Chapter 142

Before coming to this world, back in Korea.

I saw special forces soldiers on TV jumping out of planes or helicopters and wondered what it would feel like.

Wouldn’t it be scary, wouldn’t their arms and legs tremble?

I thought some people might even wet themselves.

Now, I was experiencing that feeling firsthand.

Fwoooosh—!

Pulled by the force of gravity, I accelerated and accelerated, plummeting down the cliff in an instant.

I could feel the air rushing fiercely past my ears.

It felt as if my whole body was shattering the air as I fell.

‘…I-I’ll be okay, right?’

I already knew. I wasn’t destined to die here.

That’s why I had thrown myself off the cliff with confidence.

But… once I actually threw myself off the cliff, I couldn’t help but be afraid.

Second by second, the river visible at the bottom of the cliff grew closer.

The river at the bottom of the cliff that had been barely visible from the top.

Shudder shuddershudder—.

My arms and legs were trembling.

It wasn’t because I was scared.

It was because I couldn’t withstand the air resistance.

Once I actually jumped off the cliff, I wasn’t all that scared.

…Though I was worried I might die.

‘The ending in my Future Diary wasn’t falling to my death from a cliff.’

It’s fine. It’ll be fine. Yes, it will.

I opened my eyes even wider.

Piyoooo—!

Piyooo……!

The Gryphons flying around me circled me.

Some of them were staring right at me.

One of these Gryphons was supposed to choose me.

‘But… why are they all just watching?’

The large Gryphons circling me only followed me; they didn’t snatch me up.

Instead, it felt like they were waiting for something.

It was a feeling like the Gryphons were thinking 「”I shouldn’t be the one to act.”」.

It wasn’t that I could read the Gryphons’ minds, but for some reason, I just had that kind of feeling.

‘Why on earth—.’

Just as I was getting frustrated with the Gryphons that were only circling and not catching me.

Piyooo—!!

A sound, decidedly louder than any other Gryphon’s cry, was heard.

As soon as that sound rang out, all the Gryphons scattered. It felt like they were clearing a path.

My head naturally turned towards the source of the resounding cry.

And then—.

Thwack!

“Ugh…!”

Before I knew it, something hard and sharp gripped my torso.

Was this what it felt like for a doll to be caught by the claw in a claw machine?

…Honestly, it hurt a lot.

‘D-did a Gryphon catch me?’

Barely calming my panicked heart, I looked up.

I saw a belly of pure white feathers. It looked incredibly soft, and I thought it would be fluffy if I hugged it.

Piyooooo—!

Piyooo—!

Piyooooooo!

The Gryphons that had been circling me as I fell down the cliff just a moment ago.

They were following me too. To be precise, they seemed to be following the Gryphon that had caught me.

As if they were following their captain.

Flap—! Flap—!

The Gryphon that had caught me placed me down in a crevice of the cliff.

Unlike how tightly it had held me, it felt ‘kind’ as it set me down.

“……”

—…….

Swallowing dryly.

I looked at the Gryphon that had snatched me up and brought me to the cliff.

‘This is… the Gryphon I was chosen by. The Gryphon I can ride from now on.’

That’s right. This was my Gryphon.

A body noticeably larger than the other Gryphons.

A particularly striking red head.

Eyes so sharp they were beyond intimidating, even scary.

Pure white, glossy feathers.

Large talons that looked like they could easily crush my torso.

A large black beak, bigger than my head, that looked like it could tear anything apart.

‘…It’s scary.’

That was my first thought. It couldn’t be helped.

Still.

‘Gryphons… like courageous people, right?’

If so, then I should be the one to approach it first now.

Pat—.

Gathering my courage, I brought my hand to the Gryphon’s beak. Fortunately, the Gryphon did not reject my touch.

If anything, it seemed pleased.

It even lowered its head so I could pet it better.

‘At this rate… I think I could ride on its back.’

I had never ridden a Gryphon before, but I felt like I could do it without much trouble.

Because the blood of elves flowed in me. Just as I was able to ride Kartum without ever having ridden a horse before, it would be the same with a Gryphon.

‘Looking at it up close, it seems handsome too.’

I slowly approached the Gryphon’s side.

The Gryphon lowered its body.

To make it easier for me to get on its back.

Thump—!

Gathering my courage again, I climbed onto the Gryphon.

And then.

“Ah…!”

This feeling was the same as when I first rode Kartum.

The feeling of sharing how I wanted to move, what I should do.

That feeling of connected minds.

If so… shall we go?

As I vaguely thought to myself.

Flap—!

The Gryphon elegantly spread its massive wings.

It slowly went to the edge of the cliff crevice and threw its body off the cliff.

And—.

Piyooooo—!

It soared. The ride was so comfortable.

To exaggerate a little, it felt like I could even stand on two feet on the Gryphon’s back.

Though I probably shouldn’t go that far.

The Gryphon I was riding cut through the air and soared almost vertically up the cliff.

This time too, dozens, no, more than that many Gryphons followed behind it.

The sight of over a hundred Gryphons following behind me was truly a spectacle.

‘Are these Gryphons following me? This many Gryphons?’

As I thought to myself.

Nod—.

The Gryphon I was riding nodded its head.

As if answering my question.

‘If this many Gryphons follow me… I’ll be able to handle the Gargoyles sufficiently.’

—The moment I had that hopeful thought.

Piyooooooo—!!

The Gryphon I was riding cried out fiercely.

It seemed to be upset about being compared to Gargoyles.

A feeling like, 「”Compare me to something worthy.”」.

If that’s the case.

‘I’ve got it. I don’t need to worry about the Gargoyles anymore!’

There was no need to worry about the Gargoyles.

That meant the damage our kingdom would suffer in the war with the monster army would be significantly reduced.

‘Still… I can’t be satisfied yet. I can probably reduce the war’s damage even more.’

Though I whipped myself on like that.

I couldn’t stop the corners of my mouth from turning up.

Because I had obtained the Gryphon I had so desperately wanted.

And not just one, but dozens, hundreds of them.

That was an achievement I hadn’t expected or even hoped for.

Once again, I had defeated my future self.

***

Yoanna.

Her thoughts had stopped for a while after seeing Leonardo jump off the cliff.

“……?”

She just stood there blankly, trying to understand the sudden action of Leonardo, her god.

Though she couldn’t understand, as her thoughts were paralyzed.

Then.

Piyooooo—!

She came to her senses at the resonant sound from below the cliff.

“…Your Highness!”

Yoanna shouted and ran to look down the cliff.

She didn’t even realize tears were streaming from her eyes.

The moment Yoanna tried to look down the cliff.

Swiiiiiiiiiiish—!

“Hut!”

Suddenly, from below the cliff, ‘something’ brushed past Yoanna’s face.

That ‘something’ was not just one or two. They continued to fly up vertically from below the cliff.

When she checked what it was—.

“…Are those Gryphons?”

It was a Gryphon. And at the head of that Gryphon flock, Leonardo was riding.

Thud—.

‘Your Highness… thank goodness, I’m so glad.’

Yoanna simply felt relief and gratitude that Leonardo was alive.

She wasn’t at all curious about how Leonardo rode the Gryphon, or how he was riding it so well.

Piyooooo—!

Leonardo’s Gryphon, which had been showing off its presence in the sky for a while, landed on the ground.

Yoanna was still collapsed on the ground, silently watching Leonardo.

Next to her, Paras asked.

“L-Leonardo…. You… the Alpha Gryphon…?”

Even Paras, who always spoke playfully to Leonardo, couldn’t help but be surprised by this.

Because those chosen by the Alpha Gryphon were few and far between, even in the history of the elves.

Thud—.

Leonardo dismounted from the Gryphon, stroked its head, and asked Paras back.

“The Alpha Gryphon?”

His tone was very calm. Unbelievably so for someone who had ridden a Gryphon for the first time.

‘Even I was incredibly surprised when I first rode a Gryphon… do you have to be that composed to be chosen by the Alpha Gryphon?’

Paras felt a sense of pride in his nephew for no reason.

Ruffle—!

“Well done!”

Paras wiped the blank expression off his face and, with his usual bright smile, stroked Leonardo’s head.

“To be chosen by the Alpha Gryphon…! I’m sure your kingdom’s knights will be able to ride Gryphons too!”

“The knights too?”

“Mm! Since the Alpha Gryphon has chosen you, the Gryphons will allow anyone who follows you on their backs! Ah, of course, not just ‘anyone’. They must at least have enough courage for a Gryphon to acknowledge them. And being good-hearted is a given.”

“Ah…”

“Still, riding a Gryphon is dozens of times harder than riding a horse, so humans will have to train a lot. Unlike us elves, humans can’t share their hearts with Gryphons. But knights who are good at riding horses could probably ride them to some extent in about half a year.”

Paras was as happy as if his own army had grown stronger.

He couldn’t help it. Because it was the army of his nephew—Leonardo—who was as precious as his own life, that had grown stronger.

“Ah, and one more thing—.”

As Paras was about to say something.

Thump— Thump— Thump—.

From the edge of the Gryphon flock, a certain Gryphon walked out. It was a little smaller than the other Gryphons, and to be precise, it looked quite weak and young.

Compared to Leonardo’s Alpha Gryphon, it was one-third the size.

That Gryphon approached Yoanna.

It was a similar situation to when the Alpha Gryphon had chosen Leonardo.

Watching that, Paras continued with a smile.

“Like that, if a Gryphon takes a liking to one of your people, it might approach them first.”

“T-this Gryphon likes me?”

Yoanna, whose gaze had been fixed on Leonardo, came to her senses and asked. Paras pointed at the Gryphon instead of answering.

The Gryphon had, at some point, lowered its body and sat down in front of Yoanna.

“That’s a sign that you can ride it. Judging by its size, it seems like a young Gryphon, and it seems to like you.”

“…Eh?”

“It’s still young and small, so it’s weaker than other Gryphons, but it’s still a great thing for a Gryphon to approach someone first. You can be proud, Yoanna.”

Yoanna, who had been listening quietly to Paras’s explanation.

Soon, she slowly got up from her spot and carefully tried to climb onto the Gryphon. Since it didn’t have a stirrup or saddle like a horse, it wasn’t easy to get on.

Still, Yoanna managed to get on the Gryphon somehow.

From on top of the Gryphon, she asked Paras again.

“What should I do now?”

“That’s for you to find out.”

“……”

“It’s the same as riding a horse. You learn by riding, falling off, and getting hurt. That’s why ‘courage’ is important. Because you have to overcome the fear that you might fall from the high sky and die.”

Fall from the sky and die?

Paras’s words were practically a threat.

‘Still… I want to ride it.’

When Leonardo threw himself off the cliff earlier, Yoanna felt like her world was collapsing.

Fortunately, Leonardo reappeared riding a tremendous Gryphon as if a king were returning….’

‘Someday, when His Highness is in crisis… if it’s a truly unavoidable crisis, I have to be the one to save him.’

“Understood. Then I will practice.”

Yoanna nodded with a firm expression.

In response, the young Gryphon that Yoanna was riding let out a happy cry.

Piyooooo—!!

Deep within the head feathers of the Gryphon Yoanna was riding, a single, tiny red feather was growing.

***

At the same time, in the elf village of Roterion.

In the village’s central square, all the elves had gathered for an important meeting.

The meeting was about ‘helping their family by helping the human kingdom.’

The Elder, Elvandor, stood with his back straight, looking around at the elves and spoke.

“As I’ve said until now, the kingdom of our family, Leonardo, is in great crisis. And I have promised Leonardo. That the elves will help.”

—…….

“That is the policy of our elven race. But that does not mean I will force you to participate in the war. You are all family to me as well, so I will not force you to take risks.”

Elvandor turned his body to the other side and continued.

“And also, to help Leonardo, we will eventually have to move our residence to the human kingdom. It’s a natural course of action if we are to fight together. But we cannot leave Foothill’s Rest empty.”

—…….

“Of the 319 elves currently here, at least two hundred must remain in Foothill’s Rest. So if you personally do not wish to help the humans, there is no problem with remaining in Foothill’s Rest.”

Elvandor said it was fine to remain in Foothill’s Rest.

But the atmosphere among the elves was different. It seemed no one wanted to stay.

None of them could overlook the fact that their family was in crisis.

Moreover, they were going to war against the unsightly monsters, and no elf wanted to miss out on that.

To the elves, monsters were more of an eyesore than even dwarves.

Elves were a peace-loving race, but that didn't mean they were a race that avoided war.

Faced with the mood of the entire race, Elvandor pondered inwardly.

‘I expected this kind of atmosphere… but I can’t take all the elves with me.’

Just then, an elf stepped forward and spoke.

It was an elf who resembled Paras, but with a distinctly feminine beauty that stood out.

“Elder. May I have a word?”

“Silvia.”

It was ‘Silvia’, one of the thirteen Elder Elves, the royalty of the elves.

“Speak.”

“Thank you. Since it has come to this, I believe this is an opportunity for all of us elves to join the war and wipe out the seed of monsters in our family’s kingdom.”

“Wipe out the seed of monsters in the Plank Kingdom?”

“Yes. And we will immigrate to that land in the Plank Kingdom called the ‘Monster Mountains’. Along with that, we will plant a new Tree of Life, as the current one has grown too old.”

Planting a new Tree of Life.

—That meant the elves would immigrate entirely. The entire race, abandoning Foothill’s Rest where they had lived for over two thousand years.

“That is—.”

“Of course, it is not an easy choice. But you know as well, Elder. The Tree of Life is now so old that we elves are having trouble bearing children.”

“……”

“If this continues, the elven race will die out within a few hundred years. I hope we can preserve our race with the help of our family before that happens. That would also give our entire race a justification to fight alongside our family.”

Silvia finished speaking. Elvandor looked around, gauging the mood of the other elves.

‘They all look like they agree.’

If that was the case, Elvandor had no reason to oppose it.

From the beginning, Elvandor had wanted to help Leonardo with all his might anyway.

Clap—!

Elvandor clapped his hands sharply and spoke.

“Good. We elves will help our family and all of us will participate in the war against the monster army, and we will not leave a single one of them alive.”

That was the elves’ decision.