How a Reincarnated Warlock Lives – Chapter 107

Chapter 107: Aerial Garden (3)

Moving to the Aerial Garden, encountering wild beasts along the way, and approaching the Beastmen’s nests riding Griffins.

It was an utterly insane plan.

“Are you insane?”

As expected, Lephra, after hearing my words, expressed her opinion very directly.

Subtly, Jerit also expressed silent agreement by standing behind her.

Hmm.

I scratched my chin as I looked at the two of them. It was a natural reaction.

Riding a Griffin is completely different from riding a horse. In the first place, it wasn’t something that could be said so easily.

The movement of a Griffin flying in the sky is six directions: north, south, east, west, up, and down.

It wasn’t just two more directions added, but the countless movements and subtle differences caused by those additions are not something you can learn by riding a few times.

In fact, putting everything aside, a wild Griffin full of ferocity wouldn’t readily offer its back.

In short, it was a plan that could only be suggested by those who know nothing about reality.

Those who wield lances and soar through the sky. The Griffin Riders of Mount Calimphus are not called the elite of the elite for nothing.

The main force of the Grand Temple on Mount Calimphus, one of the five Sanctuaries. They bond with a single Griffin from a young age, live together, and undergo repeated training.

The romantic tales of the Sky Knights, full of exaggeration and metaphors, are a favorite topic among young boys, aren’t they?

Of course, for me, who has personally clashed with them in the air, it wasn’t a story that resonated much.

“It’s not entirely impossible, is it?”

Unexpectedly, it was Herdin who expressed his agreement with my opinion. He nodded with a serious expression as he looked towards my voice with his blindfolded eyes.

“……Brother Herdin-nim, I apologize, but do you have any experience riding a Griffin?”

Jerit asked suspiciously, puzzled by his natural agreement.

“No. To be precise, I’ve never even seen one.”

“……”

At his blatant answer, Jerit let out a groan and put his hand to his head.

“But I’ve heard that Brother Luciel-nim has accomplished extraordinary feats at a young age. Judging from what I’ve seen in the past few days, you don’t seem like the type to make frivolous jokes in this situation.”

He turned his head towards me with a faint smile on his lips. No, he looked at me.

“So I would like to hear it first. Brother Luciel-nim’s words.”

At Herdin’s confident words, seriousness settled on Jerit and Lephra’s faces.

“……Wait.”

Jerit, who finally remembered that I don’t speak nonsense, looked at me with an expression as if he had suddenly remembered something.

“Just in case, I’m asking, but you’re not going to say that you’ve ridden a Griffin before, are you?”

“……No way.”

Jerit’s question. Lephra looked at me with a dubious expression.

“……Hmm.”

I chuckled softly, looking at the two of them looking at me without giving a specific answer.

🔹🔹🔹

Jerit, Lephra, and Herdin, who had taken my side, I apologize, but the truth is, I’ve never ridden a Griffin before.

No matter how much I claim to be a Black Mage who has experienced all the world has to offer, it simply wouldn’t make sense.

In the first place, Griffins are intelligent and proud creatures.

Born close to the radiant sky, they instinctively sense and reject evil beings. Just like trained hunting dogs sniff out and find hidden scents.

In other words, it’s not for nothing that the symbol of the Church is the sun and the Griffin.

However, as Herdin said, my words weren’t entirely baseless. My experience riding winged creatures wouldn’t be far off compared to those Sky Knight fellows.

In the grand scheme of things, riding a Griffin isn’t that different from riding a winged Magical Beast.

There might be slight differences, but it’s similar to how I, skilled in horseback riding, adeptly rode a large deer in the Great Forest.

Of course, I couldn’t just blatantly say,’Don’t worry. I’ve ridden Gargoyles, Venom Wyverns, and Deherkezars to my heart’s content.’

Therefore, I only voiced the first part of my thought.

“Don’t worry, Inquisitor-nim. This time, I’m very worried.”

“When were you not?”

“……Well, that’s true, but.”

“Shh. It’s over there.”

We were currently standing on a highland.

About half a day had passed since we descended from the Aerial Garden and searched for the Griffins’ habitat.

The rain had stopped, and the Griffins we saw while ascending the highland were scattered about, basking in the sunlight.

“……”

The rest of the party looked at me with expressions that asked,”What now?”

Naturally, there was only one way. I shrugged and slowly walked forward.

Caw?

The Griffin that spotted me slowly approaching let out a small cry.

Griffins don’t hunt humans unless they’re starving.

That’s why they’re known as noble and honorable animals. In reality, they’re intelligent enough to know that humans are beings that can easily threaten them.

However, even excluding such cold-hearted facts, it was true that Griffins clearly rejected Demonic Energy and reacted to Holy Power.

The fact that they could distinguish evil people was also half true.

Flap.

Several nearby Griffins spread their large wings and flapped them menacingly. But I didn’t flinch or show fear as I approached them.

Swish.

I slowly approached a particularly large Griffin. It had feathers as white as snow.

The mystical creature, several times larger than me, that had been preening its glossy feathers turned its large beak towards me.

I averted my gaze from the Griffin’s talons, which were much longer and sharper than most daggers, and met its eyes.

Caw. After observing me for a moment, the creature sniffed the air.

I waited patiently without making any sudden movements.

It’s impossible to forcefully subdue a Griffin. Due to their strong pride, if captured by force, they would refuse to eat and starve themselves to death.

“……”

How much time had passed? As if sensing something, the creature, which had been staring at me intently, gently nudged my hand with its large beak.

“……!”

At the same time, I heard Jerit gasp from behind.

Growl.

Griffins recognize strength. But they also distinguish evil.

For whatever reason, it seemed I had passed its criteria. I let out a small sigh of relief.

Slowly extending my hand to stroke the Griffin’s firm yet soft white feathers, the creature let out a cry of satisfaction.

“I, It seems it recognizes Inquisitor-nim’s shining personality.”

Jerit, who was standing far behind, muttered in amazement as he watched.

“I acknowledge your Holy Power and skills, but personality……well……”

Lephra, who had acrophobia, seemed to have secretly hoped for failure, and spoke half-jokingly.

Now it was time to get down to business.

Swish.

I closed my eyes and presented the Beastmen’s feather, which I had received from the Aerial Garden beforehand, to the creature that was enjoying being petted.

“……?”

The Griffin reacted with a moment of puzzlement and sniffed the feather. Then, it tilted its head and looked at me.

It seemed to be asking for my intention. I pointed to the sky and smiled slightly.

“Yes, I want you to take me to where these are.”

Growl.

Upon hearing my words, the Griffin stepped back and shook its body vigorously. Then, it spread its enormous wings.

“Oh……!”

Jerit, seeing the Griffin flapping its half-folded wings and slightly lowering its body, let out a gasp of admiration.

“Well then.”

I lightly climbed onto the creature’s back.

“I, I’ll stay here. Someone needs to stay with Herdin─”

Seeing Lephra rambling in a flustered manner, Jerit chuckled and quickly climbed onto the Griffin’s back behind me.

Whine. The Griffin with snow-white feathers seemed momentarily displeased with Jerit’s boarding and pawed the ground with its front foot, but soon, the Griffin spread its massive wings wide.

A moment later. The Griffin, which had soared straight up as if by magic, began to fly through the blue sky at an incredible speed.

🔹🔹🔹

It didn’t take long to reach the Birdmen’s nests.

The sense of speed felt on the fluffy back of the Griffin as it cut through the sky at tremendous speed was incomparable to the Black Mage of the Inquisition.

“Wooaah─!”

With Jerit’s scream, which I couldn’t tell if it was out of fear or excitement, we entered the cliff area where the Birdmen’s nests were located.

“Th, there they are!”

Dizzying cliffs. Round-shaped nests located all over the place.

It was a peculiar form, as if a bird’s nest and a human dwelling were half-merged. Judging from the number of nests located all over the steep cliffs, it was quite a large scale.

Purrrr.

The Griffin, flapping its wings in the air, snorted, seemingly not very pleased. Perhaps the Birdmen who were probably nearby were somewhat burdensome.

Now it was my turn.

“Griffin?”

“No, they’re humans!”

“Inform the Chieftain!”

The Birdmen, as if they had spotted us, surrounded us. I stroked the back of the Griffin’s neck, which seemed uneasy and sniffed, and waited for them.

A little later.

The Birdman who appeared to be their leader, a large one with bone-like ornaments around his neck, approached us flapping his wings, accompanied by warriors.

The encirclement that took place in the air was quite unique.

A considerable number of Birdmen surrounded us in a large sphere-like formation, as if to threaten us.

It was a set procedure. The Birdmen, knowing that access to the cliffs was impossible, only had to guard the one sky path.

“I’ve come to retrieve the seeds you took.”

After confirming that all the Birdmen were in position, I looked at them and said in a loud voice.

The Birdmen’s reaction to my words was somewhat predictable.

“Ha! Those are our spoils of war, rightfully taken from weak humans!”

The words of the leader with a large build. I let out a low sigh after hearing the words I had anticipated to some extent.

“Then, you wouldn’t have any complaints if I took them back from you with greater force.”

“You don’t look that strong, little human.”

The Birdman’s sarcastic remark.

He flapped his wings and looked down at me.

The Birdman’s half-exposed, sturdy muscles. The powerful strength that could easily tear apart most beasts seemed to be the source of his confidence.

“……”

I looked him up and down.

If I could just deal with the new leader and the belligerent ones gathered here, they probably wouldn’t dare to encroach on the garden again.

“Is that so?”

Meeting the gazes of the Birdmen, all looking at me, I took out something I had prepared in advance from my pocket.

Offensive magic using Holy Power is not very effective against enemies who do not possess Demonic Energy. The sky above the cliff, where strong winds blew, was a more familiar stage for them than for me.

But there was a reason why I drew their attention and gathered them like this.

Saaa.

The moment the Birdmen’s attention was focused.

The giant snake’s eyeball, which I had brought after collapsing the Caridad Catacomb, tightly wrapped in cloth until now, was revealed.

Translator’s Blog

Blog

• Light Novel Addiction: How One Hour of Sleep Loss Can Ruin Your Day (and Your Life)
• Demon Slayer: Tengen Uzui – The Ultimate Husbando?
• Gojo Satoru the Ultimate Husbando?! Is This a Thing?
• Wakana Gojou: The Ultimate Husbando? Is This Anime Romance Even Real?
• The Unmentionable Truth About Anime Waifus: Why They’re All So Smooth