The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

Come to think of it, this was actually ridiculous.

Sure, I knew the gryphon was making an effort to be polite. Every time it greeted me, it bowed its head respectfully.

But aside from that? I didn’t really feel respected at all.

It snorted at my words, acted like it didn’t hear me, and when it did respond, it often involved grabbing me by the neck and tossing me onto its back without warning. Sure, it had never actually dropped me, but that didn’t make the experience any less unpleasant.

And on top of that, the gryphon couldn’t talk.

The only sounds it made were those high-pitched piyo-oh cries, like an eagle. Maybe among gryphons, that counted as a form of language, but to my ears, it was just the call of a bird of prey. Even if those sounds were laced with formal speech, I wouldn’t be able to tell.

So despite this whole mutual respect agreement, the only one actually speaking formally here... was me.

...Was it even normal to feel this kind of resentment toward a non-human creature? I wasn’t sure, but either way, I did feel annoyed.

And on top of that, after making such a big deal about mutual respect, the actual negotiations were a separate matter. {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} If I wanted something from the gryphon, I had to offer something first before it would even consider my request.

If it owed me a debt, I figured we were already even. I had saved it once, and it had saved me once. After that, it just chose to stick around me for whatever reason.

Not that I minded, but it was frustrating not knowing why.

It had seemed so excited during the victory parade—so why was it suddenly reluctant to do this now?

And for that matter, why hadn’t it returned to its own kind? Was it really so domesticated that it couldn’t leave the comforts of human luxury?

"......"

"......"

We stared at each other in silence for a while before I let out a deep sigh and stood up.

"I understand. You have no intention of listening to me for now. But just staring at me like that won’t help me figure out what you’re thinking. If something does come to mind—"

...If it does?

The gryphon couldn’t exactly enter the palace. The entire structure was designed with humans in mind. While the hallways were wider and the doors taller than most buildings, they were still too narrow for a gryphon to walk through comfortably.

It could technically squeeze its way inside, but its claws would leave scratches all over the floors, and every hallway decoration would probably get knocked over by its wings and tail.

And I couldn’t exactly tell someone else to figure out what it wanted. If even I—the only human who could somewhat communicate with it—couldn’t understand, what hope did the palace servants have?

"—Then please show me what it is the next time I visit."

That was all I could say in the end.

The gryphon stared at me for a long moment before finally lowering its head in a small nod.

*

"What were you thinking when you accepted that request?"

After my so-called conversation with the gryphon—or rather, my one-sided monologue—I returned to my room, only to find Alice already there, waiting for me.

The fact that she had come all the way to the imperial palace instead of waiting at the dormitory meant she was really concerned about my decision.

No matter how close I was to Alice—or rather, because I was close to Alice—I couldn’t tell her about my conversation with the Sword Saint. So I racked my brain for a reasonable excuse.

Not that I hadn’t already prepared one in advance. I knew for sure Alice would ask me about this.

"Do you know how much it costs to keep a gryphon in the imperial palace?"

"......"

Alice furrowed her brows slightly, contemplating the question.

Gryphons ate a lot.

I remembered reading that sulcata tortoises could eat several heads of cabbage per day. If you applied that logic to a carnivore and multiplied it several times over, you’d get the gryphon’s daily consumption.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Actually, now that I thought about it, maybe it didn’t eat as much as it should for its size. But even so, the gryphon was a pure carnivore. If it ate a whole pig or cow per meal, even by the imperial household’s standards, that wasn’t an insignificant expense.

"...It’s quite a lot. But it’s still manageable."

"But that doesn’t mean we should just keep pouring money into it without getting anything in return. If we’re raising a gryphon, we should at least consider making it earn its keep."

"Most people don’t expect profit from their pets, you know...?"

"If we were treating it like a pet, that would make even less sense. A pet is supposed to obey its owner, isn’t it? If the one raising it can’t control it, can it even be called a pet?"

Alice frowned thoughtfully, then, after a moment, nodded seriously.

"That’s... true. If we can’t control it, then it’s just a wild beast. Though, judging by its behavior, I wouldn’t go that far."

"You don’t have to soften your words just for my sake. The palace staff who clean its den and bring it food don’t seem particularly afraid, but the ones responsible for grooming its feathers are terrified every time they go in. Even if the gryphon doesn’t mean to be intimidating, it’s only natural that people would be scared when they have to touch a creature like that. To them, the gryphon is a wild beast."

"......"

"Of course, I don’t see it that way."

Within the imperial palace—and even among the people around me, including Alice—everyone viewed the gryphon as my subordinate.

In other words, I was considered its owner. And if the so-called owner went around calling their pet a wild beast, that would understandably leave people baffled.

I took a seat across from Alice and continued.

"And honestly, I don’t see the gryphon as a pet at all. From the moment it started following me, it never once acted like it considered itself beneath me."

"Then what do you see it as?"

Alice tilted her head slightly.

"A guest."

I stated it simply.

"Whether it officially becomes part of our ranks in the future remains to be seen. But as things stand now, the gryphon is nothing more than a guest staying at the imperial palace. It’s being treated with respect because it’s a symbol of the Empire and because it distinguished itself in battle."

I exhaled lightly and added,

"The imperial family occasionally hosts important guests for extended periods. That’s nothing unusual. But in most cases, such guests serve as direct diplomatic channels or hold significant political value."

"So you’re saying the gryphon should be the same?"

"Yes."

"But... the gryphon isn’t a person."

Alice hesitated slightly as she spoke, and I simply shrugged.

"Of course not. It’s not human. But it is a creature that fully understands human speech. And because it’s intelligent enough to comprehend such things, it’s important that we make it understand—it’s not welcome to just freeload without offering anything in return."

If it were just a simple beast, I wouldn’t even be worrying about this.

People raise dogs and cats because they’re cute. Even outside of those two, most pets exist simply for companionship.

And those animals don’t need to understand their situation. They can’t understand it. As long as the hierarchy between human and animal is clear, that’s enough.

After all, animals don’t choose to live alongside humans. It’s humans who choose to bring them in. The responsibility lies solely with the owner.

But the gryphon?

It never had any intention of being beneath me. And I didn’t have the ability to force it into submission.

That meant, at the very least, there had to be some kind of mutual exchange.

...Of course, everything I was saying was just an excuse to avoid telling Alice about my conversation with the Sword Saint.

But at the same time, it was also what I truly believed.

"So basically, you’re saying you’re going to ask for its cooperation in return?"

A glimmer of understanding flashed in Alice’s eyes.

"Exactly. This will be the first step toward that."

And honestly, even if it failed, it didn’t really matter.

Because I had already achieved half of my real goal.

Of course, if it worked, that would be even better.