CHAPTER 38
Owen and Rusfell immediately closed their mouths.
Leonhart gestured for them to stay seated and silently approached the window.
Without warning, he yanked the curtains open.
“…A crow?”
“A crow?”
“Where?”
When Leonhart stepped aside, a pitch-black crow sitting on the window ledge came into view. The three men gathered at the window.
“I sensed a presence. Thought it was an assassin… but it’s just a crow.”
“It’s not flying away. Was it someone’s pet?”
“Doesn’t look like it. There’s no tag.”
All three men stared at the crow.
But the crow ignored them completely, stretching its neck stiffly and gazing off into the distance—as if it had no interest in humans at all. Its red eyes gleamed like rubies.
“…It’s cute.”
“Kinda cute.”
“Indeed, cute.”
The three of them said similar things at the same time.
They coughed awkwardly.
“Hm. Is it injured?”
Leonhart carefully picked up the crow to examine it.
Sensing no hostility from him, the crow didn’t even flap its wings.
Rusfell murmured in admiration.
“Seems smart. Very calm.”
“It’s well-behaved. Doesn’t look hurt.”
“That’s good. Still, you shouldn’t come near people so carelessly. It’s dangerous.”
Leonhart gently stroked the crow’s head with a finger. Then he gave it a toss into the air.
“Go.”
The crow soared gracefully into the sky.
“Go.”
Leonhart spoke in a soft voice and lightly threw me into the air.
‘Hey, you jerk! You can’t just—huh?’
I didn’t know what had happened.
Just a moment ago, I couldn’t even move properly. Now, I was flying through the air.
A floating sensation took over my entire body. The wind brushing through my feathers felt refreshing.
I felt completely free.
Caught up in the moment, I flapped my wings excitedly.
‘…I really shouldn’t have done that.’
I’d heard that even birds need practice to learn how to fly. Some even get pushed off cliffs.
Animals born with wings still struggle to master flight—so how much harder must it be for a human who suddenly turned into a bird?
Of course it would take practice. But I’d skipped straight to flying, so of course there were consequences.
‘What do I do…’
I felt like crying.
I didn’t know how long I’d been flying or where I was.
Looking down might’ve helped me figure out my location, but that was impossible.
Even the slightest glance downward made my head spin with vertigo.
Then I’d start to wobble -> instinctively flail my arms to grab something -> but my arms were wings -> so I’d just fly higher.
After repeating this about eight times, a long-forgotten memory surfaced.
I had a fear of heights.
A fatal flaw for a bird.
I could handle moderate heights, but the kind where things look tiny from above? No way.
If I were human right now, I’d be drenched in cold sweat.
I desperately wanted to land.
But I couldn’t look down—so I couldn’t descend.
Worst of all, I didn’t know how to descend.
In this form, I could only do two things: fly, or go higher.
So I just kept flying.
Eventually, the spirits I’d hidden from Leonhart appeared.
— Lian, are you having fun? You couldn’t even walk earlier, but now you’re flapping like a pro!
— You’re flying wonderfully. Very fast, too.
— If you could fly, why didn’t you say something?! We nearly died when that bastard threw you!
‘Do I look like I’m enjoying this to you?!’
I was only flying because I couldn’t go down!
Unable to speak, I flicked my eyes at the spirits.
Apparently bird vision was incredibly sharp. My field of view was massive.
Even a slight movement of my eyes let me glimpse the ground below.
“Kka-kkek!”
Immediately, I lost balance.
A rush of fear surged through me, and my mind went blank.
Panicked, I flapped my arms wildly.
Flap flap!
Of course, I rose even higher.
Just a few flaps and I’d gained a ton of altitude.
There was a faint, misty veil around me—clouds.
‘Damn it…’
I fought back tears and tried to stay calm.
If I panicked, I’d end up in the stratosphere. Focus!
As I muttered to myself, Undine floated up beside me.
— Lian, how long are you going to keep flying? Shouldn’t you start coming down?
— Right. It’s probably time to descend. Plus, we need a plan after what we just heard.
— Are your ears clogged? Come down already!
‘I want to, okay?!’
The more I tried to mentally understand how wings worked, the less I could move.
Ironically, if I thought of nothing, I flew faster and higher.
Thankfully, flying itself wasn’t too tiring. Unlike Adrian’s weak body, this crow form seemed quite fit.
As long as I didn’t mess up, I probably wouldn’t die from exhaustion.
But…
— Eh? Lian, why are you crying?
I felt so alone and miserable.
I didn’t want to be alone. I hated the sound of my own cawing. I just wanted to talk to someone.
As soon as the tears formed, the wind blew them away.
I’d never known crows could fly this fast.
— Oh my! Lian, what’s wrong?
— I didn’t even say anything! You’re crying?! Crap, I’m sorry! Stop crying!
Salamander, I didn’t even hear what you said.
All I could think about was landing safely and collapsing into a bed.
— Hmm? Why are you still crying? Is flying that emotional for humans?
— Humans are sensitive to their surroundings. Maybe we should’ve let her fly before.
They say spirits are sensitive to their contractor’s emotions…
But who spread such nonsense?
— Contractor, should we come back later? Humans are embarrassed when they cry, right? Right, Gnome?
— (Nods)
‘No! I’m not embarrassed! Please don’t leave! It’s too scary and lonely up here!’
In my panic, I lost focus and balance again, and my body dropped sharply.
‘S-somebody help!’
“Kkyaaak!”
I flailed desperately.
Though I managed to recover my balance, I ended up even higher. So did my depression.
At that moment, Undine tilted her head.
It seemed she’d finally realized my emotions weren’t from being moved—but from fear.
— Lian… don’t tell me… you don’t know how to descend?
Drip—
Tears fell from my red crow eyes.
‘Please let me down! Just let me touch the ground!’
Before the tear could even fall, it was whisked away by the wind.
Undine cupped her cheeks in shock.
— Gasp! You’ve been flying out of fear this whole time? Seriously?
Seeing my desperate gaze, Salamander shook his head.
— Ugh, you idiot! If you want to go down so badly, just stop flapping!
‘I told you—I don’t know how to land!’
— We can catch you. What are you worried about?
‘Ah!’
At Sylph’s words, my mind cleared.
Why hadn’t I thought of that? Why did I assume I had to land alone when I had spirits?
I must’ve been so scared, my brain stopped working.
— Lian, on the count of three, stop flapping. We’ll catch you, so don’t worry. You can do this, right?
‘Yes!’
“Kkaak!”
Undine raised her fingers with a tense expression.
— Okay, starting now. One!
Whew. Deep breath.
Sylph followed next.
— Two…
Focus. On three, stop flapping. No—stop moving your arms. That’s easier to think about.
— Three!
— …Wait!
At the exact moment Salamander shouted the last count, Gnome suddenly reached out and yelled.
But it was too late.
I had already stopped flapping.
Gravity yanked me down.
My organs clenched from the fall, my stomach churned, and I couldn’t open my eyes from the rushing wind.
My wings flapped like tattered flags. A few black feathers scattered into the sky.
‘Ugh… guys, hurry…’
Just then, the spirits swooped down and grabbed my wings and tail feathers.
My helpless fall came to an abrupt stop midair.
— Got her!
— Whew, I was so tense I thought we’d drop you. Let’s land carefully now.
— But… doesn’t something feel off? Isn’t the contractor way too heavy? Is it just me?
The spirits were flustered.
— Y-yeah? Why is she so heavy? This makes no sense… D-don’t tell me…
— Oh no! We forgot her mana’s not working!
— Damn it…
Finally, Gnome muttered in a sullen voice.
— …That’s why I said no…
— Gnome! You should’ve said that sooner!
With my mana still inactive, the spirits could only draw power from nature.
For instance, Undine would need a large body of water nearby to use her powers.
And natural sources were limited. Artificially stored water didn’t help at all.
The real problem? There was nothing nearby.
No wind. The ground was far below. And it was night—no sun for fire spirits.
Undine could try drawing moisture from the clouds, but it wasn’t enough to support flight while carrying me.
In other words, the spirits were now just… pretty dolls.
And I’d trusted these dolls enough to stop flapping while midair.
‘I’m screwed…’
— Lian, argh! My arms…
— Ahh! I can’t hold on much longer… uuugh!
— Don’t say that! Just hold on!!!
The spirits struggled with all their might—but it was useless.
We plummeted together in harmony.
“Kkaaaawk!”
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