Volume 21 - CH 14

「This is the forest of Cape Marei, where the centaurs live.」

Cherry-sensei spreads out a map on the desk in the staff room and points to it.

「Hmm, south of the Duchy of Tilt?」

From here in the Austin Magic Kingdom, it's southeast, south of the Kingdom of Portia. It's a country I haven't visited yet, but it's not far. However, it would take more than ten days by carriage.

I still have seven more places to go, so what kind of a leisurely schedule is that?

「Alec-sensei, if you're in a hurry, you can take the unicorn.」

「Hooh.」

I've never seen a unicorn in person, but a unicorn is a horse with a horn on its head.

Cherry-sensei led me to the stables. It was a large school. I wouldn't be surprised if there were stables in the forest.

There were five unicorns, all with their heads turned towards me, as if they were watching me.

They were all white horses with long horns and spiral stripes on their heads. I could tell by looking at them that they were definitely unicorns.

「They are temperamental and difficult to handle, but I'm sure Alec-sensei can handle them.」

「Well, that's right.」

Get 【Riding Level 5】.

「Put on the stirrups and saddle. Hey, be quiet!」

Cherry-sensei, who brought the harness, is struggling to put it on one of the unicorns.

「Oi, unicorn, look me in the eye and I'll give you a ride later with a virgin girl, so do what I say.」

I, who had just been cleared and was in my sage time, used my wits to tell it so.

「Bururu......」

「Ohhh, I'm so proud of you, Alec-sensei, but you're a cash horse for being a virgin and going quiet.」

Cherry-sensei frowned, but anyone would prefer a woman for a ride. That's what males do.

I stepped into the stirrups, stepped onto the horse's back, and grabbed the reins.

「We're going to Cape Marei in the Duchy of Tilt. Let's go!」

I'm wearing a robe and don't have any food, but I'll stock up along the way. I also need to buy some underwear. As I sprinted, the wind came in below me and it felt soothing. It's a new sense of freedom.

「Hye-heen! Brrrr!」 「Whoa!」

The horse suddenly shakes its back in an attempt to shake me off, but it's a feisty horse.

Five days later, I was in the southern forest of the Duchy of Tilt.

The unicorn, galloping along the ground like the wind, needed to eat, and I needed to sleep at night. Unicorns need to rest, too. But that was okay, because I was doing the best I could without taking unnecessary detours. I'm sure Meena and Kaede won't be mad at me for that.

The gold coins in the item storage were safe, so I used them to buy the bare minimum of equipment, and I even put on some underwear. The unicorn seemed calm and satisfied this time.

「As I recall, the informant had told me that there was a village around here where a centaur clan lived.」

The road was clear of grass, but not a single person was to be seen around.

As I began to ponder whether I had been duped by that bucktoothed informant,......, a unicorn neighed quietly.

「Hooh, did you smell something?」

I ｌet the unicorn walk, and it stops in the middle of the forest.

But there are still no sign of the centaurs.....

I can sense multiple signs of life with "Sense of presence".

「There it is!」

I sent the ice javelin flying into the bushes with no chanting.

「Whoa! It's cold!」

I knew you were hiding.

「I need to talk to you. Get your ass out here, Centaurs. Or I'll hit you with a barrage of ice magic.」

「All right, all right. I'm out of here. What do you want with our village, adventurer?」

Three people - three half-human, half-horse figures appeared on the scene. They wore leather armor, carried spears, and seemed to be almost as civilized as humans. If that's the case, we can talk quickly.

「I am Alec, King of Vernia.」

「What, a king?」

「But is he really the king if he doesn't even have an escort?」

「But it's no ordinary person who can lead a unicorn.」

The centaurs showed their confused expressions.

「It doesn't really matter if I'm the real king or not. Centaurs, let me see what treasure you have. And I don't mean for free.」

「Fool! I'm not going to show our treasure to some adventurer who's after our family's treasure.」

「Of course not. Did you really think that a man in steel armor could buy our greatest treasure?」

「There's only one enemy, let's get him!」

Oh dear, can't they even measure the difference in strength?

I use the 【Turtle Shell Bindings】 in disgust.

「Nooo! What the hell is this?」

「It's a rope! When did this happen!?」

「Kkhhh, this tightness hurts, but something feels good ......!」

「Now, if you don't want to be attacked by a monster and die here, why don't you just show me the way to the village? As for disrespecting the king, I'll cut you some slack, okay?」

「Damn you, human, you cowardly ......!」

「But if he's leave us like this, we'll be in real danger.」

「All we have to do is show you the treasure, right?」

「That's right. After that, depending on the price, you might have to give it to me. Well, that's a discussion.」

「A discussion?」

「I don't trust that kind of talk.」

「But if we can get him to the village, ......」

The three centaurs looked at each other and nodded, thinking that if they could get to the village where their friends were, they could try to turn the tide.

「All right, I'll accept your terms!」

「I'll lead you to the village.」

「So untie me quickly, it's digging into my crotch and I'm starting to feel a little weird.」

There's nothing to be gained from a puffed up man with shame on his cheeks, so I quickly cut the rope and untied him.

「Phew, that’s a relief. ...... this way.」

The centaur leads me deeper into the forest with an unamused look on his face.

「This is our village.」

「Hoohh.」

A number of wooden and thatched huts lined up. It's a little outdated, but it looks like a country village.

「Ah, whoa!」

「It's a human!」

A child centaur sees me and comes up to me, looking curious.

「Hey, you guys go that way. Alec this way.」

I was led to the largest house.

「Chief, I've brought a man who claims to be the King of Vernia.」

「What, the king? Without a bodyguard?」

「I don't need a bodyguard. Don't you think the village chief knows who killed the Demon King?」

「Mumuhh, speaking of slaying the Demon King, it's the "Black Cat of the Wind"!」

「What? This guy is?」

「He doesn't look like a cat.」

「Of course not. It's just a clan name, a street name. If I hadn't been active, this village would have turned into a demon world with a rotten smell by now. If you think about it, it's easy enough to show me off your treasure.」

「Uumuu. ...... What will you do after you saw the treasure, King of Vernia?」

「Due to circumstances, my companions have been captured by the emperor of the Gilan Empire. The head of the academy in Austin told me that I have to go through seven trials. One of them is here.」

「Mmm...... the head of the Austin Academy of Magic. I understand. That person once took care of us, too. Let us repay that debt.」

Hmmm...she have a surprisingly well known, that headmaster.

「――However, I can't hand over the family's treasure to some random person. If you really have defeated the Demon King, then you, Black Cat of the Wind, must fight the strongest warrior in this village to show your strength.」

The chief centaur said, his eyes shining from under his long eyebrows.

「Ohhhh! So it's a battle with the Kyron brothers.」

「It doesn't matter if those brothers are using some weird trick or not!」

「You'll be dead, you know? Humans. If you lied about defeating the Demon King, you'd better be honest now. My brother Kyron is a man of character, but my brother Pholus is an out-of-control ruffian who doesn't know what to do with you if you surrenders.」

「I don't care what you say. Now go get your brother and bring them to me.」

I said, showing off my dignity.

「Khhh, This guy is really going to fight Kyron. The master of all masters, the great (Grand) Master Kyron, is the one who taught the sword to the King of Grandsword and the Sword Saint Lancelot.」

「Hooh? To those two?」

If that's the case, then it looks like I'll have to get serious and fight them too. But the information is outdated. The current Sword Saint is me.

「The match will be held at the Perion Ring, at the foot of the Sacred Mountain, according to the rules of our village. Prepare yourselves, all of you!」

「「「Understood! 」」」