It’s a funny story. Those named ‘Fanggriffon’ are feeling tension about the name ‘Gryphon’?
Well, technically speaking, the name Fanggriffon was not something we chose on our own. If we’re to be precise, it was the name of the one who ruled as the king of Gryphons and conquered the world in that chaotic age.
But hey, that was a person from the mythical era—if such stories existed in modern times, I would have just brushed them off as ‘founding myths.’ Even in this world, those who look down on the empire think like that sometimes.
However, this world operates ‘as per the original work.’ So if I just thought of that myth as ‘just a myth,’ it would be foolish.
“Honestly, isn’t it a bit ridiculous?”
After hearing my story, Alice spoke as if trying to release some of the lingering tension.
“To place such a recovery device right in front of the ‘main base’ like this. Common sense would suggest it should be inside, right? This is just inviting intruders to take a break outside.”
“Maybe it’s for the guards stationed near the entrance?” Charlotte chimed in, seemingly trying to join Alice in loosening the tension.
“No, even if you think that way, it’s still better to have it inside. It would be more desirable to use it to ‘replenish’ the troops.”
Seeing Charlotte speak with a serious expression, everyone turned to look at the recovery device.
Regardless of the reasoning, the recovery device was indeed effective.
Just a while ago, we barely managed to fight off the monsters at the door, and it was thanks to it that we could have this conversation in one piece.
Our clothes were torn and in tatters, and just moments ago, Leo was bleeding profusely. Mia was swaying, nearly on the verge of collapse… all those situations were resolved with just that one recovery device.
“Perhaps.”
Rena, who had been listening to the two, quietly offered her opinion with her hand on her chin.
“It might have been excluded precisely because this recovery device restores even the enemies. If it were inside, the fighting enemies would continue to recover… perhaps they wanted to install it on the outside for the guards to use, and deal with the threats inside with sure-fire strength.”
It seemed the recovery device had no effect on the monsters, though.
“…there’s no way we can find the answer by talking among ourselves here.”
Alice said this while reaching out to touch the massive door in front of us.
It was a huge bronze door, intricately engraved like Rodin’s ‘Gates of Hell.’ The difference was that this door was cast in bronze, while the hell gate was made of something else, and it looked even bigger than the already quite large hell gate.
And the engraving must be very different too. Since I couldn’t clearly recall what the hell gate looked like, I just got the impression of ‘this kind of vibe.’
“Do you think we can open this?”
“I don’t think it’s locked.”
“…Why?”
Good question.
Alice’s gaze towards me was somewhat different than usual.
Typically, the information I shared with Alice was based on my experiences from the future, and even if it weren’t, Alice generally had an idea about my ability.
But this situation…
It would be too weird to say I had ‘been here before.’
If I had tried first and failed and then called for help, we wouldn’t have made it this far. It would have been impossible to know the way entirely. In the first place, getting a group of people through here was incredibly difficult; saying I came alone and went all the way through to see the inside, then rewound time to lead everyone back in just didn’t add up at all.
Other kids had occasionally shot me looks like that along the way, but the gaze Alice was sending was entirely different.
Though I had become slightly better at reading Alice’s expression, I still couldn’t accurately grasp the feelings she was experiencing right now.
“…….”
When I fell silent, Alice didn’t ask any further questions. She just let out a long breath.
“Well, fine.”
Alice muttered that, then looked towards Charlotte.
“Then… are you ready?”
“Yes, I’ve actually been ready since a while ago. What about you all?”
As Charlotte turned to look back, everyone nodded. Although she was the last to do so and was wearing a somewhat dark expression, Sophia nodded too.
“Alright. Let’s act as we discussed before coming here. Of course, you don’t have to stick to the plan strictly; situations can change anytime.”
“Well, honestly, even if there’s a dragon instead of a gryphon, we won’t have time to change our plan.”
At Alice’s words, Charlotte shrugged.
“Both are winged beasts, so it should work out somehow.”
Someone let out a dry laugh.
“…….”
Then for a moment, there was a silence where no one spoke.
Alice looked at me.
I nodded.
Alright.
After all, no one was going to die. I would make sure of that.
Ultimately, that was the reason I was here.
*
“…….”
Should I say it’s surprising, or should I say it was expected?
The opponent was indeed a ‘Logryphon.’
However, it wasn’t just any gryphon. It seemed to be a gryphon ‘engineered for easy control.’
The head part, reminiscent of a white-haired eagle, was smeared with something resembling black ink, and the yellow eyes that should have been yellow were stained red.
Looking at the body, it had sparse feathers and tumor-like growths sticking out; how should I put it, I felt a little bad to say this about a gryphon, but it looked like a pet that someone abandoned after raising it. An extremely beaten-up one.
Yet despite all that, its majestic demeanor as the king of beasts remained unchanged.
With no sounds emanating, it looked down on us with its head held high and red eyes, and I felt an inexplicable sense of reverence.
However, the problem was…
“Looks like we’re not alone.”
Indeed.
There were several heavily armed knights near the gryphon.
Throughout our journey here, we hadn’t seen a single human until now.
Was the knight force all of them? If so, what were they doing?
All knights wore helmets that hid their faces, so I couldn’t see their expressions, but in an instant, I could clearly see that they turned their heads toward Alice, me, and Charlotte.
Right after that, they exchanged glances as if gauging each other. Were they flustered?
If it were just me and Alice, that would be one thing, but Charlotte dying here would not be something even the Papal State would want.
Moreover, we had already eliminated quite a number of the ‘forces’ that the Papal State had prepared as we came this far. If this ‘place’ doesn’t get breached, they can just regroup, and sure, there are areas we haven’t even inspected yet.
“……You all must know that the owner of this land is the Kingdom of Velbur.”
Charlotte opened her mouth.
“Even if a priest from the Papal State is here in the cathedral, it’s already a matter that was settled long ago that this place is ‘Belbur territory.’ So why are you doing such things down here?”
“…….”
The gryphon merely looked down at us.
All the knights remained silent, not saying a word, but—
“Your Highness.”
Instead, a voice came from above.
It was the gentle voice of an elderly man.
“……Cardinal.”
The Cardinal of Velbur. I had already met him once before.
“Your Highness, it’s been a while since we’ve met. I never expected to see you under such circumstances.”
“I’m glad to see you well.”
I replied like that. The Cardinal then looked down at me quietly, before turning his gaze back to Charlotte. He seemed to have no interest in Alice.
“Did you ask why we are doing such things?”
“Yes. Why are you doing this, especially beneath Velbur?”
“Then the reason is singular. Peace.”
“……Peace.”
“Indeed. Under the goddess’s grace, a peace we shall enjoy in a perfect world. We are merely fulfilling the wishes of the goddess, completing the ‘perfect world’ that the Fanggriffon Empire trampled upon long ago.”
“That world must have been pure chaos.”
As Alice interjected, the Cardinal’s gaze finally shifted to her.
“We were merely creating a new world. To be perfect, we must remove what needs to be eliminated.”
Hah.
So that’s how he interprets it.
Well, fanaticism typically comes with a lot of nonsense.
“In that sense, I was disappointed in you, Sophia.”
The Cardinal’s words caused everyone to glance at Sophia for an instant.
Sophia looked pale.
“I sent you to properly monitor Princess Sylvia, yet you cooperated in coming this far.”
“You were trying to monitor me because of—”
I cut in.
“Was it only because of my powers?”
“Ah.”
The Cardinal seemed to have been waiting for this question.
“Well, we haven’t quite figured you out yet. At first, we thought you were just a human with nonsensical powers, then we speculated you might be an envoy of the goddess, but we still haven’t grasped the full picture.”
“If I were an envoy of the goddess, I wouldn’t be facing you like this.”
“We can never dare to understand the goddess’s thoughts. Ultimately, it will be a world directed by the goddess’s will. We merely struggle to understand that will and make our own efforts.”
“…….”
Hmm.
Perhaps the Papal State has also fallen into quite a state of disarray.
Just as the Emperor lost more clarity about my existence and became a question mark, perhaps the Papal State was also lost and falling apart.
Well, fine.
Whether their contradictory responses were intended to hide their intentions or if they were genuinely confused, I could always directly yank their collars and demand answers.
“……Mia!”
“Yes? Ah, yes!”
At my shout, Mia momentarily panicked, then swiftly wielded her staff.
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