Edwy and Kaider made sure to post some guards to search for any remaining gazers . Then they had the other soldiers rest, before they retired to the mansion .

In the meantime, Maki and Chiharu were resting in Aeris’s room . Nyran had gone with them, and he now leaned against the wall and folded his arms, refusing to leave .

“Ry-ryan . I was very worried . ”

“Aeris, I was so worried too . ”

“I am no use in battle . ”

Aeris groaned as he slowly held Chiharu’s hand .

“You should at least go and take a bath . It is early summer, but you may still catch a cold . Besides, you smell like merman . ”

“Huh? I stink?”

Chiharu sniffed at her arms . Amia hadn’t smelled like anything . It must be the lake .

“You should go too, Maki . It’s that door over there . You can wear these for now . I will have your things brought over . ”

“Alright . ”

They took Aeris’s s.h.i.+rts and went to take a bath . Aeris sent word to the servants so that their belongings would be brought to the mansion . And he also ordered some hot tea .

“It must be nice to be the Philosopher . If I ever said that they smelled like merpeople, Chouze would have looked at me with cold, judgemental eyes . ”

Nyran muttered .

“It’s probably because of how you act during the day . I am grateful that you accompanied them on their way into the dwarf lands, but…Chouze? Ah, so that is what you called her . ”

“They went by Norfe and Chouze . They pretended to be dirty, sibling commoners . So we didn’t treat them too carefully . Well, Kaider was quite nice to them . ”

“You have my thanks . They do not like it when people fuss over them too much . ”

“So that’s why… Norfe always seemed a little annoyed . ”

 Nyran thought back on these fond memories . Though, it was not even that long ago .

“I wish I could have seen them . ”

Aeris said with a gentle expression .

“So, you are going to tell me everything, aren’t you? I hope you are not underestimating me just because I am a fifth son . ”

“That is not it . None of this was planned by Midland or the elves . ”

Just then, the door opened and Kaider and Edwy entered . Grudo was with them .

“We gave a brief report of the night’s events to the mayor . ”

“We should all settle down now . ”

“Where are they?”

“Bathing . ”

Aeris was the ‘White Philosopher . ’ He was treated like royalty . And so his room was very large and all five of them could sit comfortably inside . However, Nyran and Aeris continued to stand . All of them looked like they weren’t sure of what should be said, and a long silence followed .

During this time, Maki and Chiharu were enjoying their bath . While it was a little cramped, the tub was made for human guests, and so they fit in just fine .

“We were able to wipe ourselves when we were staying at inns, but it’s hard when we live in tents . ”

“My wig got all sweaty . ”

They washed their hair thoroughly and put on Aeris’s s.h.i.+rts . Of course, they had to roll up the sleeves about five times and the hem nearly dragged on the floor . But at least no one would complain about seeing their legs .

And so they opened the door . Oh, everyone was here . They all looked back at the same time . Their eyes widened .

“Eh?”

“Huh?”

Maki and Chiharu tilted their heads . Edwy shrieked and covered his eyes .

“Aeris! The sheets!”

“Ah!”

Aeris and Grudo were quick to act . They began to wrap up Maki and Chiharu in sheets, as the two stood there in surprise .

“You two! You are no longer in disguise! You cannot…”

“Huh? But our feet weren’t even showing . ”

“They were! Like…from the side…”

Edwy turned to the side . His face was bright red . He could not quite tell them how the breast pocket was pressed up a little, or how the wide neck showed most of their shoulders, or how the thin material left little to the imagination .

“Re-really? Sorry . ”

“No, no…”

Edwy would probably faint if he ever came to j.a.pan . Maki and Chiharu thought as they looked at him . Behind them, Aeris was wiping their hair with a towel and a very pleased expression on his face . Kaider looked at Edwy and said,

“Bah, it is quite fine . They are not even showing that much . ”

“You’re the worst . ”

Chiharu blurted through narrowed eyes .

“I knew it . ”

Nyran said with a laugh .

“It is Chouze . ”

“Yes . ”

Chiharu replied honestly . This seemed to surprise one of them .

“Huh? Chouze? Where is Norfe?”

“…”

The room fell silent .

Maki stood up as she was rolled in sheets . Chiharu stood up as well .

“Kaider . ”

“Eh?”

“Thank you for taking us from Noir to Greige . It helped us a lot . ”

“Thank you . ”

They bowed .

“You two . What? The hair…those women? Norfe?”

Kaider was very confused . Nyran was rolling his eyes . Aeris took a step forward and coughed .

“Kaider . Nyran . They may be rolled up in sheets now, but they are in fact, this generation’s saintesses . Maki and Chiharu . Thank you for helping them in Noir . ”

He didn’t have to introduce them as rolls . They introduced themselves with a little indignation .

“I am Maki . I am twenty-five years old and work as a Saintess . ”

“I’m Chiharu . I’m twenty-five and also work as a Saintess . ”

“My hobby is wearing disguises . ”

“My hobby is getting abducted . ”

“Twenty-five?”

“Kk…ahahaha!”

What? That? Chiharu thought . Edwy was shocked . Nyran just laughed . Kaider was so confused as Grudo forced him to sit on the couch . So much had happened already, but now Maki and Chiharu felt very tired .

“Now, you two should sleep in my bed tonight . You can listen to us talk as you sleep . ”

Aeris said gently . And so the two of them headed for the bed .

“I’ve never seen Norfe not talk back before . ”

Kaider said with surprise as he watched Maki go . That s.h.i.+ny black hair . The white neck that peeked from over the sheets . That angle when she turned to look back .

“The woman at the hotspring…”

“You’re the worst . ”

“You’re stupid . ”

Kaider fell silent .