Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: A Griffin Named Choco
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Then, *thump!* She landed as if sinking into Choco's soft, fluffy mane.
“Huh?”
As Lucillea blankly looked around at the sudden change in her view, Choco hopped and bounded out of the nest.
The recoil was immense. *Agh!* A startled Lucillea tightly gripped Choco’s chocolate-colored mane with both hands.
[Lucy! Hold on tight! You'll die if you let go!]
Cookie shouted, clutching Choco's mane with both feet.
‘You can fly!’
[Oh, right. But when else will I get to ride on the back of an ancient divine beast?!]
‘I don't want to ride it!’
While Lucillea roared, clutching the mane, Choco had already reached the spot where Keilin lay unconscious.
“Oh? It’s Keilin.”
Lucillea murmured, looking down at Keilin on the ground.
Had it really brought her to where Keilin was?
‘*Phew*. I guess I misunderstood.’
But then.
Choco opened its large beak wide and brought it toward Keilin.
A startled Lucillea shouted, yanking hard on Choco's mane.
“Hey! Hey! Don’t eat her!”
Despite her alarm, Choco merely nipped the collar of Keilin's clothes near her neck with the tip of its beak and lifted her lightly.
“What are you… doing with Kei-Keilin— *Whaaaaaaah!*”
Before she could even ask what it intended to do with Keilin in its beak, *whump—!* A massive beat of its wings shook the forest, and Choco’s body soared into the sky.
“*Aaaaaaaaah—!*”
[*Yaaaaaaahooooooo—!*]
Lucillea's terrified scream and Cookie's excited voice faded into the distance.
***
Meanwhile, outside the forest.
The suppression of the magical beasts was still in full swing.
Fortunately, most of the Hoarfrost Wolves had been dealt with.
“Irnel, to the right. Push it to the right one more time.”
Serdian's voice was calm. He seemed much more composed than when they had first encountered the Hoarfrost Wolves.
As Irnel conjured a wind to push the last Hoarfrost Wolf to the right, Reiden immediately created a circular barrier of flames, surrounding it.
As the startled Hoarfrost Wolf faltered, trapped within the barrier, Serdian's aura, transformed into chains, bound its legs.
The last one was subdued.
*Phew…* A simultaneous sigh of relief escaped the children's lips.
Serdian turned his head toward the forest.
After the ancient divine beast, the griffin, had appeared, the Grand Duke's knight order, judging the situation to be unusual, had entered the forest to search for the children.
But there was still no word.
They didn't know what was happening inside that forest.
“Alright. This should be enough. We need to head into the forest now—.”
It was just as Serdian turned to head into the forest without even a moment's rest.
*Kieeeeeee—!*
The cry of a griffin echoed from the sky above.
Startled by the sound, the children quickly looked up at the sky.
It was the same giant griffin that had entered the forest alone a short while ago.
“It's the griffin! Reform the ranks—!”
But then.
“Serdian! Reiden! Don’t attack! It’s me, me! I brought Keilin, too!”
Atop the giant griffin's back, a tiny figure was clinging on and waving a hand.
Hearing the familiar voice, Serdian, who had readjusted his grip on his sword, furrowed his brow.
“Lucil…lea?”
Not just Serdian, but Reiden, Irnel, and the surrounding knights as well. Every single one of them was staring blankly up at the sky, their faces pale.
Until that moment, Lucillea had no idea.
That the sight of Keilin, dangling from the tip of the beast's beak by the scruff of her neck, was the perfect recipe for a misunderstanding.
“*Kyaaah!* No! Keilin!”
Irnel's scream-like cry erupted from below, but it didn't reach Lucillea.
***
“Bye, Choco!”
Take good care of Twenty Gold!
Lucillea waved at Choco as it headed into the forest. Choco glanced back, as if bidding her farewell.
Lucillea forced a smile as she watched the back of Choco's head.
‘I'm very grateful you gave me a ride, but thanks to you, the number of things I have to explain has skyrocketed, Choco!’
Once Choco had completely disappeared from sight, Lucillea was summoned by Elbadin and boarded the carriage.
Sitting across from Elbadin, Lucillea darted her eyes from side to side.
Just then, Elbadin spoke first.
“Going into the forest to save your comrade—your choice, up to that point, was not bad.”
Ah, Lucillea finally raised her head to look at Elbadin.
That's a compliment, right?
“Hehe, thank you.”
“However.”
Elbadin stared at Lucillea for a moment.
“It was reckless. When you found Keilin, you should have brought her back. Not followed the griffin to its nest.”
“…Yes.”
Lucillea hung her head low, as if she understood what he meant.
“Ancient divine beasts are not favorable toward humans.”
It has been that way since ancient times. Divine beasts are, quite literally, messengers of the gods. They are noble and proud, with high intelligence, capable of thought and judgment.
They would never offer their back or willingly show their nest to anyone they did not acknowledge.
“You were lucky. Otherwise, what would be before me now is your corpse. An unrecognizable one at that.”
Lucillea swallowed dryly at Elbadin's chilling words.
“I didn't know... that Choco was such a dangerous creature.”
“Choco…?”
“Yes, I gave it a name. It seemed to like it.”
“…”
Elbadin looked at Lucillea wordlessly, his expression one of disbelief.
A brief moment passed.
*Sigh*, Elbadin let out a breath.
Startled by the small sigh, Lucillea’s shoulders trembled slightly.
Elbadin opened his mouth.
“Any injuries?”
At his tone, which was much gentler than his earlier scolding voice, Lucillea cautiously raised her gaze.
His eyes were still sharp and fierce, but his gaze held a faint trace of concern.
For some reason, Lucillea felt a sense of relief, and a soft smile unknowingly spread across her face.
“None!”
At Lucillea’s spirited reply, Elbadin also offered a faint smile.
“What happened here today will be kept a secret for the time being.”
“Yes! I think that’s a good idea.”
“Why is that?”
“Choco’s nest looked really delicious—no, I mean, it looked like it would be worth a lot. If greedy people hear about it, they might attack Choco to try and steal its nest.”
At that, Elbadin let out a short laugh.
“You don't need to worry about that.”
“Why not?”
“A griffin’s nest is protected by a barrier, so it’s invisible to those who aren’t permitted. This incident wasn't caused by the nest itself, but by the griffin's appearance, because it thought its nest was being threatened.”
“Oh…”
What, so that means I was permitted? As she tilted her head at the thought, Elbadin spoke.
“Yes, for some reason, the griffin allowed you into its nest. Whether it intended to make you its prey, or its judgment was clouded because its chick was injured, I do not know.”
“…”
It didn't seem like it saw me as prey. Lucillea pouted.
“In any case, a griffin of that size must have lived for at least several hundred years. Moving its nest would be a simple matter.”
With that, Elbadin exited the carriage. Lucillea followed him.
Elbadin called over the other four children, excluding Keilin, who was receiving treatment.
“This field mission, the subjugation of the magical beasts in the Northern Mountains, had some unexpected developments, but.”
Elbadin paused for a moment, making eye contact with each of the children before continuing.
“In conclusion, you handled it well.”
At his words, color returned to the exhausted children's faces. They were surprised to hear praise from Elbadin for the first time, and a sense of being overwhelmed with emotion washed over them.
And so, the special team's first mission, having started safely, seemed to be coming to a close.
“We've finished regrouping!”
“We're departing! Everyone to their positions!”
“Board the carriages!”
Having regrouped, the Grand Duke's carriages set off once more.
As the carriage began to move, Serdian, who was riding with Lucillea, asked in a cold voice.
“What happened?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
As Lucillea feigned ignorance, Serdian sighed.
“I’m talking about that griffin.”
“Oh, Choco?”
Choco…? Serdian once again wore a baffled expression at the sweet name that came from Lucillea's lips.
“Surely, you don't mean that griffin when you say ‘Choco’?”
“Why not? It reminded me of chocolate the moment I first saw it.”
“…”
“Its magnificent mane was the perfect chocolate color. Twenty Gold looks like its mom, so it's chocolate-colored too, but it already has the name Twenty Gold.”
“And what's a 'Twenty Gold'?”
“It exists. A creature that swallowed a sum of money I might never touch in my entire life.”
“…”
In any case, the misunderstanding that Choco had brought Keilin back by biting her neck was cleared up.
She had been so surprised when the Grand Duke's knights tried to attack the moment they landed. She had to calm down the agitated Choco and explain the situation to the knight order.
However, the suspicion surrounding Lucillea, who had appeared on the back of a griffin, did not easily dissipate.
In truth, it was something that couldn't be glossed over, no matter how well one tried to explain it. The idea of a small girl flying around on the back of an ancient divine beast was, by all common sense, unbelievable.
‘That's why I wanted to come back quietly…’
If Choco hadn't acted so unpredictably, she wouldn't have been in a situation where she had to give a troublesome explanation.
Not that she blamed Choco. No matter how intelligent a divine beast was, it couldn't think the same way as a human.
‘It might have thought it was repaying a debt in its own way.’
If so, she should actually think of it as commendable.
*Humm*. Lucillea leaned her head against the window, staring blankly at the scenery outside.
Watching the receding forest, she thought of Choco.
‘Be well, Choco!’
Oh, and Twenty Gold, too