Chapter 273

"Kruu, kruuuuuu."

"What's wrong, Aurora? ...Hahm."

I was scratching under Aurora's chin, who was acting a little differently than usual, when I let out a yawn.

Strangely enough, I'd been yawning a lot lately and getting tired easily. Even as I yawned languidly, I thought how nice the feel of Aurora's feathers was against my fingertips, and kept stroking it absently.

"Kruu?"

Aurora tilted its head. Then it buried its head against my chest and started sniffing.

"Aurora?"

I was puzzled by Aurora suddenly starting to smell me like that. It often pressed its face against me, but it had never sniffed so intently before.

Aurora, utterly absorbed in sniffing over and over, suddenly lifted its head.

"Kruuuuuuuuu!"

Then it turned and called out to Caballero. At that, Caballero and Kazen, who had been lying comfortably nearby, lifted their heads.

"...Grrk?"

Tilting their heads, the two of them got up.…