9.
It’s a Griffin!
After Polly and Flo woke up, Elnore began doing her duties as the new orchard keeper of the magical orchard.
But her duties were not like those of an ordinary orchard keeper.
She didn’t need to rush around picking fruit to sell at the market every time the seasons changed, Or worry about which fruits would bring in more money that year.
If she had to list her “jobs,” It would simply be spending time with visitors and enjoying delicious food with them.
There was no need to do more, and no reason to want more.
The most important thing of all was Elnore’s happiness.
Because when the orchard keeper is happy, they can share that happiness with those who visit.
Elnore smiled brightly every day, Thankful for a life she couldn’t even imagine just a short time ago.
Compared to her past, Life in the orchard truly felt like a dream.
One day,
Elnore noticed the flour sack in the cupboard was nearly empty.
“What? We’re already out of flour?”
“Well, duh! Look how many people come here to eat!”
“Una, you’re the one who eats the most!”
“That’s right! And all of Elnore’s food is so delicious that we just can’t stop eating it!”
Una had said it without much thought, And immediately got scolded by Polly and Flo.
But it wasn’t wrong.
Polly and Flo had eaten so much of Elnore’s food, Their bellies were chubbier than when they first woke up.
“Well, as long as everyone’s happy, it’s worth it. But I guess I should go to the market now.”
Elnore smiled as she poured the last bit of flour into a small bowl.
“You don’t need to go!”
“Because this orchard has everything!”
Polly and Flo shook their heads and climbed onto her shoulder.
Then they led her and Una deep into the orchard.
After walking for a while, They arrived at a tree with white branches and pale brown leaves.
Hanging from its branches were round fruits, the size of Una’s fist.
“That’s the ‘Wheat Tree.’ The previous orchard keeper, Miss Arona, gave it that name.”
“When you peel the fruit, soft powder like flour comes out. That’s why it’s called a wheat tree.”
“It smells even better than regular flour, and it tastes better too!”
“Really?”
Elnore walked up to the tree, a little unsure, and stretched out her hand to pick a fruit.
“Come on, don’t strain yourself. I’ll get it.”
Una reached up and picked a few fruits in one go, handing them to Elnore.
“Wheat fruits grow every day, so you can come and pick them anytime!”
“Great. That makes things easy.”
Elnore nodded and headed back to the house.
But as she reached the little path next to the house— She heard a cheerful voice from the front yard.
It was Ravi and the other animals.
More and more animals had been visiting the orchard each day, And now there were nearly twenty of them!
Usually, Ravi led the group.
If he couldn’t come, his loyal follower Rano would take charge.
And if Rano was busy, Ravi’s niece Rana would bring everyone.
When Rana came, colorful birds, squirrels, and deer often joined.
They were all close friends.
Elnore always welcomed them with warm smiles and delicious food, no matter who showed up.
Maybe that’s why—
The animals came to love Elnore very quickly.
“Hi everyone!”
Elnore smiled and greeted the cute animals.
Ravi walked forward and handed her a small basket.
Then the other animals gave her their own baskets too.
“Here, Elnore. Take this.”
“Mine too!”
“Please take mine!”
“What’s all this…?”
Elnore peeked into the baskets.
They were filled with eggs and butter.
“My big sister said we shouldn’t just keep taking your food without giving something back.”
“There was a market yesterday, so we stocked up!”
“You need eggs to cook, right?”
“And butter too!”
The animals happily chattered as they surrounded her.
“Thank you.”
Elnore felt her nose tingle with emotion.
It had been so long since someone treated her this kindly, She almost burst into tears.
It was a warmth she had never felt in the kingdom of Grossman.
Actually… had that place ever been warm at all?
There had been lots of people— But all of them were selfish and cold.
Except for her grandmother, No one had ever shown her kindness.
Every day had been filled with cruel words and violence.
But here, it was different.
Here…
Elnore couldn’t help it. Tears began to fall.
She quietly wiped them away— Only to notice the animals looking at her with worried eyes.
“Elnore, are you okay?”
“Did someone hurt you?”
“Boss, should we go and deal with them right now?”
“Whoever did this to you, Elnore, I’ll—”
“No, no, it’s nothing like that.”
Elnore shook her head and tried her best to smile.
“I’m just really thankful. So today, I’ll make the best dessert ever!”
“You don’t have to push yourself. You always make the best food!”
“That’s right! But today, I’ll make cookies for Elnore instead! Let me show off my skills!”
Rano shouted proudly.
“Rano, you always burn your cookies! You trying to feed us ash again?!”
Rana looked at him with wide eyes.
Rano scratched his head awkwardly.
“Were they really that bad? Okay, the shape was terrible, I admit…”
“Ugh, no thanks. I’ll make the cookies today!”
Rana shook her head and grabbed the edge of Elnore’s skirt.
“Then how about this— Let’s all make something delicious together!”
Elnore smiled and lifted Rana into her arms, leading everyone into the house.
Soon, the house was filled with joyful laughter.
There were moments of cheerful shouting, And beautiful songs drifted through the windows.
No one noticed the growling of the gatekeeper dogs outside.
They were surrounding an unexpected visitor, Watching him carefully.
The visitor was Git, a griffin— And one of Xenon’s trusted soldiers.
I should’ve just flown around a little longer instead of trying to go in directly…
Git was sweating nervously.
Normally, this wouldn’t be a big problem for him—
But today, he wasn’t alone.
His young son, Gito, was riding on his back.
Usually, his wife looked after Gito, But this morning was different.
Git had gotten into trouble.
He had gone out “on patrol” but ended up hanging out with Glio the dwarf.
And he didn’t come home on time.
So for months, his wife had taken care of their son alone, and she was furious.
She scolded Git harshly— Saying they had the child together, and it wasn’t just her responsibility.
Git, fearing he might get kicked out of the house, apologized and bowed deeply.
His wife told him if he really meant it, Then he had to look after Gito today.
When she got mad, it was terrifying—
It felt like she could blow the house away with her wings.
So Git took Gito and left quickly.
He flew with his son—who wasn’t strong enough to fly yet— And felt bad for making his wife handle everything.
He promised himself he’d get home early from now on.
While flying, he remembered that Xenon had told him to check on the magical orchard.
Perfect, he thought, and landed at the orchard’s entrance.
But as soon as he stepped inside—
Out came the dogs!
Git panicked.
If Gito got hurt, his wife would never forgive him.
He looked around for a way out.
Flying away was impossible.
The sky above was covered in thick thorns.
He couldn’t keep standing here facing off with the dogs either.
So he reached for the pouch on his ankle and pulled out a note.
It had Elvish phrases written by Leaf, in case something like this happened.
It was a greeting to say to the gatekeeper dogs.
But Git couldn’t pronounce Elvish properly—
So every time he said something wrong, the dogs growled and stepped forward again.
They only backed off when he got the pronunciation exactly right.
They were very strict.
By the time he finally got the greeting right and entered the orchard, The sun was already setting.
Git placed Gito gently on the ground and collapsed beside him.
“Aaagh…”
He had used so much energy just trying to say one sentence correctly.
“I’m hungry, Dad!”
Gito whined, rubbing his stomach.
Git looked around for food— But the orchard was filled with only fruit.
Griffins didn’t eat raw fruit.
So Git was stuck.
Then—
A delicious smell drifted over from the small house in the orchard.
He and Gito, tired and starving, followed the smell.
They peeked through a slightly open window.
Inside, Elnore and the animals were sitting around a table, Getting ready to eat hot mushroom soup and perfectly toasted bread.
The poor griffin father and son drooled at the sight.
Git, being an adult, tried to hold it in—
But Gito couldn’t.
The scent was too tempting.
As he leaned in toward the window…
He lost his balance and rolled right into the house.
CRASH!
Everyone at the table turned toward the noise.
A rabbit, wide-eyed with shock, shouted—
“It’s a griffin!”
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