Chapter 51
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: The Gingerbread House in the Forest
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Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep.
The ominous sound grew faster than my heartbeat.
No matter how many times I heard it, that was it.
The noise you get when you cut the wrong wire on a time bomb.
Time crawling along, then suddenly racing ahead.
This must be because I obliterated Dorothy's magic circle!
But I didn't mean for this to happen either.
How could I have predicted that swallowing the fire and spitting it back out would cause this?
There was no time to regret my actions.
The important thing now was escaping this place.
"Kawk!"
I pecked the plump moona's rear with my beak and launched into the air.
The quick-witted Swoongswoong dumped the items from its arms in a heap and burrowed into my body.
Boom!
I kicked the door open with a swift chicken-foot strike.
Fortunately, since the mechanism itself had been blown away, I could force it open with brute strength.
With that, I clutched Moona and Swoongswoong—along with the crystal orb I'd naturally snatched—and leaped into the sky.
"Kaaaaawk!"
Kabooooom!
The cabin exploded in a blaze of flames, blown to smithereens.
I'd considered swallowing this one too, now that my fire-eating ability was out in the open, but it was a good thing I hadn't tried.
How could anyone swallow an explosion like that?
Sucking it in would've cooked me from the inside out.
Still, we'd spotted it early enough to avoid major damage.
I'd managed to drag these two out alive.
They were lightweights, so no one got hurt from the drop.
We were a bit smudged with soot, turning us even blacker, but since we're all dark-feathered folks to begin with, it didn't show much.
"Hmm, quite the insidious trap. There wasn't a trace of detectable mana. To think they'd build something this covert just to eliminate intruders. What vile tastes."
Moona glared upward, clearly displeased.
He seemed to think the witch had gotten one over on him.
But it wasn't all for nothing.
He had a bundle of papers clutched in his beak.
"Leaving something like this uncleaned was suspicious enough, but they meant to wipe me out entirely."
That sounded a bit egocentric, but since he was a sage, maybe it wasn't far off.
"Indeed, it's not good. I strongly suspect this Dorothy woman is behind it all. What would a witch of her caliber be doing in this backwater?"
Moona closed his eyes and continued in his deep, resonant voice.
Best to listen closely for now.
I might learn something useful.
"I see, you've noticed it too. The reason for gathering info on otherworldly summoning, chimera synthesis, and the other dark magics. And it seems somewhat tied to the Eternal Night ritual as well."
"Kawk."
I hadn't noticed, but I didn't let it show.
I acted like I'd figured it out too.
Letting out just the right level of squawk.
"Very well. No need for further explanation then."
....
Peck.
"Hmm, why are you jabbing my rear with your beak?"
Peck peck.
"Even so, you're a crow. Sorry, but we're different species."
I stopped at three pecks.
No telling what weird nonsense he'd spout next.
"Heh heh, my friend. Don't worry too much. When the time comes, I'll share what I've uncovered. Wouldn't it be better to piece it together and explain the full picture rather than these fragments?"
What?
You knew I didn't know?
Then was all that vague talk just to tease me?
"Hmm, I rather like seeing you flap your wings in confusion."
Who's the one with vile tastes now?
Peck peck peck.
"Deciphering this will take some time. Lucky us, we've found something to pass the hours."
I peered closely at what Moona held in his beak.
Some ominous characters were visible.
Like runes, sort of.
To my eyes, unable to read normal letters anyway, they all looked the same—but these seemed like special script even a sage struggled with.
In that brief moment I snatched Moona up, he'd sifted through and grabbed the journals.
He'd ditched anything he could read on the spot and taken only what needed time to decode.
A brain worthy of a sage.
I regretted not preventing the explosion entirely, but even a sage couldn't manage that.
Maybe in a human body, but with those stubby kiwi legs? No chance.
I'll leave Dorothy intel to Moona.
His exceptional mind might uncover something.
"Swoong!"
Swoongswoong poked its head out from under my wing.
Then proudly displayed what it had grabbed.
"Oh ho, quite the fine haul."
Swoongswoong had snagged a jar packed with snacks.
Thankfully, not preserved frogs or anything—just stuff we could eat.
A witch's cabin with candy like this?
Did Dorothy have a sweet tooth?
No immediate use, but worth remembering.
"Swoongswoong."
Swoongswoong drooled as it stared at the sweets.
Guess even it liked sugary treats, being young and all.
Hard to tell its exact age, but it started as a Baby Lace, so probably not old.
"Swoong?"
Right?
Circumstantially, it was likely the oldest among the ghost bride's kids.
With that fine name, Rebecca.
But it's Swoongswoong for now.
Call it Rebecca when it turns into a silver-haired, red-eyed gothic lolita beauty.
"Shoooowooong...."
At that thought, Swoongswoong made a pensive face for a moment.
What?
Why that scary expression?
"Shwoong."
Back to its innocent look.
Yeah, that's the cute vibe that suits you.
Not that there were no regrets, but we'd gained something from Dorothy's cabin too.
Moona got Dorothy intel.
Swoongswoong got tasty snacks.
And I snagged the shiny crystal orb.
....
Useless thing, but shiny enough to be valuable.
"Good. Seems we've wrapped up everything to do in Skarnas."
The sage had it right.
All business here was done.
A shame about blowing up Dorothy's cabin, but thinking of it as smashing the home of the woman who tossed me around felt kinda satisfying.
...Even if it was another trap she'd set.
What kind of person anticipates me returning and prepares like that?
Not specifically for me, maybe, but acting like she knew someone would approach was highly suspicious.
If I hadn't stopped that scarecrow, no one could've neared her cabin—it's like she expected someone to block it.
And ties to Eternal Night on top? Honestly, no clue what her deal is.
Impossible to uncover her truth with current clues.
Need to combine the sage's decoding, info from beating the Tin Lord, and more.
Everything here is finished.
Time to leave beloved Skarnas for new lands.
"Keee saaaak...."
Huh?
Did I hear some weird noise somewhere?
"Keee sssik...."
I turned, but saw nothing.
Eh, just my imagination.
We'd taken everything—no reason to look back.
Time to head to a new world.
*
"Shwoooong...."
Despite my bold words, two of us were useless: me and the sage.
To reach the next destination, we had to fly somehow.
Walking was an option, but it'd take forever.
And risk needless fights with others.
Flying was best, but Moona and I couldn't.
Moona's a wingless kiwi; I've lost too many feathers to fly well.
Only Swoongswoong could fly.
"Shwoooong...."
It looked like I was flapping, but really, Swoongswoong was carrying us both.
Dreadful to think of walking this distance without it.
Swoongswoong really is my golden opportunity.
But our Swoongswoong taxi had one big flaw.
It hated light.
Could only fly at night; during daylight, it needed shadows or shade to rest.
So here we were, grounded.
Searching for a decent nest to rest through the day.
"Kawk, kawk."
"Good. Time to show our skills?"
Swoongswoong had worked hard; our turn now.
Just wait, Swoongswoong.
With my physical prowess and Moona's knowledge, we could build a nest better than a hotel.
"Swoong...."
Swoongswoong, tucked inside me, swooned sleepily.
Yeah, catch some shut-eye for now.
I'll wake you once the nest is ready.
As we scouted for nest materials,
"Shwoooong?"
Swoongswoong suddenly peeked out.
"Kawk?"
What? Something wrong?
"Swoong! Swoongswoong!"
No trace of fatigue—its eyes sparkled.
It waved its little arms toward one direction, begging to go there.
"Hmm, if your familiar insists, there must be a reason."
Yeah.
Can't ignore a request from Swoongswoong.
We dropped what we were doing and headed that way.
Soon enough, I understood why.
A massive cabin stood in the woods.
"Shwoooong!"
Not wood—a cabin made of gingerbread.