“The witches of the Fifth Epoch were not all keen on riding horses.”
While the Lemel family maid went to register for Shade and the groom went to prepare the saddle and other equipment, Shade stood in the stables and spoke to Tifa.
The black-haired girl held her hands together, letting them hang naturally in front of her chest; she was elegant and charming at every single moment.
“You know about such things?”
“Yes.”
The two different witch echoes had not only provided Shade with interesting knowledge but had also given him insight into the customs and culture of the Fifth Epoch. He hoped to use this conversation to dilute his own anxiety.
“Powerful witches could fly on their own or use alchemical tools like flying carpets. Witches who preferred mounts had alchemical golems or grand spirit horses. Those who truly loved biological mounts leaned toward unicorns or four-winged pegasi.”
“But even in the Fifth Epoch, unicorns were a rare species. And while four-winged pegasi weren't uncommon, they were extremely expensive.”
Tifa spoke curiously. Shade nodded and patted the head of the bay horse, hoping it wouldn't throw him off in a moment.
“Therefore, low-ranking witches and those who needed to travel long distances actually preferred Chocobos.”
This point was also mentioned in the "Notes of Felianna." Miss Felianna enjoyed traveling side-saddle on a Chocobo, and these creatures had excellent cargo capacity. There was a separate half-page in the notes regarding food recipes for Chocobos; unfortunately, in the current Sixth Epoch, Shade had yet to see such a creature.
As if seeing through Shade's thoughts, Tifa said with a smile
“I heard from the Young Mistress that the Seksus Medical College and the Holy See of the Natural Church still have large populations of Chocobos; other occult academies and churches keep a few as well. However, to prevent them from being seen by ordinary people, Chocobos are not traded and can only live within those specific areas. If you truly travel to Saint Byron in the Far North, you should be able to see Ring-casters riding Chocobos as they traverse the ancient castle complexes and academy cities.”
This imagery instantly pulled this world, currently amidst a wave of steam, back into a medieval fantasy era.
“I hope there are individuals among the Chocobos with fur the color of Mia’s,” Shade thought. Then, he recalled the elven knowledge he had obtained after completing the Time Key for the Divine Wine Party.
That vast amount of knowledge was merely stored in his head; he hadn't mastered it all at once. Recalling it now, knowledge regarding elven horsemanship suddenly leaped before his eyes.
“Oh?”
He suddenly exclaimed and turned to ask Tifa
“Could I borrow a strand of your hair?”
“Of course. What is it for?”
“I think I have a way to learn how to ride a horse for a short time.”
Shortly after, a new round of horse racing began. Shade appeared in the second lane, mounted on the bay horse and holding the reins. It seemed some busybodies had spread the news that "Hamilton of Reged" was participating; when Shade appeared, enthusiastic applause actually erupted from the sparse spectator stands.
The late autumn sun in the outskirts was somewhat blinding. Shade raised his hand, clad in an anti-friction glove, to shield the sunlight.
Inside his left glove was the "Animal Docility" charm Tifa had given him, and hanging from his waist was an amulet—the "Lucky Rider's Amulet."
This was a craft of the elves. By using a woman's hair, an elven token, and a stone from the stables, combined with simple runic carving, one could create an amulet to help a rider control their mount. Of course, elven riders usually used such amulets to tame more powerful mounts rather than ordinary horses.
Shade didn't have an "elven token," but he had the [Ever-Youth Leaf]. Using Tifa's long hair and a special weaving technique, he tied the leaf and a randomly picked stable stone together, then used a knife to engrave elven runes onto the surface of the stone—the runes were carved by Tifa, as Shade lacked such delicate craftsmanship.
The amulet now hung from Shade's waist. It was thanks to this simple charm that Shade felt confident he wouldn't embarrass himself in the upcoming race.
【How interesting.】
"She" chuckled.
The bearded referee in the red shirt had already approached, and the riders were mounting their horses to prepare for departure. In the lane to Shade's right, a brown-haired youth who looked slightly older than Shade actually gave him the middle finger.
Shade frowned and turned to look at Tifa by the track. The maid nodded; she had found the target for her delayed [Limping Curse].
“What’s interesting?”
Shade gripped the reins somewhat nervously.
【Do you remember the contents of the Gambler's Blessing, "Mortal's Luck"?】
The referee blew the whistle softly, signaling that the race was about to start. Then, he raised a revolver toward the sky.
“In any gambling game, I can exhibit extraordinary luck.”
【Then, are there bets on this horse race?】
Bang~
The gunshot rang out, and Shade immediately set off.
“Yes.”
【So, what are you worrying about?】
The race Shade participated in didn't require leaving the track to loop around nearby paths; it only required completing three full laps of the track.
There were nine contestants in total. At the start, the horses in lanes nine and eight actually collided. Then, during the first turn, something like a water bottle was thrown from the stands, startling the third contestant who was running in the lead.
Consequently, by the end of the first lap, Shade's position was at the back of the first tier. There were only three horses ahead of him, and the leading one was only two and a half horse-lengths faster than him.
The first lap was without incident. The power brought by the amulet allowed Shade to control the docile mount well. Although the bay horse wasn't the fastest, it was definitely the steadiest, almost making Shade believe he actually knew how to ride.
Midway through the second lap, Tifa's delayed [Limping Curse] took effect. The contestant in lane four, who was half a horse-length ahead of Shade, dropped out of the first tier after a panicked cry, and cheers and whistles timely erupted from the stands.
Thus, Shade inexplicably became third.
As the race entered the final lap, Shade, becoming more adapted to the activity of riding, became more adept at maintaining a steady pace. He lowered his body slightly, thinking only of maintaining third place until the finish line.
Unexpectedly, on the final long straightaway, the bay horse actually accelerated on its own. It had run steadily before, and its final burst of speed was equally steady.
When he finally crossed the finish line, Shade had actually slightly overtaken the second-place finisher—a result confirmed only after repeated verification.
Thus, Shade, who didn't know how to ride a horse at all, achieved a second-place finish in this race.
Afterward, when he returned to Miss Galina's side, she smilingly encouraged Shade to continue competing. According to the rules, if Shade could participate in five consecutive races and achieve the highest total points, he would not only receive a highly commemorative medal but also a substantial sum of prize money.
Shade, of course, refused.
But at least Miss Galina's goal of changing the subject was achieved. After Shade returned to the stands, Queen Diana no longer mentioned the princess, but instead developed an interest in Shade's equestrian skills.
She even wanted to invite Shade, a young man with a knight's title, to participate in the "Tobesk Equestrian Competition" next spring. The "Tobesk Equestrian Competition" was a regional event inherited from the old era; originally intended to showcase the bravery of knights, in the steam age where the knightly class had declined, it served to enrich the cultural life of the citizens.
The "Tobesk Equestrian Competition" required riders to follow a designated route for a long-distance cross-country race, using longswords and bows to attack targets set along the way. Rankings were determined by a combination of the number of hits and the final arrival time. The winner could exceptionally receive the "Draraion Honorary Knight Medal" and land the headline of the Draraion Evening News. Of course, the winners every year were almost always nobles; commoners had no time for such professional training.
This was the most famous official activity in the Tobesk region during spring, aside from His Majesty the King's inspection of the spring sowing.
“I'll consider it,” Shade brushed her off, though in his heart, he had no desire to participate in such an event.
In short, Shade spent the rest of the afternoon killing time sitting beside Miss Galina while holding Mia. It wasn't until nearly four-thirty in the afternoon that Queen Diana prepared to return to the city.
Miss Galina did not follow; instead, she took Tifa and Shade back to the manor and invited Shade to dinner.
In the dining room, the crystal chandelier overhead was brightly lit, illuminating the gold and silver utensils on the white tablecloth. A porcelain vase sat in the center of the long table, holding two withered roses—the two Shade had given. The witch had naturally noticed Shade's small gesture of giving flowers to the maid, but she seemed not to mind at all.
The cat lay by Shade's hand waiting to be fed, and Tifa poured wine for the two of them using the fruit wine Shade had just made. The witch gazed at the manor courtyard outside the window, while Shade toyed with the ring in his hand.
After the race ended, he received the Queen's feather fan and Miss Galina's golden ring as promised. Just as he thought, it was indeed an alchemical item crafted by the witch herself.
“It’s nothing important, it just detects malice. When a gaze full of malice watches you, you can have a slight perception of it. I wear it when I attend crowded parties, but it doesn't work very well against Ring-casters; you can just keep it as a toy,” Miss Galina explained. Then, she saw Shade pass the ring to the cat by his side.
Mia, lying on the table, shifted her position like a wriggling worm, sniffed the ring with her pink little nose, and then turned her head with a look of disdain, completely uninterested.
“Hmm? Doesn't she usually like rings?”
Now, even Shade was confused.
(End of Chapter)