Even though I was large, my physical structure wasn't really suited for picking things up, so even if I found herbs or berries, I couldn't carry them all at once and had to go back and forth several times. It was because there were limits to what I could hold with my beak and grab with my toes.
Theodore just quietly watched me busily flying around, bringing things to his side. Seeing him so relaxed when I was so busy made me want to pluck out some of his hair, but he seemed to be in a good mood with the corners of his lips slightly turned up, so I stopped myself.
This should be enough for today. I landed on the ground, feeling proud, and needlessly preened my feathers, then stared up at Theodore.
What are you doing, not treating yourself? I picked up an herb with my beak and dropped it in front of him, but he just tilted his head. Frustrated, I nudged the herb with the tip of my beak, and he raised the corners of his lips.
"You want me to treat myself?"
"Screech."
"Aren't you going to do it for me anymore?"
His playful tone made the many hardships I had gone through to treat him flash through my mind like a panorama.
It was hard enough grabbing his collar with my beak and dragging him to the river, but what was even harder was crushing hemostatic herbs and applying them to his wounds, and putting detoxification berries into his mouth.
I somehow managed to put the herbs on a rock and crush them with the upper part of my beak while enduring the pungent smell, but applying them to the wounds was the problem.
I stared at the crushed herbs on the rock for a long time, then roughly grabbed them with my toes, spread my wings to keep my balance, hopped on one foot, and roughly rubbed them on the wounds.
It took a long time to apply the herbs to just a few large wounds. Besides, I don't know how many times I fell during that time.
Putting the berries in his mouth was the same. I couldn't just put the small, round berries in his mouth because I was worried he wouldn't swallow them properly and they might go into his windpipe, so I crushed them with my beak like the herbs and used my toes to... Oh, now that I think about it, I put something I grabbed with my feet into his mouth...
'...I have to keep this a secret forever.'
Anyway, regardless of hygiene issues, it's true that I suffered! And what am I supposed to do without hands! Suddenly feeling overwhelmed, I flew up into a tree.
Theodore, seeing me holding onto a branch with my feet, smiled like a sigh, knowing that I had no intention of coming down.
"Oh dear, it's my fault. Come down here."
I snorted and flew away from Theodore, back down to the river. It was to wash off the dirt that was all over my beak and toes from picking things up.
Still, it was also the water that Theodore and I drank, so I conscientiously splashed my feet in the downstream.
Theodore was very curious about me. He probably thought I was very intelligent. Well, he's not wrong. Even though my body is an eagle, there's a person inside. Oh, since I'm dead, is it the soul of a person... Anyway!
While splashing my feet, I suddenly stared down at the river. A few fish were swimming leisurely. The water was clear, so I often saw fish swimming below the surface, and I thought I could hunt them, so I tried a few times, but it wasn't as easy as I thought.
When I saw a fish while flying in the sky, I tried to snatch it with my claws, but my body was too big and my flapping wings were too loud, so by the time I got close, the fish had already escaped into the deep.
I also tried standing still and pecking at them with my beak, but I just ended up drinking water with my nose and gave up.
It's been almost a month since I've been eating only plants and berries, but I actually really liked meat. When Theodore grilled the rabbit meat he had prepared yesterday and shared it with me, I almost cried. There were no spices, but there was no gamey smell or unpleasant odor, and the meat wasn't tough.
I had been unintentionally vegetarian for a month because I was reluctant to hunt, but I was definitely a meat-lover.
The rabbit meat was delicious yesterday... Should I catch another rabbit? My aversion to hunting had lessened a lot with yesterday's rabbit hunt, so I felt like I could prepare a 10-course meal with meat now. Finally, my desire for meat had surpassed my aversion to hunting.
As I was staring at the water, Theodore came to the water's edge. He smiled again when he saw that my gaze was on the fish.
"Do you want to eat fish?"
"Screech."
I was thinking about rabbit right now, but it was also true that I wanted to eat grilled fish, so I readily answered.
He probably didn't understand my words, but Theodore, who roughly guessed that it meant agreement, picked up two long branches about the thickness of a finger nearby. Then he strode into the water and threw the branches into the water like darts.
I wondered what he was doing and watched in a daze, and something floated to the surface from the water. It was two fish with branches stuck in them.
"Screech-!!"
I was so surprised that my beak even opened wide. Theodore, reading admiration in my eyes as I looked up, pointed to the two fish with his chin as if to show off.
"Shall we share one each?"
H-How cool...!
ê•¥
"It seems to be to your liking."
I tried to concentrate on my meal, pretending not to hear his kind question, but the gaze directed at me was so intense that I eventually raised my head and met his eyes. You and I met yesterday, okay? Anyone would think you gave birth to me...
"Have you perhaps never eaten fish before?"
"Screech."
I used to eat a lot when I was human, but now I'm an eagle... I answered readily, and Theodore tilted his head.
"Why?"
How should I explain that I failed to hunt? After a moment of thought, I spread my wings wide, stamped my feet on the ground, looked up at Theodore, and shook my head.
I wondered if he would understand even if I explained it so poorly, but Theodore easily came to the correct answer.
"You mean you failed to hunt?"
"Screech-!"
Theodore laughed out loud as I flapped my wings and agreed, excited. He must have found it funny that an eagle who had failed to hunt and never eaten fish was so excited just because it understood some words. This guy, why is he so free with his laughter when he's a villain!
"Oh dear, I didn't mean to tease you. Don't be angry."
Even though eagles don't have expressions, he quickly realized that I was upset. Does he use mind-reading or something? He also understands words well...
"But it's really amazing that I can communicate with you... Eagles are said to be intelligent, but I don't think they're as intelligent as you."
I immediately pretended not to hear and started tearing off fish meat again. But pretending not to notice was no longer effective, and Theodore narrowed his eyes.
"You also pretend not to hear when it's disadvantageous."
"Screech-!"
Shut up and eat your fish! Or I'll eat it all! I clicked my beak and leaned over as if to take the fish he was holding, and he shook his head as if he couldn't help it.
"You also get angry easily."
Theodore quickly added when he saw my eyes getting sharp again.
"Shall I catch you another fish?"
...I'll let it go this time. It's definitely not because of the fish!
After that, Theodore caught a few more fish for me, and I had a feast for the first time in a while. I had a light lunch with berries, and for dinner, I hunted a rabbit, and Theodore prepared it.
One rabbit yesterday didn't feel like enough, so I caught two, but it still felt a little lacking. Once I started eating meat, I seemed to be getting more and more greedy.
After dinner, Theodore fell asleep first, like yesterday, and I stood guard. He checked several times to make sure I was sitting in a tree nearby before falling asleep.
He seemed to be anxious that I might change my mind and leave at any time, even though he thought I would stay by his side all night.
If I could have told him that I wouldn't leave at least today, would he have been able to sleep more comfortably?
Even though he was poisoned and found it difficult to use mana, he was also a skilled swordsman. So I became more nervous after he fell asleep.
I had been taking care of him and providing him with things, but I must have been unconsciously relying on him, who was practically the strongest in the world. Anyway, trust me when you sleep!
He would soon leave this forest anyway. In the original story, he was poisoned, suffered a fatal wound, and was being chased, but he went to other places and used the method of leaking mana to confuse the pursuers.
That was how he temporarily avoided the pursuit, and in the meantime, he recovered his body and returned to the imperial palace.
In other words, he didn't stay in this forest for long, and he didn't need to in the first place. He just needed a place to hide for the short time it took to recover his body.
"Screech..."
I'm sad that we might be parting soon, but... what can I do? I'm an eagle, and Theodore is an imperial prince. And I like this carefree guy!
If this was inside 『Blessing of Fire』, monsters could appear anytime, anywhere, so the forest where I was was relatively safe.
The original story didn't mention when or where the rifts would appear, but it was generally accepted that rifts occurred where monsters appeared.
Monsters were also mutants born from animals affected by demonic energy, so it was speculated that they were related to the rift. Therefore, this forest, which had no monsters and was far from demonic energy, was more likely to be safe than other places.
What should I do to pass the time when Theodore leaves...? As I soothed my already lonely heart and sharpened my senses to look around, I suddenly felt the growl of beasts and a gamey smell. It was obvious that it was the wild dogs I had encountered yesterday.
No matter how developed my senses were, if it was this clear, it meant they had approached nearby. Did they come close by chance, or do they have another purpose? It seemed necessary to check in order to find the answer.
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