Chapter 297: Independent Investigation (2)

Chapter 297: Independent Investigation (2)

I encountered the black fox and the falcon that hunted it, but I knew that my testimony would lack convincing power. I didn’t think that no one would believe me, but having some physical evidence does significantly reduce the difficulty of imagining the appearance.

Therefore, I approached the scene where the falcon had made its kill. There, I found more evidence than I expected. It consisted of the black fur of the fox and feathers from the bird of prey. With these, the others could roughly understand their sizes.

“Alright, I can go back now... oh, come on.”

Just when I thought I had enough, I couldn’t ignore a scene that caught the corner of my eye. It was the falcon that killed the fox being attacked by another bird of prey.

This bird of prey was about twice the size of the falcon, and it was characterized by bright white plumage and a long, slender beak that was brighter yellow and longer than its body. At first, I thought it was just scheming to snatch the prey on the side. The long beak seemed specifically adapted for that purpose.

But that didn’t seem to be the case. The two birds began to seriously fight to the death. The falcon abandoned its hard-earned prey and not only its tail feathers but its entire body was enveloped in flames as it attacked with its claws. It had clear killing intent.

The other bird of prey was not to be outdone. Its slender beak shone brilliantly as it emitted branching rays of light. It was indeed a powerful spiritual art.

“Ah, so that’s how it is.”

The resolution of the battle between the two birds was immediate. The falcon swooped through the gaps in the rays of light, approached quickly, and grabbed the body of the white bird of prey with its claws engulfed in flames. Immediately afterward, the white bird of prey burst into flames and transformed into a fiery torch.

However, the white bird of prey did not go down without a fight. Even as it burned, it mustered the last of its strength and bent the rays of light it emitted to attack the falcon from behind. The rays of light hit the falcon and pierced through its body.

Both birds inflicted fatal wounds on each other and, intertwined, they plummeted straight down before crashing into the ground without slowing down. I hurried to the place where they had fallen.

“The one with the beak died instantly, the falcon... it’s surprising. It’s still breathing?”

Surprisingly, the falcon was still alive. It appeared that during the fall, it had used the bird of prey as a cushion beneath it. Because of this, the white raptor’s bones were completely crushed. And that led to its death.

However, even though I said it was alive, it was barely hanging on. Several holes had been drilled into its body by the rays of light, and the fact that there was no bleeding from the wounds due to the heat of the ray was probably what kept it alive. Whether that was lucky or not was another matter.

“This must be some kind of fate. Let me relieve your pain quickly.

“...Quaa.”

I cradled the falcon, who seemed to find even breathing painful. As I stroked gently from its head down its back to reassure it, I restored my normally reduced tail to its original size. I manipulated my poison to change it to a type that would cause it to die as if it were falling asleep. I thought this was the only mercy I could show the falcon.

But the falcon took an unexpected action. It mustered the last of its strength to gently bite my thumb with its beak. At first, I thought it was struggling in its final moments.

But immediately after that, several visions flooded my mind. Among them, the one that left a strong impression was a vision of two fledgling birds.

“You have chicks? You want me to look after them, is that it?”

“..........”

“Well, well, well~... Who was it that was reluctant to see the number of the cats increase~?”

“Muuh ...”

When Chris saw the chicks, she broke into a smile, while Woodsorrel walked slowly around me with a sly grin. I knew this was going to happen, so all I could do was keep quiet.

While I was being teased by Woodsorrel, I kept the chicks a distance from me while hiding them behind Shuu and Apao. This was because I was carefully examining the three types of corpses I had brought back.

“Wonderful...! Wonderful indeed! To think such creatures existed!”

Among those three types was the parent of the chicks. I doubted the chicks could understand this, but I wish they were kept out of sight as much as possible.

Lorenz readily agreed with a gentle smile. However, as he continued observing, he grew excited and began to raise his voice. Shuu and Apao who were now acting as a wall for the chicks glanced at each other and then snorted with disinterest.

Incidentally, Woodsorrel showed very little reaction to the black fox. It seemed completely different species did not concern her, which made me feel like I had worried over nothing.

“Peep peep!”

“What? Is it food? Can’t be helped.”

The chicks resting in Chris’s palm chirped loudly and the most curious one turned to me. From its open mouths, it seemed as if it was crying out in hunger.

Since I was the one who brought them along, I felt responsible for their care. I pulled out some of my dried food, tore off a piece, and offered it to them. One chick eagerly grabbed it but, regrettably, soon spat it out.

“Hmm. Not to your liking?”

“Wait a moment. I have an idea.”

Just as I was about to get up to hunt something more suitable for them, Chris stopped me. She picked up the piece of dried food the chick had rejected and wrapped it in water she conjured with her spiritual powers. After soaking it thoroughly to soften it, she gently brought the moistened piece back to the chick’s mouth.

This time the chick held onto the food without spitting it out. Instead of rejecting it, the chick began to cry for more as if demanding that we keep it coming.

“The parents of these chicks must have been hunters, right? Then, they were surely used to eating raw meat. They must prefer soft, juicy meat.”

“......Piyy.”

“Oh, you must be hungry too.”

Chris’s judgment seemed to be correct, as the chick eagerly devoured the moistened dried fish. Since it was a chick, it quickly became full.

Perhaps because its sibling was eating to its heart’s content, the other chick reached its limit of patience and opened its mouth to demand food. Chris and I exchanged a look, smiled at each other, and then continued to feed them.