“So with that, we’re going hunting,” I said.
“Mhmm!” Tailtiu replied.
We were in the midst of a thick forest, but of course I was already used to these surroundings, so we went along at a quick pace. We had spotted some rabbits along the way, but they must have been sharing information among themselves, because the moment they saw me, they looked startled and sprinted away at top speed. I could have chased after them if I really wanted to, but they had looked so desperate that it made me hesitate.
“You know, darling, they’re treating you like a vicious animal,” Tailtiu remarked.
“Now that’s weird...”
When I had first arrived on the island, the forest monsters hadn’t really run away when they saw me, but at some point they had all begun behaving the same as those rabbits. And that wasn’t all. It seemed that they also understood Reina’s connection to me, so they ran away at the sight of her as well. This was something to be happy about, because it meant that she was less likely to be exposed to danger, but still...
“The monsters on this island are quite clever, so they must be able to tell that you’re bad news.”
“That’s a rather harsh way of putting it, don’t you think?”
Both Reina and Tailtiu had been describing me in pretty uncharitable ways lately. I may not seem like it, but I’m pretty sure I’m just an ordinary human. Just a little tough, is all...
“Oh!”
As we meandered around, Tailtiu let out a shout of joy. Wondering what she could possibly have spotted, I followed her gaze; there was a massive bird, at least ten feet tall. Its head was small, with a prominent crest that left a striking impression. It had a long, thin neck, with a feathered, somewhat rotund body, and its taloned feet at the end of its two skinny legs powerfully thudded against the earth as it lumbered along. Since I was on this island, I could tell that it was a monster, but to my eyes it looked like...
“An ostrich?” I wondered aloud.
“It’s a cassowary!” Tailtiu said. “They’re rare this deep in the forest!”
“Oh, I see. So that’s a cassowary.”
Actually, I think I’ve seen one on TV before. The look in its eyes sure is sharp.
I felt like the one on TV had had a blue face, but the cassowary here had a red one. And although it glared at me and Tailtiu, it showed no signs of fleeing.
“Huh? It isn’t running, even after it’s seen us,” I said.
“It’s because they’re pride personified. They’ll hide and wait for strong foes to pass by them, but if they’re found they’ll threaten them, like this one is doing now.”
“In other words?”
“It’s glaring at us and doing everything it can to suppress its desire to run.”
Just as she said, on closer inspection I saw that the cassowary had tears in its eyes, and its body was trembling. It seemed to have a firm grasp on the gap in our strengths. Only its instincts are keeping it from fleeing...
“Y’know, I kind of feel sorry for it.”
For a moment the cassowary’s eyes shone with hope, as if it could understand what I said.
“But darling, they’re delicious.”
“Oh, okay then. Let’s eat.”
It must have understood what I said again, because its eyes became steeped with despair.
“K-Krrrrehhh!” it roared. It energized its quaking body, then charged. As it ran, it strained its legs against the ground and jumped into a flying kick. Its sharp talons glinted as it tried to pierce my abdomen, but—
“Krehhhhh!” It let out a scream from its small beak, as if to say, How’s that?! Did I get him?! and at the same time it landed on the ground.
As I watched this, I moved my hands like I was dusting myself off.
“Yep, my body is still as invincible as ever.”
“Just so you know, a cassowary’s kicks are painful enough to make an Emperor Boar cry,” Tailtiu said.
“Oh, so they’re stronger than Emperor Boars? I sort of got that feeling from it.”
That was because the impact of its attack had been more powerful than the Emperor Boar’s charge.
The cassowary, which must have taken out all of its foes up until this point with a single blow, looked at me with disbelief and terror. Yet its refusal to budge an inch—or rather, its instincts which made it impossible—made me feel all the more guilty.
“All right, it’s our turn,” I said.
“Heh heh heh... I’m looking forward to this.”
“K-Krehh! Kreh, kreh...krehh...greh?!”
Though the cassowary squawked weakly, it didn’t give up resisting until the very end, and finally, we brought it down.