Chapter 2

*Rainelle’s POV

There’s a brilliant gold color in the green-filled forest! Wow! It’s shining! Oh my god! It’s not just gold! I can even see the reflected light of metal under the sunlight! It must be a human!

I struggled to calm down the pounding of anticipation in my chest. If my expectation is not met, my mentality will collapse!

Instead of approaching right away, I sat on a tree a little far away and looked at the place where that person was.

Where are you? Oh! First of all, he’s handsome! He looks sharp! Uh, um, how should I describe this? Oh, right! He has a natural look of looking down on others! His clothes look quite expensive too, and the sword on his waist is shiny!

I didn’t take my eyes off the man.

Was it because he was being chased? The man was breathing heavily, but his hiding was superb. I could see that the man was on a tree branch, but the orcs can’t see him from their angle.

Isn’t that amazing? I thought that he would be easy to spot with that hair color.

But the orcs were moving exactly to where the man was.

No matter how well the man hid, if he moves, the leaves will shake and he would most likely be caught. Looking at how he was gasping for breath right now, it would be too much for him to deal with five orcs.

This! I think I can build a good image with this opportunity! Good, good. Then I must chase the orcs away!

*Karmeut’s POV

“Damn it—“, the man held his breath while pressing one hand on his side.

The sticky and rusty smelled liquid that he felt on his palm was telling him that the wound was not deep, but it wasn’t shallow either.

But there wasn’t even the slightest bit of room for him to worry about it. He thought that if he was focused on treating his wounds while the orcs are approaching, he will only make the sacrifices of his knights in vain.

“— Is it Luwellin? No, he’s the only guy who can do something like this.”

Other than a blunder, there was no way to explain this situation.

As the first prince, he hadn’t been able to manifest the power from his bloodline, but he had to manifest it in order not to lose his right to succession.

Even if his power didn’t manifest, in order to show that he wasn’t inferior to the other members of the imperial family who had manifested their power, the man had to grit his teeth and overcome the perilous situation as if walking on a knife.

That’s why he didn’t refuse Count Falun’s subtle invitation to hunt, relieve fatigue, and enjoy entertainment.

If it had been suggested by another nobleman, he would have refused, but the Count had so much power as he owned Falun Territory, which had abundant granaries and extend until the end of the Equirin Mountains which produce high-quality iron ore. How could he refuse the opportunity to build friendships with the nobleman, who he wanted to be at his side?

“What a fool. I can’t believe I messed up because I was in a hurry.”

Even if the other imperial family members visit the Count, they would not point out that they were trying to get him on their side like himself. He didn’t know that the Count would have sided with Luwellin.

No, It was just a guess, but it was a high possibility. Count Falun seemed reluctant to talk to Luwellin. It wasn’t that the Count didn’t get closer out of fear that it would backfire- but rather, that was all just an act. He didn’t expect that it would be a ploy to pull him into a trap.

The more he thought about it, the more he got angry at himself for falling for such a thing. He was grinding his teeth.

It’s too late for regret. He didn’t bring a lot of knights because he was just going on a hunt.

In the end, they sacrificed their lives to protect him.

In order not to waste their sacrifice, he must return alive.

“Caaw-“

His head turned to the low, heavy, and annoying cry. Glossy black feathers between the branches of the trees caught his eye.

It was a bird that eat corpses. A bird that he always saw in battlefields and cemeteries. A bird that symbolizes death. It was staring at him.

Does it want to eat me after I die? Eating my flesh after I’m killed by the orcs?

He glared at the crow, which seemed to laugh at his desire to return alive.

He didn’t try so hard just to die like this. It would mean that the knights who had pledged their loyalty to him and were killed by the orcs had thrown their lives in vain!

If it wasn’t for his injuries, and the fact that he was being pursued by orcs, he would have chased it away immediately. -But, what he can do. He just held his breath as much as possible and waited for the orcs to pass by, looking for an opportunity to get away from this place.

The crow opened and closed its beak. It had been staring at the man for a while. Suddenly, it tilted its head, spread its wings, and began to cry.

“Caaaw- caaw-caaw-“.

The man seriously agonized.

Should I throw a stone to kill the crow? If the crow continues to cry like this, my location will be revealed. If I don’t take care of it before then—–!

However, things started to turn in a completely different direction than the man had expected. The crow, which started to cry, spread its wings and took off. It flew towards the orcs.

“Chiek-chieek?!”

“Chiek! Chiek! It’s a crow. Chiek!”

“It’s flying to that side, chiek!

“I think it found something shiny. Chieek! It may have seen the human’s sword, chiek!

“Or maybe it saw a human’s corpse. Chieek! He’s wounded, so he might be dead now. Chiek!”

The Orcs knew that crows like shiny things and eat corpses, so they started running, following after the flying and squealing crow.

The man, who had been watching the events from his hiding place, couldn’t hide away his embarrassment and looked blankly to where the orcs and the crow were headed. Obviously, the crow was tilting its head while looking at him. But why?

He felt like his head was in a mess, but one thing was clear. Now is the golden opportunity for him to get away from this place.

The man had a chance, and he was not foolish enough to spend it in vain.

“Ugh…”

Clutching his side, which was still bleeding little by little, the man swallowed a groan and got up from his sitting position. First, he had to stop the bleeding. When he smelled of blood, he couldn’t ignore the possibility of being attacked not only by monsters, but also sensitive beasts.

The man muttered that he shouldn’t die, then he began to walk with slightly staggering steps. ‘I can’t die like this’. That thought which was close to being an obsession was what drove the man to move forward.

*Rainelle’s POV

If the Orcs didn’t follow me, I made up my mind to try taunting them by attacking an orc at the face, provoking them to chase me, but as soon as they saw me, they went ‘drap-drap-drap-‘. Honestly, I’m very surprised by their behavior that simply followed me. But I achieved my goal! ‘The orcs have left!’

If this was a game, such a system phrase would have popped up. I flapped my wings hard.

Ah, I’m more noticeable in the forest because I’m black! I have to hurry up and lost these orcs to get back to him!

I flew over a cliff so that they could not follow me, then I heard flustered sounds from below. What should I say? It was so funny that I hold back my laughter while I was giggling inside. If I laugh now, the orcs will try to chase me again.

To avoid that, I flew until a far enough distance first, then I went back to the place where I saw that man. I’m a little worried that I won’t be able to find him.

Work, crow instinct! Animals have better instincts than humans!

He’s the precious first person that I met since I became a crow! And he’s handsome! That’s why I have to find him!

I flew hard to the place where I saw the man earlier.

Mmm- Mmm- I’m sure that I have seen him before.

Of course I didn’t see him in person. I don’t know if it was a novel or a game, but I think I also have seen that kind of setting before——It’s reasonable if I think about it. The situation of being chased by monsters itself is so rotten that it’s cliche.

Ummmngh, I don’t have enough information to name it!

If I want to know where I am, I need to stick to that guy.

Feeling that the sense of purpose of finding the man became stronger, I flap my wings more vigorously. It took a little bit of time to reach that place where I saw the man as I flew farther than I had expected to outrun the orcs.

How did I know? There was blood on the floor. Ooh, praise the crow’s instinct. ‘Did I really fly in the right tract?!’, ‘I’ll just go to this direction’. I flew here with such a vague feeling!

By the way, that man must have been injured pretty badly. Since he was clutching his side, I guessed that he’d been hurt, but this much blood—, I don’t think the wound is shallow?

There was a blood trail, so it would not be difficult to follow.

But! I can’t just simply chase after him! Medicinal herb! A plant that can stop bleeding when you’re hurt! I’m going to find it and bring it to him! Then he’ll be less wary, right? I also got rid of those orcs!!

I looked around. There were plants that looked like weeds, and there were also plants that I had never seen before.

But, strangely enough, I was able to figure out what some of those plants were used for. If you ask me how, I don’t know either. They all look the same, how do you tell them apart?

In that sense, aren’t the ladies who collected herbs are amazing? I couldn’t differentiate them no matter how I looked at them.

I don’t know if it’s an instinct, I just have a strong feeling that the plants will have particular effects.

Umm-There are grass that cure stomachache and bushes with delicious fruits, but aren’t there plants that can stop bleeding?

It’s just a hunch, though.

I was contemplating whether to prioritize finding the man or finding the medicinal herb. I decided to find the man first. Who knows, maybe I’ll find the herbs on the way.

Trying to ignore the fact that I didn’t have any buffs, I flew by following the blood trail. Then, after a while, I found a small valley.

Oh, what’s this? Are you sending it to me because you feel sorry for giving me a crow’s body? Water! It’s water!!

I was so excited that I forgot about the man for a moment.

If there’s water, there’ll be fish, right? I’m excited! I’m thirsty, so I’m going to drink some water!!

I was excited to find water, but I didn’t immediately land right by the water. No matter how neutral the waterside was, it’s not bad to be careful.

Because water is an essential element for animals to live, the waterside was like a neutral zone.

You know, it came out in documentaries. Although they drink water from a distance from each other, the herbivorous zebra and the carnivorous lion drink water together.

Sure, in the savannah where the water is scarce, you could get attacked by a crocodile while drinking water and ride the train to another world at once…

No, let’s just be careful, I don’t want to be a carnivour’s food. Lycaon1 eat their prey’s guts when they’re still alive! I don’t want to go like that! Wuwuwu(crying)!!

Even if this is a fantasy world, I mean, this is a fantasy world, so I looked around thinking that I might suddenly get jumped and caught by an animal.

All right, good. Nothing looks dangerous yet. Mm. Then, I can land and drink the water, right?

Landing by the water, I submerged my beak in the flowing water.

Ah, uh—-!! I can’t suck it in like a human! Ugh, It’s really hard to drink!

I had no choice but to lay down my beak, put water in it, raise my head, and then swallow the water.

Sigh, drinking is so difficult.—Huh?

I suddenly felt an urge to fly up. How should I say it? I’ll be anxious If I don’t move right away! Should I say that there’s a chill running down my spine?

Anyway, without ignoring my senses, I flew and looked down.

Oh! Gold color! Sparkling!! The man, I found him!

It’s the person I saw earlier.

So he is here. Is this person trying to drink water? By the way, he really stands out with his golden hair. It’s a really pretty color.

I sat on a nearby branch and cried a little out of joy.

His eyes, which were golden like his hair, were gazing at me for a while, then he turned his eyes away.

I was a little hurt by his look of vigilance and unwelcome attitude.

For you, I was chased by the orcs!! Hah, don’t you know that I’m the crow who drove the orcs away? Animals of the same species all look similar unless you look closely. Possibility is limitless, you know!

Hmmm, but no matter how I look at him, I think I’ve seen him somewhere. Did I see him on the cover of a novel? Or was it while I was playing a female-oriented game? Ugh, It’s hard to remember! C’mon my brain, get into gear! Work, brain cells! Neurons! I need to remember to know where I am!!

Ah yeah, he’s wounded. Are you still bleeding? Hmm, so finding herbs is the priority, right?

First, I need to raise the level of my favorability! Right now, it doesn’t matter who that person is. The important thing is that he’s the first human I met here! I’m just saying that I met him in the forest!

Someone who will take me to where humans live!

I’m going to become a cute pet! That way, I won’t have to eat bugs!

Just the expectation that I didn’t have to eat bugs made him a very, very important to me. So, in order to search for medicinal herbs, I spread my wings and flew away.

Let’s find the herb that can stop bleeding. I’ll also add delicious fruits as a bonus! Yes, food is the best!

***

Notes:

1 Lycaon/African wild dog: a hypercarnivore, which means its diet consists of over 70 percent meat. Packs prefer to hunt antelope, but will also take wildebeest, warthogs, rodents, and birds↩