Translator: Shizukuku

Editor: Lilia

Read at Watashi Wa Sugoi Desu!

Chapter 111 – Protected Species

As I was climbing the ivy at the tail end of the group, I heard a commotion from above.

“Don’t attack it, you idiot! That bird is a nationally protected species! Anyone who attacks it will be arrested!”

The person climbing next to me, who was the one I had been walking with, heard the voice and accelerated his climbing speed a bit. Soon, he was no longer climbing next to me, but ahead of me.

Eh, what kind of bird was capable of raising such a fuss? What made it special enough for it to be designated for protection? I was curious. I could hear the cheers coming from above.

What’s going on?

As I desperately climbed to the top of the waterfall, I saw that the big pile of branches at the top of the waterfall wasn’t a beaver dam. Actually, a huge bird’s nest had been built at the top of the waterfall. That was why the water flow had been blocked.

And in that nest, which I could see through the crowd of people, was a beautiful, big, blue bird.

“That bird is…”

The bird, sitting in its nest, glanced warily at us as we made all that commotion, but didn’t move from its spot.

The people of this world stood at the front of the crowd, holding the players back from approaching.

“That bird is called a bluetail. They say it’s a bird that brings happiness. I never thought I’d see a live bluetail in a place like this, we’re very lucky.”

“A bluetail…”

I’d heard that before.

I mean, I was always wearing a bluetail feather, right?

The amulet that Vidello-san gave me — I wondered if it was made from the feathers of this bird.

I’d imagined a smaller bird, but it was very big in reality. Even when it was sitting down, it still looked as big as a small mountain.

I wondered what part of that bird’s feathers were used for this little feather amulet. I picked up the feather hanging from my chest and studied it carefully.

The gauge was already up to 76%. I wondered how the amulet would change when it accumulated a full gauge.

While I was thinking about that, it seemed that the people of this world were gathering in one place to talk about what they were going to do.

“This… it’s going to keep the water blocked for a while…”

“It can’t be helped if a bluetail nested here. We’ll have to slowly dismantle it after the chicks hatch and leave the nest.”

“What about the water?”

“Well, it’s running a little, and I think we can get by for a few days until the chicks hatch.”

“We’ll have to report this to the guild and make it a no-go zone.”

“Yeah, what if some idiot attacks the bluetail?”

What? That meant that there were eggs under that belly. No wonder the bird refused to move, even though our climbing and yelling must have scared it. 

The players who were listening to the conversation stopped moving and looked at the bird.

None of them tried to attack the bird.

“First thing’s first. We need to get back to the guild and make this place off-limits as soon as possible.”

“Oh, I’ve got a friend in Tre’s guild, so I’ll send them a chat from here, okay?”

“Hmm? What do you mean by ‘chat’?”

“It’s a feature that allows us to talk to each other instantly. You want to ban people from coming here, right? I’ll send them a message via chat, and they can tell the staff.”

“If you can do it right away, we’d appreciate it very much. Foreigners sure are amazing. Do you all have magic tools for communication?”

Beside the person who exclaimed in admiration, the player stared into the air and moved his finger.

Looking at the player, who was presumably chatting back and forth, I questioned the person standing next to me.

“If it’s a protected bird, does that mean it’s an endangered species or something?”

“Oh, they’re birds that rarely ever appear in populated areas. They’re said to live in flocks somewhere in the Grande Mountains. Those mountains are so steep and inaccessible that it makes it difficult to find them. They say that seeing them brings you good luck. I’ve never seen one this close up before, but I’ve seen them flying in the sky in the distance.”

“Really? Then we must be very lucky.”

“I guess so. This should bring about good things, but it’s more than that. The fact that it nested here means it’s a flockless bluetail. We should have someone keep an eye on things, just to make sure nothing happens to it.”

That’s right. Usually, if there was a flock or something, the birds would lay their eggs in a safe place with that flock.

Maybe there was some kind of emergency. Something that made it necessary for this bluetail to build a nest here.

I hoped the eggs would hatch safely.

“Someone from the guild is coming over now. Also, they said this place is going to be off-limits.”

“Okay, thank you.”

“Nah, it’s no big deal. And, you know, I’m just glad to be here to witness something like this. I want to see the chicks hatch safely.”

“That’s very kind of you to say.”

The bluetail sat perched on its nest, grooming itself and closing its eyes to our amusement, oblivious to our chattering.

Here and there, I heard people murmuring in awe, “It’s so pretty.” For a brief time, no one made any attempt to leave. Of course, I, too, enjoyed the bluetail for a while.

I wished I could have seen the bluetail with Vidello-san.

Gently, I stroked the amulet on my chest with my finger.

While we were peacefully observing the bird, two people suddenly appeared in front of everyone.

Hey, it was Crash and Emily-san.

Was it actually that important, that the guild leader decided to get involved?

My surroundings got very noisy again as everyone noticed their arrival.

“Listen up, everyone. I appreciate you contacting me. As Guild Master, you have my thanks. It was decided that the guild will provide full support for this child here until her children leave the nest. In the meantime, please bear in mind that once everyone goes back, I’ll be making it impossible for people to come here. And once again, I would like to ask for your assistance, to help in removing the nest once they’ve departed. I know it’ll be a lot of work, but if you can help, please do. Thank you to Shadow Earth for reporting this to me. Now I’d like to leave this girl alone, so let’s disperse.”

Everyone began shouting at Emily-san, “I’ll help you take it down! I’ll do it!” “Me too!” and “I’ll help you remove it!”

Emily-san was not averse to this, and replied with a smile, “Thank you.”

Since people from this world were also raising their hands, it was likely that there would be a large number of people involved in the cleanup work. I wanted to participate, too.

“The guilds in each city will take care of the rest! However, we don’t know the dates yet, so please plan accordingly. It’s perfectly fine to cancel in advance.”

As soon as Emily-san concluded, the players quickly rushed off, eager to be the first to begin the necessary formalities.

The few remaining players were a bit taken aback by the momentum of the enthusiastic players.

As the crowd thinned out, Crash noticed me hiding among the people and rushed over to me shouting, “Mac! What are you doing here?”

“That’s my line, Crash.”

“No, I just brought my mom here. She said it was urgent. But, it was definitely an emergency.” Crash looked at the curled-up bluetail and narrowed his eyes slightly. “If someone were to kill it, this place would become a den of monsters.”

“Eh?”

I thought Crash had just told me something I wasn’t supposed to know.

I was surprised by that, and the locals around me were surprised by my surprise.

“I see. The foreigners don’t know about it? The complete lore of the bluetail.”

One of the locals explained the story to me. According to the man, when a bluetail that brings good luck is killed, the good luck in its body escapes and takes the luck of the land with it.

Legend has it that, when luck disappears, the land becomes barren and prone to monsters.

Therefore, those who know about the story make sure that no one harms the bluetail.

It sounded a bit like Vidello-san’s [ Good Luck ] skill.

“Should we spread the lore among the foreign players?”

One of the few remaining players asked Emily-san a question.

Emily-san nodded her head.

“It’s fine to do so, as long as there aren’t any foreigners out there who would kill the bluetail for the fun of making the monsters come out.”

The players laughed bitterly at those simple words.

It was hard to say that wouldn’t happen. There was no guarantee that people wouldn’t intentionally try to call up monsters to boost their level.

“You hit me where it hurts…” The player who had contacted the guild earlier, Shadow Earth, spoke up sheepishly. 

“I know that most foreigners aren’t bad people, but I’m afraid that if we spread the word too widely, it might attract the wrong kind of people.”

“That’s true. When I think about that, I have to say that I’m glad they’re nesting around here. The strong ones have already moved on, so there aren’t many of those bloodthirsty types to worry about around here.”

“It’d be best if you kept this to yourself. But thank you for your concern, Shadow Earth-san.”

Emily-san smiled gently, and the player called Shadow Earth hurriedly took a step back, flustered. Ah, just by seeing Emily-san smile, his face was already turning bright red. This family’s visuals were no joke. 

“Ah, also, could I join in on the nest removal? I’m a hammer user, so I think I can be of some use.”

“We’d love to have you.”

One by one the onlookers left, and by the time the watchmen came, there was only me, Crash, and Emily-san left. The wait time turned out to be several hours. I could have left too, but I wanted to take the opportunity to ask about the diary.

I didn’t know when I would be able to make an appointment with Emily-san, since she was usually so busy.

“Two men at a time, three shifts a day, please. If anything goes wrong, could you use the magic communication tool? The same goes for the lookout below. If we need more men, please let me know and I will contact the guild in Uno and ask them to send someone.”

“I understand. Please leave it to me.”

A man with a very serious face gave Emily-san a crisp salute.

Nodding in satisfaction, Emily-san came over to me and Crash as we watched from afar.

“Sorry to have kept you waiting. You should have left first, Crash.”

“I was going to, but then Mac was here and I just couldn’t help myself. I ended up skipping out on the store. Come on, let’s go home, Mom. Mac, you’re coming with us, right?”

“Is that okay?”

“Of course.”

I happily agreed to Crash’s offer and he quickly drew a magic circle in the air. Hey. Wasn’t that faster than before? It was so fast that it was almost at Sage-san’s level.

While I was thinking about that, we were suddenly all standing in Emily-san’s office.

I wondered if it was safe to bring that thing out here now.

I looked around. There was no one else in the room, and the door was closed. 

“Um, Emily-san. There’s something I’d like you to take a look at.”