Chapter 88 : Overseas Travel (9)

“Whoa… Woooow…”

A city view that draws out admiration without meaning to.

It might not be the futuristic skyline of the world I used to live in, but this was still a spectacle in its own right.

Who would have thought there was such a massive cliff hidden behind the buildings?

I can see people going about their lives around a lake so huge and deep that you could mistake it for the ocean.

Countless houses and a massive-scale fish market.

The sight was breathtaking enough to deserve being called a masterpiece.

And in a world like this, where glass is rare, they made one entire wall of the building out of it.

If you even infuse it with magic, it transforms into a solid wall.

“Mom, Dad! What is this?!”

Excited beyond belief, I jumped around and turned to look behind me.

My mom and dad were just as awestruck by the incredible view.

‘…The imperial capital really is a sight to behold.’

“What was the name of that lake again?”

“…I forgot.”

We simply stared in silent wonder at the breathtaking scene for about a minute.

I didn’t know the name of the lake, but I was completely mesmerized by the way it reflected the sunlight, creating a beautiful view.

‘…It’s seriously beautiful.’

I made a mental note to come back and visit again someday.

Sitting on the bed, I zoned out watching the lake while Mom and Dad finished unpacking.

It took about ten minutes to finish unpacking.

Even though the attendants helped us, it still took quite a while—since we were going to be staying here for a while.

After all, the emperor’s coronation was always more like a long-lasting festival, so we were planning to stay for a bit.

And during that time, we could just enjoy sightseeing in peace.

“Good work.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The attendants bowed to Dad and quietly exited the room.

A massive room.

A massive bed.

And a massive chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

Looking around the room, which gave off an overall elegant vibe, I felt a bit like, “Is this really our place?”

The hotel was that beautiful.

…I just want to stay holed up in here forever…

Just as that thought crossed my mind—

Knock knock knock.

Someone knocked on the door.

I rushed over and opened it.

The preparations must have been finished, because the Apostle sister was standing there waiting for us.

“Shall we go? I’ll guide you.”

With a gentle smile, she led the way, and our family began our tour of the Empire.

The Empire was truly full of wondrous things.

When we visited the zoo, there were all sorts of animals.

The one that caught my eye, of course, was the griffin.

Even back when I used to play games, I always chose the griffin as my mount, so seeing one in real life brought a wave of nostalgia.

“…So cool…”

I want one as a pet.

That thought came to mind—even though I knew I wouldn’t be the one taking care of it.

If I had a griffin, I could fly through the skies with it, right?

If I had a griffin, maybe I wouldn’t feel so lonely after my sisters leave.

If I had a griffin, I’d probably feel like I had the whole world in my hands.

“…Griffin…”

Of course, I couldn’t just throw myself on the ground and throw a tantrum like a kid.

I knew there was no point in doing that.

Why would a dragon even raise a griffin?

Still, the thought of raising one like a dog didn’t seem all that bad.

Two conflicting thoughts swirled around in my head.

And in the end—

‘…I want it.’

My desire to own one overpowered my reason.

I want to raise one so badly—just look at that dignified figure.

A lion’s body, an eagle’s head, and it can fly on top of that.

A creature so full of charm and elegance, second only to dragons—it was practically the embodiment of all things romantic and cool.

“Alright, let’s move on to the next animal, Princess—”

I grabbed the sleeve of the Apostle sister who was about to move on to some unimpressive three-headed cobra.

“…I wanna raise that one…”

“The… griffin?”

“…Yup.”

The Apostle sister looked a little flustered.

Leaving her behind, I turned to look at my mom and dad standing behind me.

“…I want it…”

This was the first time in my life that I ever begged like this.

Even in my previous life, I never really acted spoiled.

But when I kept staring up at them with sparkling eyes, Dad picked me up in his arms.

“You really want to raise a griffin that badly?”

“…Yeah.”

My voice came out a little small, feeling like it probably wasn’t going to work out.

Then Dad gently pressed down on my head and stroked my hair.

“That griffin’s already fully grown. Wouldn’t it be a bit unrewarding to raise?”

“…W-Well, that’s true…”

It seemed like Dad was trying to talk me out of it gently.

I had no choice but to nod—if I pushed any more here, it would just come off as stubbornness.

I couldn’t make things hard for Mom, Dad, and the Apostle sister just because I wanted to throw a tantrum.

This trip was a family vacation made with love.

Just me demanding things wasn’t going to make everything go my way.

As much as I hated it, it looked like I had to give up on the griffin.

Well, I guess it couldn’t be helped—you can’t just give a living creature to a one-year-old with a light heart.

Most of the time, it’s the parents who end up doing all the hard work while the kid loses interest.

That was probably what my parents were worried about too.

“…Sorry. I guess it was a selfish request…”

“Yeah, that big guy would be tough. Looks like he’s already bonded with someone else.”

Dad looked at the majestic griffin beyond the glass and said so.

‘Yeah… I guess it really is too much.’

Disappointing.

I had wanted to build a bond with a griffin like I did when I used to play games.

“…Let’s go.”

My weak voice made Dad tilt his head.

“You’re just gonna leave like that?”

“…Yup.”

“Didn’t you say you wanted to raise a griffin?”

Even Mom, startled, asked me in surprise.

Of course I wanted to. But why were they asking that now?

It’s obvious they’re going to say no anyway.

“…We can’t raise a griffin, right?”

When I asked that, Dad let out a small chuckle.

“Why do you think that?”

“…Isn’t it kinda much to entrust a griffin to a baby…?”

“Minno, aren’t you a very responsible girl?”

As I tilted my head, Mom chuckled softly and patted me on the head.

“What Dad meant was that that big guy would be too much. He’s already bonded with someone else.”

“That’s right, Your Highness. Griffins are extremely loyal, so you can’t raise one that’s already been tamed by someone else.”

I knew that.

That strong loyalty was the very reason I always chose griffins in fantasy games.

But if that same loyalty meant big ones were off-limits—

Then… doesn’t that mean little ones are okay?

My heart started racing.

“Wait… you don’t mean…?”

“If we’re going to do it, should we try to get an egg?”

“…!!”

Dad looked at me and let out a whistle.

The acting was very awkward.

But that didn’t matter at all—because I’d just gotten permission from Dad to raise a griffin.

“…Thank you…!!”

As soon as I was let out of Mom’s arms, I ran straight to Dad and dove into his embrace.

I hugged him with all my strength.

He chuckled heartily and stroked my hair.

I was happy. Truly, blissfully happy.

“Minno, once we get the griffin egg, you’ll have to keep it close to you the whole time. Got it?”

“Yes!”

“If it sees someone else’s face when it hatches, it might imprint on them instead, so be careful.”

“Okay!”

Both Mom and Dad gave me their instructions one after another.

I already knew exactly how to raise a griffin.

I didn’t spend all that time playing hero fantasy games in the hospital for nothing.

Though it’s 3,000 years later now, and a lot has changed since the game’s time.

Anyway, after finishing our zoo visit and killing time at the aquarium watching marine reptiles, I noticed something.

From far away, a servant was running toward us, holding an egg about the size of my face.

‘…!!’

I recognized it immediately.

A golden, egg-shaped object covered in soft, round markings.

It was a griffin egg—the one I’d wanted so badly while spinning pet gacha back then.

In my past life, I had to drop about 500,000 won (roughly $400) to finally get one.

‘…Wonder if I could get a refund on that.’

Now that I thought about it, I still had no idea what that GM did with all that money.

My in-game companion was a goddess of gold—maybe even she was short on cash?

Anyway, I jumped down from the chair and received the egg from the servant.

“Your Highness, here it is.”

“Thank you!”

The servant gave a respectful nod to me and my parents before quietly disappearing from sight.

The servants stayed disguised and kept their presence hidden so they wouldn’t disturb our trip—only showing up when we needed help.

“Minno, make sure you take good care of it, okay?”

“Yup! Hehe~”

I hugged the egg tight, beaming at Mom’s reminder.

She smiled and patted my head again.

After visiting the zoo and aquarium, we headed to the city’s founding festival.

There were lots of booths and street foods, but honestly, most of it didn’t quite measure up to what we had back in our own kingdom.

It was a bit disappointing… and yet, I couldn’t help but feel a little patriotic pride bubbling up.

Thus, Day 1 of our journey came to a close.

“…Phew…”

The dinner provided by the hotel was nothing short of fantastic.

It looked like a feast made by gathering every delicacy in the world.

It almost beat the food made by our head maid.

In the end, though, I gave the win—by just a hair—to the head maid’s cooking.

The lunchbox I had earlier was just too good.

“Minno, it’s time for bed.”

“Okay…”

I curled my body around the griffin egg, wrapping it with my tail and pressing it close to my stomach and chest.

Hehe, hatch soon, okay?

Five days later…

“It still hasn’t hatched…”

“They usually take around 15 days.”

“Gasp.”

Even by the day we were leaving the Empire, the griffin egg still hadn’t hatched.

The Emperor himself came out to bid us farewell as we left the Holy Cria Empire.

It really felt like we had a solid new ally.

And with that, our family’s overseas trip came to an end.