Frank, the Master

"Teacher, it's a griffon. Are they chasing us?" Emma pointed at the griffon in the sky through the hotel window. Her anxious little face was pale.

"This griffon looks a little strange. I'm not sure whether the Empire sent it to capture you. Little Emma, don't leave the hotel. I'll go take a look."

The wandering Old Mage Gandalf was relatively composed. After calming Emma down, he put on his hood and silently slipped out of the hotel, heading toward where the griffon had landed.

Kerry brought the griffon down. Hearing Frank's sigh, he instantly decided that this was a master with a story, the sort who drowned his sorrows in alcohol, just like Flying Dagger Li.

Misled deeper and deeper by Frank's various actions, Kerry was further misled.

"Mr. Frank, I've come to take you back to the castle," Kerry said cautiously. Great masters had strange tempers. He couldn't be too humble, nor could he be too casual. He had to find the right balance. Kerry felt that he was beginning to get the hang of interacting with Frank.

Frank's eyes had been blown nearly shut by the gale kicked up when the griffon landed. He wiped away the eye gunk and sobered up a little. "Mm, a griffon. Oh, the young master is here too... A griffon!"

At first, Frank hadn't reacted. After seeing the griffon, he noticed Kerry as well. Only after the alcohol's delayed reaction finally wore off did he suddenly realize that a griffon was standing beside the lord. He was so frightened that he couldn't speak.

Butler Carson had lived in the royal capital for years and still hardly dared approach a griffon at close range, let alone Frank.

"Yes, my griffon. Not bad, right?" Kerry didn't notice anything unusual in his tone. He thought that riding the griffon here had really had the desired effect. Hadn't even the great master old man been amazed that he owned a griffon?

Kerry never suspected that Frank had been frightened by the griffon. Frank had first said "griffon" very calmly, then "young master" just as calmly. That showed that the griffon's appearance had stirred no waves in his heart, as though he were merely looking at his own young master. His attitude was completely unconcerned.

Kerry figured that his evaluation in Frank's heart must have risen several more levels.

A seventeen-year-old warrior lord who owned a griffon—now that was impressive credentials. Old men generally didn't help protagonists without potential. Kerry secretly rejoiced, feeling that he was probably close to earning Frank's recognition.

A few minutes later, Kerry noticed that Frank had suddenly gone silent. Slightly puzzled, he asked, "Frank, what's wrong? Why aren't you saying anything? Let's ride the griffon back to the castle together."

Kerry saw only that Frank's eyes seemed to contain no trace of him. They were fixed on something behind Kerry.

Confused, Kerry turned to look behind him. The Queen had been flying just fine moments ago, but now she looked sick and listless, as if her stomach hurt. Her eyes were filled with pain.

It turned out that Frank had noticed the old griffon was having trouble. Indeed, a griffon in this condition couldn't carry people in flight. No wonder he hadn't said anything. It seemed Kerry had just said something stupid.

Kerry thought he had figured out why Frank had fallen silent, but in reality, Frank had simply been too frightened to speak.

Kerry walked over to the Queen, comforting her while secretly growing anxious.

They still hadn't found a keeper. What if the Queen couldn't hold out first?

Only after Kerry had soothed the old griffon for quite a while did Frank recover. Seeing the harmonious scene of his young master and the griffon together, he finally relaxed a little. He hurriedly downed another two ounces of liquor to calm his nerves and said, "Young master, it seems to be seriously ill. We can only take a ship back."

"Taking a ship won't be easy. Little Nose Bay Port City has currently cut off trade with my territory. It'll probably be very difficult to find a ship back to South Australia Island, unless Mike and the others happen to be here. I came this time to find a griffon keeper—or a veterinarian would do as well. The Queen looks like she's in great pain, but I'm powerless to help."

Perhaps the amount of information Kerry had given him was a little overwhelming. Frank seemed to take quite a while to process it before saying, "Young master, you're the lord of South Australia Island, Baron. Who can blockade you like this and that? Is there no law anymore?"

Kerry didn't know whether, in this might-makes-right society, a great master like Frank still cared about the law. Still, he said indifferently, "It's fine. The lord of Little Nose Bay Port City is making things difficult for me. But if he keeps isolating himself like this, he'll soon run into trouble himself. At the very least, all the fishermen in this area are in my hands. Quite a few people in his city make a living from the sea, and many more depend on the fishermen's business. Now we aren't even buying fishing gear anymore. Soon, a whole crowd will be starving and demanding food from the city lord. Hahaha."

Kerry also felt the pleasure of revenge. He had worked hard to run to the Jili Merchant Alliance, so Little Nose Bay Port City shouldn't expect to have an easy time either. They had few people and few affairs to deal with, while City Lord Jim Green had a huge family business. Let's see who could outlast the other.

After answering Frank's question, Kerry saw that the Queen seemed much better. He kept encouraging her, trying to get her to stand.

Unfortunately, just after standing, the Queen suddenly cried out in pain. A cry that sounded like a combination of a shriek and a roar rang out, and she collapsed again.

The cry startled the nearby birds into flight.

Kerry also saw a wildcat in a tree pounce at a bird, only for it to fly away. After a difficult scramble to save itself, the cat still fell from the tree and hit the ground with a dull thud.

Kerry paid little attention to the scene, and Frank paid even less. After the sudden appearance of the griffon and a large amount of alcohol in a short time, Frank's mind had become disconnected from his body. He was overly frightened and slow to react.

The griffon's roar had already scared him badly. Then the dull thud of the wildcat falling from the tree snapped his fragile nerves. Thinking something else had happened, he inexplicably shouted, "Who's there? Come out!" He only wanted to bolster his own courage.

Gandalf had hidden himself in this slightly secluded patch of woods. There seemed to be a hospital or sanatorium of some sort ahead, but he hadn't paid much attention to it. Instead, his eyes were fixed on Kerry and his griffon.

The griffon's clothing didn't look like that of a Griffon Knight from Faglan. Rather, it resembled the style commonly worn by Raynor nobles. But whether this was merely a false alarm or something else, he had to investigate it thoroughly. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully after returning.

Gandalf had heard Kerry and Frank's entire conversation. Naturally, he also knew that the young man riding the griffon was Kerry Raynor, the lord of South Australia Island, whom he and Little Emma had discussed some time ago.

He hadn't expected this young lord to see through the situation so clearly. If Little Nose Bay Port City blockaded South Australia Island, the one to suffer in the end might not be South Australia Island. Perhaps, just as the young man had said, the city lord of Little Nose Bay Port City would be the first to suffer.

Now that he had confirmed that this was the young lord of South Australia Island, this had merely been a false alarm. After glancing at the young man who had given him a fairly good first impression, Gandalf planned to leave.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. He never expected that the drunkard he had ignored all along would actually be a great master, and that he would discover Gandalf despite his excellent concealment.

Gandalf didn't believe that the wildcat falling from the tree had caused Frank to mistake it for a person, because Frank had shouted, "Who's there? Come out!" only after some time had passed since the cat fell.

If Gandalf had known that alcohol was what made Frank react so slowly, he probably would have been so depressed that he'd have coughed up three pints of blood.