Of All Things, I Became a Crow: Chapter #41
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
*Rainelle’s POV
...Eh?
Is that okay?
I looked at Karmeut questionably. Then, he smiled and nodded as if he was saying
that it was really okay.
Well,
things are going weird, but... It seems that Karmeut really will become the emperor, so it doesn't matter---maybe.
*3rd person POV
Everyone's eyes were on Karmeut. No, to be precise, they
were on the crow that had moved to sit on Karmeut's arm.
She was a large crow with mysterious purple eyes that made
one wonder if there were any animals with eyes like this. The crow, who briefly
nodded as if she understood the prince's words, flew up.
The crow hovered over them, slowly flapping her wings
that were larger than expected, and then lowered the altitude to be near the
sofa. Then her appearance gradually began to change.
"---!!"
Namuel's eyes widened involuntarily. The change in front
of him was astonishing. As the size of the crow grew, the legs became longer and
thicker, and the wings also grew longer.
And the feathers on her body, including the ones on her
wings, began to fall out and began to form the shape of a dress as she began to
take on a human form. Namuel couldn't help but be amazed.
The explanation was long, but the change was
instantaneous. In a few blinks, the crow had turned into a human woman.
The woman smoothed the hem of her dress, her white hand sweeping
once through her hair which shone purple and green at certain angles like the
feathers of the crow before. Her dress was made of black feathers. The woman
looked at them for a moment, then she turned her head towards Karmeut and
opened her mouth,
"...Is this okay?"
"Yes, that's enough. Thank you, Rainelle."
"I don't know why you want me to turn into my human form all of a sudden..."
The woman, who shook her head gently, approached Karmeut...
but she stopped. Then, with a worried look, she looked at Namuel and Myrdin
alternately. She seemed uneasy taking on her human form in front of anyone
other than Karmeut and Galenos.
However, Myrdin didn't seem to care about Rainelle's
reaction. No, rather, he looked at her with an expression of admiration, then he
turned his head to the prince and said,
"Your Highness, you have obtained a very rare bird.
It is very rare to find a crow that ate a Crobanlock."
"...! How do you know, Myrdin-nim?"
"Heh heh, I used to study on Crobanlock, and then I
met one by chance. A crow that could take on a human form just like this
beautiful lady under Your Highness’ care."
When he said that, Namuel suddenly came to his senses. He
then looked at Rainelle with a look of regret. He muttered as he let out a long
sigh,
"...this kind of mistake… I should have suspected
that as she had a strangely high intelligence..."
Namuel, who had thought that her high intelligence was
not an indication of such a rare bird and that she was just a common crow, blamed
himself.
‘No
matter how intelligent an animal is, it shouldn’t be able to grasp the
situation of Bozcourt and can take such quick actions...!’
thought Namuel.
But whether Myrdin was trying to appease Namuel or not, the
old wizard said,
“There is no need to blame yourself, Marquis. She’s
indeed such a rare existence that I have only been able to meet one individual like
her in my entire life. That one doesn't reveal the fact that he can transform
into a human in front of people thanks
to his high intelligence and bird-specific caution. Of course, the
Crobanlock also plays a part."
Rainelle seemed to be in a bind. She looked at Namuel and
Myrdin, then she turned back to her crow form and sat down on Karmeut's lap.
As the crow slightly dug into his arms and let out a
quiet caw, the prince stroked her back reflexively. Karmeut asked a question as
he squinted his eyes and gently scratched Rainelle’s chin, who let out a
pleased cry,
"Myrdin, if you don't mind, can you elaborate more
about Crobanlock and that one crow that ate it?"
"Oh, of course. I came here because I was concerned
about the Your Highness’ health of the prince, but I also couldn't deny that I
came because I was interested in Your Highness’ crow."
It was a dangerously honest remark in front of an
Imperial Family, but Karmeut just shrugged it off. To be able to get such a
reaction, the old wizard in front of them was a great being in many ways.
Enough to make even the prince respect him.
As the story seemed like it would be long, Karmeut called
a servant and ordered snacks along with tea to be brought in. Not long after her
concentration returned, the crow cried out in worry as Karmeut had moved from
the bed and changed to sit with the others.
Rainelle grabbed the hem of his sleeve and pulled it, but
Karmeut just stroked her back as if saying it was okay.
Rainelle looked dissatisfied as she inflated her feathers
to Karmeut's action while being sat on his lap. Then she shook her head and
turned away.
Karmeut shed a cold sweat as he saw Rainelle's body
clearly expressing 'whatever'. Luckily, she didn’t get off his lap.
Karmeut was stroking her feathers like he was relieved by
that fact. Myrdin was looking at that scene as if it was very interesting.
"Hmm, then I’ll start by explaining about
Crobanlock,"
Myrdin cleared his throat after he took a sip of his tea
and said that as he fixed his gaze on Rainelle.
The crow ignored Karmeut's touch. She picked up at ate
cookies as Myrydin continued,
"As most people know, Crobanlock is known as a
mysterious fruit that grants different abilities to each person through
'awakening' if they endured it. And since the place where the fruit is found is random, it's impossible cultivating
it and specify where it could be found right now."
Karmeut, who was a little sullen as Rainelle ate cookies
alone, nodded his head. When Galenos and Namuel witnessed a completely different
appearance from the prince that they knew, their pupils shook, but Myrdin
continued speaking as if he saw nothing,
"By the way, do you know exactly what Crobanlock
is?"
"...isn't it a fruit? A fruit with awakening
power."
“Heh heh. When it comes to fruits, it comes from plants.
However, there is no record of finding a plant that produces Crobanlock, and
there is also a record that it was found in the polar regions. The fruit is randomly found regardless
of the environment. ‘Do plants that produce those fruits really exist?’"
That fundamental question was not answered by Karmeut and
Galenos. Only Namuel nodded slightly, understood Myrdin's words, and asked,
"Then you're saying it's not a fruit?"
"I’m sure that’s the case. If it’s real fruit, it
would have only grown in specific places. This is only a hypothesis, but... Your Highness, can you tell us about the
beginning of the Wolfric Family?"
Karmeut blinked his eyes slowly at the sudden request.
However, it was not an unknown thing because it was a famous story that spread among
the people, so he did not hesitate to open his mouth,
"It is said that the wolf of divine nature who served
the god of creation gave his seed to humans and gave them his power. The wolf
with divine power periodically visits humans who have inherited the blood of
the wolf and paired with them. In the subsequent generations, the First
Emperor, Wolfric Ervil de Marc Dael, led the people and founded the empire with
the strongest power and leadership..."
Even while saying that, Karmeut did not understand
Myrdin's intentions.
Karmeut: ‘...Why
did he tell me to tell this story?’
"Yes, yes. ...but did you know that there are more divine
animals besides the wolf that assisted the Creator?"
"I've heard of it, but..."
He had heard that because it was included in Theology
among the educational subjects that he received since his childhood. However,
because he wasn't very interested in Theology itself, he only knew that there
was another divine animal and couldn't remember exactly what the other animal was.
"The divine wolf with a deep relationship with the
Wolfric family. The animal that had the closest relationship with the wolf is
the crow."
At those words, three pairs of eyes turned to Rainelle.
...the
crow had a close relationship with the divine wolf?
"...caw?"
Rainelle, who had swallowed a piece of cookie, tilted her
head. When she felt that their eyes were on her, Rainelle turned to the
cookies. She bit one with her beak, and after a brief flapping, she had run
away to the edge of the table.
Then, as the crow started to eat the cookie comfortably,
the expression of 'no way', was
apparent in the three young men’s eyes.
At their reaction, Myrdin chuckled and continued
speaking,
"Of course, you can't compare it to Your Highness’
crow. It is described as a black bird, but it likely has a crow-like
appearance. In any case, that bird became the wings of the wolf to see distant
places and ate corpses for humans. It is said that the bird ate it so that the corpses
won’t pile up. And it is also said that the bird entrusted that role to crows
who resembled itself and scattered fragments of its eggshells on the
ground."
Having that said, the next words could be guessed. So Karmeut
responded to Myrdin's words this time,
“…Do you think that the eggshell fragments are Crobanlock?”
"It's
not to the point where you can't understand it, is it? Of course, it's
mentioned in Theology, so it's hard for a mage to blindly believe it... But I
can't deny that it isn't. Rather, it's
more rational than the hypothesis of it being a fruit."
"...if the content of Theology is true... Are you
saying that Crobanlock is an object that exists for crows in the first
place?"
"That's
what I think, Marquis."
Myrdin, who said so, turned to Karmeut. Then he fixed his curious gaze on the prince
and asked a question,
"If you don't mind,
Your Highness. Could you tell me more about your crow? My
thoughts on the relation between the Crobanlock and the crows are not far from being
a highly credible hypothesis. Oh,
of course... It would be better if the crow would cooperate."
After receiving the gaze of the old wizard burning with a
passion for learning, Karmeut remained silent. Then he replied with a smile,
"I will cooperate if you want, Myrdin-nim.
But..."
"Heh heh, when the word 'but' appears, you have to
be prepared for the next words. Yes, what is it? The conditions for Your
Highness’ cooperation."
Karmeut golden eyes gleamed strangely as he looked at
Myrdin with a sly smile. Seeing the prince's gaze, the magician smiled as if he
was having fun and patiently waited for an answer.
The prince quietly moved his hand and called the crow.
Then the crow approached him coldly and reluctantly as if she was sulking. At such
action, Karmeut laughed and stroked the crow's neck. At his fingertips, a
sapphire pendant could be seen.
"Can you cast a spell on this necklace? Of course
there's basic magic on it, but I'd like to engrave some more sophisticated
spells on it."
"Hmm... let me see."
Myrdin leaned forward and looked at the necklace hanging
around the crow's neck. The old wizard's eyes that scrutinize the necklace
turned to Namuel.
"The Marquis has cast a spell."
"Yes, that's right."
"Hmm, hmmm... it’s magic that changes the necklace’s
size according to the user. It's not difficult to add magic here... but what
exactly do you want, Your Highness?"
"...According to what Myrdin-nim had said, Rainelle
is a precious being, isn't she? Any magic that can keep such a being safe is good."
Hearing that, the old wizard chuckled.
"Heh heh. So that's how you answer it. All right.
Shouldn't this old man believe what the young man says?"
Karmeut flinched at those words.
Was it because the stroking hand had stopped? The crow
raised her head and let out a small cry.
At the sight of the prince who hurriedly moved his hand
again, the old wizard chuckled politely and then nodded his head.
"Jewels are hard and have a lot of magical power
because they have been created through a process that took many long years.
Besides, if it's a sapphire of that size... how about not limiting it to
magic?"
"...what do you mean?"
"There is also a good option called ‘spirit’.
Wouldn't that be better? Crows are animals that fly in the sky, so Wind Spirit
would suit her best."
Rainelle tilted her head and cawed like she was saying ‘huh?’. The others were also confused.
"...But, Myrdin-nim. As far as I know, dealing with
spirits is very difficult..."
It was such a baffling proposal that Galenos, who had
been silent until now, asked a question. As if supporting his question, Namuel
also added some words,
"Besides, basically you need mana to deal with
spirits, but the most important thing is the affinity with spirits, right? I don't think crows have both no
matter how much Crobanlock they ate..."
"Well, is it really like what you said?"
***
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