Chapter 258: Surprisingly Legal (3)
Sssk, sssk, sssk.
I reached out and stroked her head. The female owner hadn't lied about washing and cleaning the harpies well—there was none of that greasy, matted bird feather texture you'd expect. It felt soft, like petting a human head.
"Piiik!"
Even her cry sounded more like a person imitating a bird. Like mermaids, harpies didn't differ much from humans in their upper body.
The main difference from other demi-humans was the wings in place of arms.
When folded, they lay tight against the body, so you wouldn't notice at first. But when I gently pulled one out, it revealed feathers replacing arms and forearms. The spot where the wing connected to the armpit had no feathers, looking eerily like a human armpit.
The wings had long, thick feathers, but the fingers had degenerated, leaving only faint traces of split bone.
Illustrations usually showed bat-like wings with hands at the elbow, but these harpies had standard bird wings. The joints were just for folding.
'No grabbing anything with these wings.'
Like domesticated chickens, they didn't need to fly and thus rarely used their wings. Most tucked them along their sides, dozing off or wandering around the farm. Occasionally, they'd peek at me out of curiosity.
"One moment. It's prime egg-laying time, so let me get them ready."
"Take your time."
I had time to kill anyway.
The owner, tall for a woman, had well-toned arms and thick thighs from hard work. She exuded a robust, healthy energy.
She effortlessly picked up harpies to reposition them for easier egg-laying. That alone was impressive.
"Want to come take a look?"
"Pardon?"
"Some of our capital clients still have prejudice against harpy eggs, so when they visit, I show them firsthand."
I had nothing better to do while she worked, and if she was explaining things in front of me...
'Wait. If she's showing the product here, that means...'
"This one's laying now."
'I knew it!'
I felt it coming, but I couldn't deny I was curious. I cleared my throat awkwardly and approached her.
"No need to be shy. It's not like it's a human body."
"Still... even if not human..."
"This way, please."
She picked up a harpy that resembled her and placed her on some soft straw.
"Take a look back here."
"Back here..."
She meant the groin area, the lower pelvis.
Where pubic hair should grow, there were long decorative feathers. Instead of separate sex and excretion organs, there was one large, twitching, fleshy opening.
"This is the cloaca. Birds use one opening for both reproduction and excretion."
"...I know."
"See how it's twitching? That means she's about to lay."
"..."
"Notice the pretty pink color? These harpies have little laying experience, so the cloaca is still fresh-looking."
"Ah... I see."
"Back home, older harpies often have darker pigmentation or thicker edges. It's not unhygienic, but customers prefer clean appearances."
I didn't know why I was getting a lesson on cloacas, but with the egg halfway out, I listened to her explain how to evaluate a healthy harpy and her egg-laying potential.
"Wild harpies rarely lay eggs in the open. Predators make it risky. They usually nest on cliffs inaccessible to land creatures."
"..."
"Domesticated harpies, though, feel safe in human-made nests and can lay eggs in front of people. That leads to stable production and marketable quantity."
Honestly, with a half-emerged egg in front of me, I couldn't focus on anything she said.
The egg, about the size of a child's head, slowly emerged. The harpy crouched lower, letting the egg touch the ground. Then, with a stretch of her cloaca, the slimy, glistening egg slipped out.
Plop.
The straw cushion absorbed the impact. Steam rose from the fresh egg. I stared at the harpy's now-contracting cloaca.
What had stretched painfully wide returned to a tight, pink slit, save for some oozing mucus.
'How elastic is that? To push something so big and snap back instantly...'
"Still warm. Want to try it?"
"No."
"If you peel it and eat it raw while warm, it's delicious. The shells are clean, too."
"I have a weak stomach for raw smells. And... eating it right after she laid it would feel wrong."
I could eat soft-boiled eggs, but raw ones? Not my thing. Especially not right after watching a harpy lay it.
Even if we were degenerates, this felt extreme.
"It's unfertilized, so it's fine."
"It's about how it feels."
"Fair enough."
She looked disappointed, but I wasn't a snake who needed fresh eggs.
"Looks like that's it for today's eggs. Shall we begin?"
"Now...?"
"Yes. Better to do it before the other workers come. It'd hurt morale."
'What about my morale?'
Gulp.
"I'll pick ones who laid yesterday. That way, their next egg will be fertilized sooner, and they'll be responsive."
She scanned the flock, then carefully chose two harpies, carrying one under each arm.
"How about these two?"
"Even if you ask me..."
Would she get mad if I said they looked like sisters?
Harpies, like mermaids, had beautiful human-like appearances. As they dangled from her arms, staring at me, I couldn't help but feel... welcomed?
"This one hatched from an egg fertilized by my father. The other, by my second brother."
So one was a sibling, the other a niece.
Not that she saw them that way.
"I'll mark yours so there's no mix-up."
Doubt anyone else in the capital would get involved with harpies...
'Actually, about 150 of those magic knights might...'
If they'd fuck birds without tits, they'd definitely go wild over harpies with human faces and breasts.
"Shall we start with this one?"
She showed me a harpy with a pink cloaca, pulling it open to reveal a moist, textured, pink interior like a human vagina.
Blood started rushing south without my permission.
"One thing: don't pin them down. Ride them."
"Why?"
"Their bones are weak. If you press down, you'll break ribs or wings."
She placed a harpy on my arm. Though about the size of a petite woman with folded wings and bent legs, she was light—as light as Delphine or Professor Pandel.
'If I lay on her... she might really die.'
Even with hands under her armpits, she was feather-light. Her breasts, however, were full and clearly there to seduce a mate.
'What are those tits even for?'
Do they nurse chicks after hatching? I wondered but couldn't ask. Instead, I signaled with my eyes for her to give me some privacy.
"You'll have trouble the first time, so I'll help."
"Eh?"
"They're fragile. If we lose a mother, we lose potential eggs."
'I've never done this with a harpy, but...'
Even wild harpies mated with humans sometimes. Maybe it was doable with some trial and error.
"I'll set up a place. Please lie down and get ready."
I knew what she meant, and I couldn't refuse anymore.
"Okay, get hard. Harpies are naturally wet, and their cloaca is spacious, so you don't need much foreplay."
I lay down, erection ready, and she guided her sister-like harpy over me, parting her legs and letting her straddle me.
'God... she's so light.'
She wasn't even supporting herself with her legs. She just leaned in. Her feather-light body felt like nothing.
But now that our skin touched, her thighs felt human, and that twitching cloaca against my dick made my whole lower half shiver. The harpy twitched back.
"Piiik?"
Still unaware of what was coming, her innocent eyes looked up at me as the owner guided my hands to her waist.
"You're ready. Don't press too hard. Just ease in. You won't need force."
"Understood."
Even holding her, she was so light. Her feathers brushed against my pubes, tickling as I inhaled.
"Hoo... here we go."
Sluurk!