Negotiation

The Birdians have two means of obtaining their daily sustenance: hunting and farming (?). The former is, needless to say, hunting the monsters around the giant tree they call the 'Mother Host Tree,' or in the areas below the rocky mountain.

They were supposed to consist solely of bird-type monsters, but apparently those are actually their favorite food. Come to think of it, real-world birds of prey sometimes have other birds as their staple food, too. It isn't strange at all.

Being called 'fellow birds' is apparently considered an insult. I imagine it feels much the same as calling a human a monkey. It certainly showed me how different their culture was.

As for the other means, farming (?), the reason it has a question mark is that the Birdians do cultivate plants, but they don't use soil to do it.

What they mainly grow are parasitic plants that put down roots in the host tree, then spread and twine their vines around it. Their leaves and fruit apparently end up on the dinner table. By managing them so they don't overgrow, they tend to the host tree while regulating the residents' food supply.

In other words, they don't till the soil. Then again, hydroponics doesn't involve tilling either, so can it really be called farming? I have no idea.

As for the Birdians' ordinary homes, they are wooden houses made from the branches of the host tree. And by branches, I mean timber as large as the lumber used in human houses. So rather than looking like shabby bird nests, they had an appearance closer to log cabins.

Looking at their interiors, it became clear that they led surprisingly cultured lives. I saw several houses, and every family had more than just the basic necessities of food, clothing, and shelter; they even had enough leisure for what appeared to be board games. Their standard of living must be quite high.

"Did you find anything useful on your tour, Izaam?"

Iris asked me anxiously. I understood why she was worried.

Birdy Perch has everything needed for daily life within the city and its surroundings, and life was comfortable enough for entertainment to have flourished. These were by no means an uncivilized people.

That being the case, we should assume that the usual story trick of winning them over with 'our knowledge' is impossible. Besides, in a game world where magic exists, unlike reality, I doubt we could make full use of what we know. To begin with, none of the five of us possesses knowledge like that.

"Results? Of course I found some."

"Really!?"

Iris may have been convinced that we had no choice but to solve things in that way. I was different, however. The first thing I had to do was make a presentation—or, more specifically, sell them on how worthwhile it would be for them to get along with us. ...It felt a bit like job hunting.

Let's get back to the subject. The 'attractive knowledge' Iris had in mind would certainly be a selling point. But people who possessed such knowledge were rare.

So I only needed to prepare something more familiar and enticing—in other words, something that would provide a tangible benefit. All I had to do was give the Birdians something they wanted but couldn't easily obtain.

Exactly. Determining what that would be was the purpose of our tour. The other three people and one beast seemed to be enjoying the scenery of everyday life in a genuine fantasy world, though. ...Are you all leaving the brainwork entirely to me?

"Huh. So what are you gonna do?"

"Hahaha! I'll say you'll have to wait and see. Try guessing until the meeting begins. ...Come here."

"Kyu!"

I smoothly brushed off Jigoro's question and called Karu over, cradling him in my arms. Now, shall I enjoy his healing presence until the meeting begins?

◆◇◆◇◆◇

"Oh, what a sight."

At the appointed time, we attended a Birdian meeting. More than a hundred Birdians were taking part. Without a doubt, we were the first players to see a gathering of Birdians displaying the characteristics of all sorts of birds.

And these people would be Birdy Perch's main fighting force. Many of them looked to be higher level than Jigoro. We would have to be careful.

They were observing us with interest as well. Apparently, no one here was foolish enough to ignore the outsiders who had made their own way here, caused today's meeting, and been granted special permission to attend.

"Everyone, thank you for gathering here. We will now begin this emergency assembly."

"As you all know, today's agenda is whether Lord Izaam and his companions, who have come here, should be allowed to stay in Birdy Perch."

"I look forward to everyone's active discussion..."

"There's no way we're allowing that!"

A male Birdian stood up and shouted, interrupting the elders as they tried to conclude their opening remarks. Come now, I don't think active discussion means interrupting someone and shouting over them.

"The Mother Host Tree is the sacred ground of us Birdians! Anyone who isn't one of our kind should leave immediately!"

"That's right!"

"Exactly!"

Several Birdians joined in. Hmm. Rather than being an opposing faction to the elders, perhaps they simply disliked the very presence of non-Birdians here.

It might even be a mild form of supremacist thinking. Judging from the force of his voice and the look on his face, I felt he was probably young. So that sort of callow idealism really does exist everywhere.

"Now, now, you shouldn't bring emotional arguments into this."

An apparently older Birdian tried to admonish him. But instead of quietly sitting down, the young man only grew more heated.

"No, I'm speaking for the many Birdians who feel the same way!"

What they feel? That was completely an emotional argument. After that, he kept repeating the same sort of emotional argument in different words. If I were a politician, I would have wanted to go home.

"But they have a true dragon's youngling with them. Surely we can't treat them so harshly?"

Oh, here came a favorable comment. Karu's very presence was having an effect. This was a continent where the Dragon God dwelled, after all, so perhaps people had a favorable impression of those who traveled with a dragon.

"Hmph! They must have kidnapped it from a dragon's lair!"

...Come on. Of all things, he was calling us kidnappers? He had no evidence whatsoever. It was utterly unreasonable, like a detective in some ancient television drama who starts investigating after deciding from the outset that someone is guilty.

"And furthermore..."

"Shut up."

I was letting it wash over me, wondering how long it would continue, when a quiet yet resonant voice stopped the young man's nonsense. Its force left no room for argument, and the young man fell silent.

"You've been rambling on and on... The adults let you get cocky, and now you've gone too far. If you let another useless word out of that mouth, I'll never let you cross my doorstep again. Got it?"

"...!"

Oh, the noisy young man had actually shut up! The foul-mouthed Birdian was short and rather slender. He didn't look particularly strong.

However, this was a society where the number of evolutions mattered. Perhaps he was a Birdian whose evolution had nothing to do with direct combat ability. Maybe he was a rear-line type like me.

At last, the meeting had settled down. It was about time for me to make my move.

"May I say something?"

"Wha...!"

I raised my hand and asked the elders for permission. The young Birdian reacted vehemently, but the small Birdian from earlier glared at him, leaving him unable to say anything. I was grateful for that unexpected covering fire, though he probably hadn't meant to help me.

"Naturally. Go ahead."

"Thank you, Elder. Everyone gathered here, allow me to introduce myself first. My name is Izaam, and I am a Chimera Abyss Dragonbone Lich."

The meeting grew slightly restless. That was probably because I was a Race they had never heard of.

"Now, you may already know this, but allow me to state our purpose in my own words. We are wanderers. Therefore, we require some sort of base of operations in order to continue our activities."

I stopped speaking for a moment and let out an ostentatious sigh.

"Actually, just before coming here, I saved the life of a human girl. However, the villagers were frightened when I tried to escort her back to her village. Using the information we learned from the girl, we made our way here at great risk to our lives."

Several Birdians nodded as though they found my words convincing. They were probably thinking, 'Well, of course they'd be scared.'

"This is the monster city we finally managed to find. Would you please allow us to stay?"

Most of those gathered at the meeting seemed uncertain. At the same time, some of them let out mocking laughs. Perhaps they thought that despite going to the trouble of speaking, all I had offered was pathetic whining meant to inspire sympathy.

Naturally, I wasn't foolish enough to think that was sufficient. The crucial moment had arrived!

"Of course, we will offer something in return."

"Oh? What, specifically, will you pay us?"

The Birdian who asked me that with an almost amused air possessed a distinctive presence. He had a slender build and relatively subdued black-and-white plumage, but the area around his eyes was orange, and several ornamental feathers stood upright from the top of his head.

How should I put it...? Yes! He had the air of an intellectual yakuza! I would have to choose my words very carefully.

"Specifically? Well..."

I pretended to deliberate for a moment, then answered deliberately.

"Would payment in metal be acceptable? You are suffering from a chronic shortage of metal products, are you not?"

"What!?"

Most of the Birdians gathered at the meeting cried out in surprise before they could stop themselves. For one instant, the meeting hall seemed to shake physically.

"Before coming here, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to see some of your homes. I learned that all of you have built a culture that is every bit the equal of the world below."

That was the truth. My knowledge came only from things like the forum, but at the very least, I thought their level of culture was equal to or greater than that of Fars.

"However, there was one thing that concerned me."

"...What is it?"

"The fact that almost nothing is made of metal."

That was my impression after seeing the Birdian city. It wasn't as though they had none at all; I did see shears being used in the farmland, and ordinary homes had knives of some sort.

However, every one of them was extremely old. Rather than being carefully cherished, they seemed to be treated with the utmost care because they were so rarely obtainable. One kitchen knife had been sharpened so often that only a few centimeters of metal remained.

That was probably a consequence of building a city in the trees. Blacksmithing required fire, and fire could cause a blaze. The need to avoid fires must have prevented metalworking technology itself from developing. Of course, I couldn't rule out the possibility that there were no ore deposits nearby in the first place.

"Fortunately, we possess a decent amount of metal—iron, in particular, which is suitable for making tools. In addition, Iris here can work it. Isn't that right, Iris?"

"Huh...? Oh, yes! I'm good at working metal!"

Iris had been suddenly brought into the conversation, but apparently she had been listening after all. I wished Jigoro, who was nodding off, would learn even a little from her.

"How would you feel about us providing some metal and working it during our stay as payment for our lodging?"

In the end, this was a business deal. In human society, you paid money to receive a service. We would sell a service and receive a place to sleep. That was all there was to it.

"Heh heh heh, wonderful. Simply wonderful!"

The intellectual-yakuza-like Birdian's voice echoed through the silent meeting hall. He had seemed amused earlier, but now his eyes shone like those of a predator that had found prey it could never afford to let escape.

"Elder, I am in favor of allowing them to stay."

Oh? The first to speak up had been the intellectual yakuza. As expected, the shortage of metal really was a problem the Birdians faced.

"In that case, would you leave the arrangements for their lodging to me?"

...Hey! He was speaking as though our being allowed to stay had already been decided!

"Hold it, Haze! Don't you try to get ahead of me! Elder! Leave that duty to me, Saicho!"

The Birdian who had silenced the young man began competing with Haze. What? Why? The discussion was moving forward while completely leaving us out of it!

"Both of you, restrain yourselves. Not in front of our guests."

"My apologies."

"Sorry, I got carried away."

When the owl elder admonished them, both men obediently backed down. Unlike Saicho, Haze—the former intellectual yakuza—seemed to be trying not to damage our impression of him by making any more of a commotion.

"I appreciate your enthusiasm. They may bring benefits to the entire city, after all."

"However, an issue this important should be handled by us elders, who can make the necessary arrangements."

"Oh?"

"What!?"

Ah, rather than putting a stop to the argument, the elders had joined the scramble. Other Birdians also began arguing over who should prepare our lodging and where it should be.

"Haze! You owe my family a favor!"

"Do I? Whatever could you mean?"

"Don't play dumb, Haze."

"Oh? After I took care of that little matter the other day, won't you take my side, Elder?"

"...Hm? Did you say something just now?"

"Heh! Who's pretending now? If your ears are failing, retire from being an elder!"

"Ho ho ho! I can't hear you!"

In the meeting hall, which had become a crucible of chaos, I found myself completely sidelined in the discussion about how they would handle us. All I could do was watch.