Chapter 4-17 : Rice And Freedom (part 2)

When Mylia and Chloe got to Titania’s house, they saw Titania and Leaf taking a nap at the table while basking in the sunlight.

Small birds that gathered on the trees around the two were chirping as if they were singing a lullaby for both of them.

（Ahh~ What a peaceful sight… They both have a lot of similarities…）

Mylia approached her master and greeted her with a smile.

「Master, I’m back!」(Mylia)

Realizing Mylia’s presence, Titania raised her head and greeted Mylia back, while Leaf immediately approached Mylia and hugged her.

「Welcome back~!」(Titania)

「I’ve been waiting for you, Mylia onee-chan.」(Leaf)

Mylia stroked Leaf’s head and glanced at Chloe who just landed with Hypnus.

Seeing Hypnus, Titania was surprised.

「Ara~ I didn’t expect you would bring back a griffon. Seems like your investigation went too well.」(Titania)

「Y, Yeah… A lot had happened, and Chloe onee-chan ended up becoming the new leader of the griffons in the southern forest.」(Mylia)

Listening to Mylia’s short explanation, Titania tilted her head.

「Hm? But how? Chloe, can you explain it to me?」(Titania)

「Alright. So, first, we decided to look for a river or a pond because I thought we would likely find griffons near the water, after thatーー」(Chloe)

Chloe told Titania about the encounter with Hypnus at the pond and the reason why he was following her. She also told her about the hidden village and their encounter with the people there.

After she finished explaining, Titania burst into laughter.

「Aaahahaha!! So this bird thought that Chloe was way stronger than him after receiving Mylia’s counter spell, huh? That’s kinda funny! Well done, Chloe!」(Titania)

「Ugh… I have mixed feelings about this, but… thank you…」(Chloe)

Chloe smiled wryly at Titania and bowed her head.

At the same time, Mylia tapped Leaf’s back, telling her to let go of her. She then brought her face closer to Titania’s and whispered.

「Master, I thought so too at first, but the reason why the griffons like Onee-chan is actually because of her godlike stroking technique!」(Mylia)

After learning the true reason, Titania laughed louder than before.

「Bwahahaha!!! I see, I see!! That’s hilarious!」(Titania)

「Hm?」(Chloe)

Chloe who didn’t know what they were talking about could only tilt her head in curiosity.

「So that’s what they like about Chloe, huh? Such weird magical beasts. Fufu!」(Titania)

While giggling, Titania fixed her crumpled dress and moved her gaze to Hypnus.

She then concentrated her magical power in her eyes, squinted, and observed Hypnus from her seat.

「Hmm… That griffon is pretty strong. He has one-fifth of my total amount of magical power. That’s quite a lot for a magical beast.」(Titania)

「I see… so that’s why he survived my Anti-Magic Burst without injuries.」(Mylia)

「That griffon can be a good escort for your sister, but… I don’t think it will make any difference since you will cast your protective spells on her anyway.」(Titania)

「You think so?」(Mylia)

While Titania and Mylia were talking with each other, Chloe asked Hypnus some questions while stroking his neck.

She was trying to learn more about griffons’ intelligence.

「Hypnus, didn’t you regret choosing me to be your leader?」(Chloe)

「Ku~uu.」(Hypnus)

Hypnus shook his head.

「Umm, do you think I can be a good leader?」(Chloe)

「Kuu.」(Hypnus)

He nodded this time.

Chloe felt uneasy, but at the same time, she was happy because she would be able to come into contact with griffons.

「Mylia onee-chan, can you teach me a new spell?」(Leaf)

「Hm? I don’t mind. What kind of spell do you want to learn next?」(Mylia)

「Guys, learning magic is great, but before you do that, shall we have lunch?」(Titania)

「Agreed!」(Mylia)

Hearing the word ‘lunch’, Mylia raised her hands energetically.

「Mylia, we just had a banquet at the village, and you still want to eat?」(Chloe)

「Yup~!」(Mylia)

「Fufu. That’s Mylia for you. I wonder if your stomach is connected to the abyss.」(Titania)

Titania giggled while Chloe sighed and shook her head.

「Master, let’s make grilled dabola meat!」(Mylia)

「Good idea!」(Titania)

As soon as the lunch menu was decided, Mylia took out her handmade shichirin (Japanese portable charcoal grill) from her magic bag and started cooking.

Titania and Mylia were eating grilled dabola meat while Leaf was eating berries and nuts that Titania served.

Chloe was still full from eating at the banquet in the village, so she was just having tea.

（Mmm~ my grilled dabola meat is good as usual, but… I wish I could eat it with rice… I wonder if that chef has successfully found rice…）

Mylia had wanted to eat rice for a long time. One day, she heard that there was a chef who might know about rice, and that chef was from the Darelias Territory which was in the northern land of the kingdom.

Mylia asked the Darelias Family to send that chef on a journey to find rice.

It had only been three days since the chef went on the journey, but Mylia was restless and couldn’t wait any longer.

（I wonder if one hundred gold coins I gave him would be enough to cover all his travel expenses…）

Mylia entrusted a hundred gold coins, which was equal to ten million yen or seventy-five thousand dollars, to the Darelias Family to hand it over to the chef.

The head of the Darelias Family told her that it was too much, but Mylia was still worried.

（Hmm… I’m curious about the chef and the rice…）

After she finished eating her lunch, Mylia stood up.

「I wanna go to the Darelias’ mansion to confirm something.」(Mylia)

「That’s so sudden.」(Titania)

「There’s something I’m curious about. I also want to check on Jasmine onee-sama. Chloe onee-chan, you want to go with me?」(Mylia)

「No, I’m good. Hypnus will follow me if I go with you. I don’t want to trouble the Darelias Family with the presence of a griffon in their house.」(Chloe)

「Ah, I see. Leaf, what about you?」(Mylia)

「I’m staying… I’m sleepy…」(Leaf)

「Alright then. Master, I leave Onee-chan and Leaf to you.」(Mylia)

「Okay~ Say hi to Jasmine for me.」(Titania)

「Un! I’ll be back before dark!」(Mylia)

After saying that, Mylia used Teleportation Magic and disappeared from their sight.