Chapter 33

"Huh? Horses?"

While eating my lunch sandwich, I turned to look at the person who had said something unexpected. Door smiled and nodded.

"They're the two horses that the adventurer from the other day used. They seem to have been personal horses, and they were brought here to be taken in, but they’re not suitable for pulling carriages."

According to what I heard, they had plenty of additional crimes, and their personal property was confiscated, and they became slaves. Among their property was a horse, which was given to the stagecoach company.

"Of course, there are places that only lend out horses, but I remembered that you mentioned you might still be moving around."

"Horses, huh."

To be honest, I'm a bit drawn to the idea. They don’t seem to get along with stagecoaches, and it would be nice to be able to go hunting whenever I want. Since I lived in a stable when I came to this world, I have a friendly feeling towards horses.

"Sounds good."

"Kokushin."

"Raito says they’re a lot of trouble, but once we get to town, we can have them taken care of at an inn or by the stable."

Door nodded in agreement with Kokushin’s words. When he puts it that way, there’s no reason to refuse.

"I can cook as much as I want."

"Exactly."

That’s really important. I want to make some soup by simmering bones to extract the broth. I failed with the fish sauce, so I want to make a delicious soup. If I start boiling bones, I might get some crazy looks. Kokushin? I think he’ll just be exasperated.

"Alright. Then we’ll take them in!"

So, two horses were added to our mismatched team.

The horse with a brown coat, known as a black-skinned horse, is Kokushin’s. It has black legs, mane, and tail. Its name is Kuroko, and it’s a male.

The horse with a gray coat, known as a dun, is mine. Its name is Blanca, and it’s a female.

When we went to see them, they nudged us with their noses. It seems they remember us well.

The horseshoes and saddles will be taken care of by Door. The potion costs will be waived. I feel like we should pay, but...

"Get them cleaned up," and we temporarily parted ways to head to the adventurer’s guild. I want to take the opportunity to get some meat and maybe take on a quest. I’ve had some issues with the guild master, but it should be fine, right?

When we entered the guild, we were immediately noticed. Is it bad? Oh, it’s because I have a teru teru bozu (a traditional Japanese doll). I haven’t seen any changes in my height yet. Sigh.

"What kind of quest should we take?"

Kokushin, who is used to being noticed, doesn’t mind.

"Ah, I want to check out the reference room."

"Reference room?"

"Right, I haven’t seen it yet. There’s a room with maps and monster encyclopedias. I heard every guild has one, and I want to see if there are any differences in the monsters around here compared to Nitz."

"Hmm. Got it. I’ll come too."

So, we asked the receptionist where it was. It’s apparently in the basement. The shop is also in the basement.

The books in the reference room didn’t differ much. There were a few differences in the monster encyclopedia and the gathering encyclopedia.

It seems there are a lot of boar-type monsters called Rock Boars around here. Sounds good, a pot of boar stew, perhaps.

In terms of gathering, there’s a root called Shia that’s often requested. Roots weaken trees, so I don’t really want to gather them. Since it’s used for dye, I might not take that quest.

"Kokushin?"

He was staring intently at the map.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, just thinking about how vast the world is. Even outside the territory, there’s still so much more."

"Right. And this isn’t even a world map, just a small part. There are so many places I want to go."

Kokushin smiled happily.

"Looking forward to it."

"Me too."

We don’t have a specific goal, but there are so many places we want to go. How many years will it take? Probably a lifetime to see them all. It’s all exciting.

"Alright. There doesn’t seem to be anything we need to be particularly careful about, so let’s take on a nearby quest."

It’s already past noon.

"Got it. Oh, do you want to go to the shop?"

You said you wanted to go earlier.

"Sure, we can do it later."

I want to move around. Kokushin didn’t object, and we went back upstairs to look for quests. The quests are neatly arranged by rank.

E-rank quests that we can handle. Since I want to hunt boars, it’s good to go into the forest.

So, we chose a quest to gather a fruit called Raku. Raku looks like a small persimmon. It’s hard, so it’s usually mashed and boiled down to make jam, which is popular among some women for its skin-beautifying properties.

"Hey, Kokushin! This, you’re so bad at it!"

Branches fell from the tree. Sometimes the fruit fell too, hitting my head. How many times has this happened?

"If you can’t aim, make the size smaller! The tree is suffering!"

"I’m trying!"

"It’s not working! No more using wind magic to gather fruit!"

Kokushin pouted, which wasn’t cute, so he should stop.

I was using earth magic to knock the fruit off the tree, and Kokushin was trying to mimic me with wind magic, but his aim was off, and he was sending 20 cm scythes, cutting down the tree.

Kokushin started gathering the fallen fruit. Maybe I went too far. But precision is important. Brute force with magic won’t do. If he’s going to act with me, he needs to learn!

"...How do I make it smaller?"

While stuffing the gathered Raku into a magic bag, I looked at the struggling Kokushin.

"You don’t have to do the same thing just because we’re a team. Each magic has its own characteristics."

"But you said the other day, about compressing or something. If I can do that, maybe I can hit them the same way."

"Oh, you remembered. I couldn’t explain it well, so I kind of fudged it. How do I explain making the wind smaller and tighter?"

"Maybe just practice the skill until you can control the magic. If it’s not an attack, you can do it in town."

Kokushin tilted his head.

"Create a gentle breeze in a localized area, enough to blow someone away."

"What would you use it for if you could do that?"

"Dry your hair."

"..."

"You’re exasperated. It feels good, though. If you leave it wet, it’s bad for your scalp, and women with long hair would find it attractive if they could do it."

How about that? I gave a thumbs up, but he sighed. What’s wrong? You don’t want to be more attractive? There would be a line of people waiting to have their hair dried, like a charismatic hairdresser.

But I want to take a bath...