Even after living for years in a world that was obviously fantasy, there were still things I kept forgetting.
The existence of magic was no longer a big deal; I had adapted well enough. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if soone conjured a fireball in front of . Honestly, I’d find the sleight of hand from a street hustler more fascinating than fireballs or ice spears.
But the reason magic no longer amazed was simple: it was wielded by humans.
After all, if magic existed in this world, it was only natural that humans would use it, just as humans in my world invented semiconductors and internal combustion engines.
But there was one thing that still baffled .
In this world, even beasts used magic.
Not even extraordinary mythical creatures, just regular animals you might encounter on the street. Yes, giant rats scuttling through the city’s sewers or wolves running through the fields—they all used magic.
I had no idea what the principle behind it was. Given that the world followed a system similar to the original, I had to admit that the goddess’s setup was more of a device to fool than an entire world crafted for to understand.
Humans needed to chant spells and wield staffs to use magic, but these beasts had no such requirents. Bears breathing fire or elephants wielding ice hamrs with their trunks were astonishing—not in a good way, but in a completely baffling one.
And then, there was the Gryphon that could use healing magic.
Puyoouuuu!
A Gryphon, whose only sound was that, could use healing magic, magic that Mia had to focus to use herself. Honestly, it felt a bit unfair from a human perspective.
After all, the Gryphon wasn’t even an animal in the normal sense. It was more like a legendary, incredibly strong monster that only existed in people’s imaginations.
That beast, with its newly cleaned feathers, ca crashing through the window near the top of the cathedral.
It looked far more dignified than the last ti I had seen it. Though its feathers were still a bit dirty, the Gryphon had apparently taken so ti over the past few days to clean itself up, as its white and brown feathers now had a lustrous sheen.
But above all, it was the wings.
If I looked only at the size of its wings, it seed impossible for a creature with such wings to physically fly. The wings stretched wide to either side, so large that they reminded of the eagle wings I’d seen in docuntaries. But they were so large that comparing them to eagles didn’t quite do them justice.
The Gryphon didn’t even need to flap its wings. It held a naturally graceful posture, with its feathers fluttering slightly as it descended slowly in a way that seed entirely unnatural, almost magical.
White light poured from the feathers along its wings.
As the Gryphon slowly descended closer to , I began to feel a rising heat from its body.
No way.
Seeing it up close now, I finally understood why the Gryphon was so difficult to handle. With its sheer physical attributes and magic on top of that, it was nearly unbeatable.
…How did the Holy Nation humans even manage to capture and imprison the Gryphon? Did they pick up a newborn one?
The Gryphon, which had created an eerie stillness with its presence, landed directly in front of . It didn’t step on , though. To be more precise, it positioned itself perfectly so that its eyes t mine as it lowered its head.
Yes, the Gryphon was looking down at without even bowing its head.
I heard a sniff. Though it had a beak instead of lips, I could tell that it was laughing at .
This beast just mocked , didn’t it?
But if I said anything, I felt like my back would be shredded by its claws, so I held my tongue.
The Gryphon then raised its right foot.
With skilled precision, it dug its claws under my side.
Ugh!
It flipped over.
Wait, what? If it was going to help up, then just help up! Or at least wait until I got back on my feet!
Since I didn’t want to get flipped again, I hurriedly pushed myself up.
And then, I looked back up at the Gryphon.
It gave a haughty look as if saying, "You really think you can stand up to ?"—before it slowly lowered its head toward once again.
“……”
The sound of people holding their breath could be heard around .
What’s going on?
Is it trying to give so kind of encouragent? Or is this just so Gryphon culture I’m not aware of?
Since it was impossible for a beast to communicate with words, I could only interpret its intentions through body language. Honestly, I didn’t even want to learn Gryphon language if it existed.
Like last ti, I slowly grabbed the edges of my skirt with both hands and bowed my waist.
For a while, we both bowed our heads in mutual respect, and then, at the sa ti, we lifted our heads.
I turned away.
Hmm, honestly, when I first realized I had a hole in my side, I wasn’t sure what to do.
I still hadn’t confird it, but it was right after I had blown away the goddess’s power with a fully operational machine device. Just the fact that the world had “returned to its original state” was proof of that. I didn’t know when the goddess might return, but at least during the remaining span of my life, it wasn’t likely to happen. Even if the goddess were to start planning again, it would take at least a few hundred years.
“Fangryphon...”
I heard soone muttering quietly.
Right. Fangryphon.
Here, I was also Fangryphon, even if no drop of that blood ran in my veins.
“Ha, haha!”
A sudden burst of laughter broke the silence, and I turned to see Lucas laughing. He didn’t seem to have gone mad or anything—he was simply laughing because he found it amusing.
“I see.”
I heard the Emperor’s murmuring voice.
“Lucas. Why did you bring that Sylvia to ?”
The voice of the Emperor, Arthur Fangryphon, was flat. It sounded like a father casually asking his son, "What happened at school today?"
“Huh? Of course, it’s simple,” Lucas said, finally stopping his laughter, still holding his side with one hand.
“It’s the sa reason you’ve been running around trying to usurp the goddess's power and put the world beneath your feet,” Lucas said, his expression refreshingly open, the kind only soone who had given up everything could have.
“Because I thought it would be more fun.”
That was a very Lucas-like reason.
And it was, therefore, exactly the kind of thing Arthur Fangryphon’s son would say.
“...I see.”
The Emperor answered with a smile.
If he had started by saying to his children, “You truly are my children,” and not tossed them into strange situations to choose their abilities, maybe things would have been different.
No, perhaps the story wouldn’t have even begun.
But the Emperor couldn’t even show enough love to Alice, whom he had declared to be his true daughter. He loved his children in his own way, but that love always had to co with usefulness.
Well, it didn’t matter now. After all, from now on, there wouldn’t be two chances.
But, really...
Honestly, with this insanely powerful Gryphon at my side, what did it matter if I rewound ti?
“Pyuoooh!”
While I was thinking this, I was startled by a loud sound above . I looked up to see the Gryphon looking down at , as if it had a lot to say.
...Did it read my thoughts? I didn’t think that kind of magic existed.
Well, it probably didn’t, right?
Looking into its golden eyes, I wasn’t so sure anymore.
At least it didn’t seem like it was going to abandon , so I straightened myself up. I had discarded my gun and everything else, but I could still see so things lying on the ground around .
If I needed one, I could just grab it—
“Ugh!”
Before I could pick anything up, my feet left the ground.
Wait, wait, hold on.
I felt sothing heavy on the back of my neck—it seed the Gryphon had grabbed the collar of my clothes with its beak and was lifting up—
And then, I was suddenly lifted into the air.
Before I could even scream, I was soaring upward and landed with a thud on the Gryphon’s wide back.
“...”
Well, if you’re going to carry , couldn’t you do it in a more gentle way?
I was wearing a skirt, after all.
No, more importantly, I really wish it wouldn’t just take off and fly with sitting on its bare back without a saddle.
I quickly lowered my posture, almost lying flat on the Gryphon’s back.
“Pyuoooh!”
This ti, whether it had read my mind or not, the Gryphon took off into the air, soaring without regard for my wishes.
Reviews
All reviews (0)