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.
โCarro , good morning.โ
โKyuu.โ
โYou donโt have to keep watch, you know?โ
โKyuu~โ
Carro always stands on the headboard to keep watch.
Even though thereโs 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.
โCarro , you need to sleep too.โ
โKyuu kyuu.โ
Carro is trying to act like heโs asleep, but Iโm sure heโs not really sleeping much.
โYou wonโt grow big if you donโt sleep.โ
โKyuu~โ
Daru has grown big, but Carro hasnโt grown at all. Heโs probably not getting enough sleep.
โCarro , why donโt you sleep on my head?โ
When I placed Carro on my head, I petted Daru .
Daru always sleeps next to me. Itโs hot in the summer, but very warm in the winter.
โDaru , good morning.โ
โWafuuโ
Daru stretches out big.
Daru โs body length is now even bigger than my fatherโs. My father is tall for a human, yet Daru is still larger.
โIs it because we were sleeping?โ
โWafoo?โ
When I sleep, Daru sleeps with me. And even when Iโm awake, he sleeps a lot too.
โMother said that if I sleep, Iโll grow biggerโฆโ
โWafoo?โ โKyau?โ
โI want to grow biggerโฆโ
โWafoo wafoo!โ โKyu kyu!โ
Daru and Carro are cheering me on.
Itโs better to be big.
When youโre small, itโs 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.
โStrength solves everythingโฆโ
โWao~โ โKyukyuu.โ
Maybe I should sleep more too.
I got up from the bed with Daru and Carro and started moving my body.
โHun, hun, hun.โ
โWafoo wafoo.โ โKyukyu.โ
Itโs a workout that my swordsmanship teacher taught me. By doing this, my bodyโs range of motion increases, and as a result, Iโll be better at fighting.
Daru and Carro , copying me, did the exercise with me.
โFuu~โ
โWafoo~โ โKyu~โ
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.
โMufu~โ โWafoo~โ โKyu~โ
Taking a big deep breath with Daru and Carro , I heard,
โKuruppo.โ โHohoo.โ
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. Itโs strange.
Even my mother, who knows a lot about animals, found it mysterious.
โGood morning, birds. Itโs nice to get along.โ
โHoho~โ
Then, the owl, the leader of the flock, flapped its wings.
It seemed to want to tell me something.
โWhatโs up?โ
It seems the owls want me to look outside the window.
โHmm?โ
I leaned out of the window and looked down.
โKokeko.โ
โHm? Thereโs a chicken!โ
There was a chicken down below.
Chickens sometimes appear for dinner. They taste good.
Iโve read many bird encyclopedias, so Iโm knowledgeable about birds.
โHohoo! Hohoho!โ
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. Itโs probably because I lived in a barn in my previous life and Iโm friendly with Daru , Carro , and the birds now.
โHmm? Youโre injured.โ
The chicken seemed to be injured.
I couldnโt see the wound, but I had a strong intuition.
โHere we go.โ
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 Iโve been practicing swordsmanship, Iโm good at jumping down from high places.
I rolled on the ground and landed safely.
โHmph!โ
โBau!โ โKyu kyu!โ
Daru barked as if scolding me not to do dangerous things, and Carro chirped, worried.
โIโm okay. Iโll be more careful next time.โ
โBuff!โ
Daru barked powerfully and easily jumped over the window frame, as if telling me to ride on his back next time.
โThanks, Iโll do that next time.โ
โWafoo.โ
Soon, Carro also nimbly ran and jumped onto my head.
โChicken, are you okay?โ
I picked up the injured chicken. It was bigger than Carro , but since Iโm strong, it was easy to lift.
โโฆKokko.โ
The chicken didnโt run away and stayed quietly in my arms.
โLet me check your injury.โ
I gently petted the chicken to examine its injuries.
โKoke!โ
โSorry, did that hurt?โ
โKo~.โ
โHmm. It seems like the bone in the right wing and the right leg are brokenโฆ itโs a serious injury.โ
โKo~.โ
โIt hurts, doesnโt it? Let it fly away.โ
โKoKo!?โ
For some reason, the chicken made a surprised sound.
โWhatโs wrong? Itโs just a spell.โ
Itโs just a spell. I know it doesnโt 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 chickenโs pain would be eased, even a little.
โEveryone, leave the chicken to me.โ
โHoho!โ โKuruppo~.โ
With the birds seeing me off, I walked back to the mansion from the courtyard.