CH 115

I asked Dinosso if I could tag along when he hunted monsters. He told me to prepare a bit and we would go to the depths of the forest. If the weather is nice, we can depart 5 days from now.

There’s a problem, though.

「He said we’re going to ride horses. Ash and Butler can definitely ride, Dean and Chris said they go to the fortress city on horseback. 」

Dinosso’s three kids can also ride, so it seems the idea that I can’t ride a horse never crossed his mind…

「Eh, you can’t? 」

「Wait, Retze, you can? 」

Is it just me, is it just me who can’t ride?

I asked Retze with the expectation that he can’t ride a horse. Ah, no, he seems to get along well with Dinosso, so I thought it might be possible that he can.

「Adventurers have to be agile, after all. We have to work as escorts, and even the guild of this city keeps on summoning adventurers at the first sign of a monster flood. Early birds catch the early worms, so those who move quickly can snag lucrative deals in some cases. Well, there are also folks like me who prefer to stay in one place, though. 」

「What the, is it a mandatory lesson or something!? 」

Lack of money to buy a horse and a place to keep them isn’t an issue here, because there are stables that rent out horses. Folks can even rent a docile donkey, apparently.

Is it similar to how cars are necessary in Japan provinces that are too far for the train? I have my license, but…cars don’t exist here.

「I also went around neighboring towns, villages and major places while gathering info and building contacts before settling here. So, you never rode one, not even once? 」

I thought he was very knowledgeable about international affairs — so he had been laying the groundwork since a long time ago, huh.

「If it’s a deer, then I rode before. 」

「That’s abnormal!! 」

I answered him seriously, but he retorted.

「…Well, if you can ride a deer then a horse is probably okay. I never rode that before, so I don’t really know, but there’s no way riding a deer is easier than riding a horse, right. Just choose a docile one from the horse rental stable and you’ll be fine. If there’s a problem then just ride with either En or Vac. 」

So I have to choose so that I won’t burden the horse with my weight, huh.

「That’s so lame, but I guess it can’t be helped. Then, how to ride — ah. 」

「What? 」

「If it’s a horse, then I have an idea. 」

「What kind of idea is that, huh? Is it a horse that will agree to you riding it? 」

「Yup. If Horse rejects me then I’ll just have to ask Snow Leopard. 」

Actually, I’m going to ask Snow Leopard if I can ride on Deer.

「Wait. I can’t keep up with you, you know? 」

Retze uncrossed his legs and sat down properly.

「It’s fine, Dinosso said we’re going deep inside the forest. I’ll be able to keep up. Thanks, problem solved. 」

「No, that’s not what I mean… 」

「Oh! You’re here, huh. 」

Dean went down from the second floor.

A bag was dangling from his hand. It looked light, so it’s probably laundry. The three guys living in this house also go to the laundry woman recommended by Butler.

「I have to segregate the laundry, too. 」

Tomorrow is the day the laundry woman will come, and she will collect any laundry that needs washing. I have to yank the sheets and stuff them inside the bags.

The laundry woman Butler introduced also has a spirit clinging to her. She charges a bit more than the usual price, but she can make the sheets fluffy and really white.

「Ah, I think Dinosso will invite you for a job tomorrow, so if Dean and Chris are free then I hope you can go. 」

「Yeah, I’ll go anywhere. 」

Dean hurriedly left the bag of laundry beside the door, then he grabbed a cup and sat on the chair.

「Retze, you too. 」

He already rejected me once, but I got nothing to lose so yeah.

「…Riding a horse in the forest, huh. Then you’ll probably go to an abandoned mine. 」

Oh?

「Are you interested? If you agree now then you can have this wine for free! 」

I spread my hands and pointed them towards the jar of wine that I brought earlier as a bribe.

It is the same wine as the one I brought to Dinosso’s house. I did say it’s free, but I already gave it to Retze and he’s currently drinking it.

「What kind of sales talk is that, huh? Alright, I’ll tag along since I can only see a future where you’ll make a mess. Ah, but you have to practice riding before that. 」

「I’ll join too. But hey, Jean, you can’t ride? What a shock. 」

Dean quipped while pouring wine from the jar.

「If the date is already set then you better reserve a tame horse from the rental stable. 」

I thought he’s gonna laugh at me, but he unexpectedly gave me some sound advice instead.

「If they really invite me tomorrow, then let’s book everyone’s horses then. You can practice riding one starting tomorrow and try to control it. Things will be easier for you once you get used to it. Just ride the same one. 」

Retze said.

「Urk. I’ll do my best. 」

「If you don’t get used to it then you’ll get your butt shaved off. 」

「Ehhh! 」

Dean smirked.

How to say this… Isn’t riding a horse harder than subjugating monsters? What sort of tribulation do I have to suffer, huh?

Seems like I have to put horseback riding as my top priority now, huh, even though I’m itching to choose and set-up my base in Nalluadhid.

A crumbling building that looked like a cross between a mansion and a fortress stood in the place that had the best vantage point. It is said to be a remnant of the warring years. Fortunately it has been long abandoned and the island itself is depopulated, so it was quite cheap. I plan to remodel it later.

I don’t intend to work hard and be hands-on with the renovation this time around; the plan is to hire craftsmen to work on it. I’ll just hand the blueprint to them, but in segments so that no one will know the entire plan.

It’ll also be an experiment to see how the rumors will turn out when the craftsmen work on a house that will turn out way beyond their expectations. Well, I got the feeling that it will be similar to the case with the medicinal potions, when people raved about the effects of the potion, but nobody paid attention to its creator.

It’s like a product that is super popular, but most of the people don’t even know who the manufacturer is. Kinda like Umaibou.

I want to minimize the chances that they will attribute my work to me by adding one more person in between to throw them off my trail. Ah, but let’s pour everything we got in making the design specs, of course.

———

T/N: Umaibou, lit. delicious stick, popular cheap snack in Japan with insanely huge array of flavors