ALSAR

chp 190

We were at the horse rental shop. I was petting the neck of the beast horse we were going to ride while Malik-san was handling the paperwork. The horse's name was Rudini. Apparently, Rudini was William's father. He looked clever and he had the same black coat, horns and bright blue eyes just like William.

"Nice to meet you, Rudini."

Seemingly enjoying being stroked by me, Rudini rubbed his nose around my arm area, sniffing me.

Hehe~ I guess he's starting to warm up to me, huh?"

"Ren, I've finished the paperwork... You still can't ride a horse on your own, right?"

"Yes..."

As I continued to stroke Rudini for a while, Malik-san, who had finished the rental procedure, came up to me.

Ouch... He hit right where it hurts.

I didn't want to admit it but... Malik-san was right. So I just nodded quietly in response to his question.

"Those guys... They all have their own beast horse, right? You should borrow their horse and practice riding with them."

Malik-san said with an exasperated tone as he began to attach the two-seater saddle he had borrowed.

"No, I ... Umm... I also want to do that but... They always insist that I should just ride together with them...."

Just like what Malik-san pointed out, they had their own beast horse. I also wanted to practice so I would be able to ride a horse on my own. They said they would teach me but... I could feel that they weren't really enthusiastic in teaching me.

"Haaa.. Those guys are idiots. Sure, when you're with them you can always ride with them, but what if they're not around? Like this time? It's fine since you're with me, but what if you had to ride with some other guy because they weren't available? They would go crazy."

"Well.. Crazy is a bit... I don't think they'd go that far..."

Indeed. I always did quests together with them so this kind of thing was not an issue but... There might be times in the future when I have to go alone. I wanted to be able to ride a horse on my own just in case. I doubt they would go 'crazy', but... Well, they wouldn't be pleased about it for sure. I would feel a bit uncomfortable too if they had to ride together with someone else...

"Ren...You really don't get it, huh? Well, whatever. I will let it go just this time, but you need to practice riding alone, okay? Go and talk with them about it. Be sure to tell them what I mentioned before, the part where you might need to ride with other guys because of this. I'm sure they will immediately teach you how to ride a horse if you do."

Malik-san was staring at me in disbelief, seemingly exasperated that I underestimated how possessive they could get.

"I understand..."

But still... I don't think they will go that far...

That being said, I wanted to be able to ride a horse too. I should talk to them about this when we get back. Malik-san told me to emphasize the part about riding together with other guys so I guess I would also mention that part too, just in case.

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"What's Vakkai like?"

Unlike when I was riding with my fiancés, Malik-san placed me behind him. He skillfully maneuvered Rudini, making the horse run swiftly.

I wasn't sure if it was Malik-san's or Rudini was an exceptional horse, but the ride was smooth enough that I was able to hold a conversation with Malik-san.