Chapter 108

“Listen . Aeris will go out first as bait . People will gather around him, so you will use that opportunity to quietly leave through the door . Maki, you walk behind me . Chiharu will be behind Edwy . Walk into the castle like you don’t know anything . Once we are inside, we will go to Aeris’s room, since it is the closest . Do you have your bags? Hold them up to your chest if you can . ”

Really? Was it such a big deal? Maki and Chiharu gulped .

“We have them . ”

They both held the bags up to their chest as if they were shields . Sera had filled the bags with extra clothes . Aaron saw this and nodded .

“Alright, Aeris . ”

“Yes . ”

Aeris looked at Maki and Chiharu and then nodded as if to reassure them . Then he took in a deep breath and opened the door of the airship .

“It’s the philosopher!”

“The White Philosopher!”

Aeris acted as if he couldn’t hear these voices . He just walked casually towards the castle entrance . However, just as his foot was about to tough the stairs, he was surrounded . It was hard to tell the ages of people who lived so long, but to Chiharu, most of them seemed to range from teenagers to people in their twenties . There were about thirty of them, and they were mainly male . They had rushed towards Aeris, carrying stacks and stacks of documents .

“Lord Aeris . Please forgive us . We just saw the airship . Would you please look at this idea I had?”

“This is the plan for a small airship that uses levitation stones . ”

The four who remained in the ship stuck their heads out from the door and watched this scene .

“I see . It’s not like he’s an idol . He’s just a popular philosopher . ”

Chiharu said with a relieved expression . But Maki shook her head .

“Not so fast, Chiharu . Look at the top of the stairs . ”

There was a short flight of steps leading to the castle entrance, and at the top of these stairs, was a group of about twenty women .

Chiharu saw them and sighed with amazement . They were all so beautiful . They were tall and had golden hair that shone like the sun, and eyes of the deepest green . Their hair was bound up on top of their heads .

And while Aeris generally wore simple gowns that were black or white, it appeared that women dressed quite differently . They generally wore a plain one-piece dress underneath, though the sleeves spread out more than they did on the men . Furthermore, they wore several layers over that of varying colors . It was very pretty .

While Maki and Chiharu’s clothes were held together with a kind of belt, their clothes fitted tighter and they used buttons and strings to hold it together underneath their chest . As for the area above the buttons…

“Uh, you know, elves in the stories are…”

“Don’t say it, Chiharu . I know . I’m more shocked than you are .

Maki said as she slapped Chiharu’s shoulder .

“That’s just ridiculous . Isn’t it enough that they have pretty faces!”

“It’s not fair that the gods favor the elves so much . ”

They nodded to each other . However, Aaron ignored their reaction and called them . It wasn’t that he didn’t agree, however, elves were not romantic options, and besides, he was used to seeing them . So it was neither here nor there for him . He was quite uninterested .

“Now, we must go through the entrance behind the guards to the left . From where we are, the left side would be best . Alright, follow me . ”

And so they followed Aaron’s signal and left the aircraft while trying to act natural . They headed towards the guards as if they had meant to all along . It seemed like the youth that surrounded Aeris had not noticed them . However, as the women were at the top of the stairs, they saw them .

“Oh? Isn’t that Aaron?”

“I’ve never seen the one next to him before . He has beautiful blue eyes . Maybe he is from Midland . ”

They heard the voices . However, the four of them pretended not to hear as they rushed to the entrance . Just a little farther . But then they heard the voice .

“Aaron . ”

It was clear and a little high-pitched . Aaron looked like he had been caught . A woman had stepped forward from the group of elves . She was a little shorter than the others . She appeared to be similar in age to Edwy . Not quite twenty . And she had large, cute eyes .

“It is the fifth princess . I didn’t realize . ”

But Maki and Chiharu had no idea what he was talking about . However, they were very taken in by her beauty .

“Aaron . If you have returned to the castle, you must meet my father . And who are these guests?”

Her voice was soft but also admonishing .

“But that’s what we were trying to do . ”

Maki muttered . Aaron nodded .

“That’s right, Maki . ”

“Aaron?”

Aaron turned around and faced the direction of the stairs . Then he bowed .

“We were headed there right now . These are friends from Midland . ”

When he said this, the other three bowed as well .

“Oh, in that case…”

“Of course, princess . We must go and meet His Majesty, as you say . Excuse us . ”

Aaron interrupted her and then led the others into the castle . Make and Chiharu could feel the eyes on their backs .

The guards seemed to recognize Aaron, and after exchanging a few words, they nodded and let them through . While they did glance at Edwy and looked surprised at the sight of Maki and Chiharu, they were satisfied when they saw the hair and foreheads .

“She’s really insistent, that person . Now, let’s hurry . ”

While Aaron said this, Maki and Chiharu nearly stopped in their tracks . Though you could go to the main hall from the front entrance, the side entrance connected to the hallway that went towards the living quarters . This hallway was very big, and light flooded in from the windows over the wall tapestries .

They were likely telling some kind of story . They didn’t know if it was embroidery or woven like that, but there were depictions of people and the changes of the seasons .

They stared at the walls in awe until Aaron chuckled .

“It seems like those who live long end up having too much time on their hands . That’s why they can make things like this . ”

He said with a little bitterness .

“While the Midland castle has similar works that the elves sent, these are so much more impressive . ”

Edwy said as he gazed at them .

“Now, we must go up to the second floor . The room isn’t far from there . ”

Aaron called them . And so they put their hands on the beautifully decorated hand railing as they climbed up the stairs . As soon as they were on the second floor, Aaron inserted a key into the lock of one of the doors and opened it without hesitation . Once they were all inside, he locked the door again . Maki watched him suspiciously .

“It’s just a precaution . ”

He said .

“Now, there is a bedroom and a bathing room in the back . So you can go and clean yourselves . ”

“Thank you . ”

If they were being honest, they were quite sweaty, and so they were grateful . And so Maki opened the door to the bedroom .

Then she closed it . She looked worriedly at Chiharu, who hadn’t moved .

“Maki, what are you doing? You need to hurry up and prepare . ”

“Yes, I know . But…”

“What? We won’t look . ”

“That’s a very insensitive thing to say . And that’s not what I mean . Here . ”

Maki grabbed Aaron’s arm and took him towards the door . And then she opened it .

“What is it? Was Aeris hiding something strange again…”

And then Aaron closed the door .

“What is it?”

Edwy asked as he saw how troubled Aaron was .

“It’s the first princess . ”

“First princess?”

They had called that other woman the fifth princess .

“Maki-chan . I think we might be in the way if we stay here…”

“Chiharu, it’s probably not that . ”

“Yes, if you think about it, Aeris is quite handsome . So it’s not surprising that he has a lover or two . ”

“No, you don’t have to think about it to realize that he’s handsome . Also, yes, it would be strange to have two . No, that’s not what I mean…”

Chiharu looked a little depressed, and Maki frantically tried to cheer her up .

“He finally got to return to his home after such a long time . I don’t think we should bother this reunion for him . ”

“Hey . I’m sure you’re completely wrong . Right, Aaron? Say something!”

Maki was at a loss, and so she turned to Aaron .

“Chiharu . Don’t worry . I’m quite sure that Aeris doesn’t have a lover . ”

“Then who is that inside of the bed?”

“In the bed?”

Upon hearing this, Edwy opened the door to the bedroom . Then he closed it . He was stunned .

“I saw a bare shoulder…”

In spite of the situation, Maki couldn’t help but be amused by how pure Edwy was .

“Just say you saw a naked woman in the bed . Geez . ”

“Surely Aeris wouldn’t do something so indecent…”

“It’s not indecent . ”

Aaron finally said .

“The princesses of the castle are trying very hard to earn Aeris’s attention . But I didn’t think any of them would be waiting in his bed . ”

“She’s not his lover?”

Maki asked for Chiharu . Aaron shrugged .

“It’s not a lie that he only cares about his research . ”

“What a relief . Otherwise, I would never have forgiven him . ”

Maki said as she cracked her knuckles .

“Why are you the one that’s angry?”

“I won’t forgive anyone who does that to Chiharu . ”

Just then, they heard the sounds of a key entering the door . It was Aeris . He entered the room and hurriedly locked it . But before he did, they saw the crowd of women behind him .

“I finally arrived . That’s why I hate being here . ”

Aeris looked like he was out of breath . But then he noticed that the others were quiet .

“What is it? Don’t you need to take a bath, Mak and Chiharu?”

“Uhh . ”

Maki wasn’t sure how to respond . Then Aeris opened the door to the bedroom .

“Damn it . Let’s go and meet the king so we can leave . ”

He said as he closed the door and rubbed his forehead . He strongly regretted coming to the castle .