The Combs of the Coco Chickens Drooped Limp and Never Rose
The Combs of the Coco Chickens Drooped Limp and Never Rose
- Closed today due to supply issues.
I locked the restaurant door and hung the sign on it.
I never imagined the word "closed" could feel so alien.
"Come to think of it, I've never taken a day off except the regular holiday."
I came here to enjoy the slow life, so why was I always so busy?
'Well, I braced myself for this when I opened the place...'
Still, it wasn't as grueling as working with the knight order.
That was... hell. Pure hell. They'd rotate a few knights in for kitchen duty every day, but most of the cooking fell on me regardless.
'So it's a slow life, relatively speaking.'
I was dusting off my hands after putting up the sign when—
"Fine, the restaurant's closed. What am I supposed to do?"
Andrea stood beside me, sulking. She'd dragged herself out of bed early for work, and now she was being told to go home. Her lips were pushed out in a tiny pout.
'She's got that same energy as someone who struggled to get to morning class only to find out it's canceled.'
I understood the feeling.
"Take the day off. I'm heading to the poultry farm to check on things with the owner."
"You mean rest?"
"Yeah."
"...."
Her expression didn't brighten. I told her to take a day off—why the long face?
"I don't want to rest..."
"You whine about wanting to rest every single workday. What's with you today?"
"Obviously, because if I rest, I can't earn money, and I can't move around freely."
My gaze dropped to her stomach before I could stop it.
"Wh-where are you looking?!"
"Sorry, reflex."
"Ugh, anyway! So I don't want to just do nothing. Can I follow you, boss?"
"You could always go hunting like you used to."
Before she started working here, she'd been an exceptional elven hunter. Now she was an elven server, but I knew she was seriously skilled. She could still go out hunting on a day like this.
"There aren't any monsters or game worth hunting nearby."
"What about that wild Pog the other—"
"I said there's nothing, alright? I won't get in your way, I'll do whatever you tell me, just let me come with you."
I stared at Andrea as she scrambled to justify herself.
"Wait. Don't tell me you're trying to tag along just to mooch lunch off me?"
"...."
She didn't answer.
"You little—"
"Wh-what's so wrong about that! The baby's yours in the first place, and— hey— whose fault is it the food is so good? Besides, last time you promised I'd eat my fill for the ten months I'm working. My stomach's empty right now, so fill it up. Fast."
"...."
She'd abandoned all pretense and was straight-up throwing a tantrum now.
"Fine. But you absolutely do not let anyone at the farm see your normal attitude. Professional smile only. You know what I mean?"
The last thing I needed was to sour a good business relationship with a blunder. I was going there to help, but that didn't excuse a lack of manners. Little things pile up into a reputation and an image.
"Of course. I've been handling it just fine so far."
She puffed out her chest.
"Good. Let's go. Move."
With the sign hung, we headed to the Coco farm alongside the owner.
The farm wasn't far from the viscount's territory.
A two-hour ride on horseback.
Litmal Village, right next to Britten territory.
The moment we entered the village, the cries of Cocos and the unmistakable reek of their droppings filled the air.
Coco-coco. Coco. Coco-co.
Larger than the chickens of my original world and covered in white feathers, the Cocos all had limp, drooping red combs on their foreheads. With their developed chests, they looked a bit like chickens that had taken an enormous breath.
'Maybe a touch cuter?'
Up close, chickens always looked vaguely angry, but Cocos had a naturally docile face.
And those docile creatures were staggering weakly around the coop.
"You can tell at a glance that they're in poor condition."
"Right? I've raised these birds for thirty years, and I've never seen them this bad. Even during the last epidemic, they didn't look like this."
"Hmm."
"I still had some old remedies stockpiled, so I tried applying them everywhere, but nothing worked. It doesn't seem like a disease, and a few go missing now and then—probably wild animals—but there's no sign of anything breaking in from the outside, you see?"
The iron cage holding the Cocos showed no sign of damage or tampering.
"Mind if I take a look around?"
"Of course."
I approached one of the Cocos.
Coco...
Healthy Cocos don't have drooping combs. Their combs stand rigidly upright, as if packed with sinew—male and female alike.
But every last one of these had a comb hanging limp.
The tips of their tail feathers were wilted and lifeless too. Just a sorry sight overall.
'At least the tail feathers are still attached.'
That told me one thing.
"It's definitely not a contagious disease."
"Sir Knight knows his way around Cocos, I see."
"You need a certain amount of knowledge if you want to source good ingredients."
There were two known contagious diseases among Cocos. One was Coco Avian Influenza, the other was Beak Discoloration Disease.
Avian flu was marked by a drooping comb that simultaneously changed to a dark brown color. Beak Discoloration Disease involved the tail feathers losing strength and falling out, while the beak turned white.
'Combs are drooping, but the color hasn't changed. Tail feathers are wilted, but they haven't fallen out. Beak color is normal.'
We weren't dealing with the most dangerous epidemic.
"It's probably stress causing their condition to worsen. You said there's no sign of wild animal intrusion?"
"That's right. But they still go missing one by one. The disappearances are probably what's stressing the rest of them, but without knowing the cause, it's driving me in circles..."
Missing Cocos, huh.
"Have you checked for tunnels?"
"None."
"Is that so?"
No tunnels, and the cage wasn't breached.
'Did they fly out?'
I glanced up at the ceiling of the coop.
It was sealed tight, not a single gap visible.
You needed that level of thorough containment to raise Cocos.
Cocos were birds that, thanks to their developed chests, could fly whenever they wanted. If the ceiling wasn't sealed solid like that, they could easily flap their way to freedom.
'Doesn't look like there's room to fly up...'
Then my eye caught the corner where the ceiling met the wall. The point where the iron bars of the wall connected to the ceiling—a small gap that looked strangely neglected.
"Have you inspected the ceiling?"
"Of course. Our inspection showed everything was sound."
"Then what's that?"
I pointed at the ceiling, and the owner raised his head alongside me.
"Where are you pointing? I can't quite see it."
I'd forgotten that my vision as a mana-wielding knight was sharper than an ordinary person's.
"Right there, the gap where the ceiling and the wall meet."
Only after staring intently for a long moment did the owner's brow furrow.
"What? Why is there a gap there? That wasn't visible when we inspected it."
"It seems someone pried a gap at a clever angle—hard for an ordinary person's eyes to spot."
"You think some bird got in through that gap?"
"Or some of your birds got out."
"Got out?"
"Cocos can fly, can't they? Seeing escapees outside might be stressing the ones left behind."
"If that were the case, we'd have had a mass breakout."
"I'm just talking possibilities."
I'd need to check for myself to know for sure. Until I did, there was no telling exactly what the cause was.
"Um, boss."
Andrea, who'd been quietly watching all this, sidled up to me.
"I don't think these Cocos are just stressed."
"What do you mean?"
"It's... I'm sensing a very faint trace of magi in the air."
"...Magi?"
"Yes."
Magi was the negative energy wielded by monsters with an evil disposition—a force diametrically opposed to mana, the power that resided in nature. It could only be gained by forcibly draining life from other beings, and its mere presence could inflict harm on those nearby. It was known as the tool of black mages and demon-kind.
'The original novel didn't feature magi-users, so I only learned about it after enlisting with the knight order.'
She sensed magi?
But my own senses picked up nothing of the sort. Maybe an elf's perceptions were just attuned differently.
"You're certain?"
"Absolutely."
"Can you use a spirit to lift me up to that spot? I need to check it out."
"Should be possible. Want me to do it right now?"
"Yeah, please."
A breeze swirled around me.
Fwoosh.
My body floated gently upward until I was level with the high ceiling of the coop.
Up close, I could gauge the size of the gap.
'Too narrow for a Coco to fly through.'
Which meant this wasn't about stress from escaped flockmates, or birds escaping and stressing the rest. This was an intruder from outside.
Few things could slip through a gap this narrow, and even fewer predators could snatch a Coco through it.
And if Andrea was right about the magi...
One suspect came to mind.
The odds were absurdly slim, but if it wasn't that creature, things wouldn't have gotten to this state.
"I'll be staying here for the day."
"I'd advise against it. I tried the same, and strangely enough, nothing showed up that day."
"That figures."
"Pardon?"
"This isn't an ordinary creature."
The farm owner blinked.
"Oh, right. Do you have any Coco meat?"
Grrrrrowl.
I'm starting to get a little hungry here.
***
- Closed today due to supply issues.
Heimer, who'd arrived at the Knight Restaurant with Liana as usual, read the closure notice and let his shoulders slump.
"Closed, he says. How can this..."
"This is the first time he's closed like this, isn't it?"
Liana, who'd come with him, clicked her tongue in disappointment.
The best restaurant in the viscount's territory—the one that served the finest food—had shut its doors today. They'd even turned down the castle chef's cooking at the barracks mess to come here. No wonder the other knights who'd gotten here earlier were walking away with sour expressions. It was because the place was closed.
"Tch, I was looking forward to this..."
"The expanded menu lately has been wonderful, hasn't it?"
"Ha ha, it has. So many dishes to enjoy now. It was a real pleasure."
"Where could Sir Lucas have gone? Maybe he's resting because he's been overworking himself lately? That wouldn't be good."
"I doubt he'd do that. He's not the sort of knight to commit an act against chivalry."
He acted like it didn't bother him, but the disappointment was real. He'd gritted through the whole day's harsh training by thinking about Lucas's food.
Was there anyone in the knight order—among the soldiers—who didn't do the same?
Nearly all of them endured the day waiting for his food alone.
Lately, the crowds had grown so much that if you didn't arrive early, you'd be waiting an absurdly long time. The place was packed. So today, they'd planned to spend that long waiting time just talking—Heimer and Liana.
"So what now? I think it's too late to go back to the castle to eat..."
"Yes, well... I'll try to think of another restaurant. Ha ha ha."
Heading back like this felt like a waste. He'd finally seized an opportunity.
He'd turned down every single fellow knight who asked him to eat together and timed his leave to match Liana's lunch break.
— Oh, my training ran late today. Shall we grab a meal together?
Pretending it was a coincidence.
'The knight barracks has a cooking setup. Should I throw something together there? Or find another restaurant...'
Heimer was sighing and mulling over lunch options when—
"Oh? Sir Heimer."
"What is it?"
"Someone left a reply on your review. Take a look."
"What?"
==============
└Don't know what this donkatsu thing is, but gukbap is the one true path of the knight. If you're going to eat that, I'll take a pork gukbap—hot broth and plenty of meat. Real knights' food. Anyone who doesn't get the basics of chivalry needs to get lost. Come at me and we'll settle this with a duel.
- Free Knight Ivan -
The moment Heimer read the words, heat surged to his head.
He doesn't know chivalry? Come at him and duel?
He had no idea who this "Free Knight Ivan" character was, but—
'I'll make you pay dearly for insulting me.'
Heimer ground his teeth and clenched his fist. The dismissal of his convictions sent fury rocketing to the top of his skull—enough that, for a moment, he forgot Liana was standing right in front of him.
"That comment made you that angry?"
"Of course it did! He trampled on my chivalry. I poured my heart and soul into writing that review."
"Heh heh heh."
Watching him, Liana covered her mouth and laughed.
"Wh-why are you laughing?"
"Because you're cute."
"Wh-what? C-c-cute...? But that doesn't align with chival—"
"Let's go eat, quickly. Sir Lucas seems busy today, so we'll have to find somewhere else. It won't measure up to Sir Lucas's cooking, but I know a place that isn't bad."
"Ah, yes! Understood!"
Heimer's face turned red for an entirely different reason.
Liana called me cute.