Mistress Of The Evil Forest

Case 164: Snowy Owls and the lost land.

They say owls are the cats of the sky.

If one looks up footage of them on the internet, they are bound to be attracted, often falling into the rabbit hole of owl content. A part of it is the algorithm feeding the viewers what they like to keep them around, but the owls' strange charms can't be ruled out either.

Those fluffy things aren't exactly aggressive most of the time, and they most definitely don't run around like cats or dogs, yet something about their oddly loud silence pulls attention. Really, I am sure that if owls are as common as cats in mankind's life, they will be just as popular as cats.

I know because I was once an avid owl watcher, and now, I am an owl.

It's definitely not a coincidence if anyone asks me. I'm not sure if it's a good thing, but it seems I only inherit a small portion of the snowy owls' genes. Sure, I have two big wings, snow-like hair, and some slit pupils, but besides those, I am pretty much a human.

Oh, but I can turn my neck 180 degrees.

''Gyahh?!! W-What the hell are you doing??''

''Oops.''

I didn't realize Ariel was nearby. By the way, why is she still scared when I do this? Isn't she a ghost already? It's still a mystery how delicate the former saintess is despite her having spent time near horror entities.

''You know, there's a theory that people who would become ghosts have their mental states frozen when they transition.''

From a corner of the room, Sikare's slightly gruffed voice flies over. Recently, the witch has slowly moved her stuff over to the Backrooms, saying that she likes how spacious it is here and how durable the walls are. Of course, I welcome this change since she can have a light jog in whenever she wants to get to the entrance.

''I'm not quite sure about that,'' A voice so deep it seems to shake the air intervenes. ''Most of the time, ghosts only live in one place, and I've read some stories where they were tamed. I think Ariel is just Ariel.''

''Why do I get the feeling you're insulting me, dear brother?''

''Ahem. You're imagining things, sister. By the way, what do you think about this, doc?''

[I am unsure, my friend, for I am a doctor of the living, not the dead.]

''Fair enough.''

As usual, the two grumpy old men are playing chess with one another, and not far from that, Smiley can be seen tilting its head at Blob. Today, the Backrooms is quite merry, too, having several of my siblings inside. One of them is sitting on Blob's back while the rest is napping on Nova's shiny body, cuddling together to form the ultimate cocoon of feathers.

''Hmm...''

The more I stare at them, the more I think their potential is being wasted. No, not combat-wise, but... appearance-wise. I really do believe they can be very popular among the people.

Well... yeah. That's quite obvious, but we have no reason to expose them to the outside world anyway.

Throwing back to the time when one of my siblings ran into the academy's ground, it certainly caused quite a bit of stir. If the owl had ended up in the general town, things could have been much worse. Zircon Owls are classified as monsters, after all.

It's a misconception to put them in the same horde as other monsters just because they live in Zircon, however, since they're just big owls who can use magic. As far as I can tell, they aren't particularly aggressive toward humans. It's just that they will attack when attacked, that's all.

To begin with, they aren't even a native Zircon species.

Snowy owls live in snowy areas—the natural ones, not the artificial snow in North Zircon. So, naturally, they must have migrated to this forest from somewhere else. Even mama owl doesn't know much about her original habitat, by the way. It seems they have been here for a few generations already.

But... why did they have to move out?

Since I have some free time now, it's probably fine to satisfy my curiosity. So, the next morning, I set out to the library.

The academy's library is quite useful for getting information. It has more books than anywhere else, and they cover all topics. Moreover, since students and scholars alike rely on it to spearhead research projects, it is also updated frequently.

First of all, I select a few editions of the world map, the oldest one dating back to around three hundred years ago. After skimming through them, it is time for books on biology and general geography.

''...''

Once I finish my pickings, I belatedly realize that they stack taller than the table lamp, but it's okay. I can read fast, and I have time to burn since exams are all over.

''Phew...''

As I look out the window, a warm shade of orange greets me. I really did get lost in the text for so long that the sun is now already coming down. Today is a cloudless day, so I can actually see the Tower of Horrors clearly. It must be scaring some people even at this moment. I'm proud.

In any case, now that I have read all of these books, I can make some guesses as to why the snowy owls came to Zircon.

First of all, let's talk geography.

West Zircon borders the academy, which belongs to the empire's capital, Astra. So, what do the other three regions border? More empire's lands, of course. They wouldn't be so stupid, putting the capital at the border.

Now, a lot of these lands are sparsely occupied grassy plains, and surrounding them is a colossal mountain range, Khruse. 

Khruse acts as the empire's natural border, spanning around ten percent of its total border length. The climate there is generally very cold, and small masses of trees can be spotted here and there at the mountains' feet, which means that it is perhaps the perfect environment for snowy owls.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

It is the only place within a reasonable distance that meets all the living conditions for this species. I ruled out many areas on the map that are too far away from Zircon since they wouldn't want to travel so far just to get here.

Alright. So, assuming that Khruse is the homeland of my owl family, now what?

Well, after reading extensively about the history of life in that region, I can confidently say that the snowy owls—a portion of them—decided to migrate to Zircon to avoid predators emerging.

In this world, monsters that can extinct some big owls aren't that rare, but there have been records of other stronger species running away from the Khruse mountain range, too.

''But dragons, huh...''

Hm... why do I feel like reclaiming my family's land all of a sudden?