Chapter 38

After the meal, the dessert was a forest apple pie. It seemed to be the seasonal fruit, and they were holding a special event like a Forest Apple Festival.

The menu was filled with many forest apple dishes.

After discussing, they decided on the pie.

While waiting for it to be baked, they talked about their prison experiences.

"I was sitting diagonally in front of an auntie, and she kept talking to me, and in the end, she said she felt a destiny with me."

Urgas, such a heart-wrenching story.

Being a kind young man, he must have listened to her patiently.

On the other hand, Gar was taken to a solitary confinement cell for stray dogs.

"Wow, Gar, that must have been tough."

Even Urgas, who had a pretty rough time, felt sympathy.

He said he sulked alone while listening to the dogs barking. The most shocking thing was that the dogs were eating better than he was.

It was sad to watch them tear into the meat.

Velly, the deputy squad leader, was taken to a female petty offender's cell.

It was quite lively, but he managed to maintain his own pace.

"I took this as a lesson, ate all three meals properly, went to bed, and meditated during my free time."

I see.

As expected, Deputy Squad Leader Velly is strong. I can't help but admire him.

Zara apparently argued with the bar owner (a man) who was dealing drugs.

"Because he asked me to introduce a man, I tried to introduce the captain, but he said he didn't want a musclehead."

He apparently wanted a well-built, good-looking man with just the right amount of muscle.

"What are you introducing me to people for!?"

"But, Urgas and Gar are pitiful, right? I thought the captain would be okay to some extent."

"You're really a terrible person."

"He... she is serving a life sentence, so it's fine, right?"

"That's not the issue!"

Listening to their stories, I thought about the various people out there.

I'm glad no one was around me.

"How about the captain?"

"He was taken to a group cell with his hands and feet restrained, among a group of murderers."

Urgas burst out laughing.

Apparently, the knight in charge looked at the captain's face and decided he must be a murderer without even listening to him. I think that's pretty harsh, even if he does look like a bandit.

The captain frowned and began to recount his prison life.

"First, there was a staring contest to establish dominance among the prisoners—"

Somehow, the captain's experience was different...

He apparently overcame various trials in the cell with hardened criminals.

"As a result, I became the 32nd cell leader."

How did that happen!?

To become the leader of a cell of death row inmates... What kind of person is the captain?

As we were getting excited talking about this, the forest apple pie was brought over.

The surface of the crust, glazed with egg yolk, was shiny and dazzling.

The server cut it with a knife, making a satisfying crunch. A sweet aroma wafted through the air.

Just as we thought the slices would be served, we were told to wait.

The server was scooping something from a bucket-like iron container on a cart.

What is that?

A white, milky something was placed on the plate.

"This is called ice confection, made by freezing milk, sugar, and eggs."

An ice confection!

A legendary treat I had only seen in storybooks.

It was described as cold and melting on the tongue. I wondered what it would actually be like.

I was more interested in the ice confection than the pie.

Forest apple pie with ice confection.

I decided to try it right away.

The crust, made in multiple layers, was crispy and fragrant with butter.

The seasonal forest apples were sweet and tangy, perfect.

It was surprisingly light and very delicious.

Next, I tried the ice confection.

"Wow!"

First, I was surprised by the coldness.

Then, a rich sweetness spread in my mouth and melted away.

This is ice confection...!

If it's this delicious, it's no wonder it appears in fairy tales.

"Hey, Mel, try eating the pie with the ice confection?"

"Huh?"

I didn't expect them to be eaten together.

Surprised, I put a piece of pie and ice confection on my fork and took a bite.

"Wow!?"

The warm pie and cold ice confection together were incredibly delicious.

What is this?

The buttery flavor of the pie crust stood out, and the taste became even richer.

The person who came up with this must be a genius.

Thus, the delicious and enjoyable time passed quickly.

Zara saw me back to the dorm. He was going to pick up Blanche from a noble's house afterward.

"By the way,"

"Is something wrong?"

"The house where Blanche is staying is the mother-in-law's house of the director of the幻兽保护局 (Phantom Beast Protection Bureau)."

"Wow, that's something."

Zara said he had let go of everything that happened on the day he was restrained.

But, he wondered how the other side felt.

"Well, I don't think it will have a direct impact."

"I hope so."

We said our goodbyes at the dorm gate.

"Thank you."

"No problem. Be careful until you get back to your room."

"Okay."

Holding the heavy griffin, Amelia, tightly, I bowed.

"See you in a week."

"Sure."

I parted ways with Zara and returned to the dorm.

◇◇◇

During the suspension period, I was mostly busy with Amelia's care and record-keeping.

The now-energetic Amelia was running around freely and was very restless.

However, according to the materials from the Phantom Beast Protection Bureau, this is how they behave in their youth.

I had to be patient and persistent.

The one-week suspension period passed quickly.

The only achievement was making a hood and a pillow for Amelia.

I made them from scraps of fabric I brought from home.

"Quack!"

Maybe because she's a girl, she happily jumped around with the frilly hood I made.

Even with the hood, a griffin is still a griffin. It's not much of a disguise, but it's cute, so it's fine.

Even though it was just a week, Amelia grew a lot.

She didn't look much different, but she had gained weight and I couldn't lift her anymore.

She still clung to me and made sad sounds when I tried to pick her up, but I explained the difficulty to her, and she seemed to understand. She stopped asking to be held.

She also learned to peel fruit on her own.

It took her five days to master this skill.

It was the result of sweat, tears, and hard work.

She no longer cried at night. Once she fell asleep, she slept soundly until morning.

I think this is partly due to the contract we made.

I no longer have to worry about sleep deprivation, so I'm relieved.

She's still very clingy and always sticks to me. I'm worried if this will affect my work.

And I wondered if she would be able to fly.

She can flap her wings a little, but not enough to take off.

Hmm. What should I do?

Well, if she can fly, it might bring up other issues.

After the suspension ended, I went to work with Zara.

"Aww, Amelia, that hood is so cute! Did you make it, Mel?"

"Yes, I worked hard on it."

Amelia seemed to understand the praise and chirped proudly, "Quack!"

"I want to make a cloak to cover her back, but it's a bit difficult because of her wings."

"True—"

Zara also offered to help think about it. I felt supported.

The atmosphere in the knight squad was the same as usual—maybe not.

We were the talk of the town for our misbehavior. We received many impolite glances.

All for the griffin and our honor. I have no shame.

It was the first morning assembly in a while.

The captain, looking exasperated, said right away,

"Rejoice, we have a fun expedition mission coming up."