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nWhen I saw the rimel birds flying, I was speechless.

nBeyond the trees, with the red mountain as their backdrop, the rimel birds spread their seemingly transparent blue wings as they fluttered and turned their green tails. The sight of rimel birds descending was a beauty my vocabulary alone could not express.

nThere seems to be more of them now than a while ago, but it doesn’t seem as a if they’ve brought reinforcements with them or anything, for very soon they started feeding on the grell frogs.

nIn any case, it doesn’t seem like there’s any danger, though there’s one guy from the flock that’s been staring at me all this time. It’s that advanced variant from before. Ever since it landed, it hasn’t touched the grell frogs and is just staring at me without even blinking once. Is it on guard because of what happened before?

nThe ojousama had already gotten her instrument from Sebasu and was getting ready to play, but…

n“Reinhart-san.” Ryouma

n“Yes?” Reinhart

n“Should I leave for a moment? That advanced variant from before has been staring at me all this time. Maybe it’s still on guard because of what happened before, so I might just get in the way if I stay here…” Ryouma

n“It’s okay. I don’t mind.” Elia

nElia herself rejected my idea.

n“The contract is between me and the monster, so I won’t make excuses saying that the only reason it failed was because of you, Ryouma-san.” Elia

nThe ojousama unusually had a cold air about her as she said that.

n“Besides, I would prefer it if you watched me. So, please, stay here. I feel stronger when you’re around.” Elia

nThe ojousama said with a smile.

nIf she’s going that far, then I can’t exactly leave, can I?

n“Alright. I understand. Good luck.” Ryouma

n“Yes!” Elia

nAfter encouraging her, I stepped back.

nThe ojousama took a deep breath, then she started her performance.

nShe played a relaxing tune just like she did before. At first, the sound was soft, gradually growing ever quiet, then the sound started growing louder and louder. The ojousama’s tune was like that of the sea waves, ever changing, sometimes bigger, sometimes smaller.

nBut be it small or big, the sounds of her performance resounded throughout the marsh.

nThe rimel birds also acted different from before, as they seemed to be swaying to the tune of her music.

nAfter a while, the ojousama’s performance concluded.

n“…!” Ojousama

nAs the ojousama nervously looked at the rimel birds, they suddenly all started chirping simultaneously.

nTheir chirping now wasn’t annoying like that time when they were mocking the men. Instead, their chirping sounded like a pleasant tune similar to that of a harp or a piano. The sounds weren’t a disorderly noise either. It like a musical performance, having order to it.

nThat performance lasted for about a minute until the most dazzling bird from the flock flew toward Elia with 8 others and gathered by her feet.

nIt’s a success!

nBut just when I thought she was going to form a contract with them…

n“Ojousama, the contract! The monster contract!” Ryouma

n“Oh, right!” Elia

nDid she forget out of sheer joy?

nFor some reason, the ojousama had stiffened up and replied absentmindedly as she performed the contract in a daze.

nI watched her form the contracts one after another, and it seems she really has succeeded.

nWhen Elia finally formed a contract with the last but most beautiful rimel bird, she finally cheered.

n“I did it!!” Elia

n“Good job!!” Reinhart

n“A good job indeed!” Reinbach

n“Isn’t that great, Elia?” Elize

n“Congratulations.” Hyuzu

n“Congratulations, Ojousama.” Ryouma

nThe ojousama had succeeded in forming a contract with 9 rimel birds all in all. Forming a contract with just one was so hard already, so I never thought she’d be able to form a contract with so many.

n“Look how many beautiful children there are!” Elia

nSurrounded by the rimel birds, the ojousama patted them and played with them.

nIt seems they’ve taken to her already, as they’ve started riding her shoulders and her thighs.

nIt’s kind of sad that I can’t help but be reminded of a scene where I tried to open a bag of bird feeds only to be swarmed and forced to drop the feed as a result. Seriously, why do I have to remember that sort of stuff when such a touching sight is before me.

nYou could turn this scene into a painting and title it ‘a beautiful girl playing with birds’ and it wouldn’t feel strange one bit.

nBut there’s no point in thinking stuff like that. Since she managed to do it, then I might as well give it at try!

nLet’s do this!

nI took out my guitar from my Item Box. When I did, the ojousama immediately looked at it curiously.

n“Ryouma-san. Is that an instrument? Are you also going to try and tame one?” Elia

n“I’m not as good as you, but I’d like to try my hand at taming a rimel bird.” Ryouma

n“Good luck!” Elia

n“Good luck, Ryouma-kun.” Reinhart

n“We’ll be looking forward to it.” Hyuzu

nAfter being encouraged by everyone, I started getting ready.

nJust like the ojousama, I started with a deep breath.

nI haven’t formally learned the guitar, but when a neighbor of mine moved elsewhere, he left me a guitar and a textbook.

nI killed time reading that book and practicing on the guitar, and somehow, I managed to memorize the chords. So, I can play a little.

nOf course, it’s a far cry from the ojousama’s playing, but I’ll do my best.

nThe piece I played was a popular tune from the TV in my previous life. I never bought the sheets for it, but I managed to learn it by hearing. That being said, it’s probably quite different from the original.

nBut that doesn’t really matter.

nI don’t think I’m particularly good, but I don’t think I’m that bad either, so I should just play with a good mood.

n“!”

nThe rimel birds started swaying to the tune.

nOh, they like it? That’s interesting.

nWhen I finished a tune, the rimel birds stopped swaying and went silent for a few seconds.

nThe result was… A performance like chirping!!

n“Huh!?” Ryouma

nI was shocked to see 6 gather by my feet, but what shocked me even more was seeing that advanced variant from before among that 6.

nWeren’t you wary of me?

n“Ryouma-san, form a contract with them!” Elia

nOh, right. Looks like I also ended up dazing off.

nI hurriedly formed a contract with them one after another.

n“Fuu… Success.” Ryouma

nAs I said that, everyone clapped for me.

n“Congratulations, Ryouma-san!” Elia

n“It’s great to see the both of you succeed.” Reinhart

n“Congratulations, Ryouma-sama.” Sebasu

n“You did it!” Camil

n“Forming a contract with rimel birds is really difficult, but you two went and formed several contracts on your first try! The two of you are amazing!” Elize

nAt the madam’s words, everyone turned to my rimel birds. The advanced variant I’d contracted and the prettiest of Elia’s birds seemed to get along very well as they flew in the air and sprung about on the ground.

nThat rimel bird sure is beautiful. My 6 rimel bids are also beautiful, but I feel as if that rimel bird’s color is a bit more dazzling and brighter than the others.

n“…Ojousama, how about calling the rimel bird next to Ryouma-sama’s advanced variant and using Monster Identify on it?” Sebasu

nSebasu-san seemed quite curious about it. The ojousama was confused, but she called her bird over anyway and used Monster Identify on it.

nWhen she summoned her bird, my advanced bird also came with it and perched itself atop my head.

nWhy did you have to pick my head to park your feet on? Well… You’re light, so whatever, I guess.

n“Huh!?” Elia

nWhile I was wondering what was up with the bird perched atop my head, the ojousama suddenly let out a shocked voice.

n“What happened?” Ryouma

n“This bird is also an advanced variant!” Elia

nWhat!? Weren’t advanced variants only seen like once in 10 years!?

n“Really!? It looks different from mine, though…” Ryouma

n“Yes, it’s not a nightmare, but a phantom rimel bird. It excels at light magic instead of dark magic.” Elia

n“There’s something like that too?” Ryouma

nI was shocked, but in my case, I just thought it was a little strange. It was much worse for Sebasu-san and the others, as they were so shocked they’d gone speechless. When they had regained their sanity, they started tossing Elia into the air and showered her with praises.

nAfter they’d calmed down and finding out why they were so excited, apparently, the phantom rimel bird was an even rarer advanced variant than the nightmare rimel bird.

nSeriously!? I mean sure its lustre and color is different, but I can’t believer two such rare specimens could be found in one flock.

nEveryone was a lot more surprised than I was.

nAfter this, we had to enter the marsh and catch some grell frogs as part of the ojousama’s training, but everyone’s attention was gathered onto the rimel birds.

nIn fact, it seems they’d completely forgotten that they came here to train.

nThe grell frogs weren’t particularly hard to catch so long as you didn’t mind the smell of the marsh. It almost felt like they were losing on purpose as we caught way too many of them. There was also only us in the marsh, so that made things a lot easier. If there were a lot of people like earlier, catching grell frogs wouldn’t be so simple.

nAnyway, we finished catching grell frogs, then used the cleaner slimes to wash ourselves after leaving the marsh. After that we went back to town.

nIs that really enough for training? Didn’t they come here to get the ojousama used to getting dirty? Well, her slime will also turn into a cleaner slime, so I guess it’s fine?

n…Well, no one’s stopping us, so I guess it doesn’t really matter.

nWe took a short break before going home.

nThe madam, the ojousama, and I were all surrounded by our birds, while Reinhart-san watched with envy from the side. Apparently, he had poor compatibility with bird-type monsters, but I don’t think he’d scare them just by approaching.

nReinbach-sama told Sebasu-san to prepare a feast for today, so Sebasu-san had already gone back via Warp to inform Arone-san and the others. It seems today’s results has everyone restless.

nWhen we got back to the inn, a wonderful meal with sufficient spices and expensive liquor was waiting for us. Like that the feast began. Of course, the leading actors were none other than the ojousama and I. Reinhart-san and the others continually praised us while we ate.

nThe ojousama quickly ate her fill and became caught up in the conversations, but my parsimonious spirit was just too strong, as I couldn’t help but eat too much of the good food in front of me. In the end, I ended up drinking too much.

nI mean, it’s a waste to just leave them, right?

nStill, it has been a while since I ate and drank so much… It’s also not like my previous life. Although I drank there too while surrounded by people, I never had this much fun. Even though the food in my previous life should be more delicious, it seems as if today’s cooking actually tastes better. The wine too.

n…Oh, come to think of it, Tekun mentioned I never managed to enjoy liquor back in my previous life. I wonder if this is what he meant by that? It probably is. Today, I feel like praying to Tekun.

nAfter the feast ended, I got some of the leftover wine as offering and went back to my room. After recalling that I’d left the idols I made before a t the store, I created a new one and prayed to it.

nThis is my second party since coming to this world. I was able to enjoy myself in a different way from my previous life. Thank you. It’s something we just bought, but please accept this luxurious wine as an offering.

n…Something like this? I bowed my head to the idol, then I went to sleep.

nI feel like I can get a good night’s rest tonight.

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