Chapter 11: How to Raise a Griffin

Chapter 11:
How to Raise a Griffin

 

“MASTER, FELL,” Noela said from behind me on the way back from our herb meadow.

“What fell?” I turned around.

In her arms was an egg. What kind? It beat me. I used my identification skill.

 

Griffin Egg: Fertilized egg of a griffin.

 

“J-just put that back where you found it, all right?!”

“Noela decide, Master!”

“Please don’t say what I think you’re going to say.” I gulped. I had a sinking feeling.

“Noela raise!”

“Nothing good’s going to come of that. Quit while you’re ahead.”

“Noela feed. Walk.”

“You know for a fact Mina will end up having to care for it.”

Noela shook her head. “Not Mina! Noela responsible. For sure.”

“Really?”

A werewolf who wants to raise a griffin. Hunh. Would that be okay? Am I sure she won’t decide it looks tasty and eat it instead?

“It’s all well and good to announce that you’re raising the thing, but looking after a living creature isn’t easy,” I protested. “We don’t even know what griffins eat.”

Noela pouted as I criticized her plan. This wasn’t the first time she’d gone on about wanting a pet; she’d said that countless times about cats and dogs. However, a griffin was definitely one step too far. If it matured and went feral on us, the Red Cat Brigade would probably need to step in and kill it. Noela and her griffin versus peacekeeping mercenaries… I really don’t want to see that showdown.

“Monsters are dangerous, Noela,” I added. “I mean, sure—if everyone were as strong and fast as you, we wouldn’t need to be scared. But…”

“Arroo!” Noela frowned, turning her face away.

I’ve clearly upset her, but did I really have a choice?

“Won’t be!” she insisted. “Noela raise so not dangerous!”

“Where’s all this confidence of yours coming from?” I sighed heavily. Jeez.

We didn’t even know whether the egg would hatch in the first place. I guess a griffin that got used to humans might be tamable, though. My knowledge of monsters was limited, which meant I should take this little argument to someone who understood more.

I returned to the drugstore with Noela, who held the egg carefully.

“Doctor! Noela! Welcome back!” Ejil greeted us right away. “Good work gathering herbs today!”

“Hi. Thanks for watching the store.”

“No problem at all! It was easy as pie compared to destroying the world!”

I’d hope so. Talk about a ridiculous comparison.

Noela also acknowledged Ejil. “Noela home.”

“Y-you’re greeting me too?!”

Yeah, because I drilled into her that that’s only proper. “Hey, Ejil, I’ve got a question for you.”

“What is it, Doctor?”

“Is it possible to domesticate griffins?”

“Talk about a random question. Why do you ask?”

“Well…”

When I glanced at Noela, Ejil spotted the egg. “Ah, I get it.” He nodded several times. “Eggs are scrumptious!”

Noela’s eyebrows twitched strongly enough that I noticed.

“That’s not the point,” I replied. “I’m asking whether someone could raise a pet griffin.”

“They taste better when they’re younger. Very tender.”

Noela’s rage continued to build steadily. The only reason she hadn’t done anything to Ejil was that she held the egg. Good work, egg. Still, she cracked her tail against the floor like a whip.

“What about keeping a griffin as a familiar or something? As demon king, you’d know a lot about familiars, right?”

“Oh.” Ejil broke into laughter. “No, that definitely wouldn’t happen! Griffins never get attached to people.”

Seriously?

In a flash, all of Noela’s agitation and excitement vanished completely. Whoosh. I didn’t think she’d ever looked so anguished.

“Really, Ejil? I can totally picture demons using griffins as familiars. Riding on their backs and stuff.”

“We use small dragons called dracos for that. They can be a bit wild, but they’re usually loyal and obedient.”

According to Ejil, raising a griffin was fine and dandy. It was keeping a mature griffin that was difficult.

“Most griffins abandon their eggs. Individual griffins grow up alone, so they’re kind of automatically solitary… They don’t like people.”

“They basically see everyone around them as enemies, huh?”

“Exactly. Supposedly, griffins can fly and run on all fours so they can hunt food more easily.” Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to survive on their own. “Young griffins mostly eat insects and the like. That said, they grow quickly. After about two months, they’re already as large as adult humans. They’re also bright. That’s another reason they’re difficult to keep as familiars. Once they decide they’re superior to their trainer, it’s all over.”

“You’re a real monster specialist, Ejil.”

“No, Doctor, I’m but a humble demon king.”

I forgot who’s supposed to be learning about griffins here, I realized, turning to Noela. “Did you hear that, Noela?”

“Groo…” She wore a sad expression.

I stroked her head gently. “Has your army ever hatched and raised a griffin, Ejil?”

“Well, first of all, griffin eggs aren’t guaranteed to hatch. Even if they do, baby griffins are difficult to care for. So…no, actually.” The monster expert was giving us nothing but reasons not to try raising a griffin.

Griffins, Ejil added, basically combined the strengths of tigers and eagles. Their powerful wings let their massive, horse-sized feline frames fly. Since griffins had eagle’s faces, they also possessed broad, long-range vision.

“They sound tough.”

“Yes, they are. They can’t beat monsters that specialize solely in air or ground fighting, but they’re good at detecting enemies, and their strength and mobility make them formidable all-rounders.”

It frankly sounded like a griffin would be a super cool—and extremely useful—familiar. Plus, my Translator DX would let us talk with a griffin. That’d solve a lot of issues.

Well, I’d need to make some more Translator DX—I don’t actually have any in stock. But that’s irrelevant.

“How long until this egg hatches, do you think?” I asked Ejil. Noela looked up.

“I couldn’t say. Sorry.”

“Aren’t you the monster professor?”

“How many times must I tell you, Doctor? I’m the demon king.”

I left the drugstore to Ejil. Back in the lab, I sorted the herbs Noela and I had gathered.

“Master?”

“I know. Let’s see how Mina feels about the griffin egg, considering what Ejil told us.”

Noela’s eyes sparkled. “Noela take good care for sure, Master!”

“I know, I know. Let’s just hope your determination sways Mina.”

We wouldn’t be able to confine the griffin to the backyard. We certainly couldn’t keep it outside the drugstore either—to the average passerby, it’d look like a wild animal.

All right. We can cross that bridge after we get Mina’s permission and the griffin hatches. There were just so many cons to letting Noela keep the egg. If there was a single ray of hope, it was that none of us were sure if we could tame a griffin we raised from day one.

“Could you go get Mina?”

“’Kay.” Holding the griffin egg carefully, Noela exited the lab. She soon brought Mina back with her.

“What is it, Mr. Reiji?” Mina asked.

I glanced at the large egg Noela held. “You probably already know what this is about.”

Mina forced a smile. “Um…I suppose so.”

“She really seems determined this time.”

Noela was kneeling, a stubborn but peaceful expression on her face. She honestly looked like the kind of dependable person you’d want as captain of your sports team.

I filled Mina in on everything Ejil said, adding that the griffin egg was, in fact, fertilized. “If we raise it, it’ll cause nothing but problems,” I concluded.

After thinking quietly for a bit, Mina spoke. “On the other hand, look at me. People normally run away from ghosts, but you let me stay here with you.”

It wasn’t like Mina was some evil spirit. She was friendly, and we could communicate with her. Plus, she did chores. Maybe raising a griffin is doable?

“Mina agree?”

“I can at least tell that you’re serious about this,” Mina giggled, glancing at Team Captain Noela.

“Fine,” I said. “Let’s give this a shot.”

“Isn’t that great, Noela?”

The little fluffball nodded rapidly and handed Mina the egg. She trotted over and jumped on me. “Master!”

I gave her a big hug, enjoying her softness for a moment. “Let’s do everything we can to raise this baby griffin right.”

“Garrooooo!”

 

***

 

We started by keeping the softball-sized griffin egg warm. Noela watched it constantly.

I had close to zero experience caring for animals. If I were forced to pick something from the past that counted, then as an elementary schooler, I’d looked after the class pet—a green turtle—once a week. I never had a cat or dog at home, though.

“We should keep the egg warm, right?” I asked Mina.

She simply gave me a blank smile. “L-Let’s just do our best.”

“Fair enough. Have you ever had a pet?”

“I once told my parents I wanted a kitten, like Noela used to. But they never said yes.”

I guess everyone’s experienced that kind of disappointment.

Noela had an idea. She quickly spread a towel on the floor and then placed the egg on top, resting her warm tail over it like a blanket. “This warm, Master!”

“It sure is.”

“When egg hatch?”

“Beats me. Hopefully soon.”

“Garroo!”

According to Ejil, griffins were solitary. If griffin parents normally lay eggs and then abandon them, shouldn’t this egg hatch just fine without us?

Mina, Noela, and I had no idea what the right approach to hatching the griffin egg was. For days, we tried various strategies. We put the egg in sunlight during the day, and Noela wrapped her tail around it at night. Outside her work hours, she spent every waking moment with the egg.

 

***

 

“Master! Master!”

“Ugh…what’s up?”

Noela was in my bedroom, egg in hand, shaking me awake. “Sound inside!”

“Oh…awesome.”

“Hatch now!”

“It’s not going to hatch just because it’s making noise…I don’t think.”

It was still pitch-black outside. As I rubbed my eyes, I heard a noise from the egg.

“Garroo! Now, now, now! Master!”

“I-I heard it, I heard it. That sounded like something hitting the inside of the eggshell.”

“Yeah! Hatch!”

“I’m telling you, it probably won’t hatch yet.”

I tried to get back to sleep, but I kept hearing the egg. Whenever it made noise, Noela smacked and pulled at me, waking me up. The whole “sleep” thing wasn’t happening; each time Noela freaked out, it got harder to nod off.

“You’re on drugstore duty tomorrow morning, right, Noela?” I reminded her. “If you don’t get to sleep, you’ll be exhausted during your shift.”

“Fine! Sleepy no problem!”

“Well, it’s a problem for me.”

In the morning, Noela rocked unsteadily back and forth, exhausted. “Groo…”

Peck! Peck! PECK!

Those were definitely the loudest noises the egg had made so far. Is…is it actually about to hatch? I shook Noela. “Hey, Noela! Hey!”

The werewolf girl didn’t respond; she was fast asleep. “You’ve conked out now, of all times?!”

Peck! PECK!

The sounds continued, until…

CRACK!

A crack formed in the eggshell.

“For real?” I mumbled.

Then, a yellow beak popped through the crack. The eggshell fell away bit by bit as the creature within poked its face out. It had soft-looking gray down and round black eyes. “Caaaw…”

“It hatched?!”

“Kyuu!” The baby griffin pecked away the rest of the shell, revealing its body. It was about the size of my palm, with small wings on its back. Its catlike feet had avian talons rather than hooves. The creature tried to stand on all four short legs but fell on its little butt.

“I-It’s adorable.”

“Kyuu…”

You’re not supposed to help baby birds with this kind of thing. I know the little thing needs to learn to stand on its own. But, dear God, do I want to give it a hand!

The baby griffin toppled over repeatedly. After about twenty minutes, though, it finally managed to stand proudly on all fours. It was doing its best, but its legs trembled.

“Back on Earth, I’d be recording every second of this on my phone,” I whispered.

I gathered that griffins learned to stand and move quickly—like herbivores—since they usually hatched alone. “Hey, Noela. Wake up.”

“Groo…?”

I gave her a hard shake, finally waking her. “Look! It hatched.”

“H-hatched? Hatched! Hatched…?!” She cocked her head, puzzling it out. “Master, when? When?!”

“Just a few seconds ago. I tried to wake you, but…”

Noela watched the creature on the bed carefully, almost like a cat stalking its prey. Eventually, the baby griffin started walking slowly, its legs still unsteady.

Pitter… Patter… Pitter… Thonk!

“Groo! Fell! Help up!”

I grabbed Noela as she rushed to help the small bird stand. “Hold your horses. It’s trying really hard to walk on its own.”

“What Griffy drink?”

“Griffy?” Oh…that’s what she’s naming it. “I have no clue what baby griffins drink. Maybe water?”

“Noela get water!”

“Calm down, fluffball.”

The baby griffin cawed as it walked around my bedroom, falling down over and over. “It’s so cute,” I muttered. I’m not sure I’ll ever get tired of watching this.

“Groo… Cute.”

Noela slowly approached the baby griffin, wrapping her tail around it gently. It looked startled, but as it began to appreciate her cozy tail, its eyelids grew heavy. It blinked more and more slowly until it fell asleep.

“Dang. Your tail’s dangerous.”

“Food, Master.”

“Mina will probably make breakfast soon.”

“No! For Griffy!”

“Oh, right.”

I remembered Ejil telling me that baby griffins ate bugs. “Grasshoppers or locusts should do the trick. Can you get some, Noela?”

Noela stared at me with her best team-captain expression. Whoa. She already looks like a pet owner.

“Noela hate bugs.”

What the heck?! She only looks the part! “You just need to catch some with a net. No big deal.”

“Groo…” Noela was clearly uncomfortable with that idea.

“It’s for the baby griffin.”

“Noela watch Griffy. Master get bugs!”

Why, you…! “Have you never gone bug catching?”

“Noela no eat bugs.”

“That’s not really the point.” I personally thought bug catching was fun. Since Noela hated insects, though, I figured there was nothing fun about it from her perspective. Too bad. “All you need is the three sacred tools—a net, a cage, and a straw hat.”

“Groo! Griffy awake!”

“Are you even listening to me?!” Whatever.

I left the lab, heading to our small backyard. It was completely clear, thanks to the Weed Soul X we used the other day. “Which means…no bugs.”

After hunting ten whole minutes, I came up with zilch. This was going to be a problem. I can’t spend time out here every day bug catching.

Noela trotted over.

“Are you going to help?” I asked.

“Mina angry.”

“How come?”

“Ask, ‘Noela pushing chores on Mr. Reiji already?’ Scary face.”

Yeah, Mina’s expression must’ve been terrifying. “Want to catch bugs together, then?”

“’Kay… Noela do best.”

Atta girl.

“We’ll need a quicker way to do this,” I told Noela as we got to work. “We have to watch the drugstore and look after Griffy in our spare time. We can’t afford to catch bugs out here all day.”

“What plan?”

“Well, we don’t need to find insects here in the yard. If we attract them someplace nearby, that’ll solve the problem.”

“Groo?”

It was the crack of dawn, but I was about to create a new product. Oh well. “I’m going to make a bug lure. I’m counting on your help, Noela.”

“L-Leave to me.”

She sure looks delighted…not.

I entered the lab. Noela came in a moment later, carrying Griffy in her hands. As we started working, we watched the tiny baby griffin, who still couldn’t walk quite right.

I already had some lure in stock, but that stuff would cause a giant panic by attracting monsters and beasts. “I need something that specifically lures bugs,” I murmured.

I gazed at Griffy occasionally, but with Noela’s help, I managed to finish the prototype as the sun rose.

 

Bug Gel: All-in-one beetle/bug/insect lure.

 

Perfect. Now we can get Griffy some grub.

Noela was watching Griffy carefully when Mina came in, hearing our voices. “Good morning! Is this little Griffy?”

“Griffy hatch!” Noela showed Mina the small griffin on her palm.

“So, a griffin’s a four-legged bird?”

“According to Professor Monster, it’ll be an adult human’s size in about two months.”

“Goodness! That’s certainly fast.”

Yup. Sure is.

A baby griffin trotting around the house was fine and dandy. When Griffy got bigger, though, we wouldn’t be able to keep it inside, and certainly not in the backyard. Still, Mina and Noela were mesmerized by Griffy, which made me want to ensure that this worked out.

“There’s got to be something I can do,” I mumbled. If Griffy will be an adult human’s size in two months, then in one month, it’ll probably be the size of a big dog. “So, I’ve got to come up with a plan in a month.”

Mina left to make breakfast, and I dragged Noela outdoors to use the bug gel. Of course, Noela brought the cawing Griffy along. I doubted she planned ever to leave the little one alone.

I spread bug gel here and there. “Griffy’s food should come to us now.” I would return tonight or tomorrow morning.

“Master, Griffy hungry.”

“You can tell?”

“Noela hungry.”

“So, you’re saying you don’t actually know.”

We headed back into the lab, and I decided to give the “hungry” Griffy some water. I brought a water droplet on the end of an eyedropper to the baby griffin’s mouth. Griffy cocked its head and opened its tiny beak, revealing its short tongue. It licked the water droplet.

“It’s working!”

“Noela give too, Master!”

I showed her how to use the eyedropper to create a water droplet, and we switched places. She did as I instructed, managing to get Griffy to drink.

“Next! Next!” Noela squealed, excited.

She tried to give Griffy more water, but its thirst seemed quenched after the second droplet. It didn’t even look at the eyedropper anymore.

Noela was disappointed; her shoulders slumped. “Griffy hate Noela, Master.”

Whoa. Noela’s heartbroken—she’s on the verge of tears. “Nah. You just gave it too much water. Wait a while, and I’m sure Griffy will happily drink more.”

“Arroo… ’Kay.”

And so, Noela’s pet-raising struggles began.

While eating the breakfast Mina had prepared, she tried to feed Griffy some scrambled eggs. “Mina’s eggs. Tasty. Eat!”

Griffy turned away, uninterested.

“Looks like bugs really are the only option,” I observed.

“Griffy hate Noela, Master.”

“How many times have I told you? Baby griffins eat bugs.”

Mina watched, smiling.

Vivi dropped in later, since she had a shift today. “Morning!”

I couldn’t tell whether Noela heard Vivi arrive, but she scooped Griffy up in both hands and trotted into the drugstore. When she saw the lake spirit, she exclaimed, “Vivi, look!”

“Aaah!” Vivi shrieked. “It hatched!”

Noela had been holding on to the egg for days, so all the drugstore employees—and even the regular customers—were aware of the thing.

“Kyuu! Kyuu!” Griffy chirped.

“Li’l Kyuu,” Vivi whispered.

“No, Vivi. Griffy.”

“Huh? ‘Griffy’ is super dull. ‘Kyuu’ is way cuter!”

“Vivi bad at naming.”

“Says you!”

You’re both bad at naming pets.

Mina listened from inside the house, a smile on her face. “Things are going to get lively around here.”

“I’ll have to talk to Professor Monster about what to do when Griffy gets bigger.”

“It’s such a shame,” Mina said. “Ejil can be quite helpful when he wants to. Yet…”

“I know. He’s pretty well informed.” Still, my overall impression of Ejil—that he was one pathetic demon king—hadn’t really changed since we met. I guess I can depend on him to be consistent in that sense. Him and Vivi, actually.

“If Ejil just toned down the things he says and does by, like, 50 percent, Noela might actually look his way,” I added.

“Well, I doubt Noela’s paying Ejil any thought now. She’s totally focused on Griffy.”

“Good point.”

After breakfast, drinking my morning mug of black potion, I heard Vivi and Noela talking in the drugstore. I’m fine with a little chitchat, but you two are working, right?

I peeked in. As I expected, the girls were arguing about Griffy.

“Hey!” I called. “What’s with the racket? You better be done getting ready to open.”

“Ah! Reiji! Noela’s being a party pooper!”

“Here we go.”

“No, Master! Vivi pooper!”

This must be how it feels to teach preschool. “Calm down. First off, are you done getting ready to open the—”

“Noela won’t let me touch Kyuu!”

“Not Kyuu, Vivi! Griffy.”

“How many times do I have to tell you that ‘Griffy’ isn’t a cute n—”

“Who cares?!” I yelled.

The baby griffin trotted around the drugstore, looking at the products with fascination. Cool as a cucumber.

“You shouldn’t touch Griffy too much in the first place,” I added. “Leave it alone.”

“How come?!” they both cried. Then the pair “realized” something. “Oh!”

“Master want Griffy for self!”

“You don’t want me to touch Griffy because I’m not human!”

“You’re both wrong! God, you two are such pains!”

“Noela care for Griffy!”

“Can’t you let me pet it a little?”

“Master!”

“Reiji!”

They were clamoring all over again. They hadn’t even restocked the shelves, and the store shutter was only halfway open.

Hearing the ruckus, Mina popped in. She smiled, but there was a chilling darkness to her expression. “Noela, looking after Griffy is all well and good, but don’t you have other chores to deal with first?”

“Groo?!” Noela froze like a deer in headlights.

“And you, Vivi. Did you come to the drugstore to play around?”

“N-no. I’m…h-here to work.” Like Noela, Vivi stiffened.

“Then let’s get to work, shall we?”

“’K-kay.”

“R-right.”

Noela and Vivi started doing their jobs. I apologized to Mina with my eyes. As the drugstore owner, I really should’ve been the one chastising the staff. Mina, however, simply smiled and headed back into the house.

 

***

 

The workday ended without trouble, and Vivi waited in the drugstore while Mina made dinner. She must really want to see Griffy eat.

After closing the store, I headed outside to see whether we attracted any bugs. “You have the equipment, Noela?”

“Yup!”

Noela carried the three sacred bug-catching tools—a straw hat, a net, and a cage. She was ready to rock and roll.

Doesn’t she supposedly hate bugs? I guess people really do mature when they have a goal. I gazed at Noela, nodding in a fatherly way.

It only took a moment to figure out where we’d placed the gel earlier. There were tons of insects—bugs, beetles, everything imaginable.

Noela hesitated and then quietly pulled her straw hat over her eyes. “N-Noela…see nothing.”

I didn’t have an issue with creepy-crawlies, but even I could barely handle this many. At the end of the day, though, we had no choice. Griffy needed food.

“G-get the net ready, Noela.” Like a surgeon working with a nurse, I had Noela hand me the bug net without even looking at her.

“Groo.”

“Oof!” Focusing, I swung the net downward toward the bugs. Pulling the net toward me, I checked inside. “Hey, Noela! Check it out! It’s a Hercules beetle!”

“Her cue leez?” She tipped her hat up to peek at the creature.

“You’ve never seen one?” I pulled the beetle out of the net and showed her.

“Groo?! It…cool!” Noela’s eyes suddenly sparkled.

“Right?”

We wound up catching two Hercules beetles and three crickets to take back and feed Griffy.

After Noela and I got home, it was chow time. Feeding Griffy by hand might help with the whole “taming” thing, I thought. With that in mind, I put some crickets in my palm and presented them to Griffy.

The baby griffin inspected the crickets curiously before seemingly deciding that they were, in fact, food. It thrust its beak forward, pecking my hand a few times.

Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

“Ow!”

Mina covered Noela’s and Vivi’s eyes. “Y-you mustn’t look!”

“Can’t see, Mina!”

“Seriously! What’re you doing?!”

I understood; this might’ve been a little too shocking for the kids. As Griffy munched, a cricket leg momentarily poked out from its beak. Then the insect vanished into the baby griffin’s gullet.

Noela and Vivi kept complaining loudly.

“Why cover eyes?!”

“Yeah! I wanted to see Griffy eat!”

Mina glanced at me. “Despite how cute it is, Griffy’s certainly a monster.”

“Yeah, totally.” The baby griffin showed those insects no mercy. I should make sure the bugs are easier to eat next time and avoid this gory sight.

 

***

 

Instead of feeding Griffy the beetles we caught raw, I added them to some dumplings. Mina came up with the idea. Frankly, it made me want to give her a Nobel Prize.

Noela set down a plate with two dumplings in front of Griffy. “Bug dumplings!”

I personally thought that sounded pretty gross, so I started calling them something else. “There you go, Griff. Today’s meatballs.”

The dough balls full of beetles were round and white, like moon-viewing dumplings. Still, if you put sauce on them and roasted them, they also looked like meatballs. That said, they were 70 percent bug meat inside. Not realizing that, Noela—hungry as always—tried to eat one; I stopped her immediately.

Griffy pecked at the meatballs. The baby griffin had hatched about a week ago. It was a tiny bit bigger, and we let it wander around outside the house under Noela’s supervision. Whenever someone passed by, Noela ranted about how wonderful Griffy was, so our regulars were already used to the little critter.

I was still keeping Griffy secret from Annabelle, though. There was a good chance she’d see the griffin as a threat to Kalta and chase it off.

I was chatting with Paula as usual when she demanded, “Is keeping a pet griffin doable, Rei Rei?”

“I can’t say for sure. I’m brainstorming ways to handle it, though.”

Mina forced a smile as she brought us tea.

“Noela was in charge of watching our little companion at first, but now we all take care of Griffy.”

“I can see why,” Paula replied. “After all, it’s sure cute.”

“Right?” I agreed. “It can’t fly yet, but sometimes it flaps its little wings.”

“Aw! I want to see that.”

“It’s adorable,” Mina said cheerfully.

“It’ll be horse-sized eventually, right? That’s kind of scary.”

“Of course an adult griffin would look scary,” I replied. “They have the same sharp eyes as birds of prey too.”

“I wish Griffy could keep its big, round brown eyes,” Mina said with a sigh.

However, Griffy grew even larger. It was about the size of a chicken now, so it was too big to call a baby. Still, it had soft, fluffy down, like when it hatched.

“If only Griffy would stay nice and tiny,” Paula said.

“No, Paula!” Mina protested. “It’s all about the big, round eyes!”

Stay nice and tiny… Big, round eyes… I hesitated.

“What’s the matter, Mr. Reiji?”

“Er…nothing.”

On Earth, lots of pets were crossbred to make them easier to look after. Toy poodles, for example, were far smaller than regular poodles. What about a toy griffin? I mused. Problem is, Griffy already hatched.

“I’ve been wondering about this for a while,” I interjected. “Uh…is Griffy a girl?”

“I wonder!” Mina replied.

“Is that really important, Rei Rei? As long as Griffy’s cute, what does it matter?”

“You’re right, I guess. Cuteness is crucial.”

“Kyuu! Kyuu!” Griffy cawed outside.

I heard wings flapping, along with Noela’s voice. “Little more!”

Noela was cheering the tiny griffin on. According to Professor Monster, Griffy would start flying about two months after it hatched.

“Hmm,” I murmured. I mean, I could create a product to keep pets small and easy to look after. But would that really be right? I’d ask how everyone else felt after I thought it over.

Yesterday, I’d taken some Translator DX and tried to talk to Griffy, but its cawing hadn’t sounded like anything but bird calls. In other words, Griffy wasn’t mature enough for thought transference.

“Professor Monster said griffins don’t like people…but Griffy’s definitely attached to us, right?” I asked Mina. Even if it wasn’t, the young griffin definitely wasn’t afraid of us.

“I’d say so,” she replied. “Maybe because we feed it?”

If you cared for a griffin, you could apparently keep it tame and docile, like a zoo animal. Still, our resident monster expert had said that hatching and procuring food alone gave baby griffins solitary personalities.

Griffy was a far cry from alone, though. Mina, Noela, and I—and, when we weren’t around, Vivi—fed the small griffin. I’d say we’ve kept Griffy from growing up solitary.

Paula rushed outside. “Let me join in! I want to play with Griffy too!” These days, visitors often watched Noela play with Griffy or even petted the little griffin themselves.

“Griffy’s flying practice!” Noela replied.

“That’s a thing?”

“Groo!”

“Griffy might be getting used to people,” I pointed out to Mina.

“Yes, that’s true.”

“I doubt it’d attack someone.” I’d be glad if our neighbors and Annabelle reached the same conclusion about Griffy. However, Mina tilted her head, unsure. “Looks like we’ll have to build Griffy a stable,” I added.

“Oh! Absolutely.”

I better schedule that with Gaston. “There’s a lot we need to take care of.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“But you know what? Since Griffy hatched, things have gotten fun around here.”

“Agreed,” Mina giggled. I smiled in return.

I heard a carriage pull up in front of the drugstore. The door opened, and Elaine made her presence known. “I’ve arrived!”

Through the window, I watched her signature drill-like curls sway as she took her butler’s hand, disembarking gracefully.

“Drills,” Noela greeted her.

“Good day, Noela. Griffy’s sure gotten big!” Elaine chattered with the two girls outside the house, eventually entering the drugstore. “Good day, Sir Reiji, Mina.”

“G-good day.” Mina returned Elaine’s greeting awkwardly.

If saying “good day” is that embarrassing, she should just say “hello” the normal way.

“Hey,” I called. “Did you see how big Griffy got?”

“I did! Griffy’s truly growing like a weed!” Elaine strolled behind the counter to sit beside me. However, Mina quickly stepped between us.

“Wh-what is it, Mina?”

“I don’t see any reason you need to sit next to Mr. Reiji.”

Swish. Swish. Swish. The two girls began a strange strategy game, shuffling aggressively around each other.

What’re they even doing?

“It’d be nice if Lord Valgas gave official permission for Griffy to live in Kalta,” I suggested to Elaine. “I mean, pretty much everyone’s helping to raise it at this point. We’re all attached.”

“I discussed Griffy with Father the first time I laid eyes on it, Sir Reiji,” Elaine replied.

“Wait—really? What’d he say?”

“Nothing much. All he really said was, ‘Sir Reiji sure gets into some strange hobbies. Ha ha ha!’”

“Is that so…?” Lord Valgas might react more strongly when he saw Griffy all grown up. This would be so much easier if I were a beast tamer. I could teach Griffy tricks and stuff.

“Wait!” I exclaimed. “Maybe I can?!” With the Translator DX, I might be able to show the townspeople that Griffy was a safe pet monster who listened to Noela and I, and that the young griffin’s flight and combat abilities would protect Kalta. “That might just work!”

“What’re you thinking, Sir Reiji?” Elaine looked over, gently pushing aside Mina, who was still jostling her defensively.

“I bet I’ve come up with a good—”

Noela rushed into the store. “Master! Bad news!”

“What’s up?!”

“Griffy not eat bug dumplings!”

“Meatballs, you mean. Meatballs. For real, though?”

“Super real. Biggest real.”

Ejil had said something about only young griffins eating bugs. I figured refusing the beetle meatballs more or less proved that Griffy was growing, which made me want to smile proudly. At the same time, if Griffy got as big as a horse, its food would wind up costing a ton.

“Ah!” I exclaimed. “If I combine two products—the irresistible tuna scent and the lure…” Time is of the essence, and I’m not sure what Griffy wants to eat. So, I’ll just ensure it grows into a griffin that likes everything!

“Evil face, Master.”

“Noela’s right, Sir Reiji. You have a villainous expression!”

“When did you fall from grace, Mr. Reiji?”

Without answering, I headed to the lab.

The aroma of the lure I made before attracted monsters using pheromones; it didn’t whet their appetites. Meanwhile, the irresistible tuna scent was meant solely for cats. I fused the two products as best I could, creating something entirely new.

“Heh heh heh… Griffy won’t snub this!”

 

Monster Seasoning: Irresistible to monsters. Monsters will devour any food seasoned with this product.

 

I sprinkled some of the prototype on the bug dumplings—aka meatballs—Noela said Griffy wouldn’t eat.

When I brought the dish into the drugstore, the werewolf girl reacted first, cocking her head. Sniff! Sniff! She traced the new scent in the room.

“I combined our lure with the irresistible tuna scent,” I explained to the girls. “That made a new product that gives off an aroma monsters lo—”

Leaping up, Noela tried to steal the meatballs.

“Whoa! Hey!” I twisted into a pretzel, avoiding her hands. “These aren’t for you!”

Noela stared at the “meatballs” I held. “Smell good…”

I guess the lure works on Noela, like the repellent. “There’re bugs in these.”

“No way. Master never fool Noela.”

I hadn’t expected Noela of all people to act like this, considering how the bugs grossed her out before. These were the exact same “meatballs” Griffy ate, but she already totally forgot that.

“The nose works in mysterious ways,” I muttered. Heck, once I get a whiff of curry, I could eat a horse. This must be similar.

As I paused, arriving at that explanation of sorts, Noela swiped the meatballs from me.

“Hey! Wait!”

She ignored me completely, bringing a meatball to her mouth. “Groo…?”

“I told you! There’re bugs in them.” I saw something red and brown poking out of the dough.

As Noela noticed the cricket leg, her fur stood on end. “Arroo! Master trick Noela?!”

“Uh-uh. Split it open.”

Noela carefully cracked the meatball in half. Of course, there were crickets inside. The werewolf girl froze, expressionless. “Tasty? Bug flavor? Tasty…bug?”

Realizing that the delicious-smelling meatball contained bugs, she began to panic. Mina and Paula stood off to the side, giggling.

“I’ll go give those to Griffy,” Mina volunteered. I handed her the plate, and she headed outside.

Noela was repeating the words “tasty bug” to herself, frozen in place.

“That’s right. Every yummy thing you’ve ever eaten was full of bugs,” Paula whispered to her.

I smacked the tool shop owner’s head. “Knock it off.”

Noela seemed to take Paula’s dumb lie seriously. She fell silent, unable to bear the shock.

Claiming she remembered something she had to do, Paula went home. “Later!”

Talk about irresponsible. I picked up the motionless werewolf girl and carried her to the living room sofa. “You’re just having a bad dream, Noela.”

At the same time, I heard Elaine’s and Mina’s excited voices outside.

“L-Look at it go!”

“It wouldn’t even glance at that food before!”

Huh? Sounds like that monster seasoning did the trick. I supposed that, if the seasoning had fooled even bug-hating Noela into stealing beetle meatballs, it must be pretty effective.

I grabbed a potion bottle from the drugstore, opened it, and had Noela sniff it. “This is a tasty potion, Noela. Come back to us.”

She grabbed the bottle and chugged it. “Garroo,” she cooed happily, then fell asleep with a relieved expression. I placed a blanket over her and made my way outside. Then I heard the madness.

Thunk! Thunk! Crunch! Crunch!

Griffy was pecking the meatballs, devouring them with insane vigor.

“Griffy’s eating a whole lot, Mr. Reiji!”

“Phew. I’m glad the monster seasoning works so well.” If it only affected Noela, it would have been pointless.

“Sir Reiji, I had a stroke of genius while watching little Griffy,” Drills informed me.

“Do tell.”

“What if you made a product that did the opposite of the monster seasoning?”

“Hmm?”

“Well, those bug meatballs smell good to Griffy now, don’t they? What if you made a product to add to things Griffy shouldn’t eat? Some sort of unappealing scent? That way, you can teach Griffy what food’s all right and what isn’t.”

Since adult griffins were omnivores, Elaine was suggesting we use scents to teach Griffy what it couldn’t eat from a young age. “Heck of an idea, Drills.”

“Hooray! Sir Reiji praised me!” I patted Elaine’s head; she closed her eyes happily.

“Ahem! Mr. Reiji, don’t forget that I came up with the meatball system,” Mina interjected.

“Huh? Oh, right. Of course.”

“Wasn’t that a good idea?” She was smiling, but it was putting me under immense pressure.

“Of course…ma’am.” I can’t believe she got me to call her that.

Mina trotted over and tilted her golden hair toward me. Oh, I get it. I patted her head as I had Elaine’s a second ago. Mina fell completely silent, her happy face relaxing. Glad I got the answer right.

I had a feeling Elaine’s idea would be incredibly important when it came to coexisting with a griffin. If Griffy grew into a calm beast that listened to people—specifically, Noela and me—and didn’t eat livestock or humans, there’d be no need to make a treatment to stunt its growth. Whether training Griffy went well would depend entirely on us.

Griffy cooed and chirped adorably at Mina, who held the dish of meatballs. It looked like the tiny griffin wanted seconds.

“Here you are, little one,” said Mina.

As soon as she put the plate down, Griffy started eating ravenously. “Kyuu! Kyuu…”

Jeez. Just watching the griffin munch happily made me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

 

***

 

The next day, Ejil had a shift at the drugstore.

“What kind of food should I not feed a griffin, Professor Monster?” I asked.

“‘Professor’? I’m the demon ki—eh, whatever. What do you mean?”

I explained that I wanted to teach Griffy what it should and shouldn’t eat so it wouldn’t misbehave.

“I see,” Ejil replied. “Not a bad idea at all. The question is whether limiting a griffin’s diet will allow it to grow properly.”

“Exactly,” I agreed. “Darn… I guess there’re things even the good monster professor doesn’t know?”

I flashed Ejil a hopeful glance, and he lit up like his day in the sun had arrived at last. “Doctor, I’m the demon king! I make the impossible possible!”

Well, doesn’t he sound cool.

“My army’s draco tamer is familiar with raising monsters. I asked them some questions!”

He’s acting like an authority based on someone else’s advice? Ah, whatever. Any input helps.

“Omnivores can easily eat fish as well as meat, you know,” Ejil informed me. “That said, preparing fish for all of Griffy’s meals wouldn’t be easy. Kalta isn’t too close to a seaport.”

Exactly. We didn’t have the technology to freeze food; the fish sold in town was mostly dried. And since shipping from the seaport was expensive, fish sometimes ended up pricier than meat.

I nodded, and Ejil continued. “Also, it’s not quite accurate that young griffins only eat insects. Griffins are omnivores from birth. However, baby griffins need to eat bugs because they can’t fly or move quickly yet.”

“So, adult griffins could still eat bugs?”

“Correct. Griffins stop eating bugs when they mature because they can catch better food.” If a griffin could hunt while flying in the sky or running on land, there was no reason for it to eat insects.

We did have evidence that Griffy could still eat bugs, since it ate the beetle meatballs. According to Noela, Griffy was growing out of those, but it was probably annoyed that we were feeding it bugs even though it was getting older. Greediness, basically.

Still, I was betting that—for an adult griffin—the amount of food in the meatballs was nowhere near enough.

“You could just keep feeding Griffy bugs,” Ejil said, “but I doubt it’d get the nutrients it needs. It might end up weaker than wild griffins.”

“I want to avoid having to stunt its growth.”

“Which means meat.”

Meat that’s okay to eat? Like… “I guess we can try feeding it monster meat.”

If we did, we could probably put repellent on some beef, horse, pork, chicken, and lamb, to teach the little griffin what was okay to eat and what wasn’t.

I stared at Ejil.

“What is it, Doctor?”

“Your army has lots of monster meat, I bet.”

“Of course.”

I knew it. Ejil could procure monster meat, Mina could prepare Griffy’s food, Noela would be in charge of its exercise, and I’d manage everything overall. After talking it over, that was the plan we came up with.

We trained Griffy not to eat certain foods, and the griffin gradually grew up.

 

***

 

Ker-thunk. Ker-thunk.

“Kyuu! Kyuu!” Griffy cried, chasing Noela.

“Noela not lose to Griffy!”

When it looked as though Griffy was about to catch up, Noela concentrated and sped away, putting distance between them. The pair repeated that process over and over on the open plain near town.

Today was our day off, so Noela, Mina, Griffy, and I were picnicking. Mina and I sat on the sheet we laid out, watching Noela and Griffy play tag.

“Noela and Griffy look like they’re having a blast,” I said. “They’re like siblings.”

“Aren’t they?” agreed Mina, pouring us some tea.

Just two weeks ago, Griffy was the size of a chicken. Now it was about as big as a baby bear, or maybe bigger. It might even have been larger than Noela’s wolf form. The gray down the griffin was born with was changing to brown and white feathers.

“Kyuu!”

Griffy flapped its wings as it ran, hovering briefly before landing and running again. It was getting close to proper flight.

“I wonder what kind of monster meat Ejil’s been bringing,” I said.

“According to him, it’s from familiars his army had no choice but to put down.”

“That’s a relief.” I wouldn’t have put it past Ejil to flat-out kill monsters if there wasn’t enough meat for Griffy—especially because Noela was so invested in the griffin. I doubted Ejil would consider the morality of his actions if it meant impressing her.

Noela hopped on Griffy’s back. “Faster! Higher!” she yelled, patting its neck.

Flap! Flap!

“Kyuu! Kyuu!”

Yeah, Griffy can hover a bit, but it can’t quite fly yet.

Still, Noela seemed overjoyed. She waved at me from afar. “Master! Flying now!”

“Not quite!” I shouted, waving back.

We still fed Griffy beetle meatballs, but ever since we started giving it monster meat, the griffin seemed to have grown much faster. Now, Griffy was probably about the age when it would’ve hunted and eaten weaker monsters in the wild.

“Do you think monster meat’s good for Griffy?” Mina asked.

“I wonder. Going by its size, I’d say so.” That might’ve been partly caused by a growth spurt, though.

“Kyuu!” Griffy ran in the direction Noela pointed. Day by day, the griffin was getting smarter.

It might be about time to retry Translator DX, I thought. I sipped the translation treatment from the bottle I’d brought.

“Can I have some too, Mr. Reiji?”

“If you’re fine with drinking from the same bottle, sure.”

“N-no problem at all!”

Mina stared at the bottle I handed her. Glancing at me awkwardly, she took a small sip.

“Bam! Indirect kiss.”

“D-don’t say that!”

As I teased the now bright-red Mina, I heard voices.

“Now that way! Fast!” Noela squealed.

Griffy cawed, and—almost as though from a subchannel—I heard, “Instructor, I can’t run anymore! What’s over there?”

Noela patted Griffy’s side exuberantly. “There! There!”

“Griff wants to rest.”

“Groo? Slow down? No give up fly!”

“Griff isn’t giving up,” Griffy cooed sadly. “Griff just…”

“Griffy’s having a rough time,” said Mina.

“Yeah. In its position, I might’ve run away by now.”

“Kyuu! Kyuu!” Griffy cried loudly. “Please, no more! Master!”

It totally just looked toward us. Wait—is “Master” me?

“I guess Griffy sees you as its master,” observed Mina.

“Then Noela is its demonic drill sergeant.”

“I’m starting to pity Griffy.”

Yeah, me too. But why am I its master? After all, Mina fed Griffy lots, and Noela exercised it so often that it called her “instructor.” Guess I’ll just ask.

“Hey, Noela! Lunch break.”

“’Kay!”

Noela hopped off Griffy’s back and sat on the picnic blanket. The griffin folded its legs and rested beside her.

“Here you go, Griff.” I slowly poured some water into Griffy’s open beak.

It moved its head slightly, drinking. “This is delicious!”

“Hey, how come I’m your master?”

“Huh? Master’s looking at Griff. Is he talking to Griff?”

“What, Master?” asked Noela.

“I drank some Translator DX. I can hear Griffy loud and clear.”

“Groo?! Noela drink too!” She rummaged through our stuff.

“I hear you perfectly, Griff.”

“Wow! Amazing! Now Griff can talk to you, Master!”

“So, why am I your master?”

“Griff isn’t sure. One day, Griff just started seeing you as Master.”

Griffy must’ve looked at Mina, Noela, and the other drugstore employees and reached that conclusion. I was the store owner and head of the household, so I supposed that checked out. Griffy also might’ve imprinted on me when it hatched—though I couldn’t say for sure, since I had no clue whether griffins did that.

Meanwhile, Noela emptied the Translator DX bottle. She listened to my conversation with Griffy, fascinated. “When fly, Griffy?!”

“Griff doesn’t know. Griff has never flown before.”

Obviously. I gently stroked Griffy’s head. It cooed quietly. Jeez. You’re just so lovable.

“Here’s your lunch, Noela.” Mina pulled a lunch box out of her basket. Noela opened it, revealing a bunch of sandwiches.

“Here’s your meat, Griffy!” said Mina.

“Thank you very much!” Griffy began munching the monster flesh. “Meat’s so tasty!”

We hadn’t needed to use monster seasoning or repellent at all recently; Griffy automatically ate monster meat now. Wild griffins typically consumed monster more often than human, beef, horse, or lamb—maybe that was why Griffy enjoyed it so much. It definitely also had to do with how smart Griffy had become. On a basic level, it understood that it mustn’t eat cattle or attack animals.

“Between meatballs and monster meat, which do you prefer?” I asked.

“Hmm. That’s tough. Meatballs are delightfully soft, and there’re bugs hidden inside, so they’re fun to eat. Meat, on the other hand, is meat—and therefore delicious!”

As Ejil had said, it wasn’t that griffins lost their ability to stomach bugs; it was just that they had fewer reasons to eat insects as they grew. Likewise, when it came to griffins not getting along with people, that was just because wild griffins grew up solitary.

Keeping Griffy as a pet wasn’t all rainbows, though. The problem was, if you domesticated a griffin, it didn’t need to run or fly. Griffy got three meals a day and was completely safe. Because it was tame, I worried that it lacked natural abilities it should’ve had. Animals that grew up in captivity were unfamiliar with the wilderness and other wild animals.

“Noela make Griffy fly, no matter what!”

Oops. I forgot our demonic drill sergeant.

Noela could transform into a wolf; that was the biggest difference between a werewolf and a beastling. It was a source of pride and identity for Noela, which was probably why she hated being confused with a beastling.

The fact that Noela was half-beast might’ve been why she refused to relax while teaching Griffy to fly. She was tough on Griffy because it couldn’t yet do what griffins were capable of.

“Have wings. Fly in sky!” Noela insisted. “Duh.”

“O-of course. Griff wants to fly too.” Griffy flapped its wings lightly, almost panicking. The gleam was gone from its eyes; the poor griffin sort of resembled a zombie.

Noela huffed triumphantly at Griffy’s response.

“Good luck, Griffy.” Mina stroked the griffin’s wings gently, sympathizing, as Griffy cooed sadly.

 

***

 

On the way home from the picnic, Griffy began to caw. “Kyuu! Kyuu!”

“What’s up?”

“There’s a monster at my feeding ground, Master!”

“For real?”

The “feeding ground” was the spot where we caught insects with bug gel every few days. Did the gel attract a monster?

“Do you think maybe some animals came to eat insects, and then a monster showed up to eat the animals?” Mina asked.

“Maybe. How many monsters are we talking, Griffy?”

“One boar titan, Master!”

“What’s that?”

“Big boar monster,” Noela told me.

“Seriously?”

Concerned, we got closer and closer to Griffy’s feeding ground. I immediately recognized the monster Noela described; it had its snout against the soil, munching the swarms of bugs. The boar titan had angry red eyes, and the wind carried its strong odor toward us.

“Snooooorrrt!” The boar let out a loud cry, and the nearby small animals drawn by the bugs fled.

At that size, it’s got to be bigger than a bear. “If Ejil were here, he could take it out easily,” I muttered.

“What should we do, Mr. Reiji? Get Annabelle, perhaps?”

“Good idea, Mina. I’ll leave that to you. I’m going to see if I can use lure and repellent to lead the thing back into the woods.”

“But that’s too dangerous!”

“No worries. I’ll make sure to keep my distance.” I would spread the stuff on the ground and lead the boar toward the forest, keeping Griffy nearby in case I had to escape quickly. “Let Mina ride you back to town, Noela.”

“Uh-huh.” Noela quickly transformed. Mina got on her back, and she rushed away.

“Now, time to get to work,” I murmured.

“Griff is hungry, Master.”

“Hmm?”

“May Griff eat the boar?”

“Er…sure. But what about the bugs?”

“Griff has room for both.”

Griffy had a look in its eyes not unlike a creature stalking its prey. Actually, wait a sec… It looks more like a hungry child who was just served a mouthwatering steak.

“Okay…but can you win? That boar’s pretty big.”

“You forget Griff is a vicious griffin.”

Griffy was all snuggles, but it did have a strong appetite. “All right, go ahead.”

I pulled out a bottle of the strength up I’d made during the martial arts tournament. I’m glad I kept this bottle just in case.

“What’s that, Master?”

“An amazing treatment. In a nutshell, it raises your attack power.”

“A-amazing treatment? Holy cow!” Griffy’s eyes sparkled; its wings flapped excitedly.

Still a kid, huh? The griffin opened its mouth for me, and I poured the strength up directly in.

“Kyuu…? Kyuuuu?! Master! Griff understands now that muscles are justice!”

“Remember, Griffy, strength is power!”

“That’s so cool!”

“Go get him!”

“Yahoooo!”

What kind of response is “yahoo”? Under the circumstances, I hadn’t expected such a lighthearted reply. Griffy flapped its wings, galloping on the legs it’d bulked up playing tag with Noela.

Flap, flap, flap, fwoosh!

Flap, flap, flap, fwooooosh!

Flap, flap, flap, fwooooooosh!

Each time Griffy switched between running and hovering, it was airborne a bit longer.

Flap, flap, flap, fwoooooosh, flap, flap, flap!

Oh, man! It’s soaring!

“M-Master! Griff is flying!”

“That’s amazing!” The strength up must’ve enhanced the already-incredible speed of the griffin’s powerful legs. I should’ve asked Griffy if I could ride on its back!

“Griff is flying!” Griffy cried, kicking the air as it soared happily through the sky. “Whee!”

So childish.

“A-a griffin?! Where’d that come from?!”

Ah. The boar titan noticed Griffy. Thanks to the Translator DX running through my veins, I even understood the boar. Not to toot my own horn, but man, that stuff rocks.

“Griff’s gonna eat ya!” Griffy threatened, circling overhead.

The boar slowly retreated from the feeding ground. It was nearly double Griffy’s size, but all wild animals instinctively feared being swooped down on by an enemy.

“Kyuuuooooo!” With a powerful cry, Griffy suddenly began its rapid descent.

“Squoooiiink?!” The boar titan whipped right around and made a beeline for the woods.

“Ha ha ha! Wait for Griff, porker!”

“Leave me alone!” the boar bellowed.

Griffy dove straight into the boar titan, which toppled over spectacularly. Both on land and in the air, Griffy’s supremacy was unrivaled.

“Can Griff eat the boar, Master?” Griffy called.

“Wait, wait! Time-out. It was mid-retreat—just let it go.”

“All right!”

The boar titan shook its head, rising to its feet. “You have my gratitude, human.” Its large body rocked unsteadily and vanished into the woods.

“Goodbye, meat,” Griffy called.

“We still have lots of monster meat at home, buddy,” I assured him. “Since you chased that big boar off, you can have three times as much as usual!”

“Three times?!”

I removed the bug gel from Griffy’s feeding ground, scattering some repellent. I figured we wouldn’t have any more monster problems there.

The sound of hooves galloping our way signaled Annabelle’s arrival on horseback. Shortly afterward, Noela showed up in wolf form, Mina on her back. Behind them, about ten people were running toward the feeding ground—probably mercenaries.

“Er, hey, Annabelle. This is, uh…”

“I know. I saw things wrap up on my way here.”

Crap. I never had a chance to tell her about Griffy.

“Folks in Kalta love to gossip,” Annabelle said. “Even if I don’t see somethin’ myself, I generally find out about it. This is your pet griffin, huh?”

Griffy cooed quietly.

“Dang! That thing chased off a boar titan,” she said, chuckling. “I was ready for a dirty job. Now what am I supposed to do?”

“I guarantee you, Griffy will never attack a human or anyone’s precious livestock,” I promised. “We raised it that way. Plus, it can chase off strong monsters and stuff.”

“Hear Griffy with Master’s treatment, Red!” Noela chimed in. “Talk to Griffy!”

Good idea, Noela! “Yeah! You can communicate with Griffy using thought transference. It’s perfectly safe.”

“You’re all speaking up for Griff…?” The griffin’s eyes brimmed with tears.

Annabelle let out a long sigh. “You guys are actin’ like I already said no. Sure, it’d be a problem to have this griffin runnin’ through the middle of town, but if it sticks ’round the drugstore, it’s no skin off my nose. Besides, it clearly likes you guys. And even the townsfolk are lookin’ forward to watchin’ it grow up.”

A number of locals besides the store regulars had dropped into Kirio Drugs to see Griffy. Griffy was ours, but in a way, it’d also become the town’s griffin before we knew it.

“But, look, just ’cause I’m all right with this griffin don’t mean you can handle a monster alone next time one shows up. That’s way too risky,” Annabelle warned, exasperated.

She turned toward the approaching Red Cat Brigade members and headed back into town.

“It’s wonderful that you can fly now, Griffy!” Mina exclaimed.

Griffy cooed happily. Its demonic drill sergeant also looked thrilled.

Well, technically, Griffy flew because I gave it strength up, but if I tell Noela that, she’ll probably make poor Griffy start training here and now. I refrained from mentioning it for the time being.

 

***

 

“All done, Mr. Pharmacist!”

A week or so ago, I hired Gaston the carpenter to build Griffy a makeshift little stable behind the house. I currently stood in front of the new structure.

“Kyuu! Kyuu!” Griffy flapped its wings happily, spinning in place.

It was about two months since Griffy hatched, and it was already almost a full-sized griffin. Its gray fluff had completely changed to golden-brown adult feathers.

“Thanks so much, Gaston.”

“No sweat! Drugstore treatments are always helpin’ me out,” the carpenter drawled, patting his lower back.

“Here’s the usual.” I handed him four energy potions I’d brought from the drugstore, giving his crew some too. It was my way of thanking them for making the stable cheaply.

“Thanks a bunch, Mr. Pharmacist.”

“You’re very welcome.”

Gaston and his crew departed. Noticing that the stable was finished, Noela came running out. “Griffy’s home ding, dang, done!”

“Gaston is a pro, after all,” I told her. “I figured this’d take longer, but his crew was super fast.”

“Groo!”

I gently stroked Griffy’s chest feathers. The griffin was tall enough now that I had to look up to see its face. “You’ll live in here from now on.”

“Kyuu!”

“Here, Griffy!” Noela led the griffin into its new home. Since Griffy was about the size and shape of a horse, it fit in the stable easily. “Whoa.”

Although the stable’s exterior looked small, it was spacious. According to Gaston, it would fit at least two horses in addition to Griffy. And, thanks to its layout, Griffy just had to poke its head over the stall rail to eat.

“Kyuu!” Griffy’s wings flapped twice, stirring up the straw on the ground.

“Gaston must’ve accounted for Griffy’s wingspan too.” I should’ve expected as much from a legendary carpenter. “Awesome. I’m glad it isn’t cramped in here.”

“Hey, Reiji!” Vivi, who was currently working in the drugstore, came over. “Li’l Kyuu’s home is all done? Man, I want one too! Getting here takes ages.”

“You’re a lake fairy, right? Live at your lake.”

Vivi frowned. “I’m not a fairy! I’m a spirit!”

“Like I can tell the difference.”

Ejil had a shift today too, so all Kirio Drugs’ staff members were present. We’d put a bunch of old products on sale, and our little shop was pretty busy right now.

“How’s the store looking?” I asked Vivi.

“Good. Mina and Ejil are keeping an eye on things.” Excluding myself, Mina and Ejil were the best employees to have on the job. “It’s great that you finally have a home, Li’l Kyuu!”

Griffy ignored Vivi, turning away. It treated Vivi completely differently from me or Noela, since Vivi was lower on its internal pecking order.

“Aw. Well…I-I caught some bugs today. Want them?” Vivi extended her hand toward Griffy’s beak, bugs resting on her palm.

“Er, that’s not a good—”

Griffy’s hard beak pecked at the bugs—and Vivi’s hand. Thonk!

“Ow!”

When Noela and I fed Griffy by hand, the griffin knew it should pick up food with its beak gently. But when it came to people Griffy wasn’t used to, this was generally what happened. It wasn’t that big of a deal last month, when Griffy was still the size of a chicken. Now, though, that beak had to hurt.

Vivi turned toward me, on the verge of tears. “Can I have a potion, Reiji…?”

“You can buy one of the potions on sale.”

“Wh-what about my employee discount?”

“You know that doesn’t exist. You’re a part-timer, remember?”

“Why do you have to be like that?! I’ve never even been late for work!”

“That has nothing to do with it.”

“You’re treating me like this because I’m a lake spirit,” Vivi wailed. “If I were human, you’d give me an employee discount and be all like, ‘My employees are my family!’ and stuff.”

I mean, yeah, there are businesses like that… But does this girl just read feel-good stories in magazines about part-time gigs or something? She has really high expectations.

I gave the overly negative lake spirit a free potion. “There’s no employee discount, and you’re a part-timer, not a full-time employee.”

“Aw, come on!”

We’d already had this conversation. As I pushed Vivi back into the store, Ejil also popped in, holding two potions with sale tags still on them.

“What’s the matter?” I asked him.

“I’ve finally gotten my hands on them, Doctor.”

“Define ‘them.’”

Ejil thrust the discount potions toward me. “I finally saved enough rin to conquer the world—by which I mean Noela!”

“You’ve got a lot of nerve, talking about saving,” I scoffed. “Every payday, you go into town and waste money on stuff like junk food.”

If Ejil bought the potions on payday, he could’ve gotten what he wanted in a single month. How does he not realize that?

“Y-yes, well…you know how it is.”

“Garroo? Potion?”

Oh. Noela’s noticed.

Ejil was suddenly reenergized. “Noela, my dear!”

Meanwhile, Noela seemed a bit freaked out.

“I bought these potions with my salary!” Ejil knelt and presented Noela with the two bottles. “Please accept them!”

Noela glanced at the potions and narrowed her eyes dramatically. “Discount potions. Old. Flavor not as tasty.”

“Wh-what?!” Ejil stared down at the bottles in stunned silence.

Personally, I couldn’t really distinguish fresh potions from older ones. It wasn’t like the flavor or benefits decreased over time. But an expert like Noela—who drank potions every day, whenever I gave her one—could apparently tell the difference.

“In that case, I shall do what must be done!” Ejil tried to approach Noela. She scuttled farther away.

“Kyuu! Kyuu!” Griffy glared at the demon king with a wild look.

I guess even Ejil is below Griffy on the pecking order.

“Hrm. What is it, griffin? You dare snarl at me?!”

“Kyuu…kyuu…” Griffy chirped nervously.

One sentence, and Griffy’s already backing down, I mused. That’s the demon king for you.

Now, however, Noela stepped in front of Griffy. “Ejil no bully!”

“Why do you hate me so?” Slumping his shoulders, Ejil gulped the discount potions, letting out a satisfied sigh. He reminded me of a middle-aged dude chugging a couple of beers. “I’ll try again, Noela.”

“Don’t.” Noela was as straightforward as ever. “Test today, Griffy.”

“Kyuu! Kyuu!”

“Test?” I asked.

“Yup. Flying test.”

Griffy had no longer been able to fly once the strength up wore off, which led to days of remedial training with Noela.

“You’re calling it a test, so that means Griffy can fly to some degree, right?”

“Yup. But balance bad sometimes. Crash. Ba-boom.”

So, Griffy was still poor at flying—at least, without drinking a strength up. According to Noela, though, it was thanks to the strength up that Griffy could now imagine flying. That helped it make much more progress since chasing off the boar titan.

Deciding to watch the “flying test,” I followed Noela as she guided Griffy out of its stable. The drugstore was nearby; if something happened, Mina could come get me.

“Go, Griffy!” Noela cried.

“Kyuu!”

Da-dunk. Da-dunk. Griffy’s heavy steps rang out as the enormous beast sped up, spread its massive wings, and lifted off into the sky. I couldn’t hear its footsteps anymore, but I saw Griffy gallop with all its might as it flew.

Flap! Flap! The griffin beat its wings, increasing its speed.

“Kyuuooooo!”

I’d only seen Griffy fly once before, and we’d cheated with strength up to get those results, so watching Griffy soar through the air nearly moved me to tears. Two months ago, Griffy had just hatched and could barely walk. Now look how much our griffin had grown!

I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. Noela was next to me with actual tears in her eyes. “Groo…”

“Awesome, huh?” I patted her head.

Griffy looked toward us and cawed, as if saying, “Look! Griff’s flying!”

“First time flew in one try,” Noela said. Not long ago, Griffy would fail to leave the ground or barely float before landing again.

I didn’t think I’d ever get tired of watching Griffy fly. “You held up your end of the deal, Noela. You took good care of Griffy. I’m proud of you.”

“Groo.”

Until Griffy got tired and landed, Noela and I happily watched it fly through the blue sky.