“And Luria, I told you at the mansion too, but you can’t live with the birds in your room, okay?”
“Yeah, I understand. But… it looks like it’s going to rain…”
“I’ll have the birdcage built by today.”
“Oh.”
“That’s why you can’t, okay? It’ll get really messy with the poop, dander, and feathers.”
“Got it.”
Later, when I was feeding the caterpillars to the birds, my mother called out,
“…Don’t let them gather any more, okay? Make sure they don’t escape.”
She gave me a stern reminder before leaving the room.
“Mother, I thought she’d stay in the room and watch over Luria for a while…”
Surprisingly, my mother closed the door behind her as she left. It was convenient for me as it made it easier to move around, but it was quite unexpected.
“Maybe she closed the door so the caterpillars wouldn’t escape?”
“Ah, I see.”
In case the caterpillar’s cage tipped over, the door being closed would minimize the damage.
“And… I think she didn’t want to see them eating the caterpillars.”
“Hmm?”
I looked again at the birds. The owl was tearing the caterpillars apart with its beak, sharing them with the small birds.
“Yeah, that might be a little much.”
The sight of the caterpillars being torn apart wasn’t exactly pleasant. In any case, I was glad I had managed to fool my mother. My acting skills and ability to deceive must have improved.
“Oh?”
The owl asked, “Is it okay now?”
“Just a second, okay? Kuro, where’s Mother?”
“She went downstairs.”
“What about the others?”
“No one else is upstairs.”
“Thanks. Kuro, keep an eye out for a while.”
With Kuro keeping watch, I felt reassured.
“Leave it to me!”
“Thanks, Kuro. Sara, I think Mother went far away.”
When I said this, the owls stopped eating the caterpillars. There was no need to act in front of Mother anymore. Plus, if they kept eating, there wouldn’t be enough left for Loa.
“Sorry about that.”
“Oh?”
I petted the birds one by one.
“Thank you, everyone. You really helped me. Thank you too, Kolko.”
“Hoho,” “Pii,” “Kokko.”
As I was petting the birds with Sara, I felt a presence outside the window.
“Huh?”
When I looked toward the window, I saw Daur for a brief moment.
“Eh, here…?”
Sara froze in surprise. Again, Daur’s face appeared for a moment.
“Daur!”
Sara and I rushed to the window.
“Woo!”
Surprisingly, Daur had hopped and stuck his face out of the window.
“Wow!”
Sara gasped in surprise. Daur was large, but the window on the second floor was almost twice as long as Daur’s body, which was 1.6 meters.
“Daur, that’s amazing.”
I opened the window wide. Daur then clung to the window frame with his front legs.
“Hahaha.”
“Can you climb?”
“Woof!”
With his front legs clinging to the frame, Daur wiggled his way into the room with a little difficulty, much like when I first climbed onto my cradle when I was a baby.
“Wow… Daur, you’re awesome.”
“Daur, amazing.”
“Woo woo!”
Sara and I petted Daur, who pressed his face against us.
“Daur, that was a great decision. You really helped me.”
“Woof.”
If Daur hadn’t run outside, Loa might have been found by Mother.
“Thank you too, Sara. You bought us some time.”
“Did I help?”
“You really helped. Thank you.”
“Hehe.”
As I petted Sara, Loa poked his face out from Daur’s fluffy neck.
“Loa, you were quiet, so you were good, right?”
“Rya~.”
Sara and I petted Loa.
“Loa, are you hungry?”
“Ryaa.”
I picked up Loa and sat on the floor next to the cage with the caterpillars.
“You should eat.”
I brought a caterpillar to Loa’s mouth, and he ate it in one bite.
“Is it tasty?”
“Ryamu!”
Loa’s tail wagged energetically. He seemed to like the caterpillar.
Everyone watched over Loa, surrounding him. Not just Sara, Daur, Kolko, and the owls, but everyone was watching.
I’m sure the birds love Loa too.
“Oh, right. Kolko, bring the food I took from the kitchen.”
“Kyu kyu.”
“I’ll help.”
Kolko ran, and Sara chased after him. Then, she brought back a handkerchief and towel wrapped around bread, nuts, and sausages.
“Luria-chan, there’s also an egg.”
“I’ll carry the egg later, so it’s fine for now.”
Since I had put the egg in my pocket, it wasn’t wrapped in the towel. It’s harder to carry it without a pocket.
“Thanks. Sara, you should feed Loa too.”
Feeding a baby is fun. I want to do it all by myself, but I have to resist the urge.
“Can I feed him?”
“Of course, Sara. Hold Loa and feed him.”
“Yeah. Hehe. Loa, do you want to eat? You’re so cute.”
Sara sat down and held Loa, then took some nuts and brought them to Loa’s mouth.
“Ryamu!”
Loa ate the nuts, wagging his tail.
“Luria-chan ate!”
“Yeah. Watching him eat is cute, right?”
“Yeah, cute.”
I petted Loa’s head while Sara held him, then headed toward the dresser to get the eggs.
My clothes have more pockets than Sara’s, so it’s easier for me to carry the eggs.
“I wonder which Loa likes more—caterpillars or nuts?”
While stuffing all four eggs I brought into my pocket, I spoke to Sara.
“I wonder? He eats both so happily. Oh, he seems to like the bread too.”
“Ryamu~.”
Loa must have been really hungry. He ate with such vigor that it was almost a mystery how he fit so much into his little body.