VS Eurasian Eagle-Owl, Part 1

"T-That's…"

While supporting Serval's body, Kaban despaired at the assailant's identity. Although the Professor and the Assistant were rather odd at times, their knowledge made them reliable. You'd think that in response to this outbreak they'd puff out their chests while saying "We are smart, so there is nothing to worry about".

"..."

The overlooking crimson eyes were the ever cold eyes of a hunter. Those eyes, fixed to look straight, noticed Fennec right in front of them.

"...!"

Staring into those crimson eyes as if she were being absorbed by them, Fennec froze in place. That was unlike the always laid back and who could easily think through anything Fennec that Common Raccoon was familiar with.

"Fennec, what are you spacing out for noda!?"

Common Raccoon raised her voice almost simultaneously. Eurasian Eagle-Owl spread her wings and kicked off the branch. The extended wings, being way bigger than normal, looked intimidating. Flapping her wings silently, black Sandstar overflowed from her hands as the sharp glinting claws were pushed out of them.

"―Whoa…!"

Fennec managed to get out of the way of Eurasian Eagle-Owl's talons in the nick of time. If not for Common Raccoon's warning, she might not have reacted in time.

"Fennec…! Please don't scare me like that noda!"

"Sorry, Arai-san. Thanks~."

Eurasian Eagle-Owl's figure had vanished into the darkness. Fennec focused her ears, which were no smaller than Serval's, and smiled bitterly.

"...But man~ …Those glaring eyes, they were somewhat unnerving~..."

Kaban, who stood by Serval, felt nothing but fear, as she was completely unable to see Eurasian Eagle-Owl's figure. Looking around, only the dense forest and darkness in all directions. What they could hear in the windless forest was the sound of their breathing, as it grew heavier due to the rising tension of a possible surprise attack.

(F-From where will she come out?)

Kaban's hands, which were holding onto Serval, quivered slightly. Having noticed that, Serval, who forwent wiping off the cold sweat out of pain, closed her eyes and focused on her hearing.

She remembered her first experience of being hit in the head well. Professor and Assistant make similar wing flapping sounds as Ural Owls and Horned Owls, which made it hard to detect them by ear. Since Fennec was also focused on her hearing, something among them told them that detecting the flapping of wings would be impossible. For that reason those two had concentrated to their limits.

Being unable to hear the flapping of wings, they listened for branches being broken. They tried to catch the faint sound of a body rustling leaves. Tried sensing the vibrations in the air. Tried to her the unhearable.

"―…From our front… right… from behind… There!"

"This aga―…!"

Flying out from between the branches, Eurasian Eagle-Owl attacked Fennec once again without slowing down. Fennec, who while not as good as Serval was still confident in her jumping, dodged out of the way. Eurasian Eagle-Owl, who had been avoided twice, instead of disappearing into the forest, turned around sharply and continued her assault. Once again, she aimed for Fennec.

"I won't let you nanoda―!" Common Raccoon yelled out in a vigorous voice.

She wielded a large tree branch that broke off of a tree and fell on the side of the road in both of her hands. As if it had surprised her, Eurasian Eagle-Owl stopped attacking and landed on a nearby tree branch.

"Whoa~, thanks, Arai-san~."

"Hehe~, Common Raccoons are comparatively strong nanoda."

Seeing Fennec take a sigh of relief, Kaban started muttering to herself.

"Why is she only targeting Fennec-san?"

[That is because eurasian eagle-owls are the natural enemies of fennecs. While fennecs, which have a lot of foreign threats above ground, can use their large ears to detect footsteps to run away from, they are not that good at running away from eurasian eagle-owls.] Boss spoke while shining a light on Eurasian Eagle-Owls.

[For eurasian eagle-owls, they most likely view Fennecs as prey.]

"As… prey…"

"Does that mean… that Assistant would eat Fennec…?" Having been listening to Kaban's and Boss' exchange, Serval asked with a dumbfounded expression.

"You're… kidding, right? It's just a drier joke than Gray Wolf's…"

Serval seemed like she tried to smile as always, but either due to distress or shivers, all she could muster was a stiff smile.

*Hoot hoot*

Her face showing a dislike for the unconcealing light, Eurasian Eagle-Owl glared at Boss. Kaban, who had been preoccupied with Serval's wound all this time, was frantically looking around, desperate to figure something out.

Paper plane― Out of question. While distracting Brown Bear was successful perhaps due to her stubborn curiosity, Eurasian Eagle-Owl can perfectly focus on the target right in front of her eyes. I'd most likely be ineffective.

She was thinking it through. Thinking of something that could make Eurasian Eagle-Owl lose her will to fight. Not too long ago she showed discomfort with having light shone on her face. She must not be doing well in the light. Is there anything else she would dislike? Bright… Repelling―

"――!"

Kaban set the bag on her back down, and searched through it. Serval gave fleeting glances at Kaban's state, focusing her sight and hearing on Eurasian Eagle-Owl.

(Kaban-chan thought of something. What I can do is… to protect her until she's done preparing!)

Meanwhile, Common Raccoon was glaring sharply at Eurasian Eagle-Owl while tightly gripping the large tree branch.

(Fennec, since she's constantly being targeted… she may not show it, but she's tired noda. At this rate, she'll get caught noda. Arai-san will not let that happen noda…!)

Both Serval and Common Raccoon were anticipating Eurasian Eagle-Owl's next move. As if gauging her distance, Eurasian Eagle-Owl was rocking her body side-to-side while staring at Fennec. Then, she momentarily lowered her posture and kicked off the branch, gliding through the air like wind.

"How persistent nanoda―!"

Stepping in front of Fennec, Common Raccoon set herself up with the tree branch in her hands. A shadow had come out in front of her. It was Kaban.

"Kaban-chan, wait!"

"K-Kaban-san!? It's dangerous noda―"

Serval and Common Raccoon, who were focused on Eurasian Eagle-Owl, had their reaction to Kaban jumping in front of them delayed. Even with the obstacles coming out in front of her, Eurasian Eagle-Owl didn't stop. She hunted for anything she could, even if it wasn't the prey she was aiming for. She was controlled by that kind of "instinct". In fact, she was driven by that "instinct".

"...!"

Kaban stuck "it" out in front of Eurasian Eagle-Owl's eyes, which caused a much more intense reaction than other friends would have.

"Whoa!?"

"Ohh!?"

From behind her, Common Raccoon and Fennec raised their voices in a mix of panic and astonishment.

"Fire…!"

Serval, who had been watching the three from a little ways away, saw the thing that Kaban had made was what she remembered her making back for the competition, a tube of rolled up paper lit on fire. The fire that Kaban had first made while cooking. Not only was she herself reflexively afraid of it, but the Professor and the Assistant were also unable to approach it out of fear.

"Gyah!"

Letting out a sharp shriek, Eurasian Eagle-Owl messily moved out of the way. She flew overhead Kaban and Fennec in that state, retreating into the forest occasionally bumping into a tree.


Hello, this is PoGu. Apologies for the delay. Hopefully, one I finally get my driving licence I'll have more time and energy for translating.

In the original text there was what I bellieve to be a mistake on Ookami's part, where he referred to the paper tube as the "bonus reward" that Kaban received from the owls in episode 7 of the anime.

Anyway, since FF doesn't like any kind of link anywhere, I'll instead leave directions on how to find the original work.

First method is to search for "「けもの」の本能" and find the link that leads you to a Japanese site called "kakuyomu".

Alternatively, you can go to the kakuyomu site and add "/works/1177354054882921926" to the domain.