Chapter 9 (1/2)

Golden Horse

Ria liked cats.

She liked their freedom. And yet, sometimes their capricious behavior of behaving like a spoiled child was intolerable.

However, she was never able to have one when she lived in the royal palace. Occasionally, she stroked the ones that the other n.o.bles kept.

In her previous life, she tamed wild cats by feeding them.

In the corner of her garden there was a cat’s path, so she put food there.

She had a long lasting a.s.sociation with that cat, and wondered what happened to it.

Because it was a stray cat, she thought it lived healthily.

After cats, Ria liked horses.

Although she learned horse riding as a hobby, she had learned it a little in an old-style school. Above all, she enjoyed taking care of them.

For several years when she was young, she had worked in a ranch in Hokkaido. It’s not like the four beautiful farm sisters dazzled his eyes.

“I also want a horse!”

On the seventh day after departing from the royal capital, Ria shouted.

“You want a horse…”

Lulu, on the back of the donkey, was amazed and muttered.

“You run faster than if you were on a horse.”

That was correct. By stacking body enhancement Skills and enhancement magic, Ria could travel at a speed of one hundred kilometers per hour for half a day.

Even so that was just from what she had experienced so far, she hadn’t investigated to find the limit.

“If you would like, you could ride my horse…”

“Isn’t Johnny Cal’s horse? I want my own horse. One that I could brush and comb its mane.”

Although many leave the care of the horse to their attendants, daily brus.h.i.+ng was the knight’s role. If you didn’t communicate with it like that, the horse would not follow you as a living creature.

“Ria, are you a spoiled child?”

When the three decided to travel together, what to call Ria became a problem.

In the end Lulu continued to call her Ria, while Carlos decided to call her Ojou.

“Well, I don’t mind if you buy a horse, but there are only farming horses around this area at best. Though if we go to the national border there ought to be a horse market.”

Making the knight Carlos a comrade was the right call. He has everyday knowledge. Based on that, I wonder if I should have traveled with Reyas?

“The border? That will take ten days.”

“No, it takes double that. The roads are different than from the map.”

They were words from a man who had taken the route, but Ria is an exception.

“Going by Lulu’s donkey’s pace it is. If I go by myself, I could get there in a day.”

“That’s unreasonable.”

“No, it’s true. At the age of ten, Ria ran a two day journey carrying me on her back in half a day.”

“Are you truly human, Ojou…”

No, I’m a dragonkin.

Traveling was enjoyable.

The public peace was good in Casalia, with thieves and the like appearing only very seldom, and the habitats of dangerous animals and demons limited.

Carlos was unexpectedly the topic of conversations many times. He’s a common talented man. Although born more or less a n.o.ble, he was the second son of a Viscount. Struggling to learn military arts, he joined the knights.

In Lulu’s case, she lived as a shut-in into adulthood in a mountain village. Rufus left the capital to a.s.sociate with them numerous times, but this was generally known in the court.

The heroic tale of Ria’s case of standing alone was too late to stop now. The goblin village genocide, the destruction of the orc army, the rumors were all exaggerated.

Say what you like, but calling the country’s princess [Ria-chan, the Merciless] coming into popularity was a bit much.

“One of the rumors was [Even when stepped on, the dragon didn’t break], huh.”

“Yeah, that’s right. When I fought the horde of Earth Dragons, I blundered a bit. As you’d expect getting stepped into the ground hurt.”

“My favorite sword broke, too~”, Ria continued with a laugh. The other two had cramped smiling faces.

Crossing the river and national border, in the basin of gentle-sloping mountains that spread out, there was a village made up of countless tents.

“Ooh~”

The two girls that had left their country for the first time let out a voice of admiration. Compared to Carlos, who had come here before with the knights.

“In addition to Cordova and our country, merchants from several other small countries have gathered here. Various things other than horses are traded as well.”

“Alright! I’ll go ahead then. You can follow slowly later!”

Ria said so while sliding down the steep cliff. Compared to Lulu and Ria, Carlos had no way of riding his mount down the steep cliff.

In the end he followed Lulu’s easygoing route, but his gaze was directed to Lulu’s ears.

According to Carlos, the street vendors primarily sold various goods.

From daily necessities like food, to art, to weapons that involuntarily attracted Ria’s attention.

The main weapons sold were things like swords as spears, but there was something that wasn’t sold.

Held in her hand, it was a dark device in this world, they were called shuriken in her previous world.