190: The Griffin Rider
I released Liz’s ear. It was a shame, but I couldn’t just play around all day.
“See you later.”
“What do you mean, later…?”
“I’ve booked a room for you two, so you can take your time.” Lathus said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Wait, Lathus-sama!”
“I can get you separate rooms, if you want.”
Liz’s ears drooped slightly. She pulled her red scarf up, covering her mouth, and looked away. The tip of her scarf twitched.
“…Together is fine.”
If you could die from a single, heart-stopping moment of cuteness, I would have been a standing corpse, like Benkei.
“Do you want an ear massage, too, Rebecca?”
“Why would you think an undead’s ears would get stiff?” Rebecca tilted her head, her expression deadpan.
“My subordinate’s logic is painful.”
“Perhaps this is an opportunity for you to become a superior who doesn’t elicit such logical rebukes.” Liz smiled, a smile that was subtly different from her usual one.
“My vice-commander’s logic is painful.”
“Why are you telling me?” Lathus’s face was a mask of exasperation.
“Well, you’re a supreme commander, so I thought you might share my troubles.”
“Your troubles are too unique. I doubt my opinion would be of any help.”
“A supreme commander’s logic is painful.”
“You’re an idiot.” Aithys muttered, her eyes cold. Catral-san narrowed her eyes.
“Aithys?”
“Ah, no… I just…” She hadn’t denied it.
“You should not speak to a supreme commander, even from another unit, in such a manner.”
“That’s… well…” Aithys’s flattened cat ears and twitching cat tail spoke volumes: I’d rather die than apologize to her!
“It’s fine. I can’t deny that I’m an idiot, and you’ve gotten quite used to me.”
“Who said that?”
“Aithys… The Lord of Disease is trying to smooth things over, to make herself the bad guy…” Catral-san looked at Aithys, her gaze admonishing.
“Hey, Catral-san seems to be taking it well, but do you really think so?”
“I don’t really know.” Rebecca and Liz whispered to each other.
“You two… Catral-san is trying to smooth things over…”
“Well, whatever. It’s a fact that she’s an idiot.”
“You’re rude, too, Lathus.”
“You should at least deny it yourself.”
“I won’t.”
“So, who’s going to be the griffin rider? We can decide later, but… Catral. You already have someone in mind, don’t you?”
“Yes, Aithys will do.”
At Lathus and Catral-san’s words, I couldn’t help but look at her.
“Huh? Aithys?”
“Yes. She’s one of our griffin riders. A trainee, but still.”
“Wait! —Me? —With them?!” She pointed at me.
“Aithys. Regardless of what you think—she is a supreme commander of another unit. I may be lenient with our own, but I will not tolerate any further disrespect.”
I offered some advice to Aithys, who was being stared down by Catral-san.
“Aithys, in these situations, you should say, ‘Lathus-sama, Catral-sama, may I ask why I must accompany the members of the Sixth Army?’”
“Huh… c-could you say that again?” Aithys blinked, confused.
“Honestly, Master, you have such a firm grasp of social etiquette, but you rarely use it.”
“I choose my moments, and my opponents.”
“So, you’re just a pain in the ass.”
“Well, there are several reasons, but this is a good opportunity for a rookie to get some flight experience, without the risk of a real battle, and with a light load.”
“Yes, that’s right, Lathus-sama. This will be a learning experience for her.”
“But it’s weird, to be with them!”
“Aithys, you should rephrase that as, ‘But isn’t it too much of a burden for me to fly with the members of the Sixth Army?’”
“What do you mean, too much of a burden?!” Aithys shouted. I smiled.
“Then it’s settled.”
“…Huh?”
“I look forward to working with you, Aithys. Leaf.” The griffin, Leaf, let out a cry.
“Lord of Disease. Please take care of Aithys.”
“Of course. She is in our care.” I nodded at Catral-san, who had bowed her head deeply.
“W-wait, really?”
“We’ve had our disagreements. But she is a supreme commander… and Eithys was her subordinate, by choice. He volunteered for an overseas mission. Respect his resolve.” Lathus placed a large hand on Aithys’s head and ruffled her hair.
“…Lathus-sama…” Aithys’s expression softened. Then she looked at me, her face serious.
“Really… with her?”
“Well, she’s ridiculously flexible. Go and learn from her.” Lathus patted her head one last time and released her.
“Aww…” I wasn’t sure if she was disappointed that Lathus had let go, or that she’d been told to learn from me.
While not to the same extent as my unit, the Third Army also seemed to be quite frank.
