Chapter 269

Luna had several conversations with a mysterious being (?).

She herself was also caught by a gigantic bird, and thanks to the color of her hair, she was still alive.

No matter how huge the bird was, it seemed to think that anything yellow was its own chick or something.

Even the other baby birds, who had initially looked puzzled with their eyes wide open, now treated her like a sibling.

“What’s your name?”

“I’m Duke. My baptismal name is Virgil.”

“You said you’re a follower of Gaia, right? But why are you here?”

Putting everything else aside, I questioned why this being, Duke, was here.

The Chaos Forest is officially off-limits, and the inside is even more so. There’s almost no way to get in.

A pilgrim wandering the whole world wouldn’t be surprising. But from the looks of it, he didn’t seem like a weary pilgrim; he looked more like a beggar.

“I have a lot going on. Those vile demons threw me here.”

“That must’ve been tough.”

“Of course. You wouldn’t believe how much I’ve struggled to survive here… sniff sniff.”

Overcome with emotion, Duke shed tears. Apparently, he really missed the touch of a human hand.

The funny thing was, when he cried, the other baby birds came closer. It seemed they really thought their brother was crying.

Luna almost burst into laughter but managed to suppress it as much as possible. Escaping from here should be her priority now.

“Haven’t you thought about getting out of here?”

“I thought about it a lot. But every time I tried to escape, the mother bird swooped down and picked me up. It seems she thinks her chick is trying to escape the nest.”

“Umm…”

If that’s the case, it becomes quite troublesome. Luna let out a low hum.

She didn’t know when the mother bird would return, and outside the nest was a sheer cliff.

If Sivar were here, he would have easily jumped down. But falling from here would likely result in serious injuries or fractures.

‘Should I just wait for Sivar to come?’

The situation felt a bit frustrating. She had a compass, but it was useless here.

In the end, she had no choice but to wait until Sivar discovered this place. Otherwise, she could attempt to escape whenever there was a chance.

Luna let out a long sigh. In just a moment of distraction, everything had gotten quite tangled up.

“So how did you end up here? The Chaos Forest is supposed to be officially off-limits.”

“… …”

Luna, who had been staring outside the nest, turned her head at that question. And she couldn’t help but freeze.

Duke was munching on something. Judging by its length, it looked like a bug and was so big that he had to hold it with one hand.

Moreover, it seemed to be wriggling a little, indicating that it was alive. Luna asked in a horrified voice.

“W-what are you eating right now?”

“Oh, this? It’s a bug that lives in this nest. You can find lots of them.”

“No, but why are you… eating that?”

“To survive, I have to eat something, don’t I?”

“… …”

Eating to live. Suddenly, a person came to mind.

Sivar was probably adapting to the wilderness in a similar way.

The Chaos Forest is rich in magic power and food, regardless of the dangers. If one has the ability, they wouldn’t go hungry.

“Would you like some?”

“No, thank you.”

She wasn’t ready to adapt to the wilderness just yet. Luna shook her head vigorously.

What’s funny is the reaction of the other baby birds. Normally, they would snatch it away, but they all just watched quietly.

It seemed they were worried because their brother hadn’t been eating much. Even though they were birds, their intelligence was quite peculiar.

“Were you a pilgrim, Duke? You look like you’ve been through a lot.”

“No? I was just an ordinary priest. Just a week ago, I was sent to the Academy.”

“Really? But your hair and beard… Is that how you usually look?”

Duke’s appearance could easily be described as that of a beggar. A king of beggars, if you will.

His hair was long enough to cover his body, stiff from grease, and his beard reached down to his chest like fresh meat.

It looked like he had been living in the wilderness for ten years, not just a week. Even Sivar hadn’t looked that bad when they first met.

“That’s not it. I used to be tidy. I just became this way after staying here.”

“You said you came here a week ago, right? But why…”

“Well, maybe it’s because I’m in the Chaos Forest? Most of the monsters living here are highly intelligent and quite large, you know? I think it’s related.”

“… …”

That’s a somewhat valid hypothesis. The animals in the Chaos Forest are all quite large.

From spirit creatures like squirrels the size of large dogs to the enormous bird that just kidnapped her.

The bird certainly could be called a monster based on its size, but it was still just a bird in appearance. It was simply a larger bird.

‘Is time flowing faster here? Or is it just rich in magic power?’

The more magic power there is, the faster growth occurs. But this seems to be an extreme case.

Luna examined Duke closely. Not to spy on his abilities, but because she had a natural keen eye for details.

Aside from looking like a beggar, his fur and nails were also quite long. Was his body adapting to the Chaos Forest?

‘Or maybe it’s because he’s a follower of Gaia? Not quite sure.’

In any case, staying inside wouldn’t do her any good. She needed to escape as soon as possible.

By chance, she also had a potential ally now, so it wouldn’t be too hard. First, she needed to get outside the nest.

“Duke, do you know when the mother bird will return?”

“She probably went to find food by now. But she’s quite strong, so she’ll be back soon.”

“Hmm… so have you thought of a way to escape?”

“I’ve been pondering that too… actually, I haven’t been here for long. Until recently, I was on the ground.”

Duke then recounted all his hardships that he had experienced.

From being interrogated by demons to waking up inside the Chaos Forest.

At first, he tried to escape at all costs, but he ended up just going around in circles like a maze, and eventually adapted.

“When I met a saber-toothed tiger, I nearly died. Luckily, I used my wits and ran away.”

“Wits?”

“I took a chick hostage to escape. They chased me down to the last chick, but… in this situation, morals are a luxury.”

Duke said that with a sense of resignation. Luna didn’t particularly disagree.

After all, staying alive was the priority. In the wilderness, morals and all that don’t matter.

Eating essentially means taking a life. Just as Duke said, morality is a luxury.

“So it looks like we have no choice but to keep thinking.”

“Yeah. Did you come alone?”

“I have one companion, but they probably won’t find me. The compass is with me.”

“The compass?”

“It’s a long story…”

Luna didn’t reveal every detail. Oddly enough, she was slightly reluctant to share everything with Duke.

Perhaps it was instinct. But she felt that way on a primal level.

“I see. So that means the rescue team might come soon…”

“But we need to get out of here first. If we stay here, no one will find us.”

The rescue team led by Rize would arrive in about two days. They had to endure until then.

Getting out of here was the priority before enduring. Luna pondered and glanced around at the baby birds.

“… …”

“… …”

Unlike earlier, the baby birds were very quiet now. It seemed they had been agitated by Luna earlier.

Well, it made sense; their ‘brother’ they thought was dead had returned, so they must have been thrilled. Luna watched them and came up with a good idea.

“Ah! I just thought of a great idea.”

“What is it?”

“When birds grow up, they have to leave the nest, right? At that time, I could hop on their backs. What do you think?”

“… …”

Duke looked dumbfounded by this outrageous suggestion. He reacted as if he had never thought about it.

Then he looked around at the quiet baby birds and said in a deflated voice.

“Those birds won’t grow up for weeks… didn’t you say the rescue team is coming?”

“Ah.”

“Your thinking seems a bit… short.”

Luna scratched her head awkwardly. She thought it was a revolutionary idea, but evidently not.

Just when she thought they’d end up staying here.

Kyaaaah!

The roar of a beast echoed from above. Luna and Duke looked up at the sound.

Not only humans but also the baby birds lifted their heads. It was a primal response.

When they looked up at the sky, something very familiar was flying by. Moreover, it was heading their way.

“It seems the mother bird is back.”

“Yeah. Should we just stay still?”

“Just to be safe, it might be better to stay among the baby birds.”

Luna took Duke’s advice and moved in among the baby birds.

As they huddled together, she realized that the colors of her hair and the baby birds were quite similar.

*Flap! Flap!*

The mother bird gliding in the air quickly descended. It looked like she had been out hunting.

But it was strange. It was fine for her to descend quickly, but her speed was alarmingly fast.

The little dot that was the mother bird rapidly grew larger. Luna realized something was off with that speed.

“Isn’t that too fast…?”

What if she collides with the nest? As that thought crossed her mind.

*Bam! Bam! Bam!*

The swiftly descending mother bird collided with the nest. Her massive body slid against it as if she were sliding in.

The trees, all entangled to build the nest, were smashed to bits, and the baby birds shrieked in shock.

It wasn’t just the baby birds; the humans were the same. Luna watched the fallen mother bird with a startled expression.

She hadn’t noticed during the fall, but now she saw that someone had been riding on the mother bird. A very familiar person.

“Oof.”

*Rip!*

A man with torn clothes pulled out an axe. It struck the mother bird’s head with pinpoint accuracy.

It seemed he had been flying and then hit by the axe, plummeting down. His brain likely turned to mush.

The man who had ridden the bird, Sivar, retrieved his axe and turned his head. He then addressed the humans and baby birds.

“Hello.”

He greeted them with an ordinary salutation, contrasting sharply with his grand entrance.

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