Chapter 157 : Chapter 157
Chapter 157. Together with the Griffin
Kreeeeek!
People panicked at the sudden appearance of the griffin.
“A griffin!”
“First a great spirit, and now a griffin?!”
Facing the great spirit alone was already overwhelming, and now a high-grade monster had appeared.
The Lizardmen who had been swinging their swords at the slimes recognized the griffin and turned pale.
“Th-that thing?!”
“Boss, isn’t that the bastard who made fools of us back when we were in the Char Mountains?!”
“Why does it have to show up at a time like this……!”
Chariot, who had been watching from afar, was no different.
‘That griffin!’
The griffin diving from the sky was a creature Chariot knew well.
The brutal monster that appeared unfailingly whenever one ventured deeper into the lake.
With the upper body of an eagle and the lower body of a lion, its ferocity was beyond description.
It never forgave humans who encroached even slightly on its territory.
Could it be that the great spirit appearing in the lake had invaded its territory, and it had come to attack?
For a brief moment, Chariot held onto a faint hope.
Kreeeeek!
Contrary to his expectations, however, the griffin ignored the great spirit and flew straight toward Radel.
‘His Highness is in danger!’
The moment the griffin swooped down on Radel, Chariot reflexively squeezed his eyes shut.
“……No, what is that?”
“The human lord is giving that thing something, boss?”
What was going on?
When Chariot opened his eyes again, a bizarre scene was unfolding.
The griffin that had flown toward Radel was taking something from him, as Radel raised one arm high.
“So that’s where that delicious smell came from.”
“I thought some lunatic was grilling meat. So it was this!”
Listening to the Lizardmen chatter, Chariot stared blankly at Radel.
He could see the griffin happily tearing into the jerky clenched in Radel’s hand.
“Don’t tell me…… did he tame a griffin?”
Inette also gaped at the sight of Radel feeding jerky to the griffin.
It was no different from how he had tamed the rock eagle during the monster studies class.
“Feeding it works on a griffin too?”
Inette muttered in disbelief.
Taming an ordinary monster was hard enough, but a griffin?
Gusto, standing beside her, nodded.
“As expected of His Highness. Even that griffin must have bowed before His Highness’s character.”
“What kind of character does a griffin even judge…….”
Inette shuddered at Gusto’s words, but from afar, Radel truly looked as if he were communicating with the griffin.
* Kree!
“No. If you want more, wait.”
The griffin, having finished the jerky, was now protesting at Radel.
Kreeeek!
“You want more? Is that any way to ask?”
Radel tried to reason with it, but the griffin, its mind consumed by jerky, didn’t listen.
Kreeeek! Kreeeek!
Eventually, the griffin’s beak snapped toward Radel’s hand.
But Radel wasn’t about to let that slide.
‘Imperial Sword Art!’
Smack!
The griffin yelped as its forehead collided with Radel’s scabbard.
Kree!
Seeing that, one could finally understand how Radel had tamed the griffin.
“How admirable.”
Someone was watching the exchange with a satisfied smile.
It was Shartea, the very person who had taught Radel the Imperial Sword Art.
She did not spare her praise for Radel’s skill in deploying his sword path in such a short span of time.
“To think he was training like that.”
Even the Imperial Knights, said to possess the finest swordsmanship in the palace, would not train against a griffin.
So there had been such a budding talent within the imperial family.
Shartea looked at Radel with approval.
At that moment, a notification sounded in Radel’s ear.
Ding.
[The target’s favorability has exceeded 5.]
[The target’s favorability has reached 20.]
‘Senior Shartea’s favorability went up?’
Radel fed the now somewhat subdued griffin another piece of jerky and checked the system window.
He had no idea why favorability had increased in such a chaotic situation, but it was good news for him.
There was no time to think further.
In the lake, the water dragon that had recovered once more was writhing and continuously summoning slimes.
While the griffin was busy chewing on jerky, Radel tossed a magic device onto its back and sprang up.
Click!
The device Radel threw wrapped around the griffin’s back and locked firmly in place.
It was a custom-made magic-beast saddle Radel had specially commissioned from Isan Rau.
Kreeeek!
The griffin struggled belatedly, sensing something was wrong, but it was futile.
Clinging tightly to its back as it took off, Radel grabbed the reins.
“Let’s go!”
It was Radel’s first flight together with the griffin.
***
Whoooosh!
“You idiot! At this rate we’ll fall!”
The library spirit shouted at Radel.
When Radel had taken out jerky to grill earlier, he had thought the boy was insane. He had never imagined it was to lure a griffin.
‘He really isn’t ordinary.’
The library spirit had to admit that his clumsy contractor was anything but ordinary.
This was not something an academy first-year would even think of.
Even so, while they had managed to mount the griffin and take to the skies, things did not go smoothly afterward.
The griffin had no intention of flying obediently, and was predictably performing every aerial trick it could to throw Radel off.
Kreeeeek!
The griffin let out a long screech and spun through the air.
“Hold on tight!”
The library spirit shouted, and Radel shouted back.
“I’m not falling! I had enchantments put on the saddle!”
Radel had anticipated a situation like this.
From the start, he had asked Isan Rau to make a saddle that would absolutely not let him fall off.
Multiple layers of protective magic had been applied.
Kreeeek!
The griffin continued thrashing about, trying to shake Radel loose.
Though dizzy, Radel grit his teeth and held on.
If he wanted to tame a griffin, this was something he would have to endure eventually.
He had never expected the griffin to acknowledge him easily.
Pressing himself closer to the griffin, Radel spoke.
“Listen to me. This isn’t the time for us to fight among ourselves!”
He addressed the griffin directly.
“You see that lake? That’s your territory, right? But not anymore. That spirit has invaded it. Are you really going to let that slide?”
Perhaps it understood his words.
The griffin rumbled in its throat and cried out.
Kreeeeeee!
“See, you’re angry too, right? I’m angry as well. You’re a monster, so you might not care, but by human law, that lake is on my land. I’m the lord here. Can a spirit just seize land without permission?”
Kreeek!
“Exactly! A great spirit shouldn’t be doing this.”
The griffin snorted.
Even the watching library spirit was dumbfounded, as if it truly seemed to understand Radel.
‘Something’s connecting.’
No one felt the bond with the griffin more keenly than Radel.
Up until now, he had merely been riding it. But now it was different.
The griffin’s wings were beginning to move in response to Radel’s lead.
‘Is this real taming?’
Radel tightened his grip on the reins.
When he gently shifted direction, the griffin followed, albeit roughly.
“Alright, let’s go check the lake.”
Kreeee!
One monster and one human circled through the sky and flew over the lake.
The library spirit clinging to Radel’s shoulder went with them.
“The griffin’s starting to listen now. Guess it figured out you’re stubborn!”
The library spirit shouted excitedly.
Though he often fluttered through the mental realm connected to the academy library, this was his first time truly flying.
Flap!
As they neared the lake, the griffin spread its wings wide and began to glide.
Thanks to the protective magic on the saddle, the wind brushed Radel’s face at just the right strength.
Even amid battle, it was a refreshing moment that made him forget everything else.
“I think I get why everyone wants to fly.”
When Radel asked, the griffin let out a long cry.
Kreeeeeee!
Radel patted the griffin’s back.
“It’s amazing.”
***
Radel flew around the lake together with the griffin.
A massive water dragon stood towering within the lake.
Radel spoke to the griffin.
“You see it? That water dragon is the great spirit. If you get close, I’ll handle it somehow.”
Kreeee!
“No need to worry.”
As Radel now even soothed the griffin, the library spirit shouted from his shoulder.
“There! That’s the core!”
Looking where the library spirit pointed, Radel saw something black near the water dragon’s head.
He urged the griffin closer.
What is this now?
The water dragon noticed the griffin and Radel.
You are a nuisance!
Kreeeek!
Jets of water shot out from the water dragon toward the griffin.
The griffin countered by striking the water dragon’s body with its beak.
SPLASH!
But no matter how much the beak grazed it, the water dragon did not budge.
“Physical attacks won’t work on it. You have to deal with that core!”
The library spirit shouted.
From the griffin’s back as they dodged attacks, Radel closely examined the core.
Inside the water dragon’s head, dark, polluted water writhed.
‘How do I deal with that?’
It looked like purification magic was needed.
Looking closely, the blackened core surged and spread corruption the more the water dragon rampaged.
The library spirit fumed.
“At this rate, that idiot will rot its entire body! Disgracing all great spirits! Come to your senses, you fool!”
Wait, rot?
Something clicked in Radel’s mind.
He might not know purification magic, but he did know one way to purify polluted water.
‘The pills!’
The first tangible result from lending Isan Rau a laboratory.
Pills that could purify even the filthiest water were tucked away in Radel’s coat.
Radel rummaged through his pocket and took out a bottle of pills.
At the same time, the water dragon opened its mouth to attack the griffin.
Kreeeek!
“When the attack comes, don’t dodge far. Stick as close to its head as possible. Can you do that?”
Kreeek!
After giving the griffin simple instructions, Radel opened the vial.
ROOOAR!
A massive breath burst forth from the water dragon’s mouth.
“That thing isn’t even a dragon, pretending to be one!”
The library spirit snapped, complaining about the great spirit’s wounded pride.
Thanks to that, Radel managed to keep his composure amid the chaos.
‘Right. That isn’t a real dragon. It’s just nature!’
As the griffin closed in on the water dragon’s head, Radel hurled the vial.
SPLASH!
The contents of the bottle scattered instantly into the water dragon’s head.