Is, is she really going to kill me like this?

I finally managed to gather the funds to pay off my debt!

This couldn’t be happening.

At that moment, a thought popped into my head.

It was from the original story, where the female lead also defied Rosie and was pushed from the center’s rooftop.

Rosie was… someone who did what she said she would do.

I softened my attitude.

“Wa-wait a moment! I’m sorry. I spoke out of turn.”

“Good thing you realized before dying.”

“Um… I’ll speak well of you to Benjamin. I’ll tell him you’re a great woman.”

“……”

Rosie, who seemed about to push me right away, hesitated.

A stalemate. There was no doubt that Rosie was wavering at my words.

“How can I trust you?”

“Please believe me!”

“You might turn on me as soon as you meet Benjamin, and instead make me out to be the bad guy.”

That’s true, but!

“I, I promise I won’t do that!”

But there’s nothing that breaks as easily as a promise!

I hid my true thoughts and waited for Rosie’s decision.

Please… I desperately hoped she would just let this go.

Finally, Rosie’s lips parted as she made her decision.

“You.”

Rosie pushed my right shoulder. As a result, I was pushed backward.

“Now.”

And this time, she pushed my left shoulder.

As I was pushed back again, small stones hit by my feet fell down the cliff.

Gulp. I kept swallowing hard.

“You should fall from here.”

“Ro-Rosie!”

“Goodbye.”

Rosie pushed my shoulders with both hands.

I tried to resist, but I couldn’t stop my body from tilting backward.

My two legs floated in the air.

The knights who had been firmly holding my arms let go of me as if they had been waiting for this moment.

I started falling down the cliff.

“Aaaaah!”

My body, affected by gravity, began to fall at a rapid speed.

I could hear the sound of cutting through the wind mixed with Rosie’s laughter.

“Rosie, you fcking b*tch!”

Even though I hurled curses that were close to last words, Rosie’s laughter didn’t stop.

I glanced down below.

If I was lucky enough to fall onto a tree, it seemed I might only get bruised.

‘It, it’ll be okay. I won’t die.’

I tried to comfort myself, but the more I did, the more my fear grew.

I was really scared.

And I felt miserable.

If I died, it would be so unfair that I felt I wouldn’t be able to close my eyes.

Tears rolled down my cheeks.

At that moment, Bless, who I had put in my shirt pocket, popped out.

It has wings, so it won’t fall to its death with me.

It was fortunate amidst the misery.

I took in Bless’s cute appearance, which might be the last time I see it.

Even that wasn’t clear because my vision was blurred by tears.

“Bless, at least you must live. Hic.”

I reached out towards Bless, who was flying in front of my face.

I wanted to hug my small, precious pet bird one last time.

That’s when the amazing thing happened.

Bless’s body, which my fingertips barely touched, started to shine brightly.

The light soon grew so large that it seemed about to engulf me.

It was so bright that I tightly closed my eyes. Then came a calm silence.

The sound of cutting through the wind that had been reaching my ears was completely gone. Silence.

I didn’t even feel like my body was falling anymore.

Should I say it felt like I was sitting somewhere?

‘What’s happening?’

When I opened my closed eyes, what I saw was an unbelievable sight.

“Am I… riding something right now?”

I was riding on the broad back of some bird.

It wasn’t Ptero, who I had contracted with. Its appearance was completely different.

The bird had a white back, and even its wings were white.

Where did this bird suddenly appear from?

Belatedly, I looked for Bless first.

“Bless! Where are you?”

The answer came from the white bird.

―I’m here!

It wasn’t even “kyukyu” anymore.

The bird… was speaking human language.

The conversation didn’t continue any further. Because the white bird flew towards the ground.

The bird set me down on safe ground.

I got off the bird and looked at it from the front.

Round eyes like black beans, a plump white belly, and a single white feather sticking out on top of its head.

It was an appearance that made me want to say, ‘Is it okay for a bird to be this handsome?’

“Could it be that you’re Bless?”

The bird, taller than me, looked down at me while proudly puffing out its belly.

―Yes, Yerena. I seem to be able to speak now that I’ve awakened.

…Awakened?

“But why are your sentences so short?”

―Weird. Don’t know why.

“Your way of speaking is really strange.”

―…Probably because the awakening isn’t perfect.

After saying that, Bless’s body shone again.

Not long after, there was a ‘pong!’ sound.

In place of the light, the Bless I knew appeared.

It spoke while pattering its small feet.

―Kyukyukyu! Kyuuukyu?

‘I’m back to normal! But is the owner okay?’

Only then did I remember that I had been falling from a cliff.

Thanks to the awakened Bless, I wasn’t injured anywhere.

I wiped my tear-stained eyes with my sleeve.

“Yes. I survived thanks to you.”

I spread both my palms wide.

“Bless, come here. Let’s hug.”

Bless fluttered over and landed on my palm. I rubbed its cheek against mine.

“If you ever want anything, make sure to tell me. You’re my lifesaver. Thank you.”

―Kyukyukyu….. Kyukyu.

‘This much… is nothing.’

What would have happened to me if Bless hadn’t been there?

I might have died before even starting my transportation business.

“But how did you become an adult form?”

―Kyukyu.

‘I don’t know either’… is what it’s saying.

That’s when I remembered what the Honey Guildmaster had said.

That Bless could be grown. It was true.

Should I thank Rosie for making me realize this fact?

What should I do about Rosie?

Should I tell others that she tried to kill me?

“By the way, Bless…”

―Kyukyu?

‘Wha, what?’

“You were handsome. Probably the most handsome bird I’ve ever seen.”

I imitated Bless’s adult version of speech pattern.

Bless seemed to like my compliment and chuckled.

―Kyu. Kyu. Kyu.

‘Kuk. Kuk. Kuk.’

Its chuunibyou-like laughter remained the same.

After finishing the emotional reunion with Bless, I checked the time.

My wristwatch showed 5:40.

There were about 20 minutes left until Duncan’s quitting time.

I wanted to quit right away today.

I couldn’t go through a situation like this again.

“Bless. Let’s go back to the center for now. I’m definitely going to quit today.”

I took one step forward but couldn’t take a second.

The aftershock, which I hadn’t noticed due to Bless’s growth and our emotional reunion, hit me.

My legs trembled so much that I couldn’t take a step.

My hands were even worse. They shook uncontrollably, having been trembling since I was at the center.

I rubbed my face as if washing it dry.

I thought that if it weren’t for Bless, I might have fainted or collapsed long ago.

It was because of this small creature that I could keep my sanity.

I was endlessly grateful to Bless.

Standing there, I took deep breaths.

I thought I could only return to the center once my body’s trembling subsided a bit.

After standing still for a few minutes with both hands covering my face, an unfamiliar warmth settled on my shoulders.

It was a jacket. A jacket that someone seemed to have draped over me.

I lowered my hands that were covering my face.

I felt my blood run cold, wondering if Rosie had come down the cliff and found me.

No, if Rosie had found me, she wouldn’t have covered me with a jacket.

As I turned my head back, the scent from the jacket reached my nose.

A good scent. And a familiar one.

Soon, I heard the voice of the jacket’s owner.

“Are you alright?”

I called his name softly.

“Duncan…?”

“It’s me… Phew, do you know… how worried I was?”

A bead of sweat rolled down Duncan’s forehead.

He was constantly taking deep breaths.

Duncan looked like someone who had run all the way here because he was so worried about me.

“How did you come here?”