Our return to the guild was relatively uneventful. Daryl's party was loaded down with feathers and other materials they had harvested from the birds, but they did not ask us to help them carry any of it after seeing how upset Masa had been about the bird's death. Well, I reckoned no one would want to incur his wrath after seeing the inferno he created just to cremate the carcass. To tell the truth, I had also been a little intimidated by the flames, but I also knew about his passion for birds, so I stayed beside him to offer moral support.

Thankfully, the egg I was given by the party leader, Jakk, had successfully distracted Masa. There had originally been two eggs, but one was unfortunately smashed when the parent bird fell at the end. From the condition of the dead chick within it, they judged that the other egg was also close to hatching, which meant it couldn't be used as a food source. The bird's meat was supposedly unpalatable after all.

Masa held his backpack containing the egg carefully in his arms as we walked, but I suppressed a surge of unwarranted and uncomfortable feelings. I was the one who passed it to him, so why would I be feeling jealous? And worse, I wasn't sure whether I was feeling jealous of the egg or of Masa. So…yeah, my emotions were in a jumble. Like that was anything new.

We made it back to the guild just as the sun was setting. Daryl's party thanked us again before they went to sell off their materials and sign off on the completed request. Crystie also went to the back to report to the guildmaster. Meanwhile, the four of us proceeded to the counter to accept our rewards again, and this time my mum was very satisfied when she saw the numbers increase. This amount also included the reward from the emergency quest, which came up to only slightly less than the Flame Slug request. I wasn't sure how I felt about that.

"Well then, I guess that's that," said my dad, turning around to face us. "Do you guys still want to hang around here or go elsewhere for dinner? I'm feeling a little peckish myself."

"I wouldn't mind trying out the local cuisine," suggested my mum with a smile. "We do have two completed quests to celebrate after all."

I added my two cents. "In that case, the inn's food is not bad. We could have that for dinner. The prices are reasonable too."

Masa nodded, but didn't speak. My dad patted him on the shoulder and said, "All right then, lead the way, Girling."

Now that my parents had a taste of "adventuring", it seemed they weren't particularly eager to stay here, so this might be our last meal here. I was looking forward to seeing new places, but didn't want to jinx it by saying it out loud, so I just went with the flow and enjoyed the meal with my parents and Masa. The Japanese boy finally cheered up a little once he ate and showed a hint of a smile here and there as we talked.

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Good. I was hoping that taking care of a baby bird once the egg hatched would be able to bring his mood back to normal. Then again, if he had to return to school soon, what were we going to do about the chick? Now that my parents were here in Shyi'eld, I had the impression they wanted to travel around a bit more before returning to Earth. And we didn't even know whether the bird could survive there if we brought it over.

What were Masa's intentions for the bird in the first place? Did he want to keep it as a pet or release it once it was able to survive on its own? I decided to ask him directly instead of making assumptions on my own.

Masa looked thoughtful as he considered my question. "Of course having a bird companion would be nice, but perhaps not practical, since I am unable to remain here for an extended period of time. It would be best if we could raise the chick until it fledges and becomes independent."

He paused and looked down at his backpack, still in front of him as we sat at the table. "Feeding it might be a bit of a hassle, depending on its diet. Once we find out what it eats, however, it shouldn't be that hard with your conjuring."

The rest of us just listened quietly as he explained how baby birds were fed by their parents almost every few minutes, and continued to be fed a while even after they had fledged. My mum glanced at me and grinned. "Our little chick is still being fed even after she's left the nest and ventured into another world on her own."

"Mum!" I protested even as I blushed a deep red. "I can pay for my own meals now, you know."

"We know," said my dad with an equally mischievous grin. "But just let us treat you guys for now. You can take care of us when we retire."

"You're already retired!" I shot back.

"Not as mercenaries," retorted my dad. "You guys still need much more training before you can overtake us on that front."

I had nothing to say to that. He was right, we were far less skilled than him or mum, and not only in terms of literal Skills. Our experiences as adventurers were sorely lacking, and as Masa had unfortunately demonstrated during the emergency request, we needed better control of our emotions in order to work effectively as a team. Masa must also have realised that, as his cheeks reddened as well.

The four of us decided to return to the old mansion to spend the night rather than paying for rooms at the inn. Most of that was my mum's decision and the rest of us didn't mind either way, so we just followed along. Nevertheless, it was a relief to sleep in my own bed again. I was in dreamland almost instantly.

The next morning arrived with a lot of noise though. Footsteps were running up and down the corridor and someone thumped loudly on my room's door, shouting, "Rynn, it's hatching!"

Needless to say, I was up in a instant and running downstairs in the next.