Meeting a Fellow of My Kind
Three days had already passed since we left Osmon’s house and headed north.
“Lucky the weather’s cleared up a bit today.”
“Yeah, it is.”
“I thought I was gonna die with how heavy my wings got. Seriously…”
Thanks to the endless downpour over the past three days, even wearing rain gear hadn’t stopped my wings from soaking up water until they felt impossibly heavy.
“Ever since my body changed, I’d just hole up at home on rainy days, so I had no idea. Who would’ve thought there’d be a downside like this?”
“At least you had that rain-repelling artifact, Ren. That was a lifesaver.”
With my wings still drooping heavy from the residual dampness, I listened to Huey’s voice while gazing at the teddy bear in Lucy’s hand.
An artifact that generated a barrier keeping rain out of a several-meter radius. It might look like that, but it was far better than anything you could buy on the market.
“No matter how I look at it, it’s unexpected.”
“What is?”
“I never would have imagined Ren had a hobby of collecting cute little dolls like this.”
“It’s not my hobby.”
The guy who makes them says he can’t get motivated unless it’s something cute, so what am I supposed to do?
“Um… sorry to interrupt your conversation, but I think we’ve got a problem.”
As I was bickering with Lucy, Huey’s voice reached us. Why was he climbing up on a rock again?
“Why?”
“What kind of problem?”
“Just come up and take a look.”
At his suggestion that seeing it would be faster than explaining, Lucy and I exchanged a glance before climbing up to the rock where Huey stood.
“Oh dear.”
“With that, it’s definitely…”
Looking ahead past Huey as he stepped back.
“Yeah, that’s a real problem.”
“There wouldn’t happen to be another bridge nearby, would there?”
We could see the river, swollen to the brink of overflowing thanks to three days of heavy rain, and the tattered remains of what must have been a bridge that had given way because of it.
“…Looking at the map, there is another path.”
If we moved a little farther downstream, there was a quarry, and the bridge near there had been built for hauling stone, so it probably hadn’t collapsed.
“Well, nothing for it.”
Standing here fretting wasn’t going to fix the broken bridge.
“Let’s go before it gets any later.”
Following the river’s flow for about two hours or so.
“A village.”
“It’s a village.”
“Yeah. It wasn’t on the map.”
A small but decently equipped village came into view. Probably a settlement formed by the people living at the quarry.
“Should we stop by?”
“I think that’s a good idea. We’re completely out of food, after all.”
I nodded at Huey’s suggestion.
“Foraging locally is a pain.”
Food was always a headache. Especially before my body changed, when I only ate vegetables—it had been even harder. I couldn’t just go around munching on random unknown plants.
So instead of continuing down along the river, we turned our steps toward the village.
“A visitor?”
“Oh, looks like it.”
“Well, I’ll be. Actual guests coming to our village.”
The moment we entered the village outskirts, we were treated to the rare sight of every resident coming out to gawk.
“Waaah! Bird big sis!”
“Red bird!”
“Hey, hey!? You kids—stop right there!”
And from among the villagers, a few little brats came charging straight at me.
“Wings!”
“Not a chance.”
“Ack!”
“Eek!”
“Boss!”
I pinned down the head of one kid who’d been charging full speed with my foot, then glared at the others who were rushing for my wings.
“Martin!”
“…Ren.”
“Even if you hate it, that’s just… filthy…”
Then a woman came running urgently toward me, and the two of them gave me looks like they were scolding me.
“…Now that I think about it, yeah, it is pretty dirty.”
Looking at my feet, still a bit muddy from tromping through the soggy ground earlier, I carefully set the pinned kid down.
But still.
“Do you have any idea how annoying it is when kids latch onto your wings? They start yanking out feathers right away.”
Last time I went to the city with the party leader and we stopped by an orphanage I knew to say hello, I had such a hard time.
“Martin! I told you to listen…!”
Anyway, as I was making excuses, the woman who seemed to be the kid’s mother ran over, scooped up the dazed little boy who’d been staring at me after being released, and started scolding him.
“I’m sorry. Our party has some… circumstances…”
“No, no. It’s fine. It’s our idiot son who was in the wrong.”
“Ren.”
Huey bowed his head to the kid’s mother while Lucy jabbed me in the side with her elbow. He didn’t even get hurt—what a fuss.
“You okay, kid?”
Still, if I just ignored it, they’d keep bugging me, so I decided to ask if the brat was alright first.
“Mon…”
“Tsk.”
What, was he about to yell “monster”?
“Amazing—!!”
“…Huh?”
“Martin?”
“Boss?”
I clicked my tongue waiting for the rest, only for the kid, Martin, to shout at me with sparkling eyes.
“Guys! Mom! This big sis’s legs are super hard! Cold! Totally different from the general store big sis!”
“Really!?”
“This kid, honestly…!”
“Ahaha, it’s fine.”
“I’m just glad he wasn’t scared.”
“I’m not glad at all, you know!?”
Thanks to Martin getting all excited over how curious my metal-like legs were, the other kids who’d been terrified just moments ago were now approaching step by step with eyes full of curiosity.
“Wow, can I touch them?”
“Sure, sure.”
“Ren. You know, right?”
“Ugh. Do whatever you want.”
Why were they deciding for themselves about my own legs?
“Ahem, introductions are late. I’m Huey, an adventurer.”
“Luciella.”
“I’m Ren.”
After getting my legs tickled by four or five little brats for a bit, we finally greeted the villagers who’d been watching us fondly from behind.
“Hehe. Welcome to Brody Village.”
Guided by Irene, the kid’s mother who introduced herself as the village chief’s daughter, we were able to enter the village.
“Come to think of it, I know there’s a quarry nearby…”
“Ah, yes. Our village was founded by the quarry workers gathering and settling here.”
Seems like there might be a problem with Huey’s map. Thinking the same thing as me, Huey pulled out the map from his pocket and showed it to Irene.
“Um… about this bridge marked on the map…”
“Oh my, this bridge… it must have collapsed before I was even born.”
“I knew it. I was wondering how Master managed to get something that actually worked for once.”
Judging by Lucy’s grumbling beside me, that guy apparently had a talent for unerringly picking out defective goods.
“Hehe. This is our village tavern. If you’re looking for ingredients, you can ask here.”
“Thank you.”
“Ah, by the way, Miss Ren?”
“Huh?”
Just as she seemed about to leave after finishing the tour, Irene suddenly turned back and called to me.
“If you’re done with your business at the tavern, would you mind stopping by the general store?”
“All of a sudden?”
“There’s another Harpy living in our village, you see.”
“Oh.”
“Since you’re a rare species, I thought it might be nice for you to meet once.”
Ah, so that’s why Martin was comparing me to the general store big sis earlier.
“Sounds good to me. What do you think, Ren?”
“Indeed. You said last time you couldn’t meet any, right? Why not ask this time?”
“Well, no harm in it.”
After buying food at the tavern, we headed to the general store Irene had mentioned.
“Oh, that must be her.”
“White feathers.”
Someone we hadn’t seen among the people at the village entrance earlier. We met a Harpy with pure white feathers.
“Oh my, oh my. It’s been so long since I’ve seen one of my own kind.”
The moment she saw me, her blue eyes widened in shock, then she approached with a gentle smile—a blonde woman.
“Ah, right. My name is Caroline. Please, just call me Carol.”
A woman with wings full of pure white feathers, a bit smaller than mine, and raptor-like legs—Carol. Judging by what the kids had muttered earlier… Carol’s legs definitely didn’t look as hard as mine.
“Call me Ren. This is Huey, and Luciella.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“She’s definitely different from Ren.”
Huey bowed in greeting while Luciella examined Carol’s legs. Watching the two of them, Carol opened her mouth with a bright smile.
“Hehe. I heard the story from Irene. If you’d like, would you care for a cup of tea?”
Meeting a fellow of her kind for the first time in decades, she said. Carol led the way with light, excited steps, looking truly delighted.
“Do you live alone, Miss Carol?”
“Yes. Until a few years ago I was with my husband, though.”
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
“Hehe. It’s fine. He lived out his full lifespan, after all.”
“…If I may ask, how old are you?”
“That’s a secret.”
Come to think of it, I’d heard Harpies had particularly long lifespans even among beastkin, and it seemed to be true.
“Here, drink before it gets cold.”
Carol carefully picked up the teapot with her wing and poured the tea.
“I’ll gratefully accept.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
After pouring the tea.
“Hehe. Excuse me for a moment?”
“Huh?”
She suddenly came close and sniffed me.
“Oh my, oh my.”
“What the—all of a sudden?”
“You’re a complete baby!”
“Wha—!?”
Before I could react, she pulled me into a hug.
“Good heavens. To think there was such a young kin.”
“Let go of me first!”
“Hehe. Getting all shy.”
“I’m not a little kid in the first place!?”
When I roughly shook her off in exasperation, Carol just smiled contentedly instead of getting angry. What is this? For real?
“The way a little fledgling who hasn’t even laid an egg yet tries to act all grown-up is just… so utterly adorable.”
…What?