Chapter 142 – Chapter 15

Charlize, who helped Akina become determined to protect Kaicent, left as soon as the situation calmed down.

Since the limited-class rookies are very active in the East Continent, and the Blood Line is dead in the West Continent, the Foreign Press Association will stop its activities for a while to strengthen its stability, so it is decided to return to the main business.

“The next time I come, I will be treated as a confident guest instead of sneaking like now. Then, let’s talk about ‘overdue talk’. Goodbye, sweetie♥”

She left her meaningful words, and her figure became transparent, completely disappearing.

“From now on, you won’t be able to do your training in front of the knights’ eyes. It’s barely a level with your feet on the edge, but you’ve got the strength of Origin’s level.”

Subsequently, Akina believed that showing the abnormal strength of her Kai Sent to the knights would cause problems, so the future training was to be conducted in a secret gymnasium that only members of the family could use.

“You must be surprised today, so take a break. I’m sorry for letting you experience this.”

After she said that, she stroked Kai Sent’s hair and headed to her office to do her job as her lord.

“Help the child rest.”

Finally, with her words to her daughters to make accommodations so that Kai Sent can rest in peace, she disappears, leaving three people in the destroyed gymnasium.

“Sorry, unnie. I’m not good at things like this.”
“Huh? Huh? Now, wait!”
“Then I’ll leave the rest to you~”

However, Patishia, who is not good at taking care of someone’s convenience or helping her recover her tired mind and body, left her older sister behind her and disappeared in an instant.

Merencia, who had to take on the burden of caring for Kaicent alone, hesitated, not knowing what to do.

“Are you okay.”
“Uh, huh?”
“Akina-sama did it for me. I’m fine, so don’t overdo it.”

Kaicent, who knew that Merencia was a more introverted person than she was, gave her a smile and consideration.

However, it was unthinkable that he would return to normal at once, having had to fight for his life with his mother, who was sowing murder and speculation even from a distance.

As evidence of that, her legs are still shaking and her breathing is unstable.

Actually, my eyes are red from crying until now.

‘To make such a young child care…’

He is of an age where he can whine and get nervous, but he is rather considerate of his older sister who is bigger and older than him.

Convinced that she would hate herself if she continued like this, Merencia calmed her trembling heart.

“Where do you want to go?”
“Yes?”
“My mother told me to take a break today. If there’s anything you want to go or something you like, tell me. I’ll take you anywhere.”

She is a bit harsh on her question, but she doesn’t deny it and starts thinking about something.

“Um… Then… Can I play with Griffin?”
“Griffin?”
“Yes. I like animals.”

She obviously knew that the griffin she remembered was treating her like a monster.

Merencia, who briefly sensed her confusion about her griffin identity, nodded her head, clearing her thoughts.

“Okay. But don’t do anything dangerous. Griffins are smart and proud.”

It was a warning she heard even when she went to play at the kennel, but Kai Sent, who thought it better to show rather than explain, nodded her head obediently.

*                           *

“Uh, why…?”

Upon arriving at the griffin breeding grounds, the griffins who recognized Kaicent approached on their own and began to act aegyo.

“As expected. That kid has the talent to be the best keeper of griffins.”
“My lady. How can I not tell the Count? That child must become a griffin keeper.”
“I’ve been working here for over 30 years, but I’ve never seen the griffins be so friendly.”

The griffin breeders who saw this first insisted that Kaisent should become a griffin breeder.

“Haaaaa~~”

When Kaisent clung to the body of the griffin with the softest feathers, the griffin collapsed on its side in its nest and made it comfortable to lie down.

“Damn it. The prickly guy who flapped his wings to drive me away when I clung to him.”
“You push it away with flapping your wings, and I even pecked it.”

Perhaps the griffin in this kennel was quite picky, the other keepers treated Kai Sent obediently as if they had served her master all her life.

“Thank you. I’ll stay like this for a while.”
“Beep-“

Buried in the giant griffin, Kai Sent smiled as if he liked the feel of her feathers, which were both tough and soft.

“Uh…Wow…”
“Sister, sister, come too.”
“Huh? Me?”
“Yes. Thanks to my sister, I was able to play with the griffins like this.”
“But… Griffins are very wary of anyone other than the zookeeper or owner approaching…”
“Are you okay.”

Merencia, who was admiring how the griffins were obediently treating her, cautiously approached the griffin that Kai Sent was burying in her body.

“Kiki-!”
“I’m sorry…!”
“Shh. Shh. It’s okay. Trust me.”

For some reason, she seemed unfamiliar with the griffin, and as she cringed closer, the griffin holding her Kai Sent half-raised her body and began her wary gestures.

However, when Kai Sent spoke in her soft voice as she stroked her griffin body, she calmly accepted Merencia in her sitting position.

“Unbelievable.”
“To calm the griffin so easily.”

The zookeepers were astonished at the griffin, which sat still without hostility even when the knight, not the owner, approached.

“My sister is Count Akina’s daughter, so doesn’t she have at least one griffin?”
“Uh… That… Didn’t work out…”

She only pretended to be strong in the presence of her other subordinates, and with her timid and introverted personality, she did not satisfy Griffin’s arrogant pride.

In terms of her strength, she was on par with veteran knights, but the griffins could be satisfied only if their masters had not only physical strength but also mental strength.

That’s why Merencia, the first time she had ever come so close to a griffin without any resistance, stroked the griffin’s head.

“…Cute.”

Until now, she had never imagined that the griffin could be this cute, as she felt fear in her eyes as if she was evaluating herself.

‘What happened? I’ve never seen griffins with such pride be so obedient.’

She was told that even a recognized master, as she knew it, would be fussy if she did anything that did not please her in the slightest.

Fortunately, she accepts the reconciliation, but she said that there are cases where it took up to a month to reconcile.

Such a griffin turned into her gentle puppy.

‘There…’

Sensing her intense gaze, she noticed that the other gryphons were watching Kai Sent, wiggling her neck around.

‘Is he jealous right now?’

I can see with her eyes that she wants to run right away, moving her body up and down, but she is holding back.

“Thank you. It was very soft and felt good.”
“Beep-“

When Kai Sent praised her griffin’s feathers, to her surprise, the griffin plucked some of her feathers from her own wings and body with her beak and held them out to her Kai Sent.

“Huh? Are you giving this to me as a gift? Thanks.”
“Beep-beep-“

Kai Sent hugged the face of the griffin who had given her feathers as a gift and stroked her head and beak.

‘I… That… !’
‘A feather… That easy… !’

Griffin feathers are the highest quality material used in blankets and pillows used by wealthy aristocrats and royal families.

Griffin’s feathers grow back after about 20 days once plucked, so it seems easy to get them, but if you try to pluck them out by force, even the owner will attack, so it is common to collect and use feathers that have fallen naturally.

Plucking feathers that even the owner can’t carelessly pluck and give as a gift?

Whether he knew the meaning or not, Kai Sent stroked the griffin’s face, grabbed her feathers, and approached the other griffins.

“Sorry for coming late.”
“Kik-“
“Yeah. That’s nice.”

This time, Kaicent, who hugged and petted all the griffins with enough time left, received so many feathers that he couldn’t lift them with both hands.

“Thanks everyone. I’ll come back later.”
“Beep-“
“Beep-“

Healed by communing with the Griffins, he was able to say goodbye and leave in a good mood.

“Kko, kko, kko, kid!”
“Huh? Why is that?”
“You really are! You must become a keeper of Griffins! This is the first time a Griffin loved a child like you!”

The zookeeper leader couldn’t stand it and begged Kaicent to become a zookeeper again like last time.

“All of them are good kids, so I don’t have to do it, right?”
“No! It’s the first time I’ve ever been so gentle with those guys! Having worked here all my life, I’m kicked here and there depending on how they feel!”
“It’s being cute.”
“Kkeuh~~~! Anyway, you must be a zookeeper! With your talent, you can manage more griffins than this!”

The zookeeper leader, who felt frustrated that he couldn’t understand how bad-tempered the Griffins were, explained how helpful it would be to become a zookeeper.

‘It’s strange. They are very gentle children, why are they like this?’

Kaicent was puzzled by the keepers’ reaction, but Artemis knew why.

‘Thanks to the strength of the lineage that the master possesses, and the soft nature that is close to instinct, the griffins act cutely, but there’s no need to talk about it with the boy.’

If you are conscious of these things, you will not be able to handle the beasts with a pure heart, so the correct answer is not to tell them.

“Ugh~ It’s a nice offer, but I’ll decline it. I have work to do.”
“Is that so… If you say it that way, there’s nothing you can do…”

Witnessing the resolute way of speaking and eyes that had no chance to sting, he realized that no matter how much he suggested it, it was meaningless.

‘It’s not bad to spend time with cute griffins… It’s more important to help Lillian now.’

After half a year, a very important war in Lillian’s life will begin.

Although he was very attracted to a peaceful life away from fighting, he couldn’t abandon the person he loved for it.

‘This kid, according to the keepers’ stories, he was very obsessed with Griffin from the first time he saw him. She doesn’t look like a druid or elf, how is that possible?’

Even though she didn’t use any special magic or abilities, Merencia tilted her head at the sight of Kai Sent, who received a lot of love from the Griffins.

But the doubt did not last long.

“Merencia-sama! You’re here!”
“Keumkeum. What’s going on?”
“This is Akina-sama’s order. He told me to come to the conference hall right now.”
“What? Why?”

One of her knights hastily found her.

The knight directed her eyes toward her outsider Kaicent, but Merencia, who agreed to trust him with Akina, lightly shook her head.

“Okay.”
“But…”
“Because it’s fine.”

The knight flinched at the firm voice and opened his mouth as if resigned.

“This is the cave where the Foreign Press Union was hiding.”
“Did you find something related to the Foreign Press Association?”
“No. That’s…”

The knight looked sideways at Kaicent, but Merencia approached her as if she were protecting Kaicent.

“Dertium has been discovered.”
“!!”
“?”

Unlike Merencia, whose eyes went up in astonishment, Kaicent, who tilted her head, not knowing what it was.

Although he has recently gained a lot of knowledge, he was still lacking in basic common sense because he had been looking for topography first in order to find Dangseolyeong.

“…How much is it?”
“I’ll have to investigate first, but according to what is known so far, it is said to be a month’s worth of mining.”
“It’s a fair amount.”

It’s crazy to build a mine for just one month’s worth of mining, but it’s a different story when it comes to Dertium.

“Okay. Let’s go.”
“I’ll see you.”

Merencia moved along with the knight, sending her apologetic eyes toward Kaicent.

Left alone, he stored the griffin feathers in the dimensional warehouse and headed to the barracks where Lillian was.

“Oh, master.”
“Kaisent. Are you okay?”
“What happened?”
“Yes. Nothing happened.”

It is said that Akina is to protect herself, but it is an undeniable fact that she fought while revealing her life, so she decided to keep her mouth shut for this part.

If that fact is known, it is certain that Lillians will protest against Akina and the problem will grow.

“By the way.”
“Huh?”
“What is dertium?”
“!!”
“Where did you hear that?”

Lillian and Priscilla reacted sensitively to the word dertium.

“I heard that the Foreign Press Association found it in the mountain where it was hiding. It is also said that it is only one month’s worth of mining.”
“1 month…”
“It’s a fair amount.”

As only the two of them made serious faces, Artie stopped her.

“Don’t just understand it, tell the master too.”
“Dertium…Is a mineral used in full-body armor used by knights.”
“You mean the armor that has the ability to become a whole body like a shape memory alloy or only the helmet disappears?”
“Yes. Dertium is a rare metal that changes shape when mana is injected into it, and becomes hard according to the amount of mana injected.”

Having heard this far, I could understand why it was an important mineral.

“Rare metal related to knight’s survivability. It’s almost like a strategic item.”
“That’s right. The dertium mines currently being mined on the continent are only three fingers, so calling them is worth it. But if dertium appears in Count Akina’s territory…”
“Other organisms will be greedy. The history of mankind and the history of war. Wars are driven by greed.”

At Artie’s words, Priscilla shook her head.

“Unlike the lord who received an ordinary territory, there will be no one who tries to invade the territory of the margrave who protects the kingdom from the kingdom of the dead. Besides, everyone has not recovered from the civil war, but Count Akina has a strong army.”
“It can’t be obtained by force, so they’ll try to approach it politically. Perhaps, Count Akina would rather go through trouble enough to have a sequel.”

As Lillian explained afterwards, I was sure that there would be various problems in Marquis.

And her predictions came true.