Volume 1 Chapter 83 Chubby Little Bird
In my palm, there was a tiny, wobbly, squishy, mysterious animal looking up at me, flapping what looked like wings or hands.
"Is it a bird?"
"No, I think it's a rabbit."
Sir Rail and Sir Roxas stared at the strange creature as they spoke.
"...huh?"
"Huh?"
The strange animal opened its small mouth.
It had round black eyes with red irises, and it seemed like it had no mouth or nose, but it actually did have a mouth.
In a shaky, girl-like voice, the animal spoke.
"Pumpkin... pudding...!"
"Eir-Eir...!"
I lifted the bird-like creature.
Just like she looked, its body was squishy.
It felt warm and cute.
"Eir-Eir, Eir-Eir...?"
"Pumpkin pudding!"
Eir-Eir wiggled its tiny black ears in my palm.
It really did look like Eir-Eir.
When it was eating pumpkin pudding, it had taken the form of a girl.
But now, it was even smaller. Was the newborn Eir-Eir always like this, looking like a little bird, all squishy?
"Eiris..."
Mr. Lucian had a strange expression on his face.
Since Eiris was like a foe from his hometown, he probably didn't want to see it.
But right now, Eir-Eir just looked like an animal that only said "pumpkin pudding."
"Why is Eiris here, Ciel?"
Sir Rail asked, and Sir Ciel put his hand on his chin.
"Well, I wonder why. Right now, she looks like a harmless creature with no power. Back then, it seemed like Eiris entered Ms. Lydia's body... so maybe she didn't disappear but just chose Ms. Lydia as a new host."
"Host..."
Sir Ciel's words made me think of a tree covered in mushrooms.
"Is that so, Eir-Eir?"
"Pumpkin."
"Don't you have a place to go back to, Eir-Eir?"
"Pudding."
"You're useless if you can only say pumpkin pudding."
"Pumpkin pudding!"
After being coldly told off by Sir Roxas, Eir-Eir jumped from my hand and bumped into Sir Roxas's face.
"Ouch! You little round dumpling... how dare you..."
"Come on, Roxas, don't be mean to an animal. For now, she seems harmless, so why not just leave her alone? Mushroom tempura is delicious, princess."
Sir Rail didn't seem to care much about Eir-Eir and was munching on a mouthful of mushroom tempura.
Mr. Tsukuyomi also didn't seem to mind and was drinking booze.
"Hey, it's pretty common for a girl to make friends with a small animal. When I met Hyomon, he was about that size too."
"Hyomon was small, huh?"
"Yeah, so small and cute. Now, it's grown so big and impressive, but when it was little, it never left my shoulder."
Mr. Tsukuyomi walks with a small octopus on his back.
A small Hyomon. It feels cute. Even though it's an octopus.
"In the hero community... it's common for defeated monsters to look at you like they want to join. So, if Eiris is attached to the princess, I wouldn't be surprised."
"That's common, huh..."
Sir Rail said that, and I nodded.
Eir-Eir flapped its wing-like hands and came back to me.
It sat right in front of me and tilted its body.
It looked like it was tilting its head.
"Pumpkin pudding..."
"We don't have pumpkin pudding today, but we do have mushroom tempura. Do you want some?"
"Pumpkin!"
Eir-Eir flapped her wings, so I placed a small dish in front of her and put a small piece of mushroom tempura on her.
Eir-Eir opened her big mouth, about the same size as her body, and bit into the mushroom tempura.
"Wow, amazing. Please eat a lot...!"
"This isn't the time to be impressed, Lydia. That clearly looks like a cursed animal. What's with that mouth? It's way too big for her body. If she eats well and grows into that giant woman, what will we do?"
Sir Roxas was cold.
"But, but, it would be sad if she was hungry..."
"I think it's fine. Ms. Lydia said she saw Eiris's memories. Eiris was picked up by Judal and grew up eating resentment and hatred. A newborn baby has no good or bad, so if she eats meals filled with your love, Ms. Lydia, it should become a good monster."
"Are you just saying that randomly, Ciel?"
"...Round things are justice."
Sir Ciel seems to like cute things.
He smiled as he watched Eiris swallow a piece of mushroom tempura that was about the same size as her body.
"Um, Mr. Lucian, can I keep her...?"
"Why are you asking me?"
"Mr. Lucian, I thought you might not like her. Mr. Lucian has been sad before."
"That's fine now. I have you, Lydia. ...It feels a bit embarrassing to be asked if you can keep a pet. It's like you and I are..."
"Don't get carried away, Lucian."
"That's right, Lucian. You're not the only one saved by the princess."
"That's true. For me too, Ms. Lydia is a benefactor. If you want to keep that round thing close, I'll make sure it doesn't have any bad effects on you or cause you harm."
"Yes, thank you, Sir Ciel."
I poked Eir-Eir's head with my fingertips every time I placed a piece of mushroom tempura on the dish.
It was soft and squishy.
Eir-Eir looked up at me and said, "Pumpkin pudding."
"I'm pretty sure the most troublesome one is Ciel, who keeps declaring he's by the princess's side, Roxas. She supports you, my brother, but it's not looking good for you, Roxas. Are you okay?"
"I can't say anything about Ciel. Lydia trusts him. If I say something bad about Ciel, Lydia will cry."
"We've only just become friends. We still have time, we still have time."
Sir Rail, Sir Roxas, and Mr. Lucian are quietly talking to each other.
They might be discussing Eir-Eir.
Mr. Tsukuyomi seems to be able to hear their conversation, shaking his shoulders and laughing, saying, "You guys are so young."
Sir Ciel said, "I've never had tempura mushrooms before, but it's delicious. Ms. Lydia, please have some too," and placed tempura mushrooms on my plate.
I picked up a piece of tempura mushroom with my chopsticks.
The tempura was beautifully wrapped in a golden batter.
The whole Takeri Matsutake was heavy. When I bit into the tip, the crispy texture of the batter filled my mouth, and as I chewed, the rich aroma of the Takeri Matsutake spread, and the mushroom soup gently overflowed.
I felt a gaze on me.
Since it was too big to fit in my mouth, I chewed on the tip and pulled it away.
"It's delicious, the mushroom. Mr. Lucian, let's go mushroom picking together again. This time, with everyone."
Mr. Lucian, who caught my eye, suddenly put his hand to his mouth and looked away in a flustered way, saying, "Ah, yeah, let's go."
"...Hey. You. Eiris. You're the eldest daughter of the witch, right? How many witch daughters are there? How many came down?"
Mx. Margaret, who had been quiet until now, asked in a calm voice. Their expression was not the usual cheerful Mx. Margaret, but something very serious.
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