Chapter 6

Blue. Vivid, blue.

I knew there was a color called Robin's Egg Blue, a vivid sky blue with a hint of green.

But this was the first time I saw it in real life. The egg was as vividly blue as if a piece of the sky had been cut out. I couldn’t believe such a blue egg actually existed.

Seeing the glossy, shiny blue egg... I became completely entranced.

Because there was blue in the bird's nest in the neighboring tree! Blue! The kind of blue I had almost given up on, thinking it hardly existed in nature!

I really wanted to turn this into paint!

I had forgotten about drawing the bird. Because the egg was blue. It couldn’t be helped.

I moved along the branches to the neighboring tree. It felt quite dangerous, but there was no other choice.

Fortunately, the branches supported my weight without breaking.

I approached the bird's nest carefully but quickly. There were times when it felt dangerous, but I kept going, even though it made me shudder.

...And after 10 minutes.

I managed to get into the bird's nest.

I couldn’t help but sigh.

The vivid blue egg was within reach of my hand.

It was about 30 cm in size, about the size of my head. The surface was smooth and shiny... blue!

From a distance, it didn’t seem real, like a piece of the sky had fallen. But even up close, it was still mysterious. Why was it this color? Because it was beautiful? No, that couldn’t be it...

There were three eggs in the nest. I thought about taking the broken eggshells if there were any, but unfortunately, there were no broken shells.

...I thought all three eggs were probably alive. Or maybe they were infertile. But if they were alive, hurting the eggs to make paint... I hesitated. Really.

When I picked one up, I felt a faint warmth, which made me even more hesitant to hurt the egg.

“...What should I do?”

I wanted blue paint. So I wanted the eggshells.

And I wanted to draw the bird that probably used this nest.

But... hmm, what should I do?

While thinking, I held the egg and gazed up at the sky...

“...Ah, sorry, I’m intruding...”

I made eye contact with a giant bird.

I broke out in a cold sweat.

This wasn’t good, was it?

Because from the bird’s perspective, I was an intruder who had entered its nest and was holding its eggs.

I couldn’t pretend otherwise; I was holding the eggs firmly.

The bird in front of me was huge. Its head was much bigger than mine, and if it opened its beak, it could easily...

“Sorry, I’m not doing anything bad. I didn’t come to take the eggs. I just thought they were beautiful... I touched them, but I didn’t damage them...”

I tried to explain hurriedly, but did it even make sense to a bird? The bird tilted its head in confusion...

...The bird looked confused.

The bird. Had an expression.

...Is this even possible?

“Sorry for entering your nest. I’ll leave right away.”

But maybe, just maybe... this bird could understand me. I clung to this hopeless hope, put the egg down gently, and slowly backed away from the nest.

...But the bird didn’t let me.

“Ah”

The bird’s beak stretched out. It grabbed the collar of my shirt and pulled me back into the nest.

I was dragged into the nest and fell on my back. Despite the fall, the nest absorbed the impact, so the pain was minimal.

But I couldn’t move, and I looked up at the bird that was looking down at me... and saw its beak coming closer in slow motion.

I was pecked. Quite boldly.

While being pecked, I curled up to protect my head and stomach, and the pecking stopped.

But instead, the bird rolled the eggs skillfully and pushed them between my stomach and knees.

...And then the bird flew away.

“...Huh?”

I was completely stunned and couldn’t move, unable to understand the situation... I just lay there, holding the eggs.

It was a completely mysterious situation.

What was happening to me?

At least... I wasn’t killed. Yes, that was really fortunate. If I had been pecked by that giant bird, I would have died, and if I had been dropped from this tree, I would have died too. It was really lucky to survive.

But... what was this situation?

I was now holding three eggs. Since the bird had created this situation, I thought it wanted me to do this...

“Wow”

Just then, the bird came back. It pushed a fruit it had in its beak into my mouth.

I thought it wanted me to eat it, so I ate it.

...It tasted like a spicy persimmon. What was this? I remember birds can’t taste spiciness, but even so, this was terrible. I’m okay with bitter and astringent flavors, but spicy is a bit much.

I lay there, not knowing what to do with the strange taste in my mouth, and spent time being stared at by the bird.

...As I lay there, I started feeling unwell. I was tired and hot. I thought it might be because of the fruit. I remember chili peppers raise body temperature. Maybe the fruit had a similar effect. Or maybe I was just tired from lying there.

Feeling unwell, I couldn’t escape from the high tree. I felt like a fish on a cutting board, or a person in a bird’s nest. I decided to just give up and stay still.

The bird stroked me and the eggs with its wings... and flew away again.

...That’s when I realized.

“Maybe... it wants me to keep them warm?”

It seemed I was being asked to incubate the eggs.

I was sleepy, tired, and hot, and since I had been entrusted with this task, I decided to keep the eggs warm.

I got cold, so I took a blanket from my bag and wrapped myself and the eggs. Since I wasn’t as big as the bird, it was a bit difficult to keep the three 30 cm eggs warm with just my body.

I rolled them around and kept them warm.

...But it was still a mystery.

Why was I doing this? When I calmed down, it seemed strange.

I was warming the giant bird’s giant eggs.

How did I end up here? I was supposed to come to draw the bird, but because the eggs were beautiful, I ended up in the nest...

...Yeah. I should have been more careful.

Later, when evening came, the bird returned.

“Eh, ah, welcome back...?”

The bird looked down at me... didn’t attack me, and pushed a fruit it had in its beak into my mouth.

It wanted me to eat it, right? Maybe I was being raised? Being fed?

“No, this isn’t delicious.”

I tried to refuse, but the bird kept pushing, so I had no choice but to eat it. The taste was the same. Terrible.

After watching me eat the fruit, the bird entered the nest, sat next to me, and closed its eyes.

...It seemed to be going to sleep.

What should I do? If the bird was sleeping, could I go home? But I felt uneasy leaving the eggs...

...No. I’ll stay here tonight. Since my home was just a tent, it didn’t matter where I slept.

I started feeling sleepy. Maybe it was because of the fruit or because I was tired. I still felt a bit hot. I was feverish. I couldn’t move on the tree in the dim light.

Then there was only one thing to do.

...Good night.

Good morning.

When I woke up, the bird was right in front of me, which was quite a shock. And my condition was still strange.

...But something had changed.

Something was moving near my stomach.

“...Huh?”

When I lifted the blanket, the egg closest to my stomach was moving.

And then.

A crack appeared on the egg, and a baby bird came out.

After that, I was asked to incubate the eggs again, but that was fine.

What was more important was that a bird had hatched. In other words, the egg had hatched. The eggshell was no longer needed, so I could take it.

The broken eggshell was quite thick, as you would expect from a large egg. The blue color was only on the surface, but it was enough. With this, I could definitely make blue paint.

Another egg hatched in the evening, and the next morning, the last one hatched.

By then, my condition had returned to normal, so I could climb down the tree.

I said goodbye to the chirping baby birds and the giant bird that looked satisfied in front of them...

...Before climbing down, I decided to draw the newly hatched bird family.

On the way, the giant bird shared some fruit with me. This time, it was quite delicious and didn’t make me feel unwell.

Was this a thank you for incubating the eggs? If so, the terrible-tasting fruit I ate yesterday was probably to raise my body temperature to the optimal incubation temperature. That’s quite scary.

...Well, it’s fine. I’m honored to have been of service to the bird family.