[Royal Palace – Belzerg's Capital]

Well, you learn something new everyday.

One such thing turned out to be that Kazuma was familiarly acquainted why the princess. Frustratingly so.

The fact was that the princess was uttering words that I'm sure were slang from Kazuma's former world.

"Huh? Is that a griffin?"

I grin, turning towards the direction where the princess pointed at, and waved a hand at the rider currently seated on top of it.

The rider waved back as well, spurring their mount downwards as the griffin swooped low and began to pick up speed.

"Hey...doesn't that griffin look like it's swooping down on us?"

"Should we sound the alarm, Onii-san?"

"...No. That griffin is most likely tamed, since you can't just put on the armor on a wild griffin. If my suspicions are correct..."

I reached behind my back and umsheathed my staff, expanding it to its full size before waving it around the air. The griffin rider nodded, their mount extending its legs as if grasping something–

–And I found myself getting snagged by the griffin as I was quickly hauled up on its back.

"Onii-san, that's...!"

"See, I knew it. That's most likely the Guildmaster's friend. I recognized that armor from a while ago when..."

Their conversation was taken over by the rush of wind, and I adjusted my balance on the ornery griffin while their rider tried their best to calm it down.

I then casted [Silence, and allowed myself to heave a sigh at the companionable silence.

"That almost gave me a heart attack. Don't do it again, Matsuri."

"Aww, but it was fun!"

No it wasn't. Especially when the damn griffin turns to look at you like you're its next meal.

"I swear I'm getting you another one if this guy keeps on eyeing me like meat."

"Please don't."

The griffin screeched, tucking in its wings and quickly whirling around to fling me off the damn saddle. I would've liked to turn the damn griffin into meat, but Matsuri was still flying the thing around.

Oh well, no choice. We're still at the frontline after all.

"[Bottomless Swamp]!"

The ground before me shifted in consistency, now carrying a much darker color as ripples began to form on my landing area. Flyers from the side of the Demon King's Army swarmed around me, ready to pick me off in a moment's instant.

Even the adventurers on the ground looked on in horror, but I wasn't going to be bird feed. Well, at least not at the moment.

"[Firestorm]."

The air around me burst into flames, a blast of magical winds forcing the flames to spread in random, eclectic directions. The demonic birds shrieked as the scent of burned feathers filled the air, and even my fall was halted for an instant as an updraft of hot air rushed below me to fuel the flames.

A second later, I reached the ground, landing with the soft tap of my staff as the embers from my spell flickered through the air.

I met gazes with the hooded figure situated on the other hill, their cat-like eyes burrowing into mine.

My reply was a challenging grin, and as expected, they answered to the challenge.

"[Explosion]."

A rumble filled the air as the ground around the rest of the adventurers began to grow hot. I sighed and moved one finger, my lips already moving in a counter.

"[Niflheim]."

Frost flashed over the entire battlefield, covering the adventurers with a coating of ice. There they stood frozen in place, the [Explosion] finally occurring as it burnt off the thick layer of ice that covered their bodies. What wasn't melted was then shattered by the shockwave, and a few moments later an army of adventurers and soldiers alike could only blink in confusion as they glanced around their feet.

My gaze turned back to the hooded figure, but she was already gone.

"Heh. Can't even face me upfront."

An armored griffin landed next to me, their rider jumping off before the griffin charged towards the pile of frozen enemies and began smashing through them in glee.

"Matsuri", I called the griffin rider beside me, watching as they took off their helmet to reveal my successor. "You saw her, right?"

"I did. What the hell is she doing here?"

"Finding her other half, she said." I replied with a sigh, shaking my head at the griffin currently barreling through the rest of the Demon King's forces that weren't caught in the range of my [Niflheim]. "...You know what to do, I take it?"

"Yup. Can I have Vanir for this, though?"

"Sure. Just say that he's on paid leave."

"Take care of my griffin, then?"

I glanced towards her with a blank gaze. "I take it that's a no, then..."

"Of course. You've seen how much I wanted to fry that wannabe bird out of the sky." I sighed. "...As much as I don't want to say this, but let Kazuma take care of it."

"Him? He's going to die."

"You're the griffin's master, right? Then order the guy to be docile around the guy." My knuckles cracked as a smile formed on my face. "The slippery bastard bend the rules, I knock him down a few pegs."

"I still want a flying griffin, though."

"You got it."

Matsuri nodded, whistling a high-pitched sound as the griffin stopped and immediately bounded over towards its master, lolling its tongue all the way through like a dog.

The moment that it had its sights on me however, it tried to bite my head off.

At this time, my patience was already wearing thin, and I needed to let out a bit of steam.

So I snapped the damn griffin's beak shut, and cracked it once for good measure. "Do it one more time. I dare you."

Good thing the griffin let out a whimper. Lest the damn thing would have to feed through a straw.

"...Bree, did anyone tell you that you need to ease up on the brutality?"

"Sorry. Just these situations remind me of my former job. You can't believe how much I wanted to strangle them for it."

"Haha..."

"Haha..."

We both laughed, but we knew that it was completely true.