Ch. 5: Pa...pa, Ma...ma
A few more days passed after that…-.
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Nepenthes: “Regrettably it seems that this egg is something I cannot eat. With that I shall bid you adieu. However, since I came all the way here… I shall take a wander around to see if I can find any delicacies I have not sampled before.”
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Nepenthes had had a look of rapture on his face as he disappeared into the nearby forest…-.
Leonie: “Then… should we figure out what to do now?”
OO: “Yeah…”
Navi: “We’ve all wracked our brains to their limit and still haven’t found a single clue…”
Egg: “Zzz… zzz…”
The egg was sleeping comfortably in Leonie’s hand… or at least that’s what it looked like.
Leonie: “Haha, OO you try petting it too.”
At Leonie’s beckoning, the two of us pet the egg with our fingers.
Egg: “Hya~…”
It seemed to turn over in its sleep… and while we stroked it, I felt a warmth in my heart.
(It’s cute…)
Leonie: “…doing this, it’s kind of like we’re its parents.”
OO: “Eh!?”
At those words, my heart leaped in my chest.
Leonie: “Ah, no… I mean…-.”
Leonie’s face turned the brightest shade of red I had ever seen…-.
Navi: “I-I shall go prepare some tea!”
Navi’s pattering footsteps left the room in a panic.
Leonie: “S-sorry… was that…bad?”
OO: “No…”
I knew my own face was red and I looked away in embarrassment.
However…-.
Egg: “Pa… pa, Ma… ma.”
(Eh…?)
I looked up in surprise at hearing that voice.
Ch. 6: Papa, Mama, Thanks
Egg: “Pa… pa, Ma… ma.”
(Eh…?)
I looked up in surprise at hearing that voice.
Then…-.
There was a sound and a crack appeared on the egg.
Leonie: “Eh…!”
The crack grew bigger, spreading across the egg.
The thing that broke out of the shell was…-.
??: “…pyo.”
It had a cute, round body, adorable eyes, and slightly orange feathers…
??: “Pyo…”
Leonie: “A… chick…?”
Chick: “…Papa.”
Leonie: “Papa!?”
Chick: “Mama…”
OO: “Mama!?”
We stood there dumbfounded as it looked up at us with shining eyes.
Chick: “Thanks.”
Leonie: “Huh!?”
Chick: “I was able to be born thanks to Mama and Papa’s love.”
The chick flapped its short wings.
Leonie: “Y-you… what are you…?”
At that time…-.
Navi: “Ah…!”
Navi, who had come back with tea, looked at the chick with wide eyes.
Navi: “A-a chick…-!? But this presence…”
Chick: “…I am the Prince of Benedict of the Land of Eggs.”
OO: “Land of Eggs…!?”
Chick: “It’s not surprising you wouldn’t know it. Our country is a truly, truly small one. Like a tiny speck… that is my country.”
Navi: “…I-I wonder if that’s why I couldn’t sense your presence properly…”
Chick: “Whether or not an egg is alive is a fuzzy issue… it’s understandable you wouldn’t be able to sense me. But because Papa and Mama loved me, I was able to hatch. …thanks.”
OO: “Why were you in that place…?”
Chick: “That’s…-.”
The chick seemed to be thinking of a place far away as it looked out the window.
Its posture was full of grief, and I felt an emotion I couldn’t even put into words fill me.
Chick: “…soon, a nearby country is to have its Festival of Thanks Giving, and I was sent there by mistake.”
Leonie: “…that kind of thing can happen?”
Chick: “During the hectic delivery, I fell from the cart into the flower field, and Mama saved me.”
OO: “…”
Chick: “Mama… I have to go back.”
The chick’s adorable eyes seemed to waver with loneliness, and it cut deep into my heart.
(It must be lonely…)
OO: “…yeah. I’m just glad you’re safe.”
I replied with a smile, and the chick looked at me apologetically.
Chick: “Thanks Mama…”
It then turned to look at Leonie…
Chick: “Papa…”
Leonie: “Y-yeah…”
Leonie could only stare given the sudden turn of events, and he took a deep breath as if to calm himself.
Then, he slowly held his hand out to the chick…
Leonie: “I’m sure we’ll meet again someday. So don’t look so sad, okay?”
Chick: “Yeah… I’ll listen to what Papa says!”
The chick rubbed its face with its short wings and spoke in a brighter tone.
Chick: “Thank you too Fox.”
Navi: “I’m not a fox~!”
The chick turned to look at us one last time…-.
Chick: “…Papa, Mama. Would you give me a name?”
OO: “A name?”
Chick: “I want a name from Papa and Mama, so we have a bond.”
Leonie and I both nodded at the chick’s request.
Leonie: “Sure, of course.”
OO: “What kind of name would be good?”
We looked at each other and thought it over.
After a while, Leonie looked up with an embarrassed expression…
Leonie: “…hey, how about this?”
Hearing the name automatically made me smile.
OO: “That’s so like you Leonie.”
Leonie: “It’s not… weird?”
OO: “Not at all.”
Navi: “I think it’s a lovely name!”
Chick: “…I won’t forget your wish, Papa.”
And like that, we went to see the chick off…-.
…
……
On the way back from seeing the chick off at the flower field…-.
OO: “…I hope it grows up happy and healthy.”
Leonie: “Yeah, it’ll be fine! Because that chick was born from our affections…-.”
OO: “Eh…-.”
Leonie: “Ah…w-what I meant was…!”
Both Leonie and I went red in the face, and I was certain it wasn’t just from the setting sun…
OO: “I’m glad… it seemed to like the name!”
I spoke in a loud voice to try and cover up my embarrassment.
Leonie: “Yeah… yeah! I hope he never loses what I’ve lost.”
(…even though you haven’t lost it, Leonie.)
OO: “I’m sure… he’ll never forget your hopes for him Leonie.”
Leonie: “Yeah, that’d be nice!”
Leonie turned back to the flower field and shouted.
Leonie: “Hey~! Yuuki~!! Grow up big and strong! We’ll definitely meet again~!”*
His voice reached all the way to the darkening sky.
And in response, it seemed like…
??: “…hya!!!”
The chick shouted back in delight.
END
Translator Note: When Leonie is referring to the thing he’s lost, he’s referring to his courage, which is why he named the chick Yuuki, which translates to ‘courage’.
Secret Story: Words of an Egg
Egg: “Hya!”
Egg: “Hya! Hya!”
Egg: “Heyaaaaa!!”
Egg: Hya~!”
Egg: “Hya!? Heya! Heyaaaa!”
Egg: “Heya!”
Egg: “H-heya~…”
Egg: “Hyaaa!”
Egg: “! Hya…!”
Egg:” Heya! Heya~!”
Egg: “H… ya…?”
Egg: “Hya…”
Egg: “Ma… ma…”
Egg: “Hya!”