Just what was she running her mouth off about before a decisive battle. The gryphon smiled wryly and flapped its wings three times out of embarrassment. As soon as it leaned its body forward, it kicked off the ground and flew into the twilight sky.
(Wah.........!)
Several meters above the ground. The gryphon's eagle wings remained spread out.
The surprising thing was that the gryphon was not propelling itself forward with its wings.
Kasukabe Yō, who realized that immediately, let out an unsuppressed voice of wonder even as she suffered intense pressure bearing down on her.
"Amazing.........! You're running through the sky!!!"
Its sharp eagle talons seemed to take hold of the wind.
What was supporting its large body was not its wings. It was using a Gift that manipulated whirlwinds to dash through the sky.
Yes. One might be led by the size to think that their wings could support their body weight which could reach several tons, but wings that would be many times their size and propulsion would be necessary.
These wings were proof that their ecosystem was removed from normal evolution.
Ignoring kinetic laws and running through the air like that was truly deserving of the name of an [Imaginary Beast].
"Miss. We will be arriving at the mountain range shortly but......are you sure? If we head towards the mountains at this speed"
"Yeah. The freezing air has become even colder; it seems to be around minus ten degrees."
After passing the forest and before reaching the mountain range, the gryphon lessened its speed.
The world of the white night was usually cold. That was without even riding on a gryphon's back as it dashed like a gale. The shockwaves and temperature were not something a human could withstand.
This was the ultimatum spawned from the gryphon's conscience. These were words spoken while thinking of Yō's straight-forward attitude. But Kasukabe Yō smiled faintly and returned a provocation in exchange.
"I'm fine. Rather than that, is this okay? You should get serious. Or I'll actually win?"
".........Very well. Don't regret this, miss!"
The atmosphere shook in the next moment. Now it was utilizing its wings to manipulate whirlwinds.
The mountain summit that should have been far in the distance was closing in fast.
If she were to look down, she would be able to see the glacier breaking from the shockwaves. Amidst the shockwaves that seemed like they would crush a human instantly, Kasukabe Yō was gritting her teeth and enduring.
Hearing the faint deep breathing on its back, an emotion that was a mix of wonder and bewilderment welled up inside the gryphon.
Such pressure. Such cold. The endurance that she was displaying to withstand this was not something a girl had.
(I see.........so you have a suitable miracle within you.........!)
The gryphon revealed a wry smile. He hadn't known.
That Kasukabe Yō also possessed a top class Gift of humanity just like Izayoi.
When the gryphon went into a nose dive from the summit, its speed just about doubled. The instant it realized that there was no need to hold back, the gryphon mixed in rotating, trying to shake Kasukabe Yō off. It was useless to cling to the saddle-less eagle back. Only the reins could be held onto, so her lower body swam in midair as if it had been abandoned.
".........!!"
As expected, she couldn't crack jokes anymore. Yō gripped the reins with all her strength and the gryphon rotated with all its strength in order to throw her off. It nosedived until just before the ground, then swung itself to become parallel to the ground.
That was the final turning point. The cold winds from the mountains had stopped and the final part was purely distance.
The gryphon had dashed to the middle of the lake with vigor just like that. The moment Kasukabe Yō's victory was decided --- Kasukabe Yō's hands released the reins.
"What!?"
"Kasukabe-san!?"
There was no time to sigh in relief or offer praise. Kasukabe Yō's petite body danced like it had been blown away by a squall and shot forward from the inertia. Kuro Usagi's hand which was moving to help was grabbed by Izayoi.
"L, let go---"
"Wait! It's not over yet!"
Izayoi stopped the impatient Kuro Usagi. But within Kasukabe Yō's mind, all of the surrounding presences had completely disappeared. There was but a single thing left in her mind: the feeling of dashing through the sky from just now.
(With the limbs.........take hold of the wind and step on the air---!)
Kasukabe Yō's body flipped over with a fwoosh. Sluggish movements that seemed to erase her inertia had already decreased her falling speed, and without touching the lake shore, she flew.
".........Wha"
Everyone there was rendered speechless. It was to be expected.
Kasukabe Yō, who hadn't shown that kind of expression until now, floated above the lake shore, wrapped in the wind.
The one who approached Kasukabe Yō, who was flying there with inexperienced movements like those of swimming, was Izayoi who had a smile on like he was surprised.
"As I thought. Your Gift is the type that allows you to obtain the specialties of other living creatures."
Yō's response to the frivolous smile was sullen.
".........That's wrong. This is the proof that we've become friends. But since when did you know?"
"It was just a guess. When we met Kuro Usagi, you said [I'd know if they're upwind]. That's not something a human can do. That's why your Gift isn't talking with animals, but grants the Gifts of other species.........is what I inferred, but it looks like that's not all. Is there anything on Earth that can withstand that speed?”
She turned away to dodge Izayoi's deeply interested gaze. The one who rushed up beside them in an instant was the calico cat. The calico cat that rode upon her shoulder asked Yō worriedly with a shaky voice.
"Ojou! Are you hurt!?"
"No, I'm fine. It's only that my fingers are numb and my clothes are wrinkled."
She gently petted the calico cat that came over. Opposite that, Shiroyasha was clapping and the gryphon was looking over with admiration.
"Splendid. I would like you to use the Gift you received as proof of your victory over me."
"Yeah. I'll treasure it."
"Oh my, you've done well. This Game is your win.........by the way, I'd like to ask about your Gift. Is it inherited?"
"That's not it. It's thanks to the wood carving I received from my father that I became able to communicate."
"Wood carving?"
The calico cat explained for Shiroyasha who tilted her head.
"Ojou's father was from a carving family. Ojou is able to speak with us through her father's craft."
"Hohou.........a carver father. Could I take a look at that wooden carving?"
Yō nodded and took out the round wooden carving that had been made into a pendant.
Shiroyasha looked upon the large, flat wooden carving that she had been handed and suddenly frowned. Asuka and Izayoi also peeked at the wooden carving from beside her.
"It's a complex design. Is there a meaning behind it?"
"There's a meaning, but I don't know it. I was told it a long time ago, but I've forgotten."
".........This is..."
Not just Shiroyasha, but Izayoi and Kuro Usagi also had docile expressions as they participated in the appraisal. They flipped it over many times and traced the geometric outline that was on the front. Kuro Usagi tilted her head and asked Yō.
"The material is a sacred camphor tree.........? It doesn't seem to have leftover Divinity but......this geometric outline that converges towards the center......and this blank space at the center......did your father have a biologist acquaintance?"
"Yeah. My mother was one."
"A biologist would mean that this really is showing a genealogical tree, Shiroyasha?"
"Most likely......then this figure is like this.........and the convergence of this circle is......no, this is......this is, amazing!! It's truly amazing, young girl!! If this is really man-made, then your father is a super genius of the age of gods! To think a genealogical tree could be completed by human hands, and that it would even grant a Gift! This is a masterpiece that one could call an authentic [Index of Life] without it being exaggerated!"
Shiroyasha's voice was excited. Yō tilted her head in curiosity.
"When you say a genealogical tree, you mean the thing that shows the origin of a living creature and its evolution? But I think that the genealogical tree that my mom made looked more tree-like."
"Umu, that's the form the thing your father wanted to portray took. This wooden carving is specifically a circle to represent the circle of transmigration. Rebirth and death, the genealogy of human life which repeats the circle of transmigration is the center of the circle of continued evolution, which is to say that it seems to continuously aim for the center of the world. The blank center may represent the center of the world which is in continuous flux, or it is because life is not yet complete, or possibly because this work is not yet complete. ---Ununu, amazing. It's amazing. It's been a long time since my power of imagination was stimulated! It's truly artistic! So much so that I would buy it if you would allow me to!