Two more days passed.
The seagull completed its message delivery and returned to the mountain.
It knew Teiichi was usually away from the residence during the day, so it flew straight to the summit.
There, Teiichi was focused on practicing his Wind Breathing sword forms. When the seagull arrived, he immediately stopped practicing, looked at it, and greeted it:
"You're back!"
The seagull nodded in response, then called out in an official tone:
"Kato Teiichi, Kato Teiichi. Oyakata-sama orders you to submit a written account of the mission in Yamada Town."
After delivering the order, the seagull returned to its usual tone and said:
"Write it when you have some time over the next few days. Once you're finished, I'll take it back to Oyakata-sama."
Hearing that he needed to put the mission into writing, Teiichi asked in some confusion:
"Does... does this mean I have to write up every mission from now on?"
The seagull shook its head and explained:
"No. Written records are generally only made when powerful demons are encountered and Corps members die during the mission. In those cases, the records commemorate the achievements of the fallen."
"But I didn't die, did I?" Teiichi was a little puzzled.
The seagull glanced at Teiichi and said flatly:
"There are exceptions too. Cases like yours, which caused more casualties, are recorded as negative examples. Later, when cultivators train new members, they'll teach them to avoid making the same mistakes."
"Ah... well..." Teiichi couldn't help looking utterly exasperated, but he still nodded helplessly. "All right."
Looking at the seagull before him, Teiichi suddenly thought of a question:
"By the way, how come you seem so intelligent?"
At that, the seagull looked smug, as though its secret had been discovered, and said proudly:
"How do you think a seagull like me became a Kasugai Crow? Because I'm smart. Smarter than ordinary Kasugai Crows."
Seeing the seagull's smug expression, Teiichi felt the atmosphere had grown a little awkward, so he said:
"Oh... I see."
The seagull seemed to think Teiichi doubted it and continued:
"It's just like how, when Demon Slayer Corps members are being trained, some children always turn out to have exceptional talent and can become Hashira. When Kasugai Crows are raised, some always turn out smarter too. And I'm one of those smarter Kasugai Crows."
"Ordinary Kasugai Crows only have the intelligence of a five- or six-year-old. They can only help relay simple orders. Delivering something several hundred words long is impossible for them. Of course, that's enough for the job."
"But us smart ones are different. Our intelligence and thinking are on par with adult humans, so we can learn and relay much more."
Hearing the seagull's explanation, Teiichi said in amazement, "That's impressive. So you can relay orders several hundred words long in their entirety?"
"Ahem."
At that, the seagull gave a dry cough and said somewhat awkwardly:
"Well... mission orders are usually very brief. If an order is too long, there's also the option of writing it down and delivering it in writing."
"Ohhh."
Seemingly catching the mockery in Teiichi's tone, the seagull snapped in frustration:
"What do you mean, 'ohhh'? I've never delivered several hundred words, but I can still get the general meaning across. The reason I don't is that several hundred words are too hard to memorize. You'd find it hard to memorize that much too."
"That's true." Teiichi nodded in agreement, then continued:
"If you're so smart, how about I give you a name? Calling you 'seagull' all the time feels strange."
With that, he looked at the seagull and suggested, "Your feathers are all white, unlike ordinary Kasugai Crows, which are black. How about Xiaobai? That would distinguish you from the other Kasugai Crows right away."
"Xiaobai, my foot! I already have a name!" the seagull immediately retorted.
"Oh? You have a name?" Teiichi was a little surprised.
"Why didn't you tell me before?"
"You never asked," the seagull said with perfect confidence.
Hearing that, Teiichi froze for a moment. For some reason, this conversation felt rather familiar, but he continued asking:
"Then what's your name?"
At Teiichi's question, the seagull flapped its wings and twisted its head and body, tidying up its appearance.
For some reason, watching the seagull do this, Teiichi felt as though he were seeing someone spit twice into their hands and then smooth down their hair.
"My name is White Feather," the seagull answered, puffing out its chest.
"White Feather? Isn't that still just talking about your white feathers? How's that any different from me calling you Xiaobai?" Teiichi said with a laugh.
At Teiichi's words, White Feather flew up in a fury and pecked at him relentlessly.
"Hey... hey... stop pecking! White Feather, right? I'll call you White Feather from now on!"
The atmosphere in the little wooden cabin inside the main hall was somewhat gloomy.
Faint lamplight filtered through the window, barely illuminating every corner of the room. Teiichi sat at a small wooden table with a blank sheet of paper spread before him. His brows were tightly furrowed, and he scratched his ears and head, seemingly at a loss over how to begin.
"Oh no. I've been here so long since transmigrating, and it's been ages since I wrote anything like this. How am I supposed to write it..." Teiichi muttered to himself, clearly troubled over how to compose the mission report.
He looked up toward the window, where a seagull with snow-white feathers and an elegant bearing stood. Its name was White Feather.
"White Feather, is there a template for this mission report?" Teiichi put down his pen and looked up to ask White Feather.
White Feather tilted its head, a trace of confusion flashing through its eyes. "A template? What's a template?"
"I mean, is there a set format? Like how to write the beginning, what to write in the middle, and how to write the ending," Teiichi explained patiently.
"Oh, that." White Feather understood, but then shook its head.
"No. We never use templates for mission reports. You just need to honestly record your experiences and findings from the past few days."
At White Feather's answer, Teiichi couldn't help scratching his head again. He knew he had to finish this mission report as soon as possible, but he had no idea how to start.
Seeing Teiichi's troubled expression, White Feather couldn't help calling out:
"Just write down how you spent the past few days. If the Family Head finds it poorly written afterward, he'll arrange for someone to rewrite it."
Teiichi was silent for a while, feeling that White Feather had a point. He nodded, picked up his pen again, and slowly began recalling his experiences over the past few days.
After two days of writing on and off, Teiichi finally finished his account of the mission. Looking at the papers on the table, he couldn't resist picking them up and reading them through.