Chadra’s Conqueror (6)

Azadine left Rijen’s unit, Bernard and Giacomo, and Sir Braham behind at the Southeast Rock Wall.

“Bernard and Giacomo, cast the Vigor Surge spell on the drug addicts.”

For the rehabilitation of addicts, folk remedies usually relied on ginseng—an expensive medicinal herb.

But if there was a “Vigor Surge” spell, it could replace ginseng’s effect.

“The two of us, for this many patients?”

“Aren’t there more mages?”

Azadine pointed to Chashan and the dwarven sorcerers, bound in Shadowsteel chains.

“Teach them blood magic so they can use Vigor Surge. No—most of them can probably use it right away.”

“Then what will you do, Captain? If you leave this many troops behind and go….”

“I’ll take Kuntachi and Camilla and go meet Sir Selim.”

“Sir Selim? Isn’t it dangerous to meet him with so few people?”

“The place that needs manpower is here—the Southeast Rock Wall. With Selim, I intend to settle it with words.”

“…….”

“You look unconvinced, Bernard.”

“It’s because you haven’t exactly solved much with words so far.”

After saying that, Bernard handed Azadine an Azure Steel dagger and arrowheads.

“And these are?”

“The dwarves had them. A dwarf-made Azure Steel dagger—should be quite useful.”

“Hm. I’m happy. Aurelia Dawn has regeneration, sure, but honestly, it’s always felt dull when it cuts. And I’ve got newly honed Blue Steel Blades, too. This is excellent.”

Azadine packed the Azure Steel weapons and set out.

Sir Selim’s territory was a place called the Chadra Dragon Springlands—originally the middle of a basin on the Chadra Plateau where all manner of beasts swarmed.

Here, rain that fell on the plateau welled up as springwater across the dragon-spring zone. Along that zone lay forests that grew up around the springs, ruins of giants, and vast grasslands that the giants had once reclaimed into fields.

So many wild animals teemed here that people had considered it a dreadful place where no one could live—and sure enough, every road had been ravaged by animals.

“It’s a region without the Imperial Road. Even the Emperor couldn’t seize the Rescue Knights Order.”

Azadine spurred his horse along, avoiding what had once been a road, now flipped and churned by countless hooves.

“Hey, Captain. Up in the sky—”

“I know.”

Azadine had already felt the gaze from above, looking down at their mounts.

Up there, a griffin was circling high overhead, watching Azadine’s group.

The griffin was a beast as large as a bear, yet it flew so high it was hard to make out with the naked eye—like a small clump of cloud.

When something like that dove from above to strike a horse, everyone would be helpless.

“Will it dive like an eagle?”

“It can’t, not like that. Griffins are heavy, unlike eagles. It won’t attack by a straight vertical drop—it’ll glide in from behind. Of course, it’ll still be fast, and huge.”

Azadine said that as he gripped his bow.

Had it sensed something from him? The killing intent the griffin had aimed at Azadine suddenly vanished.

Then, with a crying sound—ku-eek—other beasts were attacked instead.

In a diving strike, the griffin tore away nearly half of a zebra’s neck.

Blood poured like a waterfall as the zebra staggered. The griffin clamped down, kicked off the ground, rose up on two legs like a bear, and slammed the zebra onto the earth.

With prey so abundant here, it had chosen to hunt another beast rather than risk hunting dangerous humans.

“A wise one.”

Azadine kept his bow in hand, still wary of the griffin, and rode on.

A fence came into view across the grasslands of the Chadra Dragon Springlands.

The Chadra Dragon Springlands ranch, built to supply horses to the Rescue Knights Order—this was Sir Selim’s base.

“Hm.”

Azadine frowned at the sight of dead horses hanging from the ranch fence and rotting. They had died to griffin attacks, and after being torn and eaten, were left there to decay—irresponsibly abandoned.

“Who goes there?!”

Just then, a voice came from beneath the ranch fence. The ranch herdsmen were hiding under the fence, armed with glaives, aiming at Azadine.

They had dug trenches beneath the fence, and those passageways ran through the entire ranch. It seemed they had made them to move around while avoiding griffin attacks.

“I’m Azadine, a trainee knight of the Rescue Knights Order.”

“Huh? Y-You’re the one…?”

The herdsmen stared at Azadine, then glanced around nervously.

“D-Did you come to kill Sir Selim?”

“I came to talk. Why?”

“Please kill that mad cowhead. This isn’t living.”

“What do you mean? What did he do—eat people or something?”

“No.”

“H-He’s hatching griffin eggs.”

“What?”

Griffins—beasts of the monstrous class—bred by egg, and like most such creatures, about half their eggs failed to hatch and died.

Yet Selim not only brought griffin eggs home to hatch them himself—he was even raising and feeding them at the ranch.

“The griffins eat here, crap here, and cause chaos.”

“Griffins have a habit of dropping what they’re eating from high places. So it’s basically daily life for a horse neck to fall out of the sky, smash roofs, and wreck houses.”

“And their droppings are viciously toxic.”

“People get hurt and die—it’s a disaster. That’s why we’re crawling around in underground tunnels like this. We’re doing this because griffins scare us!”

“We can’t even properly tend the horses and cattle. This place was remote, sure, but it was rich—there was never any trouble making a living. Then that minotaur bastard showed up!”

The herdsmen clung to Azadine as if he were a savior.

“Please, kill that cowhead bastard.”

“No, but it doesn’t sound like a crime worthy of death. Somehow you hate him more than the tyrants.”

“With tyrants, they demand money or women—at least you can understand where their greed will go. But you can’t understand a madman.”

“Alright, I get it. First, let me meet Selim. He’s still a knight of the Rescue Knights Order— I can’t just kill him outright.”

Azadine put the herdsmen’s demand to kill Sir Selim aside for the moment, and issued separate orders to Camilla and Kuntachi.

“Camilla. Check out Selim’s residence.”

“Ah, sure. Because that minotaur might be eating people behind the scenes, right?”

“Right. Kuntachi, you protect your big sister.”

“Yeah. Kuntachi protects big sister.”

Azadine sent Camilla and Kuntachi off to investigate and headed for Selim’s residence to meet him.

Selim was at the dairy ranch, watching the cows while drinking fodder tea.

A pastoral scene: a tea table set before the herd.

But the one sitting there was a minotaur—so the harmony between the cow-headed beastman and the grazing cattle was grotesque beyond words.

And above that clear sky over the idyllic ranch, griffins were circling.

‘Is this alright? The cows—don’t the griffins attack them?’

Azadine was wondering that when—

“Oh, isn’t that Sir Azadine.”

“Sir Selim.”

“That one is Maribel—the milk cow I told you about before. Well? Pretty, isn’t she?”

“…….”

To Azadine, it looked like an ordinary black cow.

“She looks cleaner than the others. She doesn’t seem sick.”

“Right? I knew you’d understand.”

Understand what? Azadine wanted to ask, but he cleared his throat and approached Selim instead.

“Care for a cup?”

Selim offered Azadine fodder tea. It was hay chopped and boiled with oats—nothing that looked remotely edible for a human.

“No. I don’t think my digestion can keep up, so I’ll pass. More importantly, Sir Selim.”

“I heard. You beat Chashan. Impressive. Those dwarven sorcerers aren’t easy prey.”

Azadine had suppressed them easily, but that was because he was of the Messenger Clan—specialized in killing mages.

Azadine himself knew it, so he wasn’t getting complacent just because he’d subdued a Chadra Ogre.

“More importantly, the locals are suffering. I hear you’re hatching griffin eggs.”

“To make hippogriffs, I need more griffins.”

“Why not just ride griffins and fly? Then you could reduce the number of griffins and cut the damage to the residents.”

“Listen, Sir Azadine. A griffin has the forebody of a hawk and the hindbody of a lion. They aren’t easy to tame, and they eat more than hippogriffs. A hippogriff has the forebody of a hawk and the hindbody of a horse. They eat meat well, but they’re omnivorous—and in ride comfort, hippogriffs win by a landslide. Upkeep and ride comfort—and endurance, too! In every way, griffins can’t compete with hippogriffs!”

“This isn’t a question of ride comfort. Even if hippogriffs are the superior mount, the process of making them is causing residents to suffer.”

“That’s just because they’re not used to it yet. Once they get used to it, they’ll like it.”

“And if they don’t get used to it—how will you take responsibility?”

“You know one thing and miss two. Azadine, why do you think a minotaur like me is a member of the Order?”

Sir Selim said that, then poured the fodder tea into his mouth and started chewing hay and oats with loud crunches.

“Ah, my apologies. It tastes best if you chew it thoroughly.”

“And you ruminate, too?”

“Uwoong…”

He had brought it up—then withheld the most important part. But even without Selim saying it, Azadine could infer the rest.

“Don’t tell me you became a member of the Rescue Knights Order on the condition that you raise hippogriffs?”

Selim nodded. He still couldn’t speak, since he was chewing fodder.