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Chapter 269

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Translator: “Hakou”                             Editor: “Weasalopes”

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Just south of the Spirit Forest lies the northernmost city in the Empire.
This place is ruled by the mature Viscountess. And stationed here are the Commander of the Imperial Knights and the elites of the Rose Knights.
Right now, this city has become the frontline base against the elves.

(It’s been hundreds of years since I went outside of the Spirit Forest)

Muttering in his mind was a fat old man. He was sitting on a bench in the corner of the central square, looking out at the city with a drink in his hand.
His true identity is a High Elf. He had lost hope in the way his colleagues were doing things and didn’t feel like lending a hand to activate the Spirit Cannon.
He was fed up with everything and ran away from the elf village.

(The people are unexpectedly less suspicious of me than I thought)

He disguised himself as best he could, though he only covered his long ears with a long hair wig. The fact that the people around him were not suspicious of him was probably due to his wrinkled face and fat body.
The image that people have of elves is of young, slender, beautiful men and women. He was far from that.
Of course, in the past, this fat high elf also looked like the image everyone have of the elves.

(Getting erased by the Spirit Cannon here might not be a bad idea too)

He has no particular reason for visiting this place. If there’s any reason at all, it’s probably to find a place to die.

(There’s still some time left. At least, I want to see this Griffon even just a glimpse of it)

The bloodless revolution took place long before he was born. The Griffons became extinct not long after, and he only knew what they looked like from the stuffed animals in the archives of the High Elf mansion.

(Well, that’s probably impossible though)

A Griffon, the symbol of the royal family.
It’s a trump card-like existence that could have a huge impact on the hearts of the elven people. There is no doubt that it is under heavy protection.
It is unlikely that a traveler without any connections will ever get the chance to see it.

(Why did everything never go well)

The fat high elf shrugged his shoulders and sighed.

***

A woman wearing a long white toga is walking in the same central square of the Northern city.
A gold belt around her waist accentuates her ample breasts and hips. Her face had a strong yet refined beauty that made the people around her turn to look at her.

(It’s not here)

She was Elder. She is a survivor of elven royalty who works in a brothel in this city, hiding her origins.
Her flawless appearance is created by her thick makeup and strong shapewear. On the inside however, as Tauro once described her, she looks like an 『Elder Lich』.
What she’s looking for now is a Griffon.
But she’s not looking to catch them. She just wanted to know who the Lord was for the future.

(Let’s stick around until it’s time for work since I’m on the late shift today)

When she whispered to the bosom of her toga, a black snake peeked its head out from the gap of her richly raised shapewear and stuck out its tongue.
This raven snake, about 20 centimeters long, is a spirit animal and her familiar. It was because of this earth attribute snake’s guidance that the young Elder was able to escape from the turmoil of the 『Bloodless Revolution』.
It was the only snake in the world that she trusted with all her heart.

(Oh my?)

She felt a twitch in her wrinkled, shriveled chest and muttered in a low voice.

(Did you notice something?)

The raven snake in the collar of her clothes nodded. Immediately after, murmurs could be heard from the corner of the square.

[Griffon-chan! Working hard today, aren’t you?]

The voice belonged to a well-dressed lady who was opening a stall in the market. The person she was calling was a small white bird that was crossing in front of her.
She rushed over to see a Griffon with a piece of paper in its mouth flying in the middle of the crowd of people who had moved away to make way.

(So the fact that it’s a Griffon has been found out huh)

A bird with cat-like hind legs leaves toward the lord’s mansion. After watching it go, Elder went to the aunty’s store to buy a bag of sweets.
Also to ask about the flying little animal just now.

[Oh, that animal just now? It’s Count Rosehip’s pet. It’s unusual, isn’t it?]

If you look at it from an elf’s point of view, it’s not 『Unusual』 at all. Remembering that the other party was a human being, she sighed heavily and regained her composure.
But the words that followed made her head hurt a little.

[He’s a good boy you know? He doesn’t touch the food on the stall. And you saw it right? He can even deliver letters. What a smart boy]

A Griffon is a solitary bird of prey that nests at the top of the world tree, capable of defeating even Knights when it reaches maturity.
A Griffon is supposed to be such a creature, but she was beginning to lose confidence in this all-too-familiar statement.

(Is that really a Griffon? Or is it just a bird with hind legs?)

The snake on her chest denied the thought that began to well up in her mind. It seems that it was no doubt a juvenile Griffon.

(Well, they’re humans, different from us. I guess it’s natural that we have different values)

A treasure is nothing more than a piece of junk to those who are not interested in it.
Perhaps the Griffon’s master’s perception of the beast was that it was a slightly clever bird with hind legs.

(I don’t think I was able to figure out who the master is this quick. Now what should I do?)

When she spoke to the raven snake, he suggested to take a closer look at it.

(But it’s your natural enemy right? Will you be alright?)

When she voiced her worry, a wave of confidence returned from the snake. Apparently he’s confident that if it’s such a young animal, he won’t be defeated by it.

(Alright, let’s go after it then)

Elder turned over towards the lord’s mansion.

***

“Griffon-chan!”, a voice came from a middle-aged woman.
It reached the fat high elf’s ears and made him drop the glass he was holding in surprise.

(Oh crap!)

He frowned, but the fall did not stop.
The glass bowl that broke on the cobblestones sprinkled the undrunk iced tea with sharp shards.

[….I’m sorry]

He apologized to the stall owner, who glares at him, and pays for the damage. Then he turned to the direction of the voice again.
But the flow of people had already returned to normal.

(If I’m not mistaken, someone certainly said 『Griffon』. I’ll have to check)

He looked at some of the stalls and spotted the person who might have raised her voice earlier.
It was a round woman who was arranging baked goods on a wooden stand. When he asked her about it, she smiled and told him easily.

[I-I see. So it was a Griffon]

After that, he kept asking questions like, 「Who is the master?」, 「How long has its been around?」 and 「Where did it live?」. But the woman’s expression gradually darkened, and her replies became more and more curt.

(She’s wary of me)

It’s no wonder since he’s a stranger.
With a sullen expression, the fat high elf wondered what he should do. Seeing that, the auntie opened her mouth in exasperation.

[I think it’s a bit rude for me to ask this to an old man but, if you have something to ask, why don’t you go buy something first?]

What she pointed with his chin was something made from kneaded flour that was baked, puffed up, and flavored with sugar and salt.
After a few moments, a look of understanding appeared on the high elf’s face. With a look of impatience, he reached into a large family bag and held out some coins.

[Thank you for your purchase]

The auntie, who instantly switched to a smile, told him that the master was the Count Rosehip and that it was only recently that it started to show up in the city.
After being told the direction in which it had flown, the fat high elf hurried off in that direction.

[….What a strange old man]

She murmured as she stared at his back, which had disappeared into the crowd.
The clothes he was wearing and the way he was dressed were not bad. He also looked like he had a lot of money in his wallet, so he must not be in need of money.

[I wonder if he’s a scholar]

It’s incorrect, but a close guess.
Because of his high status in his small world, he had become detached from the outside world.

[We have some delicious sweets here! Would you like some for your wife and children?]

Immediately losing interest, the auntie clapped her hands and shouted loudly. Continuing to call out for customers.

***

Spring has passed and the early summer sun is shining down on the royal capital.
The temperature is only about to rise, but the sunlight is the strongest of the year.
Wearing a straw hat, I walked through the garden forest, casting dark shadows around my feet.

[Oh, it’s finally blooming]

I looked at a tree growing by the edge of the pond in the garden.
In the midst of the glossy dark green leaves, a number of white flowers were blooming.
This tree is the 『Pomelo』. On the surface of the water just beneath the branch, a turtle was looking up at me with sparkling eyes.

『This where the real work began』

A caterpillar about 20 centimeters long on a branch is moving busily, but not too swiftly.
As it approaches one of the flowers, the sage of the forest turns around. The plant management expert began to swat the flower with his beady butt.

(No one’s saying anything to him.)

I slowly move my eyes to look at the dung beetle at my feet and the turtle in the pond.
To me, he looks like he’s damaging the flowers, but not to the two of them. They emitted a wave of admiration and nodded repeatedly.

[The tree won’t properly grow fruit if he don’t do this, you say?]

Imosuke, who had taken a break after beating three of them, said. I wonder if it’s something similar to pollination.

『What about the seed?』

The caterpillar turns its head to me and asks me a question. It seems he’s talking about the amount of seeds in the fruit.
Apparently he can adjust it to my liking.

(It’s hard to eat if it has too much seeds in it, so let’s ask for less seeds)

Might as well make it seedless. Just as I was about to open my mouth while thinking about this, I was interrupted by a voice from the pond.

『Isn’t it the best as it is?』

I closed my mouth and fixed my gaze on Zaratan. His dull, dark eyes strongly insisted that the seeds were delicious, too.
He must have anticipated my response and said so.

(He usually doesn’t push his opinion much, but when it comes to Pomelos, it’s a different story)

After all, the reason why the world-famous Great Spirit Beast came to the Garden Forest was because of the Pomelo. As the master, I should show him that I have a big heart.

[Yeah, I think he’s right. It might be best to just leave it as is]

“Alright”, Imosuke replied, and went back to beating up the flowers. There are a lot of them, so this is definitely a heavy task.
Dangorou and I nodded at each other, and I opened my mouth.

[Can we help you with anything?]

Imosuke’s reply was, 『It’s okay, just leave it to me』. He didn’t outright say it, but maybe he didn’t want to ask an amateur to do it.

(Well, he did say he wanted to show me the true power of fruits at the height of its season)

What he’s hoping for is a satisfying result from this task. He must want to finish it with his own power.
Feeling a sense of pride as an expert, I decided to respect Imosuke’s will.

(I feel like it’s going to be hot today)

I look at the sky and squint my eyes at the sunlight.
It’s almost noon. I have to go out.

[I’m going out for a bit. I leave it to you guys to watch the house]

Be sure to not work too hard and rest, okay? I put the bag full of potions on my shoulder and left the house.
Here, perspective switched to Tauro’s familiars.
They heard their master’s footsteps going down the stairs. When it disappeared, the caterpillar emitted a wave.

『They’re not coming lately』

What he meant were the wind spirits. A lot of them used to visit every day, trying to break into the garden forest’s boundaries, but they haven’t been seen in the past few days.
On the ground, looking up at the branches, the dung beetle replied.

『You’re right. They’re not around』

They both used to shoot them all down and turn them into nourishment for the forest. However, the two animals didn’t seem to be worried about the nutrients.
Now, the garden forest had an overflowing supply of magic power coming from the earth’s veins.
But they still wondered about it because they were simply curious.

『Do you know anything?』

When asked by the Dung beetle who was the vice-commander, the turtle thinks for a moment before opening his mouth.
Imosuke and Dangorou listen to the words of the long-lived Great Spirit Beast.

『The main purpose of wind spirit is to carry information』

He said that it was probably the elves that had sent them here.
He went on to say that the fact that it hadn’t shown up meant that they don’t have the leeway to do that anymore.

『The world is currently under a big change』

The two of them were nervous about their senior’s opinion. It was something that they had felt firsthand since the magic power suddenly flowed into the garden forest.
Zaratan, who emitted a gentle wave at the sight of them, continued.

『Why don’t we split up the work to find out what’s going on?』

There are things they can do while they are in the garden forest, such as sensing the veins in the ground and the flow of magic in the air.
The spirit beasts shook their heads and replied with a wave as if they understood.
The vice-commander was in charge of wind, the general was in charge of earth, and the turtle was in charge of water. They decided to take charge of their respective areas of expertise.

『I’ll do my best』

Such a strong wave came from Imosuke. First, he must finish the treatment of the Pomelo’s flowers.
Dangorou and Zaratan nodded, feeling frustrated that they could not help with it.

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