The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

Hunting and eating a beast wasn’t that hard.

If I hadn’t just arrived in this world, I would never have thought about doing something like that. But, whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, I had been treated like an animal by those humans.

Now that I thought about it, it was ridiculous.

I had been treated as if I were a beast, even though I was supposed to be some legendary mythical creature. The way they fed me, the tasks they assigned me—it was all the same as dealing with an animal.

If they had treated me like a true divine beast, maybe my feelings would have changed.

But from the beginning, I had been shackled. Who would listen to reason under those conditions?

“......”

I gazed down at the few blood-stained feathers that remained in front of me.

Honestly, I didn’t feel particularly joyful.

First of all, killing a live bird with my own hands and chewing it was not a pleasant experience. And yet, after eating it, I felt a strange sense of satisfaction.

Eating raw flesh and blood, and finding it satisfying—that still didn’t sit right with me. The fact that my stomach was filled was the only part I could truly accept.

But the biggest reason I felt some satisfaction from these small things was because those bastards had never given me enough to eat, not even once.

How much happiness it was to eat whenever I wanted.

Still chewing on a small piece of meat left in my mouth, I thought deeply.

...So, what now?

It was great that I’d escaped, but the problem was that I didn’t know what to do next.

Not knowing what kind of world this was turned out to be incredibly deadly. I didn’t know anything about the countries here, their cultures, the technological level of this world, or what manners I should follow.

At least, the one good thing was that it wasn’t cold.

Hmm.

...Should I build a nest?

Even though I’d become a griffon, I wasn’t sure if a griffon was more like an eagle or a lion.

It seemed like the “eagle” part was bigger, and I didn’t know how lions made their nests.

The griffon’s feathers were warm enough that I didn’t feel cold, but maybe I should make a cozier spot?

...I stopped making the nest halfway when I was struck by a wave of confusion.

The griffon’s body was much larger than I’d thought, and it was incredibly troublesome to build a boundary around me just to wrap myself up. Even when I tried to pile branches on top to create a wall, it only got more annoying.

Well, I wasn’t laying eggs anyway, so what was the point of making a nest?

I gave up halfway through building the nest, thinking to myself, What am I—a fat pigeon?

I felt pathetic, but I decided it was the fault of those terrible people.

They never gave me enough time to grow into a proper griffon.

Though, to be honest, I hadn’t thought much about growing into one.

“......”

Maybe I should have just stayed with that girl, Sylvia?

At least if I had stayed with her, I might have had an idea of what to do. I could just follow her lead.

Thinking about it, she seemed like the protagonist of this story.

I didn’t know anything about this world, but it didn’t seem like the world I knew back home. Magic existed, and above all, I was a griffon. Griffons didn’t exist in my old world.

But I didn’t think it was some alternate history either. The crosses on those priests’ clothes weren’t the same as the ones from my world.

No matter how I looked at it, it felt like some kind of story—but I didn’t know which one. Considering how many pretty girls there were, it felt like something from Japanese media.

Now, would it be okay to go back to her?

Thinking about the reactions of the knights when I took off, it didn’t seem like a good idea. Griffons were treated like dangerous beasts, and Sylvia was the only one who had ever interacted with me. If I went back now, they might shoot me.

I regretted it deeply. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

If she was the protagonist, she wouldn’t treat me like those damn people did.

I hadn’t thought it through.

As I sat there, lost in regret—

Without any warning, a bright light suddenly filled the corner of my vision.

I turned my head and saw a massive column of light.

A pillar of light, stretching endlessly toward the sky from far away.

It looked thin from here, but considering the distance, it must have been wide and tall in reality.

Hmm, what should I say?

It was the kind of pillar that would appear near the very end of a story.

I stared at it for a while, then spread my wings and took off.

I looked around, just in case, but the only visible pillar was the one.

In that case, the only thing that came to mind when seeing this pillar was one thing.

The protagonists of this world would surely head toward that pillar.

And there would probably be a final battle within it.

Even if that wasn’t the case, it was bound to be a major event.

It was clear that this wasn’t the world from the games, novels, or comics I knew, but the storylines in such worlds often follow a set path. Sure, there were some people who tried to write stories that break from that, but if this were one of those stories, I never would have been rescued like this.

Well, fine.

In that case, should I fly toward it?

It’d be better to get closer and wait, keeping an eye on the situation.

At least, I hadn’t seen any airplanes flying around. Though the early 20th-century vibe made me uneasy, if I was cautious, I could probably avoid danger.

Rifle bullets wouldn’t kill me, but machine guns attached to airplanes could be a problem.

I flew as high as I could, heading toward the area.

*

I spent a few days flying around and observing the situation.

Mostly, I flew high in the darkened night, where I was barely visible, keeping an eye on the light and watching soldiers gather around it.

I also saw a few people try to enter, only to collapse from burns.

...I was glad I hadn’t rushed in.

I almost became a griffon roast.

During the day, I hid in the forest far from the village, and at night, I would fly up into the sky, making sure not to be seen, and [N O V E L I G H T] survey the area.

Finally, the group that seemed to be the protagonists arrived.

It was a party that didn’t differ much from the one I had seen underground. In fact, it might have been exactly the same. At the time, I had just recovered and only had a few seconds to see the kids. I was barely holding onto my sanity during that fight.

And, without hesitation, they all entered.

...And the kids who went in were fine. The faint silhouettes I saw through the light were walking normally, disappearing into the city enclosed by the pillar of light.

Hm...

Should I follow them in?

Seeing the kids enter, it seemed like there were conditions under which one could enter without injury, but the problem was that I didn’t know what those conditions were.

“......”

In the end, I decided to wait and observe again.

After all, I had just recovered not long ago from being in so much pain.

I didn’t want to throw away my body just yet.

*

Luckily, it didn’t take long before I found my chance to enter.

It had been several hours since I began flying and observing. I didn’t have a watch, so I couldn’t tell the exact time, but after a rather boring stretch of time, the pillar of light suddenly vanished.

It was after the sun had risen, so I flew directly toward where the pillar had been.

Just as I had hoped, I didn’t get hurt approaching the spot where the pillar had been. The barrier, which was supposed to burn every living creature that came near, was incredibly clean and invisible.

From a distance, I faintly heard sounds.

The city, which should have been bustling with people, was eerily quiet. So, the sound of fighting from far off reached my ears.

I immediately flew toward the source.

Instinctively, I moved my wings, as though I had always been capable of doing this, and I flew straight into the building, slamming into the stained glass window.

The image I shattered was coincidentally the same as the first time I had flown into the sky in this world—of a woman. Perhaps she was the goddess worshipped by the religion of this world.

While I was breaking the window, I also took the opportunity to break through part of the wall and entered the room.

What I saw was Sylvia, collapsed and bleeding from her stomach, with crimson blood gushing out, as though she had a hole in her body.

I immediately swooped down toward her.

What happened next wasn’t something I had learned from anyone. It felt almost like an instinct, as if I had always known how to do it.

A ball of light formed near my wings. The part of my wings touched by the light felt unusually warm.

I didn’t even move my wings, but my body naturally adjusted as I fell, effortlessly maintaining my balance. Defying the laws of physics, I landed gracefully on the ground without disturbing my posture.

With a loud crack, the floor beneath me split open. Some people nearby screamed in surprise.

I opened my beak and let out a loud cry.

“FweeOOooOO!”

The sound of an eagle’s cry, one I’d only heard in movies.

And at that moment, everyone inside the church turned their gaze toward me.

For a brief moment, I felt a bit proud.