Chapter 73
As we walked toward the giant tree, we were attacked by monsters several times. However, to be honest, none of them were strong. They were no stronger than the Thunderbirds that attacked us while we were climbing the cliff—in fact, they were weaker.
"Kyukyu!"
So I'll omit the introductions and let them become Cal's snacks. I know I'm treating them rather poorly, but I have no intention of holding back. Forgive me, monsters.
We can gain a tiny bit of experience from them, and Cal eats them with such relish that I decided to let him do as he pleased. Am I spoiling him a little too much?
"Just as Izam predicted."
"Oh! Amazing!"
By the time we had drawn quite close to the giant tree, it seemed to be a city of Birdians, just as we had expected. Tree houses stood atop the thick branches, and countless Birdians flew between them. It seemed quite lively.
"Hm? Several are coming this way."
"Anyone would be wary if an unknown group of monsters came along."
Exactly. If we can see them from here, then they can see us, too. It was only natural for them to be wary of us, a group that looked so strange and suspicious.
Five Birdians hovered about ten meters away from us. A raptor-like Birdian who appeared to be their leader moved to the front, while the other four pointed their bows at us. They're extremely wary of us.
"You there! Stop!"
"Krrrrrrrr!"
We decided to obey without protest. There was absolutely no point in starting a fight. However, Cal hadn't grasped the importance of making a good impression, so he reflexively threatened the Birdians. Hey, stop that.
"They understand our language?"
"And that's a True Dragon child?"
Oh? A stir ran through the Birdians. Since we had obeyed their command, they recognized us as rational beings capable of understanding language, and seeing Cal had left them flustered. This might actually go in a favorable direction.
One of the Birdians had also blurted out the words 'True Dragon.' What could that mean? It sounded as though there were such things as 'false dragons.'
"Who is your representative? I would like to speak with them."
The Birdian leader asked as they looked us over. Naturally, I should be the one to step forward here. I removed my mask as I approached.
"I am the leader of this group. Allow me to introduce myself first. I am Izam, a Chimera Abyss Dragonbone Lich. I happened to hear that there was a Birdian city here, so I climbed up the sheer cliff as a Windfarer."
"Chimera Abyss... I've never heard of such a Race. And you're a Windfarer. I've never seen one before, but are all Windfarers as fearless as you?"
"Fearless?"
"What else could someone be who comes this far without wings?"
Now that they mentioned it, they had a point. Unlike NPCs, who disappear when they die, we players can revive at our respawn points, so we can take considerably more reckless risks. To them, that must look like fearlessness.
"We're still relatively tame. Many Windfarers risk their lives in dangerous ventures because they know they'll be able to revive anyway."
"...Is that so? But leaving that aside, let's get to the main topic. I'll ask you directly. What is your purpose?"
Our purpose? That had been decided from the very beginning.
"We're looking for a safe base. If possible, would you allow us to stay in this city? Of course, we'll pay you in return. Unfortunately, we don't have any of the currency used by humans..."
"Permission to stay, is it? I can't decide that on my own. Please wait a little while."
"I don't mind."
The Birdian who appeared to be the captain whispered a few words to their subordinates, then flew alone toward the city. They must have gone to ask their superior for a decision.
"Well, we'll probably be waiting for a while. I'll sit down, then."
After saying that loudly enough for the subordinates left behind to hear, I sat down where I was. Standing around doing nothing would be foolish.
"Cal, come here."
"Kyuu♪"
I sat cross-legged and called Cal over. He let out a happy chirp, then lightly landed between my legs and rubbed his face against me. Hee hee, what an adorable little fellow.
"Hee hee, Cal-kun really loves his papa, doesn't he?"
"Kyut!"
Cal replied as if to say, Of course! His adorableness was too much for Iris to resist, and she reached out a tentacle to stroke his head. Cal seemed happy, too.
"How heartwarming."
"Indeed."
"I'm bored... Maybe I'll do some strength training!"
Like us, Ruby and Genzuro seemed content to relax while they waited. Jigorou, however, was different. Apparently, he couldn't stand not moving. What are you, some kind of tuna that dies if it stops swimming?
"All right... one, two, three, four, five..."
Jigorou smoothly went into a handstand, then lifted his palms off the ground and balanced on just his fingertips. No, he shifted to a handstand supported by only his index fingers. On top of that, he began moving his body up and down as if doing push-ups.
What kind of muscle freak are you!? Look! The Birdian guard left to watch us is completely bewildered!
...No, perhaps all of us are confusing them. A skeleton and tentacles doting on a dragon child, a quivering blob perched on an insectoid, and an ogre who had started working out. From the outside, they probably wouldn't know what to make of us.
We never intended to confuse them, so I apologized to them in my heart. However, doting on Cal with Iris took priority for now. There, there. What a good boy.
◆◇◆◇◆◇
"Kyuu!"
"Hm?"
Cal's cry held none of its usual affectionate tone. Instead, it was tinged with wariness. Curious, I followed his gaze and saw that the Birdian captain who had left earlier was returning. In that case, our relaxation time was over.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. The council of elders will see you."
"Oh? What an honor."
Meeting the people in charge right away was convenient. We would quickly learn whether we were allowed to stay or not.
However, I couldn't rule out the possibility that they intended to use this opportunity to eliminate a potential danger. We would remain cautious.
"This way. Follow me."
◆◇◆◇◆◇
Led by the Birdian captain, we entered the Birdian city of 'Birdie Perch.' Birdie Perch was a three-dimensional city, with tree houses built from slender branches atop the thick branches of the giant tree. The thickest branches had broad roads running through their centers, with crowded rows of shops lining both sides to form shopping districts.
"Spectacular."
"It's beautiful!"
It was a beautiful, fantastical city unlike anything that could ever exist in the real world. I wondered how many Birdians lived here.
"We're really being watched, aren't we?"
"We must be a novelty to them."
The people of Birdie Perch watched us, openly studying us. Somehow, I felt as though I was experiencing what a foreigner visiting Japan during the Edo period must have felt. No, perhaps that's not quite right.
"Our destination is over there."
The Birdian captain pulled my thoughts back to reality. They were pointing toward an especially large building straight ahead along the road we were following.
That must be where their elders were. I wondered how the conversation would proceed. I was starting to feel a little nervous.
Apparently, the building we were headed for was the Birdian meeting hall. Those among the adults who had evolved at least once gathered there regularly, and they decided the city's policies through discussion.
Apparently, the number of times someone had evolved determined how much influence they wielded in those discussions. Evolution being a form of social status was very monster-like, wasn't it?
The building had two floors, with an atrium in the center. It even smelled of fresh wood, so it must have been newly built. Oh, it had a very open and pleasant atmosphere.
"The elders are waiting inside. Make sure you conduct yourselves properly."
"Thank you for the warning."
We were ushered into what appeared to be a conference room on the second floor. Five Birdians sat across a round wooden table in the center.
"Huh? They look pretty strong."
Jigorou muttered that under his breath. Analyzing the other side's combat strength was fine, but stop grinning like that! We aren't here to pick a fight!
"First, allow me to welcome you. We are the council of elders who oversee the affairs of Birdie Perch."
"Thank you for the welcome, honored elders."
Paying no heed to my anxiety, one of the elders seated in the center spoke gravely. I assumed they were an owl Birdian. Since they were seated in the middle, they might have been the leader of the council of elders.
I couldn't simply ignore them, so I reflexively replied. Well, whatever happens, happens! I'll just stay in character!
"We have heard that you are rational monsters and also Windfarers."
"We have also heard that you communicated with our captain and did not object to their one-sided demands."
"That alone is enough for us to consider treating you as guests."
Three elders assessed us in turn: a crow, a swan, and finally... what kind of bird was the last one? They had a splendid crest and beautiful blue feathers atop their head, but spoke roughly and had a muscular build.
What was this? Their air was just like that of our troublesome brother, the battle maniac. They had been staring at each other with similar smiles for a while now... Could their personalities be similar, too?
"However, it is unprecedented for outsiders to reach this land and make it all the way here without being invited. Therefore, we will need to hold a meeting to decide whether to permit you to stay. That will take some time."
The swallow Birdian concluded with that.
I see. In other words, the council was inclined to permit us to stay, but our arrival itself was such a major event that it required a meeting. Once that meeting was held, they would have to take the opinions of the other Birdians into consideration as well.
If that happened, I expected the meeting to drag on. It would be strange for a people with a cultural level high enough to build a city like this to be completely united. That might be different if they had a powerful object of worship, like the Lizardman village did.
There was probably an anti-elder faction or something like that. What a nuisance.
"Word of the emergency meeting has already spread throughout the city. In a few hours, those currently in the city who are able to attend will gather, and a discussion about you will take place."
"Although we are elders, we cannot arbitrarily manipulate the meeting's conclusion. At worst, someone may call for you to be expelled immediately."
"There are even some who hate everything we do."
As expected, there was an opposing faction. What a difficult situation.
"Therefore, we would like you to attend the meeting."
"We want you to persuade, in your own words, those who will not listen even if the council of elders tells them what to do."
Wow, so this is where it was going. They wanted us to help persuade the opposing faction. That made the elders' objective clear.
What they really meant was, 'We think highly of you! Ah, but you can persuade the people who hate us yourselves! If you fail, we'll have to make you leave!'
Still, they were a crafty bunch. By giving us, people who had made it here under our own power, the opportunity to persuade the others at the meeting, the elders could preserve their dignity as long as we didn't go on a rampage. But we were seeking a base, so there was no way we would start causing trouble. They were counting on that.
In that case, the opposing faction might be part of the elders' plan, too. They were making us dance in the palm of their hand as a test to determine whether we possessed anything appealing enough to persuade the opposing faction.
Taking an even more cynical view, the opposing faction itself might not even exist. At this point, though, that was nothing more than wild speculation.
"Understood. However, I have two requests."
"What are they?"
"First, I would like you to tell us about the Birdian life cycle. Second, I would like to observe an ordinary Birdian household. Of course, the head of the household and a soldier will accompany us."
"Hmm... That should be acceptable."
Good, I had secured their promise. Now we could properly investigate the Birdians.
This is basically a presentation, right? All we have to do is concretely demonstrate that we are useful to the Birdians.
To that end, it was crucial to determine exactly what the Birdians needed and what they did not. That was why I made those two requests.
Then, shall we take a look at how the Birdians live?