Maki and Chiharu returned to their room, and after making sure that no one was near their door, they sat down on their beds and faced each other.
“They did say something about how it would be better, in the long run, if our identities remained secret.”
Chigaru started lazily.
“I think he’s just keeping us away because he can’t be bothered to explain anything.”
“You’re probably right.”
Maki folded her arms as she continued.
“So, we can either do something or just sit around quietly.”
“Maki-chan. There’s another option.”
Maki unfolded her arms and leaned forward. Chiharu put a single finger up to her lips and looked at her mischievously.
“We can’t search for the merfolk alone. But we can’t move with Aaron, Edwy, and Zynis’s son either. However, there is something that only we can do, isn’t there?”
“Just us? Saintesses…the gazers!”
“Correct!”
Chiharu clapped her hands.
“The border town between Midland and Lowland was the last one, right? And just look at how thick the miasma is here. I think there are definitely stray gazers around.”
“I think they should be alright if they survived this long without us. Still…”
Maki looked outside of the window.
“I feel bad for the gazers who say they are tired as they sway in the air.”
“Yeah. They cross over mountains like that.”
Both of them thought back on the gazer they had met in the border town. Had it wandered around for a day longer, it would have likely attracted attention and caused a big scene.
“But if we called gazers from this window, people will see them. What should we do?”
Chiharu tilted her head and thought. Just then, she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. They stopped right in front of their door, and then there was a knock.
“It’s Aaron.”
“Oh, the prince has become wiser.”
“I can hear you.”
Maki chuckled as she opened the door.
“Aaron.”
Aaron glared at her, but Maki took no notice.
“I’m sorry to inform you, but we’ll be leaving the inn for a while. I’m sure this will be very worrying for you, but just stay here quietly.”
“We’re 25. You don’t need to worry about us.”
“You’re the last person I’d believe.”
Aaron growled. And then he returned to his room once before going down the stairs.
“Is he gone?”
“Yeah, he’s gone.”
Maki stood up and looked at Chiharu. If they couldn’t do it from the window, that meant they had to go outside. But Chiharu was still dressed as a young girl. They wondered if it would be better to change.
“Are you thinking that it would be difficult for me to move? It’s actually quite easy since the skirt is shorter than the ones for adults. Besides, if we get caught outside, it might be better if I’m still Chouze.”
“That’s true. You rode in the carriage like this and sold everyone oranges. It should be fine.”
Maki nodded. And then Chiharu stood up.
“So, what should we do?”
She asked. Maki grinned and pushed up her hair.
“I just talked to some of the people that work here. I said that I wanted to meet one of the girls I became friends with today. And I wanted to do it without my older brother finding out about it.”
She answered.
“Maki-chan, that’s a bit…”
Chiharu was exasperated.
“Oh, but they were very understanding. They said that it must be hard to live in his shadow.”
“Stop that. It’s too funny.”
Chiharu’s stomach started to hurt from laughing too much.
“There’s a door on the opposite side of the stairs that leads to a staircase that’s just for people who work here. And if you go down there, you can go out the back of the inn. They say that if we stay out too late it might get locked. But I’m sure it will be fine. And then we can go to the mountain from there.”
Maki said. And like that, the two of them snuck out the back of the inn. They avoided being seen and went up a path they had seen during the day that led to the mountain. As they would get caught if they used any lights, they had to depend on the light of the moon.
“Haah. Haah. We’ve gone pretty far now.”
“Yeah. Oh, I can see the villa and the lake from here.”
While Chiharu was panting, Maki seemed like she was still full of energy. Still, Chiharu felt that she had become a lot tougher compared to before. Once they were high enough, they moved over to a spot under a tree where they were less likely to be seen. Then Maki and Chiharu stretched their arms to the sky and tried to search for the presence of gazers.
“Hey.”
“Ahhh!”
A voice suddenly called from behind them, and Maki was so surprised that she jumped. As for Chiharu, she was too scared to move.
When they fearfully turned around, they saw someone with short, brown hair. When they looked behind the person, they saw large, brown wings.
“It’s a non-white…Sauro.”
“Don’t compare me to him.”
The birdman stared at Maki, who was the one who had said Sauro’s name. This complete lack of tact. He was indeed a birdman. After thinking this, Chiharu wasn’t nervous at all.
“Your hair is unnatural. It must be a wig. And you have black eyes. That means…”
“We discovered the Saintesses!”
“Kaela…”
Another birdperson appeared. The first one was touching his forehead. Yes, birdfolk generally traveled in pairs. Maki recalled.
“Woah! So small! So cute! She’s just like Saikania described!”
The smaller birdperson started circling around Chiharu.
“Umm.”
“Hmm? What?”
“We came here in secret, so could you keep it down?”
“Oh, that’s right. We’re also on a mission.”
Maki and Chiharu were very disappointed. However, this was no time for that. For now, they had to figure out what was going on. And so Maki decided to try and talk to them.
“Um…ahh!”
Something had rubbed against her foot.
“What? What? Ahh!”
As she moved around frantically, something moved between her legs. It was furry.
“Uh? What? Woah! Ah!”
“You don’t have to be so surprised.”
Something said under her arm.
“Of course I’d be surprised! A two-meter doggy just popped out of nowhere!”
Maki shot back.
“Doggy? Oh, you must mean dog. So the dogs in your country must have been small.”
“It’s Zynis…”
Before she knew it, Maki’s arms were around the large dog with ash-colored hair. And yes, that gentle voice was Zynis’s. That being said, a dog… Maki looked at everything from the head to the tail. A two-meter dog was the same size as a sofa for three people. And so when he stood, his face reached her chest.
The nose on its gray face started to sniff at Maki. Woah. So big. That’s the only thing she could think of. Maki was quite stunned.
“You look well.”
Zynis said with satisfaction. Chiharu then wobbled up towards them.
“Zynis.”
“Oh, Chiharu. You seem well too.”
Without saying anything, Chiharu put her arms around Zynis’s neck and buried her face in his fur. Maki held him just as tightly.
“Hmm. What? Do you miss your home?”
Zynis’s tail wagged gently. However, they were not feeling that sentimental. They just wanted to bury their faces in some soft fur. It was so fluffy. It was heaven.
“Zynis. We were talking to the Saintesses before you interrupted.”
Kaela said with some annoyance in her voice. Chiharu remembered and pulled her face out. They hadn’t been talking at all! She always had an urge to fire back when the birdfolk talked, and that had brought her back to reality.
“That’s right. We were going to ask them what they were doing here.”
The other birdperson said. And then Maki raised her head from the fur. Yes, they had something to do.
“Zynis. And you two birdpeople! Could you stand back?”
“Also, please don’t interfere.”
The atmosphere had suddenly changed. Maki and Chiharu stood very straight. While they were suspicious, the three newcomers moved back. Then Maki and Chiharu looked up at the sky.
“There.”
It was a gazer.
Maki and Chiharu returned to their room, and after making sure that no one was near their door, they sat down on their beds and faced each other.
“They did say something about how it would be better, in the long run, if our identities remained secret.”
Chigaru started lazily.
“I think he’s just keeping us away because he can’t be bothered to explain anything.”
“You’re probably right.”
Maki folded her arms as she continued.
“So, we can either do something or just sit around quietly.”
“Maki-chan. There’s another option.”
Maki unfolded her arms and leaned forward. Chiharu put a single finger up to her lips and looked at her mischievously.
“We can’t search for the merfolk alone. But we can’t move with Aaron, Edwy, and Zynis’s son either. However, there is something that only we can do, isn’t there?”
“Just us? Saintesses…the gazers!”
“Correct!”
Chiharu clapped her hands.
“The border town between Midland and Lowland was the last one, right? And just look at how thick the miasma is here. I think there are definitely stray gazers around.”
“I think they should be alright if they survived this long without us. Still…”
Maki looked outside of the window.
“I feel bad for the gazers who say they are tired as they sway in the air.”
“Yeah. They cross over mountains like that.”
Both of them thought back on the gazer they had met in the border town. Had it wandered around for a day longer, it would have likely attracted attention and caused a big scene.
“But if we called gazers from this window, people will see them. What should we do?”
Chiharu tilted her head and thought. Just then, she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. They stopped right in front of their door, and then there was a knock.
“It’s Aaron.”
“Oh, the prince has become wiser.”
“I can hear you.”
Maki chuckled as she opened the door.
“Aaron.”
Aaron glared at her, but Maki took no notice.
“I’m sorry to inform you, but we’ll be leaving the inn for a while. I’m sure this will be very worrying for you, but just stay here quietly.”
“We’re 25. You don’t need to worry about us.”
“You’re the last person I’d believe.”
Aaron growled. And then he returned to his room once before going down the stairs.
“Is he gone?”
“Yeah, he’s gone.”
Maki stood up and looked at Chiharu. If they couldn’t do it from the window, that meant they had to go outside. But Chiharu was still dressed as a young girl. They wondered if it would be better to change.
“Are you thinking that it would be difficult for me to move? It’s actually quite easy since the skirt is shorter than the ones for adults. Besides, if we get caught outside, it might be better if I’m still Chouze.”
“That’s true. You rode in the carriage like this and sold everyone oranges. It should be fine.”
Maki nodded. And then Chiharu stood up.
“So, what should we do?”
She asked. Maki grinned and pushed up her hair.
“I just talked to some of the people that work here. I said that I wanted to meet one of the girls I became friends with today. And I wanted to do it without my older brother finding out about it.”
She answered.
“Maki-chan, that’s a bit…”
Chiharu was exasperated.
“Oh, but they were very understanding. They said that it must be hard to live in his shadow.”
“Stop that. It’s too funny.”
Chiharu’s stomach started to hurt from laughing too much.
“There’s a door on the opposite side of the stairs that leads to a staircase that’s just for people who work here. And if you go down there, you can go out the back of the inn. They say that if we stay out too late it might get locked. But I’m sure it will be fine. And then we can go to the mountain from there.”
Maki said. And like that, the two of them snuck out the back of the inn. They avoided being seen and went up a path they had seen during the day that led to the mountain. As they would get caught if they used any lights, they had to depend on the light of the moon.
“Haah. Haah. We’ve gone pretty far now.”
“Yeah. Oh, I can see the villa and the lake from here.”
While Chiharu was panting, Maki seemed like she was still full of energy. Still, Chiharu felt that she had become a lot tougher compared to before. Once they were high enough, they moved over to a spot under a tree where they were less likely to be seen. Then Maki and Chiharu stretched their arms to the sky and tried to search for the presence of gazers.
“Hey.”
“Ahhh!”
A voice suddenly called from behind them, and Maki was so surprised that she jumped. As for Chiharu, she was too scared to move.
When they fearfully turned around, they saw someone with short, brown hair. When they looked behind the person, they saw large, brown wings.
“It’s a non-white…Sauro.”
“Don’t compare me to him.”
The birdman stared at Maki, who was the one who had said Sauro’s name. This complete lack of tact. He was indeed a birdman. After thinking this, Chiharu wasn’t nervous at all.
“Your hair is unnatural. It must be a wig. And you have black eyes. That means…”
“We discovered the Saintesses!”
“Kaela…”
Another birdperson appeared. The first one was touching his forehead. Yes, birdfolk generally traveled in pairs. Maki recalled.
“Woah! So small! So cute! She’s just like Saikania described!”
The smaller birdperson started circling around Chiharu.
“Umm.”
“Hmm? What?”
“We came here in secret, so could you keep it down?”
“Oh, that’s right. We’re also on a mission.”
Maki and Chiharu were very disappointed. However, this was no time for that. For now, they had to figure out what was going on. And so Maki decided to try and talk to them.
“Um…ahh!”
Something had rubbed against her foot.
“What? What? Ahh!”
As she moved around frantically, something moved between her legs. It was furry.
“Uh? What? Woah! Ah!”
“You don’t have to be so surprised.”
Something said under her arm.
“Of course I’d be surprised! A two-meter doggy just popped out of nowhere!”
Maki shot back.
“Doggy? Oh, you must mean dog. So the dogs in your country must have been small.”
“It’s Zynis…”
Before she knew it, Maki’s arms were around the large dog with ash-colored hair. And yes, that gentle voice was Zynis’s. That being said, a dog… Maki looked at everything from the head to the tail. A two-meter dog was the same size as a sofa for three people. And so when he stood, his face reached her chest.
The nose on its gray face started to sniff at Maki. Woah. So big. That’s the only thing she could think of. Maki was quite stunned.
“You look well.”
Zynis said with satisfaction. Chiharu then wobbled up towards them.
“Zynis.”
“Oh, Chiharu. You seem well too.”
Without saying anything, Chiharu put her arms around Zynis’s neck and buried her face in his fur. Maki held him just as tightly.
“Hmm. What? Do you miss your home?”
Zynis’s tail wagged gently. However, they were not feeling that sentimental. They just wanted to bury their faces in some soft fur. It was so fluffy. It was heaven.
“Zynis. We were talking to the Saintesses before you interrupted.”
Kaela said with some annoyance in her voice. Chiharu remembered and pulled her face out. They hadn’t been talking at all! She always had an urge to fire back when the birdfolk talked, and that had brought her back to reality.
“That’s right. We were going to ask them what they were doing here.”
The other birdperson said. And then Maki raised her head from the fur. Yes, they had something to do.
“Zynis. And you two birdpeople! Could you stand back?”
“Also, please don’t interfere.”
The atmosphere had suddenly changed. Maki and Chiharu stood very straight. While they were suspicious, the three newcomers moved back. Then Maki and Chiharu looked up at the sky.
“There.”
It was a gazer.
