By Zephyria 
Having returned to Talim, Aska headed to the Greenhouse.
He expected Aska to be here, of course, but the Greenhouse was devoid of any sign of life. Was he in his room? As he was about to turn around, he noticed something strange he had never seen before, and he moved closer.
“What is this?”
In the center of the Greenhouse, he saw a pile of stones he had never seen before. It looked like a tower of stacked stones, or perhaps a stone altar.
It looked so precarious that it might collapse if touched, so he bent down a few steps away and was carefully observing it when he heard a rustling sound.
Turning his head, he saw something pop out from the short grass.
“……”
It was like a chick… no, like an eagle…
“Cheep. Cheep, cheep.”
“……?”
What is it?
He couldn’t help but be taken aback by the creature, presumably some kind of bird, that had suddenly popped out. It was as small as a newborn chick, but its appearance was distinctly that of an eagle.
In other words, it was a palm-sized bird that looked like a fierce bird of prey, with a wingspan that seemed to exceed 2 meters.
“Cheep, cheep!”
Then, the bird spread its wings wide and rushed at him, as if threatening him. It didn’t seem to be able to fly, and its legs were so short that the distance didn’t get much closer even though it was running hard.
Still, unsure of what it was, he took a few steps back to create some distance.
“Cheep! Cheep, cheep!”
“……”
It didn’t seem like a normal bird of prey, but what was it? A monster? How did it get in here? The ceiling was open, so did it come from above? But it didn’t seem to be able to fly…
As he was thinking these things, the Greenhouse door burst open. Turning his head, he saw Aska running towards him. Aska, who had approached in the blink of an eye, shouted at the bird that was still threatening him.
“Don’t be rude!”
“Cheep! Cheep, cheep!”
Did they understand each other? Was it because they were both monsters? Aska watched with curious eyes as the bird, which had been cheeping as if in defiance, suddenly leaped upwards.
It clearly couldn’t even jump properly a moment ago, but the bird, which had risen to his eye level, lunged at him, extending its slender feet as if kicking.
It was such a trivial threat that he didn’t react much, but Aska raised his arm and smacked the tiny bird.
“Cheep…!”
The bird, hit by Aska’s palm, was thrown into the corner of the Greenhouse and let out a long scream. Aska strode towards the direction the bird had flown, squatted down like a gangster, and said to the bushes.
“Do you want to be kicked out?”
“Cheep…”
“If you show your claws carelessly one more time, it won’t end with just getting hit. Got it?”
“Cheep… Cheep…”
Aska remained cold even at the powerless cry. Even though it looked threatening, to hit such a small bird so mercilessly…
He approached Aska with a dazed expression.
“What is that?”
“I don’t know, it suddenly fell from the sky.”
“But can you talk to birds?”
It could have been a monologue, but he felt like they were communicating. At his question, Aska frowned and tilted his head.
“If you’re asking if we speak the same language, then no… but I think we can communicate roughly…”
“……You can? Communicate?”
Even as he asked, he thought there was almost no possibility of that, but he never expected such an answer.
“I don’t know everything, but I think I can understand roughly emotions or simple opinions.”
“Can you talk to other animals besides birds?”
“I don’t think so… I met a squirrel while I was picking tree nuts earlier, but I couldn’t talk to it.”
Aska said, unfolding a handkerchief. It was full of purple liquid inside, as if it had burst on the way. Aska lowered the handkerchief in front of the bird, which was still cheeping, and said.
“Eat.”
“Cheep…”
“You don’t like it? You’re being picky about food even when you’re dying? Do you want to die?”
“Cheep! Cheep, cheep!”
“Then what do you want to eat?”
“……”
Aska couldn’t figure out how to react as he watched Aska talking to the tiny bird. It was a bit absurd, but it was still worth watching the small and cute creatures communicating seriously.
Aska looked at him as he squatted down next to him with his chin resting on his hand.
“Where did you go?”
“Huh?”
“Why don’t you tell me when you go somewhere? It’s really annoying.”
Why was he always annoyed when he saw him? He had been watching with a pleased expression, but it felt like he had been struck by lightning.
“You don’t tell me when you go either.”
It wasn’t just once or twice that his side of the bed was cold when he woke up in the morning. As he frowned, Aska frowned as well.
“When do I?”
“When? You do it all the time. You go to the Greenhouse without saying anything.”
“This is our house. Is that the same?”
What was he talking about? How could the Greenhouse be a house? Or did he mean it didn’t matter because it was inside Talim? If so, he had something to say too.
“If you’re going to be like that, then this Imperial Castle itself is my house.”
“Don’t be childish.”
“Who’s being childish right now?”
“It’s really annoying. You’re an annoying bastard. You go out and play by yourself, but you don’t let me go out and you nag me every day, and you disappear without saying anything, but when I go out for a breath of fresh air, you make a fuss…”
Aska jumped up from his seat and kicked the ground, raising dust. He waved his arms in the air a few times, then stood up, supporting himself on his knees.
“Okay, I’ll be sure to tell you from now on.”
“Don’t lie.”
“I’m serious. I promise.”
As he held out his pinky finger, Aska, who was looking at it sullenly, asked.
“You’ll be sure to tell me every time you go somewhere?”
“Yes.”
“Will you tell me who you’re meeting too?”
Why that? And would he know if he told him? There shouldn’t be anyone he knows here… He wanted to ask, but he thought that if he asked such a question, the barely subsided temper would flare up again, so he just nodded.
“I’ll be sure to tell you.”
“Can you really promise? What if you break it?”
“Um… what do you want me to do?”
He couldn’t think of a good solution, so he asked for his opinion, and Aska answered as if he had been waiting for it.
“Then you also wear that thing I wore last time on your ankle and stay in your room all day.”
“……”
Could he be talking about the shackles he wore last time? Was he telling him to wear shackles on his ankle and stay in his room all day?
He was speechless at the unexpected words.
“Why? You don’t like it? But I didn’t want to be like that last time either, but you told me to do it, so I followed without complaint. So you do it too. If you don’t like it, then don’t disappear without saying anything. Then you won’t be locked in your room.”
He didn’t want to… No, even if it was a joke, he didn’t want to wear shackles. He asked with a sullen expression, just in case.
“What if I don’t want to? Are you going to cry again?”
“Am I a crybaby? And if you don’t like that, then just tell me every time you go somewhere. Is that so difficult? Why are you thinking about being punished first?”
Aska looked at him with pitiful eyes, as if he didn’t understand.
Was this a punishment? Anyway, Aska was right. It was a bit uncomfortable, but he eventually agreed, thinking nothing would happen.
“Okay. But you have to tell me when you go to the Greenhouse too.”
“You’re always sleeping at that time.”
“That’s why I’m asking why you go so early in the morning.”
“You’re the one who sleeps in.”
He sighed as he stared at Aska, who didn’t give in a single word. Aska got annoyed again as he shook his head and clicked his tongue.
“Don’t sigh while looking at me.”
“Do I have to get your permission to sigh too?”
“Why do you always sigh when you see me?”
“You always get angry when you see me.”
“Don’t keep repeating what I say. And I never got angry. I just said it.”
He had a tone as if he was very wronged. He stared at Aska for a moment and said.
“Then smile.”
“What?”
“Smile.”
Aska usually frowned a lot, but he also smiled a lot. He wasn’t hesitant to express his emotions, so he thought he would smile even if he looked strange, but his expression became even more distorted.
“No.”
“Why?”
“I don’t want to! Don’t make me do weird things.”
Was asking him to smile weird? As he was taken aback, Aska suddenly said.
“Then you smile too.”
“You didn’t smile at me.”
“Then forget it. Don’t smile. I’m not going to smile at you for the rest of my life either.”
So childish, really.
He was about to sigh again, but he swallowed it because he thought Aska would hate it.
“Oh, right. Do you remember the person we saw yesterday? The man who blocked us when you broke in through the window.”
He said to Aska, who was nodding.
“He’s coming to Talim soon. Then you’ll learn swordsmanship from him for a few hours a day and also learn how to control your power together. It’s good for controlling your mind even if it’s not for the purpose of gaining strength. And exercise too.”
Judging from Aska’s personality, there was a high possibility that he wouldn’t be able to stand injustice if he witnessed it, like when he met the human traffickers last time. Even if he told him not to act recklessly, he wouldn’t listen to him, so it was better to let him learn how to handle his power.
“Learn swordsmanship?”
“You don’t want to?”
Aska’s eyes widened as if he was surprised by his words. As he reached out and touched his eyelashes, his brow furrowed again quickly.
“It’s not that I don’t want to… Then will you learn with me too?”
“Me? I won’t. I already learned it all when I was young.”
“You can do it too? Then why aren’t you teaching me and telling me to learn from someone else?”
Aska asked another question that was difficult to answer in one word. He closed his mouth for a moment and chose an answer, explaining as simply as possible.
“You’re learning to protect your body and train your mind and body.”
“Isn’t it just the same sword? Then how did you learn?”
The way he fought was too focused on actual combat, so it wasn’t suitable for Aska to learn. No matter how much he trained, Aska would never kill anyone with that sword.
“Will you be next to me when I learn?”
Aska asked another question when he didn’t answer even after waiting for a long time. It wasn’t that difficult, so he nodded.
“I’ll be with you if nothing happens. I’m worried about leaving you two alone.”
“Why? Are you worried I’ll hit him?”
Aska grumbled, assuming that. It wasn’t that, but he was worried that the guy wouldn’t teach him what he was supposed to teach him and would be staring at Aska in a daze.
But he didn’t bother to tell him that.
Then Aska, who was looking at him as if he didn’t like it, reached out and hugged his waist. Surprised by the sudden action, he took a step back at the force pushing him forward, and eventually plunged into the pool.
Aska, who had fallen into the water with him, finally let go of his waist and glared at him.
“Take a bath.”
“……”
Why was he doing this?