Leaving the estate of the Marquis, I passed through the noble district and entered the general residential area.

As if it had been waiting for us, a magical creature descended from the sky.

"Kururu!"

It was Sanshita the griffon. Apparently, he had remembered my command to avoid landing in the noble district.

"Whoa! What the heck is that!"

"Are you new here or something? I've already gotten used to it."

Some people panicked as the griffon suddenly appeared, while others remained unfazed. Those who panicked had likely never seen me or Sanshita before, while those who were calm were probably familiar with us.

The Marquis of Endlord was a flamboyant man, to say the least. He had implemented a new rule allowing tamed magical beasts to land directly in town, provided they had official approval from the domain lord.

As a result, I officially became a recognized "griffon rider" by the lord himself, and Sanshita was granted permission to land anywhere in the city, except for the noble district.

Apparently, this was a welcome change for others who used bird-like magical beasts, but for me, the approval felt unnecessary. Why? Because the Marquis had declared:

"All of you need to ride straight into Akoup with your beasts. It's more fun that way."

This effectively forced us to land in the middle of town.

For the first week or so, chaos erupted as a griffon suddenly appeared in the streets, causing damages so severe that I would have been buried in debt if the Marquis hadn't compensated for them.

I suspect his goal was to make me, the griffon rider, a well-known figure. But honestly, I’d rather not relive those days.

"Permission for a griffon to land? Approved by the lord? What kind of nonsense is that?!"

"It's not nonsense. What, are you calling our lord a fool?"

"No, no! That’s not what I meant!"

Things had settled down now, but newcomers or people returning to Akoup still sometimes reacted with surprise or even pointed weapons at us. Thankfully, the townsfolk were quick to defuse such situations, so I no longer worried too much about it.

"Hey, Sanshita, want some near-rotten meat I can't sell anymore?"

I'll gladly accept, sir!

As I kept an eye out for any trouble, Sanshita was happily being fed by the local butcher. He chomped on the meat with great enthusiasm.

"Look, it's Sanshita!"
"Sanshita! Sanshita!"

Children swarmed around him, despite the blood smearing his mouth. He looked annoyed but refrained from reacting aggressively, as I had strictly ordered him not to harm humans. Instead, he allowed himself to be hugged and tugged at as the children clung to his fur.

Being popular is tough...

Sanshita's weary expression was tinged with melancholy.

Ivy, perched on my shoulder, shook her head in disbelief as if to say, This is just absurd.

What I hadn't anticipated was that in the city of Akoup, Sanshita was far more popular than Ivy.

Ivy, a unique species of turtle-like magical creature, had low recognition. She remained in her small, hand-sized form to avoid unnecessary conflicts, which often caused people to overlook her.

Only those close to the Marquis or involved in the Adventurers' Guild knew of her extraordinary capabilities.

In contrast, Sanshita, the sky-soaring griffon and a first-rank magical creature, naturally drew attention.

Since others couldn't hear his comically subservient tone, Sanshita retained the dignified image of a mythical beast straight out of ancient legends. Griffons were iconic, their fame immortalized in countless tales and myths.

As a result, the townspeople’s curiosity was overwhelmingly directed toward Sanshita. The Marquis’s proclamation about a griffon rider arriving in Akoup had only amplified this attention.

And so, Sanshita and I became—unwillingly, I might add—local celebrities in Akoup.