What lay beyond the open door was a contraption I had never seen before.
Of course, I hadn’t seen anything like it in the world I lived in, and it seemed the same for this world too.
It was a small column spiraled upwards, topped with a disc that resembled a compass, but it clearly wasn’t a real compass. After all, it didn’t have the needle that was supposed to point in a direction.
Lights of various colors swirled around that peculiar device as if forming shapes.
Through the open door, I felt a whoosh of wind.
Wait, no, it wasn’t really wind. The hair of the girl in front of me, and the feathers left on my body, weren’t moving at all. The feeling of a breeze must have been just my senses.
My body was healing.
That sensation of ‘wind blowing’ was actually my wounds healing one by one.
From my chest where the light touched, all the way to my back, very quickly.
The colors of the feathers that had lost their brightness returned, and the long, gaping wounds seemed to stitch themselves up without leaving a scar.
The bumps that had bubbled up on my skin, and the pus that had flowed for so long, disappeared one by one.
I didn’t know what that device was.
But one thing was certain: it wasn’t using ordinary magic. Even though I wasn’t knowledgeable about magic, it just felt that way.
The strength returned to my tired legs.
The body I had been forcing to stand was now firmly planted on the floor, standing properly.
“……”
For a while, I enjoyed that refreshing feeling. It was a comfort I had never felt during the last few years.
No chains on my neck, no iron bars imprisoning me.
I looked down at the girl in front of me.
Was she planning to ask something of me now?
Would she tell me to stay by her side and fight together? Would she say that now I was her ally since she saved me?
Honestly, I could afford to help a little. Of course, if she tried to forcefully keep me captive again, I was ready to resist fiercely—
But the girl’s words were different.
Just like I was looking down at her, she quietly looked up at me and pointed to a wide corridor.
“Please go.”
It seemed she didn’t want anything from me. It was as if it was natural, and she simply pointed to the corridor and said so.
“You are free.”
Free.
The right granted to all humanity living in the world. Of course, there were many places where that right wasn’t fully protected. Many people imprisoned and tormented others, and more severely, even killed them.
Moreover, I wasn’t even a person.
It seemed that Gryphons were remarkable creatures in this world too. Based on how highly the humans who had imprisoned me regarded me, it was definitely true.
Yet still, I was a beast. So that was why they could do such things. I didn’t possess the same rights that people held equally.
That’s why they probably had no conscience about doing such things to me.
“……”
I moved forward.
I had no idea what kind of place this was. There were no windows in the corridor, and there were several beast corpses scattered along the way.
Those were probably traces of my party fighting their way here.
Did the girl bring that healing device? It seemed likely. Those who had set up those beasts to stop anyone fighting against them probably wouldn’t have placed a healing device right outside the room where they were waiting.
“……”
After taking a few steps, I remembered something I had forgotten.
I quickly turned around. Unintentionally, I flapped my wings and folded them again.
How long had it been since my body’s joints could move without any hindrance? That’s why I hadn’t been able to control them properly.
The girl, who should have been surprised to see me, was still looking up at me with no change in her expression.
Indeed, she was a child who had crossed such a dangerous line.
Though she didn’t look that old, she seemed already like an adult.
I quietly gazed at her. I would have been smiling if I could have shown any expression.
I lowered my head.
Would anyone recognize me if I did this in the body of a Gryphon?
Still, I wanted to express my gratitude.
Regardless of what her true intentions were, she had freed me and healed my wounds, so I should at least show this much gratitude.
I noticed the girl gently lifted the hem of her dress and curtsied. I didn’t know much about the greeting of fantasy world nobility, but that gesture was certainly perfect.
I raised my head.
Then I turned around.
I ran forward.
The still air collided with my body. I felt a sense of liberation I had never felt before.
There was no pain in my body as I moved. The sensation of the ground touching my toes and air filling my lungs felt wonderful.
As I shouted with all my might, a caw that sounded like a predator’s cry I had heard in the far north echoed out.
I didn’t care about the complex paths. I didn’t mind if the doors were small.
My body, unburdened by anything, could ignore all of that and run.
Even if knights who had imprisoned me appeared, I just ran.
Arrows and swords couldn’t even cut my feathers and flew away uselessly. It was as if magic had never been cast in the first place; it vanished as soon as it hit my body.
The soldiers who collided with me screamed and flew away, and those I stepped on were ripped apart by my claws.
I didn’t want to kill anyone.
That thought had kept me going until now, but the notion that they might have died because of my body was too weak to stop me.
They were the ones who had kept me alive to suffer.
Besides, these were children who were not even twenty years old, fighting for their lives.
I found myself thinking that a few of them wouldn’t matter if they actually died.
So I just ran forward, forward, ignoring everything.
And then—
The air that filled my lungs was fresher than any air I had breathed until now.
As I leaped up the last stairs, crashing through the door and wall at the same time, I burst outside to see a high ceiling.
Was it a cathedral? Decorative stained glass caught my eye. Even though it was night, the stained glass shimmered beautifully under the moonlight and starlight.
“Hah…!”
I heard someone gulp.
Looking down, I saw two types of knights.
One group wore the same armor as those who had imprisoned me, while the other group wore less ornate armor than that.
At first, I thought they belonged to the same faction, but upon closer inspection, I saw they were facing each other in formation.
Oh, they were rivals.
I jumped from that spot.
And I probably crushed a few of those guys who seemed to belong to this cathedral.
After tossing those struggling to get up into the air with my front paws, I spread my wings wide and shouted loudly.
Hooaaarrr!, I let out a splendid sound.
Both types of knights froze as if they had been paralyzed.
I flapped my wide-spread wings and soared upward.
I had never been taught the laws of flight.
Was this instinctual for a Gryphon as well?
Soaring as high as I could, I smashed through the stained glass depicting an unknown woman, flying into the sky.
Higher, even higher.
Even though I was flying high in the cold night sky, I didn’t feel cold at all.
The city sprawled beneath me was shining brightly.
The lights of the lampposts and the lights turned on in every house illuminated the world.
Cold air rushed into my lungs.
Enjoying that fresh feeling, I took a small lap around the city.
Freedom.
Perfect freedom that no one could block.
I shouted repeatedly, and as I flew through the sky, I savored that freedom for a while.
*
After flying around for a while, I landed in a field.
While enjoying the sense of freedom was delightful, thoughts that followed weren’t as cheerful.
What do I do now?
I hadn’t fallen into the world I knew, nor did I have anything specific I wanted to do in this world.
Revenge? Well, honestly, that seems like a hassle. After all, those who tormented me were all defeated by that girl right there.
Especially that priest lost one of his arms.
Honestly, I felt like giving the girl a high five right then. Of course, the size difference between us was too great for that.
Hmm.
If that girl named Sylvia is fighting someone, wouldn’t it be perfectly possible to help her a little in that fight?
Well, the opponents were all people, so they would probably be surprised if I suddenly jumped in…
…….
Alright.
Then, I’ll at least take a look. If things seem tangled up, I can just fly away quickly.
But that’s not for now.
Flying in the sky seems to take more energy than I expected.
After flying for a long time, I came down and realized I was hungry.
First, let’s eat something and fill my stomach.
You may also like Mesugaki Tank Enters The Academy
