Being Counter-Schemed

"A deal's a deal. What's your name, and where can I find you?" Audrey, not having been born in the information-saturated era of his past life, found it incredibly simple for Kerry to establish contact with such a basic maneuver.

"My name is Kerry Raynor. Head north, about 120 kilometers from here, there's a small island called South Australia Island. That's my territory, and I live there now. How about you?" Kerry had succeeded; the next step was to learn the other person's name and address.

"Why should I tell you? I'm definitely going to win this bet, and I'll find you then. I hope that Griffon doesn't die of sickness by then, hahahaha." Audrey laughed heartily, tossed her long hair, climbed into a carriage parked by the roadside, and drove away.

Damn it, he'd been outmaneuvered. This way, even if he won the bet, he wouldn't be able to find her, but she could find him on South Australia Island anytime. Kerry's heart suffered 10,000 points of damage. Where was the simplicity of people in this other world? Was a young girl really this troublesome?

Feeling dejected, Kerry lost the mood to continue browsing. He dejectedly went to the dock. The Copper Ingots on the ship had already been exchanged, and they could set sail at any time. It was up to the boss whether to stay overnight or head home quickly.

Kerry didn't want to stay overnight. He decided to eat dinner on the ship and sleep in his castle that night.

Since that beautiful girl had mentioned the consequences of teasing him here, she must be a local from Siyatu. Perhaps he could see her next week when the delivery arrived, or he could ask around. This was their first meeting, and pestering her would not be good; it was better to take it slow.

Around 10 PM that night, Kerry reached his territory and returned to his castle. Seeing Kerry safely back, the old Butler Carson was overjoyed. He insisted that Mrs. Wesley, who had already gone to bed, get up and prepare a bowl of meat soup for Kerry as a late-night snack.

Kerry thought to himself, the old butler wouldn't lecture him this time. The Copper Ingots cost over 160 Gold Coins, and there would be more in the future. This was much more than his entire family's income for a year when he was in the royal capital.

To his surprise, the very next morning, as Kerry was about to drink some hot milk, he saw Butler Carson appear before him with a dark expression.

"Young Master, I heard you spent 100 Gold Coins to buy that old sick creature in the garden?" Carson's tone was very unpleasant, as if he were suppressing his anger.

Carson truly hated his lack of ambition. Now that he had a little money, his ability to spend it recklessly had also grown. Before, hiring some fishermen cost very little, less than 10 Gold Coins, and the money for buying fishing boats was only a few dozen Gold Coins. This time, he bought an old Griffon.

It seemed to be seriously ill, and it cost 100 Gold Coins. Carson felt that he wouldn't live to see the family's prosperity in his lifetime.

"Don't worry, Mr. Carson. I have a way to cure its illness. Whether it's for our own use or to sell it again, it will be a very profitable deal." Kerry said it lightly, but Carson was extremely worried.

"Young Master, no one on our island knows how to raise a Griffon. This requires very specialized knowledge. What do you plan to do?" Carson raised a practical question.

Indeed, Kerry had been a bit too optimistic. A large raptor like a Griffon was not like a small rabbit or duckling; anyone could tame it.

Kerry had just assumed that the Dimensional Exchange could solve all problems, but reality was like this. Even if the Dimensional Exchange was magical, it would be useless if Kerry let the Griffon die before the market opened.

"I'll go see it first. It was already late when I bought it yesterday, and I didn't even give it a name." Kerry couldn't answer Carson right now. He couldn't say he bought it on impulse while trying to flirt and hadn't thought of anything else, but he would eventually find a way.

The Griffon was arranged by Kerry in the stable. Frank's beloved horse was so scared that it kept trembling in the corner. If it weren't for the partitions separating them, perhaps Frank's beloved horse would have already turned into a pile of Griffon droppings after he returned to the island.

When Kerry arrived at the stable, the Griffon was lying listlessly on the ground. This Griffon, larger than an adult hippopotamus, had the hindquarters of a lion, while its front half was a giant eagle's head, huge wings, and massive talons.

It was mostly brown, with white feathers on its head. This was a very ordinary Griffon, except for its enormous belly.

Kerry guessed it must be starving. Otherwise, such a raptor wouldn't lie on the ground so obediently and refuse to move. Of course, it was also possible that it was sick.

"Hey, are you okay? We're family now. I need to give you a name," Kerry said to the Griffon, resting one hand on his chin.

He had read too much motivational content in his previous life, especially about raising dogs. You might be its whole life, but your life has many "its." Kerry was not a cold-blooded, heartless person. Since he had bought the Griffon, he would naturally treat it well.

Unfortunately, Kerry didn't know that this old Griffon, at least over 150 years old, had already had many owners in its lifetime.

At this moment, the old Griffon noticed the speaking Kerry and looked at him with the condescending gaze of someone looking down at an ant. Although it knew that its current owner was this young human in front of it, so what? Who knew who would die first in a few years.

Kerry's gaze met the Griffon's, and he inexplicably understood its eyes. It was a haughty gaze, the kind he often saw nobles use to look at commoners in the royal capital.

"That look of yours is really interesting. Then, I've got it. I'll call you Queen." Kerry noticed that the Griffon had no testicles in the back; it was a female Griffon, so he gave it a feminine name.

Queen was an elderly Griffon with rich social experience. She could clearly understand the name Kerry had given her and seemed quite satisfied. She nodded slightly before lying down again.

What should I do next? Kerry wasn't sure. He hadn't learned how to tame Griffons at the Magic Martial Academy before. Not knowing how to interact with the Griffon next, Kerry suddenly had an idea.

Didn't the Dimensional Exchange have product descriptions? Maybe he could check.

Soon, in front of the stable, Kerry entered the Dimensional Exchange with his consciousness. It wasn't time for the next opening yet. The hall was as deserted as ever. Kerry approached a trading machine and entered information related to Griffons.

Griffons were an ancient species that appeared in many worlds, but due to the different rules of various worlds, Griffons also had different variations.

Griffons in the most low-end fantasy planes were very weak, merely beasts. Most Griffons were oviparous, but like platypuses, they could be both oviparous and viviparous.

Queen was a Griffon that could be viviparous. Some Griffons had multi-colored feathers with many spots, but most Griffons had the eyes of the sun and the earth, being brownish-yellow.

Kerry compared the descriptions. Queen should belong to a medium-level magic plane Griffon. Her size was larger than those from low-level planes, and she was over 150 years old, which was also longer than the lifespan of low-level plane Griffons. Generally, Griffons from medium-level or higher magic planes had characteristics of magical beasts, meaning they could use a little magic.

Kerry wondered if Queen could use magic.