The following day, before I realized it, everything was already over.
In the afternoon, we went over together to the secret hideout Ashley’s father was using as his base of operations. He and his small group of about four people total were all carrying old, worn-out weapons. There was a mage there, too. She was the only woman and looked like she was in her late twenties. The three men I estimated to be in their thirties and forties.
According to Ashley’s father, all of them were experienced adventurers who had been making money in the occupation, particularly by capturing rare animals.
It sounded like even for them, the goddesses were a tough fight.
“Even if they are goddesses, we’re just going after the babies this time. That’s because we need to play it safe after the last time—it’s really a huge help that you brought the goddess tear to us, Ashley.”
Her father boasted that they had nothing to worry about so long as they had a goddess tear.
From his perspective, it must have seemed like a miracle that Ashley was here now, in this place. That was why he was in very, very high spirits.
“What we do from here is simple. The person carrying the goddess tear will get close to them. The rest of us will catch them. That’s really all there is to it.”
Apparently, as long as we had the goddess tear, the chicks would easily fall into the net.
What happened after that was simple, too. As long as we placed the goddess tear right next to them, the chicks would not struggle. They would let us quietly carry them off.
“Now then, one of us has to hold the goddess tear and play the part of the lure—Ashley, would you do that?”
His eyes sparkled as he told us about his simple strategy. Then he placed a hand on the shoulder of his beloved daughter who had brought him closer to his dream. “We’ve finally made it this far, thanks to you. To honor that, I’m asking you to take on this important role.”
“……I—I will…do it…?”
Ashley was clearly flustered.
“It’s all right.” Her father encouraged her. “You are an adventurer just like us, so you can do it. As long as you’ve got a goddess tear, there’s no way they will attack you. Besides, if it does seem like they might attack, we’ll come help you. So won’t you please do it?”
I was sure Ashley’s father was trying to show his daughter how much he appreciated her.
He was probably trying to do something fatherly.
“…S-sure…okay…”
Ashley, who couldn’t say no, was swept right up into the plan as we headed for the baby birds’ nest.
When we got up into the mountains, Ashley stood in front of the chicks as planned. What unfolded then was a scene I had already seen many times before. The hungry chicks opened their mouths wide, chirping like they would for their mother.
The chicks definitely seemed to have mistaken Ashley, who had been bringing them meat every day, for their real mother.
“—I’m sorry.”
It happened right after she mumbled those words to them. The adventurers, who had been hiding nearby, simultaneously threw their nets over the chicks and captured them. Then, with practiced movements, they sealed up the young birds’ beaks, bound their bodies and legs so that they could not fight back, and tossed each chick into its own individual cage.
While all that was happening, the chicks did not once struggle. They very politely went into their restraints.
However, from the outside, the chicks looked pitiful, sitting in their cages unable to move a muscle. After the job was done, the whole way back, Ashley sat beside the cages.
“……”
She sat there with her eyes cast sadly downward.
Her father stroked her head tenderly.
“It’s okay. This way they don’t get too excited when we transport them. We don’t want these little ones to end up like their mother, after all.”
Then the chicks were carried to Ashley’s father’s base of operations.
The adventurers were thrilled.
Their many years of labor would finally be rewarded. Goddess feathers and claws were incredibly scarce and immeasurably useful. Especially the feathers, which were steeped in magical energy and even had healing powers. It was impossible to guess how many people might want one of those.
How wonderful it would be if there was a way to artificially increase the supply of feathers. Surely that would bring her such fortune as she could never exhaust for the rest of her life.
This was something to be happy about.
“……”
But even though she knew that, still, Ashley couldn’t truly be happy about it.
“Um, Dad—?”
Ashley, who was struggling to put her emotions clearly into words, spoke pleadingly to her father.
She seemed like she was trying to put together the words to question whether this might be wrong, whether they might be doing a bad thing.
“What is it? Cheer up, Ashley. Now we can make many people’s dreams come true,” he said with a joyful smile. “Isn’t that also why you became an adventurer?”