Two Saints – 105
“Really?”
Saikania admonished him.
“Well, we just thought we could send a lot of birdfolk over and do some scouting along the way.”
Yes, that was easy to understand.
“I just heard from Aeris. You’re going to be here on this island until the afternoon, right? Would you like to fly above the island? I can even take you out to sea.”
Sauro said. But Maki had other ideas.
“We came all of this way to the beach. So we want to spend time here. Right, Chiharu?”
“Huh? Uh, yes.”
Chiharu didn’t really care. She wanted to gather sea shells more than she wanted to swim. After all, that was something you did on the beach too.
After that, they hurriedly ate their breakfast and drove the others out of the airship. Then Maki pulled out some small clothes from her bag.
“Ta-da!”
“What’s that?”
“It’s my shorts.”
“Shorts…”
Maki looked quite pleased as she showed them. They were the kind of shorts that the female birdfolk often wore. Chiharu had always found it odd that people would get angry if they showed their legs, but no one said anything about the birdfolk.
“Birdfolk are tall, so I think it should fit.”
“Where did you…”
“I traded it for some fish scales in Lowland.”
“That’s when you did…”
Chiharu remembered what Maki had been doing when they left the castle. She had been negotiating with the birdfolk.
“Now I can swim in the sea.”
“Okay. But I’m going to play by the beach.’
Chiharu replied to the excited Maki.
“Why?”
“Why do you want to swim? I’m fine with just feeling the waves on my feet.”
“That’s too bad.”
“But I can still play without worrying if I have this.”
And so the two of them got changed and stepped out of the airship.
“Chiharu. It’s dangerous, so don’t go too far out…huh?”
Edwy gasped as he approached them.
“Maki. Where do you want…woah!?”
Aaron nearly lost his balance.
However, Maki and Chiharu didn’t understand why they would be surprised, since they constantly saw the slender bare legs of the birdfolk. In comparison, their legs were a little thicker and shorter.
“Oh, you won’t be too hot like that. Now, let’s go to the beach.”
Aeris said calmly as he pushed their backs and walked towards the sea.
“He-hey…”
“Aeris, wait. They need something to cover…!”
But Aeris ignored them. Amia was waiting for them by the beach. Saia was right behind him.
“Maki. Chiharu.”
Amia tried to hug them as if it was the most normal thing, but Aeris stopped him. Amia squinted his eyes.
“White Philosopher. I finished talking to you. Now I have business with Maki and Chiharu. This summer sun must be tiring for your old bones. Why don’t you go and rest under a tree?”
“I’m not so old that I need to rest in the morning, thankfully. Well, if you have business with them, make it quick.”
Amia’s white hair was bathed in sunlight and the light that reflected off of it looked like fire and water. Aeris’s intricate platinum braids blew in the wind. It was clear that Amia was annoyed, by the way his hair moved. At the same time, Aeris’s green eyes had a sharp light in them.
“A fight between equals…”
But Maki and Chiharu just wanted to play at the beach. And yet, their vacation seemed like it would never begin.