Part 2[edit]
---[Underwood] VIP room, Gry's bedroom.
Amongst the VIP rooms within the Great Tree, there are also those that are specially made for Eudemons. A spread of hay for the ground and a water point which is directly from the Great Tree itself.
Gry currently resided in such a room after being injured in the previous battle.
Izayoi had carried the consolation prize into the room. The gunny sacks full of food that were swiped from the Harvest Festival the night before.
Guessing that the raw meat might pose a bit of a problem if left overnight, Izayoi went to find people to get them grilled or cut into bacon pieces to be cooked.
Taking a huge bite into the chunk of meat that hung to a piece of bone, Izayoi nodded in satisfaction.
"I've always wanted to try taking such a huge bite to eat meat."
"Ho? And why is that? Don't humans usually use utensils to dine?"
"That's right. But there's also this difference in the feeling. Won't you agree that just biting into the meat and tearing it from the bone makes it feel much more enjoyable?"
Izayoi gave a hearty laugh before tearing off another chunk of meat with his teeth.
Giving a wry smile in response, Gry got back to pecking at the chunk of meat held within his front talons.
While they were busy with their meals, the door suddenly opened without as much as a knock. And a pair of nekomimi[5] Father and daughter walked in.
"Wa, dad, it's regular customer-san here as well!"
"Oh, isn't it the [No Name]s boy? You came to visit too?"
"I guess so…..Nn? It seems like you've brought some good stuff as well?
Glancing behind the two of them, Izayoi could see that there was a cask of wine beside the gunny sack that they brought.
Seeing how they just barged in and start laying out all the stuff they brought, Gry's wry smile remained on his face.
"Garol, I think that the act of bringing wine to a patient leaves much room for comments."
"This? Oh, so you aren't going to drink?"
"No, that's not what I said. But the responsibility to insist on the drink will not lie with me, but best left to you, Garol."
"Well said. It's all the fault of this uncle who insists on drinking with you in the early morning."
Having pushed all the blame off themselves, Izayoi and Gry accepted the wine poured for them.
Without complains, Garol was the first to toast.
"Come, for the second day of the Harvest Festival…. A toast to our injured hero!---GanPai![6]"
*Chink!* Their glasses were brought together in a toast.
Hearing the choice of words for the toast, Izayoi guessed the reason for Garol's purpose for visiting Gry.
(….I see… It must be due to the matter regarding that Horse Meat.)
Though they were from different Communities, it was still a member of the Alliance that had publicly insulted Gry's valor and it required an apology. Their visit was partially out of that reason, and also the fact that they did see Gry as a real hero, one that deserved a gathering like this.
One needn't apologize or pity a hero----Since it's cheers and praises that he should receive.
"Oh right. Is it true that the Horse Meat is Gry's brother?"
"……Nn. Communities that revolve around Eudemons do not have concepts such as marriage. Hence they can have children without much care about race."
"Oh~Seems like a trouble when it comes to inheriting the family heirlooms."
"No, that's not true for us Eudemons. The choice for the heir isn't by bloodlines, but based on the strength of the candidates. Hence, it isn't a problem where Draco Greif decides to have his babies. But…."
Garol paused awkwardly as he shifted his gaze to Gry.
Gry sighed and seemed to laugh at himself.
"That's something that happened ten years ago. In the duel with Griffith, I had lost and had to leave [Underwood]."
"……what?"
"It was during the time when [Draco Greif] Alliance first expressed its willingness to help [Underwood]. Griffith only learned of my existence then and he had complete confidence in his bloodline---especially the blood from his father. Hence he saw a pure blood Gryphon like me to be a thorn in his side."
"……Hmm?" Izayoi tilted his head in puzzlement.
"Wait a moment. Isn't that Horse Meat a so called third generation of Eudemon? And that he has a Gryphon and Longma's bloodline to make him a strongest type?"
---'Longma' is a crossbreed between a horse and a dragon. A type of Lesser Dragon, a Longma has the appearance of a horse with dragonish scales covering its body. Its abilities include the control of water and lightning. And Griffith was the crossbreed between a Gryphon and a Longma to produce a Hippogriff.
Gry and Garol knew about that but they still gave a depressing sigh.
"That fellow has so much self-confidence in his bloodline that it has come to a stage of pure arrogance."
"Even then, for that young urn Griffith, the real pride isn't the fact that he's from a Gryphon and a Longma...it actually stems from the pride he holds for his father, Draco Greif."
Izayoi punched his fist into his other palm as he saw the linkages already in his mind.
"Oh, so it's that. In other words, he just couldn't stand the fact that he had a brother looking so similar to his father."
"Yes, that's the thing. At the very least, it shouldn't be his own younger brother."
Garol sighed due to the many confusing feelings he had which he drowned in a cup of wine. From Garol's standpoint, both of them were the sons of his best comrade who stood and bore arms with him in battles. Though he might want them to make peace and find a common ground to agree on, he was still an outsider, not of blood relation and did not have the right to butt into their matters. Hence, Garol could only look from a distance and hope that both of them can live and grow up well… well enough to put aside their misgivings for each other in the future.
"Come to think about it, this is the first time that I've talked to Uncle like this. Ojou-sama and Kasukabe have been under your care for so long and it would seem that I'm late to have only greeted you now."
"Nah, there's no need to stand on ceremony with me. We already have much history with you [No Names], so there's no need to take it to heart." Garol laughed heartily.
Izayoi couldn't help but feel warm inside due to Garol's words. Though [No Name] had been destroyed once, but the strings of relation with its old friends have not be totally severed yet.
"So how is it? From the perspective of a former strategist of the previous [Floor Master], do those girls stand a chance?" Izayoi asked nonchalantly.
Garol hesitated before placing his cup down.
"About that…Let's start with Yō-Oujo. I believe that she is almost near completion. If we take away the flaw of taking matters into her own hands by herself, she would not require any more special training. It's even possible to leave it to her to grow stronger by herself."
--- As expected of Koumei's daughter, Garol thought to himself while smiling.
"Oh? That sounds really good."
"Nn……All the more reason for me to be drenched in cold sweat when they had that commotion yesterday. If that child becomes serious, that lad Griffith might become mincemeat in just one hit." Garol gave a long sigh.
Though Izayoi felt that it would have been great news if the punch did reduce a certain someone to mincemeat, he did not allow that thought to be voiced out.
"Looks like there's no need to worry about Yō……and about Ojou-sama?"
Hearing Izayoi's question, Garol's face changed.
Pouring rum into his cup, he answered in a cautious manner: "……Asuka-oujo has a much bigger problem."
"How so?"
"Her Gift is very strong. I've not heard of evaporating a metal bar with just a Gift that's supposed to give a small spark for lighting kindling."
"That's quite something." Izayoi's words was not a sarcasm for he was truly in awe.
He had not seen Asuka's own Gift in action. This is because he had only seen Asuka using Deen in battles. And that made Garol's input as a piece of information that was good for reference.
"The current problem is….. There isn't a suitable Gift for that child. Do you know how many Gifts she has destroyed in the past two weeks? Twenty-four. Gifts aren't any simple consumable product that can be bought off the shelves. If only she can use them with care. Haiz~" Garol gave a sigh again.
The reason for the sigh was because of Asuka's great talent in her Gift. And it can only be called a problem due to the expenses.