I rushed outside, and as expected, the flowerbed was in complete shambles. Sigh…
Could it be that the roof was just too cold and hard, prompting me to find a warm spot?
The classroom had a nice window for sunlight, and of course, the flowerbed underneath was a perfect place to bask in the sun.
The soil there was also nice and soft.
For the Gryphon, it might have been the optimal sunbathing spot.
“Are you a cat?”
Seeing that mess, I just couldn’t hold my tongue.
Um… no. Now that I think about it, it was quite a plausible thing to say. Sure, its face and upper body resembled a bird of prey, but the back end was a lion. And lions belong to the cat family, right? Whether a lion sits like it’s baking bread is a mystery to me, though.
The Gryphon tilted its head at my words.
And only then did I realize that I was wearing a maid outfit while jumping in front of the Gryphon… but well, that’s beside the point. This was way more urgent.
It felt slightly off to say the Gryphon caused a massive disaster, but the spot it was sitting on was the flowerbed. Naturally, its big body didn’t fit there. There was a little brick wall marking the flowerbed’s corner, but part of it was now crushed under the Gryphon’s weight.
“You said it was okay to go home.”
But for some reason, it seemed like the Gryphon had no intention of heading home.
“Well… at least we could pay for the damages.”
Alice said that beside me, but I couldn’t relax at her words.
“It’s not just about money. If the Gryphon is to continue living in human society, it has to learn how humans live. If it keeps causing damages like this…”
“Ah, that’s true.”
Alice understood my concerns immediately since she witnessed the Gryphon stealing livestock alongside me.
“But often, pets that don’t know anything cause problems. If it doesn’t bring major harm to lives or property, I think this is just a minor issue worth letting go.”
“…That’s because incidents caused by pets usually aren’t that big of a deal.”
As long as dogs or cats don’t bite someone to death, their antics are usually just small annoyances.
Sure, people might want to strangle the cat that scratched their car sitting on the hood, but imagine if that was a Gryphon doing the same thing.
It would definitely not be something you could brush off as just the actions of an unknowingly innocent animal.
“…Hmm.”
As I shot a stern look at the Gryphon again, Alice tilted her head and chuckled.
“You’re really worried about it, huh?”
“Excuse me?”
I looked at Alice, trying to convey my confusion, and she just grinned like a Cheshire cat.
“It’s that you’re worried others might reject it. That’s why you scold it every time it makes a mistake.”
The Gryphon, who had been shifting its gaze around while watching me talk with Alice, now stared at me intensely after hearing her words.
“What are you looking at?”
“There’s no need to deny it so much! And it’s only been a month since it started living here. You said it seems young. It’s smart enough to understand what we said a few times, so isn’t it much calmer now than when it first came? Maybe give it a bit more time?”
Listening to Alice, I was left dumbfounded.
“…Are you saying, ‘How could it have such mature thoughts?’”
“…”
Ignoring Alice’s complaints for the moment, I turned my gaze back to the Gryphon.
As always, it had that unapologetic look on its face for messing up.
Even so, Alice had a point. I had scolded it after it had gone out and snatched livestock. Back then, like now, it pretended to listen and then didn’t cause any similar problems after that.
I thought it was because the people feeding it came and went more often, but now that I reflect, it might actually understand.
“Anyway, I’d like you to be a bit more considerate of your surroundings.”
As I looked at Alice, Charlotte joined in.
After her words, I glanced around and noticed people were gathering around us.
They didn’t seem scared of the Gryphon.
Despite its ferocious appearance and fierce depictions in stories, it had never eaten a person. And every time the Gryphon appeared in public, it did so with me on its back. Honestly, it felt ridiculous to expect people to be scared of a Gryphon that had become such a familiar sight.
“See, people aren’t really that scared. The Gryphon doesn’t look like it’s about to attack either. Isn’t it better to relax a bit?”
“…”
I looked back at the Gryphon.
As it held its head high and gazed down at me, I started to see it a bit differently after hearing Alice’s words.
True, even with that lofty attitude, it was still a socially awkward nerd with no friends. If it had any, it was just ‘humans’ like me.
“Understood.”
I said that to the Gryphon.
And then—
“But let’s get one thing straight. If there’s a place that someone has worked hard to create, you mustn’t trample on whatever is inside it—be it livestock or flowers. It’s someone’s labor of love.”
“…”
“And if you can’t maintain even that basic courtesy, I can’t be with you. If you want to have an equal relationship, you should also respect me.”
“…”
The Gryphon’s expression didn’t change after hearing my words.
But,
“Ah.”
From among the gathered crowd came a sound. It was an impressed noise.
The Gryphon was slowly getting to its feet, showing off.
I was a little worried it might sulk and head home after what I said, but it didn’t seem that way.
It acted as if it was going to clearly show it was fulfilling my request, moving slowly and lazily stepping aside before plopping back down.
Um, that’s a path meant for people to walk, you know.
While the Gryphon sitting down didn’t completely block the way, I doubt anyone would feel comfortable passing by it.
Well… it was better than it sitting in the flowerbed, I guess.
I examined the spot where the Gryphon had raised itself. Just as expected, all the flowers lay flattened beside it. Thanks to its sharp claws digging into the ground, it looked like it would take more effort to replant rather than starting fresh with the flowerbed.
As I raised my gaze back to the Gryphon, it quickly averted its eyes.
So it at least realized it messed up.
Maybe it would be better to cut down on its food as a lesson.
As I pondered this seriously,
“Crown Princess?”
Someone called me cautiously.
“…Headmaster.”
As I responded politely, Abraham Winterfield, the headmaster of the academy, lightly bowed his head toward me.
But his gaze was directed at the Gryphon.
“Indeed, as I heard, it’s a magnificent sight.”
And there was awe in his voice as he said that.
He seemed to ignore the broken flowerbed, so I subtly moved to stand between him and the flowerbed. Alice and Charlotte seemed to notice my action but chose not to comment.
For a while, the headmaster looked silently at the Gryphon before raising one hand hesitantly toward it, a slightly bewildered expression on his face as he looked at me.
“Am I… perhaps…?”
Feeling embarrassed to utter his intention, he couldn’t finish his sentence.
“…”
I looked at the hand he raised. Then, I glanced at the Gryphon, and it was also looking at that hand.
To put it bluntly, the Gryphon looked outright displeased. No one could tell how it appeared to others, though.
I boldly rode it and assumed it hated the touch of old men?
And looking at that Gryphon’s expression, a good idea came to me.
“It’s fine. It’s a sweetie.”
“…!”
The Gryphon’s head whipped around to face me. Its eyes widened as if it couldn’t believe I said that.
But ignoring the look of resentment, I continued.
“It loves people. It’ll easily accept a gentle touch.”
“But the reaction a moment ago…”
“It loves people too much.”
“Is that so?”
Though he looked a bit uncertain, he seemed to choose to believe my words in the end.
As I watched the headmaster approach cautiously, the Gryphon looked back at me.
I shot a stern look at it.
If you did something wrong, you should be punished.
Try running away. Next time, I’ll bring the orphanage kids with me.
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