Chapter 128 – Chapter 13

To Kaicent, who grew up with a pet named Crypter from birth, the bred griffin seemed like a big, gigantic animal, not a monster.

The large griffins, each with white, gray, or brown feathers, the upper body of a bird of prey and the lower body of a beast he had never seen before, had a strong feeling that they were cool unlike the ferocious and savage monsters.

“Can I touch it?”
Haha, no way. I told you. If you don’t acknowledge it, you’ll show rejection. These guys aren’t the ones who look at you as young.”
“I wanted to stroke it once…”

The zookeeper could feel that Kaisent, unlike a child, was not afraid to see a big griffin, but rather expressed a desire to touch it, and was definitely different from others.

‘Hmm? But these guys, why did they suddenly become quiet?’

Griffins also have the characteristics of birds, reacting sensitively to beings with unfamiliar odors approaching their nests.

Of course, bred griffins stop at the level of being wary unless they approach openly, but they will still react in some way to the appearance of outsiders.

But now, for some reason, the Griffins don’t show any signs of that.

“I can’t do it. Mingming.”
“Kahah-“

Cai Sent, wanting to pet the feather, called Ming-Ming, sat on her forearm, and stroked her body.

“Caw~ Kkak~”

Mingming started to cry at a different height than usual, probably feeling good about Kaisent’s touch.

At that time, the griffin that was sitting in the nest located in front of Kaisent suddenly stood up and started approaching Kaisent.

“Huh? Now, wait!”
“Stop!”

As one zookeeper noticed the griffin approaching Kaisent, the other zookeepers rushed in and tried to drop Kaisent somehow, but soon everyone became dazed at the shocking appearance that unfolded.

“Beep–“
“Huh? You want to be stroked too? Can I do it like this?”
“Beep-“

The griffin lowered her body to make it easier for him to stroke it, and held out her face.
Kai Sent gently stroked Griffin’s face along her texture, and Griffin closed her eyes and began to make a grunting sound.

The other griffins also approached and lowered their heads to rub against Kaisent’s body.

“Ahahaha. It tickles me~”

The Griffins, who did not forget to be gentle with the knights they ride, cling to the boy they are seeing for the first time and act aegyo.

The zookeepers were speechless at the sight they saw for the first time in their lives.

“What…?”
“What the heck is this…”

It takes ‘at least’ a year for a new zookeeper to be recognized by the Griffins.
In the meantime, the scent must continue to be buried in order to be accepted as part of their group.

However, the sight of those griffins flirting with the boy who had just entered gave them the experience of shattering the knowledge and common sense of the breeders.

“They’re pretty cute guys.”

But the surprising thing was not only that.

Lilith, who had come with Kai Sent, was also stroking the heads of two griffins who had shown her interest in him.

Arty was the only one who escaped the attention of the griffins, but since he was not a living being, he was not sending any energy, so the griffins were being treated like objects.

“…”

I stayed still because I knew through the eyes of the Griffins that I had no intention of killing Kaicent, but I feel a little sad because I was ignored.

“How did this happen?”

Since Lilith is an elf, it was strange that Kaicent, a human like them except for being extremely cute, could earn the favor of the griffins to such an extent.

The absolute blood and dragonlord’s blood dormant in Kaicent’s body were expressed gently thanks to his gentle personality, winning the hearts of the Griffins, but of course, they couldn’t understand what he didn’t know.

“Ah.”

While accepting the griffins’ aegyo, he belatedly felt the caretakers’ eyes and corrected his relaxed face with a pleasant touch.

“Hmmmm. Now that it’s over, everyone go back.”
“Beep-“

When I commanded the griffins to return to their respective nests while patting their heads lightly, they surprisingly began to return to their nests as if they understood what they were saying.

Managing the griffins like that with just a few words without using any force?

“…Kid.”
“Yes?”
“I’m seriously asking, do you have any plans to work here?”

The zookeeper who guided the group for the first time invited them with a serious expression.
Having worked here for more than 10 years, he himself had been subjected to harsh treatment according to the feelings of the Griffins.
But today, the griffins have the appearance of perfectly trained pet dogs.

“You’re talented as a griffin breeder!”

Beep!

Just as he was about to start soliciting vigorously, three griffins landed on a dedicated landing pad with a distinctive cry from the sky.

As soon as they landed, the Griffin riders moved busily without a word and disappeared somewhere.

“Something must have happened.”
“Did you show any movement in the kingdom of the dead?”
“No, I know that the area in charge of those riders is the Outer Territory.”

Seeing the hurried movement, the zookeepers intuitively sensed that something was wrong.

And Kaicent, who saw it, could feel a strange ominous feeling.

*                           *

Akina, who heard the report of the Griffin riders patrolling the outside of the territory, stopped training Lillian and Priscilla and headed to the meeting room.

When she arrived, many of her vassals were gathered in charge of her important responsibilities.

“Another village has been kidnapped. This is the third time, so it’s clear they’re targeting us.”
“Isn’t that what the Kingdom of the Dead did?”
“That’s right. To the extent that they secretly created an undead situation, they must have had their own spy organization.”

When a vassal turned the water around, everyone pointed out the kingdom of the spirits as behind it.
To that extent, the kingdom of the dead was a public enemy and the source of all evil to the humans of this world.

However, Akina, who had doubts about whether the kingdom of the dead was really made up of evil vampires, kept her retainers silent.

“Hohohoho. Your field of view is narrow~”
“Who are you!”

At that time, a laugh that was somewhere in the middle between bewitching and magical came from one of the conference rooms.

All of the vassals drew their weapons and looked in the direction of the voice, where they found a woman who best suited the image of a witch and several swordsmen.

In a black slit dress with her shoulders exposed and slits in her thighs, her breasts larger than her own head, and her purple hair beautifully hanging down, she seemed to be there to seduce men from head to toe. .

She doesn’t know how she got into this place, but Akina opened her mouth the moment the vassals stopped living in the invasion of outsiders.

“Charlize. What are you doing?”
“Hello~ Akina~ It’s been a while~”

Akina and Charlize pretended to know each other, but the atmosphere was polar opposite.
Akina, who is ready to stab the other at any time, and Charlize, who is defenseless and smiles.

‘If I attack prematurely, I’ll get hurt.’

Akina, who knew Charlize well, knew that if she was open like that, she would be ready to strike back in some way.

“I say it again. What are you doing?”
“Hhh~ It’s scary to stare like that~”
“If you’re kidding.”
“Wait. Wait. We are not here to fight.”

Judging that the conversation would not progress if left to Charlize, the man stepped forward and opened his mouth.

“We are members of the Guardian Legion, which is supported by the Dimenes Empire and various religious orders, and pursues and annihilates the Foreign Alliance.”
“The Legion of Guardians?”
“I heard rumors that there is a secret organization tracking the Foreign Press Alliance, but wasn’t it a rumor?”

The vassals whispered that the rumored organization really existed.

“Is the disappearance case the work of the Foreign Press Association?”
“That’s right. We’ve been tracking the foreign media alliance since before, and we found them abducting your lord’s people. We’ve attached a tracker, so we’ll share the information as soon as we know where they’re headed.”

After explaining the situation, the man asked for assistance in dealing with the foreign media association.

“I understand the situation. But there must have been a way not to show up like this.”
“We couldn’t openly ask for an interview because we are an unknown organization to maintain confidentiality, and spies from the Foreign Press Association could see our movements. And…”

He glanced resentfully at Charlize.

“Because Charlize-sama is acquainted with Akina-sama…”
“Haa. All done. Insert your weapon.”

Knowing the situation, Akina sighed and ordered his men to load their weapons.

“But even if there is a Legion of Guardians, we don’t know if they’re real.”
“That’s right. It’s not even clear whether they are members of the Foreign Press Alliance or not.”

Her men remained vigilant with reasonable suspicion, but she spoke up again.

“Charlize is a person who can’t get along with people like the Foreign Press. She trusts me and let her guard down.”
“If you say so…”

The vassals were curious about Akina’s relationship with Charlize, but she was in no position to ask such a question right now, so she lowered her momentum by retracting her weapon.

“Fufufu. As expected, Akina can communicate with her.”
“Shut up, fairy. In my heart, I want to rip that jaw right away.”
“Kyaaang~ I’m scared~”

Conversation with Charlize would cause a fire, so she decided to ignore it and opened her mouth to the man.

“Then why did you ask us for support? An organization that was trying to keep it secret and not known to the outside world.”
“It’s because there is an entity that must be killed in the Foreign Press Association that we have identified this time.”
“Who is it?”

The man looked around for a moment and mumbled, but Akina’s determined eyes explained him.

“He is the one called Blood Line.”
“Blood line? Are you a Murim?”
“It’s not Murim… It’s not, it’s from a world that uses a strange technique called Taoism.”
“I can understand the other world to some extent, but it’s difficult to understand the place called Moorim.”

Akina shook her head and clicked her tongue softly.

“But why does he have to be killed? Is he serving a special foreign press?”
“In their world, rather than worshiping a god, they try to become a god themselves.”
“Are you trying to become a god yourself? With no followers to serve you… No, you said the rules are different from ours. Is it a problem to become a god in our world?”
“No. He combined the technology of the original world with the prana of our world to create the worst possible outcome.”
“Worst outcome?”

He frowned at him, as if he was too dirty to speak of.

“Crystals are made from humans.”
“What!”
“Using humans as ingredients!?”
“Not only that, but they say you can get some of the talents and abilities of the human beings who became the material.”
“…”

The shocking remark made everyone in the conference room, including Akina, look shocked.

“…Now, are you telling the truth?”
“Yes. This is the information I found out after a lot of sacrifices. It is said that bloodlines have made it a universal technique in the Foreign Press Association.”
“It has already become a universal skill, but if you kill blood lines, you can prevent further development.

Charlize, who always had a mischievous smile, erased her laughter this time and explained seriously.

“I don’t know why the bloodline moved directly, but what is certain is that I cannot miss this opportunity. I would like the Count to lend me the power to block any escape holes at all.”
“Which do you want? An army to build a siege or a small elite?”
“Blood lines can suck the blood of enemies to heal wounds and health, so the army is counterproductive. Please support strong people you can trust.”
“Okay. I’d like to go there myself, but I have to prepare for the Realm of the Dead, so please understand.”
“I didn’t even want to go there.”

Realizing the seriousness of her situation, Akina promised strong support.

“Oh, I just want to check one thing.”
“Yes.”
“Will Charlize join the fight?”
“Yes. This is the essence of the battle.”
“Ehh~? It looks like you’re thinking about something bad, Akina~”
“Shut up.”

Akina, who only skipped the necessary information, began to think about who to send.

‘If Charlize stepped in herself, the worst would be averted. Then…’

She doesn’t like her, but she fights for the worst in advance. If Charlize is there, she has to take advantage of this opportunity.

The sacrifice of the people is a responsibility as a lord, but if you are a noble, you have to make multiple gains with one method.

Especially if it is the future of the family.

*                           *

“Uh… Over there… Yo…”
“What’s going on…”

Kaicent, who was moving on horseback, opened his mouth to a nearby knight.

Normally, she would have responded in plain language to a disparate kid without a title, but since Akina had given her knights a strong warning, she responded with respectful words.

“Why am I the only one traveling alone…?

Having heard the rough situation from Akina, it was understandable to deduce the number of people who subjugated the Foreign Alliance that kidnapped local residents to a small number of elites in order to gain experience for her.

She understood that it would be easy if she rode the griffin, but if she did, she would be caught on the edge of the enemy, so moving to the ground was also understood.

However, Wolf’s mercenary corps follows from behind, and he cannot understand the situation where he moves along with the knights.

“This is the Count’s order.”

But that was the end of the article’s explanation.
At first, he hadn’t even heard of this.

‘Something feels strange.’

She always huddled together with Lillian and the others, and although they were separated like this, Akina felt some kind of unspoken pressure.

As evidence of that, Merencia and Patisha, whom she had met before, were glancing at him.