“Their taste is not to my liking.”
“Oh…”
If they didn’t taste good, that was that. If it were me, I wouldn’t want to eat lousy food, either.
Ah, but wait. The beef bowl from chain restaurants was actually pretty good. Top it with a heap of red pickled ginger and mix it with a raw egg, and that sweat you got when eating it was just the best. Whenever I got off the last train and had some of it at the neighborhood beef bowl place, I felt like I could put in my best again the next day. Occasionally, I’d splurge and get a bowl of pork miso soup with it, too.
“I’m sorry. I don’t think I can do chateaubriand.”
“Why is that?”
“It’s a very expensive kind of meat, and I don’t have the money to buy it.”
“…Is that so?”
“I’m sorry you had to be bought by a poor office worker.”
“……”
For the time being, I set aside the fact that I was talking to a sparrow. An impulse flew through me to take a video of him and upload it to YouTube, but he was more human than I’d anticipated, so I hesitated to do something like that. For now, I decided to talk to him a little more.
“I have pork ribs. Would you like some of them instead? They’re in the freezer.”
“If you haven’t the money, you need only earn it.”
“Huh?”
Does he not like pork ribs? I think they’re pretty tasty myself, but…
“I’ve thought about a great many things since being exiled from the otherworld and receiving new life in this form: How will I return to my former world? What do I need to do to accomplish that task? And what would I do if I did return?”
“…Is that right?”
All of a sudden, he’d started up a monologue. This sparrow had quite the backstory—more than I’d ever imagined. I found myself getting curious about the rest of it and had replied before I knew it.
“And I arrived at a conclusion.”
The way his beak kept popping open and closed was so cute. It was like he was begging his mama bird to feed him.
“That I should, simply put, start living the way I wish.”
“…I see.”
Despite the big preface, his epiphany was fairly average. Still, the perspective was, in my opinion, precious. It isn’t worth wasting your own time trying to fit in with everyone else. We all die alone; I figured it was better to do everything you wanted, to the best of your ability, while you were alive. As a corporate slave, I felt this keenly.
Anyway, was that why he’d been saying Pick me, pick me? He was starting to seem positively adorable.
“To that end, I require the assistance of someone from this world.”
“I understand.”
“I’d like you to help me. You’ll find it quite easy to make riches if you do.”
“You know I’d do anything for my cute little birdie, but—”
“Good. The contract has been finalized.”
“What—?”
The sparrow cut me off by opening his beak and giving a squawk.
And then, suddenly, a magic circle emerged in front of me—the sort you see a lot in anime and manga. It floated in midair, glittering brightly. I don’t remember buying a toy like this, I thought. Had Peeps created this?
“Peeps, what’s this?”
“I shall give you a portion of my powers,” the bird said, the magic circle giving off more light.
Then with a quick flash, my vision went white. It was incredibly bright. Unable to withstand it, I shut my eyes and flinched. As I did, I felt a warm sensation materialize in my breast. It felt almost like someone had stuffed heating pouches inside me.
“Wait, I, uh, hold on…”
“Calm yourself. It’ll only last a moment.”
“……”
If nothing else had convinced me, this little act had—Peeps was no ordinary sparrow. Maybe I should have gone with the bird in the next cage over, I thought in spite of myself. What if this magic circle produced short electromagnetic wavelengths? Like, radiation exposure? Maybe I’d have to make my next checkup a more thorough screening.
The brilliance only lasted ten seconds or so. Gradually, the glow from inside the cage subsided. The magic circle that had appeared in front of Peeps also vanished.
“We are now connected by a path.”
“What?”
I had no idea what a path was. It certainly didn’t look like anything existed between us.
“Would you open this cage for me?”
“Oh. Right.”
I didn’t quite grasp what was happening, but I’d come this far—might as well see it through. I had a lot of things I wanted to say about whatever this was, but I was already too caught up in it to bother. I was also a little afraid of pissing off Peeps by complaining. Since we were going to be living in the same room, I preferred to stay on good terms.
I slid the cage door open.
“…Is that good?”
“It is.”
Peeps flew out of the cage and settled on my shoulder. A sparrow on my shoulder! How cute! He didn’t even have to practice standing on my hand and positioned himself right next to my head. I was ecstatic—I’d done the right thing, picking this one.
“I can now use my former power by channeling it through your body. Your flesh is quite frail, but it is better than this small bird’s. Using magic should not cripple you, at least.”
“Um, if this is going to be bad for my health, I’d like to refuse…”
“Let us be off.”
A moment later, my vision went black.
A few moments after the blackout, I noticed the scenery had changed completely.
To summarize, it was a fantasy world of swords and magic. The streets were lined with stone buildings, and the path was paved with bricks. The people going by looked just like the characters in a role-playing game. Here and there, I could see swords, spears, and armor—retro-looking items, every one. I even watched as a carriage clattered by.
We stood in an alley that opened up onto a main road, watching all this from the side.
“Peeps, where are we?”
“The world in which I lived before my reincarnation into this form.”
“Oh.”
“It is a provincial town in the Kingdom of Herz called Baytrium.”
“By the way, I’m not wearing shoes.”
“…Indeed you aren’t.”
In fact, I still had on the sweatshirt and sweatpants that I only really wore at home. It made me very self-conscious. If I was going to be out in public, I at least wanted a pair of slacks and a collared shirt. Thanks to my age, it was hard to get away with jeans and a T-shirt these days. I felt like I couldn’t expect basic human rights unless I had on at least a jacket and slacks.