Vol 4: Chapter 45
I told Knock-san that I really wanted to have the【World Alliance】skill orb. I thought he would say “Nobody can use it, so why would you want that?”, but he instead reassured me saying, “Alright, let’s go look for it.”
When I asked Punta-san where he hid the skill orb, his answer angered Knock-san.
「You hid it inside the egg of an early summer bird of all things!? What were you thinking!!!」
「Eek!」
Yelled at, Punta-san escaped to the corner of his hut while holding his head.
「Don’t run! I told you many times not to go there–」
「W-Wait a second, Knock-san.」
I held back Knock-san using a bit of force.
「What is an early summer bird? I have never heard of it.」
「…………」
Knock-san had an angry look on his face, but he still explained.
**
There may be danger in going there, but I concluded that it is better to obtain【World Alliance】 even if it is risky.
Knock-san informed me about the various dangers I would face. But he reassured me that I will be fine if I don’t let my guard down.
I was almost feeling obsessed to directly ascertain the ability of the unique 12-star skill orb.
「You seem obsessed all of a sudden.」Knock-san said, naturally unaware that I have 16 skill holders.「It’s your wish if you want to go, but it’s unforgivable if you take the High Elf-sama with you.」he added.
If I forcibly took Asha with me, I might not be able to get Punta-san’s cooperation, so I persuaded Asha to stay and decided to go with Punta-san.
It was noon when I left the dark elf village with Punta-san. Asha looked at me worriedly from the treetop. I don’t think the dark elves would hurt Asha, so it should be fine.
「You… are a weird person. You insist on going to the early summer bird’s nest even after knowing it is crawling with danger.」
「There are only eggs in the nest, right? In addition, you were able to make it back safely right, Punta-san?」
「That’s true, but…」
「Oh, is that an early summer bird?」
We navigated through a land where large withered trees grew scattered. Perhaps the nutrients in this area were scarce, as too many trees seemed to wither while standing. But on the other hand, there were a few trees in between that somehow managed to survive by taking in the limited nutrients. Nature is adamant.
I pointed to two birds that could be seen beyond such trees. Two small shadows flew through the sky.
「I can’t see it, though… Is it a flock?」
「No, there are only two.」
「Then, it must be late summer birds. The blue late summer birds are loyal, whereas the red early summer birds are cheaters.」
Two species of birds that have the exact same silhouette but different colors; blue and red.
No, maybe they are not two different species. Perhaps they are both the same species?
According to what I heard, blue late-summer birds have only one lifelong pair. And the two birds live close to each other, nesting and laying eggs like ordinary birds.
On the contrary, red early summer birds form a flock, where they lay a large number of eggs with multiple different mates.
Since they wouldn’t know which egg is who’s child, they can create something akin to an “Egg Storage”.
「The Egg storage is around that area.」
We walked for 2 hours on foot. We decided to have a meal on the way, so we didn’t make much progress in that time.
「It’s pretty close to the village, isn’t it?」I said.
「The eggs will take around half a year to hatch, so until then everyone from the village will stay away.」
「I see.」
The location was around the eastern part of the Holy City. At the foot of a mountain, there was a deeply recessed land surrounded by giant trees. There was a lot of overgrown weed in the surrounding area, decreasing the visibility.
「Whoa!」
I involuntarily let out that sound. I was amazed.
There couldn’t be a more befitting name than “Egg storage”. Rather, there were no other words.
There were hundreds of milky white eggs stored in one place. Some were placed directly on the ground, some piled up, some collapsed and some cracked.
(If these eggs hatch, the birds inside can grow to a ridiculously large size.)
The blue late summer bird that I saw in the distance earlier probably did not feel like a threat because it was at a considerable distance.
「Be careful. If you harm a living egg, the flock will rush at us.」
That was the “danger” that Knock-san warned me of.
Early summer birds leave the eggs unattended after laying them, but if someone tries to harm or break the eggs, the whole flock will charge at you like a stampede.
It is unknown how the flock checks the condition of the eggs.
Even if you escape, they will follow you to the ends of the world.
Once in the past, a hungry dark elf broke one of the eggs while trying to bring it back to the village and was chased by a flock of early summer birds. The flock chased him down to the village, so the dark elves asked him to flee away from the direction of the village—and the dark elf was never seen again.
「Why did you hide it in such a place, Punta-san?」
「No… I was thinking of retrieving the skill orb after the eggs had hatched.」
「But the skill orb is useless, isn’t it?」
「It looked so beautiful.」
I see… I suppose it can be used to decorate your room. Like an indirect lighting lamp.
「Moreover, about half of the eggs are empty. I personally think that female birds lay empty eggs to attract the attention of males and appeal to them.」
「Oh…」
「Isn’t it great? The mating tactics of birds.」
「Huh…」
Punta-san suddenly seemed lively.
I wonder if he has a mysterious hobby that is not understood by others. Something like research on early summer birds.
Maybe he hid the skill orb here for experimentational purposes? Like what would happen to the orb buried in the snow after the snow melts?
If not, he wouldn’t come to a place this dangerous.
「Well then, in which shell did you hide the skill orb?」
「Oh, right. Over there.」
Punta-san approached the “egg storage”.
「The strange thing is not only do they lay empty eggs, but both early summer and late summer birds have a certain proportion of each other’s chicks in each other’s eggs. Even among these hundreds of eggs, there are late summer bird chicks.」
「I see. Is it for the survival of the species?」
By diversifying the gene pool, they can easily adapt to the changes in the environment.
It is the evolution of all living things.
「Yes! That is why early summer birds—」
「Oh, Punta-san. The eggs are very close.」
We approached the egg storage to the point where we could reach out and touch the eggs.
Looking at it from this close, it seemed like the eggs sold at the supermarket…but simply enlarged. Punta-san said there are empty eggs, but as far as I could see with【World Ruler】, they all had the same reaction; “Eggs”. So I couldn’t distinguish just by looking at them.
「Ah… I found a cleanly cracked shell. So when I put the skill orb and closed it, the cracked halves fit together perfectly.」
「Which one is it?」
「Let me see…」
Punta-san’s line of sight wandered around.
「…………」
「…………」
「…Punta-san?」
「…………」
Punta-san turned around, looked at me, and smiled as cold sweat trickled down his forehead.
「Uh, umm… I forgot which one it was…」
