Chapter 4
The next day she showed up with a doll slightly larger than me.
It was a colorful snake doll.
No way. There’s no way.
“Now, look, baby. This is what you’ll be hunting.”
“… Pii?”
Even though it’s a doll…
There were snakes everywhere. You don’t think I can hunt snakes, do you?
First of all, I’m not a predatory bird, but I could live off of seeds.
Besides, if it’s a snake, isn’t it the same species as Rosaria?
I was confused.
There seemed to be many problems, but Rosaria didn’t seem to mind.
“I’ll put some of my pheromones on it.”
“Pii.”
“Please remember this scent.”
Rosaria put her wrists close to me so that I could recognize her pheromones.
Her pheromones were not as dangerous as the landlord’s, but they were dangerous enough.
It felt as if the nape of my neck would be bitten off.
The strange thing is I didn’t feel a direct danger toward me.
What is it?
I tilted my head. It’s a little different, but I felt like I already knew similar pheromones.
I’m mistaken, right?
“Pii!”
“As expected, my baby is smart. If you can remember the scent, I’ll hide it now.”
“Pii!”
I nodded.
It was unclear whether I could find the snake just by hiding it, but I couldn’t just say no to trying.
Rosaria didn’t come back until a long time later.
“I’m sorry, baby. It took a while to find the right place.”
You hid it so far away?
“Let’s go find it, shall we?”
“Pii!”
“Slowly feel the pheromones. Only when you can sense them will it make the process of humanization easier.”
“Pii!”
Humanization!
I focused my mind on the words that tickled my ears.
Where did she hide it?
If she hid it too far away, I might not be able to find it.
“Pii!”
I felt the faint pheromones flowing in the wind and raised my head.
My small feet that had been working hard stopped.
I think it’s somewhere around here.
I looked back as I moved my feet forward. Fortunately, Rosaria was following.
I felt relieved and stepped up my pace a little. How many more minutes did we have to walk for?
“Pii!”
There was a colorful snake doll among the bushes.
I found it!
I spread my wings wide and bit the doll with my beak.
You! You! You!
Whack! Whack! Whack!
Actually, I don’t know if this is the right way to do it.
I had thought of the way I scratched my shoulder and plunged my beak into the back of its neck.
Without letting go of the doll, I moved around, shaking my body, but at that moment, I began to hear cheerful clapping coming from somewhere.
Clap clap clap!
“… Pii?”
With the doll in my mouth, I tilted in the direction that made the sound.
The landlord and Baon were looking at me.
Baon, who clapped his hands in an exaggerated way, shook his shoulders as if he were holding back his laughter.
“This is really… incredible.”
“…”
“A very ferocious hunting method.”
“…”
“I’m scared to death.”
I let go of the doll in my mouth.
What do I do? The landlord was standing there.
I can’t wait for Rosaria to come and save me.
It seemed like she was following me, but I couldn’t see where she went.
The landlord was still looking at me with an unknown expression.
He seemed to be amazed at something.
Where the hell is so amazing?
The landlord, who seemed to be observing from a few steps away, called me.
“You.”
“Pii?”
“Your eyes are red.”
“… Pii?”
What’s with that?
The landlord couldn’t turn away from me.
There was a surprised look in the red eyes that glanced up and down.
“Is this possible, Baon?”
“Yes. Although, it’s my first time witnessing such a thing.”
Baon raised his silver-rimmed glasses and admired them.
The sharp eyes that were covered with glasses were looking at me.
I called Baon because I was nervous about the cautiousness I had not shown before.
“Pii pii?”
“It seems like this is really happening. I’ve only heard of it, but I didn’t expect to see it with my own eyes.”
“You’re born with a new subject.”
The landlord looked at me with a cool gaze and turned his head toward the snake doll.
“It’s Rosaria’s pheromones.”
“It looks like Rosaria was teaching her to hunt.”
“Teaching her to hunt?”
“When they’re young, you have to teach them everything.”
“My people won’t have to.”
“Aren’t babies different?”
“That’s going to be a pain in the neck.”
It was a simple and clear conversation. The bottom line is, “She’s not worth it.”
Oh my God.
The landlord was so annoyed that he hated me even more now.
I stepped back and looked around.
Where’s Rosaria?
What if I get caught and get thrown out? One word from the landlord and everything would be over.
While stomping his feet, he wondered what to do, and Baon waved as if he figured it out.
“It’s been a long time. I haven’t seen her…”
“…”
“You haven’t grown an inch.”
They usually say you grow empty-handed, don’t they?
My eyes began to swell. Baon grinned.
He had already predicted my reaction and continued to speak with a look as if saying he didn’t care a bit about what I thought.
“You must be looking for Rosaria.”
“… Pii.”
I nodded, trembling. Just because I haven’t grown doesn’t mean I’m offended.
“Maybe she’s watching from nearby. It’s standard practice to observe when you’re hunting.”
If that’s the case, she’d have seen me run into the landlord.
Rosaria probably won’t show up.
I stood in front of the landlord with a determined heart while contemplating how to get through this situation.
The landlord’s eyebrows were raised by my sudden action.
“Pii.”
I dragged the colorful snake doll I had just been holding and gave it to him.
“Huh?”
“… What are you doing?”
The landlord was frowning.
Oh no. I guess he doesn’t like it. This is the only thing I can give him right now.
“It’s as if you’re feeding me the food you hunted.”
“What?”
“I think it’s a gift.”
“Pii!”
“I was right,” he replied. The landlord’s face became subtle when I pushed the doll with my wings, telling him to take it quickly.
There was some dirt on it, but this much would have been enough.
“Pii!”
“I think she’s asking you to hurry up.”
“Ha.”
I nodded again at Baon’s words, and the landlord’s expression became strange.
Like someone who’s heard something they shouldn’t have.
* * *
“Baby!”
“Pii pii!”
I was walking on my own, and I could hear Rosaria calling from far away.
I lifted my head.
Where the hell have you been? How did you find me!
Rosaria laughed with an embarrassed expression as she burst into tears and ran with the sorrow she had endured.
She didn’t seem to know things would go this way either.
Rosaria bent her knees and held out her hand toward me. Her face was full of sorry emotions.
“My baby, were you very surprised?”
“Pii!”
“You’ve got a bunch of dirt on you.”
Did I wander around too much?
My white feathers, which were clean when I came out this morning, were thick with dirt.
Carefully, Rosaria lifted my small body and dusted off the dirt that stuck to my feathers.
I settled myself on the palm of her hand in a comfortable position where I could move. It wasn’t difficult because I’ve already sat on her hand many times.
Sitting on her hips, Rosaria began apologizing with a teary face.
“I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean for this to happen. I had no choice since the lord was there with you and Baon.”
“Pii pii.”
I held Rosaria’s hand to say it was all right.
How can I blame Rosaria for running into them? The landlord was just wandering around his house.
“But did you manage to find the hidden doll?”
“Pii!”
I puffed my chest proudly.
Even though I’m still an immature baby bird and can’t detect pheromones, I found my target at once.
Rosaria frowned at me as she looked at me with a face of wonder.
“I didn’t expect him to take the doll.”
That’s the mystery. Surprisingly, the landlord took the doll I gave him.
I thought he’d say no because he had a weird look on his face. It was a tremendous job.
Besides, he didn’t say anything.
I was nervous as to what I would say about wandering around when I met him in the hallway
“Today’s class was very perfect. You found the doll, and you handled that crisis well.”
“Pii!”
“When you get back, I’ll prepare a bubble bath. I’ve got something that you can use.”
Bubbles!
I couldn’t control my bouncing body.
END OF CHAPTER 4