Well, since he’s telling me to keep touching, I’ll continue.

As Haniel mechanically moved her hand, Nasir made a satisfied sound in his throat.

“Here, touch me more here. If it’s you, that place is fine too…”

“Here, here?”

“Yes… there… no, wait.”

Nasir looked down at Haniel with narrowed eyes.

His gaze was so fierce that it made her heart jump.

“You didn’t touch that bastard’s ears too, did you?”

That bastard’s ears? That bastard meaning… Regan?

Haniel blinked her round eyes as she looked back at Nasir. Even though she tried to appear calm, she felt cold sweat running down her nape.

Had she touched Regan’s ears?

“What are you doing?”

“…Sorry. But your ears move so well, I couldn’t help it…”

Of course… she had touched them!

And surprisingly, Regan’s reaction then wasn’t much different from what Nasir was showing now.

Haniel felt a chill run through her. A near-certain guess belatedly came to her.

‘Could it be that the ears are erogenous zones for the creatures here?

If that was the case… then sinful Haniel had been unwittingly doing something equivalent to sticking her head into Regan and Nasir’s mouths all this time.

If Nasir knew she had done this to Regan, too, how would he react? Seeing the obvious outcome, she immediately denied it with an unnecessarily firm voice.

“No, I didn’t touch them. I didn’t even look in that direction.”

“Really? Good. That’s how it should be.”

Fortunately, Nasir seemed to fall for Haniel’s confident lie.

He would obviously be angry if he knew what she was thinking, but looking at him now, it really did seem like he had only recently become an adult.

“Aren’t my ears prettier than that male’s?”

“Yes, of course. Nasir’s ears are the best. Oh, they’re so pretty, so pretty.”

Was he always this picky and difficult to please? He seemed nice before. He would even bring animals he hunted… courtship gifts. Haniel swallowed bitterly inside.

But the gentle bird she missed had been thoroughly upset from the moment Regan appeared on Haniel’s territory threshold, and it seemed unlikely that his mood would improve with anything trivial.

Logically, anyone would be angry if they thought their marriage proposal had been accepted, only to find their mate had invited another beast into their home and cheated.

So what could she do? Haniel had no choice but to agree wholeheartedly to please her one and only house-sized bird groom… or rather, friend.

“Wow. You’re so beautiful in human form too, Saedo… Nasir.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I’ve never seen anyone as pretty and blue as you.”

Well, that’s obvious. People aren’t blue.

But Nasir, originally a blue bird, seemed satisfied with her flattery and slightly ruffled the feathers at the tips of his ears, nodding as if telling her to continue.

“Your eyes are like… that thing, you know.”

“That thing? What? Jewels?”

“Hahaha, if you say it first… Yes. Actually, that’s exactly what I wanted to say. How did you know? You clever thing. The smartest, most gallant, and prettiest bird in this forest.”

“Hmm…”

Peep peep.

That satisfied sound again.

So that was it. Having grasped the general direction, Haniel began melting both Nasir’s body and mind as if soothing his mood was her profession.

“Oh, you’re so pretty, so pretty.”

Anyone watching would be impressed by her professional dedication!

And the effect was powerful.

Her attempt to keep this spiky-feathered bird from focusing on the presence of another male in her territory and causing a disturbance had an almost excessively strong effect, to the point of being somewhat disconcerting.

‘Uh-oh?’

When she came to her senses, Nasir had gone beyond just pushing his head against Haniel and was now leaning his entire massive body against her… he had gently pushed her down onto the stone floor and was pressing his body on top of her.

Peep peep. Purr purr.

“Pret… pretty, ack.”

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing. Nasir is really heav… pretty.”

“That’s obvious…”

Was it her imagination that she couldn’t breathe well?

‘Weren’t birds supposed to be light?’

She had known that birds on Earth had evolved to be lightweight for flight…

But Nasir, being of the Reginas species, was fundamentally different from those Earth birds, or perhaps it was because he had transformed into a human form, but he was far from lightweight.

Although it felt like her lungs were being crushed… Nasir also seemed to have set aside his initial prickliness. This was going smoothly enough.

Haniel spoke in a strangled voice.

“You’re pretty, so pretty. Indeed, my friend…”

“What?”

“…who was a friend but now is, d-diff? Different… someone I want to be closer to. Husband material!”

“Hmm…”

So except for that near slip-up, things were going smoothly.

‘Phew. I’m glad his mood has improved.’

Seeing that her feathered friend’s mood seemed better, Haniel smiled without realizing it.

Even though she was flattering him shamelessly, she had been concerned about “Saedol,” Nasir, her first friend in this world, being upset.

While Nasir might consider Haniel his wife, to Haniel he was still more of a “bird” image, so he was closer to a “friend” than a bird husband… bird groom… bird spouse.

A friend who readily approached the abandoned Haniel and showed his affection generously.

For Haniel, who had no close relationships in her previous life, someone like Nasir was too precious to lose.

Especially if that person had helped her overcome her piercing loneliness.

“Ack, huff… hehe.”

Her heart felt lighter.

Her mind, which had been jumbled due to the earlier incident with Regan and the status window, also seemed to be clearing up, making Haniel laugh happily.

But unlike her lightened heart, her body, pinned under Nasir’s large and heavy feathered form, was becoming very heavy.

Haniel looked like a small prey unfortunately crushed under a predator’s body.

Whether he still thought of himself as a baby bird, or knew better but ignored it, Nasir paid no attention to Haniel’s increasingly labored breathing and just rested his head on her chest, chattering like he was whining.

“Humes are greedy creatures. Did you know there’s a country outside the forest where they live in packs, Haniel?”

“Huh? Really? Could that be where Regan came from…”

“Probably. Anyway, those land beasts live in groups because they can’t nourish their bodies or protect their mates alone.”

They don’t seem particularly unable to protect… Despite their ferocity, belligerence, and strength that would be more than enough to tear apart any adversary, it was surprising that they still lived in groups with their own kind.

Looking up prettily at the silent Haniel, Nasir spoke in a somewhat arrogant voice.

“I can protect you.”

“Wow, pretty, pret… huh?”

“Our nest is almost finished too…”

…Nest?

‘What does he mean?’

And “our” nest at that. Is he talking about a bird’s nest?

Haniel forgot to say “pretty, pretty” and absentmindedly let her stroking hand slide down.

Nest. Is it like a magpie’s nest? Or a swallow’s nest since it’s pretty?

Presumably, a nest large enough for a bird of Nasir’s size to stretch out would clearly require a substantial amount of wood and straw.

Haniel had never seen what Nasir’s “nest” looked like.

Perhaps, like raptors, he built his home on a cliff, but she had a feeling that the “our nest” Nasir was talking about wasn’t that kind.

Lost in these thoughts, Haniel didn’t even register what sounds were reaching her ears as she continued to stroke Nasir.

“Haa. Hmm…”

“…Huh?”

Until the sudden m*an pierced her ears.

“W-what?”

Had she been too distracted by thoughts of the nest?

When she came to her senses, her hand was kneading something firm yet trembling… someone’s bare skin.

Haniel’s eyes widened as she saw Nasir’s red lips, slightly parted and emitting what sounded like pained m*ans.

So her hand…

“!”

Had somehow moved down from Nasir’s head to his chest area and was massaging that part.

His bare chest without feathers.