How did you end up living here?
I was abandoned.
...... Abandoned by your family?
Yeah. Yeah. Sifo brought me here.
Sifo was the name of your skyhorse?
Yeah.
So it's true you have a contract. ...... I don't suppose you're with the gryphons?
Yeah. Yes, I have a contract with the gryphons.
...... Which gryphons are you talking about?
All of them.


　I was just being asked a lot of questions by Gaius' father.


　Gaius' father seems to be very interested in me.
　He seems to be surprised by everything, or rather, he seems to be holding his head in his hands.
　While Gaius' father and I were talking, the others were watching us. The same goes for the gryphons and the sifo. I could see that some of the little gryphons were asleep, as if they were tired of listening to the conversation.


　Gaius is next to me, by the way.
　Gaius's father's eyes widened when he heard that I had signed up with all of them.


"With all the gryphons here at ......?
"Yes. Why the honorifics, by the way?


　I asked, surprised at the sudden use of honorifics.


"Because I can't be rude to a being who has a contract with a ...... gryphon.
You don't need to worry about that.


　I'm not special enough to be fawned over by Gaius' father like that. I may be special because I'm probably a godchild, but I feel lonely when Gaius' father uses honorifics.
　I don't like honorifics because it makes me feel like there's a distance between us. Gaius' father is much older than me.


　Then a battle ensued between Gaius's father, who wanted to use honorifics, and me, who didn't want him to use honorifics. The result was.
"Okay. I won't use honorifics. Is that okay, Lern Da?
"Yes!
　I persisted. Good job!
　After the battle is over, I say.



I want to know everyone's name.


　In the end, I didn't know the names of anyone except Gaius. I had talked to Gaius' father a lot, but I hadn't gotten his name yet.
　So the other four introduced themselves to me.


　Gaius' father is Athos.
　The brown-haired female beastman is Sinorn.
　The red-haired male beastman is Ochasio.
　The brown-haired male beastman is Dong.


　Such are their names.

How often do you bring tribute, Athos?
"About once every two months. Basically, if there's no request, I'll bring food or whatever the gryphons are collecting.
Do you understand the language of gryphons?
I don't understand the language of the gryphons exactly, but I can communicate with them.
Why gryphons, God?
Because they are by far the strongest in this forest. And I've been helped by gryphons in my life in the forest. It's a combination of those things.


　The gryphons are overwhelmingly strong, and sometimes they help us and give us blessings. Gryphons are amazing.


Where do you live, Athos?
"Our village is about a week's walk east of here.
Can we go there?


　I couldn't help but ask Mr. Athos that question.
　Gaius was the first time I had seen a beastman. This is also the first time I've faced five beastmen. I was curious.
I was curious.

　And while living here with the gryphons and Sipho was peaceful and fun, I was human. But I'm human... and living here all the time brings its own problems, like the problem with the clothes the beastmen brought me.
　I've been helped by everyone. But if we are a family, we not only want to be supported and helped, we want to support and help.


　If I go to the Beastmaster's Village, maybe I can find something that I can do. I don't have a clear goal, nor do I have any idea how I'm going to live, but maybe I'll find something. I think so, too.
　...... Of course, there is also the fact that I am curious about the village of beastmen, which is full of fluffy animals, and I am excited to see what kind of fluffy animals are there.


I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that.　...... That's fine with me.
Thank you. Take everyone to ......, okay?


"You and Master Gryphon, Skyhorse?


　Mr. Athos looked a little surprised at my offer. But I wasn't going to leave my family and go somewhere new. Besides, I made a contract with them, and I think they deserve to be with me.


"No?
No, I don't mind. No, I don't mind. But if you and the gryphons are going to be there, we need to make arrangements for you in the village. We need to be ready to accept Lelunda as a human.
Humans need to be prepared?
...... Lelunda is a child, so she may not know it, but some humans don't recognize us as people, or capture us to make slaves. It's hard not to accept Lelunda as a child and as close as she is to the gryphon, but some of us have mixed feelings about her.
...... That's a terrible story.


　I didn't know that at all.
　I had never met a beastman, nor had the subject of beastmen ever come up in my village. I knew that they existed, but in my village, I was not educated about them.

　I didn't know there was such a thing as "people first, people first". It would be much more fun if we all got along.


　Then Athos sent me a messenger when he was ready. While we were talking, it was getting late and we all decided to stay at the gryphon's nest. Mr. Athos and the others were reluctant to stay, but we did.


　I went to sleep with the gryphons as usual. Gaius was with me that day. Gaius was reluctant, but when I asked him if he wanted to stay with me, he agreed.
　Now I could sleep surrounded by four baby gryphons and a fluffy Gaius. That day was a very happy night.
　The next day, Athos and his friends went back to the village.
　I'm looking forward to going to the beastmen's village.



　---- The Girl and the Beastman 3
　(Probably, the girl who is a divine child makes a promise to the beastmen to go to their village.