Chapter 1

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When I woke up to the chirping of nameless birds, the sun was already high in the sky. But what woke me wasn’t the beautiful chirping of those birds—it was the sharp pain I felt around my chest.

“…Ha.”

It was a bit sad to wake up at this hour without anyone to wake me. Even though it had been a long time since the war ended, I still lose consciousness and sleep like this. The feeling of my body growing dull is still melancholic.

I barely managed to lift my body, which felt like it would slump like water-soaked cotton.

“What a fine mess. Rolling around like crazy on the battlefield, only to end up being treated like this?”

At the rude voice I normally wouldn’t hear, I looked around. But there was no one in sight who could speak like that of their own will. The only being capable of making such sounds was the crow trapped in the cage.

“Was it you who spoke?”

“Yeah, it’s me. Surprised that a crow can talk?”

“…No. I just thought, ‘Oh, there’s a crow like that.'”

“Wait, normal crows can’t talk, you know? Isn’t it natural to be surprised? Don’t you have any new reactions or something?”

“Should I be surprised by a talking crow when there are countless humans who talk nonsense? My life has been filled with sights far more bizarre than that.”

From poison-spewing dragons to man-eating giants. Things most people would never see in their lifetime are probably crammed into my memories.

“…It’s a bit weird for me to say this, but are you crazy or something?”

“That depends on how you set the standard. If you judge it as you wish, does anyone in the world truly remain sane?”

“I’m not here to discuss philosophy. I’m asking why you’re being treated like this.”

“Hmm…”

Explaining the whole long story seemed bothersome and time-consuming, so I summarized it as briefly as possible.

“Probably because I didn’t put the weight of personal emotions on the scale.”

“…What?”

“In short, it’s because I wasn’t an emotional person.”

The crow looked at me as if I were some kind of bug.

“…Well, there’s no need to waste time on useless conversation. I’ll tend to my business, and you tend to yours.”

Ignoring the crow’s words, I began to catch up on my backlog of work. Once ignored, the crow’s cawing and human speech were no different to me.

One of my few talents was concentration, and thanks to that, I was able to work for over two hours, ignoring the crow’s cawing.

Others might have found a talking crow fascinating and played with it for hours. Unfortunately, I wasn’t that free, nor was I naive enough to be amused by such things.

“…Sir, Family Head.”

“Ah.”

Perhaps I was too focused. I had forgotten that the butler had come in.

“What is it?”

“It’s almost time for lunch, so I came up to check on you…”

“Let’s head down. By the way, did you hear that crow cawing earlier?”

“Huh? I did hear it cawing earlier, but is there something strange about it?”

“No. It’s nothing.”

It seemed that the words the crow spoke were only audible to me. To others, it was just a simple cawing sound.

Or perhaps it was only audible to those who met certain conditions, and I had unknowingly met those conditions.

Honestly, it didn’t matter anymore.

“How about Mother and Rizel?”

“They’re already enjoying their meal in the dining room. I tried to ask them to wait for you, but… well, you know…”

“There’s no need for you to explain further. You may leave.”

After the butler left, the crow, who had heard everything, got angry again.

“What the hell! The Family Head is working, and they can’t even wait for him to eat? There’s a separate person earning money and a separate group eating? Not even waiting for family and just digging in like animals?!!”

“From a broad perspective, not only my mother and sister but I myself would fall under the category of animals. From that viewpoint, your words might be correct.”

“Are you seriously not understanding human speech or something…?”

“But if that ‘animal’ remark was meant as an insult, I’d have to disagree. The two of them aren’t eating out of hunger but because they dislike me.”

“Sigh… God damn it. What am I supposed to do with these hopeless brats?”

It wasn’t particularly surprising that it could talk, but it was quite shocking that a mere crow was calling upon God. Most of the non-human beings I’ve encountered who could talk hated gods.

But my thoughts ended there. A mere crow couldn’t build a nest in the barren landscape of my heart. Just a fleeting interest. That was all.

And I wasn’t so stupid or oblivious as to not understand why the crow was angry.

“…If you’re hungry, I’ll feed you later.”

“I’m seriously starting to dislike you as much as your family does.”

“You must be really hungry if you’re disliking someone over mere birdseed.”

“……Seriously, I have to ask—was there some great misfortune in your family?”

“I’m not sure. If I had to guess, maybe the fact that I’m alive is the misfortune.”

The crow seemed at a loss for words, and having secured its silence, I finally headed down to the dining room.

Normally, I’d have my meals in the study, but today was a rare occasion where the butler had prepared a meal for our family. Even though they had started eating without me, I didn’t feel particularly disappointed.

I wasn’t so young as to be upset over something like that, and getting angry over such treatment was too familiar to feel novel.

“Butler, what’s on the menu today?”

“Yes, today we’ve specially prepared mushroom soup and duck, which you enjoy. I’ve instructed the chef not to touch anything you can’t eat, so there’s no need to worry.”

“…Thank you.”

There were restrictions on what I could eat, so I had to be somewhat careful.

Arriving at the dining room with the butler, I saw my mother and younger sister already enjoying their meal.

“Mother, I hope you’ve been well.”

“…We started eating without you.”

As always, she didn’t give a proper response to my greeting.

“I was delayed by some backlogged work.”

Now she responded with silence, which was typical of her.

“…”

The only question was that the mushroom soup and duck the butler mentioned had disappeared, and in their place, onion soup and pork were steaming on the table.

Of course, the butler, furious at the sight, turned red and called for the chef.

“Have you lost your mind! I clearly told you that the Family Head can’t eat pork or onions, so serve mushrooms and duck…!”

“I ordered the menu changed, Butler.”

Breaking the silence was my mother, who had been responding to my words with silence.

“Is there a problem?”

“…No, Madam.”

“I see. It seems that’s what you really wanted to eat.”

Whether she knew I couldn’t eat pork and onions or not, it didn’t matter anymore. Either way, it was far from affection.

“…It seems I was the unwanted guest.”

“…”

“Silence again, is it?”

I wasn’t particularly angry. I was used to my mother’s silence by now, and soon, I wouldn’t feel anything special about it.

I picked up a piece of bread placed at my seat.

“A piece of bread is enough for me. I hope you enjoy your meal.”

“…Is that all you have to say?”

“Yes.”

“Then I suggest you leave now.”

“…I’ll see you later.”

I wasn’t foolish enough to waste time with unnecessary words in a conversation destined to end in silence.

These scenes had become so familiar to me that they no longer affected me. It felt strange to even try to feel something about them.

“What the hell? Leaving your son behind and not only eating without him but also kicking him out like that? Is that what family is? Are your family members really eating food laced with something if they can act like that?”

The talking crow, upon hearing the whole story, cursed my family with words I’d never heard before.

Of course, I wasn’t naive enough to feel anything from such curses.

I only thought, ‘So this is what the crow is thinking.’

Someone disliking me or my mother and sister was just them expressing their emotions. I didn’t feel the need to get angry over something so trivial.

That’s just the kind of person I was.