Of All Things, I Became a Crow: Chapter #71
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
*Karmeut’s POV
Karmeut’s heart felt very
full, and he swept down Rainelle’s soft hair. Her dark hair, fluttering at his
fingertips, was glistening under the light.
"Ka, Karmeut?"
"Did you do it for
me?"
"...um, it must have
been very difficult for Karmeut to prepare for the banquet... But I don't have
anything, so..."
She mumbled with a small voice.
Karmeut was afraid that Rainelle will run away in shame like the previous times,
so he tightened his hold.
How cute. Her actions and behavior are so
lovely.
His heart pounded lightly
and he felt a fluttering sensation. She would have turned into a crow and run
away before, but now Rainelle still maintained her human form.
Maybe something has changed in her mind?
The Emperor closed his
eyes with a hopeful imagination. Feeling a familiar scent tickling the tip of
his nose, he smiled.
"---Please excuse my
rudeness, Your Majesty the Emperor."
But that happiness was
short-lived. Rainelle flinched at the sudden call and turned into a crow
immediately.
"...what's the matter?"
There must have been a
reason for the servant to come to him, but he couldn't help feeling down.
…at least she did not run away even after
transforming into a crow. She’s still in my arms.
The sharp golden eyes
turned to the servant who spoke. The servant, who received that gaze, trembled
and quickly lowered his head and said.
"Ma, Marquis Miel is asking for an audience with
His Majesty the Emperor."
At those words, Karmeut's furrowed
his eyebrows.
Of all things, an
unwelcome individual was asking to meet now.
“Caw?”
Karmeut looked back at the
crow who tilted her head while cawing. Feeling his eyes being burned with the
gaze of wonder and curiosity, he sighed inwardly.
Regarding Marquis Miel,
after the banquet, Karmeut was able to meet Myrdin separately and listen to his
story in detail. Miel was an Elementalist who was amongst the most talented in
history, an individual who had contracted high-level spirits, and even a person
who made contracts with all four major elemental spirits.
Considering that the
common thing was to contract only one element, the ability to make contracts to
four elements was enormous. On top of that, the ones he contracted with were
all high-level spirits. Even on that alone, Miel's worth was indescribable.
It would be a great loss when
a person with such qualities only spent his time as a slave.
--- This is, of course, limited to his ability.
He’s someone who should never be missed in terms of ability, but things changed
very much when Rainelle is involved.
...he dares.
Karmeut understood the
situation. He understood the desire of wanting to repay Rainelle for saving his
life. When a slave tried to escape and failed, that person was more likely to die, albeit at the discretion of
their owners.
...But Miel's eyes didn’t just show that. He
certainly feels grateful and has the desire to repay the favor, but...
More than that, he was
full of emotions that went against Karmeut’s heart. The emotion that Karmeut
can feel as a man, and as someone who has a woman in his heart.
Karmeut was not so dull
that he did not know the gaze of a man who saw Rainelle as a romantic interest.
Karmeut thought to
himself: And, I’m not stupid and incompetent
enough to have my partner stolen by another guy.
Thinking of Rainelle and of the time, I can’t
kick him away right now. ...However, considering that he’s a competent
Elementalist, it is the right thing to meet him now.
His worries were brief. As
an Emperor, it was impossible to keep away a competent individual due to
personal feelings.
"I'm sorry, Rainelle.
I guess I'll have to go."
Blinking her purple eyes
at those words, Rainelle looked at the Emperor. Then, she cawed once and sat
down on Karmeut's shoulder.
Karmeut let out a long
sigh inwardly at her action that seemed to make her say: “I’ll go too!”
---I want Rainelle to stay
here...
It was unthinkable for him
not to listen to what Rainelle wanted.
"Okay. Let's go together."
Seeing Rainelle swishing
her tail while cawing, he suddenly became anxious.
...I wonder if Rainelle is interested in
Marquis Miel? If she does, does she see him as the opposite sex? Or is it just
because she’s the one who saved him?
Anxiety gripped Karmeut’s
chest. He reflexively raised his hand and stroked her wing, then he felt her
smooth beak rubbing against his cheek.
The small contact calmed his
tumultuous heart. Then he smiled at Rainelle’s presence which calmed him to an
absurd level.
Stupid. Why am I anxious?
Rainelle was by his side, not
anyone else. She could fly away at any time, but she didn't and she stayed by
his side. She cared for him, hovered around him, and sometimes bravely rushed
in to protect him.
The reason why I’m anxious and see her as
lovely is because she is Rainelle.
Thinking up to that point,
Karmeut smirked.
…I can't believe that just because it's
Rainelle, it makes me think like this. Is it true that loving someone makes one
mad, after all?
However, feeling that his willingness
to welcome the madness was more of a problem, he
patted the crow's back. He could feel the silky feathers under the palm of his
hand.
It’s okay.
It's okay even if Miel wants Rainelle’s
attention and love as the opposite sex.
Because Karmeut had no
intention of letting him take her away from him with his eyes open.
Wolves persistently pursue
their predetermined prey. It runs for hours, hours, and hours and will
eventually catch it.
And if the goal is its
companion, it can't miss it even if its heart explodes while running. Competitor? The one has to pay the price for
coveting my mate and I will bite the nape of his neck.
First of all, my lovely mate is by my side. Not
by Miel's side.
Just recalling that fact
gave him a sense of relief, and the Emperor began to move to meet the Elementalist.
"Greetings to you,
Your Majesty."
Seeing Miel greeting him
politely, Karmeut nodded her head and sat down.
"What's the matter,
Marquis Miel?"
Miel hesitated for a
moment. The golden eyes narrowed when Karmeut realized that Miel’s gaze was
fixed on the crow sitting on his shoulder.
"Are you here to see
Rainelle?"
"---No. I'm here to
meet Your Majesty the Emperor."
Miel, who answered after a
short pause, knelt down on one knee.
"Thank you for giving me the honor beyond the means of a
slave. I, Miel, pledge my allegiance to Your Majesty."
...it isn't that I didn't know that it’s a means to get out
of the current situation. However, it’s not bad to
get the allegiance of a man with outstanding abilities. No, it is good.
"Don't think of it as excessive. Your abilities
are too great to be ignored in the name of slavery."
"...Is that so?"
“Even if you look through
history, you’re excellent enough that there are only a few at your level.”
Even with those words, Miel's
expression was indistinct. Karmeut then said while smirking,
"You don't seem to understand very well."
"...to be honest,
yes."
"The existence of Elementalist
itself is rare. However, if you continue to interact with the Imperial
Elementalist in the future, you will be able to see how valuable your abilities
are."
The Emperor stroked his
chin with one hand while saying that.
"So, you shouldn't
underestimate your own worth. Of course, you shouldn't be overconfident either.
Everyone has things they should and shouldn't do."
His golden eyes while he
uttered those words were gleaming strangely. Miel swallowed his saliva at the delicate
atmosphere.
"---Even if it's Your
Majesty the Emperor...?"
“Even more so if you are a
leader of a country.”
Even to the question that
could be considered rude, Karmeut answered with a leisurely smile. Seeing this,
Miel bit his lip.
He seemed to be so
relaxed. Also, he appeared to be really cool. The handsome Emperor might attract
others just by looking like this.
After being silent for a
moment, Miel lowered his head and said,
"I have prepared a gift
for Your Majesty."
"...a gift?"
The Emperor's eyes lit up.
Then, the servant who was waiting by the side presented Miel's gift to Karmeut.
"Oh, this is..."
What was contained in the
luxurious box was a strange stone. It was not processed to be a jewel, but it
was too shiny to be called a stone.
As if the water itself had
been condensed, the stone emitted blue light that swayed even with the
slightest movement.
Karmeut turned his
attention to Miel, who was looking at the stone which was sprinkled with colors
ranging from deep indigo to pale sky blue.
“Is it a spirit stone?”
"---! Yes, that's
right."
Karmeut smiled at the
words.
Spirit stone.
The stones, which were
condensed from the power of the spirits, were more valuable than most jewels.
There were infinite ways to use the spirit stone, which was created when the
power of the spirits was concentrated in one place.
"Looking at the
color, it looks like the spirit stone is made from the power of the water
spirit..."
"Yes, it requires a
lot of mana to use, but the power contained in the spirit stone itself is said
to be between intermediate and high-level spirits."
That was huge. The
greatest value of the spirit stone was that it made the use of the power
associated with it to be possible even without making a contract with a spirit.
Moreover, since it was a
spirit stone that contained the power of the water spirit, it can not only control
the water itself, but also can heal, so having it was like having an extra
life.
A flapping sound was
heard. Whether it was because the spirit stone was strange or because it was
pretty, Rainelle sat down next to the box. Her purple eyes were sparkling.
"Isn’t it pretty, Rainelle?"
“Caw!”
The crow made a loud cry
and inflated her feathers. Maybe wanting to pick it up with her beak, she
opened and closed her beak repeatedly, but she did not touch the spirit stone.
She jumped all around
Karmeut’s lap to look at it from all angles.
Seeing such a scene, Miel
carefully opened his mouth,
"...I... I also have
a gift for Rainelle-nim."
Karmeut flinched, while
Rainelle tilted her head.
"A gift? What is
it?"
Miel’s pink eyes fluttered
as Rainelle asked that question after transforming into a human. But that was
only for a moment. After regaining his composure, Miel politely bowed his head
and opened his mouth,
"I don't know if
you'll like it, but..."
The servant approached Rainelle
and offered a small box. Her eyes widened slightly as she opened the box. She then
blinked.
"...jewels?"
"--You don’t like
it?"
Contrary to his
expectations, Rainelle didn’t seem to react much, so the corners of Miel's eyes
drooped slightly.
Rainelle then answered
while gently shaking her head,
"No, no. Thank
you."
She said thank you, but
she didn't seem happy. Seeing the response that was different from what he had
heard from his spirit, Miel's shoulders sag slightly.
"...Then please
excuse me."
"Yes, you can go."
Karmeut nodded his head in
approval. As Miel went out politely, a smile appeared on Karmeut’s lips.
"You don't like the
gift from Marquis Miel?"
At that, Rainelle suddenly
raised her head. Then she replied with a sheepish smile,
"Uh, um... It’s not
that I don't like it, but..."
"But?"
"…I already have a
lot of jewels to play with.
I can't even eat jewels,
so I don't need much."
The Emperor burst into
laughter at Rainelle’s answer. She frowned as if embarrassed when he laughed.
"Did you?"
"Yeah. That's why I
didn't say that I wanted more jewels. They are shiny, but what Karmeut has
given is already enough. There are so many jewels that you have given me,
aren’t there?"
As Rainelle tilted her
head while saying that, Karmeut laughed again, then he nodded his head.
"I got it as a gift, so
I should keep it, right?"
"You should, Rainelle.
Because there are also the feelings of the person who gave it to you."
"Yeah," said Rainelle
while nodding her head. She then handed the jewel box to Karmeut and returned
to the form of a crow.
As she let out a caw, she
sat down on the Emperor's shoulder who then stroked her feathers and smiled at
her action.
"Would you like to go
get some snacks?"
"Caaw!!"
The Emperor got up from his seat, chuckling at the crow's behavior of flapping her wings in excitement.
Time
passed due to Miel's interruption, but there’s still a lot of free time.
***
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