You'll Die If You Fight
Huey watched Ren wolf down the meatballs, heedless of how scalding they must have been, then sidled up beside Luciella and whispered in her ear.
"…It's nice she's eating so well, but was it really enough to make her cry?"
"She must have been bullied by that mercenary company earlier."
"From where I was standing, she looked more like the type to cause trouble than get bullied."
"What do I care. Whatever."
"My mistake for talking to you."
Huey made a face that said figures as he watched Luciella give halfhearted answers while popping meatballs into her mouth, as if conversation itself were a chore.
Having apparently given up on talking to her, he stared blankly at Ren, who was eating with steam rising from her lips.
"If Ren were really a woman, you'd be racking up points right now with this, Master."
"…Tsk."
After swallowing the last meatball on her plate, Luciella looked at Huey with a face full of pity.
"Honestly, Master, your tastes are quite peculiar."
"Shut up."
At that, Huey turned away from Luciella with a face full of discontent and roughly shoved a meatball into his mouth.
"…It did turn out well, though."
His eyes remained fixed on Ren until the very moment the meal ended.
They say if you treat a man like a woman, he becomes a woman. And a man whose body is already female? Needless to say.
He recalled what Luciella had whispered to him when he'd frozen up upon learning Ren had once been a man.
Even as he told himself he shouldn't, he resented his own heart for being tempted at the same time.
"Sigh."
In the end, Huey shook his head with a long breath.
"Haa… That was delicious."
And regardless of whether Huey sighed or not, Ren beamed with pure satisfaction at the meal.
"Glad you enjoyed it."
"None of our company members can cook, so it's been ages since I've had a proper meal!"
"…Just what kind of life have you been living?"
"Stew with some dried rations thrown in roughly, and hard bread tossed in a warehouse."
"Good heavens."
Watching Ren chat with Luciella with that smiling face, Huey thought to himself that whatever else, seeing the person he'd come to like smile so brightly was a good sight after all.
"I'll cook for you often from now on, so let's get along."
"Yeah!"
A completely different, innocent look from just moments ago — as if the walls around her heart had been lifted.
Huey added a line to his mental notes.
Weak to delicious food. Also consider training her with cuisine.
It would be a little later before he became aware that such lewd thoughts were accumulating one by one in his heart.
"Alright, I'll take first watch tonight, then Lucy, and Ren last. Sound good?"
"That's fine."
"Okay."
"I'll hang the clock here, so wake each other up when it's your turn."
"Understood."
"Okay."
After cleaning up from the meal and settling the watch order, the three prepared for their respective nights.
Huey pulled a sleeping bag from his pack and laid it out.
Luciella unchained the coffin she'd been carrying, draped a blanket over it, and settled down to sleep on top.
Ren spread a blanket on the ground, lay down on it, and covered herself with her own wings as a blanket.
As time passed, listening to the breathing of the two who had fallen asleep, the outsider gazed up at the sky.
The deep blue night sky was clear without a single cloud, and stars whose names he couldn't even know were strewn densely across it.
He reached out, wondering if somewhere among those stars might be the home he could return to.
"No chance."
It was still far too distant a prospect. He weakly withdrew the hand he'd been about to extend.
"…Already five years, huh."
Constellations he'd never even seen on Earth. A red moon and a blue moon shining brightly high in the sky. Huey blankly watched this night sky so different from his homeland, then, with a wry smile, thought of his family.
"If there's no way, I'll make one."
His father, who always laughed heartily and told him never to be cowed no matter where he went. His mother, who always smiled gently and patted his and his little sister's backs, telling them never to give up. His little sister, who they fought with often, but who always relied on her big brother when things got hard.
"I'll definitely go back."
Five years had already passed since he'd fallen into this world, but it had only been a year since he'd properly set out on his adventure. The world is vast, so there must be a way — he repeated it to himself like a vow.
Having made that resolution, Huey added more firewood to the dying campfire — and failed to notice the sight of Ren, smiling softly, closing her slightly open eyes.
I opened my mouth as the approaching presence stirred my settled mind awake.
"I'm up."
"…Oh."
As I rose from my spot, meeting eyes with Lucy who'd been about to reach for me, a sound of admiration came. She looked thoroughly surprised.
"I'm not that much of a heavy sleeper."
"I see. Then I'll be off."
"Sleep well."
"Good work."
After waving my wings toward Lucy as she quietly returned to her spot, I kicked a few pieces of firewood — somehow already stacked near the campfire — into the flames with my foot.
About two hours passed like that. Around the time the far side of the sky began to turn red and the sun started to rise—
"Nngh…"
I stood up, stretching.
"Yaaawn…"
Since this was essentially the first time camping out since getting this body, everything ached, so I decided to do some light stretches.
"Huh?"
While loosening up with some early morning exercises—
"Whoa."
I could see a bunch of well-built hulks approaching from far off, so unfortunately, I decided to wake the two who were still sound asleep.
"Hey, hey. Wake up. We've got company."
"Heheh…"
"Ugh, damn."
When I shook his shoulder, Huey pulled my wing into a hug with a bizarre grin on his face.
Thud!
"Gahk!"
I got goosebumps and kicked him without thinking. That bastard just buried his nose in my feathers and took a deep breath…!
"Argh, what's going on all of a sudden…"
"…Company, I see."
Fortunately, Lucy opened her eyes the moment a hand touched her shoulder.
"Who the hell's camping out so carefree in our territory with a fire going, huh!?"
"If a fire starts in our workplace, are you gonna take responsibility!?"
"Lighting fires out here like that is dangerous, kids."
Sure enough. Seven bandits, each with a weapon slung over their shoulder as they spoke.
"Pfft."
"Bandits these days sure have a talent for comedy."
Yeah. I'll admit it. Honestly, even I thought it was funny. Bandits worrying about forest fires?
…Is that right?
"Boss. Take a look at that. It's a rare specimen."
"Ohh, a bird beastkin?"
"That one's top-grade too!"
"Heh, looking pretty delectable…"
Is that last bald guy talking about me?
"Ahem, if you leave quietly, we'll pay a toll of sorts."
"Hahaha! Look at this scrawny guy talking, kids!"
Apparently Huey just wanted to hand over a few coins and pass through peacefully. As if that would work.
"Huey."
"What."
"I'm expensive."
"…I get it without you saying."
Bird-featured beastkin are rare specimens that human traffickers go absolutely crazy for. I didn't care about that stuff so I didn't know, but after ending up like this, the slave traders chasing me made sure I learned whether I wanted to or not.
"Honestly, I just can't understand human tastes. Ignoring a beautiful girl like me and focusing all their attention on Ren."
Lucy talking as if she herself weren't human was also concerning. But first things first — deal with these uninvited guests, then ask.
"Do your best, you two."
"What about you?"
"…Cheering?"
After taking a position in the back and waving my wings like a cheerleader, Huey looked at me with an incredulous face.
But you know.
"If I fight those guys right now, I'll die."
Because right now I'm a deadweight who can't even hold a sword.
"…Fine."
Fortunately he seemed to accept it, sighing as he gripped the sword hilt at his waist, while Lucy hoisted the coffin she'd already re-bound with chains. I started watching the show.
"Lucy, don't kill them."
"I'll try."
"Tsk."
"Tch. Understood."
Well, it's not even a commission, so no real need to kill them.
And so the fight began.
CRACK!
"Gyaaaaah!"
"Wow."
Lucy charged straight into the middle of the bandits and swung her coffin in a wide arc — one of the bandits in the center went flying with the sound of bones shattering, without even managing to react. A truly simple charge, nothing more.
"Die!"
Naturally, one outside the coffin's swing range brought his club down—
CLANG!
"How reckless."
Huey's sword slipped between them and deflected the club. Then he swung his free hand and struck the bandit's jaw, knocking him out cold.
"Master. You're in the way."
"Go easy, will you."
"Hmph."
Lucy's coffin swung without regard for Huey being right next to her. Being Gold Rank 3 apparently wasn't an empty claim — the two of them subdued seven bandits while even exchanging jokes.
As I was watching the spectacle, one of the remaining bandits suddenly charged at me.
Ah, that's the guy from earlier who was calling me delectable or whatever.
"Uwaaaaah!"
"Master?"
Huey subtly held back Lucy, who'd been about to move immediately toward the bandit who was practically begging to be captured first.
…He let him through on purpose.
"I clearly warned you. You'd die."
Hoping that the guy charging at me right now was at least somewhat sturdy, I extended my leg toward the bandit charging with his axe swinging wildly.
CRACK!
Immediately after, the sensation of an axe blade hitting my leg—
"…Huh?"
Crunch.
The bandit made a dumb sound of surprise at the sight of his axe blade shattering instead, even though he'd clearly struck my leg — and my foot buried itself in the center of his body.
It felt like every one of his ribs had broken, but I'd been careful not to stab with my talons, so if he had good durability he might not die.
BOOM!
Huey and Lucy stared with dumbfounded faces at the bandit who went flying with a thunderous crash, snapping a distant tree as he slammed into it.
"I told you you'd die. I'm still not used to this body, so controlling my strength is hard."
Not me — that guy.