Schemes deriving from love

Chapter 5

Three days later

Maria had almost recovered, with just a few wounds that needed to be dressed daily. Grace was almost healed as she only had some bruises and slight bleeding. Mia was the active type, so she suffered many injuries before and therefore she knew what needed to be done whenever she broke bones or bled. Besides, her profession was also one where a person had to stay alert, or you’d be dead. So although her wounds were severe, she dealt with them and made sure to care for them.

Yuna had given all three of them a kimono, not the fancy type though. It was a casual flower patterned one. It suited the three of them, but the awkwardness they had when wearing it constantly was starting to annoy them. Other than that, in the past three days they had gotten familiar with the villagers.

Majority of them knew the three siblings since Yuna’s husband carried them back, panting and out of breath. He had also desperately asked for help from the others too. It was weird, but they were kind. At one point, it was so much that Mia became very suspicious of them. So casually, she asked one of them once. She was strolling around town and noticed a gullible man and smirked. This was her chance.

“Hello, sir. How is your business today? Going good?” She went up to an old man and tried sparking up a conversation.

“Hmm? Oh, look who it is!! It’s Mia. How you doin’, dear?”

“I’m doing great. By the way, the apples look quite fresh. Where’d you get them?”

“You mean these? Obviously from my farm. Too bad half of it got burned down in the fire. But maybe it was a good thing. At least we saw you three. Probably would’ve burned to a crisp if we hadn’t taken you people outta there in time.”

“Hmm, wasn’t it dangerous? You could have just left us there,” Mia led him on while the poor man was unaware of what she was doing.

“By god, no! Why would we do that? Three young girls were suffering and dying like that. Why wouldn’t we help you? But, well, there was a reason,” he muttered at the end of the sentence, piquing Mia’s curiosity.

“It’s okay, please tell me. You all saved us. We would love to help our saviours,” She always had this ability to sugar coat her words, coaxing people into going at her pace.

“OH!! Don’t worry, it’s not anything bad. But, we were hoping to tell you after you recovered……..” He trailed off, obviously not wanting to go further.

“Okay, I understand. I was just hoping how to repay you,” Mia smiled, but deep down she cursed. This old man wouldn’t tell her anything!! She had picked the wrong person for questioning!! The old fellow then hesitated, but quickly added “Mia dear, wait four more days and slowly get healed by Yuna. when you’ve recovered and are healthy, We will tell you then.” Mia nodded her head, this time in understanding. She couldn’t extract more from him. She didn’t want to push him too far, after all. She bid goodbye to him and went on her way.

Meanwhile, Grace was purchasing fruits along with other things since Yuna had asked her to run an errand for her. Her quiet and mild-mannered nature, which contrasted with her second sister, was what attracted many people to her. While Mia was sly and clever, Grace was quiet, yet careful. All the men loved Grace at first sight, and the ladies were always around her, asking for advice about beauty and fashion. The girl had always been a big fan of Japanese traditional clothing and since she was an actress, she knew about the themes of make-up styles as well.

Although it was unfortunate that Maria couldn’t leave the house because of her inability to walk properly, she was steadily recovering due to her body’s recovery rate as well Yuna’s constant healing sessions. Right now, she was sitting on a chair made out of straws. It was uncomfortable and hard, but it’s not like she could be picky. Maria was sipping on a broth that was meant to help. It tasted horrible, but Maria could clearly feel the effects.

Although it was unbelievable, she was pretty calm for someone who had travelled through dimensions. Not time, but dimensions. After thinking clearly for three days straight, she knew that the world was similar to Earth, but still different. They had the same countries and people, but one thing was definitely different. The use of mana. Magic.

Scientifically, it was impossible. She knew that. But these people had a clear understanding of its concepts and magic was extremely common in all parts around the world. Of course, excluding the countryside of different continents. It seemed like here in this village, the only such user was Yuna, and she had the rarest attribute, the power to heal. She took another sip of the broth. But her deep thoughts were drowned when Yuna yelled joyfully inside the house. It looked like the other two were back.

Honestly, Maria still didn’t trust Yuna. There was no such thing as a free lunch after all. And by the looks of it, Mia thought the same. They had talked a few days ago at night time, putting out their thoughts honestly. Even if they hated each other’s guts, they had to cooperate at this point. They discussed what they would each do, and had immediately put their plans in motion.

Mia quickly made her way towards the back of the house and after noticing where Maria was, she instantly came to her, and sat down. She looked up to her and displayed a bitter smile. Maria frowned and her brows knitted together, realising that she had only gotten a gist of the situation. “It’s okay, just tell me what you found,” Maria said.

“Sure, but don’t be too disappointed.”