey, you’re not going to fly then?”
“Sauro. It’s too late.”
“But the night sky is so beautiful. You can see the lights in the town.”
It was the job of the cooks to go shopping early in the morning. And then they would continue to travel. There really was no time to go around flying.
“Do you ever get in trouble for flying around here?”
“No one gets angry at us.”
“Well, people might get angry if it is us.”
The other cooks were now looking at the bird people with interest.
“Paulo.”
“Oh, uh. What is it?”
“I want to borrow these children for a bit.”
“What? Why?”
“I’m going to take them to the sky.”
“Uh, but…”
“It is fine. I know them, and they are used to it.”
“Kenneth, Ryan. Is that true?”
“Yes, it is.”
“I see.”
Paulo was surprised that the bird people knew his name, but he was even more surprised that they wanted to fly with the children. Oh, well. Perhaps they were just really bored.
“Do not stay out too late. You have an early morning.”
“Very well. Ryan, can you run?”
“You better pick me up properly, okay?”
“Of course.”
The two of them began to run in the open field. First, it was Maki. And then Chiharu. Sauro and Saikania picked them up and rose into the air. Their white wings glimmered from the light of the fires below for a moment, then they disappeared into the night sky.
“That was impressive.”
“Those two are clearly used to doing that.”
“It’s very unusual to be friends with the bird people, unless you’re royalty. Isn’t it, Jean?”
“Yes. There is definitely something strange about them.”
“It’s just until Gromble. We don’t know anything.”
“Understood.”
If she was wearing pants, Chiharu could run and jump up just fine. The camp bonfires grew rapidly smaller. Not being able to see the ground like you could during the day actually made it less scary, she realized. Once they had gone high enough, Sauro and Saikania flew more slowly. They could now see the town of Lapondo underneath them. The main street of the town was lined with lampposts. Soldiers were moving by the bonfires around the mayor’s house, lanterns separated the town districts and a soft glow came from the windows of the houses. When she looked to the mountains, she could see faint light coming from the small villages that dotted the area. And when she looked up, the sky was slightly brighter than the rest, making the outline of the horizon very clear. And above that was a large moon and a sky full of stars.
The sun world and the shadow world. The sun, moon and stars of this world. The laws of physics were completely different here compared to earth. There would be no end to it if she kept thinking about it.
“You will be able to see the sea if we fly even higher.”
“No, I’m fine. Thank you.”
While it was early summer, the night wind was cold. Flying during the night had been much funner than she had expected, but she was ready to go home.
After being let down by the bird people, Maki and Chiharu dove into their tents.
“So that’s not Norfe?”
“Chouze wouldn’t be able to fly like that.”
The three princes had been watching them for a short distance away. They had come to watch when they heard that the bird people were flying with children.
“Kaider, Nyran. By Norfe and Chouze, do you mean those Inlanders?”
“Uh, no. Not that Norfe and Chouze. It’s the names of these two children that we’ve been traveling with until recently. They said that they were going to Gromble, but we separated in the city.”
“And those two were often surrounded by birds. They said that it was normal for children to play with birds in Midland. It’s not like that at all in the south, so I was rather impressed with Arthur’s country.”
“Hmmm.”
Edwy looked serious.
“Well, the birdfolk do like children and will sometimes play with them. However…”
Edwy hesitated and Kaider and Nyran looked at him suspiciously.
“There are no children other than me who are close enough to the birdfolk to be carried.”
“But Norfe said…”
“Norfe. Norfe, eh? And Chouze? I see.”
Edwy smiled sarcastically.
“Edwy, what are you saying?”
“Those two. Do they know how much we have been worrying about them?”
“Edwy?”
“Sorry, I’m going back now.”
This was all because they had listened to the bird people.
Plan C. It was about to fail.
For lunch, they did not use fire, but instead, ate premade food in the main square of the village they stopped by. The party arrived in Lapondo in the evening and set up camp around the mayor’s mansion.
Maki and Chiharu had work to do now. As Maki was a little taller, she was made to run around and do errands, while Chiharu peeled vegetables nonstop. Aside from ordering her to peel vegetables, no one paid her any attention. The vegetables were then dumped into the soup pot and it began to bubble with a delicious smell.
When the sun set and the soup was ready, several large grills were prepared in the garden and a fire was made. The head cook stood in front of the grills and started to cook the meat. Soldiers and Adventurers lined up by these grills while holding their soup and bread. When the meat was ready, the cook would give each man a few large slices of meat. It wasn’t until after everyone had finished having their second helpings that the cooks were allowed to eat.
“Don’t worry, I saved some meat for you two.”
A small pot of soup had been set aside for them and a single grill was used to cook their meat. By the time they were able to eat, Maki and Chiharu were starving after working so hard for the first time in a while.
The meat sizzled while the cook seasoned it simply with a little salt and pepper. They sat down on the ground and stabbed the meat with a fork and brought it to their mouths. What part of meat they would get was mostly up to luck, but on this day, Maki and Chiharu were very lucky. It was red, dense meat that had been grown in the mountains. With one bite, it was a tug of war with your fork. When they chewed it off and ground it between their teeth, the meat’s juices flowed into their mouths. It was delicious.
“Here, eat as much as you can before it’s all gone.”
Paulo added more meat to their plates.
“Here, you want a drink too?”
“It might be a waste to give it to children.”
“I’ll have some!”
“I’ll have some!”
A young person had come them with some ale. It was Jean. He was carrying ale in a barrel.
“Well, you know, ale is like a water substitute.”
No, it wasn’t. Still, Maki and Chiharu had finished soaking up all their meat juices with their bread, and so they were very prepared to end their meal with a drink with the others.
“It’s so good.”
“Yes.”
They felt very satisfied.
“Now, one last bit of work to do!”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
They had to work with some of the soldiers whose turn it was and wash the dishes before going to bed. They slept in inns when they could, but when there weren’t enough rooms, they slept in tents. Instead of pitching a huge tent, everyone had small, single-person tents that they slept in. As Maki and Chiharu were learning how to set their tents up, the bird people came.
“Hey, you’re not going to fly then?”
“Sauro. It’s too late.”
“But the night sky is so beautiful. You can see the lights in the town.”
It was the job of the cooks to go shopping early in the morning. And then they would continue to travel. There really was no time to go around flying.
“Do you ever get in trouble for flying around here?”
“No one gets angry at us.”
“Well, people might get angry if it is us.”
The other cooks were now looking at the bird people with interest.
“Paulo.”
“Oh, uh. What is it?”
“I want to borrow these children for a bit.”
“What? Why?”
“I’m going to take them to the sky.”
“Uh, but…”
“It is fine. I know them, and they are used to it.”
“Kenneth, Ryan. Is that true?”
“Yes, it is.”
“I see.”
Paulo was surprised that the bird people knew his name, but he was even more surprised that they wanted to fly with the children. Oh, well. Perhaps they were just really bored.
“Do not stay out too late. You have an early morning.”
“Very well. Ryan, can you run?”
“You better pick me up properly, okay?”
“Of course.”
The two of them began to run in the open field. First, it was Maki. And then Chiharu. Sauro and Saikania picked them up and rose into the air. Their white wings glimmered from the light of the fires below for a moment, then they disappeared into the night sky.
“That was impressive.”
“Those two are clearly used to doing that.”
“It’s very unusual to be friends with the bird people, unless you’re royalty. Isn’t it, Jean?”
“Yes. There is definitely something strange about them.”
“It’s just until Gromble. We don’t know anything.”
“Understood.”
If she was wearing pants, Chiharu could run and jump up just fine. The camp bonfires grew rapidly smaller. Not being able to see the ground like you could during the day actually made it less scary, she realized. Once they had gone high enough, Sauro and Saikania flew more slowly. They could now see the town of Lapondo underneath them. The main street of the town was lined with lampposts. Soldiers were moving by the bonfires around the mayor’s house, lanterns separated the town districts and a soft glow came from the windows of the houses. When she looked to the mountains, she could see faint light coming from the small villages that dotted the area. And when she looked up, the sky was slightly brighter than the rest, making the outline of the horizon very clear. And above that was a large moon and a sky full of stars.
The sun world and the shadow world. The sun, moon and stars of this world. The laws of physics were completely different here compared to earth. There would be no end to it if she kept thinking about it.
“You will be able to see the sea if we fly even higher.”
“No, I’m fine. Thank you.”
While it was early summer, the night wind was cold. Flying during the night had been much funner than she had expected, but she was ready to go home.
After being let down by the bird people, Maki and Chiharu dove into their tents.
“So that’s not Norfe?”
“Chouze wouldn’t be able to fly like that.”
The three princes had been watching them for a short distance away. They had come to watch when they heard that the bird people were flying with children.
“Kaider, Nyran. By Norfe and Chouze, do you mean those Inlanders?”
“Uh, no. Not that Norfe and Chouze. It’s the names of these two children that we’ve been traveling with until recently. They said that they were going to Gromble, but we separated in the city.”
“And those two were often surrounded by birds. They said that it was normal for children to play with birds in Midland. It’s not like that at all in the south, so I was rather impressed with Arthur’s country.”
“Hmmm.”
Edwy looked serious.
“Well, the birdfolk do like children and will sometimes play with them. However…”
Edwy hesitated and Kaider and Nyran looked at him suspiciously.
“There are no children other than me who are close enough to the birdfolk to be carried.”
“But Norfe said…”
“Norfe. Norfe, eh? And Chouze? I see.”
Edwy smiled sarcastically.
“Edwy, what are you saying?”
“Those two. Do they know how much we have been worrying about them?”
“Edwy?”
“Sorry, I’m going back now.”
This was all because they had listened to the bird people.
Plan C. It was about to fail.
