"So you know about the Wind-Reading Clan, then?"
Maomao
questioned
Kurumu.
The self-proclaimed beautiful girl crossed her arms and let out a "Hmm."
"Know about them? I guess my great-grandfather or so was still living on the grasslands back when they were called that. I mean, I only heard about it from my grandma a few times, so I hardly know anything."
"Could you at least tell me whatever you do know?"
"Hmm, what should I do~?"
When Maomao
played deferentially,
Kurumu got carried away.
"I can't say it'll be free, though~"
Kurumu grinned and demanded money.
"Oh my, would you like to be handed over to the authorities?"
Eyes reminiscent of a raptor gleamed behind Kurumu.
Tomei
watched with a smile. For some reason, the entirely unrelated
Bashen
flinched, and moreover,
Fukurou
puffed up his feathers and trembled.
Kurumu's face contorted.
Truly a terrifying wife who has even Gaoshun under her thumb.
Maomao made a show of clearing her throat.
「……I'm making a concession here. You answer my questions, and I won't hand you over to the authorities. Furthermore, depending on how things go from here —」
「Of course, I'd also like to discuss what to do about this owl.」
Taomei answered on Maomao's behalf.
「……Fine. What I heard from my grandma was that, a long time ago, a clan of nomadic people got caught up in a slave raid. Almost all of them were killed — the women were taken as brides and the children were sold into slavery.」
That was information Maomao already knew. However, there was one thing that caught her attention.
「I heard the Wind-Reading clan used birds. Does that mean the method of hatching and raising birds was never lost?」
「Right. Ah, poor choice of words. The Wind-Reading clan was destroyed — half of them, that is.」
「H-Half?」
Maomao and the others all stared at Kurumu.
「Yeah. They were going around the grasslands for ceremonies and stuff, right? Well, it's better to split up and move separately than to travel in one big group. Especially since they had birds as a means of communication.」
Maomao nodded — that did make sense.
「But what happened to the other half? The Wind-Reading clan is supposedly already gone. Did they stop the ceremonies?」
「Hmm. I'm not really sure. My great-grandfather was apparently from the surviving half, but he passed away when Grandma was around ten years old. According to her, he taught her all sorts of things about the birds, but he'd already stopped herding and was living in the city. Still, he had regular customers who bought his pigeons, so he never went hungry.」
「Regular customers?」
「Yeah, she said it was some bigwig or other, but she never asked for details. Then again, Grandma didn't seem to know much about it either.」
Everyone fell silent at Kurumu's testimony.
「Huh? Did I say something weird?」
「……No, thank you.」
So this was what they meant by pulling a rabbit out of a hat. Well, she had suspected it might be connected to the Wind-Reading clan to some degree, but the revelation cut closer to the heart of the matter than she had expected.
「Hey, hey. Can I take this guy back with me? I found a place that seems perfect for releasing him.」
「You'd set him free after going through all the trouble to get him?」
「That was the plan from the start, and it's what Grandma taught me.」
Maomao locked eyes with Taomei. Taomei gave a small nod, so Maomao handed the cage with the bird inside to Kurumu. His face split into a broad grin.
「May I ask one more question?」
「What is it?」
Kurumu said, baring his snaggletooth with what seemed like a grin — perhaps his mood had improved now that the bird had been returned.
"Your father and
Yugao's
mother were relatives, but would it be correct to say your mother was also a member of the Wind-reading clan?"
"I can't say for certain... but she did seem to like birds, and she handled them with familiarity."
At this point, if Yugao's mother was indeed a member of the Wind-reading clan, all sorts of new connections would emerge.
(I did gain useful information,)
but believing Kurumu's story revealed several contradictions.
(If the Wind-reading clan hadn't actually been wiped out, couldn't they have continued performing the rituals afterward?)
This raised the question of what purpose
Nianzhen —
who had become a serf — had actually been carrying out.
And then there was the question of why the Wind-reading clan had been wiped out in the first place.
Something didn't add up.
(The possibility that comes to mind is)
that the Wind-reading clan was made to appear wiped out, and their abilities were secretly put to some other use.
(The faster information can be transmitted, the more powerful it becomes.)
Once you declared them wiped out and confined them, the possibilities were endless. It made sense when you considered that Kurumu's grandmother had already been living in the city. It also explained why Kurumu's great-grandfather had died young.
(Once the technique had been passed on, anyone who knew the truth would become an obstacle.)
"Hey. Missy. Can I go home now?"
Being poked by Kurumu, Maomao snapped to attention. She had apparently gotten lost in thought.
"I'm sorry. Would you mind giving me your contact information? I may be able to introduce a customer who's looking for birds as well."
"...Huh? That's kind of scary."
Kurumu didn't seem the least bit fooled by Maomao's forced smile. Was that the expression of someone who refused to let a valuable source of information slip away?
"Hehe. I won't do anything terrible to a child. Say, won't you introduce me to your father?"
Taomei fixed her with a sharp gaze.
Kurumu flinched and nodded.
(This woman is too much.)
Not the same kind as those shrewd old women,
nor like Suiren,
a different sort altogether—
a different mold.
But still.
(No wonder everyone around here is so quiet.)
Sparrow
wasn't as boisterous as usual, and
Mahan,
for his part, wore an expression of selfless focus that looked almost like Gaoshun's. Was this how Gaoshun had been forged into who he is now? Maomao wondered.
After sending Kurumu off with the servant, Taomei turned her gaze to Maomao.
"Judging by the look on your face, it seems you've already worked a few things out."
She said it politely enough, but in short, it meant: "If you know something, spit it out."
"This is purely my speculation, and it may be
utterly absurd,
but—"
Lately Maomao sometimes resented her adoptive father,
Luomen,
but she remained fundamentally faithful to his teachings. She had no intention of passing judgment based on speculation with no evidence.
"But our mistress doesn't demand clear-cut answers to everything. She's the type to shoulder everything herself, but to prepare countermeasures for what might happen, would you mind telling us what you've been thinking?"
Taomei stared at Maomao with the fierce eyes of a bird of prey, demanding she just spit it out already.
"Very well—"
Maomao opened her mouth to ask their mistress
Jinshi
to convey the message on her behalf.
"No—please meet with the person directly and tell them yourself."
"I don't think there'd be any problem with telling them here."
She couldn't imagine Taomei twisting and distorting the conjecture Maomao had shared before relaying it.
"No. Sometimes a little change of scenery is good for you."
"Huh?"
Maomao could only narrow her eyes at Taomei, who wore a slightly mischievous smile.