None of us would ever think Vivi was a customer. Besides, this trip wouldn’t be dangerous…right?
“Entering humanity’s stronghold, eh, Doctor?” Ejil muttered.
“Why do you have to frame it like that?” I was human too, even if Ejil had forgotten that.
“When you return, will you inform me of the capital’s coordinates?” he asked.
“Not a chance.”
Mina apparently had nothing left to say to us as she already warned us about tons of things.
I led Griffy out of its stable and helped Noela up on its back. “We’re not staying there long,” I reminded the rest of the staff. “We’ll be back in a few days.”
“Groo!”
We all waved to each other, and Griffy took off, heading toward the capital.
Riding atop the griffin, Noela and I passed over several mountains as I used the map I received to navigate to the city. We took a breather in a town we found along the way. By the time we saw a massive castle and walled city in the distance, it was already evening. Landing nearby would draw the guards’ attention and stir up tons of fuss, so we set down in the shadows a little way away.
“What do with Griffy, Master?” Noela asked.
“Kyuu.” Griffy stared at me, clearly wanting to come along.
I petted its head gently. “Promise not to make any sudden loud noises?”
“Kyuu!”
“And you won’t start flapping?”
“Kyuu!” Griffy nodded.
“All right,” I said. Reaching into my bag, I pulled out a certain product I created a while ago for the Red Cat Brigade. “If you can keep those promises, I’ll give you some of this giant minimizer.”
If Noela and I were heading home tomorrow, Griffy could’ve just killed time until then. We planned to stick around for a couple of days though, and to be honest, I would feel guilty sending Griffy home after bringing us all the way here. I didn’t want to run the griffin ragged.
“Kyuu?”
Griffy and Noela cocked their heads, confused. Come to think of it, it made sense that they weren’t familiar with this product. The drugstore didn’t stock it normally, and it was basically just for business use.
“Drinking this will shrink you for a while,” I explained. When Doz used the giant minimizer, he became small enough to fit in the palm of my hand.
Noela and Griffy looked thrilled. “Come with Noela, Griffy!” the werewolf urged.
“Kyuu! Kyuu!” Griffy immediately opened its beak to allow me to pour giant minimizer down its throat.
“Say ‘ah,’” I grinned.
As Griffy gulped loudly, it suddenly shrank. Noela lifted the tiny griffin in her fingers and placed it in her palm, gently stroking Griffy with a fingertip. “So small!”
At this size, Griffy was even cuter than usual. It chirped repeatedly, but it was tiny enough that you couldn’t hear the chirping unless you really listened hard.
“In here, Griffy.” Noela placed the creature in her bag’s outer pocket.
“Kyuu.”
I brought several bottles of giant minimizer, as well as some Super Invisiblize as a safety net, so we were fine for now. I’d have Griffy drink the latter product immediately if the minimizer suddenly wore off.
Once we were ready, we began trekking down the red road toward the capital city’s gates. We showed our travel pass to a guard, and they let us right into the city.
Every way I looked, there was nothing but buildings everywhere. Innumerable shops selling all sorts of things lined the streets. But thanks to a simple city map Rayne drew for us, I basically knew where we were.
“So big! So much!”
I grabbed hold of Noela just before she ran off. “Hold on, puffball. I can’t have you getting lost.”
“No get lost.”
“Where’s all that confidence coming from?” I asked her.
“Know Master’s smell.”
Right. I underestimated the werewolf’s senses. “But do you have any money?”
“Groo…” Noela was carrying a wallet Mina had made her. We checked it, and there was only about 300 rin inside. “Allowance, Master.” Noela cupped her hands, and Griffy watched expectantly from her bag’s front pocket.
“Just a little, okay?” I handed her a thousand-rin bill from my own wallet.
“Groo! Master real man!”
“Yeah, yeah. Thanks.”
Once she had some spending money, Noela basically leaped toward the shops to look around. I’d have to collect her again eventually, since we were meeting Lord Valgas. To be safe, I made sure to keep her in eyeshot as I strolled around myself. Back on Earth, I lived in a big city, so I was used to crowded places like this. I thought someone like Mina might’ve had a hard time with all these people though.
The shopping district was pretty different from those in Japan, so looking around was a lot of fun in itself. The shops sold a plethora of goods and clothes from throughout the country, as well as strangely shaped weapons and armor. There was even a pharmacist offering some, let’s just say, questionable medicines.
I kept an eye on Noela as I did so. She was now eating a meat kebab while trying to buy another one. “She’s just ordering a second helping,” I mumbled. It didn’t look like she was interested in trying lots of different things.
Now carrying two meat kebabs, Noela bounced off yet again. Coincidentally, she was moving toward our meeting spot with Lord Valgas—a central plaza with a fountain. That worked for me, so I just followed her.
Noela stopped in front of a weapons store, darting from sword to sword and testing out different spears. Then, she tried on helmets at the neighboring armor shop. All sorts of species and people were strolling around, and the old shop owner simply watched her entertain herself with a warm smile.