“They’ve started fighting among themselves.”
Rosaria and Canon were observing the situation from a distance.
At first, it seemed like a disaster was about to unfold due to the monster attack, but before they knew it, the threat had been subdued.
And now, they were pointing their swords at each other.
“Oh my, how wonderful! Even the hero, who was practically born to wield a sword, is no match for Sir Theo!”
“Is that so? They look evenly matched to me.”
“Look closely. Sir Theo is completely at ease~.”
Rosaria held a pair of opera glasses in one hand, watching their fight with an excited expression.
Meanwhile, Canon remained on high alert, keeping her guard up.
The griffon was a powerful monster.
It wouldn’t be surprising if it suddenly broke free from its restraints and went on a rampage.
That was precisely why he had stopped Rosaria from getting any closer.
“Why is he doing that? Protecting a monster, of all things.”
Just one final strike remained.
But Theo blocked Louis and prevented him from attacking the griffon.
It was an action that defied common sense.
“There must be a deeper reason behind it.”
“Rosaria, you always take Sir Theo’s side.”
“Of course! He’s going to be my husband!”
“Do you think Count Belpherion will approve?”
Unlike commoners, nobility had little say in their own choices.
And Rosaria was the eldest daughter.
The standards for her betrothal would undoubtedly be high.
“Don’t you think he will?”
“I think it’ll be difficult.”
“If he doesn’t, I’ll make it happen.”
“…What kind of absurd scheme are you planning this time?”
The more they talked, the more exhausted Canon became.
Rosaria was far too free-spirited.
He wished she would at least consider the position of those who had to support her.
“You used healer training as an excuse, didn’t you?”
Rosaria flinched.
“Huh…? What are you talking about?”
“You left the mansion, declaring boldly that you would become a saintess, yet you haven’t taken any real action.”
That had merely been an excuse to persuade Count Belpherion.
If she had set out on a journey without a clear goal, her father would have prioritized his daughter’s safety.
Traveling would have been impossible, and meeting Theo even more so.
She had never truly dreamed of achieving something grand, but claiming she would become a saintess had been the only way to break free from her predicament.
“Well, that’s because I ended up playing the role of a villainous noblewoman… If people found out we’re the same person, it would be a problem.”
“The mistake was pretending in the first place.”
“You’re not wrong, but wasn’t this conversation already over?”
“I have to keep reminding you, or you’ll never reflect on it.”
A saintess was considered the pinnacle of mages who wielded divine magic and one of the kingdom’s most esteemed healers.
Rosaria had both talent and diligence, but she lacked ambition.
Keeping her on the right path was one of the duties entrusted to Canon.
“Look over there! Sir Theo is cornering him!”
“I’m not interested.”
A heavy sigh escaped her.
***
Cyclops usually ruled as apex predators within their ecosystems.
But that didn’t mean they were the strongest monsters.
There were plenty of creatures superior to them.
If a cyclops ended up sharing its territory with a more dominant monster, it had no choice but to leave—
To seek a place where it could reign as king.
It moved in search of a place where it could freely prey on the weak.
Especially if it entered a region inhabited by a griffon, it would flee without hesitation.
After all, that creature had an appetite as massive as its size.
A cyclops, with its large and conspicuous frame, had to run far to survive.
That was probably why it had relocated near this village.
“The griffon is intelligent. It won’t harm people.”
I spoke while flicking my sword.
“It won’t harm people because it’s intelligent? Don’t talk nonsense!”
“There are exceptions, but this one is safe.”
“Cut the crap!”
Louis’s attacks grew fiercer.
His strikes came so fast that it almost seemed as if he was wielding three swords at once.
“You must have been training, but it won’t make a difference!”
Louis shouted excitedly, pressing forward with relentless aggression.
He was completely exhilarated.
Come to think of it, this kind of reasoning had rarely worked before.
Maybe I wasn’t much of a fast learner either.
Claaaang!
Sparks flew as our blades clashed.
“If you kill the griffon, the food chain will collapse. There’s no telling what might happen.”
“That’s just your opinion!”
There was no reasoning with him.
I had no choice.
I would have to settle this with force.
I unleashed my mana and activated Flash Step, a technique that accelerated my movements to the limit.
“Ugh!?”
Louis staggered back, forced to retreat step by step.
His offensive momentum broke, and he began to focus solely on defense.
However, the duration of this technique was short.
If I didn’t finish this in one go, the tide would turn against me.
“Don’t mess with me!”
Louis’s sword gleamed.
While I had concentrated my mana into my body, he had channeled his mana into his blade.
Crackle!
A deafening noise rang out as sparks flew.
It was the strongest strike he had landed so far, but—
“You blocked that!?”
Louis was in shock.
He had probably intended to electrocute me, but Shadow Fang absorbed magic.
To me, it was no different from his previous attacks.
“Let’s stop this.”
Claria grabbed Louis’s arm.
“Don’t stop me! Didn’t you see what Theo did!?”
“Still, this isn’t something worth fighting over.”
“I wasn’t the one who started this. He was!”
Louis raged, spitting his words furiously.
But I had never picked a fight with him.
Typical. Provocation and distortion were his specialties, after all.
While the two argued, I walked toward the griffon.
“Wait…! What do you think you’re doing…?”
I swung my sword three times, slicing through the vines of light.
Freed from its bindings, the griffon flapped its wings powerfully and let out a piercing cry unique to birds of prey.
The villagers panicked and scrambled to flee, but there was no need.
“W-Wait…! It’s heading for the Cyclops!”
The griffon moved forward with graceful steps.
It approached the corpse of the cyclops I had brought and gripped its body with its talon-like forelimbs.
Then, it soared high into the sky.
“…It’s gone.”
Someone murmured.
It was an anticlimactic ending.
“As you can see, it’s not a threat. Depending on the location of its nest, it may even drive away other monsters. There have been instances where griffons attacked people, but… at least for this village, it should be fine.”
Griffons were intelligent monsters.
Unlike cyclops, griffons weren’t foolish enough to attack humans recklessly.
They knew retaliation would follow.
With plenty of larger monster carcasses scattered throughout the forest, there was no reason for them to go after humans.
Still, I’ve never seen one show itself so openly before.
Even if I chalked up the mere 3% chance of encountering one to luck, I had never seen or heard of a griffon landing in a village and causing a commotion.
Wasn’t it said that griffons can sense mana?
It had probably been watching from above with its hawk-like vision.
Then, upon spotting a delicious-looking cyclops, it had descended.
Was that how things had played out?
In another timeline, it might have been drawn to Claria and Farne’s mana.
But this time, there was one more factor at play.
Rosaria. The one with the potential to become a saintess.
At the moment, she was the only unexpected variable I could think of.
Well, only the griffon itself knew the truth.
“Sir Theo, you’ve saved our village once again. We are truly grateful.”
Before I knew it, the lord had approached. He gestured to his attendant, who handed him a small box, which he then offered to me.
“It wouldn’t be right not to properly express our gratitude. Please, accept this.”
There was money inside.
I didn’t need to open it to know.
It was surely enough to let me live comfortably for a while.
“Please use this to help the villagers who suffered losses.”
I gently pushed the box back toward him.
“Consider it a donation after the fact. Don’t hesitate to use it where it’s needed.”
Having more money was always nice, but I placed far greater value on magical tools.
After all, some things were priceless. No amount of gold could buy them.
Since I knew plenty of dungeons that could earn me some pocket money, there was no need to be greedy.
“Even at this moment, the interest is piling up. Wouldn’t it be better to accept it?”
As soon as the griffon departed, Rosaria appeared.
“Whether I take it or not is my decision.”
“Of course. I was merely offering advice.”
“Unnecessary advice. I don’t go on adventures just to make money.”
People’s gazes shifted toward the two of us.
Why is she showing up now…?
The whole debt situation was nothing more than a temporary excuse to deceive Claria.
There was no reason to go out of my way to emphasize that story.
“How pathetic! No wonder you’ll live your whole life as a poor commoner!”
…So that’s how it was.
Rosaria had completely immersed herself in the role of a villainous noblewoman.
Judging by her eagerness, it seemed she had been itching for an opportunity to act.
She must have decided this was the perfect moment to make her entrance.
“I despise nobles like you more than anything in this world. I’ll pay back that borrowed money in no time.”
At the word despise, Rosaria flinched.
Her expression made it obvious she had taken the remark to heart.
…She was acting, right?
“J-Just you wait! Until your debt is fully repaid, I’ll chase you to the ends of hell! I look forward to the day your arrogance finally traps you! O~hohoho!”
With that, she made a dramatic exit, practically fleeing the scene.
…That felt like something a minor villain would do.
***
The misunderstanding with the lord was cleared up, and the matter concerning Rosaria was smoothly settled.
Claria had managed to save face by taking down a few weak monsters, but it was clear she wasn’t satisfied in the least.
She wore a sour expression the entire time until we parted ways.
If the dice had chosen a different location, we wouldn’t have even met.
It had been a tumultuous journey, but my steps felt lighter as I set off again.
Besides, even though I hadn’t acquired any useful magic tools, I had gotten my hands on something else.
“Just how many people could this feed?”
At the base of a steep cliff—
I was making my escape after stealing an egg from a griffon’s nest.
Its diameter was more than ten times that of an ostrich egg.
It was so massive that one could easily mistake it for a dinosaur egg.
I had known there was a griffon living in an area neither too close nor too far from the village, but I hadn’t planned on stealing from it from the start.
I had completely forgotten about its existence… until it made its presence known. Since it was on my way out, I decided to stop by.
“Think of it as population control.”
After all, this too was part of nature’s order.
I stored the griffon egg in my subspace storage.
“Now that I have this, I should head there.”
There was a city nearby worth stopping by.
My next destination was set.
Leave a Reply