206-200 Cavalry

He announced that he was heading out of the village chief's house with a book about spirits and dragons, which the two of them had been curious about, in case they were leaving the village chief's house, and heading out of the noisy atmosphere.

'I didn't get a bad feeling from the village chief earlier. If that's the case, there's a good chance we've had some kind of accident.

Are you in pursuit?

Nadia assumed that her pursuers were among the possibilities, but I quickly dismissed them.

No, we told the chief that we were heading to the Holy City. If it's a member of the church, they won't make a scene. The only thing that could happen is that a demon appeared, or someone was injured.

That's a big deal. Let's go now.

If someone is in trouble, we need to help them.

They both felt like they were bringing up some kind of mission, but agreed that if human lives were at stake.

'Let's go outside anyway. Oh, but first, were there any books on your mind?

Not really.

'Because the books describing the lore of dragons and spirits were also in Nerdal. I didn't find anything of note.

So it's just this one book.

After retrieving the books on summoning, I opened the front door and saw that the people at the center of the commotion were all of the White Wolf's bloodline.

''What the hell is going on here?''

I mumbled as I walked closer, and Hazan-san and the others who noticed me came over to talk to me.

''Oh, Luciel, it's been a while,''

'Oh, Luciel, I can't believe you're really here, Hazan's sense of smell is no longer human.

Luciel, it's been a while.

Mr. Hazan, Mr. Sekiroth and Mr. Basra spoke to me in turn.

'Good morning. What is the matter with you all?　Chief, have they done anything to you?

I saw that the village chief asked me, a little confused, and I felt that he was inspired by the book on human supremacy.

Well, I don't want to make any more trouble this time, so I'll tell you exactly what my relationship with them is.

'I know them. They are all members of Meratni's higher adventuring party, the White Wolf Bloodline.

That's why I said I knew you. Luciel, I got a request from Whirlwind to see if you were a little worried.

That tone of voice that said it was troublesome was indicative of the village chief's attitude.

I'm sure he's been subjected to the same kind of racial discrimination in the past.

When I thought about it, I felt a little sad.

But here was one problem.

Before I said I was going to the Holy City, I wanted him to call me an escort and not a pick-up, but the village chief was a bit reluctant to do so, perhaps thinking about that.

I wasn't sure if I could fool him, but I decided to change the nuance of the conversation.

'You were asked by your master to be his escort. We were in need of a horse, so we decided to ask you to accommodate us in this village.

Then the grimness disappears from the village chief's face.

''Then we came in a carriage too, so you can ride with us.

Garba-san cleverly said it, but I felt the village chief's eyes sharpened at that moment, so I'm going to softly decline it here.

''Since I've decided to give it away, plus I have something else I'd like to give away,''

Oh, what is it?

Unlike earlier, I stopped thinking about him deeply when he responded with a radiant smile.

Apparently, the village chief is after money, so it's a loss to think about it.

''This book on this summoning, I've never read it, and I'd really like to read it, but I don't have that much time to spare, so I'd like you to give it to me. Of course I will pay you a reasonable price for it.

Oh, I'll give you the book. I don't think I, who live in this village, would be able to gather all the materials in that book, and it's a dubious one.

The fact that he didn't ask for any consideration for anything other than, I guess he was either too busy selling his horse or decided that it was not worth it.

'Thank you, sir. So, the horses, sir?

We're already ready to go, but if you'd like, you can have a bite to eat.

The village chief says so, but since I have white wolf blood in my veins, I decide against it, since I might be digging my grave.

Lydia has given me an aura of hunger, so I decide to give her something easy to eat once we leave the village.

''I appreciate the offer, but I'm afraid I'll have to decline this time. Please show me around.''

Yes, sir. Come on in.

Apparently it was a social call, and the village chief didn't show any signs of concern when he refused.

Then he started walking ahead to the horse stalls, so I decided to follow him.

Behind me, Sekiros-san and Nadia were talking about something, and the atmosphere gave me the impression that they knew each other somewhat, but then Bazan-san spoke to me.

I heard that you became a wise man, Luciel. It must be hard work, but I'm glad.

Mr. Bazan, smiling with his sharp canine teeth, seemed genuinely pleased that I had become a wise man.

I was happy about that, but I remembered that I hadn't yet thanked him for coming to pick me up, so I thanked him.

'Well, I didn't really feel alive this time. Anyway, thank you very much for welcoming me. Since you're here, you must have skipped a lot, right?

'Yeah. Still, I found out that a man who saved my life was in danger. I wanted to be the first to get there.

It's always a big deal when you save your life.

But it's a very emotional thing, because you have the power to heal, you have a patient who can heal, and then you go around and help me this time, so it's very emotional.

''Well thank you very much. So how's your master doing?

He's not going to tell us about it, but he's recovered enough to fight us and be a good match for us.

For a moment, I was curious about the fact that he showed some hesitation, but if he's recovered enough to fight A-ranked Bazan-san, then I guess there's no problem.

''It's only been three months, and to be able to fight an A-ranked adventurer.......as expected of a master. It's only because he's an outsider.

''Well, because of that man, there's been a mock battle set up every day, and the Adventurer's Guild is getting strangely tense.

Hazan said with a wry smile, but considering the ongoing nature of the situation, he's probably been doing the same thing for the past three months.

Master's level and skill initialization hadn't been sealed, so if he were to regain his previous movements, he would have no choice but to repeat steady mock battles and actual battles.

That's why Master would take the initiative to follow the new adventurers and conduct mock battles.

The adventurers who found out that Master was getting weaker would take on the challenge, thinking that they could win now, so they might have no trouble finding a real opponent....　

''........Were the adventurers okay?　I'm afraid the request will be delayed or...

''There's been a lot of fainting damage, but for what it's worth, the Adventurer's Guild is vibrant right now!

I hope it's full of life.

I decided to go through with the fainting thing.

It smelled like a Pandora-type smell that surely shouldn't be opened.

'So how did Luciel get here, how did he get here?　Seeing that the horses are gone, have you crushed all three of them?

Mr. Bazan has changed the subject, but it's hard to explain, so I'll tell you later.

'No, I was alone a while ago. Well, I'll tell you about that after we leave the village.

'That one too, I suppose. Whoa, is that it?　You look so peaceful.

Well I hope it's not a bad horse.

The village chief and the owner of the horse were waiting for one of them, and there were three horses lined up in a row with a somewhat heartwarming look on their faces.

''It could actually be Sunma,''

That's a pleasant miscalculation, though.

After having the horses checked by Bazan and the others, they seemed to be fine, so I gave the village chief a cloth bag containing thirty gold coins as compensation for three horses.

You'll find that the horses look quite good. Here's the price.''

'Oh. I certainly got it. With three horses that can run in this village, they should be enough to make it to the Holy City.

It was a smile that already fit the word "nimble" well.

'If anyone from the church asks, it would be helpful if you could tell them that I have already returned to the Holy City.

I have no problem with that.

Then here's a tip. Please make sure everyone in the village doesn't have to suffer any strings attached.

Haha. Thank you.

The moment I held out the gold coin to him, he was surprised to see my hand in front of him, but I managed to give it to him normally.

I decided to finish my goodbyes here, as it would be obvious that I would be heading in the opposite direction of the Holy City if they were watching me all the time.

''Seeing them off is fine, since they'll be there too.

I understand. I will pray for the safety of Luciel and the others.

Thank you.

Nadia and Lydia took one horse each, and when I tried to approach them, the horses ran away, so I had no choice but to leave the village with Basra pulling the reins.

The village chief was anxious to see if the horses would be returned, but when I told him I would do something about it, he bowed his head and went home.

'I haven't seen someone so obsessed with money in a long time,'

'More importantly, Luciel, you can't ride this horse, indeed, can you?　Do you want to take a ride in the carriage over here?

'No, that won't be enough. I have a partner.

Bazan and the others were very surprised when he used the hermit's key to make the stables appear, but it was the horses who were most surprised.

The atmosphere of calmness changed drastically at the presence of Forenoir as she emerged from the stables.

''Brrrrrrrr.''

After telling them that much, the horses all fell flat on their faces at the same time forenoire.

''Well I don't know what it is, but I'm getting a strange feeling?　That's not a normal horse.

'Yes. That's why he's my partner. From the looks of it, it looks like Bazan-san and the others have two horses tied together in their carriage, so let's put away the carriage and go lightly and all of us will be cavalrymen.

Luciel you're a lot tougher than you used to be.

'Haha. I hope you're right.

I was a little embarrassed when Bazan said that, but I quickly put away the back of the carriage.

Thus, with our preparations in place, we became a cavalry and headed for Meratoni.

The horses were desperately following the forenoir, so I naturally took the lead, but although everyone tried to move forward for protection, they didn't get in front of the horses, so we had no choice but to move along.