Ch.8484. Royal Ranch (3)

I came to work at the Griffin Nursery (tentative name) for roughly three main reasons.

First, to learn how to raise griffins since I’ll eventually be acquiring and raising an egg myself. Unlike before, I’ll need to obtain an egg, hatch it, and raise it from infancy, making it essential to learn proper childcare methods.

Another reason was to gain favor with the druids here… but this goal turned out to be surprisingly easy to accomplish.

“Excuse me, I was wondering… how do you synchronize ‘carapace’ magic with ‘skin’ magic?”

“That? Oh, it’s easier than you might think.”

“I’m sorry… Actually, I’m rather inexperienced with target enhancement magic. Could I ask for some advice?”

“…Of course! Go ahead, what would you like to know?”

By giving off the scent of an inexperienced novice (including apprentice druids with up to 10 years of experience), I attracted plenty of novice-loving mentors eager to offer advice. Even without trying to score points, I could receive all the help I needed.

And… through this process, I came to realize just how arrogant I had been.

Looking objectively, if I were to examine each druid currently residing at this Imperial Pasture, none would surpass me in pure innate talent.

Even Teacher Frida, who has the most outstanding aptitude, can only contract a total of four animal companions, and the old master who has aptitude for both wild magic and nature magic is merely mediocre in each individual talent.

As for magical power, my total amount is about 1.5 times that of the old master, who ranks second after me. Objectively speaking, in terms of raw ability output, there probably isn’t anyone among the intermediate druids who surpasses me.

However… having high aptitude or output doesn’t automatically make one stronger.

Especially in the case of these intermediate druids who have accumulated at least 100 years of experience, they possessed such remarkable skills that it was puzzling why they hadn’t advanced to the senior rank.

They could create snow globes with internal ecosystems and real falling snow by applying nature or celestial magic despite not having particularly high compatibility with those elements.

They could even master unique techniques like transforming only parts of the body into animal forms.

Faced with their extraordinary abilities, I naturally became humble, regretting my past arrogance…

And the final reason I chose to work at the nursery was to subtly try to entice any young griffins who might be willing to follow me.

“Teacher! Teacher! Look at me!”

“Aren’t I cool? Tell me I’m cool!!”

“Waaaaaaaahhh!!”

“You hit me first!!”

…Of course, at first glance this might look just like an ordinary kindergarten or nursery, but my behavior shouldn’t be as kind as that of a nursery or kindergarten teacher.

It might seem cruel, but there’s a reason for these guidelines.

Young griffins may not seem much different from human children on the surface, but dig a little deeper and their fundamental thought processes differ from humans.

This applies to most non-human intelligent beings, with demons perhaps being the most representative example…

Demons, a race born from negative emotions and thoughts of intelligent beings, have their foundational emotions embedded in their basic thought structure.

This is literally an “absolute” concept that cannot be interfered with externally, and since it forms part of the individual’s self and soul, it cannot be carelessly removed.

Though this is somewhat extreme, correcting ingrained racial characteristics could potentially cause damage severe enough to collapse an individual’s sense of self.

Among such innate characteristics that could be considered a race’s identity, griffins possess… a high pride that could be called a leadership disposition.

The reason griffins are called the “Emperors of the Sky” is partly due to their ability to use aura, but also because the griffin race inherently possesses a leadership temperament.

Without a clear superior (Royal Griffin), they not only struggle to form groups but also have considerable difficulty mating. Griffin reproduction typically only occurs when one party establishes overwhelming dominance over the other.

“Waaaaaaaahhh!!!”

“Waaaaaaaahhh!!!”

…Though looking at them like this, you’d never imagine it.

※ ※ ※

After working and receiving education on griffin raising at the griffin nursery for about six hours…

“Thank you for your hard work, Teacher Frida.”

“Come now, I’ve told you there’s no need to address me so formally.”

After sincerely expressing my gratitude to Teacher Frida, who had taught me many useful things, I maintained my respectful demeanor toward her modest response and prepared to leave the griffin nursery.

“Come here, Robo.”

My current lodging is located on top of the Tarask’s shell, right next to the Imperial Pasture.

In other words, I was commuting, so I called for Robo.

“Are we going home again today?”

“Of course. When we get home… would you like some kabocha squash?”

“Kabocha… Yes! I, I also like that salad!”

I smiled at Robo’s bright expression, surprisingly fond of kabocha squash salad despite definitely being a carnivore.

After confirming that the saddle fixed to the upper part of Robo’s shoulder was properly checked, I gently stroked him and was about to mount…

“Oh! I want that one!”

Suddenly, an extremely unpleasant voice came from behind me.

‘…What’s this?’

Frowning, I turned my head to see a woman in armor, emitting intermediate-level life force, pointing at us and saying something loudly.

Her clothing was a type of lamellar armor made by attaching small iron plates over beast hide armor, commonly worn in the northeastern part of the Western Continent.

The woman, dressed in northern-style clothing that looked warm with fluffy fur accents, was carrying various weapons…

“Th-that person…”

“Hand it over! I have a requisition order from His Imperial Majesty, so why not?!”

At the same time, she was roughly pushing around a man dressed as an employee of the Imperial Pasture.

Honestly speaking, I had no need to get involved in something that looked troublesome, especially since I wasn’t even an official employee here.

…But such extreme efficiency-oriented thinking isn’t always good either.

“…What’s going on?”

“Ah! D-Druid sir…!”

As the employee brightened up upon seeing me enter the scene and tried to speak to me, the violent woman cut him off sharply.

“Hey, you! Are you in charge here? I’ll get straight to the point. Transfer ownership of that beast wolf to me. I’ve decided on that one.”

“…What are you suddenly talking about?”

“What? Do I have to explain again? Just look at this!”

Hysterically irritated, the intermediate-level warrior held out what was surprisingly a requisition order.

It was a document issued in the name of the Holy Empire’s Emperor, granting her one intermediate-level beast from this pasture as a reward.

The magical energy emanating from it confirmed it was genuine, allowing me to grasp the situation.

Evidently, she thought she could take Robo with this requisition order.

“Robo is not the property of the Imperial Pasture. He’s not subject to requisition.”

So, suppressing my rising anger, I tried to resolve this through dialogue, but…

“What? That’s ridiculous! That beast is mine! I have the documents!”

This damned bitch was completely stubborn and didn’t seem to have any intention of listening to others.

Her eyes were filled with greed and obstinacy. Far from backing down, she didn’t even intend to listen to me in the first place, throwing a tantrum simply because she wanted Robo.

‘…She’s crossing the line.’

This woman’s behavior was enough to completely snap my thread of reason.

I had certainly heard about this before.

The Frank Kingdom, with few openly hostile forces around it, places relatively less value on intermediate-level beings, making noble authority somewhat ambiguous. But in nations like the Holy Empire, with many hostile forces surrounding it, the story is different.

Since the nation cannot be maintained without the sacrifice of intermediate-level beings, or perhaps for other reasons…

Unlike the relatives of Frank Kingdom nobles who barely receive quasi-noble treatment if they aren’t intermediate-level themselves… noble status in the Holy Empire is maintained on a family basis.

If an ancestor was a noble, even grandchildren can be treated as nobles, and because of this, these hereditary nobles have exceptionally strong pride stemming from their sense of superiority.

In other words, there’s a significant proportion of such nobles.

“Are you listening to me? Hand it over!”

-Whoosh—thud.

I caught the fist she swung in irritation with strength enhanced by a secretly cast spell.

Yes, a beating would be the medicine for someone like this.

-Slap!

I threw my glove at this damned woman’s face. The intent was clear: to punish this bitch who displeased me, to “educate” this bitch who coveted Robo and resorted to violence.

“Y-y-you lowly—”

“I, Gregory Aleinos, heir to the territorial nobility of Aleinos in the Frank Kingdom, challenge you to a duel for insulting me and my mother, and for attempting to steal another’s property like a thief. I’ll crush you as you wish, fool.”

In other words, it was a challenge to a duel.