Chapter 141
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 141
Chapter Title: Rebecca
Swungswung's appearance had changed.
Not just a simple change, but it was more accurate to say that her very species had transformed.
Swungswung was a lace wrapped in black cloth.
But what was this form I was seeing now?
The black cloth she used to wear had somehow turned into a gothic lolita-style outfit.
Her slightly pale black hair fell all the way to her waist, and her skin was nearly white, creating a stark contrast with her hair.
Rebecca, wearing a silver crown and staring straight at me with ruby-red eyes that sparkled, continued speaking.
"Why, do I look weird?"
To be honest, I was so shocked I nearly cawed five times in a row.
No way—my adorable Swungswung had turned into this!
Of course, this form was cute too.
But it wasn't the Swungswung I knew.
"How..."
"Well, I was originally human, right?"
Swungswung answered simply.
Yeah, just as she said, Swungswung had originally been human.
A human named Rebecca.
So it wasn't strange for her to regain her human form.
Though it was pretty far from what I'd imagined.
I figured since the ghost bride had raised her like a daughter, she'd look a bit younger, but she appeared older than I expected.
Well, she did say she was the eldest among the kids, so maybe middle-school age fit.
"So, what do you think? Is it okay?"
She seemed a bit different from the personality I'd imagined for Swungswung.
Well, we'd only ever communicated in "swungswung," so I'd probably interpreted her my own way plenty of times.
"Caw caw."
I nodded vigorously.
"Hehe, I'm glad the crow likes it."
Swungswung smiled faintly.
Seeing her like this, there was no doubting she was the real Swungswung.
Only her voice and appearance had changed—her actions were exactly the same.
But why had Swungswung suddenly transformed into this form?
It was probably a feature of this rabbit hole.
The Cheshire Cat had said this place was close to another world.
I could feel it just by looking around.
The background looked like something a child had colored with crayons.
Thanks to that trait, it seemed Swungswung had appeared not as a ghost, but in her form from life.
Wait, but what about me?
I was originally human too?
I wondered if maybe I'd regained a human body, but my feathers and wings were perfectly visible.
In other words, my appearance hadn't changed.
Swungswung grabbed tightly onto one of my wings.
I was currently bigger than most humans.
Just standing still made that obvious, and spreading my wings would make the difference even greater.
Meanwhile, Swungswung had a build smaller than the average human.
Her youthful face matched a middle-schooler's frame.
Swungswung seemed thrilled just to be able to talk with me like this, grinning ear to ear.
She'd talked with me before, sure, but only in "swungswung," so it must have been frustrating for her too.
Swungswung spent a while telling me her story.
Her feelings when we first met, things she'd always wanted to say to me, times when we couldn't communicate and it frustrated her, even moments when she'd thought I was a dummy crow.
As I listened to her, I scanned our surroundings.
"Where are you looking? What're you thinking?"
I wanted to listen quietly to Swungswung, but there was something more important.
Figuring out where we were.
I vaguely knew it was the rabbit hole, but that wasn't helpful info.
I needed to learn where in the rabbit hole we were and how to find that rabbit guy.
"The others."
"The others? Oh, right. Sorry, I forgot. Moona's not here..."
And most importantly, it was just me and Swungswung here.
No Cheshire Cat, no Moona.
Swungswung had probably ended up here with me because she'd been stuck tight to my body.
Moona had been a bit farther away, so he'd landed somewhere else.
Which meant the top priority was finding Moona.
I couldn't leave Moona alone—unless it was the Cheshire Cat watching him.
What could that plump-hipped kiwi even do?
The Moona I knew would probably roll around and survive just fine, but that didn't stop me from worrying.
"Finding Moona comes first. Alright, let's go look for him quick."
"Caw caw."
It felt a little unfair that Swungswung spoke more fluently than me.
She must have noticed, because she narrowed her eyes and said,
"Ahem, I lived as a human for quite a while, so it's only natural. You know I'm way older than the crow, right?"
"Caw..."
In crow years, she was older, sure, but my original body had been human too.
I had more years and more experience speaking.
"Caw... caw..."
But right now, even stringing together one sentence was tough for me.
It was pretty frustrating.
"Well then... yeah, being bigger seems nice. I think even I could ride on you now."
Swungswung gently stroked the area around my neck.
This girl knew how to play it cool.
Riding a giant bird like me was a pretty romantic idea.
Considering her age, it might even be harder if she didn't like me.
I lowered my head to make it easier for her to climb on.
Now it was time to take to the skies.
Moona, just hold on a bit.
I'll find you quick.
And there was another reason I needed to find Moona fast.
A story I'd dismissed as nonsense from some cat was coming back to mind.
Didn't he call Moona a "sexy big sis" every time he saw him?
A kiwi bird with the Sage trait was suspicious enough already.
In this space where I could see Swungswung's true form from life, maybe I'd get to see Moona's real appearance too.
"Caw... caw caw caw..."
And I was curious just how sexy she could be for that cat to hype it up like that.
As those thoughts crossed my mind, Swungswung's face sharpened a bit.
"...Raven. Why are you making that face?"
"What face?"
Raven, huh.
It was the name Moona gave me, but hardly anyone had ever called me that.
Even if I told them, more folks called me "crow."
Maybe that's why it felt a little weird.
My neck was getting all tingly...
"Caaaaaw!"
No, it was actually itchy!
"Waaang."
Swungswung bit down on my neck with an "ang."
"Wh-what are you doing?!"
*Slurp slurp sluuuurp!*
"Kraaaaw!"
Swungswung sucked on my neck for a good while, then let go with a satisfied look as I squirmed.
It wasn't just sucking—she'd actually drained a bit of my energy, like the reiches do for meals.
"Caw... caaaaaaw..."
Didn't any feathers get in her mouth? Wasn't it uncomfortable?
*
After Swungswung's inexplicable punishment ended, we went looking for Moona.
Finding Moona was our top mission, but we checked out the surroundings now and then too.
It looked like a world colored with crayons, but everything seemed to be there.
Plants, water, even small bugs and animals scurrying about occasionally.
We could probably survive even if we'd landed in the middle of nowhere.
Of course, we hadn't found any of the "opportunities" the Cheshire Cat mentioned yet.
We weren't even sure if we'd landed in the right rabbit hole, so expecting opportunities right away was asking too much.
First, find Moona. Then find the Cheshire Cat. Then get the details on this place.
And after that, give that cat guy a good chicken-foot kick.
"Raven, look over there!"
Luckily, we spotted signs of Moona.
It wasn't hard at all.
Anyone else might have struggled, but I had wings.
No matter how twisty the terrain, I could ignore it and fly, and my eyesight was excellent.
Someone familiar like Moona? I could spot him instantly.
And this guy had cleverly left traces behind.
Those traces? Someone's stockings.
Had he stolen one of the fairly gotten prizes I'd collected?
Tch, but this was a style I'd never seen before?
A sage-level guy like him must have stashed them from somewhere.
I didn't know the route, but I'd grill him later.
Felt like something useful.
As we approached his trail, a familiar voice rang out.
"Hm, little wind. We've reunited swiftly. And beside you is Rebecca?"
Moona didn't hide his delight either.
He'd probably been searching for us too, in his own way.
"Surviving without me—impressive."
Huh?
Did this guy think we'd be bawling without him?
He had it backwards from us?
Well, whatever—glad we met up quick.
As I flapped my wings and drew closer to where Moona was,
I could finally see not just his voice, but his face.
"Hm, staring like that. It's a bit embarrassing."
Oing?
Moona's appearance...?
...
......
Was the same.
"Caaaaaw?"
In other words, he looked exactly like when we first met.
A single kiwi dangled from a tree branch, spinning slowly.
"Hehe, little wind. You're tense for once. Ahh... I see. Yes, that must be it. But... yes, we'll talk about that later."
I glanced down at my talons.
Then at Moona's plump butt.
"Hm? Why do you keep staring at my rear? Hmmm... You're not at the age to be eyeing that yet... Umm..."
I delivered a chicken-foot kick to that chubby butt.
"Caaaaaw!"
No, he said "sexy big sis"!
This wasn't sexy, and definitely not a big sis!
Swungswung turned human, so why was Moona still the same?