CHAPTER 42 Obnoxious Micromanagement Was a Skill

Keith

The first thing Keith saw when he [Shared Senses] with Hubert was a strong, beautiful, confident woman utterly dominating.

Dwarves were knocked off their feet. One griffin was sent tumbling into the craggy rock. A heavy metal net that took four dwarves to throw was casually tossed back over the group.

It was a sight.

The eggs were safely held by Chancellor Grimly. They were guarded by an angry-looking Corporal Nova, who seemed ready to murder somebody. She was not happy when his princess tossed a dwarf into the shield wall.

Keith sent Hubert flying. When Ria loudly proclaimed that she had the griffins' eggs, there was a sudden stillness that fell over the chaos. Keith chose that moment to alight onto her shoulder.

"Keith?"

"I'm here."

"Perfect timing," she said, then sent out another burst of [Sword Aura] to hopefully get everyone's attention. "I AM PRINCESS HENRIETTA, COME TO RETURN THE STOLEN GRIFFIN EGGS."

The dwarven vanguard crawled out from under their net while the tankers lined up neatly in front of them, still with shields deployed.

The griffins who could landed opposite the dwarves. A few clawed the earth restlessly, while others still had hackles raised and were eyeing the ensemble like they would pounce at any second. One had gone to assist the griffin who'd hit the earth. It could barely stand, but once it made it to its feet, it hobbled over to join its companions. The two that had disappeared into the jagged rocks had still not returned, but Ria didn't seem to mind.

She stood in between the two groups.

"Bring the eggs!"

Corporal Nova walked forward, Chancellor Grimly right behind her. The dwarfess had taken the crate, and she pulled the top open, revealing three eggs nestled inside to everyone there.

A mixture of relief and joy screeched from the griffins, and the dwarves hesitantly lowered their shields, though they had not deactivated anything yet.

"We found the eggs and have journeyed to return them. The dwarves did not steal them," Ria proclaimed. Keith didn't interrupt. Even if he was the Dark Lord, giving people the chance to do things without obnoxious micromanagement was a skill he had learned at his godmother's flank.

Feliwyn gave direction, and if someone tried and failed, she would support them until they were confident enough to do it right every time. Or she would eat them. But that was a rare occurrence; minions usually did as she asked.

The dwarves waited until the griffins settled themselves. A female griffin with a sunset-red lioness head, golden haunches, and a catlike sandy tail walked forward. She was the one who had half collapsed a roof and knocked over a cart.

With a sniff, she slowly inspected the eggs. A delicate wing tip reached out and slowly brushed one egg. Visible joy overcame the griffin mother, and it reared back, letting loose an ear-piercing eagle screech. Its companions all took to the sky—even the injured one—as the griffin nodded regally at the princess. Then it gripped the crate in its talons and launched into the air.

Keith nudged Hubert to nuzzle Ria as a sign of support and approval. He loved watching her work. Also, he might have spent extra mana so he could smell in [Shared Senses].

Ria whispered to him, "That's one thing done. Now I can go to Gren's—"

"Princess." Corporal Nova cut in front of them and stood, angry, at attention. "Why did you injure my men in the fight? Thomson has three broken ribs, and Dame Helga almost lost her eye when the netting hit her!"

"Excuse me …" Ria put away her sword, and Keith used the opportunity to tell her the dwarfess's name. "Corporal Nova, are you not merchants and ambassadors stationed in the Dark Enchanted Forest?"

"Yes. Which is why—"

"And do you regularly seek to kill citizens of Nilheim?" Ria cut her off this time.

"They're monsters," Corporal Nova retorted. "Monsters who attacked first."

Keith sighed. This was a long-suffering argument.

"Then is that how you do business with other kingdoms in Valaria? Taking the law into your own hand?" Ria stuck both hands on her waist and stared down at the offended corporal. "Is killing each other going to stop a griffin from attacking, or will it just bring back more griffins that wish for vengeance?"

"They started it!"

"Well, I'm finishing it. Please take these three advanced healing potions to use among the injured. No one need suffer long—"

A bloodcurdling screech resounded over the crowd as the young griffin who had fallen earlier shot out from between some mountain rocks. The griffin who had left to search for it was nowhere to be seen.

Keith hopped off Ria's shoulder and on to Corporal Nova's forearm.

Just before the griffin finished his downward assault on the group, Ria grabbed onto it. She swung her body neatly around to sit near the wingspan at the young griffin's neck. She subdued it with her second choke hold for the day.

"She's impressive, isn't she?" Keith asked the dwarfess awkwardly holding Hubert the raven.

"Agh! Wait. King Keith?" Surprise turned into shock which turned into tentative placating. "I mean, she's very strong."

"She handles my subjects very well," Keith sighed happily.

In front of them, Ria was petting an exhausted and cowed griffin youth trying to catch its breath. Ria was saying encouraging words to the creature and letting it know the eggs had been returned.

"Then I'll get Chancellor Grimly to report the situation," Nova finally sighed, the anger subsiding as a look of displeasure played across her face. "Now it's time for the hard part …"

Keith tilted Hubert's head.

The dwarfess swept her gaze around the outpost. "Cleaning up the mess."