Chapter 13

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Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 13

Chapter Title: You've Been Kidnapped

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That voice was bizarrely thunderous.

I'm all about chirps and peeps at the end of the day, so how was Kiwi pulling off a dinosaur roar?

And if it could do something like that, why didn't it use it when the owl grabbed it?

"Kiiing... Nng...."

The hunting hound snatched the owl in its jaws and bolted far away.

It was a real shame to lose the owl right when it was in the bag, but there was nothing to be done about it.

No matter how much I wanted to complain, even I couldn't blame it for prioritizing escape.

Still, it wasn't like I came away empty-handed.

Something very welcome had caught my eye.

Sparkle, sparkle.

Among the feathers scattered on the ground, one brown feather stood out, gleaming brighter than the rest.

"Kawk!"

I toddled over and snatched the feather in my beak.

"Kawk kawk!"

I'd mercilessly plucked a bunch of feathers, and one of them must've been this shiny one.

Compared to meat and experience, this was a far more valuable resource, so I hadn't really taken a loss.

But what kind of feather was it, exactly?

Maybe something like Blade Talon's, making my talons razor-sharp?

A sturdy beak paired with sharp talons would be pretty damn useful.

"Kaaak...."

It wasn't the kind of feather I'd hoped for.

Still, there's that saying: simple is best.

Something straightforward like a sturdy beak turning hard had proven plenty useful.

It even let me force damage on foes I normally couldn't hurt.

Flexible Bones seemed like it fell into the same category.

The description was simple—"Throw a spear at enemies to deal physical damage"—but there had to be all sorts of ways to put it to use.

Hell, that owl had attacked me by twisting its joints at a freaky angle, right?

I tucked the brown feather into one of my wings for easy swapping.

"Decorating oneself like that is what males do during breeding season. You must be a male, then."

That wasn't the reason I'd grabbed the feather, but I just nodded anyway.

For starters, I was male.

"Kawk kawk."

"You're truly no ordinary being. Flying through the night sky, riding on the back of an owl that should've been your superior and dragging it to the ground—who would take you for a fledgling still covered in down?"

Aw, shucks, when you put it like that.

"And you... you've taken a slight wound."

"Kawk?"

Come to think of it, I'd let that thing land one hit on me at the end.

Shockingly, it was the first real blow I'd taken in this crow body.

Meaning I'd dodged or blocked every single attack up until then.

And honestly, that made sense—with a body this fragile, taking hits head-on would've killed me ages ago.

So I'd fought by evasion and deflection as much as possible.

But it was fine.

It wasn't a deep wound, and the bleeding had already stopped.

"Let's head back to the nest for now. Luckily, I have a few medicinal herbs on hand."

"Kawk kawk."

As expected of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a sage.

Always prepared like this.

I followed Kiwi back toward the nest.

"Little bird of dark plumage. I'm grateful you saved me, but you needn't have risked your life for it."

"Kaak?"

Kiwi was suddenly spouting tough talk again out of nowhere.

If you're grateful, how about plucking me a feather?

"I have no attachment to this body anyway. And it's not the decrepit old me who should live on, but you, brimming with potential."

No attachment to your body? Sure.

You're talking like you've got a spare.

It was probably feeling thankful that this young fledgling had risked its life to save it, but also guilty about it.

But it was under some major delusion.

It thought I'd done it out of the goodness of my heart, but nah—this was pure calculation.

Way better to reclaim the sage cheat than lose it, even if it meant a bit of risk.

And it feeling grateful like this was just icing on the cake.

Plus, while I might be the baby crow here, my actual age puts me way ahead of you.

"Kawk kawk."

If it'd just been a regular kiwi, I wouldn't have bothered, but with that Sage trait, it was doing a fair bit of thinking.

"I look forward to the day you mature and we can converse properly. Sharing thoughts and words with your kind is another pleasure in itself."

Yeah, I got it now.

That was code for "come see me once you're grown."

Its bizarre speech patterns were starting to make sense.

"Ahem. Shall we quicken our pace?"

Kiwi cleared its throat and picked up speed.

Aw, it knew how to get embarrassed?

Might be because it was all legs, no wings—it was pretty quick.

But did we really need to rush that much?

If any enemies popped out, one screech from me and they'd bolt.

"Oh, just to be safe— that cry of yours doesn't work on ordinary beasts."

The owl catching it without a fight had seemed off, but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠now it clicked.

The screech only affected things like ghosts or rotten hunting hounds.

Come to think of it, I'd heard it up close and been fine too.

"...Kaak!"

Why the hell tell me now?

This ain't the time for strolling!

"Kishishishik!"

Damn it, time to run again.

Night passed, and morning arrived.

The magical beasts from last night were nowhere to be seen, replaced by a somewhat peaceful scene like the one I'd witnessed on the day I hatched.

Time to hit the road.

I donned my acorn helmet, which was starting to feel a bit tight, and slung on the bag Moona had made.

It was a bit crudely shaped for a bag, but hey—if it could hold stuff, it was a bag.

A few fruits were tucked inside the leaf bag: dried kiwi, those hot peppers pretending to be sun-like, and the herbs that'd treated my wound.

I could feel Mom's concern not to go hungry.

Or wait, with that voice—Dad's concern?

Nah, could be a deep-voiced lady.

...Why was I even worrying about a bird's gender?

"Kawk kawk."

I shoved the pointless thoughts aside, dipped my head slightly, and bid Moona farewell.

"I hope your wishes come true."

"Kawk."

"Like the wind that returns, I await the day we meet again."

I bolted before Moona's sermon could kick off.

It was great and all, but it always dragged its words out long and complicated.

The path to the ruins Moona mentioned—Skarnas—wasn't too tricky.

But it wasn't close enough for me, who still couldn't fly properly, to reach easily.

So Moona had hooked me up with a great ride.

Some bird that looked like itself, which helped it get around without wings.

Show them this and they'd know Moona sent me, and carry me to Skarnas.

I scurried along and found the spot Moona described.

That big tree over there.

And the little pond.

Ugh, this had to be it, right?

I was scanning around for my ride when—

Splash!

A bird of prey dove into the water at breakneck speed.

"Piooo!"

Bulging eyes.

A beak that made you wonder why it was yellow.

The picture-perfect raptor snagged a fish.

Wasn't that kiwi bird a bit too heartless?

How could it say something that ugly looked like itself?

I flapped over to the raptor.

"Kawk kawk."

Hey, Moona sent me.

Heard riding you guys is fast.

"Kiik?"

Unlike Moona, it didn't seem to talk.

Makes sense—birds don't chat unless they've got something like Sage.

Unless it's a parrot.

Since we couldn't converse in kawks and pioos, I pulled out Moona's token.

What I brought out was none other than the sun-like pepper.

Moona said showing this would prove it sent me.

The hawk eyed it intently... then gulped the pepper down in one bite.

Man, that fish looked tasty.

One nibble from me wouldn't even show.

"Piooo?"

As I tilted my head, it gripped the fish hard in its talons.

Not content with that, it started flapping its wings.

"Kawk!"

Look at this guy trying to ditch me over a little joke.

Temperamental, huh?

I toddled after it and hopped onto its back quick as I could.

"Piooo!"

With its signature cry, the hawk launched into the air.

The ride wasn't exactly smooth.

It rocketed higher than the big tree in seconds, spread its wings wide, and shot off at top speed.

Whoosh!

This was a bird. This was a bird of prey.

If I grow up, could I become something like this?

Nah.

With my extraordinary potential, I'd end up way cooler than some hawk.

A mythical phoenix or fenghuang, maybe?

Or heck, even turn into a full-on dinosaur.

Some folks claim lizards are dinosaur descendants, but birds are the real deal.

No denying it, so who knows—a dinosaur might pop up as an evolution option.

My start may have been humble as a Little Crow, but the end would be grand.

"Kiaaak?"

A hazy-looking bird flew past me.

Hmm, didn't wanna evolve into that.

Weird description, ugly mug.

Kinda looked like the kiwi bird, though?

Should tell Moona about this one later.

Told it this guy looked way more like you.

Huh?

"Kioook?"

The Hoahoa hovered there, staring blankly at me.

Couldn't understand its words, but it looked confused.

Do you... know me?

"Kaaak?"

"Kiook?"

...Wait, are you the bird Moona told me about?

Then what's this thing I'm riding?

"Pioooo!"

"Kaaaaak!"

No—who are you, and why are you under me?

This is a kidnapping!