episode_0127

Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!

The small bird perched on Sepia’s head flapped its tiny wings as hard as it could, chirping.

It probably thought it was being threatening, but to me, it just looked cute.

The reason it was angry must have been because I had just looked at it and asked Sepia if it was emergency food.

Chirp! Chirp! Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!

The bird, which had been flapping its wings and chirping without stop, slowly began to lift into the air.

‘Oh.’

Of course, it only floated up about 2cm, and even that didn’t last a second before it fell back onto Sepia’s head.

Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!

The bird, which had suddenly stood up, seemed to have no more strength to flap its wings, so it stopped flapping and just chirped.

“Hoo? Indeed! Is that so?”

Chirp!

“I understand. Thank you for telling me this information.”

Chirp, chirp.

“Yes, if you have any more information like this next time, please let me know.”

Sepia looked at me with surprised eyes, as I was suddenly conversing with a bird.

Indeed, if I had seen someone conversing with a bird on the street in my original world, I would have thought they were crazy.

But this is a world of swords and magic. A fantasy world full of romance and sentiment.

Of course, there are artifacts that allow one to communicate with animals.

“Hogu, don’t tell me you understand what this bird is saying?”

“No, I just spoke vaguely.”

But I didn’t say I had such a thing.

If I had such an artifact, or the ability to converse with animals without one, I would have been a veterinarian, not a clown.

…………..

Sepia looked at me with a ‘what kind of fellow is this’ expression, but I must have been mistaken.

Our kind Sepia couldn’t possibly have looked at me like that.

“So, Sepia-ssi, since when have you been raising this bird?”

It’s highly likely that she’s been raising it relatively recently.

If Sepia had raised it for a long time, it wouldn’t be this small, and there would be no need to bring a bird to the academy.

Sepia pondered for a moment, an expression of ‘how should I explain this’ on her face, then opened her mouth.

“Do you remember what I told you last time?”

“Of course, I remember.”

Sepia narrowed her eyes.

“I haven’t even said when yet?”

“Ah, of course, I remember every conversation I’ve had with Sepia-ssi.”

Sepia’s lips curved slightly, as if pleased with my answer.

“Ha! Is that so? Professor Alicia told us to rest in the morning the day before the mission at Baron Ashro’s estate, didn’t she?”

“Huh? Hmm… what was that again…?”

“Ugh, are you messing with me?”

“Haha, it’s a joke. Of course, I remember everything. Didn’t you say then that the spirits felt something strange and you went somewhere?”

“Y-you really remember.”

“Of course.”

Sepia must have obtained one of her awakening keys from where she followed the spirits.

Why is that story coming up now… No way?

‘Ah, no way.’

What Sepia obtains in Croaca is a single, brightly shining yellow feather, not a yellow bird that looks like emergency food.

Yellow bird… yellow feather…

“You didn’t happen to find that bird after following the spirits, did you?”

“I did? To be exact, it was an egg.”

………………….

How should I interpret this?

What was obtained changed from a single feather to a bird made of feathers, which at first glance seems good, but…

I approached Sepia and looked at the bird occupying a spot on her head.

Chirp.

The bird glared back at me, not backing down.

‘I definitely feel like I’ve seen it somewhere.’

I can pride myself on having a good memory.

But if it’s not coming to mind to this extent, did I just misremember?

…..Ugh.

To get a closer look at the bird on Sepia’s head, I naturally had to get closer to Sepia.

Right now, Sepia and I were keeping a distance so close that we could hear each other’s faint breaths.

“Ugh… isn’t this too close?”

Normally, I would have teased Sepia.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t do that now.

Because I remembered where I had seen this bird.

When I first recalled it, I wanted to deny it, but my gut feeling told me it was 100% true.

‘That damn Necromancer’s most annoying pattern No. 2.’

There was a reason I had forgotten it, even though it was the second most annoying pattern.

When the Necromancer used it in Croaca, it wasn’t yellow and was much larger than this.

Still, just in case, it wouldn’t hurt to confirm.

“Sepia-ssi, does electricity come out of this bird’s body?”

“Huh? Oh, yes. How did you know? It doesn’t come out when it’s on my head, but a little bit of electricity comes out when it’s elsewhere.”

“Oh.”

I was genuinely amazed.

Can this be considered winning the lottery?

‘Damn it! Of course it can!’

Although that bird was the second most annoying pattern used by that Necromancer, it was the strongest among the skeletons that Necromancer used.

I can’t forget its strength and sheer annoyance, constantly striking lightning bolts while flying in the sky.

Although I could clear it with my eyes closed later, the first time I encountered that bird, I played while noting down each lightning pattern.

I was very stressed while studying the patterns.

But I could relieve that stress by bothering noobs.

‘That’s not what’s important right now.’

Stealing that bird before even fighting the Necromancer?

It’s like a villain fighting a magical girl after snatching her transformation item.

‘Of course, we’re not the villains.’

Grab!

I grabbed Sepia’s hands with both of mine.

At this moment, Sepia was light and a goddess to me.

“…What is this, all of a sudden!”

I felt like kissing her, but if I actually did that, it wouldn’t end with just a slap on the back like before.

Someone might think I’m overreacting, but I can confidently say that this reaction is rather calm.

You could understand how I feel if you imagined someone solving the subjective questions on a college entrance exam math test before it even began.

Squeeze.

Feeling Sepia’s gratitude again, my hands instinctively tightened.

“Ugh, eek.”

Ah, she broke.

Indeed, if someone suddenly grabbed my hand tightly, I’d be surprised too.

‘Should I be grateful I didn’t get slapped instead?’

Of course, because her reaction was amusing, I didn’t let go of her hand.

* * *

Fortunately, Sepia soon came to her senses.

Of course, she was still fanning her face, which was practically smoking.

“So, Sepia-ssi, what is this bird’s name?”

It’s uncomfortable to keep calling it ‘this bird,’ ‘bird,’ ‘that bird.’

“Huh? I haven’t named it yet?”

Indeed, according to Sepia, the bird hatched from its egg yesterday, when she was exhausted after training and wearing a mask.

‘She probably didn’t have time to name it.’

The bird, which looked like emergency food just moments ago, now looked like an angel.

Its wings, which resembled chicken wings, even looked like pure white wings now.

“Is that so? If Sepia-ssi hasn’t thought of a name, may I name it?”

Sepia said it didn’t matter, as she hadn’t thought of a name herself.

I believe a name is truly one’s first impression.

Roughly, it means it’s that important.

And I was famous for naming things well.

One could easily tell just by looking at the name of the club I created: the Clown Alliance Club.

When naming something, drawing inspiration from its image is one good method.

I stared intently at the bird, and the as-yet-unnamed bird also stared back at me.

‘Bird… yellow… electricity…’

Flash!

A good name flashed through my mind as I was combining the words.

It was a name that suited all three of those words.

“Electric Roasted Chicken.”

Chirp! Chirp! Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!

“I don’t know what that is, but it seems to be angry?”

Could it be that it doesn’t like chicken?

What a picky fellow.

“Jjimdak?”

Chirp!

“Dak-bokkeum-tang.”

Chirp!

“Yangnyeom Chicken.”

Chirp!

“Bburin-O?”

Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!

“I don’t know what any of those are, but they all seem strange. Should I just name it myself?”

“Ahaha. I was just joking until now. Shall we try to name it properly now? Let’s see…”

Of course, I would never in a million years name it as a joke.

You shouldn’t overthink names too much.

Just like I simply thought of the nickname Loki after seeing my original name.

My real name is…

“Ugh!”

“Wha- what is it?! Are you hurt somewhere?”

As I suddenly clutched my head and knelt, Sepia spoke with a voice full of concern.

“It’s nothing. Just a temporary headache.”

To be precise, the headache came because I remembered my original name.

No, it’s not that I suddenly got amnesia and can’t remember my original name.

No, rather, it would be better if I had amnesia.

Because then I could forget my original name.

Thinking back to how I was teased because of my name… Ugh.

At that time, I decided. I must name things properly.

“Hogu?”

Since Sepia might worry if I spaced out too much, I quickly opened my mouth.

“Actually, I was joking until now, and I had a name in mind from the beginning.”

Chirp.

Sepia looked at me with eyes that said, ‘I’ll believe you one last time.’

I spoke the name that had been in my mind ever since Sepia allowed me to name it.

“Jjaek-jjaegi.”

……………

…………..

What is this cold reaction?

It’s intuitive, cute, and cool.

* * *

After all academy classes ended, in the forest.

Today, Loki and Sepia gathered after school for special training, secretly intruding into the forest.

“Alright, then, shall we begin our fun training today? A month’s time will pass faster than Sepia-ssi thinks.”

Chirp.

And so will our new companion, Jjaek-jjaegi.