One day, some time after turning five.
When I woke up in the morning, I grabbed and hugged my prairie dog, Carro , who was standing on the headboard of my bed.
“Carro , good morning.”
“Kyuu.”
“You don’t have to keep watch, you know?”
“Kyuu~”
Carro always stands on the headboard to keep watch.
Even though there’s no need for a lookout, whenever I try to sleep with him in my arms, I often wake up to find him standing there again.
“Carro , you need to sleep too.”
“Kyuu kyuu.”
Carro is trying to act like he’s asleep, but I’m sure he’s not really sleeping much.
“You won’t grow big if you don’t sleep.”
“Kyuu~”
Daru has grown big, but Carro hasn’t grown at all. He’s probably not getting enough sleep.
“Carro , why don’t you sleep on my head?”
When I placed Carro on my head, I petted Daru .
Daru always sleeps next to me. It’s hot in the summer, but very warm in the winter.
“Daru , good morning.”
“Wafuu“
Daru stretches out big.
Daru ’s body length is now even bigger than my father’s. My father is tall for a human, yet Daru is still larger.
“Is it because we were sleeping?”
“Wafoo?”
When I sleep, Daru sleeps with me. And even when I’m awake, he sleeps a lot too.
“Mother said that if I sleep, I’ll grow bigger…”
“Wafoo?” “Kyau?”
“I want to grow bigger…”
“Wafoo wafoo!” “Kyu kyu!”
Daru and Carro are cheering me on.
It’s better to be big.
When you’re small, it’s hard to resist bullying. In my previous life, when I almost had a collar of enslavement put on me, if I had strength, I could have resisted.
“Strength solves everything…”
“Wao~” “Kyukyuu.”
Maybe I should sleep more too.
I got up from the bed with Daru and Carro and started moving my body.
“Hun, hun, hun.”
“Wafoo wafoo.” “Kyukyu.”
It’s a workout that my swordsmanship teacher taught me. By doing this, my body’s range of motion increases, and as a result, I’ll be better at fighting.
Daru and Carro , copying me, did the exercise with me.
“Fuu~”
“Wafoo~” “Kyu~”
After finishing the exercise, I walked to the window that leads to the courtyard.
The window in my room, which was given to me as soon as I was born, connected to the outside of the mansion. However, after being attacked through the window, my room was changed.
When I opened the window, the cool, refreshing spring morning breeze flowed into the room.
“Mufu~” “Wafoo~” “Kyu~”
Taking a big deep breath with Daru and Carro , I heard,
“Kuruppo.” “Hohoo.”
Soon, birds gathered on the window sill.
They usually live in the birdhouse outside the mansion. They gather when I open the window or go out to the courtyard for sword training.
The types of birds are varied. There are birds of prey, as well as small birds and pigeons, which are usually hunted by the birds of prey. Such a diverse group of birds live together peacefully, like one big flock. It’s strange.
Even my mother, who knows a lot about animals, found it mysterious.
“Good morning, birds. It’s nice to get along.”
“Hoho~”
Then, the owl, the leader of the flock, flapped its wings.
It seemed to want to tell me something.
“What’s up?”
It seems the owls want me to look outside the window.
“Hmm?”
I leaned out of the window and looked down.
“Kokeko.”
“Hm? There’s a chicken!”
There was a chicken down below.
Chickens sometimes appear for dinner. They taste good.
I’ve read many bird encyclopedias, so I’m knowledgeable about birds.
“Hohoo! Hohoho!”
It felt like the owl was urging me to look more closely at the chicken.
Actually, I can understand what animals want to say, even without words. It’s probably because I lived in a barn in my previous life and I’m friendly with Daru , Carro , and the birds now.
“Hmm? You’re injured.”
The chicken seemed to be injured.
I couldn’t see the wound, but I had a strong intuition.
“Here we go.”
I put Carro down and jumped over the window frame.
The distance from the ground to the window frame was much higher than my height. But since I’ve been practicing swordsmanship, I’m good at jumping down from high places.
I rolled on the ground and landed safely.
“Hmph!”
“Bau!” “Kyu kyu!”
Daru barked as if scolding me not to do dangerous things, and Carro chirped, worried.
“I’m okay. I’ll be more careful next time.”
“Buff!”
Daru barked powerfully and easily jumped over the window frame, as if telling me to ride on his back next time.
“Thanks, I’ll do that next time.”
“Wafoo.”
Soon, Carro also nimbly ran and jumped onto my head.
“Chicken, are you okay?”
I picked up the injured chicken. It was bigger than Carro , but since I’m strong, it was easy to lift.
“…Kokko.”
The chicken didn’t run away and stayed quietly in my arms.
“Let me check your injury.”
I gently petted the chicken to examine its injuries.
“Koke!”
“Sorry, did that hurt?”
“Ko~.”
“Hmm. It seems like the bone in the right wing and the right leg are broken… it’s a serious injury.”
“Ko~.”
“It hurts, doesn’t it? Let it fly away.”
“KoKo!?”
For some reason, the chicken made a surprised sound.
“What’s wrong? It’s just a spell.”
It’s just a spell. I know it doesn’t have any real effect. But when I fell and cried, my mother used to do this for me. It always made me feel a little less pain.
I hoped the chicken’s pain would be eased, even a little.
“Everyone, leave the chicken to me.”
“Hoho!” “Kuruppo~.”
With the birds seeing me off, I walked back to the mansion from the courtyard.
