When a High School Sophomore Girl Linked with a Black-crowned Night Heron, the World Moved by 1mm [Episode 24] The Kurume Rebellion

It was an afternoon that fit that poem perfectly...

I was gazing aimlessly at the water's surface by the peaceful riverside.

Sometimes, you just want to get away from your family and lose yourself in thought.

My brother doesn't understand a girl's heart, and it's annoying how he treats me like a child forever.

I'm at that age where I always want to feel my heart race and flutter.

"Ah, I wonder if a wonderful prince will fly down from the sky~"

When I muttered that to myself, I heard a voice from somewhere and it really made my heart skip a beat.

"Hey, isn't that Hoshiko-chan?"

"Oh! Ah, long time no see."

The owner of the voice was Aojun, the Grey Heron.

We Black-crowned Night Herons often live in the same woods as Grey Herons, Great Egrets, Intermediate Egrets, and Little Egrets. So, I guess you could say we're neighbors.

Grey Herons are a size larger than Black-crowned Night Herons and have long necks, with striking grey feathers that have a bluish tint and a black accent on their heads.

Among them, Aojun is a popular guy who has a dignified strength and exudes a bad-boy charm.

Even the Black-crowned Night Heron girls are always buzzing about how "cool" and "graceful and beautiful" he is.

And I, for one, secretly admire him too.

"I haven't seen Goicchi lately, is he doing well?"

Oh no, my brother warned me not to blab about the Great Black-crowned Night Heron Deity. I have to be careful not to let it slip.

"Yeah, he's the same as always. Just spacing out in the bushes by the river."

“I heard a rumor. Is it true you’re getting friendly with a human girl?”

What is that! Is that kind of rumor going around? That must be it. It has to be about that high school girl named Natsuki who often comes to the Goisagi Great Shrine.

“I, I don’t think that’s the case at all.”

I played dumb on the spot.

“Hoshiko-chan, your feathers are getting glossy and you’re at that age now, too. My big brother needs to get his act together. As his little sister, aren’t you worried?”

Even if it is Aojun, it makes me angry when he talks about my big brother like that.

“That’s not it! That human girl just comes to the Goisagi Great Shrine often, we aren’t friends or anything!”

“Oh? So Goicchi really does have some connection to the Goisagi Great Shrine.”

“Eh, ah, no, I let it slip.”

“I wonder why Goicchi is sticking his neck into something like that. Won’t you tell me?”

Aojun stared straight at me as he spoke, and my mind went blank. There was no stopping it now.

My big brother was informed by the gods that some humans are plotting to develop a corner of the mountain behind us. Moreover, he was ordered to stop them, which is why he is protecting the Goisagi Great Shrine.

However, bad humans are trying to trick the mountain’s landlord, Grandpa Kusano, to steal the land. That’s why my big brother has been so busy flying around lately.

I blabbered all of that out. My big brother is going to be mad at me later.

“Thanks, Hoshiko-chan. I’ll make sure to explain the situation to Goicchi properly, so don’t worry. See ya!”

Aojun flew off as if his business was done. I’m happy he was considerate enough to make sure I wouldn’t get in trouble, but I feel a bit conflicted, like I was easily talked into it…

Secret Talk

As I was dozing off while bathed in the sunlight filtering through the trees, I felt a gentle breeze. It’s completely autumn now.

“Ah, I wonder if a night heron like a celestial maiden will fall from the sky~”

Just as I was daydreaming about that, something really was approaching from the sky….

Hey!

I could faintly hear someone calling, and my heart started to race.

As I strained my eyes to look at the shadow that was gradually growing larger, it looked like a heron.

Flap, flap, flap.

With the sound of wings, it landed on the roof of the Black-crowned Night Heron Shrine.

Yo, Goicchi. I've been looking for you.

Oh, it's you, Aojun the Grey Heron.

We haven't seen each other in a while, and that's the greeting I get?

You're right, my bad. I apologize. So, why were you looking for me?

I have a family-like relationship with Aojun. Since we've played together since we were little, I tend to get a bit too familiar.

Don't be so distant. I heard about it from Hoshiko-chan. About the Black-crowned Night Heron Shrine.

I doubted my ears at Aojun's words.

That Hoshiko... I told her so many times not to talk about it...

Whoa, don't get mad at Hoshiko-chan. I'm the one who kept pestering her about it.

What! You pestered Hoshiko?

No, that's not it. I just asked about the rumors that Goicchi was getting along well with a human girl. Besides, Hoshiko-chan is worried about you too.

Well, that's fine. I was planning on telling the friends in the forest about the Black-crowned Night Heron Shrine properly someday anyway.

But, didn't your grandfather get shot by a human, Goicchi? It's only natural to hate them, so why are you getting along with them?

Hmm...

Aojun had hit the nail on the head, so I decided to be honest and tell him everything.

I heard from my father that my grandfather used to say this often.

Humans aren't all bad. Especially when it comes to their children, they are no different from us night herons. I used to play with a human girl, letting her get close and then flying away a little.

As I ruminated on what my grandfather said, my hatred toward humans began to fade.

So, with that human girl...

Aojun seems to be curious about my relationship with Natsuki.

Natsuki saved my life, so she's special. Besides, for some reason, she overlaps with the girl my grandfather used to play with.

I see... But isn't the goal of the Great Night Heron Deity to stop the humans who are planning to develop the mountain?

Yeah. Because there are still bad humans out there...
So, what are you going to do now?

Just as I was about to speak, Aojun cut me off, unable to wait.

I'll show them what I'm made of.
Are we going to do it?

We meant to whisper, but it seems we got a bit carried away.

Sorry, but I overheard you.

I thought I heard a voice from the trees behind us, and then someone came toward us with the sound of flapping wings.

It was Kurokage the crow.

Don't forget about us crow folk. We have a history with humans over garbage. Once, when they threw golf balls at us, I dropped droppings on them in retaliation, and they started trying to exterminate us.

Then we, the wild boar family, won't stay silent either.

Wasn't that Kibamonji the wild boar, snorting and complaining from below?

Ooh. If they ruin the forest any further, we'll finally run out of food. Humans are so selfish, trying to catch us the moment we go into town.

Ukipei the Japanese macaque grumbled while clinging to a tree branch.

Hey, hey, it seems the contents of our secret meeting were leaked before we even called for help.

I exchanged a wry smile with Aojun.

Big brother!

This time, Hoshiko came flying over in a flustered state.

Big brother! Oh, Aojun is here too.

What's wrong, Hoshiko? It's rare for you to be flying so desperately.

I teased my laid-back little sister as she arrived out of breath.

This is no time for that. The woman's car that made Grandpa Kusano get into a rear-end collision, along with another large car, is heading this way. I have a bad feeling about this.

Seriously!
They were faster than I thought.

Hearing Hoshiko's report, I nodded at Aojun.

Everyone! Gather the others immediately! But stay hidden until I give the signal.

Got it.
Understood.
Roger that.

And so, the animals of the forest began their preparations.

Rebellion

When I arrived at the Goisagi Daimyojin shrine after being informed of the emergency by Goro Kusano, the Asahi Dozono faction had already begun their work.

However, even the burly workers seemed terrified by the wild animals that appeared from the forest. They abandoned their work and fled.

Goicchi warned me, 'Natsuki, I don't think the forest animals will stay quiet from now on,' but it seems it wasn't just about punishing the Dozono faction.

..................................................

My mother, who works part-time at a Co-op store, sent me a video via LINE.

A huge flock of crows is invading the town, it's like a movie. They've dropped so much droppings around the store that it's likely to affect the number of customers.

I sometimes see crows lined up on power lines or flying in flocks, but the video she sent was on a completely different level.

It was an intensity that felt like the terror of a Hitchcock film, 'The Birds'.

And that was only the prologue.

My sixth-grade sister, having returned from playing, rushed up the stairs and burst into my room.

“Big sister! Monkeys! Monkeys appeared! I don't think I've ever seen that many monkeys outside of a zoo before.”

She said that while she was playing with friends at the park, about ten Japanese macaques appeared from somewhere and occupied the jungle gym.

The small children and mothers nearby watched with curiosity at first, but they were scared off when the monkeys bared their fangs and threatened them.

My father, for his part, came home from work and proudly showed us a video, saying, 'I ran alongside a wild boar on the national highway.'

To my surprise, five or six wild boars were running alongside vehicles crawling through traffic. The sound of car horns echoed, and it was on the verge of a panic.

“Me too! A huge flock of crows attacked me!”

Not to be outdone by my father, my mother showed off her own video. According to her, there were incidents where people had their hats snatched by crows or were even pecked on the head.

“Hey, hey, it's on the news too!”

My sister called out happily.

“What could have happened? Just this afternoon, herds of wild animals were spotted in several locations throughout the city. In the student district around Mount Kora, a large flock of herons landed on the roofs, causing a temporary commotion. We bring you the voices of those who were at the scene.”

As the female news anchor spoke rapidly, footage of street interviews began to play.

“That's a grey heron, right? It's cool, but there were dozens of them, so it was a bit scary.”
“They make a sound like a monster bird or a dinosaur, so I was nervous they might attack.”
“They're dropping droppings everywhere, making the streets dirty. Isn't it going to be hard for the shopkeepers to clean it all up?”

I felt relieved that there were no sightings of black-crowned night herons, but I wonder if Goicchi and the others aren't doing anything...

The news anchor concluded as follows:

“What is the cause of this 'Kurume Rebellion' by wild animals? Will it continue? In any case, citizens, please be very careful.”

To be continued in [Episode 25]

← To [Episode 23]

You can find all episodes of 'When a High School Sophomore Linked with a Black-crowned Night Heron, the World Moved by 1mm' in this magazine.

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