The Frost Griffin Is Our Fluffy Boy
The audience chamber of the Ironblood Diplomacy froze over in an instant. “······.” The suffocating silence created by dozens of the Empire’s highest officials. At the center of it all, Marquis Marcini, the Astra Empire’s envoy, could only doubt his own ears.
‘…What did she just say?’
That silver-haired young girl had just referred to the Frost Griffin—the divine relic of the North and the very leash that kept the Scadia wolves in check—as our fluffy boy. As if she were calling over the neighbor’s dog, with an affectionate and utterly absurd nickname.
The smile that had been lingering on Marquis Marcini’s lips hardened in a flash. He had already received a full report on the girl who had entered alongside Prince Kaion. According to intelligence, she was the one who, immediately upon her appointment as Chief Development Officer, created a strategic weapon capable of scaling castle walls—and then personally took the field, defeating the avatar of one of the Five Great Tower Masters, Lucian. For that achievement, she had been awarded the hero’s title Flash of the Empire.
Serian Elhardt.
The girl who had been sitting there with a bored expression, chin propped on her hand as she stared blankly into space, had suddenly joined the conversation and called the divine relic our fluffy boy.
‘Is she insane?’
—Or was this a sophisticated psychological attack meant to throw them off balance and create an opening? Either way, the fact that an unexpected variable had intruded into the perfectly arranged board he had prepared was extremely unpleasant. This was not something he could simply let slide.
In the Scadia Principality, the Frost Griffin was a god in the flesh. Addressing such a being as if it were some local mutt was nothing short of blasphemy, far beyond a mere diplomatic discourtesy.
“···What did you just say?”
A cold voice came from beside him. The chill radiating from Bjorn’s body instantly transformed into killing intent. Crushed beneath that overwhelming pressure, Marquis Marcini unconsciously swallowed dryly. Nevertheless, he decided to ride this current and drive the wedge in deeper, pretending nothing was wrong. It was the perfect opportunity.
“Ah, my apologies for not recognizing you at first. I wondered who you might be, but aren’t you the very person who dared drag Scadia’s god onto that perilous battlefield?”
He went even further, clearly intending to pin the responsibility on Serian.
“—The divine relic suffered severe injuries. Yet from the looks of it, the young lady appears to be in excellent health.”
After sarcastically pointing out her irresponsibility, he glanced once more at Bjorn and continued.
“Heh heh, the Flash of the Empire certainly possesses quite the sense of humor. However, I fear your jest toward a sacred being may have gone a bit too far. As I understand it… that esteemed one is currently enduring excruciating pain.”
He placed heavy emphasis on the word pain. Bjorn’s brow twitched ominously. But Serian simply tilted her head in confusion.
That’s not right… he’s perfectly fine, our fluffy boy.
Right after the operation to recapture the Silver Horn Fortress, Serian had secretly visited the imperial stables out of worry that the Griffin—which could become the switch for the Empire’s downfall—might be in bad shape. Since the divine relic’s injury was top secret, no official healers had been assigned. She had spent the entire night scouring the library for ancient divine beast treatment methods and combined them with her own alchemical knowledge.
At first the massive beast had shown wariness, but it eventually opened its heart to her sincere care. One day, the Frost Griffin had approached her and gently bumped its head against her. That was when she discovered it.
Hidden behind that majestic appearance was an enormous, incredibly fluffy bundle of charm.
…This thing is literally just a cat!
“There, there, good boy. Who’s a good fluffy boy?”
By the time the treatment was mostly complete, she had already fallen completely for the giant cat’s charms.
“Pain? No, that can’t be. Just yesterday he was resting his head on my lap, purring contentedly as he fell asleep.”
“Nonsense! It seems bringing such a young lady to a place like this has clouded your judgment. Quickly, escort her—”
Marquis Marcini, seething with rage, tried to shout for her to be removed from the audience chamber. But before he could finish, a heavy hand cut across in front of him. It was Bjorn.
“....?”
Marquis Marcini looked at Bjorn with puzzled eyes. Bjorn didn’t spare a single glance for the cunning Astra envoy. Every ounce of his attention, his entire being, was focused solely on one person—the small girl standing at the center of the audience chamber.
A trembling voice mixed with the sound of scraping iron flowed from his lips.
“Did you just say… it was purring?”
“Yes. Whenever it’s in a good mood. Just like a cat.”
At Serian’s nonchalant reply, Marquis Marcini cut in, sounding utterly flabbergasted.
“That must have been a groan of agony! How can you not even distinguish something so basic!”
At those words, Bjorn’s shoulders—which had been as still as a boulder—twitched violently.
Purring…?
It was a sound the Frost Griffin only made when it was supremely comfortable and content, and only toward those it trusted most. According to Scadia’s founding myth, it was the legendary sound first heard when the creature rested its head on the first king’s lap. Since then, only the royal family who had grown up alongside the divine relic and a handful of grand generals—including Bjorn himself—knew of its existence. No one had actually heard it in hundreds of years.
…How does she know that?
Bjorn’s mind fell into complete chaos. Unaware of his turmoil, Serian added with an innocent expression.
“Oh, and he only eats northern mountain strawberries that have been frosted over. He won’t eat them unless the stem is pointing upward. And he loves it when you scratch under his chin.”
“...!”
The divine relic’s picky eating habits and preferences. Those too were among the most closely guarded secrets, passed down only by word of mouth to the royal heirs. Marquis Marcini shouted as if he couldn’t bear it any longer.
“Grand General Bjorn! What are you hesitating for! Are you really going to fall for that girl’s tricks? Have you forgotten? That woman is the reason the divine relic was injured—because she rode it across the battlefield!”
But Serian didn’t even blink. Instead, she looked at Marquis Marcini as if she found him ridiculous.
“I took him? No matter how much I tried to leave him behind, our fluffy boy kept following me because he was worried. I had no choice but to bring him along.”
She shot him a sharp glare.
“To be honest, I didn’t want to take him either. But he kept saying he was worried and followed me anyway. He came after me when I charged into the middle of enemy lines to stop me, and his wing only got grazed by the magic your mages fired. Blaming us for that is simply unfair.”
The Empire’s hero had not taken the divine relic to use it as a weapon of war. Rather, the loyal divine beast had thrown itself onto the battlefield out of worry for its master and had been wounded by Astra’s attack. In an instant, the roles of perpetrator and victim were completely reversed.
Bjorn’s icy gaze turned toward Marquis Marcini.
“Marquis. It seems your words… do not match the truth.”
Cornered, Marquis Marcini made one last desperate stand.
“It’s a lie! Prove it! If you cannot bring the divine relic here immediately, every word you’ve spoken will be regarded as falsehood!”
Bjorn’s gaze returned to Serian. He wanted confirmation.
“Show me the divine relic.”
At that firm demand, Serian frowned as if troubled.
“That’s a bit difficult right now.”
Got her!
Marquis Marcini cheered inwardly. It had been a lie after all.
“See, Grand General! That woman is lying!”
But Serian’s next words plunged him back into the abyss of despair.
“Our fluffy boy is pregnant right now. She’s in a very sensitive state because she’s trying to build a nest and brood her eggs.”
“…….”
The audience chamber fell silent once more, as if water had been poured over it. Bjorn’s massive body stiffened.
“P-pregnant… you say?”
“Yes. That’s why we were planning to wait until she laid the eggs and stabilized before delivering this joyous news to Scadia. I regret that it has to be shared this way.”
At those words, all of Bjorn’s suspicions melted away like snow. The pregnancy of the divine relic was the most sacred miracle in the history of the Scadia Principality since its founding—an irreplaceable blessing. Disturbing a nest during such a sensitive time was the greatest possible blasphemy against the gods.
There had been a legend passed down in Scadia since ancient times. The Frost Griffin would only conceive new life beside a hero personally chosen by the gods when an age of bitter cold ended and a new era began.
That person… is the one chosen directly by the gods.
Only Marquis Marcini continued to deny reality, screaming.
“B-bullshit! Now you’re even spouting lies! Such ridiculous—”
But his cries no longer reached anyone. Bjorn had already turned his back. His fury was no longer directed at the Empire, but at Astra, which had deceived him.
Serian watched his retreating figure and smiled in satisfaction.
Heh heh, that should buy me at least a few months. I’ll make my escape in the meantime.
She decided to go even further.
“Of course, we will naturally return the first cub to Scadia. Unlike those cowards who injured its parent, we are an Empire that understands honor.”
That single remark was the final nail in the coffin. The birth of a new divine relic—an irresistible promise of the future for the Scadia Principality and a new pact with the Empire. Bjorn no longer had any reason to side with Astra. He silently nodded.
His anger over the injured divine relic had already transformed into joy at the birth of a new one. Therefore, to him, Marquis Marcini was no longer an ally, but merely an annoying obstacle standing in the way of his people’s long-cherished wish.
And so, the alliance between Astra and Scadia collapsed in utter futility.
According to her past-life memories, there were definitely other members of the Griffin species living somewhere in the mountain range near Scadia.
I can just sneak over and catch one later. No big deal.
Serian was simply shoving all responsibility onto her future self in order to get through this annoying situation.
*
Prince Kaion, who had been watching everything from the side, was inwardly stunned.
…Is this even possible?
With just a few words, she had completely overturned the diplomatic trap that had been strangling the entire Empire. She had pulled the Empire out of a defensive position and instead driven Astra into the role of the perpetrator that harmed the divine relic.
Watching the scene, Kaion felt a chill run down his spine. He thought of his father. The great conqueror. A bold, valiant hero of an era that crushed everything with raw power. His father had seen the Frost Griffin as nothing more than a trophy and a splendid mount. He had shouted as much, silencing the opposition of his ministers, and casually handed the dangerous divine relic over to a twenty-year-old Development Officer.
Kaion had believed that recklessness had brought about this worst diplomatic crisis. Yet now, the stone his father had carelessly tossed was returning as a divine move that would decide the Empire’s fate.
Don’t tell me… Father foresaw all of this?
Kaion was confused. The eloquence displayed by the girl before him had transcended human scheming and reached the realm of art.
*
While he was lost in confusion, Serian finally decided to carry out her original objective.
Heh heh, now it’s time for the real finale.
She would tarnish the name of the prince she had brought along to establish dominance, drag the Empire’s pride through the mud, and secure her own dismissal.
Serian’s gaze fixed on the shattered helmet lying at the center of the audience chamber.
Yes. That’s it.
She would pretend not to understand the insulting intent behind it. She would act naive and stupid, accepting the “gift” at face value. Serian rose from her seat with a solemn expression. She walked to the center of the audience chamber and stood before the broken helmet. Then, like a child discovering a fascinating new toy for the first time, she broke into a pure, radiant smile.
But to those watching, that smile looked chillingly cold and icy.
“Wow…”
Everyone held their breath at her appearance.
“Thank you for the gift… It really is quite a splendid present, isn’t it?”
This was an insult to the Empire that went beyond mere stupidity. To call the relic of a fallen hero a splendid gift? It was a horrific insult and humiliation toward the dead hero and the Empire’s entire history.
Perfect. This should guarantee my dismissal.
Satisfied with her flawless performance, Serian delivered the final line of this tiresome play. She turned to Marquis Marcini with the most adorable, innocent smile imaginable and said,
“Since I’ve received such a gift, it would only be proper to return the courtesy. I will prepare a suitable reply and deliver it to you personally. I also very much wish to present an equally wonderful gift to your Emperor.”
An innocent voice. Even as the Empire’s pride was being trampled, she was cheerfully promising a return gift without even understanding the meaning of the insult. That was the perfect “cause for dismissal” she intended to pin on herself.
However—cold sweat ran down Marquis Marcini’s spine the moment he heard those words. There was no way he could fail to understand the true meaning hidden behind that smile.
—You brought us our hero’s shattered helmet, so I will bring you your hero’s severed head. I will march straight into your capital and present it to your Emperor as a gift.
She had just delivered the most elegant and terrifying declaration of war in the Empire’s history. Marquis Marcini’s legs gave out and he collapsed on the spot. He had seen genuine killing intent in those deep blue eyes.
At the same time, the Empire’s ministers were seized by a thrilling sense of ecstasy.
This was the Flash of the Empire. This was their hero.
Kaion looked at the small girl who had been sitting beside him.
So this… is the true form of the sword Father sent me.
He shuddered. Serian, completely unaware of the reaction her words had caused, was simply grinning from ear to ear at the thought of finally being dismissed.