Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: The Golden Nest
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***
The forest was quiet.
Even though Keilin had just run in and all that chaos had erupted outside the forest, it was, quite literally, unnaturally still.
Just as Noa had taught her, Lucillea conjured a small ball of fire at her fingertip to light up her surroundings.
*'I'm in a forest, so I have to be careful not to start a fire.'*
She began to walk slowly.
"Why does it feel like this...?"
As Lucillea muttered, looking around, Cookie, who had jumped down to inspect the dirt floor, spoke up.
[Lucy! Here! Over here! There are footprints here!]
Then it hopped over to the base of a tree.
"Footprints?"
[Yes! Under this tree trunk, between the leaves! Ta-da! Right here!]
Cookie bounced in place, urging her to hurry.
*'Ah, they must be the footprints of that girl, Keilin or whatever her name is.'*
A small, shallow shoe print was pressed into a gap between tangled twigs and fallen leaves. It was clearly a track left by Keilin.
"Amazing, my Cookie! I knew it! I believed in you! Good job, Cookie!"
As Lucillea praised it extravagantly and stroked its head, Cookie laughed with glee, puffing up with pride.
Lucillea placed Cookie back on her shoulder.
"Hold on tight."
[Yup!]
Lucillea slowly followed the footprints Cookie had found.
After a short while, the forest grew darker.
She felt a growing pressure, as if the very air was being flattened around her.
It was then.
Lucillea muttered, staring at a particular spot.
"...Found her."
Keilin was about ten paces away. She was slumped against a large tree trunk, seemingly unconscious.
*'Good grief, she's really something else...'*
It was absurd enough that she'd irresponsibly abandoned her comrades and fled, but now she was just peacefully sleeping here all by herself?
[...Doesn't look like she's napping. Look, she's groaning like she's having a nightmare.]
Come to think of it, why was she like that?
As if... someone had forced her to sleep.
*'Still, it's a relief she didn't go any deeper into the forest.'*
First, I'll slap her cheeks a few times to wake her up.
*'Then I can just lift her with magic and carry her out.'*
Among the wind-attribute spells Noa had taught her, there was one perfect for moving large, heavy objects that were difficult to carry with physical strength alone.
With that in mind, she walked slowly toward Keilin. Then, suddenly, Lucillea stopped in her tracks.
Huh?
*'What... is that...?'*
Cookie, seeming to have sensed the strange atmosphere, whispered.
[Lucy... Something feels weird... My feathers are standing on end, like they're warning me of danger.]
*'...'*
Lucillea nodded silently in agreement.
*'Something's here.'*
She then made the ball of fire on her fingertip just a little larger, illuminating the area around Keilin more brightly.
And then.
*'Gasp!'*
[Aack!]
Lucillea and Cookie gasped in surprise at the same time.
From behind the tree Keilin was leaning against, a massive creature with huge, dark tan wings, a magnificent mane reminiscent of a lion, and golden eyes revealed itself.
Uh, uh...? Lucillea stared blankly at the creature, her mouth agape.
*'W-what is that!'*
Then Cookie, as if recognizing the being, cried out softly.
[It's a griffin...!]
*'A-a griffin?!'*
[Yes! That's an ancient divine beast you only see in myths! But why is it here?!]
*'How should I know!'*
Lucillea remained frozen on the spot, staring at the griffin.
*'What do I do?!'*
Then Cookie, as if struck by a brilliant idea, said brightly.
[Lucy! Throw a rache!]
Rache? Ah, that fruit you're crazy about?
Lucillea asked what kind of nonsense it was talking about.
*'Why that fruit all of a sudden?'*
[A griffin's upper body is still a bird brain like me! And raches are the fruit birds like us go crazy for, right?!]
*'...'*
It called itself a bird brain with its own mouth...
But even as Lucillea thought Cookie's words were completely ridiculous, a part of her wondered, *what if?*
Lucillea took out a pouch full of red berries from her pocket. She had packed them to feed Cookie.
At that, as if it had caught the scent, the griffin was seen to flinch. For a brief moment, the anger in its eyes subsided.
*'Oh? What's this. It's actually working?'*
In that case...
Lucillea glanced around her.
*'If I can distract it for even a moment by throwing this, I'll drag Keilin out of the forest in that time!'*
Finding a suitable spot, Lucillea took a handful of raches from the pouch and threw them with all her might deep into the forest, far away from Keilin.
"Here, eat this!"
*Thud, thud!* The swiftly thrown raches disappeared into the darkness of the forest. The griffin's eyes followed the raches into the woods.
*'Now's my chance!'*
Lucillea cast a spell on Keilin's ankle and pulled her slightly closer.
*Swoosh.* Pulled by the magic, Keilin's body moved closer to Lucillea.
*'Oh! It's working! I succeed—'*
But then.
The griffin's eyes had already returned, glaring at Lucillea.
*'Hup!'*
[Eek!]
Lucillea gulped, swallowing dryly.
"...Somehow, I think this has failed."
[I agree.]
Lucillea, trying her best to act calm, took out more raches and—*whoosh!*
"H-here, eat...!"
[...]
But this time, too, the griffin stood still in its spot like a statue.
Once more, *whoosh!*
"...I said eat!"
[...Oh, what a waste!]
"..."
After several attempts, the pouch of raches was empty.
"..."
[...]
A brief silence fell. And then.
*Whine...*
*'Hm?'*
A strange sound came from the griffin.
Lucillea looked at the griffin, puzzled. She sensed a strange emotion in its eyes.
Only then did she see it. In the griffin's eyes, besides anger and wariness, was a peculiar impatience.
The moment she thought something was strange, the griffin took a few hesitant steps back.
Yet it didn't take its eyes off Lucillea. It simply stared at her with a quiet, somehow sad and peculiar gaze.
As if...
*'It wants me to follow?'*
[It's dangerous, Lucy!]
But Lucillea tilted her head.
*'I don't know. It's just a feeling, but I don't sense any danger.'*
The monsters outside the forest had put her on guard the moment she saw them. She'd even had the feeling that a wrong move could get her killed.
But this griffin before her, this griffin that was far larger than the monsters outside, didn't feel dangerous at all.
*'Is it because it's an ancient divine beast?'*
In fact, it felt rather... endearing?
Driven by this inexplicable feeling, Lucillea slowly began to follow the griffin.
She walked past the unconscious Keilin, keeping a suitable distance as she followed the griffin.
After walking for a while, the griffin came to a halt. At that moment, Lucillea's view opened up.
"Whoa!"
The dark forest became so bright that fire magic was no longer needed. And the scene that unfolded before her was no ordinary forest.
*'A nest...?'*
And not just any bird's nest, but a golden nest woven from all sorts of gold in various forms.
It was like a natural cradle formed by a part of the forest itself.
Gold coins, ingots, and golden ornaments were woven into the nest's frame, which was made of interlocking rocks, tree roots, and broken branches. It was large, sturdy, and magnificent, like the glory of an ancient temple.
Taking in the magnificent sight, Lucillea swallowed dryly and took a step forward.
[They say griffins like gold.]
*'You know a surprising amount about these things, don't you?'*
[I pick things up here and there!]
Lucillea chuckled at Cookie's words, looking around the nest.
*'This griffin, you're pretty rich.'*
As Lucillea muttered that she wouldn't have to worry about making a living if she just tore off a piece of the nest, something came into her view.
*'Huh?'*
[Lu-Lucy! There's, there's another one! Another griffin!]
In the center of the magnificent, splendid nest, she found another griffin, lying there covered in blood. But it was small. It was about half the size of the griffin that had led her here.
Could it be... a chick?
Lucillea walked toward the injured griffin and said.
"You're hurt."
Feathers were missing in places, and a deep wound was visible on its side. The mane on its neck was matted with dried blood, and it was panting with its beak open.
*'Ah... Was it trying to protect its young?'*
The purpose of this mission was to subjugate the monsters of the northern mountains. Because they had been threatening the lives of merchants traveling through the mountain range.
*'Maybe it wasn't just a monster problem.'*
There must have been people who saw the ancient divine beast, the griffin, and thought it was a monster.
[The nest is too close to the forest path... Maybe it felt threatened because people kept passing by?]
*'That's what I think, too.'*
Lucillea glanced at the mother griffin.
"So what? What do you want me to do? Surely you're not asking a human like me to save it? I'm just a kid, too. Can't you tell by my size?"
At that, *whine...* the mother griffin's eyes seemed to droop.
"No... *sigh*."
For some reason, she could read what the griffin's gaze and expression were saying, even when she didn't want to.
Lucillea swept her bangs back and looked back and forth between the young griffin and its mother.
*'Ah, I'm not the type to be soft-hearted...'*
And yet, she wanted to help. She wanted to be of use.
Was it because she had spent so much time with Cookie?
That expression with its once-fierce eyes now downcast, that beak that looked so hard and sharp... instead of being scary, for some reason, it looked cute and pitiful.
*'Its chocolate-colored mane is cool, too. Like a battle-hardened lion.'*
Besides, it's an ancient divine beast. Might it not be helpful later in some way?
Lucillea stared intently at the mother griffin and said.
"You should know you're lucky. And you'd better repay this kindness later, like in the fairy tales. Bring me a magic bean or something. Got it?"