Chapter 145: The Great Efforts of the Rimel Birds (2/2)
“…I’m not seeing it.” [Ryouma]
She seems to have found something, but as far as my eyes are concerned, everything is just too dark to make out. The only thing I can really make out are the conifer leaves.
Just what is it that she’s seeing? …Something that moves? Is that a human or a person? …Sound? …So it turns out she didn’t see it either, which is why she doesn’t know if it’s a person or something else. Either way this is the first thing we’ve found since coming here. Moreover, the area Funf is flying in is the road on Kereban’s side and in the direction of the foot of the mountain too.
“Everyone, regroup.” [Ryouma]
Just in case, I decided to regather the six rimel birds and have them focus their search in that area.
After I gave the order for them to return, Funf changed her direction toward me. The others did get the order, right?
I switched vision again to confirm.
Eins. Ok. Zwei. Ok. Drei and Vier are also ok. Sechs seems to have gone too far. He’ll probably arrive last, but he’s on his way back.
…It’s a bit of a pain having to switch vision one by one. Sure would be great if there was a way to see what they were seeing all at the same time…
We can understand each other thanks to the effects of the contract, and if something happens, we can communicate, but I still would like to be able to see what they are seeing constantly.
When I share vision with them, I imagine watching the screen of a camera or a TV screen. That being the case, why don’t I imagine part.i.tioning the screens? Come to think of it, didn’t I work part time as a police once? …Oh? Oh! I think this could work!
On one part of my mind was the image Sechs was seeing, while on the other was what Eins was seeing after arriving in the airs.p.a.ce above the town. I successfully managed to make these two screens appear inside my mind without causing them to merge witch each other. There’s some noise, but… Yeah.
I imagined a camera room full of camera screen and imagined different images being projected on different screens. As I did that, the images gradually became clearer. …This can work. I’ll have to work on it a bit more to get three or more images working at the same time, but I think I can do two now.
It looks like I really did get better as a monster tamer. I don’t recall training specifically for it, so it’s a bit strange. Well, I’ll just ask the guild master or the people of the duke’s family about it.
“Good job.” [Ryouma]
While I was trying that out, I gave the order for the rimel birds to search. At that, Funf took the lead and the six of them went to the place where she spotted something. After they arrived at the location, they split off into two groups and searched the place.
There’s a possibility that it was just a monster, so I asked them to be careful and leave if it got dangerous.
After they answered in affirmation, the six of them flew down. The two images in my mind changed into a closeup of the trees, and the starry sky was now barely visible. And then an image darker than the sky above appeared… I could somehow make out the shape of the trees, but at this rate, I wonder if it’s still possible to continue the search.
…They’re not going that fast, but it seems they can handle it just fine. Oh, right. They were originally migratory birds, weren’t they? They’re nocturnal too, so they can fly in the night. I asked them to continue the search.
“…” [Ryouma]
As they searched the area after splitting into two groups, I observed their work through our shared vision, but…
“…I can’t see anything…” [Ryouma]
I really have a hard time following the rimel birds when they’re moving for real. It’s not just because it’s dark, they’re moving too fast too. My eyes just can’t seem to catch up.
But The rimel birds can see just fine. Maybe they can see in the dark? …I mean in the first place, they’re birds and I’m a human. The very construct of our eyes are different, so I guess just being able to understand what they’re seeing is plenty convenient already, but… It wouldn’t be strange if they had the ability to see in the dark. Maybe I’m just bad at this?
I feel kind of bad just watching them like this while they’re working so hard.
While I was thinking that to myself, suddenly…
“!!” [Ryouma]
Drei, Funf, and Sechs sent a report. They seem to have found something. Sechs’ vision still showed no changes, but I told them to wait and rendezvous with Eins, Zwei, and Vier.
As I watched through the eyes of two of the rimel birds, I prayed that they had found either Pedro-san himself or a clue. The six rimel birds managed to safely rendezvous in the air. And then they started searching again.
The rimel birds slowed down and pa.s.sed through the gaps between the trees. The rimel birds could hear something.
Looks like there really is ‘something’ here.
“…! Stop!” [Ryouma]
That’s a light right there. A flickering light leaking through the gaps between the trees. The light of an open-air fire. In other words, there’s someone here who started that fire.
We need to approach this carefully.
The rimel birds slowly approached the light. Eventually, what came to view was the figure of one, two, three…
“That’s not Pedro-san…” [Ryouma]
There was a group of five gathered around the fire. It was a group of ragged and exhausted men seated on wooden crates.