Volume 2 - CH 375

9-9. Battle Horses.

We went out of the guild to get ready, but ……

“Is two hours enough time?”

“That’s how long it would take to prepare the wagon and arrange for the mounted dragon. We’ll need reins that will fit the steed, and such……”

“That’s right. It’s quite troublesome. I mean, shouldn’t we have to bring Hoen and Alena-chan with you and Uchikage?”

“I’ll entrust it to Uchikage.”

“The right person for the job. I’ll go.”

With my pace, it would take me a long time just to move around.

In this case, it would be more appropriate to have Uchikage pick us up.

Now, the remaining people are me and Yurie.

Even I can tell it’s a very odd pairing. ……

Ah, speaking of which, what about Jigal?

“I can’t take Jigal-kun with us, so he’s at Irza’s Magic Tool Store right now. It looks like that’s his home.”

“Something like that.”

We’ve been spending a lot of time together there for a while.

He became an adventurer because he wants to help Irza’s Magic Tool Shop and protect everyone.

It’s not something everyone can do.

He is already a B rank adventurer, and I think he can do well enough on his own.

I guess everyone wants to be an S-rank adventurer.

Though I’m aiming for it, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to become an adventurer until I finish this fiasco and the whole devil thing.

“How can you sleep for three days? At least get up in one day. You’re so pathetic.”

“So hars aren’t you, ……. I don’t have much experience with fainting either.”

“Not something you get used to?”

“No, you’re right, but ……. Nah, I don’t even know what I’m saying.”

“Hmmm.”

Is the experience when I’m a monster counted as well?

I’m not really sure about this.

Well, the fact that my absence is causing trouble is also right.

“That reminds me, you threw me without any hesitation.”

“Really? You told me to throw you! I knew your skills were strong, and I thought you might have a way out of that.”

“Did I ever tell you my skills?”

“No. But we have to trust each other. If we hesitate, we will lose something.”

“Damn, Yurie’s talking straight. ……”

“The hell man?”

I’m a little intimidated by the pressure, I’m sorry, I got carried away.

But, well, she’s been through a lot and she didn’t hesitate to throw me over the wall.

Well, it was me who told her to throw me, and I’m not trying to pursue it that far.

I heard a lot of things were tough for her.

I remember hearing that from Roze.

Uh, come to think of it, where are we headed?

To be honest, I’m ready to go at this point, so I don’t need anything in particular.

I’ve got weapons, I’ve got food, I can provide water …….

“Well, let’s leave it at that. …… Yurie, are you going to prepare anything?”

“Uh-huh. We’re going to get weapons.”

“I remember when Houen did the same thing.”

“This time it will be a small group and I will try to avoid fighting as much as possible. So I’ll bring a small battle-axe.”

“That makes sense.”

The battle axe that Yurie is holding now is very large.

How many kilos does it weigh?

I remember the last time she wielded a sixty kilogram one. …… (around 123 lbs)

She has a bit of a problem with small battle axes, but she basically uses them for throwing.

I thought it might be a waste of time, but let’s not be stingy with people’s fighting styles.

She’s an S-rank adventurer, after all.

While listening to the explanation of the axe and how to fight, Yurie and I were about to pass one of the stables.

Suddenly, the horses inside start screaming and rampaging.

I say “rampage,” but only inside the stable.

They don’t actually break the shed.

“W-what the ……?”

“I was startled. What is this huge horse ……?”

There was a large horse, three times the size of a normal horse.

The horse has muscles that are stronger than those of an ordinary horse, and they are supporting its physique.

It was black in color, and the mane on its head was longer and hung downwards.

I wondered why such a horse would be here, but then Yurie muttered something quietly.

“A BATTLEHORSE*? This is a demonic beast. ……” (*In english)

“Eh, what? Fighting horses?”

“I wonder what I’m interpreting that word to translate into.”

I mean, it’s just a literal translation of English. ……

I guess it doesn’t work in this world.

“Um, what’s a battle-horse?”

“Well, it’s a rare demonic beast, so I can understand why you don’t know what it is. When an ordinary horse eats the flesh of a monster, it can evolve into a battlehorse, which is very rare. But horses are herbivores and don’t eat meat, so it is rare for them to eat it. They don’t eat meat unless they are extremely starved.”

Hee, I didn’t know that. …….

Does that mean this guy ate the meat of the centipede that attacked the Kingdom of Salettana?

Gee, I wonder why this guy decided to eat it. ……

Then the battlehorse stomps its foot.

It is so powerful that the ground shakes slightly.

It looks like this thing is going to have as much firepower as a chariot just by running on the front line. ……

“Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.”

“…… hmm?”

I feel like the battlehorse is staring only at me.

I’m a little curious and try to move away from Yurie, but its gaze is still following me.

I went to the other side and it was the same.

Eh, is there something on …… me?

Then the battlehorse raises its upper body once, and with a thud with both front feet, pierces the ground.

“NEIIIIIGHH!”

“Oh …… that’s awesome …….”

“This will scare the other horses. It looks like the caretakers are having a hard time ……”

I looked in the back and saw someone tending to the horses that were flopping around in the shed.

Is this happening because we are here?

Maybe we should leave as soon as possible.

Yurie agrees, and we try to leave.

But then, the battlehorse started to go berserk.

“HNEEEEEEIGHHHH!!”

“What the hell!?”

“Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!”

‘Eh …… what the heck is that, come on …… and ……. Oh, that? This, this stable …….”

When I looked at the stable again, it looked somewhat familiar.

If I go back to my memory, I will remember it right away.

This is …… the stable where we used to leave our horses!

“You’re a starhorse!!?

“Neiiigh!”

“Seriously!? Eh, really!!!?”

As I approached, I was almost stopped strongly by the people around us and the caretaker.

But it was not in time, and as soon as I got close to the battlehorse, it quickly lowered its head and let me pet it.

By nature, battlehorses are monsters and dangerous.

Demonized animals basically attack humans.

However, this battlehorse did not attack people, and seemed to be sitting there waiting for someone.

The manager of the stable was also thinking about when to dispose of the beast, but since it was harmless and had a reputation as a rare stable with a battlehorse, he decided not to do so for the time being.

Then, I never expected to see him again.

I wondered if such a thing was possible, and the people around us were puzzled as to how a battlehorse could have missed us.

“Oh! It’s been a long time, buddy!”

“Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.”

“E- ehh-……”

“Hey, boss! I’m taking this guy back!”

“Oh, ah ……. Yes, ……. Um, …… thirteen gold coins …… please.”

“Gee, Did you leave it here that long ……?”

Even Yurie, who was stunned, was taken aback by this.

While thinking that I’ve experienced something like this before, I took over the battlehorse, or Starhorse, from the caretaker of this stable.

He’s a travelling companion of ours!

“It hurts my head. ……”

“Well, it’s been a while since we’ve been on the road, StarHorse!　Great timing!”

“Neiigh!”

I’m glad you’re happy!

Fufufufu, everyone’s going to be surprised for sure!