Of All Things, I Became a Crow: Chapter #67
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
*Rainelle’s POV
"---I wish you could
tell me what that means now."
A low-pitched voice rang
in my ears. When I turned my head, I saw deep sunken golden eyes.
...but I can't answer
because I'm out of my head right now! I too want to run away by turning into a
crow because the situation is difficult right now!! I want to fly away from
here!!
"Oh, my. I forgot to
explain it in detail. This is a big problem. There are a lot of things that I
forget when I get older."
Myrdin-nim, the man -no,
the grandfather- who was responsible in a way for throwing a large bomb right
now, smiled as he opened his mouth. ...are
you laughing now?! Look at those eyes1 Those eyes!!
Oh, of course, I never even dreamed that a
person who signed a contract with the high-level spirits of the four major
elements at once would be a slave!! I know that this is an unprecedented
opportunity for the Empire, still, look at Karmeut’s eyes now!! This old man!!
---Whether or not he knew
what I was thinking, the old wizard, with a smile on his face, began narrating
the story from the time when I found Miel in the market to how he made a
contract with the spirits.
...thanks for letting us know, but I need you
to fix this situation!!
"-I see."
Karmeut said that while
nodding his head after hearing the story.
...ah! Come to think of it, this is a banquet
hall for nobles and royalty! You, you old man! How can you reveal that Miel was
a former slave in front of these people?!!
...Of course, I don't know if there would be an
idiot who could defeat a person as capable as Miel, but I'm sure at least
there’ll be a big mouth!!
"Marquis Miel."
"-Yes, Your Majesty
the Emperor."
When Karmeut called him,
Miel let go of my hand and bowed to him.
Seeing him like that, the Emperor opened his mouth,
"You owe the next Empress a
lifetime of favor."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Miel's shoulders seemed to shake a
little at hearing ‘the next Empress’, but was it just an illusion?
"Your talent will be a precious
treasure of the Empire. I won’t ask you about the past. And I will never ask
you again. With your abilities, I hope you will use all of your talents for the
most valuable thing."
"---!! I will keep that in mind,
Your Majesty."
After saying that, Miel suddenly
turned his head toward me.
Wha, what is it?!
"Rainelle-nim."
"...please speak, Marquis
Miel."
"I'm not a knight, but the oath I
made earlier was sincere."
As he said that, his pink eyes
sparkled so beautifully, but for me, it was enough to bring out cursing.
Oh please, sir! Please read the room!
"I don't care if Rainelle-nim
makes me your slave. Since that time, everything I've been doing has been for
Rainelle-nim."
He looked really beautiful as he said
“So I'll give it to you. Everything.” and with the gentle curve of his eyes. He was aesthetically beautiful beyond
the gender of male and female...
Oh really!! Look at Karmeut's eyes! If you say
“I will give you everything”, isn’t that a bomb?! Isn’t that something you have
to say depending on the time and situation, you crazy punk!! What are you doing
by spitting out provocation?!!
"I see... Marquis
Miel, I hope you enjoy the banquet."
"Thank you for your
consideration, Rainelle-nim."
Not forgetting to smile
softly, Miel got up from his position. Then he took my hand and gently kissed
the tip of my finger. After that, he headed towards Myrdin with an elegant and
relaxed movement.
Leaving the words, “Then,
I hope you both enjoy the banquet”, Grandpa Myrdin disappeared through the
crowd with Miel.
...it’s as if a storm had passed by, my head is
dizzy. And the bomb providers have already disappeared among the crowd!!
"Uu, I want to go
back to my original form..."
I mumbled that without
realizing it.
Oh, I mean it. Seriously, let's go back to
being a crow and take a sand bath! I'll tidy my feathers slowly, too. Then I
want to sit on the perch and sleep comfortably!
"Sorry, but you can't
do that. If the main character leaves early from the first day of the banquet,
it will get messy."
Well, I
guess so. No, wait!
"...Hey, I don't think
so? I'm only one of the guests..."
"It would be strange
if the next Empress was missing, don’t you think so? At least the Imperial nobles
would think so."
The voice whispering in my
ear was as sweet as usual, but somehow I felt a sense of intimidation.
"...so stay by my
side, okay?"
I couldn't help but nod at
Karmeut's action of subtly giving strength to his hand that grabbed my arm while
he said “stay by my side".
---Why, why does it feel like I'm guilty when
it's not my fault? Argh! I'm sorry to keep calling you, oh, God! Please solve
it for me? Uh-huh!
The awfully long first day of the banquet passed like that. Me? I was taken straight
to Karmeut's room after the day was over.
"...Rainelle."
" Yes?"
Ugh! I'm kind of scared that my voice has
become so quiet! I didn't do anything wrong, but I’m scared!!
"...it’s been hard
for the past month, right? Would you like to be comfortable by turning into a
crow?"
...but what I heard next was
unexpected.
No, I'm not saying I don’t
like what he said just now, but... I thought he was going to ask me some
questions about Miel.
"...you aren’t asking?"
"Hm?"
"About Marquis Miel."
---Ah, I said something wrong! His eyebrows
just twitched!
"---Of course there
are many things I want to ask. But... Myrdin-nim explained the situation,
didn't he?"
Patting my back gently, Karmeut
added,
"He said you saved a
slave from being whipped? ---Was it incomprehensible to you?"
"Yeah... it was. I’ve
learned the reason while I was being taught etiquette, but... I still don't
fully understand."
He nodded.
"Well, it's kind of
like a culture between humans, something that has
been decided... that’s what it is."
He looked at me while saying so. The bright golden eyes were gleaming indescribably.
"But... because of
that, the Empire only had a few talents in history."
I said “Thank you,” then I
shrank my shoulders at Karmeut's action of kissing my eyelids. But at the same
time, I could feel…
Ah, that's why Karmeut was a respected Emperor
even in the original story.
In the original game, Karmeut
was also an Emperor who was respected by his subjects. He was young, not
married, but competent.
...I think I know why Karmeut looked different.
"But... Rainelle, I
hope you don't get too close to Marquis Miel."
...Huh?
"Of course, I will
respect you, but... I’m not stupid enough to let you be taken away by another
man with my eyes open."
I raised my head and
looked at Karmeut. His golden eyes were blazing.
"He said he'd give
you everything... but Rainelle, I've already given you my all."
It was such a sweet
remark. And it was also a very childish thing to say.
It was like a child
saying, “I like the earth as much as the sky! A lot more than him! I like it
better!!”
...because it seemed cute to
me, I couldn’t help but smile. Then Karmeut's frowned slightly. He proceeded to
wrap his arms around my waist.
"I'm serious. Do you
want me to show you my true feelings?"
"Oh no! It's okay! I
trust you!!"
You've shown your sincerity, and I know what
you're going to do by saying that!
I nodded my head eagerly.
Then Karmeut smiled happily and hugged me tightly.
"...do you want to
return to your crow form?"
Oh! Yeah! Then thank you!
Afraid that he might
change his words, I quickly returned to being a crow.
Was it because I hadn’t
changed in a month? I felt a strange sense of alienation. But I cawed as I felt
much lighter and much fresher.
I whirled around Karmeut's
head, crying ecstatically.
Ooh! It's cool! I'm happy! It's comfortable!
Of course, I like the ‘me’ after I put on
makeup, dressed up in a gorgeous dress, and used accessories, but it was so
uncomfortable!
Now, it's comfortable! So comfortable!! It's as
comfortable as lounging around in pajamas at home!
The feeling of spreading
my wings and flying after a month was absolutely amazing. Even though it was just
in the room, the feeling of the wind brushing my feathers was beyond words.
"Rainelle."
Hearing Karmeut's call, I
quickly landed on his arm. Then a hand gently caressing my cheek followed. I
pushed my beak against his finger while smiling as I felt the longing for this
touch after a month eased.
"Did you eat a lot of
what you wanted at the banquet? Do you want to eat snacks?"
I pondered for a moment
about Karmeut's behavior of putting me on his shoulder while asking if I wanted
snacks.
Ummm- I'm not hungry, but it's been a while
since I've had a snack from Karmeut...
"Caaw! (Wanna
eat!)"
So, I should just eat a little bit!
When I cawed with that
meaning in mind, Karmeut smiled and headed to the table. Then he gave dried
fruit to me.
Karmeut has a great sense after all! I wanted
to eat something light!
Excited, I picked up the
dried fruit and ate it. Unlike humans, a bird had to swallow immediately, so
the time to taste was short, but it was still much more comfortable for me.
Oh, really, after I possessed a crow, the crow
instinct must have been engraved deep into me. I can't believe this is more
comfortable.
Feeling good, I smacked my
beak on Karmeut's cheek. Then I jumped onto his lap, jumped again a bit, and
plunged into his arms.
Pet me! Please hug me! Stroke me!!
I looked up at Karmeut
with hopefulness, and he smiled. Then, as I wished, he took me in his arms and
kissed me on the head.
It was ticklish, but I
felt a warm sensation that made my body relax.
Ah, really... This is the most comfortable, and
I like it.
Receiving the familiar and
comfortable touch, I was able to sleep on a perch in Karmeut's room for the
first time in a long time that day.
***
*3rd person POV
"Thank you very much,
Myrdin-nim."
"What do you
mean?"
"For everything. The
fact that you took me to the banquet today..."
"Gee, this old man
was just taking an indispensable talent to the Empire to be introduced to His
Majesty the Emperor."
Myrdin, who laughed
haphazardly while replying deftly, swept his beard. Miel who looked at him then
lowered his gaze.
Shiny black hair.
Violet-like eyes which shone brightly. Soft red lips and a graceful figure.
Miel's fingertips trembled
as he was unable to forget the feeling when he saw the figure that he couldn't
forget for the past month. She was breathtakingly beautiful, like a goddess.
The crow, the black wearer
girl, was his salvation.
‘If it wasn't for her, I might have been beaten
to death or sold to the slave market,’ thought
Miel.
"Myrdin-nim, I have a
question..."
"Why did I bring you
in and make you an Elementalist? I've answered you many times, but it was
because of the potential I felt in you."
The old wizard then
muttered, “Well, when I first discovered it, the magic power was so poor compared
to the affinity to the spirits,” while kept stroking his beard.
“The reason my magic was
suppressed may be because of my situation of being a slave where I was suppressed,
had to obey, and bowed my head a lot, but I never imagined that it would be
this much.”
Miel: ‘I thought I would only sign a high-level spirit at best.’
"...did Rainelle-nim feel
that too?"
“It could be. Maybe she felt
something as a spirit contractor.”
Seeing Miel blinking his
eyes puzzledly, Myrdin kindly added an explanation just like when he was
teaching him many things for the past month,
"Rainelle-nim can
take on a human form, but her essence is a crow. Since there is no concept of
slavery among animals, it must have been very strange and unfair from her point
of view. It’s not a turf war, nor is it a
competition between males to get a female. It’s just unilateral violence and
the acceptance of it."
The hand of the old wizard that stroked his beard slowed.
Had his old friend, the
crow, seen the scene, he would have been outraged.
Myrdin: ‘Perhaps by now, he is sleeping peacefully under the sun.’
"So I hope you do not
forget and keep the vows you made in the banquet hall. As you said, if it was
not for her, your talents would have been buried and your life would have ended
as a slave."
"...I am well aware
of that."
In response, Miel clenched
his fist.
*Miel’s POV
How can I forget? How can I be shameless enough
to turn away?
The crow who saved him.
The noble bird symbolizing death who brought him out of the depths of despair.
So it's very natural for me to give my
everything to her. My body, my abilities, and... my heart too.
When he thought of Rainelle,
he faintly felt that his chest started to beat faster. Miel took a small deep
breath.
The banquet is not over yet. And I will
continue to attend the banquet.
To meet her.
***
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