The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

Even after living for years in a world that was obviously fantasy, there were still things I kept forgetting.

The existence of magic was no longer a big deal; I had adapted well enough. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone conjured a fireball in front of me. Honestly, I’d find the sleight of hand from a street hustler more fascinating than fireballs or ice spears.

But the reason magic no longer amazed me was simple: it was wielded by humans.

After all, if magic existed in this world, it was only natural that humans would use it, just as humans in my world invented semiconductors and internal combustion engines.

But there was one thing that still baffled me.

In this world, even beasts used magic.

Not even extraordinary mythical creatures, just regular animals you might encounter on the street. Yes, giant rats scuttling through the city’s sewers or wolves running through the fields—they all used magic.

I had no idea what the principle behind it was. Given that the world followed a system similar to the original, I had to admit that the goddess’s setup was more of a device to fool me than an entire world crafted for me to understand.

Humans needed to chant spells and wield staffs to use magic, but these beasts had no such requirements. Bears breathing fire or elephants wielding ice hammers with their trunks were astonishing—not in a good way, but in a completely baffling one.

And then, there was the Gryphon that could use healing magic.

Puyoouuuu!

A Gryphon, whose only sound was that, could use healing magic, magic that Mia had to focus to use herself. Honestly, it felt a bit unfair from a human perspective.

After all, the Gryphon wasn’t even an animal in the normal sense. It was more like a legendary, incredibly strong monster that only existed in people’s imaginations.

That beast, with its newly cleaned feathers, came crashing through the window near the top of the cathedral.

It looked far more dignified than the last time I had seen it. Though its feathers were still a bit dirty, the Gryphon had apparently taken some time over the past few days to clean itself up, as its white and brown feathers now had a lustrous sheen.

But above all, it was the wings.

If I looked only at the size of its wings, it seemed impossible for a creature with such wings to physically fly. The wings stretched wide to either side, so large that they reminded me of the eagle wings I’d seen in documentaries. But they were so large that comparing them to eagles didn’t quite do them justice.

The Gryphon didn’t even need to flap its wings. It held a naturally graceful posture, with its feathers fluttering slightly as it descended slowly in a way that seemed entirely unnatural, almost magical.

White light poured from the feathers along its wings.

As the Gryphon slowly descended closer to me, I ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) began to feel a rising heat from its body.

No way.

Seeing it up close now, I finally understood why the Gryphon was so difficult to handle. With its sheer physical attributes and magic on top of that, it was nearly unbeatable.

...How did the Holy Nation humans even manage to capture and imprison the Gryphon? Did they pick up a newborn one?

The Gryphon, which had created an eerie stillness with its presence, landed directly in front of me. It didn’t step on me, though. To be more precise, it positioned itself perfectly so that its eyes met mine as it lowered its head.

Yes, the Gryphon was looking down at me without even bowing its head.

I heard a sniff. Though it had a beak instead of lips, I could tell that it was laughing at me.

This beast just mocked me, didn’t it?

But if I said anything, I felt like my back would be shredded by its claws, so I held my tongue.

The Gryphon then raised its right foot.

With skilled precision, it dug its claws under my side.

Ugh!

It flipped me over.

Wait, what? If it was going to help me up, then just help me up! Or at least wait until I got back on my feet!

Since I didn’t want to get flipped again, I hurriedly pushed myself up.

And then, I looked back up at the Gryphon.

It gave me a haughty look as if saying, "You really think you can stand up to me?"—before it slowly lowered its head toward me once again.

“......”

The sound of people holding their breath could be heard around me.

What’s going on?

Is it trying to give me some kind of encouragement? Or is this just some Gryphon culture I’m not aware of?

Since it was impossible for a beast to communicate with words, I could only interpret its intentions through body language. Honestly, I didn’t even want to learn Gryphon language if it existed.

Like last time, I slowly grabbed the edges of my skirt with both hands and bowed my waist.

For a while, we both bowed our heads in mutual respect, and then, at the same time, we lifted our heads.

I turned away.

Hmm, honestly, when I first realized I had a hole in my side, I wasn’t sure what to do.

I still hadn’t confirmed it, but it was right after I had blown away the goddess’s power with a fully operational machine device. Just the fact that the world had “returned to its original state” was proof of that. I didn’t know when the goddess might return, but at least during the remaining span of my life, it wasn’t likely to happen. Even if the goddess were to start planning again, it would take at least a few hundred years.

“Fangryphon...”

I heard someone muttering quietly.

Right. Fangryphon.

Here, I was also Fangryphon, even if no drop of that blood ran in my veins.

“Ha, haha!”

A sudden burst of laughter broke the silence, and I turned to see Lucas laughing. He didn’t seem to have gone mad or anything—he was simply laughing because he found it amusing.

“I see.”

I heard the Emperor’s murmuring voice.

“Lucas. Why did you bring that Sylvia to me?”

The voice of the Emperor, Arthur Fangryphon, was flat. It sounded like a father casually asking his son, "What happened at school today?"

“Huh? Of course, it’s simple,” Lucas said, finally stopping his laughter, still holding his side with one hand.

“It’s the same reason you’ve been running around trying to usurp the goddess's power and put the world beneath your feet,” Lucas said, his expression refreshingly open, the kind only someone who had given up everything could have.

“Because I thought it would be more fun.”

That was a very Lucas-like reason.

And it was, therefore, exactly the kind of thing Arthur Fangryphon’s son would say.

“...I see.”

The Emperor answered with a smile.

If he had started by saying to his children, “You truly are my children,” and not tossed them into strange situations to choose their abilities, maybe things would have been different.

No, perhaps the story wouldn’t have even begun.

But the Emperor couldn’t even show enough love to Alice, whom he had declared to be his true daughter. He loved his children in his own way, but that love always had to come with usefulness.

Well, it didn’t matter now. After all, from now on, there wouldn’t be two chances.

But, really...

Honestly, with this insanely powerful Gryphon at my side, what did it matter if I rewound time?

“Pyuoooh!”

While I was thinking this, I was startled by a loud sound above me. I looked up to see the Gryphon looking down at me, as if it had a lot to say.

...Did it read my thoughts? I didn’t think that kind of magic existed.

Well, it probably didn’t, right?

Looking into its golden eyes, I wasn’t so sure anymore.

At least it didn’t seem like it was going to abandon me, so I straightened myself up. I had discarded my gun and everything else, but I could still see some things lying on the ground around me.

If I needed one, I could just grab it—

“Ugh!”

Before I could pick anything up, my feet left the ground.

Wait, wait, hold on.

I felt something heavy on the back of my neck—it seemed the Gryphon had grabbed the collar of my clothes with its beak and was lifting me up—

And then, I was suddenly lifted into the air.

Before I could even scream, I was soaring upward and landed with a thud on the Gryphon’s wide back.

“...”

Well, if you’re going to carry me, couldn’t you do it in a more gentle way?

I was wearing a skirt, after all.

No, more importantly, I really wish it wouldn’t just take off and fly with me sitting on its bare back without a saddle.

I quickly lowered my posture, almost lying flat on the Gryphon’s back.

“Pyuoooh!”

This time, whether it had read my mind or not, the Gryphon took off into the air, soaring without regard for my wishes.