Tatiana and I had to deliver the phoenix feathers.

The request explicitly stated that it could not be entrusted to anyone else. It seemed like the intention was for capable adventurers to personally ensure the safe delivery of the feathers, to prevent loss or theft.

After all, anyone capable of acquiring a phoenix feather must be quite skilled.

However, the delivery destination was a rather distant city, and walking there as we usually did was not an option. It would take several months to make the journey on foot.

I heard that, in urgent cases, people could borrow horses for faster travel, but neither Tatiana nor I could ride one.

The most common method was to use a passenger carriage.

This world also had carriages that traveled between cities, much like buses on Earth.

The starting and ending points were usually large cities, but the carriages would stop at smaller villages along the way. They always stopped at the same villages, so we could board in the middle of the route at one of those stops.

However, the village along the way from Endes to the Forest of Enchantment was not one of those carriage stops.

In order to catch a carriage, we had to make our way to a village in a different direction.

Recalling Jenny's explanation, I stared at the map in front of me.

The firelight flickered, causing the map’s lines to retreat into shadows before reappearing, as if they were dancing.

The map Jenny had drawn for us was even simpler than the one kept at the guild. Moreover, it was more of a guide based on landmarks—trees, strange rocks—meant to help us find our way, rather than providing an overall clear picture of the route.

It was more like a navigation note than an actual map, so if we lost our way, it was impossible to tell where we were.

“Do you think we’re here?” Tatiana, who was sitting right next to me, leaned in to look at Jenny's map.

“I think so. But I'm not too sure,” I said, my tone uncertain.

Tatiana let out a groan, bringing her face even closer to the map.

Doing that wasn't going to make the map any clearer.

It wouldn’t reveal any new symbols or draw any additional roads.

When I chuckled involuntarily at her silly gesture, Tatiana pursed her lips.

“Don’t laugh. I’m being serious here. What if we fail to deliver it on time?” she complained.

“I’m worried about that too.”

This wasn’t a joke—I was genuinely worried.

We had lost our way, and Jenny's map wasn’t enough to tell us how to reach the village where the carriage stopped.

As much as I hated to admit it, I was bad at finding my way, and Tatiana was nearly as clueless unless it was a path she had traveled before.

We could end up failing the request even after getting the feathers, all because we couldn’t find our way back.

‘Sigh, what a ridiculous way to fail.’

To make things worse, we had a bird that, to anyone who saw it, was clearly a phoenix.

I glanced over at the phoenix sitting beyond the campfire.

Its flaming orange feathers seemed to glow even more vividly, illuminated by the fire.

At first, the bird had kept its distance from us, but when Rella refused to move away from the campfire, it had reluctantly taken a seat across from us.

The mother bird nudged her long beak into Rella's body as if nibbling on something. Every time it did that, Rella chirped in annoyance and ran around the fire in circles.

I thought wild birds were supposed to sit quietly in their nests and remain vigilant until their mothers returned, but Rella, where did all your “wild” instincts go?

She busily darted away from her mother, eventually diving into a bush.

This chick just couldn’t stay still.

When she was with me, she stayed on my head most of the time, but with her mother around, she was all over the place.

I was beginning to understand how she had ended up separated from her mother in the first place.

I found myself staring at the distant sky.

“Do I really have to keep these two around?”

Earlier today, I had tried to shake them off for a while.

I ran.

But birds must have an incredibly keen sense of smell, especially phoenixes.

By the time the sky turned red and dusk began to fall, they had found me.

I doubted the mother bird had been the one to track me down—most likely, it was Rella.

I had been shocked when Rella showed up during the dragon subjugation, thinking she had been lost forever. Maybe back then she had followed my scent too.

Rella had been so angry that her pecking nearly shattered my ankle.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

At this point, I was starting to wonder if someone had cursed me.

“Could I really be cursed…?”

When I muttered that aloud, Tatiana suddenly thrust a wooden doll at me.

“Don’t worry. I thought that might be the case, so I prepared for it. This is a curse-repelling doll. If someone tried to curse you, it would reflect the curse back to the caster.”

I wasn’t sure how an ordinary wooden doll could deflect a curse, but Tatiana patted her chest confidently, telling me not to worry.

“There are witches who specialize in curses, and in those cases, it might be a bit dangerous. But for the most part, curses are weak. My master is an amazing witch, so she could block any ordinary witch’s curse.”

The only witch she had ever met was her master, so the praise must have come directly from her. It was natural for a disciple to trust her master blindly, but I found it hard to believe.

When I pictured the master Tatiana spoke of, I couldn't help but imagine a young girl squealing over manga and novels.

Honestly, I couldn’t believe it.

But it would be rude to say that, so I kept my mouth shut.

After letting out a small sigh, I turned my gaze back to the phoenix.

Rella, who had dived into the bush, was now pecking at the ground. She must have been searching for bugs—no, a strange-looking mole emerged.

Just as the mole tried to attack Rella, the mother phoenix pinned it down with her talon.

Rella seized the opportunity to attack the mole.

The mole struggled but was powerless, and eventually succumbed to Rella's attacks under her mother’s watchful foot.

When the mother bird lifted her talon from the now limp mole, Rella climbed on top of it, twirling around with a triumphant chirp.

A cry of victory.

I had seen this many times before.

Tatiana, sitting beside me, murmured as she watched.

“Rella is a bit sneaky, isn’t she?”

I thought the same.

Pleased with her victory over the mole, Rella began digging the ground again.

Initially, she couldn’t manage to dig anything resembling a hole, but recently, she had become surprisingly adept at it.

A small hole formed in the blink of an eye.

She was more like a mole than a bird.

Her mother watched Rella for a moment and then, suddenly, began digging as well.

In an instant, she had created a hole large enough for a person to fit inside.

It seemed like she was setting an example.

Fueled by competition, Rella dug even more vigorously.

Watching the scene quietly, I let out another sigh.

“Is there any kind of dye that could cover these feathers?”

If we could at least hide the orange color, we might have a chance of concealing the fact that they were phoenixes.

Maybe people would just think they were some sort of rare, exotic birds.

“No. When I was little, my master had a phoenix feather. It was used in potions. She told me that no dye could ever color those feathers.”

Sigh.

I let out yet another sigh.

Tatiana sighed softly as well.

What on earth should we do?

“Oh!” Tatiana suddenly looked up.

“What if we coated it in powder?”

"Hmm?"

“We can't dye them, but if we cover the feathers with enough powder, it could mask their color.”

“Would that work?”

“If I use the special ingredients my master uses for disguises, I think it’ll work. It’s something that sticks well to the skin… Hmm… I’ll mix it with this powder…”

Tatiana rummaged through her bag, pulling out a variety of items.

Late into the night, she worked, carefully mixing small quantities of different powders, adjusting the ratios, and testing the colors.

I watched her at first, but it soon got boring.

I must have dozed off for a while, because when I opened my eyes, it was already dawn.

When I blinked awake, I found Tatiana looking at me quietly, our eyes meeting.

It seemed she hadn’t slept at all.

Tatiana smiled brightly.

I had thought this from the very beginning, but she really was beautiful.

Especially when she smiled like that—it was like a flower blossoming.

It felt as if a flower fairy had transformed into a human and stepped into the mortal world.

Honestly, she was the most beautiful person I had ever seen.

My father was beautiful as well, but not in a feminine way.

One glance was enough to tell that he was a man.

Despite being more beautiful than most women, my father had an undeniably masculine beauty.

But Tatiana… she was unlike anyone I had ever seen.

The "Operation Proposal, Advance with a Flower Field in Mind" plan that had been on hold due to the phoenix suddenly resurfaced.

If it’s now—or maybe if I earn more money, become very wealthy—maybe she’ll open her heart to me a little.

Maybe she’ll consider me as a potential partner.

The fact that she could show me such a radiant smile, even if there were no romantic feelings yet, might mean that she at least thought well of me as a human being.

Could I make a move now?

Should I propose?

As I was mulling over these thoughts, Tatiana suddenly held up her thumb.

“It’s done!”

"..."

How do I put this?

She looked so much like a woman just a moment ago, but now her childlike behavior made my feelings instantly cool.

It was like a seesaw.

One moment she seemed like a woman, and the next, she’d do something like that, and I’d think, "Ah, she’s still a kid."

Hmm.

Proposing—no, starting by asking her to date me—that’s a plan for another time.

“Anyway, how do we put this powder on? There isn’t enough to just throw it around, so we’ll need to apply it to the feathers like makeup.”

“I'll hold it down.”

The phoenix raised its wings slightly in alarm, but it flinched when I grabbed Rella.

Seizing the opportunity, I moved closer, grabbing one of the phoenix's wings with one hand and its beak with the other.

Startled, the phoenix began flapping its wings, and its body slowly started to heat up.

Quick to react, Tatiana took Rella in her arms.

Rella, oblivious to what was happening, remained still in Tatiana's arms, chewing on some jerky, and the phoenix’s heat dissipated.

It seemed like both Rella and the phoenix were a bit slow-witted.

Maybe the entire species was just not very smart.

Watching Tatiana coat the feathers with powder, I muttered internally.

‘If you two weren’t so sturdy and couldn’t spit fire, I think you’d have gone extinct by now.’

Ah, maybe that’s why there are so few of them.

Once the feathers were thoroughly coated with powder using a small brush, the phoenix looked a little shabby.

Tatiana had used pigments meant for creating a tanned skin tone, so the phoenix now looked more like a plain peahen without the splendid ornamental feathers.

Of course, it was still much larger and more elegant, but compared to its original appearance, the difference was as stark as a beggar and a prince.

I felt a little guilty.

“I'm a little sorry about this,” Tatiana said, covering her mouth with her hand.

It seemed she was stifling a laugh.

When I released the phoenix, it shook its wings vigorously, trying to rid itself of the powder.

Some powder did fall off, but not enough to reveal its original color.

“This should be fine.”

Seeing my reassurance, Tatiana puffed out her chest with pride.

“My master is truly amazing, isn't she? No other witch could pull off something like this.”

Since today was a bit damp, we had propped up some branches near the campfire to dry our clothes and blankets.

Because of that, Tatiana's clothes were thinner than usual, and with the sunlight now illuminating everything around us, I could see the outline of her chest through the fabric.

I turned my head slightly, averting my eyes.

Sure, what you're saying is probably right, but that chest is dangerous, so please don't keep puffing it out.

Realizing it belatedly, Tatiana hurriedly pulled on her clothes.

A brief, awkward silence followed, during which I couldn't help but wonder if this might be a "green light" moment.

If she was embarrassed, did that mean she saw me as a man, at least a little?

As these thoughts swirled in my mind, Tatiana looked at me hesitantly and asked.

“Am I being helpful?”

"..."

I turned to face her.

There was something about Tatiana's eyes that made her look like a vulnerable child.

As if she was a bit scared of being scolded by her mother.

There was none of the usual confidence she showed when boasting about her master.

“Of course. Without you, we wouldn’t even be able to get into the city because of the phoenix.”

At my words, Tatiana smiled in relief.

She then went back to bragging about her master, just as usual, but somehow the look on her face from just a moment ago lingered deeply in my mind.

I'll propose another time.

I wasn’t sure, but I felt like now wasn't the right time.

No, not a proposal—first, I should ask her out.