Ch.5656. Next Destination

I vaguely aimed to rescue seven more animal friends in addition to the five I’d already saved, while Sophia had glimpsed my fate and proposed an indefinite journey together.

Neither of us had been targeting any specific destination so far. We simply moved wherever our feet took us, guided by the flow of destiny.

······Although our journey had only included one visit to a swamp area, I suppose it’s fair to say we’d been moving completely without a plan until now.

Anyway, given this background, we both suggested that we should at least make a simple plan for our future travels······.

And so began this discussion about where our next destination should be.

“The prophet recommends the Elven Kingdom.”

“The Elven Kingdom····· You mean that Elven Kingdom?”

“Yes. The prophet affirms.”

Sophia’s suggestion was the Elven Kingdom. An island that exists across the western sea of the Western Continent, comparable to Britain or Ireland if we were to compare it to Earth in my previous life.

Since elves are the foundation of human druid techniques, visiting once wouldn’t be a bad idea, and targeting magical beasts that inhabit the elven lands, which are relatively close to the “fairy realm” or “spirit realm,” wouldn’t be bad either.

However······ there’s one fatal flaw in Sophia’s opinion.

“Would those elves really welcome us?”

“········The prophet hadn’t thought of that.”

The elves of this world are typical pointy-eared, stuck-up beings.

Arrogance is deeply rooted in all their minds, and the source of this arrogance is that elves as a race are excessively emotional while possessing outstanding abilities.

Elves are taller than humans, superior in appearance, and all possess exceptional physical abilities and innate magical affinity.

Additionally, they have high intelligence as well as strong physical immunity and recovery abilities.

Thus, from an objective perspective, the abilities possessed by each individual elf surpass those of humans, and this, combined with their excessively emotional and sensitive aspects, results in their arrogance.

They fundamentally have a deeply rooted mindset similar to the colonial empires of the old imperialist era, approaching elven supremacy.

Even the kindest elf unconsciously treats non-elven races like monkeys.

This arrogance, combined with their emotional and sensitive aspects, eventually became the catalyst that transformed elven culture into a decadent form.

This decadence that has permeated elven culture can hardly be seen as a positive direction.

Therefore, even though the environment of the island where the Elven Kingdom is located might be paradise for druids, the risk would be too great for the two of us humans to visit there.

“········I’m sorry. The prophet’s thinking was shortsighted.”

“No, there’s no need to apologize.”

So when I carefully explained to her the true nature of elves as my mother had taught me, Sophia readily acknowledged that she had misunderstood something and apologized.

········From my position of knowing all too well the shameless aspects of humans, I actually appreciated this side of her even more.

Anyway, after Sophia’s opinion was rejected.

The opinion that now took precedence was, quite naturally, mine—the idea to set our next destination as the “Holy Empire” in the east.

The Holy Empire. Frankly speaking, this nation, reminiscent of the Holy Roman Empire from the original world, is the most powerful nation in this vast Western Continent and···· due to its power, it’s also the neighborhood punching bag that faces all kinds of checks and balances.

Perhaps because its foundation began with nine countries joining hands to face crises together?

The Holy Empire is a nation run by an elective monarchy, with nine prince-electors governing nine electorates.

To be blunt, it’s a nation running on group projects at a national level, and would the princes of such a country absolutely obey an emperor elected by vote?

Rather, the electorates and hundreds of free cities belonging to the Holy Empire frequently engage in civil wars or independence wars among themselves.

Of course, that doesn’t mean the elected emperor is completely a figurehead.

After all, since the emperor gains power as a legitimate ruler with the consent of the prince-electors, one must either receive high support from among the prince-electors or have a powerful electorate to be elected as the emperor of the Holy Empire.

It’s certainly not a position like a group project leader who is semi-forcibly assigned the role, as some commentators suggest.

Anyway, there was only one reason why I wanted to visit this Holy Empire.

“Ta-da, look at this.”

“········The prophet isn’t certain, but is this perhaps a letter of recommendation from the Assembly Leader?”

“That’s right, it’s a recommendation letter.”

The identity of this recommendation letter, which I obtained as payment for lecturing at the Druid Assembly, is none other than the right to receive an egg from the Imperial Pasture of the Holy Empire.

This Imperial Pasture, operated by the Emperor of the Holy Empire in conjunction with the Druid Association, is a facility that’s essentially a specialized ranch and zoo for magical beasts.

This place, which operates like a zoo providing enjoyable sights for the empire’s citizens, travelers from around the world, and wealthy individuals seeking entertainment, raises and nurtures all kinds of rare creatures.

Wyverns, a subspecies of dragons, and creatures like griffins or hippogriffs are just the basics. They raise fierce and vicious monsters—manticores, owl bears, even basilisks and hydras.

Thus, the Imperial Pasture not only opens to the public facilities housing magical beasts that could cause massive casualties if even one escaped, but also employs druids and pours in enormous budgets for maintenance.

One might wonder if a mere ranch and zoo is worth such investment, but that premise is wrong from the start.

The most important purpose of the Imperial Pasture is not merely to provide spectacles, but to raise and manage rare mounts or War-Beasts operated by the imperial army.

And I received a recommendation letter that allows me to get a griffin egg for free from such a place.

“········A griffin!”

“It’s an impressive beast. I know quite well how to raise one, you know?”

Griffin. This creature—half eagle and half lion (or large feline predator)—is a mid-tier magical beast that symbolizes the Holy Empire.

With its unimaginable size, claws that easily tear through plate armor, and flying speed that earned it the nickname “King of the Skies”····· it’s one of the extremely rare magical beasts outside of humanoid races that can handle aura.

Only purebred griffins can handle aura, but perhaps as a trade-off?

Griffins are very fierce and ruthless, but not brutal. They generally avoid unnecessary killing except for hunting.

Therefore, they willingly offer their backs to humans or other intelligent beings they acknowledge, but earning the recognition of the proud and dignified griffin is no easy task.

Because of this, people used a workaround.

Griffins can uniquely produce hybrid offspring with horses, and these offspring, while less powerful in combat than griffins, are much easier to tame and their combat ability isn’t significantly inferior.

The hippogriff, a horse hybrid carrying griffin bloodline, is clearly classified as a mid-tier magical beast.

Even lower-tier quarter-griffins or half-hippogriffs that cannot fly are powerful predators and magical beasts within their class.

Of course, while they are powerful, they’re no comparison to genuine griffins.

“A real griffin, the prophet says that’s an incredible thing!”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

‘········She seems a bit excited?’

I felt somewhat pressured by Sophia staring at me with sparkling eyes, but it didn’t last long.

“The prophet is very curious how you came to receive a recommendation letter directly from the Assembly Leader.”

“It wasn’t anything special. I gave a lecture at the assembly on the Assembly Leader’s recommendation.”

“A lecture····· you say? The prophet doesn’t quite understand.”

“To be honest, I don’t really either···· but I have some idea.”

“········??”

“The fact that I became a mid-tier at age 14······.”

“───F-fourteen?!!”

So surprised was she that Sophia’s eyes widened as soon as she heard my words, and she stared intently at my face and body.

Judging by her appearance, she seems to have become a druid at a relatively young age herself, but 14 must truly be outside the norm.

“The prophet can’t believe it. Truly.”

Sophia’s reaction might seem excessive, but if we compare it to modern standards, it would be like meeting a once-in-a-generation genius who passed the bar exam on the first try.

·······Though as the person in question, I don’t have anything to compare it to, so it doesn’t really resonate with me.