Chapter 29

The three-day enjoyable cruise ended in the blink of an eye.

I spent my time comfortably, enjoying the delicious seafood, taking naps after every meal, and simply waiting until we arrived at the uninhabited island.

For me, who had been living in the forest, the vast sea view was fresh and never got old.

The captain seemed to have been freed from seasickness thanks to Zara's acupressure therapy, but he appeared anxious, worried that the sea might get rough and make him feel unwell again.

Finally, we landed on solid ground, and he looked relieved.

The naval unit had to leave for another mission, so they dropped us off and disappeared.

The only thing left on the beach was the small boat we used to move from the ship to the island. We planned to return in two days.

If we found the griffin early, we were supposed to set off fireworks, and they would come to pick us up.

Currently, we had no means of escaping the uninhabited island, but I felt excited.

This was a coral atoll, with white sandy beaches and abundant vegetation. There seemed to be plenty of fruit.

It was truly a paradise as depicted in paintings.

I was in high spirits, but seeing the captain's frowning face reminded me of the reality.

Right, we came here on a mission.

"Let's split the team into three for the griffin search."

First, the captain and Zara would search the island from the right.

Belle, the deputy captain, and Urgas would search from the left.

Garu and I were ordered to traverse the forested part of the uninhabited island.

"Alright, Garu, let's do our best!"

We both pumped ourselves up with a "Yay!"

From a straight posture, we crouched down and whispered to each other.

"By the way, it's okay to pick fruits and nuts from the forest."

We were told by the naval unit that we could freely eat the fruits on the uninhabited island.

The tropical fruits I had at the mess hall were incredibly sweet and juicy. I also heard that they were delicious when cooked, so I wanted to try them for dinner.

I decided to search for fruits diligently.

Wait, no. I had switched my focus.

I decided to search for the griffin.

Looking back at the beach, a lush forest spread out.

It was a mysterious sight.

"Shall we go then?"

Garu nodded.

"Wow, wow~..."

It was amazing. I was overwhelmed by the natural scenery and lost for words.

It was different from the forest where I grew up.

The vibrant green was probably due to the bright sunlight.

The leaves were interesting, some shaped like outstretched fingers, and others colorful in yellow and red.

I asked the naval unit about the edible fruits. They were thorough in their information.

As soon as we stepped in, we found some fruit.

"Ah, that's a furry fruit!"

I had heard from the naval unit about a red, furry fruit.

Just as described, the fruit was indeed covered in fuzz.

"Garu, let's take this back!"

Actually, I had also been given a basket to carry the fruits. The captain looked suspicious, but I lied and said it was for the griffin.

The tall Garu picked the fruit for me.

The fruit was within reach if I stretched my hand.

"About five each, maybe?"

Garu nodded and carefully picked them.

I tasted one.

When I cut it with a knife, it peeled smoothly.

It was translucent and full of juice, sweet and tangy with a crunchy texture.

"Delicious!"

Apparently, it was not available in the capital. Despite its deliciousness, the royal family refused to eat it because of its appearance. What a waste.

Feeling content, we moved forward.

After a while, I noticed something different about the forest. First, the humidity was shocking. It was extremely hot, and beads of sweat formed on my forehead. Then, there were a lot of insects.

"Ah!!"

Garu chased away the insects that were swarming around me.

There were insects in the Forest of Elves, but these were larger and scarier.

The buzzing sound was also eerie and heightened my fear.

Ignore the insects. I encouraged myself and moved forward.

"Ah!!"

A yellow and red striped snake fell from above.

The moment it bared its fangs in front of me, Garu stabbed it with his spear and immediately killed it.

Apparently, colorful snakes were not venomous. Garu told me to be cautious of brown or black snakes.

I was happy about the abundance of fruits, but the forest was full of dangers.

We discovered a fruit called Longan. It was said to be a jelly-like fruit and very delicious.

However, it grew on a very high tree.

I was about to give up when Garu offered to climb the tree.

"Um, there might be snakes, are you sure it's okay? Oh, it's fine?"

He said he was good at climbing, so I decided to take him up on his offer.

The Longan fruits were round like bird eggs. They grew quite high, but Garu picked a lot. I was looking forward to eating them.

We also found several other fruit trees and harvested them without hesitation.

The basket was filled with various fruits.

It was getting heavy. As I was thinking about this, Garu offered to carry the load. How kind.

Feeling lighter, I walked more easily, and then I heard a distant cry.

"Quack, Quack!"

I looked at Garu.

It seemed he heard it too.

We moved slowly, trying not to be noticed.

"Scree, Scree!"

"Quack, Quack~!"

It sounded like some animals were fighting.

We approached quietly and peeked through the tall grass and leaves.

One was a black bird, quite large.

The other, I thought, was an eagle, but it turned out to be a four-legged beast, about the size of my upper body.

That's— a baby griffin!?

"Wow, it's a griffin. Garu, what should we do..."

We whispered.

If we rushed out, they might be startled and run away. So, Garu threw his spear at the black bird, and I went to catch the griffin.

We waited for the right moment, and when the bird moved a bit, Garu threw his spear.

At the same time, I rushed out.

"Screeee!!"

"Quack?"

The spear hit the black bird perfectly!

I tried to put the griffin in a leather bag, but I was shocked by its injuries.

"Screeee!!"

The bird, with the spear still in it, attacked the griffin with its last strength.

"Watch out!"

I instinctively covered the griffin.

I braced myself for the impact, but the expected pain did not come.

Curious, I looked up.

There was Garu, with his fist raised. The black bird lay dead a short distance away.

Garu had apparently finished it off with his bare hands.

"Phew, that was close...!"

I let out a big sigh. We seemed to have escaped injury.

"Quack?"

"AH!"

I had completely forgotten about the griffin.

It was under my chest, tilting its head.

Upon closer inspection, its wings were bent, and black bird feathers were stuck in it. It looked painful. I couldn't put it in the bag like this.

Since it was surprisingly docile, I decided to give it first aid.

"Garu, can you help me a bit?"

He nodded and held the griffin down.

"Quack, Quack!"

"It's okay. It'll be over soon."

The griffin was flapping, but it didn't try to bite.

First, I pulled out the feathers with tweezers.

"Quack~"

The griffin was in pain.

It felt like I was doing something wrong, but there was no other way.

I pulled out all the feathers and washed the wounds with water.

I didn't apply the human wound ointment, thinking it might not be good.

I fixed the broken wing with a piece of wood.

This was probably enough for first aid.

Fortunately, it didn't seem to be in a weakened state. It was sniffing the fruits in the basket, probably because it was hungry.

"Will it eat the fruit?"

I picked up a furry fruit, peeled it with a knife, and offered it.

"Quack~"

I handed it to the griffin, and it ate it greedily, which relieved me.

I had heard that griffins liked sweet fruits. It seemed to have a good appetite, which was reassuring.

The rest was to carry it slowly to the beach to complete the mission.