Does everyone know the creature called the ostrich?
They possess overwhelming physical specs: standing well over two meters tall, they can run at 60 km/h with boundless stamina. They can maintain that top speed for nearly an hour. Not only are they fast, but their eyesight is phenomenal, allowing them to survey the landscape up to 5 km away. While they've lost the ability to fly due to the atrophy of their wing muscles, you could say their stats are perfectly suited for a "King of the Land."
Yet, as incredible as their physical prowess is, that's not their greatest power.
No, it's their regenerative ability and immunity.
Their recovery is legendary; they can fully heal from wounds deep enough to show bone. Injuries that would require surgery for a human heal in a matter of weeks. Their immune system is so powerful they can recover even with open wounds. It's so potent that they've even developed antibodies against the coronavirus that recently ravaged the world. It's often said that ostriches simply don't die of disease.
Now, despite these miraculous specs, there is one fatal flaw that ruins all of those advantages.
"Yeah. They are absolute idiots."
Forgetting everything after taking three steps is just the beginning. They can't remember the faces of their own flock, let alone their own children. If two flocks pass each other, the members get completely shuffled, and nobody even thinks to question it. If someone starts running, they follow purely on instinct, but because their heads go empty in less than three seconds, nobody knows why they started running in the first place. To top it off, if a human climbs on their back, they're surprised for a second, but a few seconds later, they forget the human is even there and just go about their day.
I mentioned their incredible eyesight earlier, but perhaps you'll understand the level of their stupidity better when I tell you that their eyeballs are larger than their brains.
A tragic creature that traded its intelligence for peak physical performance. That is the ostrich.
And, if I were to add one more thing...
In this life, my race is an Ostrich Beastman.
"WHY?! WHY IS IT LIKE THIIIIIIIIIS!!!"
I am someone who was a man in my previous life. My race, of course, was human.
Currently, I'm a female Ostrich Beastman who regained my memories at around age five. Well, I don't actually know if I was five; even as Beastmen, ostriches are morons. No matter how much you teach them, most can't grasp the concept of years—or even remember what happened yesterday. By beating it into their brains repeatedly, I managed to teach them that "when the sun is out, it's morning" and "when it's dark, it's night." Even that was too difficult for most of the flock to understand. There's no way they'd know "how many years ago" something was.
Of course, I was the same before my memories returned. I'm just guessing "five years old" based on the size of a typical female individual. It's a total guess, but hey, I'm an ostrich. Forgive me, Hyacinth.
Back then, just like the other Ostrich Beastmen, I was incredibly stupid. One day, I tripped and slammed my head into the ground. At that moment—luckily?—I remembered my past life. Normally, that would be cause for celebration, but... ostriches are on a whole different level.
The physical trauma healed instantly thanks to my natural recovery, but my brain was absolutely not okay.
A normal ostrich has a brain the size of a walnut. Even though we're "Beastmen," the brain size hasn't changed much. What do you think happens when you cram a human's entire lifetime—the memories from birth to death—into a tiny, minimum-sized brain?
That's right: Explosion.
Unable to withstand the information load, it went "boom." Since it was so small, it probably sounded more like a "pop," but regardless, my brain splattered. For any other bird-type Beastman—actually, for any living thing—that would be "Game Over." But here we have the "Cheat Recovery" Ostrich. Using its incomprehensible healing power, it began to regenerate.
It was like a mental Marie Antoinette whispered to me: "If the brain capacity is insufficient, why not simply rebuild it larger?"
And so, the hellish parade of regeneration began. My brain would grow a little larger and regenerate, but it still couldn't take the load and exploded. Learning from the failure, it grew a bit bigger and regenerated again, but still lacked the size and exploded.
Pop, regrow. Pop, regrow. After about six months of this... I finally acquired a brain on par with a human's. I was resurrected as a "Flawless Ostrich Beastman" with the memories and reasoning of my previous life!
Yes! I had overcome the ostrich's greatest weakness: being a birdbrain!
If only it had ended there...
"Haaaaah..." I sighed deeply.
"What's wrong?"
"What's wrong?"
"Hungry?"
"Food?"
"Food!"
"It's food!"
"Food! Food!"
At my heavy sigh, the members of my flock swarmed around me to see what was up. At first, they seemed worried, but because someone said "Food?", the flock's official policy was immediately decided: we are going to get food.
Yes, I am the only "Perfect Lifeform Great Brain Power Max" Ostrich Beastman. Everyone else is a complete idiot.
The adults, the children, the ones my age—they all look like a mix of ostrich and human, but they are incredibly stupid. They seem to have enough brainpower to handle simple language, but at best, they're like three-year-olds. Actually, that's an insult to three-year-olds.
In short: ever since I got my memories back, I've been in a state of endless childcare. I've become the teacher supervising a group of preschoolers with adult-sized bodies.
"It's not food! No food! We literally just ate!"
"Ate?"
"Ate!"
"What?"
"Food?"
"It's food!"
"Food! Food!"
"..."
Good grief.
I've actually tried to run away several times when I couldn't take it anymore, but you shouldn't underestimate ostrich specs. Their nature—if someone runs, everyone follows—doesn't change even as Beastmen. They likely understood instinctively that I was the smartest, and before I knew it, a society formed with me at the top. They've basically formed a preschool class and acquired the habit of following wherever I, the "teacher," try to go.
Because of that, they follow me everywhere.
Daytime is obviously a no-go, but even if I try to sneak out at night, their wild instincts are so strong that someone in the flock is always awake. If that person mistakenly thinks it's a "nightly stroll" and follows me, everyone else automatically follows. And that's just the start. Even if I manage to gain some distance, their amazing eyes somehow find me, and since they're so fast, there's no escaping. To make matters worse, members of other flocks mistake us for their own group and join in. Our numbers are just keeps growing.
(We started with a dozen or so, but now we're easily over three digits...)
In normal ostriches, the strongest male stands at the top of the flock. However, perhaps because of the Beastman transformation, their natural temperament has become very mild. Ostrich Beastmen rarely fight among themselves. Everyone is generally smiling, and they have a high sense of camaraderie, building a society of mutual aid. It's thanks to that I was protected by the flock during the six months I was bedridden.
At first, I started speaking up and doing things they couldn't do—like cooking (though only at the level of "grilling stuff")—to repay that debt. That was a mistake. My status in their minds skyrocketed. I accidentally imprinted them with the ideas: "If we listen to her, hunting goes well!" and "If we give her stuff, she gives us tastier food!" Before I knew it, I had become the leader of the flock.
...I'm a female, though? Is that okay? Well, I guess it is...
"Alright, you lot! We're going to get food. Even if you aren't hungry, we'll turn it into preserved rations. Even you guys can handle simple labor. Or rather, please be able to handle it? I'm begging you."
"Food!?"
"Food!"
"It's fooooooood!!!"
"Yes, yes, food. Alright, follow me!"
"""Yay!!!"""
Yeah, yeah, you guys sure are energetic.
Still, what is this world anyway? Given that nonsensical beings like us exist, it's definitely another world. On top of that, the animals we hunt for food are full of creatures I never saw on Earth. This clearly isn't the Earth where I lived as a human.
There are ten-meter-long earthworms that jump out of the ground (and taste great grilled) and birds that fly so fast even our ostrich eyes have trouble tracking them. There are plenty of things that would be classified as "monsters" in games or anime. If these were on Earth, it would be a disaster. Well, I guess Ostrich Beastmen would be a disaster too.
(And what else? Oh, I once saw a kid in the flock playing with something, and it turned out he was stomping on a Slime.)
Anyway, those monsters are all things I could never have defeated when I was just a human. Having the body of a physical elite like an ostrich, supplemented by my past-life memories and intellect, I can finally beat about half of them. We can probably win against half of the remainder if the flock surrounds them. The last quarter are things we just have to run away from. This plateau we live on—which looks like a savanna—is a literal demonic territory.
It's an environment where even an ostrich struggles—or rather, it's because we are ostriches that we can survive. Because of this harshness, I've never met any other intelligent life besides us Ostrich Beastmen. I assume there are other Beastmen or Birdmen based on other species, but I haven't found even a trace of them.
(If only these wings on my arms could let me fly...)
I look at my wings while thinking that. The hands I was used to as a human are gone, replaced by clumps of feathers I've grown accustomed to handling. Our appearance is similar to the typical "Harpy." Arms and legs are avian, while the rest is human. Well, being ostriches, we don't have those thin, weak bird limbs. They are very thick.
I was confused about how to use them at first, but now I can do simple tasks. I've learned to make and use simple tools using the "elbow" area or the tips of the wings. But their original nature wasn't for lift; they evolved for heat retention, balance during turns, and protection against static electricity. It feels like we traded the ability to fly for high defense and incredible environmental adaptability. In that sense, we're just like normal ostriches.
(If only there were other races... or at least someone I could have a decent conversation with...)
These guys following me across the plateau—who probably already forgot why they are running—are lovable idiots. Their nature is gentle and kind. You can't have a conversation, but their care for their comrades is incredibly strong. If you gathered a hundred humans, some kind of conflict would break out, but these guys wouldn't change if you gathered a thousand or ten thousand.
Being with them isn't bad, and perhaps due to the Ostrich Beastman blood, the time spent running together brings peace to my heart. I understand they look up to me as the flock leader, so I feel like living up to those expectations. In this harsh environment, numbers are power. I don't mind how much the flock grows. I just... constantly wish they were a little smarter.
I want a conversation! A real conversation! I want someone who doesn't forget what we were talking about a second ago! Someone who can stay on the same topic for at least one minute! Please! Seriously, please!
(I've been praying like that for nearly ten years to a god I don't even know exists... I wonder if I'll spend my whole life as their leader.)
My body is female, but my heart and mind belong to the human race of Earth. My "desires" don't react to the males of my species, let alone the females. We are Beastmen, but because we take after ostriches, we have a breeding season and lay eggs. Females around my age usually find a mate and give birth—lay eggs—but I've had none of that. Well, even if they look like adults, their minds are so childish... yeah...
(Well, that's fine. I'll just treat it like some queen marrying the "Title of Leader." Besides, maybe because I'm seen as a different existence despite being the same race, no one has performed a courtship display toward me.)
As I was forcing myself to enjoy the idea of a carefree single life, a voice rose from someone running to my back-right. This wasn't a report to me; it was just a shout because they found something. These lovable idiots can't do organized group maneuvers; this was an instinctive action for crisis management.
Turning my head... I saw a cloud of dust. A dust cloud on this plateau means either a natural phenomenon or a battle. Since I can see black shadows at the base of the cloud, it's the latter.
"If it's our kin, we rescue them. If it's monsters fighting... we'll take the spoils."
The dust cloud was at a distance barely visible even with ostrich eyes. I could infer that a large creature or a group was moving, but given our current flock size, it looked like something we could easily handle. We have many members, and though the ratio is small, we have children too. We need to maintain our food supply. If they charge in without waiting for my orders, we might get a few injuries, but it's not a size we can't hunt.
It sounds cold, but even if they get hurt, an Ostrich Beastman will fully recover in a few weeks. The calories needed for healing will increase, but you could basically call that "zero cost." This plateau is harsh, but it's a land rich in nature. There are plenty of hunting grounds.
Alright, time to go for the kill.
"Alright, everyone! We're going over there! It's a hunt! A hunt! Give me an answer!"
"""Yes!!!"""
I spread my wings and tilt them wide. Maintaining speed, I change direction and steer toward the base of the dust cloud. Now then, I hope it's a big one...!
That was just a moment in my ordinary daily life. Only five minutes remained until my "unchanging" daily life came to an end.
No, let me rephrase that. Only five minutes until I encounter actual intelligent life! It's a human for the first time in ten years!
[Ostrich Beastmen]
Beastmen living in the remote plateau regions. They possess various high-tier abilities like combat prowess and environmental adaptability, but in exchange, their intellect is extremely weak. Other bird-type Beastmen aren't known for high average intelligence either, but Ostrich Beastmen are legendary—they commonly forget things that happened seconds ago. If you beat information into them repeatedly, they can manage to remember, but the probability is like a single-pull gacha.
Because their environment is difficult even for an ostrich to survive in, those who couldn't adapt were weeded out over generations, eventually resulting in a race that is gentle and cares for its kind. Whether it's due to that nature or because they are too stupid to hold grudges, no matter how large the flock becomes, they live by helping one another. (Well, they don't remember the original flock size anyway, and they forget the face of the person next to them three seconds later.)
If a flock gets too large, they are targeted by monsters as easy prey, so they usually move in groups of about a dozen. To be precise, overgrown flocks are usually naturally culled, but by gaining an excellent leader, they have become able to protect themselves even in large numbers. They seem to understand instinctively that following the leader's orders leads to survival and more food.
Note: Even if they are given names, they don't link the name to themselves and forget it immediately, so there are no words to express individuals. There is only "Nakama" (kin/friend) and "Not Nakama" (everything else).