Chapter 13
It had already been three days since we left Osmun’s house and headed north.
“It’s a relief that the weather’s cleared up a little today.”
“It certainly is.”
“I thought my wings were going to kill me. Seriously….”
Thanks to the torrential rain that had poured without end for the past three days, my wings had absorbed so much water that they became unbelievably heavy even under my rain gear.
“Since my body changed, I’ve just stayed cooped up at home whenever it rained, so I had no idea. I never imagined this would be a drawback, too.”
“At least Ren has an artifact that keeps the rain off.”
With my wings still drooping heavily from the moisture,
I listened to Huey’s voice while looking at the teddy bear Lucy was holding.
It was an artifact that created a barrier to keep rain from entering an area several meters in radius.
Despite its appearance, it was far better than anything sold in stores.
“No matter how I look at it, it’s unexpected.”
“What is?”
“I never imagined Ren would have a hobby of collecting such cute stuffed animals.”
“It’s not my hobby.”
The guy who makes them says he can’t get motivated unless what he’s making is cute. What can you do?
“Um… Sorry to interrupt you two, but it looks like we have a problem.”
Huey’s voice reached us as I was bickering with Lucy.
Why was he up on a rock again, doing that?
“Why?”
“What’s the problem?”
“Come up here and take a look first.”
At his suggestion that showing us would be faster than explaining, Lucy and I briefly exchanged glances before climbing onto the rock where Huey stood.
“Oh dear.”
“That definitely won’t work….”
Instead of Huey, who was backing away, I looked ahead.
“This really is a problem.”
“There isn’t another bridge or anything nearby, is there?”
The river was on the verge of overflowing, likely because of the torrential rain over the past three days.
The bridge looked as though it had been torn apart by the rushing water.
“…The map says there is another route, at least.”
If we moved a little farther downstream, there was a quarry, and the bridge near it had been built to transport stone, so it probably hadn’t been washed away.
“Well, it can’t be helped.”
There was no point standing around worrying; it wasn’t as though the broken bridge would repair itself.
“Let’s go before it gets any later.”
After following the river downstream for a couple of hours,
“It’s a village.”
“It is.”
“Yeah. It wasn’t on the map, though.”
A small village came into view. It was small, but it had all the essentials.
Perhaps it was a village formed by people who worked at the quarry.
“Shall we stop by?”
“That sounds like a good idea. We’ve just run out of food, too.”
I nodded at Huey’s suggestion.
“Getting supplies locally is a hassle.”
Food was always a headache.
It had been even more difficult before my body changed, since I had eaten only vegetables.
I couldn’t exactly tear up and eat some nameless grass.
So we turned away from the path following the river and headed toward the village.
“A visitor?”
“Oh, it looks like it.”
“How unusual. We’re actually getting visitors in our village.”
The moment we entered the village, we witnessed the extraordinary sight of all the residents coming out to gawk.
“Waaah! A bird lady!”
“Red bird!”
“Huh? You brats… Stop right there!”
And from among those villagers, several little kids burst out and came running toward me.
“Wings!”
“Not a chance.”
“Aah!”
“Eek!”
“Boss!”
I stopped one of the children charging toward me by pinning their head down with my foot.
Then I glared at the ones who came rushing toward my wings one after another.
“Martin!”
“…Ren.”
“Even if you hate it, that’s a bit much. They’re filthy….”
Then a woman came running toward me in a panic.
Two people were also casting reproachful looks in my direction.
“…Now that I think about it, my feet are pretty dirty.”
Looking at my feet, which had picked up some mud from walking over the squelching ground, I carefully set down the child I was holding.
Still, though.
“Do you know how annoying it is when children cling to my wings? They start plucking out my feathers right away.”
I’d had a terrible time the last time I went into the city with the captain and stopped by an orphanage I knew because he said he needed to go there.
“Martin! I told you to listen to what I said…!”
Anyway, while I was making excuses, a woman who appeared to be the child’s mother came running over.
She wrapped her arms around the child, who had been released and was staring blankly at me, and began scolding him.
“I’m sorry. Our party has a bit of a situation….”
“No, no. It’s fine. Our idiot son was the one at fault.”
“Ren.”
Huey bowed to the child’s mother, while Lucy jabbed me in the side with her elbow.
He wasn’t hurt. What was all the fuss about?
“Are you all right, kid?”
Still, if I ignored him like this, he would probably keep bothering me.
So I decided to ask first whether the kid was okay.
“Mon….”
“Tsk.”
Was he about to shout monster?
“Amazing―!!”
“…Huh?”
“Martin?”
“Boss?”
As I clicked my tongue and waited for him to continue, the child named Martin shouted at me with his eyes sparkling.
“Guys! Mom! This lady’s legs are super hard! And cold! They’re completely different from the general-store lady’s!”
“Really!?”
“Honestly, this child…!”
“Ahaha, it’s all right.”
“Still, I’m glad he wasn’t frightened.”
“I’m not glad at all!?”
Thanks to Martin, who was incredibly excited by the metallic material of my legs,
the children who had been terrified only moments ago began approaching one step at a time, their eyes full of curiosity.
“Wow, can we touch them?”
“Of course, of course.”
“Ren, you know how this goes, right?”
“Sigh. Do whatever you want.”
Why were they deciding that among themselves when they were my legs?
“Ahem. Sorry for the late introduction. My name is Huey, and I’m an adventurer.”
“Luciela.”
“I’m Ren.”
After letting four or five of the little kids tickle my legs for a while,
we finally greeted the villagers who had been watching us fondly from behind.
“Hehe. Welcome to Brody Village.”
Guided by Irene—the child’s mother, who introduced herself as the village chief’s daughter—we were able to enter the village.
“Come to think of it, I understand there’s a quarry nearby….”
“Ah, yes. Our village was established by the quarry workers who settled here.”
Apparently, there was something wrong with Huey’s map.
Perhaps he had thought the same thing, because Huey pulled the map from inside his coat and showed it to Irene.
“Um… The bridge marked on this map….”
“Oh my, this bridge… It must have broken before I was even born.”
“No wonder. I was wondering why Master had managed to get a perfectly good item for once.”
Judging from the complaint beside me, perhaps Lucy possessed an uncanny knack for picking out defective merchandise.
“Hehe. This is our village tavern. If you’re looking for ingredients, you can ask there.”
“Thank you.”
“Oh, come to think of it, Miss Ren?”
“Huh?”
Just as she seemed about to leave after showing us around, Irene suddenly turned back and called out to me.
“If you’re finished at the tavern, would you stop by the general store?”
“Why all of a sudden?”
“There’s another bird beastkin living in our village.”
“Oh.”
“Since your kind is so rare, I thought it might be nice for you to meet at least once.”
Ah, no wonder Martin had compared me to the general-store lady earlier.
“That sounds fine. What do you think, Ren?”
“That’s right. Didn’t you say last time that you couldn’t fly? Why not ask while we have the chance?”
“Well, there’s no harm in it.”
So, after buying food at the tavern, we headed to the general store Irene had told us about.
“Oh, that must be her.”
“She’s white.”
Among the people who had come out at the village entrance earlier, she had been nowhere to be seen.
She was a bird beastkin with white feathers.
“Oh my, oh my. It’s been such a long time since I’ve seen one of my own kind.”
The blonde woman opened her blue eyes wide in astonishment the moment she saw me, then soon approached with a gentle smile.
“Oh, right. My name is Caroline. Please feel free to call me Carol.”
Carol was a woman slightly shorter than me, with wings covered in pure-white feathers and legs like those of a bird of prey.
Considering what the little kids had muttered earlier, too… Carol’s legs definitely didn’t look as sturdy as mine.
“Call me Ren. This is Huey, and this is Luciela.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“They’re definitely different from Ren’s.”
Huey bowed, while Luciela examined Carol’s legs.
Watching the two of them, Carol smiled brightly and spoke.
“Hehe. Irene told me about you. If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, would you like to have a cup of tea?”
She said it had been decades since she had met someone of her own kind.
Carol led the way with excited steps, looking genuinely delighted.
“Do you live alone, Ms. Carol?”
“Yes. Until a few years ago, I lived with my husband, though.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“Hehe. It’s all right. He lived out his full lifespan before he passed away.”
“…If you don’t mind my asking, how old are you?”
“That’s a secret.”
Come to think of it, I had heard that bird beastkin had unusually long lifespans even among beastkin, and it seemed that was true.
“Here, drink it before it gets cold.”
Carol carefully picked up the teapot with her wing and poured the tea.
“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
After pouring the tea,
“Hehe. Excuse me for just a moment?”
“Huh?”
She suddenly came close to me and sniffed at me.
“Oh my, oh my.”
“What’s going on all of a sudden?”
“You’re a total baby!”
“Whoa!?”
Before I had time to react, she pulled me into her arms.
“Goodness. I never knew there was such a young member of my kind.”
“Let go of me first!”
“Hehe. Don’t be shy.”
“I’m not even a child to begin with!?”
I was so dumbfounded that I shoved her away roughly, but instead of getting angry, Carol smiled fondly.
What was that about? Seriously?
“A little fledgling who hasn’t even laid an egg yet, pretending to be all grown-up… It’s unbelievably adorable.”
…What?