Aegis, the phoenix chick, was busy shadowboxing on the ground. It dodged an imaginary blow and delivered a sharp peck in return. Naturally, being a bird, it favored its beak over its fists. Judging by the watchful eye of the Eagle, Aegis’s form was in top shape.
Across the field, the Giant Silkworm was munching on World Tree leaves while soaking up the cheers from its fellow silkworms and Donovan the Dwarf. It seemed remarkably composed.
A sparring match between Aegis and the Giant Silkworm was about to begin. I shouldn’t call it a "regular event," as that might be rude, but they did face off quite often. However, something was different this time. Usually, the fight would have started by now, yet neither moved.
Just as I was wondering what the delay was, Hakuren arrived with the children in tow. Aegis hopped over to greet them immediately. Apparently, the chick had invited them itself. I see—it had been waiting for its audience. That suggested it was brimming with confidence. I began to wonder if the Giant Silkworm would be okay.
The bout turned out to be a magnificent display. Aegis launched a charge while wreathed in flames, transitioning into a flurry of Clone Attacks. Sensing the danger, the Giant Silkworm deployed a Thread Barrier. It even managed to craft a decoy out of silk—an impressive feat. It fortified its defenses with the barrier while retaliating with magic, maintaining a perfect balance of offense and defense.
For a moment, I thought the Giant Silkworm would claim victory again, but Aegis showed its mettle. It spat out a fireball that detonated upon hitting the silk barrier. In the split second the explosion cast a dark silhouette, Aegis dove into its own shadow.
Then, it vanished.
It reappeared instantly from the shadow cast by the Giant Silkworm. It was a flawless surprise attack using Shadow-walking.
"So it used the fireball as both a decoy and a tool to create a shadow. How clever," one of the Civil Official Girls standing beside me noted.
I wondered about the mechanics behind Shadow-walking, but I decided not to overthink it. Even if someone explained the principles to me, I probably wouldn’t understand.
The match ended with Aegis as the winner. I was proud of the chick for pulling its peck at the last second, and I admired the Giant Silkworm for accepting its defeat so gracefully. They could both give it their all again next time.
Aegis performed a Winning Flight for the children, looking utterly satisfied, and the kids seemed genuinely impressed.
"To master Shadow-walking to that degree despite the elemental disadvantage... I need to work harder too," Nart muttered.
I hoped Nart wouldn't actually try to practice that. I didn't think Shadow-walking was something anyone could just pick up, but then I noticed Kuro’s children and Zabuton’s children doing it effortlessly as they moved about. Maybe it actually was easy? Hakuren mentioned it wasn't particularly difficult, but it was certainly beyond my reach.
Apparently, Shadow-walking is essentially the same as rolling around on the ground, so you get quite dirty doing it.
"Alright, Aegis. Time for a bath."
Aegis didn't mind baths. It enjoyed splashing in the water and didn't have an issue with the heat. It could even handle the hot springs. However, if it stayed in the water for too long, it tended to raise the temperature. It seemed that when it relaxed too much, its natural heat leaked out. It was fine when the chick was paying attention, but it tended to forget while lost in the joy of bathing.
A while back, Aegis had climbed into a tub of fresh water and accidentally turned it into a Hot Water Bath. We had a terrible time trying to cool it down. Because of that, I built a private bath specifically for Aegis—a wooden tub about one meter square and ten centimeters deep.
When I set it up in the courtyard, however, the chickens immediately took it over. Since Aegis couldn't very well barge into a crowd of swarming chickens, I built a second one. This time, I put it on a three-meter-high platform. I figured the chickens wouldn't be able to reach it there, allowing Aegis to soak in peace while the Eagle watched over it.
It was a bit of a chore to install a dedicated pump to get the water up there, but I thought it was worth it.
"The problem is having scalding water rain down on us from above..." the High Ogre Maids pointed out.
Consequently, Aegis was banned from using the high-platform bath. Incidentally, I have no idea how they managed the three-meter climb, but the chickens had occupied the high platform anyway. So, while it was off-limits for Aegis, the chickens were allowed to keep it.
These days, Aegis bathes with me in the tub I use.
"It saves us the trouble of heating the water; we just have to worry about cooling it down," the maids said.
The girls from the Beastman Race and the children usually took turns using magic to heat the bathwater, but since they were getting quite good at it, being forced to use Cooling Magic instead was apparently good practice. Some people worried about the fact that Aegis was essentially taking the First Bath of the day, but I didn't mind. It wasn't as if the chick was making the water dirty. I trusted Aegis; it always washed itself thoroughly in the washing area before stepping into the tub.
Once Aegis was out of the bath, the sun began to set, and it was time for dinner. Aegis joined me at the table, eating meticulously with its beak. However, realizing there were limits to what a beak could do, it often used its feet as well. Sometimes it even used its wings like hands. It was remarkably dexterous. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised to find a tiny person hidden inside the chick.
After dinner, Aegis would head toward the bedroom. I had built a small coop for it, but it hadn't used it lately. Instead, it had built its own nest on the roof of the Village Head's Mansion. It was a standard bird's nest. Honestly, given how clever Aegis was, I wouldn't have been shocked if it had built itself a miniature house, so the ordinary nest was actually the surprising part.
It slept there most nights, but not always. On rainy days, it was never on the roof. The same went for the day after a rain. On those nights, it would sneak into my futon.
I tried to tell it that the inside of a futon was dangerous and not to crawl in, but it never listened. I always knew it was there because the Eagle would be waiting nearby. Also, since it was a bird, I wondered if sleeping on its back was actually natural for it.
"Well, you can stay there for now. Just keep sleeping..."
Despite my silent permission, one of the High Ogre Maids would always come in, gently pick up the chick, and carry it outside to place it softly on Kuro’s back. If it were winter, it probably could have stayed nestled in the kotatsu all night.
The Eagle followed Aegis out of the room. Once I said my goodnights to Kuro, Aegis, and the Eagle, the High Ogre Maid quietly closed the door.