Finding the Sylphid didn’t take long at all.
All the winds have to pass through that child. As long as you head in the direction the wind blows from anywhere, you can reach the place where that child is.
Of course, it might take some time… but that’s something that can be reasonably shortened.
After heading in the direction of the wind, I finally arrived at a cliff where strong winds were blowing.
“Spread your wings more! Embrace the wind! Don’t be afraid of the wind! The wind is your companion lending you strength!”
“KEEEYAAAH!!”
“I’m falling!!!”
“Don’t be scared! I’ve set up a wind net using my power below the cliff! You won’t get hurt!”
You could see the Sylphid urging the winged beastmen on the cliff where strong winds were blowing.
Um… What on earth is going on here?
Who are those beastmen, and why is the Sylphid yelling like a whale?
I didn’t understand the situation, but… well, I could just ask the Sylphid and find out quickly.
I approached the Sylphid, still shouting, and discreetly put my arm around its shoulders.
“Sylphid?”
“Gah?! Oh, Mom?!”
“What are you doing here?”
“That, um… taking a break! Everyone, break time!!!”
After shouting at the winged beastmen, the Sylphid looked at me and quietly said in a small voice, “Um, what brings you here, Mom? This is so sudden…”
“Are you saying I shouldn’t come find you? Do I need a reason for a mom to worry about her child and come see them?”
“That’s not it! I mean, you’re usually busy with other things, right? So, it’s rare for you to come visit like this…”
“It may be rare, but it’s not impossible. I’ve come before to teach you how to make an Avatar.”
“Well, yes, but…”
The Sylphid was casting glances at me. Why is it being so cautious? Does it think I’m going to scold it?
“Stop glancing around. I’m here because Sagarmatha asked me to find you.”
“Sagarmatha? I don’t think that guy would have a reason to come looking for me…”
“He was a bit worried because you, who used to pass by him every year with the wind, haven’t come by.”
“Ah…”
Upon hearing my words, the Sylphid scratched its cheek, looking awkward, and said with a shy smile, “That rock-head is worried? That’s not like him at all.”
“Maybe he seems that way on the outside, but inside he’s different.”
Even though Sagarmatha is quiet and gruff, he has a delicate side.
“Anyway, let’s skip Sagarmatha’s story. I’m curious about what you’re doing here. Who are those beastmen?”
My gaze shifted to the beastmen huddled together below the cliff, resting.
The only commonality among them is their wings. Some had arms like wings, and some had wings sprouting from their backs; it was a strange group.
The colors of their feathers and the shapes of their wings were all unique.
However… despite having wings, they couldn’t fly.
“Those kids? Well… um… they’re my believers.”
“Your?”
“Yeah. They believe in me, the god of wind.”
Believers of the Sylphid. Well, it’s not surprising since Sylphid is a god, so having believers makes sense.
But why are those winged beastmen believing in the Sylphid… well, I can roughly guess.
“They wanted to fly, so they started believing in you, right?”
“Uh, how did you know?”
“It’s obvious.”
Seeing them spread their wings and tumble off the cliff while Sylphid helps them with the wind… If I couldn’t understand that, I’d call myself a fool.
“The winged beastmen desire to fly and trust you, while you help them.”
“Y-yes. Just as you thought, I want to help those who believe in me with their singular desire to fly.”
“Interesting… So that’s the reason you’re here.”
“Yeah. I want to help those kids fly.”
Winged beastmen… well, since it’s getting long-winded, let’s just call them Jo-in, since they’re bird beastmen.
“I want to help those kids… Jo-in, fly.”
“Yes. They’re my first believers, so I genuinely want to help them.”
Such words from Sylphid, who always wished for freedom.
But for some reason, those words were stirring something inside my heart.
“I’m so moved that the Sylphid, who always just played around, has such deep thoughts… This mom is touched…”
“Oh, Mom!!”
As I pretended to shed a tear, the Sylphid looked thoroughly bewildered. Hah, this is fun.
Well, what I said about being moved was true, after all.
“Anyway, you don’t need to worry about my business. Once these kids can fly properly, I’ll leave again.”
“I’m relieved to hear it’s nothing serious.”
“Please keep this a secret from the other kids. I’m a bit embarrassed…”
The other kids…
“I can’t keep it a secret from Shamash, but I won’t tell the other kids.”
It’s almost impossible to keep a secret from Shamash, who overlooks anywhere there’s light.
It seemed the Sylphid understood that too, as it merely nodded small in agreement.
“By the way, why do those Jo-in want to fly? It’s not like there weren’t Jo-in before…”
Because a hen beastman has become a god and ascended to the Divine Hall. The bird beastmen already existed.
But I’ve never heard of them wanting to fly before. If that had been the case, I would have heard about it by now.
“From what I’ve heard… it seems it’s because of the rare sightings of the gods’ messengers.”
“Messengers of the gods?”
“Yes. Angels.”
Angels? The ones helping Sandalphon? They do have wings but live so that others can’t see them.
“I don’t know how it happened, but there are stories of people witnessing those angels. Stories of winged humans flying in the sky. They must have thought, ‘I want to fly too’ after hearing that.”
“I see… So, it was because of the angels that they started wanting to fly.”
That was unexpected. To want to fly because of angels…
“Anyway, I’m planning to leave once that kid can fly properly. So don’t worry about me.”
“Well… proper flying, huh…”
I shot a glance at the Jo-in resting below the cliff.
Would they really be able to fly with Sylphid’s aid?
To be honest…
“It’ll be tough.”
Mainly due to the physical issues related to weight.
“What did you say?”
“Just because they have wings and feathers doesn’t mean they can all fly.”
If having feathers and wings meant you could fly, ostriches and penguins would be able to fly too.
Birds that can fly do so because they have a minimal body weight, sufficiently sized wings, and muscles capable of flapping hard enough to lift their bodies.
For Jo-in, with a body weight closer to that of a human, flying would usually be impossible.
“Passing the limits of the body is tough.”
“…Is it really that hard?”
“Yeah. It would be nearly impossible if they just relied on their physical strength.”
If they wanted to fly purely with strength… how much weight would they need? How strong would their muscles have to be?
With a human-sized body, it would be impossible. Unless their upper body muscles were exceptionally developed, and they had wings strong enough to flap their bodies into the air.
Or even if they tried gliding like a glider, those wings would need enough strength to support the body.
In any case, it wouldn’t be easy.
“Then… does that mean those kids can never fly?”
“It’s what I’m saying: relying only on physical strength makes it impossible. But if they supplemented their lack of strength with other means, it might be possible.”
For example, magical power.
Beastmen have been using magical power to enhance their bodies.
If they could enhance wing durability and boost their strength with magical power… the Jo-in might be able to manage some level of flight.
The simplest method would be to use wind magic to gain more thrust than flapping, but magic isn’t easy for beastmen. Strengthening their bodies would be the most optimized method for them.
Or… is there a way to change their body weight with magical power?
Just like enhancing one’s weight in martial arts, maybe if they learned how to make themselves lighter, they could do it.
“How can they supplement their strength with other means…?”
“That’s something we have to think through step by step from now on.”
Hmm. Should I create some martial art? If I did, I’d like to do it systematically.
Or… it wouldn’t be too bad to borrow the power of Sylphid, the god of wind.
Beastmen may not be able to use magic, but they can have faith. They could draw power from their god.
What does Jo-in mean in English?
조인 => Jo-in (Referring to a tribe with wings)
I don’t know