The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

Oh-ho.

Back when I was bound and kept my head down, I hadn’t realized it. But now that I was standing on my own legs and looking down at them, humans looked so very small.

Size was always a relative thing. And that relativity always depended on the perspective of the one observing.

I looked down.

There, lying on the floor and slightly turned to her side, was Sylvia, looking up at me.

It was a complete reversal from the last time we met.

Her dazed expression as she looked up at me was kind of funny. I wondered if a smile had shown on my face. My eyes had probably narrowed a bit.

Everyone around us had gone stiff and silent. Even the girl I’d saved said nothing.

How long were they planning to just stand there?

If you're the protagonist, you should be standing up and fighting.

I extended the claws on my front paw—what was essentially a hand for me—and gently slid it under Sylvia’s body, flipping her over onto her side.

She didn’t look all that heavy to begin with, but using griffon strength to flip her over was absurdly easy.

“Ugh—!”

She let out an ungraceful noise that didn’t quite match her “protagonist” status as she flopped over, flailing a bit as she hurried to stand.

After rising, she staggered two steps back while looking at me.

Was she scared, thinking a monster had suddenly appeared and come crashing down on top of her?

Hmm.

Yeah, maybe I did look kind of ridiculous. And doing all this while enemies were still nearby probably didn’t help her image either.

I slowly bowed my head—just like I had the last time in front of Sylvia.

“......”

Sylvia glanced around, seemingly flustered for a moment, but then seemed to compose herself. She gave the same elegant noblewoman’s bow she had performed before.

“Fangryphon...”

Someone muttered the word quietly.

I didn’t know what it meant. Maybe it was a term from this world’s language, or maybe it was a name. Since it had the word “griffon” in it, it was probably directed at me. Either way, it didn’t really matter right now.

Then someone burst into loud laughter.

I turned my gaze and saw a middle-aged man who, by all appearances, was the kind of guy who’d say “I’m the final boss!” He was larger than most men his age and gender, and from the large sword in his hand, he looked like someone who knew how to use it.

Unfortunately, I had no clue who he was.

To be honest, this whole situation was a bit confusing from my perspective. From the looks of the place—some kind of cathedral—it was probably the headquarters of the bastards who abused me. But other than that, I had no idea why people were fighting here or which side was which.

...Not that I really needed to overthink it.

Wouldn’t it be fine if I just sided with Sylvia? She was the one who saved me, after all. If the world was doomed because of it, then so be it. It’s not like I had any real attachments here anyway.

“Just felt like it’d be more fun.”

“...I see.”

The two people who had been talking said something that sounded completely out of context to me, then wrapped up their conversation.

Was this the moment?

If this were a game or a comic, this would definitely be the timing. ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) After a little heartfelt conversation like that, a fight usually breaks out, right?

I glanced around, trying to read the room, and then thought—screw it. Let’s just go for it.

I took a deep breath—

“FweeooOOOOOO!”

—and let out a full-throated cry.

...And Sylvia, who was standing in front of me, flinched.

Hey, why are you startled? I even made sure to angle it behind you so it wouldn’t be too loud in your ears!

Haa... well, whatever.

When I first met her, I thought she was the cool, emotionally-muted honorific-speaking beautiful heroine type—but now I saw she was actually kind of a mess.

If I hadn’t shown up, wouldn’t she have been in serious danger?

I lowered my head and gently bit the back of Sylvia’s neck. I was careful not to break the skin. One wrong move with my beak and I’d take a whole chunk of flesh with me.

Then I gave a slight push upward, tossing her into the air.

“Eek!?”

She let out a scream that didn’t match her earlier image at all, and I caught her on my back. Thankfully, she didn’t bounce off but landed properly, and I felt her grip tighten on my feathers.

Well, at least she had some sense.

Grinning to myself, I leapt into the air.

“FweeooOOOO!”

I soared upward with all my might, then descended again.

Honestly, I’d been thinking this ever since my first flight—my body’s weight couldn’t possibly be carried by wing-flapping alone. My wings were huge, sure, but considering the griffon’s quadrupedal build, just flapping wasn’t enough to keep me airborne.

Unless I fixed my wings in place and charged forward like a fixed-wing aircraft, it wasn’t realistic to hover by flapping alone. Clearly, something other than brute strength was helping me fly.

Now that I thought about it, there must have been magic at work in my body from the very start.

So when the church bastards told me to use magic, maybe it wasn’t such an unreasonable demand after all.

They just screwed up by chaining me up while they said it.

“Waaagh!”

The knights in my descent path scattered and rolled out of the way in a panic.

I hadn’t intended to attack them.

I scooped up a rifle lying on the ground and tossed it upward.

Then I shifted quickly so the girl on my back could catch it.

Technically, Sylvia caught it—not me.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Since I was grounded and not mid-air, she wasn’t caught off-guard this time and managed to grab it right away.

I turned my head to glance back and saw her wide-eyed, holding the rifle in both hands and staring blankly at me.

Another laugh escaped me.

That clueless expression—that’s exactly what a girl her age should look like. Not that I knew her exact age, but she looked to be mid-teens or so.

And yet, here she was, fighting for her life in a place like this. What kind of messed-up world was this?

...Well, who was I to judge. It’s this kind of world, so of course they’d be fighting. Back in the day, the standards for adulthood were different. I figured this world just operated the same way.

I felt her legs tighten around me as she adjusted her grip.

Yeah, hold on tight.

We’re going to be running and flying all over the place from here on.

The air around us filled again with the sounds of shouting and clashing swords.

And I dove headfirst into the chaos.

*

The more I fought, the more exhilarated I felt.

Was this a griffon’s instinct?

I swung my foreleg in sync with an enemy’s blade. No matter how long their sword was, when it met my claws, it was pushed back, deflected, and sometimes even sliced clean in two.

At the tips of my wings, things like spears of ice or blazing fireballs would form. I could move them as easily as flexing my fingers.

When I became a true beast raging across the battlefield, that instinct of mine suddenly flashed a red warning inside my head.

It was a kind of alert.

A sense that something dangerous was watching me. A feeling I had never experienced before—not even when my body was rotting away and I faced off against those who hated me.

I immediately twisted my body and shielded the girl on my back, hiding her behind my wings.

Thwack—I felt something hit my wing. Snick—the sound of feathers being cut. Then heat. A sharp, burning sensation on my right wing. A feeling I recognized well. The long, slicing pain of being cut. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

It wasn’t unbearable, but it wasn’t something I could ignore, either.

Lowering my wing, I looked toward the one who had attacked.

Surprisingly, they were still quite far away. Far enough that a sword shouldn’t have been able to reach.

A red-haired man was looking at me with an expression of glee, as if he was thrilled.

So that’s how it is.

Well, I suppose if there’s magic, then things like aura or sword energy must exist too. I didn’t know which one it was.

Clack.

The sound came from behind me.

Sylvia, gripping the rifle, had raised it in both hands.

She was probably aiming at the red-haired guy in front of us.

He rushed forward, fast.

Was he aiming for me, or for Sylvia?

Bang!

A gunshot rang out. But it didn’t hit him. He must’ve noticed the rifle aimed his way and dodged to the side—the bullet struck the floor instead.

Bang!

That time, I clearly saw it: some sort of slash flew from the tip of his sword. I hadn’t known sword energy could deflect bullets. I didn’t bother dodging it. Maybe he had swung it too hastily—the attack missed us anyway.

Bang!

The redhead twisted to the side again and avoided the shot.

I could have jumped in at any time. No matter how good a swordsman he was, the difference in our species would make it a one-sided fight.

But for some reason... I didn’t want to.

I felt like I should let the girl on my back have this moment.

—No, more than that... it felt like—

This was something between the two of them.

So I decided to wait—until the moment it became truly dangerous.

And then—

Bang!

This time, Sylvia fired toward the side the redhead usually dodged to.

Whether it was a deliberate feint or just his mistake, I didn’t know.

And then finally—Bang!, one more shot.

The redhead, struck once in each shoulder, collapsed where he stood.

Didn’t seem like he died.

He must have his own story.

I turned my head to look at the girl sitting on my back—Sylvia.

The scent of gunpowder was thick in the air.

She slowly lowered the rifle she had been aiming and looked at me.

She looked a little surprised, but also strangely composed, as if this outcome had been expected all along.

It was a contradictory expression, but I thought—what a perfect look for her to have.