"Deal. What's your name, and where can I find you?" Audrey hadn't been born in the information-explosion era of her previous life, after all. To Kerry, this simple trick of exchanging contact information was far too obvious.
"My name is Kerry Raynor. Go north for 120 kilometers, and you'll find South Australia Island. It's my territory, and I live there. What about you?" Kerry had succeeded. Now it was time to learn the other party's name and address.
"Why should I tell you? I'm definitely going to win this time anyway. I'll come find you when the time comes. I just hope this griffin hasn't already died of illness by then. Hahahaha!" Audrey threw back her long hair with a loud laugh, climbed into a carriage parked by the roadside, and rode away.
Damn, she had actually turned the tables on him. Even if he won the bet later, he wouldn't be able to find her, while she could come to South Australia Island whenever she wanted. Kerry took 10,000 points of mental damage. Where had the simple-hearted people of this other world gone? Why was a young girl so difficult to deal with?
Suddenly depressed, Kerry no longer felt like sightseeing. He slunk back to the pier. The Copper Ingots had already been handed over on the ship, and they could set sail at any time. It all depended on whether the boss wanted to stay the night or hurry home.
Kerry didn't want to stay the night. He decided to eat dinner on the ship and sleep in his castle that evening.
Since that beautiful girl had said what would happen if I teased her here, she must be a local of Siyatu. I might see her again when I come to deliver goods next week. Or I could ask around. This was our first meeting, and pestering her constantly wouldn't be a good idea. I'd better take it slowly.
At around ten that night, Kerry reached his territory and returned to his castle. Seeing Kerry return safely, the old butler, Carson, was overjoyed. He insisted on waking the already-sleeping Mrs. Wesley and having her prepare a bowl of meat soup for Kerry as a midnight snack.
Kerry thought that the old butler finally wouldn't lecture him this time. The Copper Ingots had sold for more than 160 Gold Coins, and there would be more income in the future. That was far more than the entire family's annual income back when he had lived in the royal capital.
Who could have known that early the next morning, just as Kerry was about to take a sip of hot milk, Butler Carson would appear before him with an utterly black expression.
"Young master, I heard you spent 100 Gold Coins to buy that old, sickly beast in the garden?" Carson's tone was extremely unpleasant, as though he were forcibly suppressing his anger.
Carson truly hated seeing Kerry waste his potential. Now that he had barely come into some money, his talent for spending it recklessly had already begun to grow. In the past, hiring a few fishermen had cost only a little money, less than ten Gold Coins, and buying fishing boats had cost merely a few dozen Gold Coins. But this time, he had brought home an old griffin.
It looked seriously ill, too, and he had actually spent 100 Gold Coins on it. Carson felt that he would never live to see the family prosper.
"Don't worry, Mr. Carson. I have a way to cure its illness. Whether I keep it for myself or sell it later, it'll be a very profitable deal." Kerry spoke lightly, but Carson was practically dying of worry.
"Young master, no one on our island knows how to raise griffins. It requires highly specialized knowledge. What do you plan to do?" Carson raised a practical question.
Kerry had indeed taken things for granted. A large bird of prey like a griffin was nothing like a little rabbit or duck that just anyone could raise.
Kerry had simply assumed that the Dimensional Exchange could solve every problem. But reality was reality. No matter how miraculous the Dimensional Exchange was, it would be useless if the griffin died before the market opened.
"I'll go take a look at it first. It was already very late when I bought it yesterday, and I haven't even given it a name." Kerry couldn't answer Carson just yet. He couldn't exactly say that he had bought it on impulse while flirting with a girl without thinking about anything else. Still, he would find a way.
Kerry had put the griffin in the stables. Frank's beloved horse had been frightened into hiding in a corner and trembling nonstop. If the partitions hadn't separated them, Frank's treasured horse might have already become a pile of griffin droppings by the time Frank recovered and returned to the island.
When Kerry arrived at the stables, the griffin was listlessly sprawled on the ground. This griffin was larger than an adult hippopotamus, with the hindquarters of a lion and an enormous eagle's head, huge wings, and massive foreclaws.
Its overall body was brown, with white feathers on its head. It was a very ordinary griffin, aside from its enormous belly.
Kerry guessed that it must have been starving. Otherwise, a bird of prey like this wouldn't obediently lie on the ground without wanting to move. Of course, it might also have been ill.
"Hey, are you all right? We're family now, so I need to give you a name." Kerry rested his chin on one hand as he spoke to the griffin.
In his previous life, Kerry had seen far too many inspirational sayings, especially those about raising dogs. You might be its whole life, while it would only be one of many parts of yours. Kerry wasn't a cold-blooded or heartless person. Since he had bought this griffin, he would naturally treat it well.
Unfortunately, Kerry didn't know that this old griffin, which was at least 150 years old, had already had many owners throughout its life.
At that moment, the old griffin noticed Kerry speaking to it. It looked at him with the lofty gaze of someone looking down on an ant. Although it knew that its current owner was the young human before it, so what? In a few years, there was no telling which of them would die first.
Kerry met the griffin's gaze and inexplicably understood its meaning. It was the gaze of someone high above others. He had often seen nobles use that same look to regard commoners in the royal capital.
"That look of yours is pretty interesting. I've got it, then. I'll call you Queen." Kerry noticed that the griffin had no testicles and was female, so he gave her a feminine name.
Queen was an old griffin with extensive social experience. She could clearly understand that Kerry had given her a name. She seemed fairly satisfied, giving a slight nod before lying back down.
What should he do next? Kerry had no idea. The Magic Martial Academy had never taught him how to raise griffins, either. Not knowing how to get along with a griffin, Kerry suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
Didn't the Dimensional Exchange have product descriptions? Perhaps he could check there.
Soon, Kerry stood in front of the stables and sent his consciousness into the Dimensional Exchange. It wasn't time for the next market opening yet, so the hall was as deserted as ever. Kerry went to an exchange terminal and entered the relevant information about the griffin.
Griffins were an ancient species that had appeared in many worlds. However, because the laws of each world differed, griffins also varied in different ways.
In the lowest-grade magical planes, griffins were extremely weak and were merely classified as beasts. Most griffins were oviparous, but like platypuses, some could both lay eggs and give live birth.
Queen was a griffin that could give live birth. Some griffins had mottled feathers covered in spots, but most griffins had the colors of the sun and earth: brownish yellow.
Kerry compared the description. Queen should belong to a griffin from a medium-level magical plane. She was larger than griffins from lower-level planes, and she was already more than 150 years old, which was also longer than the lifespan of griffins from lower-level planes. Generally, griffins from medium-level magical planes or above possessed the characteristics of Magical Beasts, meaning they could use a little magic.
Kerry didn't know whether Queen could use magic.
Before you continue