"Wow..." A crow's caw echoed.
The Blood Crow perched on the man's shoulder turned its head and glanced at Ais.
Even shrouded in dark mist, its ruby-like, blood-red eyes were still clear and bright.
It seemed the Blood Crow was displeased with Ais's questioning of its master.
Ais felt a tingling in his scalp under the crow's gaze. He finally understood why he had felt watched by some strange presence throughout the past year.
And he finally knew what had been watching him.
"If you shouldn't ask, then don't!"
The man spoke, and even though he was ten meters away, his voice exploded as if right beside Ais's ear, seemingly about to burst his eardrums.
His cochlea ached, and something warm trickled out.
"...Yes." Ais's teeth chattered, and the muscles around his eyes and mouth twitched slightly.
