"Now that I think about it..."
"Hm? What's on your mind, Amelia-san?"
I was busy giving some skinship to one of my fellow Ostrich Beastmen, ruffling and petting its head, when the Elf named Amelia spoke to me.
As most of you (excluding the ostriches) know, she's a member of the adventurer party we've decided to escort. She's an Elf who looks great in that pointy mage hat. She seems to have become fast friends with "Dere-chan," the girl I named the other day, and is currently traveling on her back. Honestly, if someone climbs onto an ostrich's back, we just think, 'Oh? Feels a bit heavy...? Whatever!' and stop caring almost immediately, so it all works out. A single human is pretty light for us anyway.
"It seems like... your flock is growing, isn't it?"
"Oh yeah, we're expanding."
Just as she noticed, our flock is currently in a state of slow, steady multiplication. In fact, the ostrich whose head I was just ruffling is a newcomer who joined us moments ago. Even so, he has a look on his face like, 'Huh? Haven't I been here the whole time?' and the others have just stopped thinking, content with the idea of 'More friends! Happy!' That carefree nature? That stupidity? That's the ostrich way.
"Normally, ostriches move in groups of about a dozen. But it seems if there's a place where ostriches are clearly gathered, their brains go: 'I should probably go there too.' Since we're moving as a giant group, we just automatically pick up strays."
"......Hm?"
"From a leader's perspective, even if someone wanders off, they just have to look around to see this massive flock. They can find their way back on their own, which is a huge relief."
As I mentioned before, an ostrich's eyes are top-tier compared to their brains—it's the difference between a toddler who can't throw a ball and a Major League pitcher. Since their memory only lasts about three seconds, even if they get distracted, they forget what they were thinking about in three seconds. When that happens, they look around to ensure their safety, and then they see my humongous flock.
Naturally, they assume something important is happening here and start running toward us. It's perfect. Even if they forget why they're running halfway through, once the flock is right in front of them, they decide to rejoin.
"How should I put this... it's remarkable."
"Aha! They're adorable, aren't they?"
Amelia seemed caught between exasperation and genuine admiration. Since she was traveling on the back of the ostrich I named "Dere," she'd felt the "danger" of our species firsthand. I mean, the one I named "Dere" has already forgotten her own name. Every time, this Elf has to repeat the process:
'Your name is Dere.'
'Dere? ...Dere! Cute!'
'That's right. Now, Dere, could you follow me for a bath?'
'Dere? What? Food?'
She teaches her the name, and it's immediately deleted from the internal drive. Seriously, I'm so sorry about my kid... See, I think the "sound" of the word is recorded somewhere in the memory bank as 'I think I've heard that noise before.' But because the brain is so weak, it takes forever to access it. Or rather, by the time they've looked it up in the dictionary, they've forgotten what word they were looking for.
That's just how it is. When I first got my memories back, these interactions nearly broke my spirit, but you get used to it. Or perhaps I've just been "Ostrich-fied."
"I've been thinking... is it really a good idea for you to come to town?"
"...What do you mean?"
"People aren't as... pure as you might think. You will inevitably get dragged into something."
"Ah."
I see. She's saying that rather than going out into the world and being swallowed by the waves of a society stained with human malice, wouldn't it be happier for them to stay on this lush plateau shouting "Food! Food!"?
"Exactly."
"I get what you're saying. I only know about human society as 'knowledge'; I haven't experienced it myself. And I don't know if it's truly the best thing for these guys. Since we have to move as a whole because of our shared brainpower, maybe it is better not to take risks... I understand that, but..."
In reality, the will to "go to town and touch civilization" belongs only to me. These guys don't even understand the words "town" or "civilization." My own desires are definitely driving the reason we're leaving the plateau with these adventurers.
"This is just wishful thinking, but... we don't know that world yet. Maybe it'll be easier to live in. Maybe it'll be a great place for the other ostriches too. It wouldn't be right to deny that possibility from the start, would it?"
"...I suppose so."
"Our brains are weak, but our physical specs are real. We'll try it out for a bit, and if it looks good, we'll stay long-term. With our legs, even if it's a total disaster, we can just run back here... And besides."
"Besides?"
"From what I've heard, anywhere is better than this plateau..."
She looked at me with a puzzled expression. I don't know what my face looked like then, but a few ostriches who saw me came trotting over, so it probably wasn't a happy look. Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I'm okay. You guys really do care about your friends, don't you? If someone looks weird or tired, you come running right away. There, there, let me pet you...
"Amelia-san, you probably don't know... but even for us, there are enemies on this plateau that we can't handle. I can count them on both hands."
"Hands...?"
"Oh, those hands. Not ostrich wings. I mean more than ten. And the one that's truly hopeless is... the 'Biku-Biku' (The Shiverer)."
"""BIKU-BIKU?!!!"""
The ostriches nearby began to panic all at once. Wait! What? Enemy? ...No, nothing. ...Ah! Did they panic just because I said the name? "Oh, sorry, sorry! I forgot you guys were listening. It's okay, it's okay! The Shiverer isn't here! Look around! See? Nothing there. We have so many friends that the enemies won't come near. We're safe!"
"""Not here? Not here? Really?"""
"Yeah, yeah. It's okay. He's not here."
"......W-What is it? This thing whose name must not be spoken?"
"A monster. A flying dragon that controls lightning. I don't know what you call it, but I guess 'Thunder Dragon' fits."
Unlike the Earth Dragons, the Thunder Dragon is basically our natural predator. It flies faster than we run and manipulates lightning that easily bypasses our feathers—which usually negate most lightning-based attacks. In the last ten years, I've faced it five or six times, and every single time, we could do nothing but run away pathetically. It stays in the sky, and even if we got close, it coats itself in enough electricity to kill on contact. I once forced a charge and kicked its scales, but my claws just shattered. We can't even win in terms of pure physical defense.
"The first time we met, the flock was nearly wiped out. After that, we focused purely on fleeing, but it still takes a lot of us. We've managed to map out its territory so we haven't seen it lately... but I never want to see it again."
The name my kids use—"Biku-Biku"—likely comes from the sight of an ostrich being hit by the dragon's lightning and dying while convulsing (biku biku). Even individuals who have never seen it themselves understand it's something to be deathly afraid of because the others panic so intensely.
"An Elder... no, an Ancient? ...Just what kind of place is this?"
"So, yeah. We are desperate for a safe place to live. If the choice is living somewhere dangerous or going to your world, we're choosing your world."
We're strong, sure. But there's always a bigger fish. The fact that breeding season comes every year and we lay 4 to 5 eggs is proof that we aren't "apex" creatures on our own. My leadership and our numbers made things better, but some things are just impossible.
"Wait, did you just say... you charged into a Thunder Dragon?!"
"Oh, yeah. The lightning barrier. Usually, you'd be charred to a crisp, but for some reason, I could withstand it."
"......You are quite an outlier yourself."
"......You are quite an outlier yourself."
"Ehehe, stop it, you!"
Reis laughed happily. She possessed an internal mana capacity that was clearly not that of a normal living being, but she seemed to mistake the comment for a simple compliment.
From what Amelia could gather, the "Thunder Dragon" Reis described sounded far removed from the ecology of dragons known to Elves. It was likely a dragon far more powerful than the Elder Dragons known to her kind—an Ancient Class. A single Elder-tier threat could easily destroy a small nation. Amelia knew of humans who could slay such beasts, but a rank above that...?
(There are multiple of them just wandering around? You've got to be kidding me.)
Once again, she thanked the Gods for their luck in being found by these people. They had wandered into the interior while fleeing things they couldn't hope to beat, only to find an even more insane environment. Even with food rations, there was a limit, and there was nothing on this plateau they could hunt. Even if they had escaped the Earth Dragon, they would have eventually starved. They were truly, incredibly lucky.
(Still... these feathers are incredible.)
She had received a single fallen feather from "Dere"—though the girl herself still didn't remember her name. She had permission from both Dere and Reis. Examining it during their travels revealed... terrifying potential.
The feather was larger and more beautiful than those of other avian Beastmen, and its performance was off the charts. Reis had mentioned heat retention and electrical insulation, but Amelia also observed resistance to ice and minor resistance to fire. She'd need a proper magic workshop to be sure, but a single feather could likely be turned into a high-level magic tool with only minor processing.
(They are part-human, so they shouldn't be hunted openly. But in the shadows...)
If this got out, it would lead to trouble. "Kidnapping" was the ugly word that crossed her mind. Reis, the leader, would surely be fine, but the others... Amelia felt she owed them for saving her life. She would have to handle such "troubles" on their behalf.
Before the two humans in her party were even born, there was a time of severe discrimination across the sea. Elves were called "long-ears" and treated as eerie creatures. It had improved significantly thanks to the efforts of past rulers, but Amelia remembered those days. She couldn't let these innocent children become "prey" for someone else. She was much weaker than them, but as an elder, this was her role.
(Even with their speed, it will take time to reach town. I should share everything.)
She needed to share information not just with her party, but with Reis—the smartest among them. As the Leader of the flock, Reis deserved as much data as possible. This plateau was a nightmare, but human society was a nightmare in a completely different way. It might be different in the heart of the Empire or the Holy City, but generally, human society was full of malice.
Especially lately, with nations seeking power to oppose the Empire and constant wars. Their current country was safe for now, but who knew when it would be dragged in? Given the ostriches' power, it would be hard for anyone to even scratch them—excluding certain "monsters" among humans—but as conflict deepens, so does human malice.
(Their lives will be safer, but... no, that's for them to decide. I will simply provide constant warnings and protect them with my life if it comes to that. I've lived a long time; I don't think I can repay the debt of my life any other way.)
The people of her homeland would probably call her a "softie" for thinking like this. ...Well, fine. She would just do what she had to do.
(...By the way, why is she so... smart? No, is that rude to the others? Can they even understand the concept of 'rude'?)
To put it bluntly... they were, fundamentally, very stupid. Thanks to their personalities and racial nature, it fell into the category of "lovable idiots," but they seemed like a species that simply couldn't communicate via language.
They understood simple words, but forgot the context of a conversation instantly. They were as forgetful as a senile Elf and as innocent as a human infant. Because of this, they likely wouldn't even understand an insult, or would forget it immediately, which was a relief.
Then why was she the only one with human-level intelligence?
Reis had said she'd never met humans before them, so it wasn't a matter of education. Besides, you can't educate someone who lacks the base hardware. Was it a unique mutation? A blessing from a God? A "once-in-ten-thousand-years" genius born among ostriches?
(Well, asking her probably wouldn't yield an answer...)
Intelligence beyond her kind, and a mana capacity that made Amelia wonder if she should even classify her as "humanoid." She had planned to stay with them after reaching town to repay her debt, but...
"This is going to be... interesting. Don't you think so, Dere?"
"? Food?"
"No... though I do understand. 'I wish you'd try a little harder.' I understand perfectly, Reis...!"
[Traveling with Ostrich Beastmen]
Ostrich Beastmen can maintain a speed of 60 km/h for over an hour, and carrying a single person on their back doesn't change that much. Because they quickly forget they are even carrying someone, they just feel like, "I don't know why, but my body feels a bit heavy." Currently, the adventurer party is traveling across the plateau by piggybacking on the ostriches—specifically, Reis tells them to "Crouch down," the adventurers hop on, and off they go.
Note: If the person on top speaks or pats the ostrich on the neck or head, the ostrich will remember (notice) they are there. However, if they look away for a few seconds, they'll forget again. If you want them to do something, you have to give quick, simple instructions.
By the way, Dere-chan (the one the Elf Amelia took a liking to) has been in a great mood during the journey because a scent she likes is coming from right above her. She hasn't remembered Amelia's face, but a faint memory of "The person with the nice smell!" remains in her brain.