That the Abnormality worlds of the two birds were actually the same came as a surprise to X —even though he had already suspected it. Still, when it truly happened before his eyes, he couldn't help but feel amazed.
Moreover, even though he knew that Judgement Bird had no eyes, he didn't know whether it was just his imagination—but being "looked at" like this, he could genuinely feel that the tall woman before him was scrutinizing him in some invisible way.
"Um… hello?"
At this moment, X felt a bit like a boy who had secretly started dating some girl, only to be caught red-handed by her parents—his whole body stiff and awkward.
"I'm X . I'm the manager of the humans who… take care of you during the day."
"..."
That uncomfortable sense of scrutiny vanished. Faced with X 's polite greeting, Judgement Bird merely gave a slight nod—so subtle it barely counted as a greeting.
"..."
This kind of awkward silence right after meeting for the first time was something X had never encountered in all his social experiences.
"Can I call you Big Bird?"
X tried to take the initiative and start a conversation.
"You may."
Big Bird lifted her head slightly, as if "looking" at X who had walked in front of her.
Her voice was cold and clear, like the wind through the forest, devoid of any emotion.
"A name is merely a designation. As long as one knows who is doing the addressing, the manner of address itself is not important."
"..."
The topic was once again cut off—by her own hand.
X swallowed, feeling that this was getting troublesome.
During the day, even his work hadn't managed to uncover any valuable information about this bird.
And now, in this Inner World, she was clearly unwilling to communicate with him.
That made things very difficult.
If it were an Abnormality world like Heart of Aspiration or Schadenfreude, which leaned more toward environmental effects, X could still analyze changes in the surroundings to extract some useful information.
And if it were something like One Sin and Hundreds of Good Deeds or Punishing Bird, Abnormalities with intelligence and clear feedback during communication, he could obtain fairly complete data through interaction.
But instead, there was Judgement Bird—a special case.
She possessed intelligence, yet clearly rejected communication, while also lacking any intense hostile reaction that could serve as a basis for judgment.
There was simply no way to start.
Seeing Big Bird's attention shift away from him again, as though he were nothing more than a stone by the roadside, X gave up on forcibly establishing contact.
He turned around and began heading back the way he came.
"Eh?"
The end of the conversation came much earlier than Little Bird had expected. She lightly flew over and landed on X 's shoulder, asking curiously,
"Big brother, are you leaving so early today?"
"Before, I stayed so long because I was helping you look for your sister."
X turned his head, gently brushing Little Bird's soft, delicate cheek with his finger, smiling warmly.
"Now that we've found one of your sisters, I can Relax a bit."
"Well… that's true, but…"
Little Bird glanced at where Judgement Bird was in the distance, then looked down at X beneath her, her little face full of conflict.
"But we still haven't found Big Sister Big Bird.. yet…"
"…Eh? Big brother, what did you just say? Relax a bit…?"
She suddenly reacted, then shook her head as soon as the words left her mouth. Her tiny hands grabbed the soft flesh at X 's neck and pinched hard a few times, puffing out her cheeks angrily.
"No, no! That's not it! It's not that I want you to protect me so I won't let you go!"
"Ow—hey! Stop! That hurts!"
X quickly raised his hands in surrender, and only then did Little Bird let go.
"I didn't mean it like that…"
X rubbed the slightly reddened spot on his neck and lowered his voice, speaking as if whispering.
"And besides, look—Big Bird doesn't really seem like she wants to chat. Wouldn't it be better if I went to take care of my own business early, so I don't disturb you sisters catching up? That's not bad, right?"
"Hmph…"
Little Bird put her hands on her hips, turned back to look again, carefully confirming something before saying with renewed certainty,
"Big brother, don't be fooled by how Big Sister Big Bird.. looks like she's rejecting you right now. When she first met you, she didn't even use her balance at all!"
"She's just too tired—not that she really dislikes you… and, and I can chat with you too!"
As she said this, Little Bird simply hugged X 's head, shaking it gently while pleading in a soft, sweet, coquettish tone,
"Stay with me a little longer, stay with me a little longer…"
"Alright, alright… you're supposed to be a guardian of the forest, yet you're acting just like a child."
X soothed her gently.
"How about tomorrow? Tomorrow, I'll see if I can find any news about your other sister. If not, I'll spend more time with you, okay?"
"Okay then…"
It wasn't clear which of X 's words had worked, but after hearing them, Little Bird stopped her playful antics and reluctantly let go.
"Then, big brother—do you still remember what Big Sister Big Bird.. looks like?"
"Uh…"
X thought for a moment, then answered somewhat uncertainly,
"Kind of… spaced out? And…"
There had been far too many things happening over the past few days—so much information that his mind was overloaded. He really couldn't immediately dig up detailed memories about "Big Bird."
"I knew you wouldn't remember."
Little Bird said like a little teacher, counting on her fingers.
"She also carries a lamp in her hand, wears clothes that look like they have lots of eyes on them, has an outer coat that looks kind of burned… um… and also, she has a really great figure!"
"That's about it! Did you remember everything?"
"Yep, got it."
X nodded seriously.
"As soon as I get any news about her, I'll come find you right away. Bye-bye~"
"Bye-bye, big brother."
Satisfied, Little Bird pecked X on the cheek, then flapped her little wings and flew toward Big Bird's position.
As she flew, she didn't forget to turn back and shout a reminder at X ,
"If you run into a big monster, be sure to call us to save you!"
"Got it, got it—no need to emphasize that every single time."
X laughed and waved, watching her fly away.
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