A sharp, clear cry echoed down from the sky.

Each time the large wings moved gracefully, vivid flames scattered and disappeared into the air.

There was no more room for doubt.

This was no sun or comet—it was a bird.

A bird engulfed in flames.

"Tatiana, just to be sure, phoenixes aren't always surrounded by fire, right?" I asked.

Tatiana responded as if she were out of breath.

"Of course not! If that were the case, the entire forest would burn down. I've heard that they only become engulfed in flames when fighting an enemy. But even that’s rare. According to my master, the phoenix always wins before it comes to that. That bird is incredibly powerful, you know."

Tatiana took off her backpack, rummaged through it, and then tossed it aside.

Bags of herbs, wooden figurines, snake skin, and dried toads piled up on the ground in the blink of an eye.

"Where is it...? I swear I had a doll to ward off fire here somewhere. Ah, calming herbs... These worked on birds before, right? I'll use this... but what else? Hmm, is the hunter's charm or the ownership charm better in this situation? No, that one takes too long, so first, I should calm it down with the herbs..."

Tatiana was clearly flustered, muttering to herself while frantically switching between different items.

I stood still, watching the sky.

What should I do?

Rella kept chirping excitedly on top of my head, though I couldn't make any sense of it.

The only thing that was clear was that she, too, was very agitated.

This feeling was similar to when we faced the bear carcass or fought the queen ant, but this time, it was all about figuring out what to do with the phoenix.

I didn't want to kill it, but I couldn't just toss Rella back and run.

I also needed the feather.

I considered capturing it and plucking just one feather, but the phoenix before me was literally a ball of fire. No matter how skilled I was with wind magic, I couldn't grab a bird that was engulfed in flames with my bare hands.

Trying to use wind to extinguish the fire might kill it before the flames went out.

Tatiana kept emphasizing how powerful phoenixes were, but considering my mother had either plucked or picked up a feather, I was confident I wouldn’t lose.

As I struggled to make a decision, the phoenix drew nearer and nearer.

Since Rella was so small, I assumed an adult phoenix would be around the size of a pigeon or a chicken. However, the phoenix in the sky seemed larger, more like an eagle or hawk.

Even from a distance, it was quite sizable.

Its tail was especially long.

The long tail hung elegantly, swaying like a ribbon. With every movement, shimmering embers scattered into the air, leaving behind a faint, glittering trail.

"It really is beautiful. I wonder if Rella will grow to look like that someday," I mused for a moment, and then it felt as if my eyes locked with the phoenix’s.

A high-pitched cry, as sharp as a lightning bolt, pierced my ears.

Ah, the sound might be beautiful, but it’s definitely angry.

No doubt it was furious about its kidnapped chick.

I understood the moment I heard the cry.

And it would probably stay angry as long as Rella was with me.

‘First, let’s return her.’

With that thought, I reached my hand up to my head.

At that instant, the phoenix folded its wings slightly and lengthened its body.

Despite the distance, it shot toward me like an arrow.

A massive flaming arrow was hurtling toward me, like something launched from the enemy’s battlement.

It seemed enraged, likely after seeing me touch its chick.

I was only trying to return her, but it must have misunderstood.

Tatiana let out a short scream beside me, and then began chanting.

“Breath of Water!”

Several bubbles, larger than a human face, floated up and gathered in front of me.

She must have thought the phoenix would unleash fire and was trying to protect me.

But perhaps because Rella was here, the phoenix didn’t breathe fire.

It simply extended its long beak like an arrow, aiming to pierce me.

It seemed intent on avoiding Rella, focusing solely on skewering me with its beak.

Maybe the heat the phoenix emitted was strong enough to melt even its own chick.

‘If that's true, then this is no joke. This thing is incredibly dangerous.’

There was no more time to hesitate.

My mother used to say that even a wolf goes all out when hunting a rabbit.

Given that there was a similar saying on Earth, it seemed people’s thoughts were pretty universal wherever you went.

This was my first time dealing with fire, but I decided to drop my casual attitude and face it seriously.

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For now, I needed to prioritize making sure neither Tatiana nor I got hurt.

I gathered wind around my left arm.

I summoned it much more thickly than usual.

At the same time, I clenched my right hand into a fist.

I took a deep breath, and the phoenix was suddenly right in front of me.

I hadn’t even touched it yet, but the water bubbles Tatiana had conjured evaporated into steam and vanished.

The heat radiating from the phoenix was just too intense.

‘What is this, a molten lava monster?!’

This thing was truly dangerous.

I would burn up from the heat before I even touched it.

There was no other choice.

Realizing that I might end up killing the phoenix, I enveloped my fist with even more wind.

I was just about to launch my punch when suddenly Rella let out a loud chirp and jumped off my head.

She flapped her short wings, lifting herself only a little, but, as usual, Rella couldn’t stay up for long.

Beneath her flapping wings and small body, her short legs were flailing around.

It was Rella’s desperate struggle to fly.

I always thought it looked a lot like the frantic paddling of a swan’s legs beneath the water’s surface.

"..."

With Rella suddenly in between us, both the phoenix and I stopped simultaneously.

Both of us knew that, if we weren’t careful, one of us could end up killing Rella.

“Chirp! Chirp!”

Rella chirped loudly, opening and closing her beak as if she were pecking at something, all while gradually descending to the ground.

It seemed that she had wanted me to lift her up so she could launch this attack.

Wait, hold on.

Why is she attacking? Isn’t that her mother?

“Piiiii... Piiiiiiii…”

A sorrowful cry echoed, and the heat radiating from the phoenix diminished slightly.

The sheer sadness in its voice made it obvious that it was indeed Rella’s mother.

The phoenix hovered in the air, its large wings gently flapping.

“Pii… Pii…”

Once again, the phoenix cried out in a mournful voice.

On the ground, Rella was jumping fiercely, her eyes intense as she continued her attack.

But the wind from the phoenix's wings pushed her back, making her roll across the ground.

“Chirp-chirp-chiiirp!”

Rella, who had been pushed far back, sprang back up and charged again.

She seemed furious as she leaped and lunged once more at the phoenix.

“Does she not remember?” I murmured.

This bird seemed rather dim-witted from the beginning, and now it seemed she had entirely forgotten her mother.

I felt a pang of pity for the mother phoenix, who had traveled all the way from the depths of the forest, tracking her lost chick.

Suddenly, a soft cry came from the phoenix before it flapped its wings forcefully.

With a single flap, it soared up another level.

Above Rella’s flailing jumps, the phoenix’s body glowed hot like a blazing ball of fire.

“Look out!” Tatiana shouted as more bubbles of water flew towards it, only to dry up almost instantly.

It seemed furious at the fact that its chick had forgotten it, and now, with Rella not in my arms, it was attempting to kill her.

The orange-colored beak opened wide, and white flames erupted forth.

I instinctively raised my right arm.

Just before the fire reached me, a barrier of wind spread out like a shield.

The armor of the spirits covered my entire body.

The flames that the phoenix unleashed slid harmlessly along the surface of the shield.

With my arm still extended, I swung it forward, and the phoenix was repelled as if bouncing off an invisible wall.

I understood the phoenix's anger.

But after walking for days to return her chick, this reception felt a bit unfair.

With that thought in mind, I gathered the wind around my fist and punched toward the phoenix.

The spirit’s armor must have retracted, forming around my arm again.

I couldn’t see it, but judging by the lack of resistance, that seemed to be the case.

Despite hitting the phoenix directly, I didn't feel any heat from it.

The air surrounding us was sweltering, as if we were inside molten lava, but my right hand felt cold, just as it always did.

The punch sent the phoenix soaring back.

Though I had tried to hold back, it must still have been powerful.

The phoenix rolled across the ground, bouncing some distance away.

However, it appeared to be unharmed, without even a scratch.

It quickly got back up.

As I had suspected from Tatiana’s words and Rella's tough beak, phoenixes really were durable.

Its neck, slender and long like a peacock's, hadn't snapped even from that impact.

Seeing the phoenix flap its wings to take off again, I began to run toward it.

Now that I knew it had a strong body, I figured it was best to subdue it a bit.

I had just made up my mind and started sprinting when something stung my leg like a bug bite.

Looking down, I saw Rella clinging to me.

“What are you doing?” I muttered.

Rella chirped angrily, pecking at me.

Thinking she wanted to be picked up again, I extended my hand, but she pecked my palm this time.

"..."

Tatiana hurried over, whispering softly.

“Uh… I think she remembers now. She recognizes the phoenix as her mother. It seems like she's angry with you, Rafa.”

It hurt.

Rella's beak hurt much more than usual as it pecked at my palm.

The phoenix drew nearer, circling us but not attacking because Rella was with me.

Holding the angry Rella, I wrapped a thin thread of wind around her small body.

It was the same technique as wrapping wind around a weapon.

Then I tossed Rella high into the sky.

I had been ready to jump up if the mother didn’t catch her, but that wasn’t necessary.

With a sharp cry, Rella shot upward, and the phoenix swiftly snatched her up in its talons.

With a long, mournful cry, the phoenix made a wide circle in the air.

Seeing Rella securely in her mother’s grip, I let out a small sigh.

Goodbye, Rella.

“… They’re leaving,” Tatiana murmured wistfully.

“Yeah. It'll feel a bit empty now.”

Tatiana raised her arm and patted me on the shoulder.

To be precise, she patted my upper arm.

There was really no need for her to stand on her tiptoes just to do that.

“But, wow… It’s really fortunate. Look at all these feathers that have fallen,” Tatiana said, her eyes wide with surprise.

I turned to see several feathers lying on the ground where the phoenix had fallen earlier.

Tatiana went around collecting them.

“The request was for one feather, but we have seven here. Two are slightly damaged, but the rest are perfect… Wow, that’s incredible.”

Tatiana's eyes were wide with awe.

The reward for this request was 80,000 Lira.

In Earth currency, that would be roughly 280 million won.

It seemed like an absurd amount for a single feather, but a phoenix feather was a panacea that could even revive a dying person.

In this era, without advanced medical care, it was something only kings or high-ranking nobles could obtain—a true elixir of this world.

Seven of them? Anyone would be astonished, not just Tatiana.

Inside, I was secretly overjoyed.

The tiny version of myself in my head was dancing around, celebrating, shouting:

Congratulations! You've hit the feather jackpot! Your life is now a field of blooming flowers! Money can solve anything, even if your face can’t! Go, Rafa! That’s me, by the way! Let’s propose and get married already! Adventure? Otherworldly fantasy? Those are just steps toward getting a beautiful partner. And now the foundation’s been laid. A hundred million in this world is even more impressive than on Earth, so even with a scary face, 280 million multiplied by seven should be enough to find a wife! Go, Rafa! Be brave!

Thanks to my thick skin, I managed to keep my face straight, but inside, my heart was a complicated mix of joy and hesitation.

Could I actually propose?

No, before proposing, I should at least ask her to date me.

As I tried to calm my pounding heart, I looked over at Tatiana, who appeared stunned.

"..."

I hadn’t said anything yet.

Tatiana opened her mouth, looking flustered.

“This is strange. They’re coming back.”

I turned to look and, sure enough, the phoenix that had disappeared earlier was circling in the low sky nearby.

"What…"

Something was wrong—Rella wasn’t in the phoenix's talons.

I wondered if it had left her at the nest, but then something came bursting out from beneath the underbrush.

"Chirp!"

It was Rella.

She was running toward us faster than I had ever seen before, her feet getting tangled up, causing her to roll head over heels.

"What is she doing?" I muttered, and Tatiana tilted her head.

“My master said that phoenixes form deep bonds. Once they've bonded, they never forget.”

"..."

“Maybe Rella didn’t want to leave you, Rafa, and so she came back.”

It’s hard to believe this chick, who forgot her own mother so quickly, could form such a deep attachment.

Half-rolling as she came, Rella angrily pecked at my leg.

Above us, the phoenix was still circling while Rella pecked at my leg like a woodpecker drilling a hole.

On top of that, the phoenix in the sky was descending lower and lower.

It looked like it would come all the way down to us.

Tatiana tilted her head, puzzled.

“...Um... Phoenixes are supposed to be very affectionate and protective of their chicks... I don’t think that Mother is planning to leave. Perhaps it intends to follow us?”

"..."

A phoenix feather is a panacea.

It’s not good for a creature like that to be seen by people.

I already have trouble with my mother, and now a phoenix, too.

Sigh, this has turned into a complicated situation.