Chapter 98

And the place they arrived at was a large hollow on the side of a steep cliff. It wasn't deep enough to be called a cave, but it was quite a spacious area.

The time here seemed to be morning, with the white light of the sun seeping through the low, cloudy sky.

Before searching for Grandma Hydelyn, I was concerned about the bottom of the cliff and took a peek. Far below, a rough sea was visible. If I fell, it didn't seem like I would survive.

Even just standing still made my legs tremble, and with the strong sea breeze, I felt like I might be blown away if I didn't hold my ground.

"The wind is especially strong today...!"

Hyrris muttered while firmly gripping Kugaru's head. All three of us were light, so we were tossed around by the wind, swaying this way and that. But why was even Hyrris, a wind spirit, being blown around?

"Hyrris! Stop the wind!"

"It's impossible!"

When speaking, the wind rushed into our mouths, making our upper lips quiver. My fluffy, long fur was being pulled straight back by the strong wind. Next time, if I get bedhead, I might come here to fix it.

The three of us clung together, eyes closed, enduring the wind. When an even stronger gust blew momentarily, I couldn't hold on and stumbled, saying, "Oh no!"

Once I started moving, I couldn't stop due to the momentum. Pushed by the wind, I rolled forward.

"Oh no..."

It was fortunate that I wasn't pushed toward the sea, but I thought I might hit the rock wall at the back of the hollow. Just then, I felt a soft sensation, and I was enveloped in a pale yellow-green feather.

My body sank comfortably, as if I were lying on a thick feather bed.

"Quite a small visitor, huh."

Suddenly, a mysterious voice, sounding both like a young girl and an experienced grandmother, came from high above.

Then, a large beak approached and plucked me out from the feathers. I looked up in surprise and muttered,

"Grandma Hydelyn...?"

Hyrris's grandmother, the wind spirit, was a very large bird, even bigger than my snake-like father's head. Her body was almost the same size as the hollow in the cliff, so she seemed a bit cramped.

Her body color was the same as Hyrris's, but her yellow around the eyes was more vivid, and her crest was sharper and more flamboyant.

"Grandma? I've never been called that before."

Hydelyn laughed. I was about to correct myself, thinking she might be upset, but she seemed pleased.

"Hey, you two, come over here."

She called out to Hyrris and Kugaru, who had raised their heads. I realized the wind had stopped. Or perhaps, the wind was still blowing around the high cliff, but it was avoiding this hollow.

Hyrris landed on Hydelyn's head, and Kugaru cautiously approached, keeping a low posture.

"So, what brings you here today, Hyrris? I hope you haven't caused any more trouble!"

"N-no, of course not!"

Hyrris jumped when glared at by the large eyes from below.

"Milfia seems to be troubled by something about humans, so I thought it would be good to consult with Hydelyn!"

"Milfia? So this white one is the rumored Snow Child? You seem round and your eyes don't look much like Snowlea's. Hyrris told me you call Waturast your father and that you've become attached to humans, which is quite unusual for a spirit."

Being observed by those large, yellow-green gem-like eyes made me a bit nervous.

"Perhaps the gods made a mistake when creating you. They must have accidentally added human elements."

Hydelyn's words made my shoulders jump.

But she didn't realize I had memories from my past life. Her words seemed to be just a casual observation, and she looked puzzled when I reacted, asking, "Why are you surprised?"

I hurried to come up with an excuse.

"I was just surprised that a spirit like Grandma Hydelyn believes in the gods."

Maybe I spoke a bit too quickly. But neither Hyrris nor Kugaru seemed to doubt me.

"You wouldn't understand, being so young. But living a long life makes you realize there are still unknown beings above us."

"Living a long life? ...So, my father too?"

"Who knows. He's rather insensitive."

Hydelyn and my father, both having lived for nearly a thousand years, seemed to have their own thoughts about him. Hydelyn's chatter didn't stop there.

"He's not interested in anything around him and spends most of his long life sleeping. It's utterly frustrating. When disputes arise among spirits, I and the younger Daphne work hard to prevent them from escalating, but he doesn't even notice the disputes are happening! Has he ever been of any use when there were problems among spirits? No, never! He doesn't cause problems himself, but he also doesn't fulfill his role as an elder!"

"Okay, Grandma Hydelyn, calm down."

Hyrris tried to calm her grandmother by tugging on her crest.

"I shouldn't have gotten so excited."

"Um, do you dislike my father...?"

I asked hesitantly, moving in front of Hydelyn. She looked surprised by my question.

"No, I don't dislike him. Being indifferent like Waturast and being involved with many spirits like me, neither is wrong. It's just that Waturast doesn't cooperate as I expect, which sometimes makes me angry. I don't have strong feelings of dislike. Don't worry."

"Okay, that's good to hear."

"You're a strange one. Caring whether I like Waturast or not. Even Waturast himself doesn't care. Worrying about such trivial things will make your beautiful fur go bald, you know."

"That's a no-go!"

I shouted without thinking. The thought of going bald was terrifying for a fur-covered creature like me.

"Milfia, why don't you get to the point of your consultation?"

Hyrris brought the conversation back to the main topic while I shivered at the thought of being bald.

"Consultation? What is it? Is something wrong with Snowlea?"

"No, it's not about Mother... It's about humans."

I explained to Grandma Hydelyn, who had heard the stories from Rekka and Tina, and started grooming herself like Hyrris had. She sat on the ground, closed her wings, and tidied the fur around her chest.

Even though it wasn't messy at all.

"I don't know anything about such trivial human problems. Don't come to me with that."

Oh no! The same reaction as Hyrris!

I knew it might be futile to ask other spirits, but I had hoped to get some adult advice. Since no one knew Rekka or Tina, it couldn't be helped.

With no other spirit acquaintances, I decided to give up on the consultation.

I lay down to rest, and my eyes met Kugaru's, who was also sitting on the ground.

Hmm? This might be bad.

Kugaru's shining red eyes conveyed that it was now time to play.

If I tried to run away, he would just chase me, so I turned my face away to show that I wasn't in the mood to play.

"Hmm, hmm, hmm..."

I sang a tune, but Hyrris and Grandma Hydelyn gave me strange looks.

When I checked Kugaru, he was still staring at me with bright eyes. His long, flame-like tail was swaying rhythmically, as if he was calculating the right moment to pounce.

His playful spirit hadn't diminished at all. This wasn't good.

I slowly adjusted my posture, stretched, and tried to stand up, pretending to be casual and hiding behind Grandma Hydelyn's body.

But when I was halfway up, Kugaru pounced.

We rolled over together, but being on the bottom was disadvantageous, so I quickly regained my footing.

This time, Kugaru raised his front paws, and before he could punch me, I opened my mouth wide to bite his hand.

But I couldn't bite properly, so I raised one of my front paws and slapped his hand.

The slaps near my face made me close my eyes, fearing Kugaru's paws would hit my eyes.

As a result, I couldn't see clearly and my attacks missed. Kugaru, unafraid of my weak punches, kept his eyes open.

Then, Kugaru took advantage of the opportunity and pressed his paw against my forehead.

Since my arms were shorter, being pinned down like this made it impossible for me to land any punches. No matter how much I flailed my arms, I couldn't hit Kugaru's face.

Determined, I grabbed Kugaru's front paws with both hands and tried to pull them away from my face.

Once I succeeded, I immediately escaped and ran away. But Kugaru persistently chased me, growling and baring his small fangs, occasionally turning back to threaten me as we ran around the hollow.

As we played and made a commotion,

"Don't run around like that! You'll fall into the sea!"

Grandma Hydelyn scolded us.

"You don't have wings, so what will you do if you fall? Come over here!"

Remembering the time I fell into a spring while playing, I returned to Grandma Hydelyn with Kugaru. She pushed us with her beak and tucked us under her fluffy chest, like baby birds.

Surprisingly, it wasn't heavy, but there was a comfortable pressure. The soft, fluffy feathers, warm from Grandma Hydelyn's body, made Kugaru and me drowsy.

Even though I wasn't sleepy, once I was tucked under her chest, my eyelids felt heavy as if under a spell.

Finding it mysterious, I closed my eyes.