This is....

　I looked around.
　A light pink space spread out around me.

　Fairies.

　-Good evening. It's good to see you, Alms. It's been about two years, isn't it? -

　Well, yes.
　I haven't seen you since you helped me with Marx and Julia.

　So, what can I do for you?

　-You have some idea. The anomaly in the west.

　So, the downfall of King Carnu's kingdom is really between you two.

　-Yes. Well, you and I are practically enemies.

　So, what is it?
　Who destroyed King Carnu's kingdom.

　-Hydra. The son of Tupone and Edna. The brothers of the Chimera and Cerberus.

　...Is this the world of Greek mythology, here?
　I'm hoping you don't throw in some fantasy as I recall.

　-In case you haven't noticed, this is probably the real deal. People can go from this world to that one, just as people from that one come to this one from the other. Naturally, like Armes, you have to have the knowledge...

　And without that, a new revelation has come to light... if I remember correctly, Hydra will be exterminated by Hercules, but hasn't it?

　-I'm sorry, I don't know any Hercules.

　Unfortunately, Hercules isn't there, apparently.
　Well, of course the story would be twisted and transmitted across the world, and I wouldn't be surprised if one or two of the original characters joined them.

　So, is Hydra any different from a mere dragon?

　-There's a difference between a lion, a hawk, and a gryphon.

　A Gryphon of the highest order?

　-A griffon is a much more living being. He's the best of the best. The Hydra is the next best thing to him.

　What about me, by the way?

　Lower-middle.　Well, if you include the entire Romalian army, it's in the middle of the pack. -

　You're stronger than the entire Romalian army.　
　Hydra and Master Gryphon.

　-Yes, they are. He could destroy the Empire of Persis if he put his mind to it. Well, the guardian beasts of Persis won't tolerate him, and Hydra can't touch him, but...

　We have a gryphon in our country.
　Can you do something about it?

　 It would be reassuring to have her help too.

　Gradually, the elf's voice gets distant.

　-Now, you have to keep your word.






　''Well Your Majesty, even if I and others go to Master Gryphon........''
　The fairies told me to take you to them. Well, tell Master Gryphon that and he'll understand. Don't worry about it.

　While pulling the hand of a frightened Alice, I headed with Julia and Tetra to the forest of Romalia, where Gryphon-sama lives.
　In case you're wondering, I brought some alcohol as a handout.

　We walked along the paved road due to the work of Gram, and then proceeded into the forest off the paved road.
　After a certain amount of progress, we see a long, long wooden fence.

　This long fence surrounds Master Gryphon's territory at a distance of about a kilometer.
　It is a measure to prevent people from entering without being able to get in, to keep them out.

　Then we head to the only gate that is there.

　''Mm!　Wait. From this point forward, Master Gryphon this is Your Majesty!　Sorry, sir. Please come on through.

　The gatekeeper quickly retreated from the gate and bowed deeply.

　''Good work. Keep up the good work.
　Thank God for happiness!

　I work the gatekeeper's soldiers and then proceed further back.
　After about a hundred meters, I begin to feel an uncomfortable sensation in the back of Chili's head.

　It's the ward that Yulia, So-yeon and Lulu have put up around the Gryphon-sama's territory to keep people out.

　'Alms, Alice. Stay put.

　Julia said and stroked the back of my and Alice's heads just a little bit.
　The discomfort disappears as if it were a lie.

　'Let's move on,'

　Then, after nine hundred meters....


　Welcome. The boys have told me about you.

　Master Gryphon greeted me.





　-Nice to meet you, I should say. Julia, Tetra, and Alice. I'm one of the fairies. A conservative elf. Good luck from now on.

　'Yeah, nice to meet you. Thanks for helping Marx out.

　And Julia.

　''Well.''

　And Tetra sullenly.

　'Er, yes. It's nice to meet you.

　Puzzled by the unseen fairy, Alice replied timidly.

　'But you've seldom voiced your shyness before. What made you change your mind this time?'

　-Ummm, well, I knew I'd say hello at some point when I changed to active conservatism. Although, this time around, it's partly due to the fact that it's an emergency like no other in history -

　As usual, the fairy's voice had the tone of a little girl's kelpie laugh.
　But somehow, though, I felt much more nervous than usual.

　-So now I'll tell you the story briefly. About three thousand years ago, the seal of a god named Hydra that ruled this area was broken. It was caused by that Marri Kurosaki. The Hydra was a glutton and ate everything from livestock to people, and everything in between. If this trend continues, the humans of the Adelunian Peninsula will be devoured in less than ten years. Moreover, the poison is so dangerous that it could even shake the laws of the world. It needs to be resealed or killed as soon as possible-

　The Hydra the Hydra from the old stories?

　Julia asks, and she hears a happy fairy voice.

　-Yeah, that hydra. It's good that you talk so fast-

　What's this all about?
　When I looked at Julia's face, she told me a story about a bad god and a girl who stood up to a bad god in the southern part of the Adelnian peninsula for a long time.

　Oh, I didn't know there was such an old story.
　But I want to ask you one thing.

　''Could it be that the good god who was shut in is Gryphon-sama?
　Mm, it's me. Hmm?　You look like you have something to say, what's your problem?
　No, no, not at all.

　If Master Gryphon hadn't been enlightened, no one would have died, right?
　It was indeed impossible to say that.

　Well, from Master Gryphon's point of view, it didn't matter how many naked monkeys died.

　'Kid. I'll tell you something. I'm not going to leave this place, and I'm not going to play with that Hydra the little Granada kid.

　Apparently, Hydra's real name is Granada.
　Well, I guess it's just as well that Gryphon-sama's name isn't Gryphon. I don't know what the Gryphon's real name is.

　-I mean, this cat sparrow won't fight me. Well, I'm sure Alms has something to say about that.

　'You once told me you'd help me if I was in trouble, didn't you?　Can you help me?
　'All right. 'All right, you and the children of the village and their wives and children can come to my estate. No Granada boy can touch my lands. .... your country is yours, and isn't it your duty to protect it?

　It's just as you say, sir.
　The people of my country and the refugees of King Carnu's country are naked monkeys in the eyes of Lord Gryphon.

　They have no reason to defend them.

　-You know, Gryphon. You wouldn't want to disturb the balance of the world, now, would you, Griffon?　Indeed, we have urged you divine beasts to weigh in on the activities. We are grateful that you answered that. But, hey, it's only good for moments like this, right? -

　"No. I have no reason to kill my Granada boy. Why should we fight a snake that bears no grudge, tastes bad to eat, and stinks at the mere mention of it? And while it is true that we and you would be at a disadvantage if the divine beast were to operate on a large scale, wouldn't that upset the balance of the world if it died?

　I don't know if it's the balance of the world or what, but can't you do something about it?
　That Granada Hydra.

　"...If it was sealed, then we can seal it again.

　Tetra muttered in a blur.
　Surely, the girl who fought that dragon and whatnot could be sealed.

　Then Yulia can do it too.

　'Don't do it. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it happen. It's not something that anyone who hasn't yet clung to their toes in the Akashic Records can think about.
　"Stop the clock?

　I thought you said it was sealed?
　Speaking of which, Master Gryphon said that there was a wizard who succeeded in stopping time.

　-Sealing, is sort of a metaphor. To be precise, he stopped Hydra's time. After stopping it, he separated the spirit from the soul, just in case, and locked them in different places.

　Huh.....
　It's a world I can't even imagine.

　"Julia, Tetra. Can you do it?
　I can't.
　Impossible.

　I know.

　'I mean, weren't you opposed to the idea of using magic?

　-I disagree. It was an innovative fairy who fired up that wizard. .........Well, the hydra was a rampage and was harmful, and I meditated on it at the time because it would have saved me if I'd kept it sealed. I wouldn't have thought that the Hydra that I burned to seal myself would be awakened by another guy 3,000 years later, I'm surprised too-!

　Hmmm, I don't think Marilyn would seal it if I asked her to.
　It's like Marilyn woke her up in the first place.

　I don't know.　Speaking of which, why is Marilyn here?

　-The time stopping control rod. You thought you could analyze it and get a clue. This is so annoying.

　Totally.
　My fondness for Marilyn had gone up a bit lately, and now this is a huge crash again.

　''Anyway, we can't seal it. Gryphon-sama won't help us. In that case, we'll have to defeat him. Can we defeat him with black powder?

　-That kind of destructive power won't blow away the Hydra's divine energy. It can't even hurt you. If there's a weapon that can convert an object's entire mass into energy, that's possible.

　Does that mean that E = mc2 kind of thing?
　You're right, that's not going to happen.

　You mean you can't beat it?

　-Yeah.

　No.

　"Hmm, Alms. I don't think we're giving up too soon.

　Master Gryphon you'll have to fight me then.

　I don't want any trouble. Killing Granada is easy enough, but I don't want any trouble with Tuporn afterwards. I'm not saying that I can't win, but I am certain that I will be injured. But as far as I'm concerned, you and I are on good terms. You can tell me your weaknesses, if you want, but...

　Master Gryphon snorted.

　'Kid, do you mind?'

　-Oh, I'd really like to get this over with, wouldn't you?　But Hydra is on a rampage. At this rate, the world is going to collapse. I can't blame them for the world's imbalance, to a certain extent. It's fine to talk.

　I hear the fairy's slightly throwing voice.

　'All right, let's talk. Well, it's a simple story. The divine energy that surrounds our bodies cannot be blown away by ordinary means. Unless it is blown away, it will not be able to damage our bodies, and if it is not able to counteract the divine energy, it will not be able to prevent our attacks. .........But if we are not clothed with divine energy, we can easily be killed.

　So you're saying that you're going to counteract or blow away the gods?
　But I think the elf just told me that you couldn't.

　''No, it's not. The divine energy cannot be counteracted by human power, at least not with your current civilization. That's why you should aim for the time when you don't have any divine energy on you. The Granada kid is still in his infancy, he can't put on his divine energy while he's asleep.

　You mean scratching your neck in your sleep?
　But can you do it?

　Granada is no fool. It's a good thing Granada isn't stupid, because she has multiple heads, and she takes turns sleeping, so there's no room for error. Well, I can tell you that's why I didn't train him to wear his divine spirit while he slept...

　So what are you going to do?

　Don't waste your time. I want you to talk to me.

　You know, it's very simple. The Granada boy is a venomous serpent, but he's not very good at poison. You just need to give them a lot of booze mixed with sleeping pills and they'll get drunk. Then you can cook as much as you like.


　　I thought it was Greek mythology, but it was ancient history.