Another time, a sudden gust of wind caught his wings, and he went tumbling in the opposite direction, jerking the rope so violently that Kaya nearly lost her footing and plunged down.
By the end of it, Kaya had to stop and catch her breath. She couldn't believe it. Normally, with her team, she could run forty to fifty kilometers without breaking much of a sweat—even over rough terrain. On stone paths like these, covering forty kilometers was routine. But today… she glanced at the ground, fists clenching in frustration. Today, she had barely managed fifteen.
The humiliation stung more than the bruise on her stomach.
But Kaya hadn't expected that the next problem wouldn't be walking at all—it would be cooking.
She and the sparrow stared at each other in silence for a long moment. Finally, Kaya spoke, her voice flat.
"So… you don't know how to cook."
The sparrow shook his head.
