Shella , transformed into a pure white little bird.
The small bird, resembling a long-tailed tit, perched on my fingertip, chirping with an adorable sound.
(Yeah. I have no idea what it’s saying.)
The “Understanding All Languages” skill granted by the Creator doesn’t seem to translate the sounds of animals.
(I wish the Ring of Solomon would drop from the dungeon.)
Pichi pichi, chui!
I observed the small bird chirping in a high-pitched voice.
Its total length was about ten centimeters. Unlike the long-tailed tit, it was completely white. I thought the long-tailed tit had black patterns.
Also, the color of its round eyes was the same as Shella ‘s—beautiful aquamarine.
Even the pure white feathers seemed to have a silvery tint when viewed closely.
“I see, the color it wears is exactly like Shella ‘s.”
It must weigh only a few grams. It’s so small and light, it almost feels like I could accidentally crush it, which is a bit scary.
As I stared at it closely, the little bird seemed curious and tilted its head.
The cuteness of that gesture was overwhelming!
“Ah…!”
I somehow managed to bite down on my excitement.
If I had shouted “so cute!” in my overwhelmed state, I would have surely startled the little bird.
As much as I loved the sight of this little, adorable bird, I decided to have it return to its original form.
◆◇◆
I set up a tent for Shella to change and gathered her scattered clothes from the ground, carrying them over.
Just to be safe, I had asked Ketsue to accompany her.
“I’m sorry, Tohma -san. I’m done changing.”
“Alright, I’ll go collect the tent.”
Shella , wearing a robe, returned.
I packed up the tent and decided to head back to the town for the day.
The amount of game we’d gathered today was more than enough.
Since we were heading back anyway, I decided to eat the fruit Shella had gathered for me, which she’d worked hard to collect.
The deep purple fruit, about the size of a tennis ball, was full of juice, so ripe that the skin was almost bursting.
Carefully biting into it, the sweet and sour juice spread throughout my mouth.
“Mmm, this is delicious.”
“Right? It’s a special fruit that only ripens during this season!”
“Mmya.”
Shella and Ketsue were happily munching on the fruit. By the way, I had gathered these fruits myself, thanks to my high elf physical abilities.
Shella looked up at me with a strange expression as I easily climbed trees.
(Well, that’s because I’m a high elf!)
Thanks to that, I managed to gather quite a bit, so we wouldn’t be lacking in dessert for a while.
Although the size was much different, the taste was similar to plums and very delicious.
The large seeds were supposed to be discarded along the way as a matter of courtesy.
I wasn’t sure how long it would take to grow into a proper tree, but I thought it would be fun if there were a little path of plums.
“… So, you’re saying the people in the village are obsessed with Shella ‘s transformation through the [Beast Transformation] skill?”
“I’m not sure if ‘obsessed’ is the right word… but it seems that among the winged people, there are very few who can transform into birds. The village chief said those who can use [Beast Transformation] were called ‘Sacred Beasts’ and were worshipped as guardian deities.”
“Considering that, it doesn’t sound like they’re treating her very well, huh? If she’s a guardian deity, they should at least feed her properly.”
“Y-yeah! But they said that Sacred Beasts must not eat impure meat, so I…”
“Calm down, Shella .”
I quickly tried to reassure the girl, who was speaking in a hurry.
Yes, the grudge over food runs deep.
If I had made sure to give her what she wanted and treated her well, she probably wouldn’t have had to escape from the village.
“Sacred Beast, huh…”
I didn’t know exactly what that meant, but it sounded divine.
The only divine beast I knew was the Golden Dragon, but I wondered if there was any connection.
The Golden Dragon was massive and exuded an overwhelming divine aura, but there was nothing like that with Shella , even when she transformed into a long-tailed tit.
If anything, it was incredibly cute.
If this weren’t Shella , I probably would have gently cupped the little bird in both hands and rubbed my cheeks against it.
A little bird with eyes as round as precious jewels, wrapped in fluffy feathers that looked like the first snow.
The word “precious” occupied my mind.
“Tohma -san?”
Shella looked up at me, concerned, as I had fallen silent.
She tilted her head slightly, gazing up at me with an expression of curiosity.
Her eyes, like clear lake water, seemed to pierce into my heart, and I gasped.
“Ah…”
“Huh?”
“N-nothing. Um, you should stay at the inn where I’ve booked a room after stopping by the guild. Of course, I’ll make sure they prepare a separate room for you. I’ll pay for it.”
I managed to swallow my feelings of ‘cute.’
I averted my gaze from Shella , who looked at me strangely, and Ketsue, who gave me a somewhat exasperated look.
“Eh? No, that’s too much! I’ll pay for the room myself, but… I was hoping for a place with a lower rank…”
“I told you, I’ll pay for it. I know someone I’d like to introduce to Shella . They’re very knowledgeable about Sacred Beasts and things like that, so I’m sure they’ll be able to help you, Shella .”
That’s right, I do have an acquaintance who is knowledgeable about that sort of thing.
Right now, they were far away in a distant land, busy with their work as a divine beast, the Golden Dragon.
I decided to consult with them using a communication magic tool.
◆◇◆
After exchanging the prey we hunted at the Adventurer’s Guild for money, the two of us returned to the inn where I was staying.
Since it was the best inn in the city, the lodging fees were quite high, but thanks to the profits I made at the market, I could afford it easily.
I reserved the adjacent private room for Shella and decided to have dinner first.
The meal, for both of us, was brought to my room. In the inn’s dining hall, it’s hard to change the taste of the food freely because of the public eye. But in my room, I could add some consommé to the bland soup or some sauce to the meat dishes.
“Let’s eat first.”
“Okay!”
A thick boar meat steak, soup, and a basket full of bread were brought to us.
Shella cheerfully expressed her joy at the feast.
I took a sip of the soup, and without a word, I used powdered consommé from my [Item Box]. I stirred it carefully with a spoon, tasted it, and nodded approvingly.
“Mm, it’s better now. How about you, Shella ? It’s a magical powder that makes the soup taste good.”
“Magical powder…!”
I sprinkled some on Shella ’s soup as well. I also added some Japanese-made sauce to the herb-seasoned, salt-only steak. It was a garlic-flavored, delicious one.
The bread, freshly baked, should be somewhat tasty, though hard.
I took out some jam from a hundred-yen shop and bite-sized margarine.
“The meat is delicious! The soup too!”
“Mm, yeah. Ketsue, do you want some too?”
“Mmya.”
Ketsue shook his head and refused.
Since Ketsue insisted he didn’t want the inn’s dinner and asked for leftovers, I made a separate dish for him.
I used minced venison and boar meat to make meatballs, which I fried in lard and coated with teriyaki sauce.
I served the meatballs on a plate with hot milk, and Ketsue happily ate them.
The boar meat steak, made by the inn’s cook, wasn’t prepared very carefully, so the fibers were noticeable, but thanks to the steak sauce, it was at least edible.
The soup was much better after adding the consommé, and the bread was surprisingly tasty—though still hard.
Though it was a bit too subtle for someone used to the luxurious tastes of Japanese cuisine, for Shella , it was probably a luxurious dinner.
A delicious meal in a high-class room at the inn. Thanks to that, Shella was in a good mood, and I was able to get her to talk about her skills and the village.
After Shella was full, I sent her back to her room and decided to call Rei.
I took out a communication magic tool, a hand mirror, and infused it with magic. Even if I call, the connection doesn’t always happen immediately. He might be flying through the sky or fighting monsters, and might be too busy to connect right away.
However, tonight, I was lucky, and the connection was made immediately.
My face disappeared from the mirror, replaced by golden light. As the light gradually faded, the figure of a handsome man with golden hair appeared.
“You look well, Rei.”
“There’s no such thing as ‘well’ for a divine beast, is there?”
The man smiled as he narrowed his purple eyes.
Rei, the Golden Dragon, looked directly at Tohma and quietly asked if something had happened.
