Chapter 141

The Elder told me he would ‘help’.

The moment I heard those words, I felt a sense of liberation, as if the ropes binding my body had been untied in an instant.

‘Ah… did it work?’

If the elves helped, I could lead the war against the monster army in a very advantageous way.

I hadn’t checked the Future Diary yet, but I was certain it would be so.

‘Perhaps my ending might change again.’

My most recently changed ending was, ‘After the war with the monster army, the ‘Jerpan Archipelago’ invaded and the kingdom fell to ruin.’

The kingdom couldn’t withstand the successive major wars and collapsed.

But if the elves helped in that first war, the war against the monster army, I could save a lot of troops and resources.

‘Then I might be able to stop the invasion of the Jerpan Archipelago too.’

Well… the best thing would be not to have a war in the first place.

So I would have to find some way to deal with the Jerpan Archipelago before they invaded my kingdom.

‘But if I can’t change the Jerpan Archipelago’s mind… it will eventually be war.’

Lost in thought, I shook my head to clear my thoughts of the Jerpan Archipelago.

Now was not the time to worry about a war with them. It was time to worry about the monster army.

‘Even if I don’t die in the war with the monster army, I can’t let my guard down. The future can always change.’

I organized my thoughts.

I looked straight at Elvandor again and spoke.

“Thank you, Elder.”

“Call me Grandfather. When it’s just the two of us.”

“Ah, yes. Grandfather.”

Elvandor had erased much of his sorrowful expression—though a trace of sadness still remained, of course—and he stroked my head with a much more comfortable look.

“But Leonardo. Even if I say I will help you, it does not mean all elves will help you. I am indeed the elder of the elves and a king-like figure, but I cannot force sacrifice and devotion upon them.”

What did he mean by that?

Did it mean… that not all elves might help me?

“Haha, do not worry so much. If I propose helping you, many will be willing to help. Of course, we cannot abandon Foothill’s Rest, so we will leave a minimum number of elves.”

“Ah.”

That was a relief.

“More importantly, you said you needed Gryphons as well?”

“Yes. There are Gargoyles in the monster army, so I think we will need Gryphons to face them.”

“Gargoyles… I suppose that’s true. The elves could hold the Gargoyles in check with their bows, but to minimize damage, it would be good to have Gryphons fight alongside them. Besides, in a war, the more forces, the better.”

Elvandor spoke as if it were nothing, but I could feel it in his tone.

Something like the experience of an old man who had been through war.

‘Come to think of it, Paras mentioned it in the Future Diary before. That in the past, numerous races asked the elves for help in times of crisis.’

Elvandor thought about something for a moment.

He looked towards the door and spoke.

“Paras. I know you’re listening. Come in.”

Slam—!

Paras burst through the door right away, as if he had really been eavesdropping outside.

His expression was like that of a child who had just received a birthday present.

“Leonardo! Well done! I knew you could persuade the Elder!!”

“Huh…?”

Paras lifted me up in a flash and spun me around. Paras’s body was slender, but seeing him lift me with ease, he seemed stronger than he looked.

“Paras. I have something important to discuss, so stop fooling around and listen.”

“Ah, yes sir!”

Paras put me down and looked at the Elder.

But only his face was turned towards Elvandor; his eyes were looking at me, giving a thumbs-up.

Elvandor gave Paras a slight glare and spoke seriously.

“Take Leonardo to the Gryphon’s cliff. He says there are Gargoyles in the monster army, and he intends to get Gryphons to fight them.”

“Yes. Then should I bring all the Elder Elves’ Gryphons for now?”

“There’s no need for that right now. Let’s think about it later when Leonardo is returning to the kingdom.”

“Understood.”

Paras replied to Elvandor and then hugged my head again.

Ah, right.

“Elder. I mentioned it to Paras… Uncle beforehand, but would it be difficult for the elves to immigrate into the kingdom?”

“Elves immigrating to the kingdom, yes. You did mention that.”

Elvandor took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before answering.

“I will discuss that in the meeting in a little while. For now, you go back to Paras’s house and rest, and go to the Gryphon’s cliff tomorrow morning.”

“Understood.”

It would have been nice to get a promise that the elves would immigrate into the kingdom.

Still, this seemed to be the best result I could have hoped for from my conversation with Elvandor.

‘Good. Let’s go back and check the Future Diary. What will happen with the war against the monster army… and what will happen with the war against the Jerpan Archipelago.’

As I was thinking.

Elvandor looked at me with a curiosity-filled gaze that didn’t suit an old man.

“So, Leonardo. What kind of child is that human woman who came to Roterion with you? You said she’s not your wife, so are you thinking of her as a concubine or a mistress?”

“Ah, right! I was going to ask that too! If she’s not your wife, is she a concubine or a mistress? You little brat, your uncle isn’t even married yet, you don’t have a concubine already, do you?!”

…It had started again.

The family’s doting foolishness.

***

Paras’s house.

“Well then, Leonardo, get a good rest! We’re leaving for the Gryphon’s cliff early tomorrow morning, so don’t stay up late! If you’re scared, come to uncle’s room! Let’s sleep together!”

“Haha… Yes, thank you.”

Paras, speaking from the living room with a beaming smile.

I gave him an awkward smile in return, then entered the room Paras had given me and closed the door.

Click—.

‘…Paras is a really good elf, but he has too much energy.’

Elvandor was the same. At first, he had a profound image, but as soon as he accepted me as his ‘family’, he did a complete 180.

As if he were curious about every little thing his young grandson did, Elvandor asked about even the most trivial things.

Then, for some reason, the conclusion became 「”Leonardo, it is too early for you to marry! Do it in at least 50 years, no, 100 years!”」.

Fifty or a hundred years might be a short time for an elf, but for me, it’s a very long time.

I didn’t even know if I could live that long. Wouldn’t I die of old age?

Anyway.

‘I should read the diary.’

What I was curious about was whether or not I could get a Gryphon tomorrow.

And how the war with the monster army would proceed.

‘It would be great if it went even further and changed my ending.’

Shhhlick—.

I opened the Future Diary.

This time, too, I checked the future closest to the present first.

…….

The day after arriving in the elf village, Roterion.

I went to the Gryphon’s cliff with Paras.

I thought the Gryphon’s cliff would be quite far since the area around Roterion was all forest.

But the Gryphon’s cliff was not that far from Roterion.

It was about a 30-minute walk.

‘There’s a cliff here?’

In the center of the forest, hidden by trees, the ground was steeply carved out. It was a bit random.

And at the bottom of that cliff—.

—Piyooooo…!

—Piyooo!

I saw a giant monster that flew straight up the steep cliff, then fell, and then flew straight up again with a flap of its wings.

A monster with the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion.

It was a ‘Gryphon’.

‘…So that’s a Gryphon.’

It was definitely a ‘monster’. But somehow, it had a good feel to it. It didn’t feel hostile, but neutral.

There was also a Gryphon peeking its head out of a home carved into the cliff.

And an adult Gryphon… throwing its chick off the cliff.

—Ppi, ppiyoooot!

—Piyooooo!!

—Ppi, ppiyoot! Ppiyot…!

—Piyooo! Piyooooooo!!!

As the chick thrown off the cliff flapped its wings and cried for help, the parent Gryphon yelled harshly back at it.

Just seeing that, I felt like I could understand what kind of monster it was.

They say a lion pushes its cub off a cliff to raise it strong, and it seemed Gryphons were the same.

While I was watching the Gryphons below the cliff, the Gryphons inside the cliff also looked at me.

I made eye contact with a few of them, and to be honest, it was a bit scary.

…Their eyes were incredibly sharp.

Paras sat on the edge of the cliff and spoke.

“Leo. You said you wanted to get a Gryphon, right?”

I came to my senses.

“Yes, Uncle.”

“Then jump.”

“…Pardon?”

“I said, jump.”

His tone wasn’t joking. His expression was serious too.

When I looked at him hesitantly, Paras smiled slightly and pulled me. Towards the cliff.

He wasn’t trying to throw me off, but to have me sit next to him.

Sitting on the edge of the cliff made the cliff feel closer, deeper.

“Are you worried you’ll die if you fall?”

“Uh… yes.”

“Haha, of course. I was too.”

“……”

“Even among elves, there are few who can jump from this cliff. Even though they know a Gryphon will surely save them if they jump from this cliff.”

Paras leaned his body towards the cliff and continued.

“Leonardo. Gryphons like those who are good and courageous. And they only acknowledge such beings.”

“……”

“If you jump from this cliff, a Gryphon will save you. You are a good person, and if you can jump from the cliff, you will also be a courageous one.”

“Ah… yes.”

My voice was hesitant. It couldn’t be helped.

To be told to jump from a cliff, how could one accept it at face value?

“If I were to give you one piece of advice, it would be better to stop worrying and hesitating and jump even a second sooner. All the Gryphons are watching you.”

“Better to jump sooner… why?”

“Jumping late means you have that much less courage. Then, a strong Gryphon will not acknowledge you. In other words, the longer you stay on this cliff, the weaker the Gryphon you will be able to get.”

“……”

“As long as you’ve come to this cliff to get a Gryphon, the longer you hesitate, the more a strong Gryphon will be disappointed in your courage. Do you understand what I mean?”

While giving me advice, Paras didn’t force me to jump.

He just gave me time to compose myself.

‘…If I jump from here, a Gryphon will save me?’

Could it be true?

‘No, even if it is true… I can’t… jump from here, can I? I can’t even see the bottom.’

I was scared.

-Omitted-

I sat on the edge of the cliff and continued to ponder. I gathered my courage.

Until the sun went down.

Perhaps because so much time had passed.

There were far fewer Gryphons than when I first arrived.

—Piyooo…….

Even its cry sounded weak.

This was the newly written future closest to the present.

‘…Jumping off the cliff is the way to get a Gryphon’s acknowledgment?’

I had a fear of heights.

I couldn’t even ride amusement park rides like roller coasters, and just watching bungee jumping made my hands and the soles of my feet sweat.

Even now, my hands were sweating.

Just from thinking that ‘to get a Gryphon, I have to jump off a cliff.’

‘I couldn’t even ride elevators with glass walls very well…’

But, still.

‘I have to get a Gryphon. To do that, I have to jump anyway.’

If I had to jump anyway.

‘It would be best to jump as quickly as possible. He said the sooner I jump, the stronger a Gryphon I can get.’

Yes, that was the rational judgment.

However…

Hoo—.

“Telling me to jump off a cliff… you’re crazy, seriously.”

It seemed there were quite a lot of trials to protect myself and the kingdom.

***

The next morning.

Paras was heading to the Gryphon’s cliff with Leonardo and Yoanna.

He glanced at Leonardo and thought.

‘Hmm. I should probably tell him he has to jump off the cliff to get a Gryphon when we get there, right? Telling him now might just make him more scared.’

One might say that telling him in advance would help him prepare mentally.

But that wasn’t true at all.

No matter how much one prepared mentally, actually looking down at the dizzying cliff below would reset all resolve.

‘Because I was incredibly scared too.’

In fact, all elves test their own courage at the Gryphon’s cliff.

But among them, not many can actually jump.

‘They’re all scared because you can’t use magic at the Gryphon’s cliff.’

The reason you couldn’t use magic at the Gryphon’s cliff.

It was because if you used magic on the cliff, the Gryphons would judge that you were attacking them.

‘It’s something you should never do unless you want to make all the Gryphons your enemies. Unless you want to die.’

While Paras was worried about Leonardo, he was also looking forward to seeing how quickly his wonderful nephew would jump off the cliff.

As he was thinking that.

The seemingly endless trees dwindled, and finally, the ‘cliff’ appeared.

The Gryphon’s cliff.

—Piyooooooo!

—Piyooo!

—Ppiyot! Ppiyoooot!

—Piyoooooooooo!!!

Upon arriving in front of the cliff, Leonardo asked Paras.

“Is this the Gryphon’s cliff?”

“Mm, this is it.”

To get a Gryphon, you have to jump from here, Leonardo.

How should he break that terrifying news?

He had to say it in a way that wouldn’t scare him too much.

As Paras was pondering, Leonardo spoke first.

“Uncle. How can I get a Gryphon here?”

“Huh? Um… well.”

Paras scratched the back of his neck, hesitating.

‘It’s best to tell him quickly. The Gryphons have been timing him since the moment he arrived at this cliff.’

“You just have to jump off the cliff.”

Even as he said it for Leonardo’s sake, Paras hoped Leonardo wouldn’t get scared or shocked.

But.

“I see.”

Huuup-.

His nephew spoke calmly and took a deep breath.

Tatata-tat—!

“……?”

“……?”

Leonardo ran towards the cliff.

Neither Paras nor Yoanna had time to stop him. That’s how unhesitating Leonardo was.

“Wh-what?!”

‘I didn’t even tell him a Gryphon would save him… he’s just jumping? Just because I said he had to jump to get a Gryphon?’

In the brief moment Paras was surprised.

Leonardo, who had already reached the edge of the cliff, had powerfully leaped into the air.

Thump—!

For a moment, Leonardo floated high in the air.

Swoosh—!

In an instant, he disappeared below the cliff.

“……Huh?”

Too surprised by Leonardo’s sudden action, Yoanna stood there blankly, unable to say a word.

It was the same for Paras. He knew his nephew was a wonderful person, but he didn’t know he would be that bold.

‘He needs a Gryphon to save the kingdom… so he’ll just jump off a cliff to get one?’

As Paras was thinking blankly.

Piyoooooooooo……!

Filling the Gryphon’s cliff.

An unusual roar was heard.

Paras looked in the direction the sound was coming from.

And what he saw was—.

‘A red-headed Gryphon…?’

“My goodness…”

The red-headed Gryphon, the Alpha Gryphon.

The leader of all Gryphons, the Alpha Gryphon.

That being, which had not shown itself for hundreds of years, was flying towards the Gryphon’s cliff at a frightening speed.

To the place where Leonardo had jumped.