[V8C2] Eyeball Birds
Translated by Jodas 8: The Witch of the Boundary“Tia, Headmaster Möbius has a mission for you.”
While the adults had their conversation, Tia waited patiently in one of the inn’s rooms alongside Wren and Rukiye.
Wren laid on the sofa, trying to overcome his motion sickness, while Rukiye quietly weaved threads together. The only one of them who could join the meeting was Sevil, the Emperor’s sister.
Tia had been sitting on the windowsill and singing a little song until Hütter’s words made her singing come to an abrupt stop.
(He has a mission for me?)
Headmaster Möbius — The very human who clipped Tia’s wings with an Ancient Magical Artifact sword.
What business did he have with Tia?
Sensing Tia’s concern, Wren stood up from the sofa and questioned Hütter.
“Why does Headmaster Möbius want Tia? He didn’t seem like the kind of guy to push jobs onto Apprentices.”
“The situation has changed. Well, to put it bluntly, the mission to retake Darwock is over.”
The Monsters that killed the King of Darwock left to places unknown without leaving any demands.
As a result, the capable mages, including Headmaster Möbius, would remain around this region and search for the Monsters that killed the King. It was still possible that the disappeared Monsters were still planning something in or around Darwock.
The Darwock Queen’s faction welcomed Möbius’ decision and agreed to cooperate in looking out for the Monsters.
With that in mind, Sevil’s ‘Operation: Destined Encounter’ was unnecessary, so the adults decided to have Sevil and the other Apprentices return to the Wedge Tower.
As Hütter summarized that information, he pulled a folded map out of his pocket.
“And before we head out, we want you, Tia, to deliver a message to the town of Merwen.”
“Merwen… That’s the town we stayed in a few days ago, right?”
“Yeah, that one. There’s someone from the Investigation Office on standby there, so I want you to let them know what’s happened up here.”
The Magical Flying Device and flight magic both had intense mana consumption, so neither were well-suited for long-distance travel. It would be unreasonable to expect her to fly from the border where they were all the way back to the Wedge Tower in one leap.
Thus, it was common to place a messenger in an intermediary spot and send messages through a relay.
While there were some in the Wedge Tower who could use familiars to send messages, there weren’t many. If you wanted to be certain that a message got to its destination, this was the best way.
Hütter spread the map out on a table and asked Rukiye:
“Rukiye, could Tia’s Magical Flying Device make it to Merwen?”
Rukiye glared at the map, evaluating the terrain. Tia also waddled up to the table and peeked at the map.
The region around here had lots of hilly terrain and a wide river that took a long time to navigate around in a carriage.
But, if you moved by air, you could probably cut that time considerably.
Hilly terrain made no difference, and there was no need to go the long way around the river to find a bridge.
Rukiye paused in thought, then made her conclusions.
“…A one-way trip would be possible. Going there and back might be a little difficult.”
“One-way is fine. Tia, you should go to Merwen, deliver the letter to the messenger, then wait there. We’ll be arriving after you, so just hang tight, okay?”
Tia chirped “Pyofu!” and tried to straighten out what she’d been told in her mind.
Tia’s mission was to deliver a message — to let Assistant Headmaster Miriam at the Wedge Tower know what happened in Darwock as soon as possible.
Therefore, she would use the Magical Flying Device to travel to the town of Merwen, then hand a letter with all of the information to a mage of the Investigation Office on standby there.
Afterwards, that mage would fly to another town, hand off the letter… and that process would repeat until the information reached the Wedge Tower.
If moving by carriage, that distance took about a week to cross, but this way they could inform the Wedge Tower in only one or two days.
Then, after handing off the message in Merwen, Tia would wait there.
Once Hütter, Sevil, and the others caught up to her by carriage, she would ride that carriage with them back to the Wedge Tower.
(…If it’s okay for me to fly around, it’ll be easier for me to search for my sister.)
While she only had limited time to fly around with the Magical Flying Device, being able to search from the sky was a huge difference.
“I got it. I’ll send that message.”
“Great. Then, head out as soon as you’re ready. Here’s the letter.”
Hütter took out a thick envelope and handed it to Tia.
Carefully, Tia took it, then slid it in the pocket of her clothes.
With the Magical Flying Device on her back, Tia climbed onto the roof of the inn.
While she could also use the leaping mode to take off now, any mana she could conserve could help her later.
She pulled the lever and wings popped out. Not the leaping wings, but the larger flying wings.
(There’s a good wind blowing today.)
A winter wind blew from the North to the South. For Tia, about to head South, this was a fortunate tailwind. By riding together with this wind, she could keep her mana consumption down.
Tia kicked off of the roof and activated the Magical Flying Device. Her metal wings caught the wind currents immediately, and she climbed high up into the sky.
Tia opened her mouth and projected her voice.
“Lluuuuaaahhhh…!”
Singing at a pitch that was hard for humans to hear but easily perceptible by Harpies, she called out to her fellows.
(Sis, are you around here? If you are, answer me…)
The Monsters that appeared in Darwock were said to have disappeared just as suddenly.
With her sister’s wings, it should have been possible for her to fly to these parts by now.
“Luuuuuaaaahhhhhh!”
She heard no response.
Somewhat crestfallen, Tia continued to fly Southward.
While sunset came early in the Winter, if she kept up this pace she should be able to make it just before nightfall.
(I wonder if my sister is still in Darwock. Or maybe she went back home to Breakneck Gorge.)
As she flew South, Tia turned her eyes towards the forests and mountains stretching out to the East. Far in that direction lied the Crystal Territory as well as Breakneck Gorge.
(I can fly for a whole lot longer now. Only a bit more until I can make it back to Breakneck Gorge…)
While the capabilities of the Magical Flying Device were expanding, so too was Tia’s flying skill. By coasting along with the currents, she could significantly expand the time available for her to fly.
She still couldn’t accelerate in an instant or maneuver precisely in the way that Frederik could yet, though.
(I wonder if Frederik and Oliver are together in their hometown right now. Are they flying over their hometown’s skies?)
The Lange Hamlet was also off to the East. Just a little bit south of where she was at the moment.
In the brief span of time when her attention was diverted over there, that approached.
She felt a disturbance in the wind currents, like something was following behind her.
At first, she thought it might have just been a large bird. But, Tia knew this sensation.
Graw, graw! She heard a screeching call.
Something lunged towards Tia from above. Without hesitating, Tia broke into a dive and twisted her body. Something slid past Tia’s side. A fat silhouette, about two or three times the size of a large bird. Large claws that rivaled those of Harpies.
Its outside was covered in a layer of dark brown feathers, but with its wings out, it revealed blood-red feathers on the inside. On them were countless eyeball-shaped patterns… No, actual eyeballs.
(…An Eyeball Bird!)
There were several species of bird Monster aside from Harpies around Breakneck Gorge. Eyeball Birds being one of them.
Typically, so long as you didn’t intrude on their territory, bird Monsters wouldn’t attack each other.
However, should you enter their territory, Eyeball Birds would hunt you down with their talons.
(But why…? We’re so far away from the Crystal Territory right now!)
Eyeball Birds typically hunted in flocks. Now was no different, as she could see five or six more Eyeball Birds come flying towards her.
As Tia flew away from them, she noticed something.
Something shiny was impaled in the Eyeball Birds’ chests.
(That’s… a crystal? Decoration?)
As far as Tia knew, there weren’t any Eyeball Birds with crystals on their bodies. And this was not just one or two of them: all Eyeball Birds in this flock had crystals in their body.
She was extremely curious, but for now she should prioritize running away.
Tia glided down, aiming for a forest with relatively dense tree cover.
Then, the moment she landed on the ground, she felt a tremendous strike come from behind.
“Gyauu!?”
Tia collapsed face-first onto the ground, then twisted her neck.
The wings of her Magical Flying Device, those metal wings, were torn to shreds.
The person who ripped those wings apart with his bare hands looked down on Tia.
“I see you were flying. One of the Wedge Tower’s kids, I assume?”
It was a blond man with blood splattered over his clothes.
He had the appearance of a dignified young man, wearing elegant clothes — but Tia immediately had an idea who this was.
He was a Monster. A Greater Monster, capable of taking an eminently human form.
“Were you headed for Merwen? All of your friends in that town are no more, you know? My lovely thralls worked so hard to seek them out… then I had a lovely meal.”
Ah, why had she forgotten?
Eyeball Birds had a tendency to chase their prey to a place where a more powerful foe lied in wait.
Then, they’d let the more powerful creature kill the prey, and feast on whatever it left over.
The blond man’s blood-stained lips cracked open into a fearsome smile.
“I’m so happy a young girl like you has come to me! Now, behold my intoxicating beauty, and stare in amazement, cute little human! If you do, I might just let you live a little bit longer.”