By Zephyria 
Griffins were medium-sized monsters. Excluding their wings and tails, measuring just their heads and bodies, the smaller ones reached 3 meters, and the larger ones, 7 meters. They had the face of an eagle and the wings of an eagle, but four legs.
The two front legs resembled those of an eagle. Every joint of their forelegs was covered in dense scales, and their talon-like claws glinted sharply.
The two hind legs were thick and stout, like a lion’s. The reason they were said to resemble a lion’s legs among so many beasts lay in their tails. The long tail attached to their hindquarters had a tuft of fur clumped at the end like a bead, strongly reminiscent of a lion.
I had heard that griffins communicated through sound and their tails.
I hadn’t bothered to memorize other signals, deeming them unimportant, but I knew one thing. When their tails stood straight and horizontal to their bodies, it was a sign that the griffin had found prey.
Just as we were seeing now.
Griffins were incredibly difficult monsters to deal with. They would circle high in the sky, waiting for the right moment, then dive down to snatch their prey with their forelegs and drop them from a great height. If they sensed even a slight disadvantage, they would flee back into the sky. Their feathers had a property that reflected magic power, rendering most spells ineffective.
Above all, they were territorial monsters. They rarely hunted this far away unless their territory was invaded. In fact, they never did.
“They must have gotten bold, thinking they could get away with it.” A hollow laugh escaped me. Hugh Benson shouted quickly.
“Between the claws! Cut the joints! Attack the forelegs primarily! You don’t have to kill them! Just sever the forelegs! Only the forelegs! Don’t get caught!”
“…”
Without a word of reply, everyone shot forward and charged.
No matter how detestable they were, one couldn’t watch a person die before their eyes. Elvin stayed close to Marianne, protecting her, while Rubel, Benjamin, and I stepped forward to slash at the forelegs that descended towards the mercenaries.
As the creature recoiled its legs and plunged down again, I leaped aside and swung my sword with all my might. A blue light severed two of one griffin’s toes in a single blow. The creature shrieked like a night owl and shot upwards.
A mercenary, picking up the griffin’s severed forelegs that had fallen off like a lizard’s tail without shedding a drop of blood, glanced at me. Hmph. What else could I do? With a mere flick of my chin, I gestured towards Elvin and Marianne, letting the creature escape, and scanned my surroundings.
Above the mercenaries’ heads, the auras Rubel and Benjamin unleashed blocked the griffins’ next attacks. Each time their descending forelegs met the children’s swords, a clang, a chaeng, echoed – the sound of metal striking metal.
Hugh Benson’s continuous Flying Dagger attacks prevented the griffins from descending carelessly, forcing them to circle above our heads. They’re waiting for us to get tired.
After a moment’s thought, I moved about fifteen paces to the left. One griffin immediately swooped down, targeting me, who had separated from the group.
In the meantime…
I wove my Sword energy into a rope, tightly binding its neck and wings.
KWA-AAAAAH!
Dust billowed. The griffin, unable to withstand its own speed, crashed directly into the ground. I leaped in and severed its neck. The thick neck took three strikes from my Sword energy-infused sword before it finally fell.
Perhaps because it had the head of a bird, even after its neck was severed, its eyes rolled, and its beak repeatedly snapped open and shut. Its head was considerably larger than my torso. I didn’t release the Sword energy binding its wings until its pale grey tongue lost its strength.
Soon, it breathed its last. As the griffins watched its bulging eyes lose focus and become clouded, they let out three screeching sounds like fingernails on a chalkboard and wheeled away.
Seeing the mercenaries, who had been half-crouched, slowly getting back on their feet, Hugh Benson stopped picking up the scattered Flying Daggers and kicked one of them hard in the side.
My gaze fell on the mercenary rolling on the ground with a yelp.
But I thought it natural for Hugh to be angry. They deserved to be scolded if they made a mistake. Unlike me, who remained calm, Marianne and Rubel looked flustered, but no one spoke.
Hugh Benson bellowed at the dejected mercenaries.
“What business do you have, you incompetent fools? Do you want to die?”
“No, no. That’s not it. Sir Knight.”
“Hah, damn it. If we weren’t here, would you still be poking around griffin nests like that? What were you after? Eggs? Or maybe trying to grab some feathers?”
Griffin eggs were incredibly rare and expensive. However, if you disturbed them, you would face the relentless attacks of adult griffins.
On the other hand, griffin feathers, scattered around the nests, didn’t hold any special properties, but their large and beautiful size and shape made them valuable items when fashioned into quills. If these mercenaries were after something, it would undoubtedly be griffin feathers.
I counted their numbers in my head.
One, two… Nine. Three were missing. Three had died. In the meantime.
The bald one was nowhere to be seen. Looking again, the missing ones were all older than the survivors. I couldn’t tell if he had been captured while trying to protect the others, as their leader, or if he had simply been unlucky.
A sigh escaped me. These guys… Except for the three who died and a few others, they were at most Rubel’s age. The one Hugh Benson had kicked in the side fumbled and knelt down, and the others followed suit.
Some were already crying. Hah. I couldn’t suppress the sigh that boiled up from my Dantian.
One of them mumbled.
“We didn’t know there was a griffin nest there… We just heard there was treasure nearby…”
“What are you talking about?”
As the first one flinched and shrank back, another replied.
“We met other mercenaries, and they said there was a place where Mana gathered…”
“…A place where Mana gathered?”
“Yes, they said it shimmered with light… and Spirits gathered… We thought if we could find a wild Ranunculus colony, it would be a huge success…”
“Magical Creatures aren’t usually aggressive, so we thought everyone would be fine. Sob, sob… I’m sorry, I’m sorry. We… we…”
When one started crying, another cried harder. Then the one next to them buried their head on the ground and wailed.
In an instant, the surroundings were filled with the sound of crying. I gritted my teeth and swallowed my breath. Hugh Benson stared at them for a long time before turning and taking out magic firewood. Marianne, who had been watching, scurried over and helped light the firewood and set up the pot.
Soon, a savory aroma spread.
Those who had been sobbing one by one stopped crying. Seeing the bewildered mercenaries stealing glances, Hugh Benson spoke. His voice was still gruff.
“Are you done crying?”
“…Yes.”
“Then speak. Only those who speak clearly will get a bowl each.”
A little time passed. All the mercenaries had received a bowl of stew.
According to the mercenaries, strange rumors had been circulating among mercenaries near Dunmel Canyon for some time. Dunmel Canyon was usually known to have Mana surges only when the weather was bad, but this time, it was peculiar because the Mana was boiling even on a clear day.
…I had seen something like that before. Last year, shortly before I discovered the Rocket pendant.
I understood what had bewitched the mercenaries. Hadn’t I, too, been drawn to Dunmel Canyon by the scent of dense Mana? I closed my mouth and continued listening.
“…The rumor is that the reason Mana is overflowing in the canyon is because there’s a magic cave nearby. That, the White Lion Mercenary Group! It’s reliable information because the White Lion Mercenary Group saw it…”
“…White Lion Mercenary Group?”
“Yes… Even though the sky was clear, Sylphs were seen flocking in one direction, and they followed them. They said there was a large, deep cave in the ground, but the Mana Concentration was so high they couldn’t enter… That’s what they said.”
The White Lion Mercenary Group was a mercenary group specializing in monster hunting, hired by Mage Boulder when research was needed in the Yuil Mountains. I recalled hearing a story about one of them who hadn’t shaved his beard for three months during a journey, looking like a beast.
Hugh Benson seemed to know their name well.
“No, damn it. You tried to enter a cave that even the White Lion Mercenary Group couldn’t enter?”
“If it wasn’t a day when Mana was surging… we thought we could. We can still traverse 40 MP areas… We happened to find a cave of similar size…”
“…Hah. So, the place you thought was the rumored cave turned out to be a griffin’s nest?”
“Yes,” came the weak reply. Hugh Benson buried his face in his hands and hunched over, lost in thought. At that moment, Rubel, who had been listening quietly, asked.
“…Did you say the rumor had spread widely?”
“Yes? Yes. We’ve encountered about four mercenary groups so far, and they all said the same thing. That it would be a huge success if found…”
In the Sierran Empire, it was a common saying not to enter any caves near the Yuil Mountains. Even the most skilled could be harmed by unknown monsters shooting from the darkness.
Usually, hunting monsters in caves was done by throwing Explosive Artifacts into the cave, but those seeking treasure wouldn’t collapse the cave.
How many would die due to their greed?
Hugh Benson clutched his hair and groaned. The curses he spat out repeatedly were filled with deep despair. Was he worried about the lives of complete strangers this much?
As I felt pity for Hugh Benson’s deep concern and reached out to pat his shoulder, he suddenly lifted his head.
“…Ah, I’m going crazy. Damn it, we have to go.”
“Yes?”
“Hah… I can’t believe there are only six knights in the Dunmel Canyon support team. I don’t believe it.”
“…Yes?”
“Shii-t, the useful ones all ran off to the Yuil Mountains, excited to earn merit, and all that’s left to save themselves is us six. The national law dictates that when mercenaries screw up and get hit by a Monster Rush, we noble and excellent knights like myself have to resolve it.”
“…Gasp.”
“It’s unbelievable that there are those who shit and those who clean it up. What the hell are we supposed to do? We can’t block the entire canyon with four kids.”
“…”
Us?
I wasn’t the only one stunned. No, I was fine. But to have the children go and stir up suspicious caves and, incidentally, stop any potential Monster Rush? Did that make any sense?
And all the useful reinforcements were supposedly high up in the Yuil Mountains? It was outrageous.
Hugh Benson burst into laughter, his Adam’s apple visible, like a madman.
Everyone stood there, staring blankly. Had I ever seen such a desperate laugh? After laughing loudly for about an hour, Hugh Benson suddenly stopped. He turned to us with a face as pale as the sky.
“Kids.”
No one could answer. Hugh Benson’s voice, meltingly gentle, spoke.
“I don’t really like saying this, but…”
“…Yes?”
“Does anyone miss their mom?”