It was quite the luxury to have lunch prepared for you in the garden . They would not have been able to ask for it yesterday . However, it seemed that being overly modest here would probably only make them worry . Or so Chiharu thought, and so she had declared that she wanted to go out to the gardens .

The season seemed to be the same as j.a.pan . As they looked at the garden with its beautiful rose-like flowers, a table was set out with some light dishes for them to eat .

“We prepared some refres.h.i.+ng drinks for you, but please call if you prefer some tea instead . ”

So saying, the guards and even Sera moved away to where we couldn’t see them .

Chiharu and Maki sat down in their chairs . The wind was refres.h.i.+ng .

“I wasn’t able to ask about whether we could return . ”

“There was hardly an opportunity to . ”

“Yeah, I was too shocked . ”

Both touched their smooth foreheads at the same time .

“…”

“…”

“Something’s growing again . ”

“I hope it doesn’t fall off this time . Can you imagine accidentally dropping something worth a million?”

A small gem was already taking shape on their foreheads . But wasn’t it supposed to be just once a month?

“I know! What if you covered it with a net, kind of like those hothouse mangoes?”

“Aah, so it will fall off when it is ripe and the net catches it . ”

“Yeah . ”

“But then I’ll look like I’m injured . ”

Chiharu protested . Maki thought about it .

“Oh, I know . That ninja thing . ”

“Ah, a headband?”

“Yeah, you can put a Saintess mark on it . ”

“Saintess mark? …like a third eye?”

“No waaay . ”

“No way . ”

Both of them looked up in despair . Then Chiharu said:

“Realistically, I think we should cover it with a ribbon and tie the bow on the side of our heads . ”

“Ouch . I can’t do that as a 25-year-old . ”

“Well, it’s better than a net or a bandanna . And dropping it too . ”

“I guess so . ”

“So in other words…”

“Huh?”

“He said ‘once a year’ at the end . '”

“Yeah . ”

“That means we’ll die here without ever going back, doesn’t it?”

“…Yeah . ”

The sky was blue, and the wind brought the scent of flowers with it . The food smelled good .

“Let’s eat . ”

“We can’t fight on an empty stomach . ”

“We can’t fight on an empty stomach . ”

“Because you’re a ninja now?”

“We already rejected that option . ”

Their breakfast had consisted of rice b.a.l.l.s, but lunch was centered around bread . The first thing that caught their eyes was the salad . It was shredded carrots and radishes that were marinated and placed into small white bowls . The subtly sweet and sour flavor was a great appetizer . Next was thin slices of what resembled French bread that was covered in blue and yellow pastes . There was also thin slices of ham and fat omelets that were half the size of the palm of your hand . There were also oysters that were cooked in a golden oil and stuffed with meat .

Once they took their first bite, they could hardly stop . Of course, this was not an amount that they could actually finish . However, the food had just the right kind of spices that kept the food delicious even after it cooled down . And they wanted to take at least one bite of everything .

Once they were satisfied, they tasted the drinks that had been prepared .

“It smells like grapefruit . Maybe it’s water with just the peels inside?”

“It’s not sweet, but it’s refres.h.i.+ng . I feel like I drank this before?”

“Last night, before bed . ”

“Ahh…”

Some things were best left forgotten . The sky was so blue today . Maki thought .

“What should we do now?”

“Regardless of how much money we have, or our position as automatic gem production machines, I would still like to have a job . ”

“That’s true . ”

“But if we have clothing, food, and shelter secured for us, we should start with something that we want to do . I think that it’s part of our job to use the money as well . ”

Chiharu said . They didn’t have to start some big initiative just yet, they should try and use the money that had been saved for them .

“I want to go to Rasche’s country!”

“You mean Zynis . ”

“Right . I wonder if they are all like him . Do you think there are cat people too? What about pandas?”

“I doubt there are so many different types . ”

“They also said something about a train . ”

“They also said something about a train . ”

“Oh, that would be fun! I wonder if they sell food inside?”

“I bet they do . It’s an old style after all . There will be tea that’s not in plastic bottle and sandwiches . ”

“Maybe the tea will be in unglazed pottery . ”

“That you can toss out the window when you’re done?”

“Maybe each train station will have their own special foods . ”

“Like lunch boxes . ”

Both of them were now quite carried away with making future plans .

“I wonder what Aeris’ country is like . ”

“He is an elf . They live in forests . ”

“I read somewhere that they mainly eat thin cookies and avoid any meat . ”

“And they like archery . ”

“Why do they need bows if they don’t eat meat?”

“Well, maybe they do eat meat then . ”

“We will have to learn more about this world if we want to travel . ”

“Research first, huh?”

After that, they continued to discuss what they would do, until Sera called to them .

That night, Edwy was making preparations to go to sleep .

“I couldn’t ask them their ages after all, but they are probably close to mine . But they seemed pretty mature, so maybe just a little older . ”

There were paintings of the past Saintess’ in the royal palace . They all had dark hair and eyes and were generally short in height . The prince had seen these painting since he was young and been enraptured . And now there was one before him . Specifically, Chihaaru .

Of course, Maki was splendid as well . However, while Aeris had gotten there first, the way Chiharu had fainted only to come back with the most pragmatic reaction was something he could not forget .

Of course, he had the resolve to protect his people as the next king . But he also wanted to protect Chihaaru… Edwy was already considering changing everything for Chiharu at a moments notice, if she would only ask . Just then…

“Edwy, do you have a moment?”

“Aeris, Zynis . It’s rare for you to come to visit so late . ”

His senior friends had come to take him somewhere .

“Where are we going?”

“Well, you will see . ”

They were headed for the Saintess’ room . There were two guards by the door, along with Sera, the King and even Grudo .

“Father, you’re here too?”

The king gestured for him to be silent . Quiet? But why?

This room was a normal guest room, there was no sitting room inside . In other words, Chihaaru was just behind the one door . Of course, so was Maki .

He tried to quiet the beating of his heart as he slowly walked closer to the others . And then he was startled .

There was a faint crying sound from the other side of the door . He couldn’t understand what was being said, but he could tell that they were taking turns saying something and crying . Edwy looked at Aeris and Zynis . They nodded . They had told him to not be fooled by how cheerful they looked . So that’s what they meant .

They kept watch by the door, praying together until the sounds disappeared from behind the door .

They prayed that the darkness would at least be kind to the two .