đźź Chapter 29 :
🟧 Haizen's POV:
When we arrived in the village I went to look for a place for us to stay. The village didn't have an inn as such, but there were a few small houses for rent that guests used. I booked a suitable little house for us. Takeru hadn't come back yet — I'd left him wandering around the village. I should've asked him to pick up some food for us. My cooking isn't terrible, but I prefer someone else's food, so I had no choice but to hunt for a restaurant in the village. I don't know if Takeru can cook, so I couldn't rely on him.
I went out to find somewhere to eat. I searched the alleys, and as I was turning a corner I found… Takeru collapsed on the ground in front of an old house.
I ran up and shook him.
"Takeru! What happened?!"
He didn't answer. He was breathing slowly, like something heavy had drained his energy.
There was no one around to help, so I had to carry him. I dragged him to a nearby eatery, ordered a dish, and set Takeru down across from me at the table. He didn't move. I waited for him to wake up, but nothing.
I sighed. "At least I saved on a second meal."
After I finished, I lifted him again and went back to the small house we'd rented. I placed him carefully on the bed and went to my room. All I could think about was sleep, hoping he'd be fine by morning.
But I didn't expect what happened at dawn.
With the first thread of light broke a strange, loud, grating sound that tore through the village's quiet.
"Koooooookoooooo!!!"
I shot out of bed, grabbed my sword.
"What is that?!" I sprinted to Takeru's room — and there he was, sitting upright on the bed, head thrown back, chest puffed out, crowing like a real rooster announcing sunrise.
I froze.
"…Did he finally lose his mind?"
He had been asleep all night, and now he was awake… crowing like a rooster.
"Hey, you idiot, did you eat something that turned you into this?" I shouted.
He stared at me with the dumb look roosters have. I told him to stop.
"Okay, stop that. It's embarrassing. At least do it when I'm not here."
He hopped down from the bed like a rooster, then jumped toward the window — and slipped, landing face-first.
"Ha-ha! You deserve that. Now stop this nonsense and—"
Before I could finish, he crowed again. Neighbors heard and came to check. Their faces were full of suspicion.
"What's going on here?"
"Who's that crowing like a rooster?"
"Let me sleep—I stayed up late."
They gathered at the window to peek into the room. Seeing Takeru's rooster stance increased their suspicion; some laughed, others were baffled and irritated by his crowing. Then the landlord who rented out the house appeared, angry.
"Hey, young man—what's wrong with you? Why are you crowing like that? Have you lost your mind? Let us sleep, or I'll evict you."
I still didn't know what was wrong with Takeru, but with things escalating I had only one option. I delivered a solid punch and knocked him out, then apologized to the neighbors.
"I apologize—my companion loses his head in the morning sometimes. I promise this won't happen again."
The landlord said, "Make sure it doesn't, or you're out." Then he left, and the neighbors followed. That idiot had landed me in a mess I didn't expect. After all this time, why would he be like this now? Seriously—what's wrong with him?
Now that he'd woken me, I couldn't go back to sleep, so I decided we'd go to the dungeon. I changed clothes, slung Takeru over my shoulder — whether he came to his senses or not, we were going to clear some floors.
When we arrived at the dungeon, he finally woke and looked terrified, fluttering as if trying to beat his wings. I'd brought a rope to tie him up in case he tried to run. He struggled, but I secured him to a heavy stone. Still, he tried to free himself to no avail while I went in to hunt as many monsters as I could to level up his skill.
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🟧 Takeru's POV:
This is a real disaster. I don't know where my body is or what Koko's doing with it. I couldn't stay there any longer, so I decided to get out. Before I left, the hens called to me again.
"Hey, Koko—where do you think you're going?"
"To freedom, hen!"
I pushed the wooden coop door open with my trembling yellow leg and poked my head out carefully. The freedom breeze! It was time to escape.
If I could get back to Haizen quickly… maybe I could stop this stupid rooster from ruining my reputation with my body.
I flapped my small wings and tried to jump… but instead of flying I fell like a stone onto the dirt.
"Gah! This body's for crowing, not flying!"
I climbed onto the little wooden fence and tried to jump over it. One… two steps… I was about to make it—
"Kooooo! Where do you think you're going?!"
I froze.
An old man stood there — not the same old man whose goods I'd carried earlier. This one looked like a farmer, holding a thick stick. His face was dark, like someone who'd been caught with a child stealing from the kitchen.
"Get down right now! Don't even think about running! Do you want to end up in the stew pot?!"
I tried to swallow, but all I had was a crowing throat.
"He's threatening to cook me!! This is a disaster—never thought my end would be with carrots and onions!"
I darted between his legs. The farmer bent quickly and grabbed my wing.
"Ow! Let me go, you farmer! I'm not just some rooster—I am…!"
"Stop squawking, Koko! Every morning you wake me up with that crow, and now you want to run off? I'll tie you up until you learn some manners."
I flapped like crazy, pecked his hand with my beak; the hens behind screamed encouragement, like they were chanting: "Hey! Koko! Show him how you dodge!" I pecked once more and cried out, "Kooookoo!" — what I meant was "Move aside, you fool!"
The man was taken aback by my stubbornness, and I seized the chance. I slipped from his grip, ran around him, sprinted to a pile of straw and leapt—over the fence!
I landed on the dirt outside, my little legs aching, but I grinned in triumph.
"Haha! I escaped! I'm a free rooster now! …Wait. I never thought I'd be happy to be a free rooster."
I kept walking away from the farmer to avoid being caught. As I moved down the lane, I noticed eyes watching me — not human eyes, but from an alley: a horse's eyes, hidden in the dark. I didn't know why it was staring like I was under surveillance, but I wasn't interested, so I kept going.
Suddenly I heard laughter — not from humans either, but from a dog ahead that stared straight at me.
"Look what we have here: a rooster strolling around in public. Where'd you get the nerve?"
"And what business is that of yours, dog?"
"How dare you call me a dog — wait, I am a dog. Anyway, my owner pampers me. I'll tell him about you so he can cook something delicious."
"What? That's bad."
I tried to run, but other dogs surrounded me.
"Nowhere to run."
"Hold him tight — I'm calling my owner to cook him up."
This is terrible. I barely escaped that farmer, and now I'm about to be cooked by someone else. What a disaster I've gotten myself into.