Chapter 18 (1/2)
Chapter 18
While Arthur had been harsh in his dealings with the inland nobles, Maki and Chiharu had alreadybefore that
It’s not that it was so bad, , it was a good life in a wayIf anything, they deserved ht here in order to churn rocks out of their foreheads
Arthur, Aeris, Zynis and Grudo had treated theer brother to themSera, while still in her thirties, had been like a second motherThe people of the castle were kind and warm
But still, they had to pass guards every tioing out to the cityThey were treated like delicate glass sculptures that would shatter from the smallest scratch
Maki had not enjoyed thatA luxury trip around the worldfor the when they were constantly surrounded by guards, by the king and his servants
And they had seen poor children in the city, people doing their best to live their livesIt may have indeed been best for them to shut themselves inside of the Saintess Palace, like their predecessorsSilently purifying the world of miasmaIt would be even better if they occasionally visited the three countries most close to the shadoorldThen, no one would be able to hurt them
“The thing is, ChiharuWe’ve already died once, I think”
“But we’re alive, aren’t we?”
“YeahBut I don’t think that the Maki over there, as lovingly raised, will ever be backIt ended at 25 for her”
“Maki-chan…”
“When I think of it like that, what’s the point in living in fear, and shutting ourselves in the palace? Even if we asked, we couldn’t work the same jobs we used to, those jobs probably don’t even exist hereThat being said, it just doesn’t suitin the palace forever”
“I have an interest in libraries, so I could probably e it for a while”
“You could, ChiharuBut not o outsidewatched”
That’s the conversation they had that night
“Maybe we should just leave then”
“Chiharu?”
“Private airshi+ps, privates trainsWho needs themHow is that any different than what it’s like here? We are just normal citizensWe can ride in the second car”
“Are you sure?”
“I’et on my nerves pretty quickly, but I kno to handle money”
“Chiharu…”
The incident with the inland people only made their decision easierIt wasn’t just a few people who disliked the SaintessesMany people hardly grasped what they were, they seemed unrelated to themAnd the further their lands were to the shadoorld, the less value the Saintesses seemed to haveIt was important to understand this reality
They would ride the trainNot as sons of nobles, but dressed as coht difference to pretend to be a brother and his younger sisterThey had lost their parents and were now going to meet some relative ould take them inThe relative was their eons
The bird people could cross the sea in three hoursThe train took fiveHow long could they run without getting caught? They would try to arrive in the town further in frohtIt was the deepest dungeon townThey didn’t care where they went, as long as they were aliveSo they o to one of the three territories and collect miasma
They withdrew some money from the bankFortunately, they had private bank accountsThey even bought old clothes to wearAnd different colored wigs
They would leave as soon as they had fulfilled their duty as SaintessesWhen they were presented to the common people
“Are you leaving?”
“Yes”
“We didn’t carry any Saintesses dressed like boysWe carried Saintesses dressed like girls”
“Sauro, thanks”
“We bird people are not bound by anythingWe are free”
“I know that well, Saikania”
It was obvious from the day they metMaki and Chiharu chuckled
“So, you two stay free as wellBut are you sure that you do not want to cross the sea?”
“That’s too scary”
“I probably wouldn’t drop you”
“That’s not enough”
Thankfully, the bird people were on their sideThe bird people rarely cared if they were busy, and visited them whenever they likedBut they had become friends eventuallyAnd so they carried Maki and Chiharu to the train station when they were readyAnd then Maki quickly put on her boy disguise
“Two children’s tickets to Noir”
“Oh? Just children?”
“We are going to meet a relative”
“I seeWell, hold tight onto your bagsYou can find instructions on choosing an inn once you arrive at Noir station, so you should check there”
“Thank you”
“You take good care of your little sister”
“Yes”
The old man who sold the handsBut they were really 25And so when he was later asked:
“Did you see two noble boys here?”
He said:
“Who knowsThey sure didn’t buy any tickets from me”
“Who knowsThey sure didn’t buy any tickets from me”
That was all he could tell theone to the s eyesThey carefully chose bottles of water and fruit juice and so into their carThere was so a little too cheerful about them for children ere just orphaned, but it didn’t bother anyone too muchThe place had an all-around festiveof the Saintesses
It was during the afternoon when Maki and Chiharu got in the train and found their seats, which were four e each otherThe trains were full of excited people who had seen the Saintesses
“Hey, the seats near those kids are empty”
“Oh, how luckyIt would be squishy if it were four adults, but it should be fine with young children”
Two men came towards theh and brawny lookingOne was human and the other was a dwarf
“Ho, mind if we sit here?”
“Go ahead”
Perhaps these kids had never seen adventurers before because while they consented, they just stared at the two men with open mouths
“Is it so unusual to see a tall dwarf then?”
The two kids nodded
“I a side for a dwarf”
Well, he was really the size of an average humanHe was also quite wide and looked like it would be cramped if they sat side by sideAnd so the kids said:
Well, he was really the size of an average humanHe was also quite wide and looked like it would be cramped if they sat side by sideAnd so the kids said:
“Uh, could we take theseats then?”
And so all four were able to sit comfortably
“Is this your first time on a train?”
The kids nodded
“While this runs underground, the walls are all illuminatedSo you can clearly see outsideAnd it ain’t just walls all of the tiround lakes as wellDon’t you miss it”
“Underground lakes!”
“What? Haven’t you heard of theround areas that already existedAnd so ill occasionally pass through open caverns and lakesDwarven skills are impressive, eh?”
The kids iainst the