"So, first we'll go meet this guy called 'Slow Walker' with this kid as our guide, okay?" (Mile)
"Yes. Besides, if you don't do that, this little bird might get angry and peck you, you know." (Reina)
To confirm, Reina pointed to the Little Mecha-Bird sitting on top of the chest and replied with a wry smile.
"Got your eyes pecked out..." (Pauline)
"That's scary!" (Reina)
And Reina was seriously scared by Pauline's whispers.
"Well then, I've finished greeting each club, following up with the orphanage, and making arrangements with the guild, so I'll leave first thing tomorrow morning, is that okay? After I settle the bill at the inn, I'll pretend like I've received a normal escort request so that I don't get involved with Lenny-chan, and then..." (Mile)
Reina and the other two nodded in agreement at Mile's suggestion.
If Lenny-chan got involved, it would get long...
"Is that okay?"
[Peeep!] (Bird)
Then Little Mecha-Bird replied enthusiastically.
The next day, the Crimson Vow successfully escaped without being caught by Lenny-chan. Perhaps it was a good idea to have breakfast first and leave when the inn was still busy in the morning... They traveled by foot. If they put this mysterious Little Mecha-Bird on the shoulder and moved around as instructed, other passengers would be suspicious of them in a stagecoach. And to keep it flying in the air all the time, the power source built into the Little Mecha-Bird's small body would be too much of a burden. In addition, when Mile checked with Little Mecha-Bird about its destination, the direction and distance given in the response revealed that the destination was Albarn Empire.
Since the Little Mecha-Bird didn't seem to care about place names or country names that had been arbitrarily decided by humans, the only way to find out the destination was to check the direction and distance from its current location. And now, there were hardly any stagecoaches heading to Albarn Empire, where the political situation was unstable. Hitching a ride on a merchant caravan's wagon while also performing escort duties would not lead to anything good, as it would involve merchants who were looking to make a quick buck by going to a politically unstable and dangerous country, and traveling in a wagon loaded with goods, and staying in each town along the way and doing business for a few days at a time, would make Crimson Vow slower than if they were traveling on foot. Also, they could not just abandon their escort mission and left once they were near their destination. Therefore, due to its speed and hassle-free nature, the Crimson Vow chose to act alone.
[Peep peep!] (Bird)
The Little Mecha-Bird was chirping and grooming itself as it sat on Mile's shoulder. It appears that it was pretending to be a normal little bird.
"...No, if you want to pretend to be a normal little bird, there are other things you should do first!
Do something about that bare metallic color, that smooth, wingless body, that angular, lifeless body shape, and that exposed rivet head!" (Reina)
"Ah, the protruding rivets disrupt the airflow, which reduces flight efficiency..." (Mile)
"That's not what I meant!!" (Reina)
In response to Mile's response, Reina yelled loudly.
Anyway, the Little Mecha-Bird did not look like a small bird at all. With no feathers or wings, it was impossible for it to even pretend to groom itself. Besides, with a structure like this, it seemed impossible that it could actually fly. Perhaps the flight system was gravity-controlled or something...
(It looks even worse than Lopros after its exterior was peeled off in battle, exposing its metal body... This appearance is exactly like that of the small bird-type support robot Chika, right?... If anyone looks at this and thinks it's just an ordinary little bird, I would recommend going to an ophthalmologist... Well, even though I call them ophthalmologists, all they do here is ask the pharmacist to prescribe eye drops, or the magician to cast healing or recovery magic...) (Mile's mind)
While Mile was thinking about this, the robot bird began chirping to tell her where to go. The Crimson Vow decided to proceed according to the little robot bird's instructions, but...
"But there's a steep mountain range towering in front of us!" (Pauline)
"Moreover, there is a deep forest just before that, and it looks like there are a lot of high-ranking monsters there..." (Mile)
"We can't fly in the sky like you, you know..." (Mavis)
"...Or rather, since it can converse to a certain extent, it would be fine if it just gave us proper verbal instructions... And please give directions along the way!" (Reina)
Little Mecha-Bird was criticized by all four of them.
[Peep...] (Bird)
"There's no point in acting timid!" (Reina)
"Your metal head means you can't express any facial expressions, and your intelligence is limited to simple responses. How is it possible to make such cunning gestures?! The distribution of your abilities is strange!" (Mile)
Reina and Mile once again criticized the Little Mecha-Bird.
"Well, she's cute, so I guess it's okay." (Pauline)
"Tahaha..." (Mavis)
Then there's Pauline, who for some reason was friendly towards the Little Mecha-Bird, and Mavis, who didn't seem to care about that at all.
"Ah, since small birds and animals are sensitive to malice and run away, Pauline-san likes Little Mecha-Bird because it doesn't run away even when she gets close... wait, it's nothing! It's nothing!!" (Mile)
Mile stepped on the tiger's tail. With all her might...
"Please give me a break already..." (Mile)
With Mile's crying, Pauline's anger finally seemed to subside considerably.
"Really, come on… It's not like I'm the type of person that animals would avoid, you know!" (Pauline)
When Pauline said that, Mile reflexively replied.
"Ah, that's true, it's not just animals, but children and beastmen alike who avoid..." (Mile)
"Mileuuuuu!!" (Reina + Mavis)
"Ah……" (Mile)
Reina and Mavis were one step too late in stopping her...
"Uhuhu..." (Pauline)
"Um, well..." (Mile)
"Hehehe..." (Pauline)
"Ummm……" (Mile)
"Hehehehehe..." (Pauline)
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!" (Mile)
[Peep peep!] (Bird)
"Looks like we've arrived, huh..."
Finally, the Crimson Vow arrived at our destination. All of their luggage was in Mile's item box, and they didn't stay at any inns but only camped out overnight. They didn't need to spend time setting up his tent, and it didn't take long to prepare meals, so they were able to keep walking until it got dark, and their movement speed was much faster than that of a normal traveler.
Guided by the Little Mecha-Bird, they arrived at a different location, not the same cave as last time. Deep inside a deserted rock mountain, the entrance to a cave appeared to have been dug not very long ago and was just wide enough for a rock Golem to crawl into. And lined up in front of them were six Scavenger.
"The entrance is narrow so that humans and monsters won't find it, I guess..."
"As always, we're being treated like a VIP!!" (All 4)
Yes, it was a polite and respectful welcome...