Chapter 278 : The Fastest Horse in the World

After selling the horses and replenishing our food supplies, I waited for the members in the square.

As I was chewing on some beef jerky for a while, Shushuruta approached me with a strange expression.

"You're here?"

"Mmm."

"What's wrong? Was the harvest not good?"

"It's similar. I found out where the new saint of the empire is, but..."

"Where is she?"

"They say she's in a place called Perpetri, the capital of the Hilden Kingdom."

Shushuruta was sparing with her words, saying that she would have to go and find out the details.

It seemed she had only grasped the general location, and the rest was still a mystery.

There must be a limit to the information that could be found in this place, which was far from the capital.

There was no problem.

The rest could be found out on the spot.

"That's enough. Let's go and find out the rest."

"Mmm... alright."

Shushuruta, with her arms crossed, was lost in thought, as if there was something she was not sure about.

It seemed she wouldn't tell me even if I asked, so I decided to just leave her be.

As I was waiting for a while, I saw some familiar faces approaching from a distance.

The Heavenly Demon, who saw the face of the big man among them, chuckled.

[It seems that guy still hasn't fixed his habit of picking fights.]

A smile also bloomed on my lips.

"Will people change so easily?"

I raised my hand in welcome.

"Hey! Long time no see!"

The two mercenaries who saw me smiled slightly.

"Ashuban of the Half-Sword. It's been a while. No, should I call you the captain of the Sherwood Mercenary Corps now?"

I couldn't help but laugh.

It seemed my news had already spread here.

The man with a cautious impression, Neyman, who had walked over, held out his hand.

I gladly shook his hand in response.

"It seems the rumors have spread this far."

"Of course. I also heard the news that you recently defeated an S-rank magical beast in the eternal winter, Tundra. I couldn't believe it."

"I was lucky."

Neyman let out a dry laugh.

"Who do you take me for? You can't defeat an S-rank magical beast with luck. It's an honor to meet the famous captain of Sherwood again."

"You're too kind."

I also shook the big man's hand.

"It's been a while, Daryl. It seems you haven't been able to shake off your habit of picking fights with new faces?"

Daryl touched his bruised eye and laughed awkwardly.

"I'm trying to fix it now."

"You should. You can't trip over the same stone three times in a row."

I chuckled and patted Daryl's shoulder.

The two also greeted Shushuruta.

Neyman tilted his head.

"I don't see the madwoman, Linda. I heard her exploits in Tundra were amazing. Didn't she come with you?"

"What, how do you know?"

Daryl laughed and patted Neyman's shoulder.

"This guy, ever since you guys came by, he's been collecting all the news related to Sherwood."

Neyman shrugged and admitted it readily.

"Well, let's just say it's my little hobby. It's so boring here with nothing going on."

"Aha."

It seemed to be his way of overcoming boredom.

One guy collects Sherwood news.

The other picks fights with new faces.

At least Neyman's hobby was more wholesome.

The debauched knight, who had brought them, watched us exchange greetings and then said.

"It seems you know each other?"

"Of course. We were indebted to them before. They're mercenaries who are clean and skilled."

At my words, the two mercenaries grinned, as if they were in a good mood.

"So, did you write the commission?"

Lyle nodded.

"I did."

"Good. Then let's leave right away."

Neyman smiled and said to me.

"Mr. Sherwood's secret weapon. Where shall I guide you this time?"

"I hear... a new saint of light has appeared in the Hilden Kingdom?"

At my words, the two mercenaries' faces instantly hardened.

"...Don't tell me?"

I grinned and continued.

"Please guide me to the saint. I'd like to greet her once. I hear she's in the capital of the Hilden Kingdom?"

"...You mean the Saint of Pure White?"

Neyman blinked.

"Are you kidding?"

"Do I look like I'm kidding?"

"What are you going to do when you meet her?"

"What do you mean? I'm just going to see her because I'm curious about her face."

Neyman studied my expression.

"Are you really just going to see her face?"

"I wonder. I'm a very impulsive man. If our saint is pretty, I might go and talk to her, and if we get along well, we might go for a walk together. And who knows where our steps will lead us from there?"

Neyman's mouth fell half-open.

"...You're going to kidnap the Saint of Pure White?"

"Ahem, kidnap? Let's not use such scary words."

As if they had sensed something unusual, the two mercenaries' faces contorted.

"You son of a bitch."

"Can I cancel the commission? I'll give you back all the money."

I shot a refreshing smile at Daryl, who was hastily rummaging through his pockets.

"Do you think you can?"

Neyman was stunned.

And Daryl took a few steps back.

"You crazy..."

"I-I'm out."

But Lyle had already put his arm around Daryl's shoulder.

"Where are you going in such a hurry, friend?"

"...!"

"When you said you were out, did you mean your arm was out? Or was it your leg? Why don't you choose one?"

I stopped Lyle.

"Hey, you impatient person. When he said he was out, he obviously meant he was falling in love with this job."

"Ah, was that it?"

Lyle slapped his forehead.

"Haha, this friend Daryl. He's more enthusiastic than he looks! I've never seen a friend who loves his job so much. He's full of responsibility, very much so!"

"Of course! When it comes to responsibility, it's Daryl. Isn't that right, Daryl?"

Daryl met my eyes, then lowered his head.

"You son of a bitch..."

I smiled brightly and patted his shoulder.

"Haha, yes. I'm looking forward to working with you too."

I had found an enthusiastic guide.

If I hadn't crash-landed here, I wouldn't have known such talented people.

Is this why they say you can't know about fate?

I put my arm around Neyman's shoulder and said.

"Isn't fate truly mysterious? Who would have thought we would meet again like this and join forces."

Neyman sighed as if the ground would collapse.

"...I know, right."

The Heavenly Demon's low laughter echoed.

It was as reassuring as eating a handful of beef jerky.

* * *

This was the place where I had crash-landed from the teleportation circle of the Blake royal family at that time.

The Holy Empire of Hilka, and among them, the Hilden Kingdom, located in the northernmost part.

And in the Hilden Kingdom, a village located in the north, a place called Novus.

Naturally, since the only way to go was south, I decided to head south for now.

Neyman asked.

"Do you have a horse? It's quite a distance."

"I did, but I don't anymore."

"...?"

"I sold it."

"Ah, so we're traveling on foot?"

"That's right."

Neyman nodded and let out a sigh of relief.

"It seems we have some time this time."

"No? I sold the horse to go quickly."

"?"

I looked at Neyman and Daryl, then offered my back to the much larger Daryl.

"Get on."

"...Are you serious?"

"Do I look like I'm kidding? We don't have time. Even at this moment, the Saint of Pure White must be hearing our footsteps in her dreams. Get on quickly."

Daryl reluctantly got on my back.

I slowly stood up with him on my back.

"Hmm. Daryl, what's your weight?"

The answer came from Neyman, who was watching from the side.

"I'm not sure, but I think it's close to 100kg."

"That's about right."

"...About right?"

I gestured to the watching Lyle.

"What are you doing? You carry that guy too."

Lyle frowned.

"Carry him?"

"Hurry up and carry him. Are you going to make Siri wait?"

At my urging, Lyle grumbled.

"To think I'm carrying a guy all the way here..."

"Then have Shushuruta carry him."

Lyle met the eyes of Shushuruta, who was staring blankly, and then, his eyes suddenly flashed, and he offered his back to Neyman.

"No! I can't do that! I'll carry him! Get on, you black-hearted wolf-like bastard!"

"Wolf?"

Neyman got on Lyle's back in a daze.

"So? What's the plan now?"

"Of course, we run."

"What?"

Of course, I had sold the horses with this in mind.

Compared to the Maia Kingdom, where the villages were sparsely scattered, the distance between villages in the Hilden Kingdom was very close.

It was much faster to just run from village to village at once than to ride a horse, which was advantageous for long distances.

Neyman looked at me with a face that said he was dumbfounded.

"You're going to run to the next village carrying us?"

"Of course. It's even better. It's movement art training."

"...You madman."

In any case, the location of the Saint of Pure White was specified as Perpetri, the capital of the Hilden Kingdom.

So, what I had to do now was simple.

Clear my mind and just run there.

"Alright, here's the plan. We'll only rest for a moment when we reach the next village. We'll run with the mindset that there's no rest time outside the village. Do you understand, gentlemen?"

Shushuruta nodded calmly, but the rest of the members' faces turned pale.

That idler must have been slacking off for a while, so it would be a good warm-up.

"The debauched knight, be careful not to fall behind, and those who are being carried, be careful not to fall off."

Now that the plan was set, it was time to execute it.

"Let's go! Hold on tight!"

"W-wait!"

Thump!

We ran down the road like a single gust of wind.

I felt good running with all my might.

It was as if my chest was being dyed blue.

Since I felt good, I couldn't help but laugh.

"Aaaaaaah!"

Someone's scream stretched out long behind me, but I didn't care.

Rather, I dyed it with a louder laugh.

"Hahahahahahaha!"

Was I happy because I was running?

Or was I running because I was happy?

I decided not to distinguish between the two.

* * *

Clip-clop, clip-clop.

Two horsemen were riding side by side on the road.

"You, where did you get that horse?"

"Hehe, you noticed? You have a good eye."

The brown-haired horseman took this opportunity to boast to his heart's content.

"This guy, he's a cross between a Thoroughbred stallion and a Fresian mare. He's literally priceless. A running gold nugget, you could say, hahat! There's no one in the world who can run faster than this guy!"

"Oh, is that really true?"

"Of course! Do you want to race?"

"Sure. This guy is no ordinary guy either."

"Tell me when you're ready."

"I'm ready."

"Then... go!"

"Giddy-up!"

Thump, thump, thump, thump!

The two horses galloped like the wind.

But soon, a gap began to form.

"Hey! There's such a big difference?"

"Hahahaha! What did I tell you! I told you he's the fastest in the world!"

Just then.

"Aaaaaaah!"

"Hahahahaha!"

A scream and an eerie laugh passed him by.

"...Huh?"

The brown-haired horseman stared blankly at the something that had passed him in an instant.

It had already become a dot.

"...What was that?"

"I think something just passed by."

Thump, thump, thump, thump—

Next, the sound of footsteps that shook the earth was heard.

"Move!"

"Whoa!"

A man carrying someone on his back overtook them again.

Clip-clop... clip-clop...

The two horsemen, who were riding their horses, slowly reduced their speed and stared blankly at the back that had already disappeared from view.

"What was that about being the fastest in the world?"

"..."

(End of Chapter)