Surviving As A Cannon Fodder

Chapter 124

'To be honest, he always seemed like a withdrawn lover. And I was right'  Ann wondered as she pulled the reins to Beauty.

'Why am I always right?'

The previous day when she was taking a stroll in the forest, Ann accidentally ran into Kalan. By chance, she learned about his past which was riddled with melancholy.

Hearing a sad love story right in the middle of reading her favorite novel was earning Kalan more pity points than she had anticipated.

In 'He and his other half', Arthum and Helo were having their relationship put under heat for loving each other. They were fighting for their love in their own battles while trying to conceal it from one other.

It was just the level of tragedy mixed with romance that she admired.

Right then, Kalan bumped into her back.

"Oh... I'm sorry" He apologized promptly.

"It's fine. The road is bumpy"

Ann rolled her eyes. She had lost count of the number of times he had apologized since they started.

Ann and Kalan have been sharing a horse since morning as his horse Carrie was sick from a stomach ache. Carrie was walking parallel to them without any extra weight loaded onto her for the day to aid her recovery.

The road they were traveling was bumpy causing Kalan to collide into Ann's back from time to time.

Ann figured that no matter how many times she dismissed him, Kalan would keep apologizing to her till they reached the destination for the day.

According to their travel plan, the entourage would be crossing the river area in the forest where they will camp for the night which was around the red zone for monsters.

Thus, until they reach the location there would be no time for breaks including lunch. It was decided unilaterally by both the teams to avoid running into monsters or any other dangerous creatures.

*NEIGH*

Without a warning, Beauty jumped up into the air.

"Whoa!"

Ann's eyes widened as she instinctively pulled on the reins to steady her position.

Since she was steadily seated on the saddle there was no fear of being thrown out. But the person behind her was not as fortunate enough.

A fall from such a force could result in serious injury if he hadn't caught her in time.

Just as Ann was about to warn Kalan when she felt a pair of arms around her waist. He tightened his grip so as to not slip down from the horse.

Kalan immediately let go of Ann's waist after she got Beauty stable.

"I'm sorry"

"Kalan, you've been apologizing non-stop since we started. We're traveling along a rough path. It's bound to happen and I'm used to it" Ann sighed.

Considering his personality, it was only natural for him to be apologetic all time. 

It kind of reminded Ann of the time Eugene was on her horse during one of their jobs. Amused by his expressions she let Beauty run wild on the open field thus unintentionally initiating his fear for extreme speed.

Eugene stuck to her back like a koala bear on a tree until the end of the ride. But one has to reap what they sowed. Since then Eugene refused to ride on the same horse as her for fear of his life.

'It was worth seeing him scream though' Ann hid the grin sneaking up on her face.

Coming back to the matter at hand, Beauty was a horse who does not flinch even at the sight of monsters. For him to jump up spooked then there could be only one reason behind it.