“Damn it!” I shouted.

“Mr. Ki-Young!” Kim Hyun-Sung yelled.

“Shit! Shit!” I yelled.

It happened all of a sudden. A total of sixteen Whitefall juniors were dispatched to Laves. It was an unfortunate event that occurred within five minutes after the black and white griffons rushed toward me.

They had to be happy to see their master for the first time in a while because they attached themselves to me while flapping their wings, but one of them had a hard time containing its excitement and ended up biting me.

It wasn't trying to harm me, but its beak pierced my Endurance. The griffon had to have been surprised as well because it let go of me, but there was already a huge red beak mark on my arm.

“What do you think you’re doing?! Damn it!” Kim Hyun-Sung yelled, sounding upset. I was worried that he would unsheathe his sword and behead the griffon, but…

‘But he’s holding it in.’

'You’re holding it in? Shouldn’t you at least pretend to do something?'

‘No, if he actually beheads the griffon, I'll question his personality.'

I could still remember Hyun-Sung showing mercy on a griffon, even after awakening as Doom Hyun-Sung. The situation would have been different if it had been a human being rather than a griffon, which still made me feel worried.

However, there was no way he would value a griffon more than a human being.

Kim Hyun-Sung had to have yelled because it happened without warning. The griffon that caused trouble flapped its wings to get away from us. It flew to a corner and looked around anxiously.

“I asked what you were doing, Rookie!” Kim Hyun-Sung shouted.

‘The atmosphere sure is tense.’

The griffon named "Rookie" was shaking, and it could not meet Kim Hyun-Sung’s scary gaze. Kim Hyun-Sung's shout was like a magic spell, and hostility was seeping out of him as well.

I was sure he often disciplined these griffons, as even though Rookie was the only one getting scolded, the remaining fifteen griffons looked as if they were getting scolded as well.

“Yeah, it was stupid of me to trust you and bring you here,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

Chirp…

Rookie looked like a full-grown griffon, but it chirped. It chirped as if telling me that he was sorry, but Kim Hyun-Sung didn’t even look at it and proceeded to examine my wounds.

“Are you okay, Mr. Ki-Young? I’m really… really sorry. Rookie isn’t usually like this…” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

“It’s fine. The wound isn’t even that serious, and I don’t think Rookie was actually trying to hurt me…” I said.

“Even so… it must take responsibility for its action,” Kim Hyun-Sung argued.

‘That applies to you as well, but it looks really discouraged.’

Not only was it sitting in a corner, but it was crying as well. It was such a heartbreaking sight, and I found it a bit too much, as all it did was bite me. It was still young, so I understood that it couldn't control its actions earlier. It was heartbreaking, but…

‘It needs to be trained.’

It was rare, but untrained griffons had attacked humans before. They were just playing around in their eyes, but the individual getting roughhoused would never feel the same way.

Incidents caused by pets were becoming a social issue, so getting bitten by a griffon was a pretty serious issue. I was sure that was the reason Kim Hyun-Sung was taking this incident more seriously than I thought.

Rookie was still crying in a corner, but the attention was no longer on him but on the other griffons, which naturally de-escalated the situation.

I used a potion to treat my wounds, and the nervous Hyun-Sung was finally starting to calm down.

“Thank goodness, it's not going to leave a scar,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

“It was just a small bite. I’m sure it was happy since it has been a while since it saw me. That griffon stood out the most among the other griffons. I think it was as big as Shiro when I last saw it… I still remember it,” I told him.

“Griffons have a great memory, so I’m sure it remembers you, Mr. Ki-Young,” he said.

“I only saw it for a moment back then…” I mumbled.

“If I remember correctly, you were petting Whitefall when you first saw Rookie, so maybe… it thought of you as its owner,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

“What?”

‘Damn it, I must’ve been too indifferent.’

However, there was nothing I could do about it. It wasn't like Whitefall had laid only one or two eggs that I could easily handle. It laid eggs so often that I couldn’t take care of each and every one of them. I had no time to do something like that, so all I could do was look at them at least once.

It was happening so often that I told Kim Hyun-Sung not to report to me whenever Whitefall laid eggs. Each time I visited, a group of them would rush toward me, so I couldn’t even tell them apart anymore.

Of course, we had professional breeders and caretakers, but it seemed that Kim Hyun-Sung would often visit them and spend time with them. He even gave them their own name, allowing me to tell them apart. They obeyed him as well.

'So he spent time with the griffons during his spare time instead of meeting people. Maybe he feels more comfortable around them than being around other people.'

“Come here, Alpha,” Kim Hyun-Sung called. He hugged a griffon that had a nice mixture of black and white, which made me think that my assumption was true.

“I’m sure this one remembers you as well, Mr. Ki-Young,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

“

Ahh

, yes, it looks like it remembers me,” I agreed.

“Recently, I’ve been going out riding with it the most. It has high stamina…”

‘There he goes with his specialty again.’

“And if you take a closer look at its wings, you can see that it’s slightly bent, unlike the other griffons. Its wings aren’t deformed. These types of wings are seen on only certain griffons, and it allows them to change directions while in the air…” Kim Hyun-Sung explained.

“

Ah,

I see! That’s impressive,” I commented.

“If you look at the color of its feathers… it has Whitefall’s…”

“

Ah

, I see! That’s amazing,” I said.

“Also, if you look at Alpha’s eyes…”

“

Ah!

I see it! It’s great,” I said.

He really liked it whenever I played along with him while showing off his knowledge.

“And it’s cute,” Kim Hyun-Sung added.

“

Ah!

I see! That’s great,” I commented.

Kim Hyun-Sung never really had the chance to explain or show off like this, so I needed to play along since he was enjoying it.

“So…”

“

Ah!

I understand! That’s great,” I said.

“It is.”

Kim Hyun-Sung seemed worried that I would treat him like an

otaku

, but he looked happy.

“Since we’re not going to be flying fast today, I think it’s best if you ride another griffon instead of Alpha. I’ll… recommend you one, Mr. Ki-Young. What about that one? Come here,” he called a griffon over.

“No, it’s fine. I want to fly with Rookie,” I told him.

“What?”

“Am I not allowed to?” I asked.

“It might… be kind of dangerous… As you already know, Rookie—”

“I’ll have you with me, so I have nothing to worry about. It’s just…” I paused.

“Yes?”

“Seeing it crying in a corner by itself…”

‘It reminds me of you.’

Rookie was cowering in the corner and was crying while facing the wall.

'It’s okay to give second chances.'

“I’ll make preparations, but let’s have a cup of tea first…” Kim Hyun-Sung suggested.

“Okay.”

Kim Hyun-Sung seemed a little worried, as Rookie had already made a mistake once, but he looked determined as he proceeded to get ready for our flight.

I was drinking the tea that the caretaker had brought over, and I saw him having a serious conversation with the caretaker. They were talking about adding equipment, about some not being enough, and he looked like a professional with the way he checked their wings.

‘Maybe we should hold a tournament.’

'I think he’ll really like it.'

I wondered whether people with griffons would even join the tournament, but rich people would probably hire acting riders to enter the tournament. They would want to prove their griffon's pedigree, after all.

‘When it comes to pedigree, Whitefall, and Hyun-Sung’s griffon are pretty impressive as well.’

If we somehow managed to grow it into a proper business like horse racing, it could be worth watching, and there was still some leftover land in Rift Land. It wouldn't be so bad to invest in that…

I started tapping my thigh while thinking about a potential business venture.

A few minutes later, Kim Hyun-Sung finally called me to come over to him. It seemed that he wanted to make up for his mistake because he looked determined, just like Rookie.

“Let’s go,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

“Okay.”

The two griffons took to the sky, and it took no time for us to see the entire Laves Desert.

— Are you okay?

"Yes."

— Please let me know if it’s too high or if we’re flying too fast.

"I can keep up, so you don’t worry too much, Mr. Hyun-Sung."

— Okay.

The strong wind was blowing against my face, but watching the world with a bird's eye view was more fun than flying on a griffon.

I saw Dialuria and the children walking down the street proudly wearing their guild badges. The new members seemed to have finally met each other, as I could see Colonel Smith, Belier, and Alps walking around the square as well.

Some people noticed us on the griffons, and they greeted us from down below.

"It’s so relaxing. But whenever I think about how money was spent on Laves City…"

— …

"I w

as angry at first, but this sight makes me feel like it was a good choice."

— Th-Thank you.

‘He must be touched.’

"Anyway, the Laves Desert is really big."

— That’s right. If you want to take a look at the entire desert, it’ll take you more than a day or two. By the way, there’s a place I want to show you.

"What? Where…"

— Just follow me.

‘You have too many secrets.’

It felt like the day went by pretty quickly. We went to the monster museum and ate. Then, we went to a cafe to drink coffee and talk. Afterward, we spent some time at the griffon platform before riding on a griffon with no destination in mind.

Now we were staring at the sunset.

'Has he been possessed by a ghost of someone who died without being able to see the sunset with their loved one or something?'

The most important part of the plan for Kim Hyun-Sung was watching the sunset. Just as I thought that perhaps he had found a decent spot in the Laves Desert to do that, he guided me to an unexpected destination.

"Where are we?"

— We're in the Salt Desert.

It felt like there were two skies. Like the Mirror Lake, the Salt Desert of Laves Desert perfectly reflected the sky.

“We can land here,” Kim Hyun-Sung informed me.

“

Wow…

”

‘It’s pretty amazing.’

I had seen many things, so I ought to be tired of something like this, but it was still impressive. No words were needed for this, and there was no need for me to say how cool or amazing the scenery was.

The world was dyed orange, and Kim Hyun-Sung quietly stared at the sunset. It felt like we were stepping on the sunset sky. The whole world was bathed in the colors of sunset, making me feel in awe of nature.

“...”

“...”

“It’s nice,” I commented.

“...”

Kim Hyun-Sung smiled with satisfaction. The Salt Desert bathed in the colors of sunset was so beautiful that my reaction was actually genuine. He could tell that my reaction was genuine.

“I always wanted to come here with you, Mr. Ki-Young,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

“Have you been here in your first life?” I asked.

“No, I had no reason to visit the Laves Desert, but I heard that this place was a hidden gem. I thought about wanting to come here someday, and I finally got the chance. At the time, I had no time to come here,” he replied.

“...”

“I don’t know how to describe what I’m feeling right now,” he added.

‘Yeah, it’s pretty impressive.’

There was a

fwoosh

as the sunset engulfed the world.

Kim Hyun-Sung finally said, “Mr. Ki-Young.”

“Yes?”

“Actually…” Kim Hyun-Sung paused.

“...?”

He always had this serious demeanor, but he seemed even more serious than usual.

His serious face made me feel kind of nervous.

“Please don’t be surprised when I tell you this,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

‘What is it?’

“Actually…”

“...”

“I summoned Chanelia Hermes,” Kim Hyun-Sung revealed.