Oliva looked up in surprise... The metal eagle flying high overhead did indeed look familiar.
Come to think of it, Gilbert really did like birds.
But unlike the small birds that could feed on flies and mosquitoes, eagles and falcons were creatures they had only seen in paintings.
It wasn't as though the mages had never investigated why these animals had disappeared.
After all, logically speaking, with insects, black taro, and wild grasses that humans couldn't eat, animals shouldn't have vanished so completely.
Yet the results of their research had been... The world had deteriorated far, far too quickly—so quickly that the animals had lost access to food before they could change their habits.
Even the hardiest creatures couldn't change their diets and their ability to hunt for food in such a short time.
Even powerful eagles couldn't quickly learn to catch swift, palm-sized birds in midair.
Their talons were a little too large for those tiny birds.
Most importantly, the creatures in the lower and middle levels of the food chain had faced extinction almost instantly.
Humans, who could otherwise have served as food, had escaped that calamity thanks to the mages' protection... Or rather, the mages back then had been far too thorough in rooting out the threat.
It couldn't be helped. For those enormous animals powerful enough to be called monsters, humans had been the easiest food to obtain.
Oliva shook his head... No wonder he hadn't recognized it at first glance.
Gilbert's Flying Eagle had truly undergone countless modifications.
At first, it had merely been a rather large sparrow.
Gilbert had gradually made it resemble an eagle by poring over all sorts of books and examining paintings of eagles.
Who would have thought it would become what it was now? At a glance, it looked imposing