CH 4.1

The morning after the night of terror, Ringo and I were visiting a house.

“Thank you very much, Souma-san. Due to your many visits, Michael has become this healthy.”

“No, madam. It’s too early to thank me. Your request was not to [Help your son get better], but to [Spot the bluebird], is it not?”

“Yeah, yeah, I suppose, but even if only my son is happy, just that is already…”

The reason as to why she was looking for a bluebird was to heal her son with the bluebird’s healing power.

So, I guess she doesn’t care about the bluebird as long as her son gets well.

However…

“I found the bluebird, though.”

“Eh?!”

The first person to react to my words was not the woman who was talking to me, but her son, Michael.

After looking at their faces while trying to discern the situation, I spoke again.

“…The bluebird, is in here.”

“In here? Do you mean that it’s in this room?”

Michael’s mother gave me a puzzled look, not understanding what I was saying. In contrast, Michael’s face, or rather the boy that was calling himself ‘Michael’, went pale.

His expression screamed out ‘What did you figure out?!’ at me, waiting for my next words.

“Yes. The only people in this room are only me, Ringo, and you, madam.”

“I-If that’s the case…”

“Yeah, if that’s the case, you should know the answer, right?”

The woman seemed to have realised it too.

“No way…”

While saying that, she looked back at her son, well, at the thing that was supposed to be her son.

“It seems you understand now, don’t you?”

While concealing my bitter thoughts, I once again turn round to face the thing.

Then, I announced.

“It’s time for you to give up, Michael… Or, should I say… Bluebird!!”

As I pointed my finger, I saw Michael, or rather, a bluebird disguised as Michael, trembling as expected.

“N-Nooo! I’m not a bluebird! …. R-Right! Proof! If you say I’m a bluebird, gimme some proof!”

‘Michael’ was coping and seething, but I had expected this.

“… Well then, Can you answer me this, Michael-kun? You said you picked up this <Bluebird Feather> in the garden? Is that correct?”

“T-That’s right! Are you saying that because I was the one who picked up the feathers, that makes me the bluebird!? Anyone could have-“

While soothing the upset ‘Michael’, I walked over to *something* that was in Michael’s room.

I suddenly put it into my hand.

When ‘Michael’ saw it, he shouted in surprise.

“Ah! That’s the stuffed bear you gave me when you visited me for the third time today!!”

“Yep. In fact, I’ve had a hunch about who you really were since that time. So, even though I feel bad about it, I had to plant this here.”

“Is that…?”

“It’s a video recording device. To properly explain it, I think it’s best to just show you.”

While answering Michael’s mother’s questions, I operated the video recorder that I had picked up earlier from the item shop.

The image of this room from a few hours ago was projected onto the empty space in front of me.

“N-Nonono!”

Michael shouted, but the projection didn’t stop.

The image clearly showed ‘Michael’ transforming into a bluebird and plucking out one of his own feathers.

“Michael, you…”

Michael’s mother looked at the boy, who hung his head to the floor, with a look of disbelief on her face.

Before she could say anything else in her fury,

“Please wait.”

I defensively stepped in front of the ‘boy’.

“Please listen to what he has to say… You can speak for yourself, can’t you?” I said, turning to the mother for the first half, and the second half to the boy.

Receiving my word of advice, the boy, a bluebird, slowly started to talk.

“You see, Michael, was a friend of mine…”

He and Michael met in a garden and became good friends, breaking the barrier between their species. Michael was born sickly, and soon his health started to deteriorate.

The bluebird tried desperately to help him recover with its healing power, but it’s efforts were fruitless.

“In the end, Michael said to me, [I want you to take my place. Take care of my mother for me]. That’s why… That’s why I…”

Michael’s mother hugged the bluebird as it cried.

“Obasan, I’m… I’m sorry…. I-I’ve… been… deceiving you for so long….”

“It’s okay. The truth is, I’ve always known. I knew that Michael had passed away… I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I caused you so much harsh pain.”

As she spoke, large tears spilled from the bluebird’s cheeks.

“Oh, obasan, I… I…”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. You have done everything you can to help me and Michael. I can’t blame you for that… Well, what would your real name be?”

“Blue. I’m called Blue.”

Hearing this name, Michael’s mother smiled.

“Yes, Blue…. Blue, that’s a good name. Blue, you are my benefactor and my… other son. Isn’t it nice if we can think of it that way?”

“M-Mama….!”

Tears gushed from the bluebird’s eyes as she said these words, and they hugged each other tightly.

“…Shall we go now?”

Seeing this, I gently directed Ringo out of the house.

They would need some time alone together for a while.

When I looked back at them for the final time, I saw that they looked like a real mother and son.

“Thank you so, so much, Souma-san.”

“Thank you, Souma-oniichan!”

As they bowed deeply, I scratched my head.

“No, I didn’t do much. Plus, I’ve been paid well.”

I smiled bitterly while continuing.

“More-so, please live together and get along. That would be the best way to thank me. Ah, and also…”

As if I had just remembered something in the nick of time, I nonchalantly say.

“Please take good care of the stuffed bear I gave you, Blue-kun. It’s the only one of its kind in the world, so don’t you dare lose it.”

“Ok!”

Blue-kun nodded cheerfully, and I felt a little guilty, but I was relieved by his answer.

I hope they’d live happily.

“… Bear-san.”

We left Michael’s house, while I pulled Ringo’s hand away with me like she didn’t know when to give up.

“Haaa… It was rather troubling, but I’m glad it turned out well…” I said, releasing my tension after I turned around the corner and out of sight.

In this <Michael’s Bluebird> quest, you can either cheer up Michael, who is a bluebird in disguise, and fail the quest without finding a bluebird, or give the fake Michael something that seems to be harmful to his body and kill him. It was a quest that forced an unreasonable choice to uncover the identity in order to clear it.

However, since Nekomimineko has become a real world, I could take a choice between the two methods and roll with that. I had to visit Michael’s house thirteen times today alone in order to complete the quest, but thanks to that, I seem to have succeeded in accomplishing the quest while keeping the fake Michael, or, the bluebird, alive.

Actually, isn’t it rather creepy to visit someone thirteen times in a single day? I’d say that the game adjustment is the scariest.

As I looked back on this case, I was glad that it went well, but I was tired.

—-Pat pat.

Perhaps as a way to show appreciation of my effort, the right side of my back was patted.

Ringo really is too kind.

I tried to say thank you.

“Thank you, Ringo. But I’m OK now…”

“…Souma.. I’m.. this way…”

Ringo’s voice came from my left side.

(Eh? So, the one who just slapped me on the back was….)

Driven by an unpleasant premonition, I looked to the right.

Over there, I saw a familiar yellow silhouette….

—–Grinning.

“Gyaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!”

【Quest <Michael’s Bluebird> ….. Clear!!】