Expert Frank

"Teacher, it's a griffon! Are they chasing us?" Emma asked, pointing at a griffon in the sky through the hotel window, her anxious little face pale.

"This griffon looks a bit strange. I'm not sure if it's from the empire sent to catch you. Little Emma, stay inside. I'll go take a look."

The wandering Old Mage Gandalf was calmer. After reassuring Emma, he pulled up his hood and quietly slipped out of the hotel, heading in the direction the griffon had landed.

Kerry landed the griffon and heard Frank's sigh of emotion. He instantly judged that this was a master with a story, someone like the legendary Flying Dagger drowning his sorrows in wine.

Misled further by Frank's various behaviors, Kerry was now even more confused.

"Mr. Frank, I've come to escort you back to the castle." Kerry spoke cautiously. Masters were known for their eccentricities; one couldn't be too humble or too casual. There was a delicate balance to strike, and Kerry felt he was beginning to understand how to interact with Frank.

Frank, whose eyes were squinted shut by the strong wind kicked up by the griffon's landing, rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, sobering up slightly. "Hmm, a griffon, oh, and the young master is here too... A griffon!"

Frank hadn't reacted at first. After seeing the griffon and then spotting Kerry, it took a moment for the alcohol's delayed reaction to wear off before he suddenly realized there was a griffon with his young master, and he was so shocked he couldn't speak.

Butler Carson, having lived in the Royal Capital for a long time, wouldn't dare approach a griffon up close, let alone Frank.

"Yes, my griffon. Not bad, is it?" Kerry didn't detect the underlying meaning. He thought bringing the griffon had indeed been effective. Didn't the great master seem surprised to see he had a griffon?

Kerry didn't suspect Frank was scared by the griffon. Frank's earlier calm remark about the griffon and then the equally calm "young master" suggested that the griffon's appearance had caused no internal turmoil for him, as if seeing his own young master was an indifferent matter.

Kerry figured his standing in Frank's eyes was about to rise several notches.

A 17-year-old warrior, a young lord with a griffon – that was impressive. Old masters generally didn't bother with protagonists who lacked potential. Kerry secretly rejoiced that he would soon earn Frank's approval.

After a few minutes, Kerry noticed Frank had gone completely still and looked a bit puzzled. He couldn't help but ask, "Frank, what's wrong? Why aren't you talking? Let's ride the griffon back to the castle together."

Kerry only saw Frank's eyes looking past him, fixed on something behind him, as if he wasn't there.

Confused, Kerry turned to look behind him. The Queen, who had been flying perfectly moments ago, now looked sickly, as if in pain from a stomachache, her eyes full of suffering.

So, it turned out the old griffon was in distress. Indeed, in this condition, the griffon couldn't carry anyone. No wonder he wasn't talking. It seemed he had just said something foolish.

Kerry believed he had figured out why Frank wasn't speaking, but in reality, Frank was genuinely too shocked to utter a word.

Kerry walked over to the Queen, trying to comfort her while inwardly growing anxious.

He hadn't found a griffon keeper yet, and now the Queen might not hold on.

After Kerry had been comforting the old griffon for a while, Frank finally came back to his senses. Seeing his young master and the griffon together harmoniously, he finally relaxed a bit. He quickly took another swig of wine to calm his nerves and said, "Young master, it seems she's quite ill. We'll have to take a boat back."

"Taking a boat will be difficult. Little Nose Bay Port City has blockaded trade with my territory. It'll be hard to find a ship back to South Australia Island, unless Mike and the others happen to be here. I came hoping to find a griffon keeper or a veterinarian. The Queen looks so pained, and I'm helpless."

Perhaps it was the sheer volume of information, but Frank seemed to take a while to respond. "Young master, you are the Lord of South Australia Island, a Baron. Who would dare blockade you? Is there no law?"

Kerry wasn't sure if in this society where strength reigned supreme, a master would care about laws, but he replied dismissively, "It's fine. It's the City Lord of Little Nose Bay Port City who's causing trouble for me. But if he continues this isolationist policy, he'll run into problems himself soon. At least, the fishermen in this area are all under my control. Many people in his city depend on the sea for their livelihood, and many more depend on the fishing trade. We're not even buying fishing gear anymore. Soon, a lot of people will be starving and begging the City Lord for food, haha."

Kerry also relished the feeling of revenge. He had worked hard to deal with the Jili Merchant Alliance, and now Little Nose Bay Port City would suffer too. They were few in number and had fewer concerns, but City Lord Jim Green had a large enterprise. They would see who could last longer.

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

Unfortunately, the Queen, having just managed to stand, cried out in pain again and collapsed, letting out a sound that was a mix of a shriek and a roar.

The nearby birds were startled into flight.

Kerry also saw a wild cat on a tree, which had missed its prey as the bird flew away. After a difficult struggle to save itself, it fell from the tree with a dull thud.

Kerry didn't pay much attention to this scene, and Frank paid even less. His mind, already disoriented by the sudden appearance of the griffon and the large amount of alcohol consumed in a short time, was now overly startled and sluggish.

The griffon's roar had already shaken him badly. Then, the dull thud of the wild cat falling from the tree snapped his already fragile nerves. Thinking something else had happened, he instinctively shouted, "Who's there, come out!" He just wanted to bolster his own courage.

Gandalf had hidden himself in a slightly secluded grove. It seemed to be near a hospital or a sanatorium ahead, but Gandalf wasn't paying much attention to that. His eyes were fixed on Kerry and his griffon.

The clothing didn't look like that of a Faglan Griffon Knight. It resembled the style commonly worn by the nobles of Raynor's faction. But whether this was a false alarm or something more serious, he had to investigate thoroughly, or he wouldn't be able to sleep soundly.

Gandalf had heard nearly the entire conversation between Kerry and Frank and now knew that the young man riding the griffon was Kerry Raynor, the Lord of South Australia Island, whom he had heard Emma mention.

He hadn't expected this young lord to see things so clearly. The blockade of South Australia Island by Little Nose Bay Port City might not necessarily be detrimental to South Australia Island. Perhaps, as the young man said, the City Lord of Little Nose Bay Port City would suffer first.

Since he had confirmed it was the young lord of South Australia Island, this incident was likely just a false alarm. He glanced at the young man, who gave him a good first impression, and Gandalf decided to leave.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. He hadn't expected the drunkard he had overlooked to be a master. He had hidden so well, yet he had been discovered.

Gandalf didn't believe Frank had mistaken the falling wild cat for a person. It was only after the cat had fallen for some time that Frank shouted, "Who's there, come out!"

If Gandalf had known that Frank's delayed reaction was due to alcohol, he would have been so frustrated he probably would have vomited three liters of blood.