Chapter 340: A Late Customer

I happened to meet Her Majesty’s eyes. Her Majesty’s brow was drawn, but the air was go ahead, so I walked to the rear of the procession.

The wyvern Agnes and the others had dropped had arrows stuck in it like a hedgehog. Someone had cut the nape, I suppose. Blood dripped from there. Is the blood dark red from oxidizing? Or is that the original color? I thought that, and Agnes said,

"Now store it. Please!"

with a mouth that still had a drool mark. A bare face with no makeup at all, so the eyes were swollen and the face was slack. Can the guards not say this? There is no mistake she fought a wyvern just after waking. She is a princess and no maid came along. ℯℯ𝑙.

I pointed the mana bag at the wyvern and willed it, and it went in, suru. Even the second time I was surprised myself. I had not thought there was room for a second. It still feels as if more would go in. I do not feel full.

Apart from my impression the surroundings were in an uproar. People with mana bags were dumbfounded, and people without them were moved and envious. There were plenty who looked as if they wanted to say something. I ignored that and went to the front of the procession. For some reason Her Majesty and Anouk and even Lily followed. Waiting in the carriage is boring, I suppose.

Seeing the wyvern corpses Her Majesty said,

"How large! If we were attacked by a thing like this we would not have lasted a moment."

and everyone around nodded. This kind of thing I want to take a commemorative photo of.

"How is it? Will they all go in?"

Dee asked, so I said,

"All three is a little impossible. One more at most, I think."

"I see. A shame, but we will have to leave them..."

When Dee said that the sun went dark. I looked up. Something was flying in the sky above. Flying with huge wings spread. It was backlit so I could not tell what. Anyway the width of the wings was large.

That shadow grew larger little by little. It came down slow, drawing a circle. Together with moving the wings I could tell the legs were moving. Thick short legs moving as if running. What is this?

That thing landed slow near the wyverns. No one had words. The thing’s body length about five meters? Height over two meters, surely. Whole body gold, eyes gold too. An eagle’s head, a body like a lion. And huge wings growing from the back. It was looking at me. I was overwhelmed. A terrible weight, presence! Large eyes looking at me. But I felt no harm from there. Or rather I do not think it recognizes me as an enemy. I am being seen about the same as a stone around here.

My arm was gripped hard and there was a gachi gachi sound. What, I thought, and Her Majesty was gripping my arm and trembling. Beside her Anouk sat down with a face gone white. No one made a sound. They would not even if they wanted to.

"Griffin..."

At last a hoarse voice like a mutter came out. I do not know if it reached the griffin. It tilted its head. Then it looked at the wyvern and looked at me.

May I eat this?

I felt as if I had been asked that.

"P-please."

I said it in a rasping voice, and the griffin opened its beak toward the wyvern, satisfied. After an instant fire burst from the griffin’s mouth. Fire is too mild. Hellfire is the right word. In no time a roast wyvern was finished. The arrows would all have burned away, so there would be nothing to catch in the griffin’s throat.

The griffin put its beak into the wyvern’s chest, pulled, and the wyvern’s chest muscle? was torn off splendidly. The griffin turned its face up, opened and shut its beak, and swallowed. The wyvern meat pleased it, maybe. It pecked the breast meat again. It was roasted rich so no blood came. A griffin that likes it quite well-done. Everyone but me watched the gatsu-gatsu eating without a sound. The wings were so gallant and splendid I fell in love. I do not think it flies on those wings alone, but thinking I can see it beat them up close later is a pleasure.

Gatsu gatsu gatsu, the griffin ate the wyvern meat empty in no time. Head and skeleton remained. It put out hellfire from its mouth again and burned that away. Not a trace. Only a scorch mark left on the ground.

Then a wyvern that had fallen some way off lifted its neck, muku. It was not dead yet! That one recognized the griffin, maybe, and at once spread its wings and beat them to fly. Seeing that the griffin opened its mouth wide,

"Gwoh!!"

and let out one cry toward the wyvern. The wyvern was thrown as if something had hit it, struck the cliff, and fell on the riverbed.

"What was that just now?"

Her Majesty said it raw (Her Majesty clinging to my arm. Her Majesty’s breasts sandwiching my arm), so I said,

"That is a shockwave or wind pressure, I suppose? You cannot see it, but I think a terrible pressure hit."

"Is that so... Can Robbie do it?"

"That is impossible. If I could do that I would be outside human."

"Eh? I think you are already about to leave the category of human."

The talk was not a talk between a queen and a foreign ambassador, but the surroundings did not react at all. They were listening to our talk.

The griffin walked, tokotoko, to the wyvern that had tried to flee. Feet with no rumble at all, advancing with a lightness as if they did not touch the ground. Then it opened its beak and bathed the wyvern in hellfire. The color of the flame is blue, so a fairly high heat.

The griffin ate the wyvern with no caution at all. We had grown used to the griffin too, and there was a little distance. The attendants began to stir. There was an idiot,

"If we drop that and take it to the royal capital His Majesty the King will be glad, yes?"

and said an unsettling thing. The moment I thought an idiot like this can die, the griffin turned. It looked around and faced that idiot. Everyone looked at that one. That idiot was trembling. Will a glare be enough? I thought, but the griffin cried only once.

"Buon!"

It was a small thing, but the idiot was blown away. The griffin looked at me once more.

Leave.

I felt as if I had been told that. Do not get in the way of the meal, maybe?

"Your Majesty, let us go. That man who was thrown harmed the griffin’s mood. He brought it on himself. If we still do something we will be wiped out. We absolutely cannot win."

Her Majesty was trembling. Did she hear the griffin’s voice?

"Understood. Everyone, we depart!"

No one said anything. They followed Her Majesty’s words. Knights went to recover the one who had been blown away. He died from a single blow. At a time like this in a light novel I think I would draw a sword and fight the griffin, but now I have no feeling at all that I can win. In the first place I have no confidence even whether my sword would go through that body. If we fought, everyone but me would die. That would be putting the cart before the horse.

The festival mood from a moment ago had quieted without a trace. We departed shut up like a funeral procession.