The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent-Chapter 307

Panting, I rushed outside to check—just as I suspected, the flowerbed was completely ruined.

Had it come here searching for warmth because the rooftop floor was too cold and hard?

The classroom’s windows were designed to let in plenty of sunlight, and naturally, the flowerbed beneath them was positioned to receive the same.

The soil there was soft as well.

To the gryphon, this might have seemed like the perfect sunbathing spot.

“...Are you a cat?”

The words slipped out before I could stop them.

...No, actually, now that I said it, it did seem like a reasonable comparison. Its head and upper body were those of a bird of prey, but the rest of its body was that of a lion. And lions were felines, after all.

I wasn’t sure if lions sat in the same loaf position as house cats, but still.

The gryphon tilted its head at me.

It was only then that I realized I had run out here in a maid outfit.

...Well, that wasn’t important right now. This was the bigger issue.

It wasn’t like the gryphon had caused some major disaster, but the fact remained that it was sitting right in the middle of a flowerbed. And given its massive size, the space was far too small to accommodate it properly.

There had even been a small decorative brick border outlining the flowerbed, meant to mark its boundaries—but now, a portion of it lay crushed beneath the gryphon’s weight.

“I did tell you that you were free to return home,” I reminded it.

But it seemed the gryphon had no intention of leaving.

“Well... At least we can cover the cost of the damages,” Alice said, trying to reassure me.

But her words did little to ease my concerns.

“It’s not just about the money,” I countered. “If the gryphon is going to continue living in human society, it needs to learn how to adapt. If it keeps causing small incidents like this...”

“Ah, I see what you mean,” Alice said, nodding in understanding.

She had witnessed firsthand what happened when the gryphon stole livestock.

“But isn’t it normal for pets to cause a little trouble every now and then? As long as it’s not harming anyone or causing serious property damage, I don’t think we need to be too harsh about it,” she reasoned.

“...That’s only because the incidents caused by pets aren’t serious enough to be a problem.”

Unless a dog or cat actually killed someone, their mischief was usually nothing more than a minor inconvenience.

Sure, some car owners might curse when a stray cat left scratch marks on their hood, but imagine if a gryphon did the same thing.

People wouldn’t just brush it off as an innocent animal’s mistake.

“...Hmph.”

I glared sternly at the gryphon again, while Alice studied my expression curiously—then suddenly smirked.

“You really care about it, don’t you?”

“...What?”

I turned to her, eyebrows furrowing at the unexpected remark.

Still smiling, Alice continued,

“You’re worried people will reject it, aren’t you? That’s why you’re being so strict every time it makes a mistake.”

The gryphon, which had been shifting its gaze between us as we spoke, suddenly focused on me, staring intently.

“...What are you looking at?” I muttered.

“There’s no need to deny it so much,” Alice said with a chuckle. “Besides, it’s only been living here for a month. You said yourself that it’s probably still young. It’s smart, so it picks up on things quickly—look at how much better behaved it is now compared to when it first arrived. Why not give it a little more time?”

I blinked, momentarily speechless.

“...Could you not look at me like you’re thinking, ‘Wow, she can actually be mature sometimes?’” Alice grumbled.

“...”

Ignoring her complaints for now, I turned back to the gryphon.

As always, it wore that same unrepentant, smug expression.

Even so... Alice was right.

Back when it had run off and devoured livestock, I had scolded it. At the time, it had seemed like my words went in one ear and out the other. But thinking back on it now, it had never repeated that mistake.

I had assumed that was simply because it was being fed more regularly...

But maybe it really had understood what I was saying.

“...More importantly, I think you should take a look around,” Charlotte interjected.

Following her gaze, I glanced around—only to realize that a crowd had gathered around us.

People passing by had stopped to watch.

But rather than looking frightened, most of them seemed... curious.

The gryphon might have been a predator, and it was often portrayed as a fearsome creature in stories, but it had never actually attacked a person before.

And every time it had appeared before the public, it had been carrying me on its back.

Now that I thought about it, the gryphon had become so familiar to everyone that it would probably be stranger if they were afraid of it.

“See?” Alice said. “No one looks scared. The gryphon doesn’t seem like it’s about to attack anyone, either. Maybe you can afford to relax a little.”

“...”

I looked up at the gryphon once more.

As always, it held its head high, looking down at me with its usual proud demeanor. But after hearing Alice’s words, I saw it a little differently.

No matter how noble it tried to act, at the end of the day, it was still just a friendless loner.

If it had any friends, they were all humans like me.

“...Very well.”

I spoke directly to the gryphon.

And then—

“But let’s make one thing clear. If a place seems to have been created by someone, you must not step on anything inside it carelessly—whether it’s livestock inside a fence, or flowers in a garden. Everything in such places exists because of someone’s effort and care.”

“...”

“And if you can’t respect even that basic level of courtesy, then I can’t stay by your side. If you want us to be equals, then you have to respect me, too.”

“...”

The gryphon’s expression didn’t change.

But—

“Oh...”

A murmur rose from the crowd that had gathered around us. It sounded like admiration.

The gryphon, as if wanting to prove something, slowly—very slowly, as if it were a massive hassle—began to rise.

For a second, I wondered if it was sulking and about to fly home.

But no.

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Instead, in a grand display of following my orders, it deliberately moved one step to the side—only to plop right back down.

...On the path meant for people to walk on.

It wasn’t completely blocking the way, but still—no one was going to casually stroll past a gryphon sitting in the middle of the road.

Well... at least it wasn’t on the flowerbed anymore.

I inspected the spot where the gryphon had been sitting. Just as I expected, the flowers were completely flattened. Its sharp talons had dug into the earth so deeply that replanting wouldn’t be enough. The flowerbed would have to be rebuilt from scratch.

I looked back up at the gryphon.

It averted its gaze.

So, it did understand that it had done something wrong.

Maybe I should cut back on its food as a form of discipline.

Just as I was seriously considering it—

“Princess?”

Someone addressed me cautiously.

“...Headmaster.”

I adjusted my posture and greeted him with proper decorum.

Abraham Winterfield, the academy’s headmaster, gave me a slight nod in return—though his attention was entirely fixed on the gryphon.

“It truly is as magnificent as I’ve heard.”

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His voice carried a hint of awe.

Notably, he didn’t seem the least bit concerned about the destroyed flowerbed. To subtly keep it out of his view, I shifted my stance slightly, positioning myself between him and the damage.

Alice and Charlotte definitely noticed what I was doing, but neither of them commented on it.

The headmaster gazed up at the gryphon in silence for a moment before slowly raising a hand—then hesitated, glancing at me.

“Would it be... alright if I...?”

Even he seemed embarrassed to make the request, leaving his sentence unfinished.

“...”

I looked at his raised hand.

Then at the gryphon.

The gryphon was looking at his hand, too.

To put it bluntly—it clearly looked displeased.

I wasn’t sure how it appeared to others, but to me, the expression {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} was unmistakable.

Oh, so you have no problem carrying me on your back, but you’re too good to let an old man touch you?

A brilliant idea popped into my head.

“It’s fine. It’s very well-behaved,” I said.

“...!”

The gryphon’s head snapped toward me.

Its wide eyes were practically screaming, What did you just say?!

But I ignored its silent protest and continued smoothly,

“It loves people. It has no problem accepting a human’s touch.”

“But its reaction just now—”

“That’s just because it loves people so much,” I interrupted, maintaining an innocent expression.

“...Is that so?”

The headmaster still seemed a little unsure, but in the end, he chose to believe me.

He cautiously stepped closer.

The gryphon looked from the headmaster... to me.

I met its gaze with a very stern look.

You made a mess. Now it’s time to face the consequences.

Go ahead. Try running away. Next time, I’ll bring a whole orphanage full of kids to pet you.