Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: The First Hunt
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The next day, she appeared with a doll slightly larger than myself.
It was a colorful snake doll.
No way. It couldn’t be.
“Here, look, Little Lady. This is your prey.”
“...Pip?”
Even if it was just a doll…
No matter how I looked at it, that was a snake. Surely, she didn’t think I could hunt a snake?
Besides, since I wasn’t a bird of prey, I could just live on fruits and seeds.
And isn’t a snake one of Rosaria’s kind?
I was confused.
There seemed to be many problems with this, but Rosaria didn’t seem to mind.
“I’ll just put a little of my pheromone on here.”
“Pip.”
“Please remember this feeling.”
Rosaria brought her wrist close so I could recognize the pheromone.
Her pheromone wasn’t as strong as the master’s, but it still carried a scent that was more than dangerous enough.
It felt as if my neck could be bitten at any second.
The strange thing was, I didn’t feel like it was a direct threat to me.
What is this?
I tilted my head. It felt like I already knew a similar, though slightly different, pheromone.
Am I imagining things?
“Pip!”
“As expected, our Little Lady is so smart. Now that you’ve memorized it, I’ll go hide this.”
“Pip!”
I nodded.
I had no idea if I could find it just because she hid it, but I couldn’t just say no when she was trying so hard.
It was quite a while before Rosaria returned.
“I’m sorry, Little Lady. It took a little time to find a suitable spot.”
Did she hide it extremely far away?
“Shall we go find it, then?”
“Pip!”
“Slowly try to sense the pheromone. You need to be able to do this to transform into your human form more easily later.”
“Peep!”
Human form!
The words made my ears perk up, and I focused my mind.
Where did she hide it?
If she hid it too far away, I might not be able to find it.
“Peep!”
Sensing the faint pheromone drifting on the wind, I snapped my head up.
My small, still feet began to move with purpose.
I think it’s somewhere around here.
I looked back even as I moved my feet forward. Thankfully, Rosaria was following me.
A sense of relief washed over me, and I quickened my pace. How many minutes had I been walking?
“Piiip!”
Between the bushes, I spotted the colorful doll.
Found it!
I spread my wings wide and snatched the doll with my beak in one swift motion.
Take that! And that! And that!
*Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!*
To be honest, I had no idea if this was the right way to do it.
I was just recalling a method I’d once seen over someone’s shoulder, immediately driving my beak into the doll’s neck.
As I held on to the doll, thrashing my body about and flinging it around, I suddenly heard the sound of cheerful applause.
*Clap, clap, clap!*
“...Pip?”
With the doll still in my beak, I tilted my head and looked toward the sound.
There stood the master of the house and Baon, watching me intently.
Baon, who had been clapping with exaggerated flair, trembled as he tried to hold back his laughter.
“My, my... Hah.”
“...”
“Quite the ferocious hunt, I must say.”
“...”
“It’s so frightening I can barely stand.”
I dropped the doll I was holding.
What do I do? It’s the master of the house.
I wish Rosaria would hurry up and come save me.
I was sure she was following me, but she was nowhere to be seen.
The master of the house was still looking at me with an unreadable expression.
He seemed somewhat intrigued.
What on earth is so intriguing?
The master of the house, who seemed to be observing me from a few steps away, called out to me.
“You.”
“Pip?”
“Your eyes are red.”
“...Pip?”
So what if they are?
The master of the house couldn’t take his eyes off me.
His red eyes, scanning me from top to bottom, were filled with astonishment.
“Is this even possible, Baon?”
“It would seem so. This is the first time I have witnessed such a thing myself.”
Baon pushed up his silver-rimmed glasses and let out a short gasp of admiration.
His sharp eyes, hidden behind the glasses, were fixed on me.
Seeing a cautious side to him that he hadn’t shown before, I grew anxious and called out to him.
“Pip pip?”
“It appears such things really do happen. I had only ever heard of it; I never thought I would see it with my own eyes.”
“To think a bird could inherit all that.”
The master of the house’s cool gaze swept over me before he turned his head toward the colorful snake doll.
“That’s Rosaria’s pheromone.”
“It seems Rosaria was teaching her to hunt.”
“Teaching her to hunt?”
“When they’re young, you must teach them everything, one by one.”
“Our clan has no need for such things.”
“But the Little Lady is different, is she not?”
“How troublesome.”
It was a simple, clear-cut conversation. One that ended with ‘How troublesome.’
The tense atmosphere had lightened considerably over such a trivial topic, but my own mood grew serious, in stark contrast.
Oh, heavens.
Now the master of the house not only disliked me but also found me troublesome.
I took a step back and looked around.
Where did Rosaria go?
What if he catches me and kicks me out? One word from the master of the house, and it would all be over.
As I fretted, tapping my feet, Baon tactlessly waved a hand in greeting.
“It’s been a while. In the time I haven’t seen you…”
“...”
“You haven’t grown at all.”
Don’t people usually say you’ve grown, even if it’s just to be polite?
I glared at him without realizing it. Baon smiled sweetly.
As if he had already anticipated my reaction, he paid my glare no mind and continued speaking nonchalantly.
“You seem to be looking for Rosaria.”
“...Pip.”
I nodded reluctantly. It wasn’t because I was upset that he said I hadn’t grown at all. Definitely not.
“She’s probably watching from nearby. It’s standard practice to observe while the hunt is in progress.”
If that was the case, she must have seen me run into the master of the house.
It seemed Rosaria had no intention of showing up.
I pondered how to get through this situation, then stood before the master of the house with grim determination.
At my sudden action, the master’s eyebrows shot up.
“Pip.”
I dragged the colorful snake doll I had just been holding and presented it to him.
“Hoh?”
“...What is this?”
The master of the house’s brow furrowed.
What do I do? He doesn’t seem to like it. This is the only thing I can give him right now.
“It seems she is offering you her catch.”
“What?”
“I believe it’s a gift.”
“Pip!”
I quickly chirped in agreement. As I nudged the doll with my wing, urging him to take it, the master’s expression became peculiar.
It was a little dirty, but that was nothing a little dusting off couldn’t fix.
“Piiip!”
“I believe she is insisting that you take it.”
“Ha.”
When I nodded once more at Baon’s words, the master’s expression turned bizarre.
As if he’d heard something he shouldn’t have.
* * *
“Little Lady!”
“Pip pip peep!”
As I was trudging back alone, having gained nothing, I heard Rosaria calling from a distance.
I snapped my head up.
Where have you been! I was looking all over for you!
The sorrow I’d held back burst forth, and as I ran to her, crying uncontrollably, Rosaria smiled with a troubled look.
It seemed she hadn’t expected things to turn out this way either.
Rosaria knelt and held out her hand to me, her face full of apology.
“My dear Little Lady, were you very frightened?”
“Pip!”
“You’re covered in dirt.”
I guess I ran around too much.
My white feathers, which had been clean when I left in the morning, were now smudged with dirt.
After carefully brushing the clumps of dirt from my feathers, Rosaria stood up.
I settled into her palm, a comfortable position for travel. It wasn’t difficult, as I had ridden on it many times before.
As I plopped down on my bottom, Rosaria apologized with a mournful expression.
“I’m so sorry, Little Lady. This wasn’t my intention at all. For the Gaju and Baon-nim to show up right there of all places…”
“Piiip piiip.”
I patted Rosaria’s hand to show her it was okay.
How could running into those two be Rosaria’s fault? The master of the house was simply walking around his own home.
“Still, you found the hidden doll so wonderfully, didn’t you?”
“Peep!”
I puffed out my chest with pride.
After all, despite being a baby bird still unskilled at sensing pheromones, I had found my target in one go without getting lost.
Rosaria looked at me with a proud expression, then frowned.
“I didn’t expect the Gaju to actually take the doll, though.”
That was the truly mysterious part. Amazingly, the master of the house had meekly accepted the doll I gave him.
He had made such a strange face, I was sure he would refuse. It was incredible.
Moreover, he hadn’t said a word.
I had been on edge, worried he would scold me for wandering around freely again, just like when we met in the hallway.
“Today’s lesson was absolutely perfect. You found the doll and handled a crisis splendidly.”
“Piiip!”
“When we get back, I’ll give you a bubble bath. I’ve found one that our Little Lady can use, too.”
Bubbles!
I couldn’t stop my body from bouncing with excitement.