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I tilted my head to the right. The long-tailed tit tilted its head in the same direction, as if mirroring my movement.
I tilted my head to the left. The long-tailed tit tilted its head in the same direction, as if mirroring my movement.
I turned my head back to face forward. The long-tailed tit turned its head to face forward, as if mirroring my movement.

I tilted my head to the right… then feinted and tilted it to the left. The long-tailed tit made a similar movement before tilting its head to mirror mine.

After staring at each other like that for a while, the long-tailed tit shook the snow off its body and shuffled over, pushing open the entrance… It looked huge up close.

“Pip-pip, chirp-chirp”

That distinctive, quivering call, those eyes staring intently at me while tilting its head.

The size was completely different, and I was momentarily taken aback, but it all felt familiar.

“……Ah.”

……Just as I was about to call out to it, I realized I didn’t even know that bird’s name. Or maybe it never had one.

After going on and on about “friends” and such in my past life, look at me now. Just how little interest did I have in those around me? Or had I simply forced myself not to care?

Maybe it was because I’d just had that dream, but I realized—even to myself—just how much I’d left behind.

Looking back now, they were among the few who’d ever shown me genuine affection.

Is wanting human friends even a valid reason?

…I looked away, overcome with guilt at those round eyes staring intently at me.

“…Um, sorry.”
“Kyupi!”
“Ouch.”

Unable to bear the gaze, an apology slipped out. The long-tailed tit let out a sharp chirp and pecked my forehead.

It hurts.

“……”

With tears welling in my eyes, I locked eyes with the long-tailed tit, who looked strangely serious.

“So it really is you, isn’t it? That little bird from back then.”
“Kyu-pi”

I never realized how inconvenient it was not to have a “name” for someone inside my own mind. It wasn’t until I gained a family in Sufi and started spending time with Noche and the others that I finally noticed.

With humans, it was enough for me to simply state their rank or species: Captain, Mercenary, Bodyguard, Doctor, Researcher, Staff Member… As for the Unknowns, they were almost always referred to by numbers or serial names, so I’d never felt any inconvenience from not knowing their names.

Despite my vague question, delivered while I was still dithering, the Long-tailed Tit nodded without a moment’s hesitation. It actually looked a little pleased.

It’s been like this since back then—we can communicate properly.

I don’t know how it tells me apart from now that I’m in a different form, but there’s no doubt it’s the same person… the same Long-tailed Tit.

The feather patterns are different, and while it used to be palm-sized, it’s gotten incredibly big now.

“…Long time no see.”
“Kyu-pi.”

Back then, its call was a high-pitched “pii pii,” but now the sound is slightly lower. As I thought to myself, “I guess that’s what happens when you get bigger,” a chuckle escaped me.

Even though I only remembered it a few moments ago, it felt strangely like we were meeting for the first time in decades.

But then again, that makes sense. Since there were tool-type Unknowns over there along with its storage unit, it wouldn’t be strange for there to be a biological type too.

“There’s a lot I want to talk about, but…”

As my surprise faded, a sense of lethargy returned. I could barely manage to sit up.

I wonder if I’ll have that dream again if I sleep here. How long have I been asleep, anyway?

I have to protect them so their body temperatures don’t drop even a little.

“These kids are my friends… I want to protect them. Please help me.”
“Kyu-pi-pi.”

When I conveyed this somewhat awkwardly, the Long-tailed Tit nodded without hesitation.

I felt a bit guilty asking a bird that dislikes humans to do this, but it didn’t seem to mind at all and spread its wings.

Come to think of it, even though I’m lying here in the snow, I’m not that cold. Even though I’m inside a snow hut, there’s no fire.

Lying on my side, I checked the temperature, and the thermometer read 0 degrees.

“…Did you do something?”
“Cheep.”

The Long-tailed Tit, curled up at the entrance of the snow hut, nodded. Come to think of it, she had the ability to transform into snow, but she’s gotten bigger too—maybe she’s powered up.

She’s an Unknown too; if she’s living in an environment like this, it wouldn’t be surprising if she could do something like that.

It helped a lot, but it’s still a harsh temperature for humans.

“……Fo… gah, ugh…”

I tried to activate ‘Forge’ to at least raise the temperature a little more, but I collapsed from intense dizziness and nausea.

I’m completely out of mana; it seems I’ve gone beyond what I can squeeze out with sheer willpower.

“Peep puru…”
“Guh…”

I grabbed the feathers of the Long-tailed Tit, who had approached me with concern, and pulled myself up.

The reason I’m usually carried on someone’s back is for situations like this—situations where the three of them can do nothing about.

Yet when the time comes, there’s no way I can just lie there sleeping, saying, “I was about to die too, so I couldn’t do anything.”

One more step, one more move.

This is the one time I need to pull my weight…!

“――――!”

I sat up and grabbed the doorknob; when I put my weight into it and pulled, the door opened easily.

I’d gained too much momentum and collapsed onto something that felt like a fluffy down comforter.

Feeling relieved by the warm air flowing in, I remembered that the long-tailed tit had knocked the entrance to the snow hut open when it flew in.

“B-block the entrance…”

That was all I could manage to say.

As I listened to a reply that sounded like a bird’s chirp, my body finally stopped moving for good.

It was a miracle that I had gotten up right away after collapsing in that situation, and that I had been able to move this far immediately after getting up.

In any case, it looked like we still had a chance to survive.