A Fateful Encounter on the Snowfield (8): The Curious Coexistence with the Human and the Penguin
I shook my entire body vigorously the moment I surfaced onto the water. The droplets clinging to my feathers scattered in all directions, leaving small white dots on the white snow below.
‘Hmm… I ate a lot again today.’
Having filled my stomach, I slowly lowered my body to head back toward home.
That was when it hit me.
‘Right… I need to give him something to eat when he wakes up…’
The man left in the cave flashed into my mind.
From the very first time I saw him, his condition had been terrible. His wounds were severe, and he had collapsed before he could recover properly.
Someone like that would definitely be hungry the moment he opened his eyes.
I thought about it for a moment.
‘What should I bring…’
A few small fish wouldn’t do. If I was going to feed a patient, they needed proper nutrition to recover quickly.
I should just grab one big one instead.
With my decision made, I turned back toward the sea.
Splash—
The instant I dove into the water, the icy current enveloped my whole body.
‘Hmm… what would be good?’
I swam slowly while scanning my surroundings.
Too small a fish and the human probably wouldn’t be satisfied. But if I went after something too fierce, I’d have trouble catching it in the first place.
Something of a suitable size that I could handle.
That was when—
‘!’
A massive shadow moved across my vision from one side.
I instinctively froze in place.
A huge fish sliced through the dark underwater, its long body gleaming with silver scales as it emerged from the depths.
‘This one should be enough, right?’
I slowly lowered my body.
I reduced the water flow to a minimum and approached from behind it.
Gradually.
Gradually.
As the distance shortened, the fish’s enormous form became clearer and clearer.
Every time its tail flicked, the surrounding waves rocked violently.
But since I had already chosen my target, there was no thought of retreating.
I gathered strength inside my body.
‘Here I go.’
I suddenly twisted my body.
Bang—
I pierced beside it through the waves and immediately opened my beak.
Crunch!
The instant I clamped down on the fish’s body with full force, it thrashed wildly.
But I didn’t let go.
I gritted my teeth and swam upward while holding onto it.
As I neared the surface, sunlight broke through the waves.
And—
Splash!
I leaped out of the sea with the enormous fish in my beak.
Thud!!
I immediately tossed it onto the snowfield.
‘Hoo… still, I caught it pretty cleanly.’
To make sure I didn’t leave any wounds with my beak, I held it carefully.
‘Then… now I have to move this.’
The problem was its size.
It was far too big to carry, and worse, its sagging body made it awkward.
‘Hmm… ah! What if I try using that?’
I recalled the technique I had tried to learn before but failed at.
Freeze Beam.
But the version I had mastered now was a bit different.
‘Cold energy.’
I pulled internal energy into my throat and slowly exhaled it along with my breath.
Whoosh—
A cold wave spread out.
Crack—
A semi-transparent ice layer formed around the fish.
‘Oh.’
It worked.
‘This should be enough to carry.’
I carefully lifted the frozen fish with my beak.
And—
Clang—
The ice shattered into pieces.
‘…?’
The fish dropped straight to the floor.
‘Can’t do it with this.’
I thought for a moment.
Then I froze the fish again.
This time I chose a different method.
Clench.
I grabbed the frozen fish with my wing.
‘Hmm…’
It looked a bit odd.
Like I was holding a big knife and threatening someone.
‘Kind of scary image.’
But there was no other way.
I carried the fish toward the cave.
A short while later.
Upon reaching the cave, I looked inside.
And.
“Kyak? (Awake?)”
The man was awake.
But.
My gaze immediately locked onto something.
The book the old man had left me.
That was what the guy was holding.
“Kyaaak!!! (This… ingrate black-haired beast!!!)”
Rage surged through me for a moment.
‘After bringing him here even though he was a patient and treating his wounds…’
He’s carrying my book?
I slowly lifted the fish I was holding.
Like a sword.
And I strode straight toward the man.
“What is this… what kind of creature is this?”
The man didn’t look like he was thinking of attacking even as I approached.
He just stared at me like he was seeing some strange animal.
So I yelled loudly.
“Kyak!!!!”
At that.
“Huh!”
The man jumped in fright and fell backward.
I didn’t miss the opening.
“Kyak! Kyak!!! (My book! Give it back!!!)”
I approached the man while tightly gripping the fish.
But.
“No.”
The man hugged the book tightly to his chest and said.
I paused for a second.
‘Huh?’
What did he just say?
He was supposed to steal someone else’s thing and not give it back?
It was the perfect thief mindset.
I lifted the fish again.
“Kyak. (Your strength is greater than mine.)”
The man’s body flinched.
But he still didn’t let go of the book.
“This isn’t a simple book.”
The man gazed at the cover and spoke quietly.
“It’s my father’s legacy.”
I stopped moving for a moment.
‘Father’s legacy?’
The man’s fingers carefully stroked the book’s surface.
Like handling something fragile and precious.
“This is the Ice Soul Divine Art of our Ice Palace.”
‘Ice Palace…’
I narrowed my eyes.
‘So is that old man connected to the place called the Ice Palace he mentioned?’
‘Could it be that this guy is a person from that place?’
But.
Even so, I had no intention of handing over the book.
‘I know it’s important to you, but to me it’s equally important.’
“Kyak.”
I shook my head and pointed at the book.
My meaning was clear.
‘Give it back.’
But the man shook his head.
“I’m sorry… but I can’t hand this over no matter what.”
The man struggled to stand, but he couldn’t even take a few steps before staggering.
Even so, he didn’t let go of the book with his hands.
‘Amazing.’
‘Even in this condition, he’s holding onto it.’
At least I could understand a bit of his heart.
But
‘Understanding and giving up are two different things.’
I set the fish down and approached quietly.
The man tensed up.
“…What are you trying to do?”
Instead of answering, I looked at his hand.
And.
Tap.
I pecked the back of his hand with my beak.
“Ouch!”
Tap.
“Wait a second.”
Tap.
“No, wait!”
The man desperately held on, but his body was already at its limit, and I pecked his hand again.
At that moment.
The man’s grip loosened, the book dropped to the floor, and I quickly snatched it.
“Kyak!”
The instant I picked up the book, I immediately checked its condition.
No wounds. No tears.
‘Thank goodness…’
At that moment, the man’s voice came from behind.
“…Do you need that book too?”
I slowly turned around, and the man was staring at me.
“So you didn’t just take it out of greed.”
I didn’t answer and flipped through the pages.
Then
The man’s expression instantly changed.
“Impossible… so you’re… learning that martial art?”
I raised my head.
And slowly nodded.
“Kyak. (Then what are you going to do?)”
The man couldn’t speak for a while.
A martial arts manual left by his father and an unidentified creature learning it.
He seemed to be struggling to understand the situation.
I hugged the book tightly to my chest.
‘Sorry…’
‘I can’t give this.’
‘This is the same as my life to me.’
After a moment of silence, the man spoke first.
“Let’s make a deal.”
I narrowed my eyes.
‘Deal?’
The man looked at me and said.
“Take the book. You can have it.”
I paused for a second.
‘Huh?’
“Instead, there’s one request.”
I watched the man cautiously, and the man slowly spoke.
“Show me.”
“Show me the Ice Soul Divine Art you’ve learned.”
I thought for a moment.
‘Why?’
The man looked at the book quietly.
“I want to confirm something.”
“Whether my father’s legacy…”
His hand touched the book.
“Whether it’s truly continued…”
I stared at the man for a moment.
And
Slowly stood up from my spot.
The man tensed up.
“What are you doing?”
Instead of answering, I closed my eyes.
And felt the energy flowing inside my body.
Whoosh—
I slowly exhaled.
At the same time, I created a path for the internal energy in my body to flow, and
Then.
Crack—
A cold wave began spreading around my body, and a thin layer of frost settled on the cave floor.
“Kyak (How is it)”
As I looked at the man, his eyes widened, and I continued pulling in internal energy.
The man stared at me in silence for a while before speaking.
“…It really is… my father’s martial art…”
The man slowly shifted his gaze to me.
“It’s continuing with you.”
I tilted my head.
‘Why is that so surprising?’
To me it was just the power I learned to survive.
Of course it wasn’t easy.
When I first saw the book, I didn’t even understand what it said.
The internal energy the old man had given me inside my body was strange.
And the process of moving it was full of failures.
I even froze my body until it worked.
That was all.
But to humans, it seemed like an incredible feat.
The man slowly opened his mouth.
“The Ice Soul Divine Art isn’t a martial art anyone can learn.”
He looked at his own hand.
“Only the servants and successors of the Ice Palace can learn it.”
I listened quietly.
‘Then what about me?’
I had just followed the book.
Of course, I might have been lucky.
But even now, the fact that I had learned this power was strange.
“So you… learned what I failed to learn.”
He looked at the book with slightly emotional eyes, but
‘Even so, no.’
I had no intention of handing it over.
To me too, this was equally important.
If I didn’t have this book,
I would just be a weak penguin again.
I might win against the polar bear, but I couldn’t guarantee more than that.
A small creature that didn’t know when it would die… I didn’t want a future like that.
After a moment of silence, the man spoke first.
“Now I understand.”
I looked at him.
“Why you wouldn’t let go of this book.”
The man faintly smiled.
“It’s not just a simple book to you either.”
I silently hugged the book.
That was true.
This was the method for my survival, the first power I had obtained.
The man slowly moved his body.
“Don’t worry.”
I watched him warily.
“I won’t try to take it back.”
I blinked as if a little surprised.
The man leaned against the cave wall.
“Instead, there’s one request.”
“The Ice Soul Divine Art you’ve learned.”
“If possible… keep showing it to me.”
I tilted my head.
“Why?”
The man was silent for a moment before speaking.
“I want to confirm… whether the martial art my father left…”
He looked at the book.
“Up to where it continued.”
I looked at him for a moment.
And sat down slowly while hugging the book.
‘Well… nothing bad would come of it.’
And so… a strange and bizarre coexistence between the human and the penguin began.