Whispering Verse

"Not all witches of the Fifth Age were keen on riding horses."

While the maid of the Flamel family went to register Shad and the groom went to prepare saddles and other supplies, Shad stood in the stable and said to Tifa.

The brunette holds her hands together and hangs naturally on her chest. She is so elegant and charming at any moment.

"You also know about this kind of thing?"

"Yes."

Two different witch reverberations not only gave Shade interesting knowledge, but also allowed him to understand some of the customs and customs of the Fifth Era. He hopes to use this kind of chat to dilute his uneasiness:

"Powerful witches can fly by themselves, or use alchemy props such as flying carpets. Witches who like mounts also have alchemy puppets or magnificent spiritual horses. Witches who really like biological mounts prefer unicorns or four-winged pegasus. .”

"But even in the Fifth Age, unicorns were a rare species. Although there are not many Pegasus, they are also very expensive."

Tifa said curiously, Shade nodded, and touched the maroon horse's head again, hoping that it would never fall off him:

"So, low-level witches and witches who need to travel long distances actually like chocobos the most."

This point is also mentioned in "Feliana's Notes". Miss Feliana likes to travel sideways on a chocobo, and the cargo carrying capacity of this creature is also very good. There is a separate half page in the note that mentions the food formula for chocobos. Unfortunately, in the Sixth Age, Shade has not seen this creature yet.

As if seeing through Shade's thoughts, Tifa smiled and said:

"I heard from Miss that the Serkses Medical School and the Holy See of the Church of Nature also have a large population of chocobos, and other thaumaturgy academies and churches also have a small number of chocobos. Just to prevent them from being seen by ordinary people, the chocobos are Chocobos cannot trade and can only live within the area. If you really go to St. Byrons in the far north, you should be able to see ring wizards riding chocobos in ancient castle complexes and academic cities. Travel through.”

This kind of imagination and picture brings the world in the steam wave back to the medieval fantasy era.

"I hope there are individuals with coat colors like Mia among the chocobos."

Shade thought, and then recalled the elven knowledge he gained after completing the Time Key of God's Wine Party.

That huge amount of knowledge was only stored in his head, not all of it was grasped by Shade at once. At this moment, when I recalled it, the knowledge about elf riding suddenly came to my mind.

"oh?"

He suddenly sighed, turned to Tifa and asked:

"Can I lend me a piece of your hair?"

"Sure, what needs to be done?"

"I think I can learn to ride a horse briefly."

Soon after, a new round of horse racing started again. Shade appeared on the second track, riding on the maroon horse and holding the reins. It seemed that someone with good intentions spread the news that "Rejed's Hamilton" was also participating in the horse racing. When Shade appeared, there was a warm applause from the sparse audience.

The sun in the late autumn suburbs was a bit dazzling. Xia De raised his hand wearing anti-wear gloves to block the sun.

At this time, in the glove on his left hand was the "Animal Tenderness" charm given by Tifa, and hanging on his waist was an amulet, which was the "Lucky Rider Amulet".

This is the skill of the elves, using women's hair, elven tokens and stones from the stables, combined with simple rune carvings, to make talismans that help riders control their mounts. Of course, elven riders usually use this talisman to tame more powerful mounts rather than ordinary horses.

Shade does not have the "Elf's Token", but he does have the [Eternal Youth Leaf]. Using Tifa's long hair and using special braiding techniques, she tied the leaves to the stable stones that she picked up, and then used a knife to carve elven runes on the surface of the stone - the runes were carved by Tifa, Shad was not that Fine craftsmanship.

At this time, the talisman was hanging on Shade's waist. It was only with this simple talisman that Shade could have the confidence not to be embarrassed in the next game.

【It's really interesting. 】

"She" is chuckling.

The bearded referee in a red shirt has already arrived, and the riders are getting ready to start. On the track on the right side of Shade, the brown-haired young man who looked slightly older than Shade actually raised his middle finger to Shade.

Shade frowned and turned to look at Tifa beside the track. The maid nodded, she found the target of the delayed [Lameness Curse].

"What's interesting?"

Shade held the reins nervously.

[Do you still remember the God of Gamblers blessing "mortal luck"? 】

The referee blew his whistle gently to signal that the game would begin immediately. Then he raised his revolver toward the sky.

"I can exhibit unusual luck in any gambling game."

[So, are there any bets on this horse race? 】

Bang~

Gunshots rang out, and Shade set off immediately.

"have."

[So, what are you worried about? 】

The horse race that Shade participated in did not require leaving the racecourse and going around the nearby path. Instead, he only had to complete three complete laps of the racecourse.

There were a total of 9 players participating in the race. At the start, the two horses on track 9 and track 8 actually collided with each other. Then when turning the first corner, something like a water bottle was thrown from the audience, disturbing the No. 3 runner at the front.

So, when the first lap ended, Shade's position was actually at the end of the first echelon. There were only three horses in front of him, and the leading one was only two and a half lengths ahead of him.

The first lap was uneventful. The power brought by the amulet allowed Shade to control this docile horse very well. Although this maroon horse was not the fastest, it was definitely the most stable, so much so that it almost made Shade think that he could really ride a horse.

In the middle of the second lap, Tifa's delayed [Lameness Curse] took effect. Track player No. 4, who was half a horse ahead of Shade, immediately withdrew from the first echelon after a panicked cry, and cheers and whistles came from the audience at the right time.

So Shade inexplicably became third.

As the race entered its final lap, Shade, who became more and more accustomed to the activity of horseback riding, became more adept at maintaining steady progress. He lowered his body slightly and just wanted to stay in third place until he reached the finish line.

But unexpectedly, on the last long straight section of the track, the maroon horse actually accelerated on its own. It runs very smoothly up front and accelerates very steadily at the end.

When he finally crossed the finish line, Xia De actually slightly surpassed the second place - this was a result that was confirmed after repeated verification.

As a result, Shade, who couldn't ride a horse at all, won second place in this horse racing competition.

Afterwards, when he returned to Miss Carina, Miss Carina smiled and encouraged Shade to continue the game. According to the schedule, if Shade can participate in five consecutive games and ranks first in total points, he will not only get a very commemorative medal, but even a large bonus.

Of course Shade refused.

But at least Miss Carina's purpose of changing the subject was achieved. After Shade returned to the audience, Queen Diana no longer mentioned the princess, but became interested in Shade's equestrian skills.

She even wants to invite Shade, a young man with a knight title, to participate in the "Tobesk Equestrian Competition" next spring. The "Tobesk Equestrian Competition" is a regional event inherited from the old times. It was originally to show the bravery of knights. In the steam era when the knight class was declining, it was to enrich the cultural life of citizens.

The "Tobesk Equestrian Competition" requires riders to follow a designated route for long-distance horse racing in the wild, and use long swords and bows and arrows to attack targets erected along the way. Ranked based on the number of hits and final arrival time, the winner will be able to receive the "Delrayon Honorary Knight Medal" as an exception and make the headlines of the Delrayon Evening News that day. Of course, the winners every year are almost all nobles, and civilians don't have time for such professional training.

This is the most well-known official event in the Tobesk region in spring, besides His Majesty the King's inspection of spring planting.

"I will think about it."

Shade prevaricated, but he didn't want to participate in such an activity at all.

Anyway, Shade spent the rest of the afternoon holding Mia and sitting next to Miss Carina. It was close to 4:30 in the afternoon when Queen Diana was ready to return to the city.

Miss Carina did not follow, but returned to the manor with Tifa and Shade, and invited Shade to have dinner.

In the dining room for dinner, the overhead crystal chandelier was brightly lit, illuminating the gold and silver utensils on the white tablecloth. There was a porcelain vase in the center of the long table. There were two withered roses in the vase, which were the two flowers that Shade sent. Of course, the witch noticed Shade's little gesture of handing the flowers to the maid, but she looked at them. He didn't seem to care at all.

The cat lay on Shade's hand waiting to be fed. Tifa poured wine for the two of them with the fruit wine Shade had just made. The witch looked out the window at the manor courtyard, while Shade played with the ring in his hand.

After the horse race, he got the Queen's feather fan and Miss Carina's golden ring as promised. Just as he thought, it was indeed an alchemical item made by the witch herself.

"It's not an important thing, it just detects malice. When malicious eyes look at you, you can have a slight perception. I will bring it with me when attending parties with many people, but the effect on ring magicians is not very good. Just use it as a toy."

Miss Carina introduced, and then saw Shade handing the ring to the cat in hand.

Little Mia, who was lying on the table, moved her position like a wriggling worm, sniffed the ring with her pink little nose, and then turned her head in disgust, showing no interest at all.

"Huh? Doesn't it like rings very much?"

Now Xia De didn't understand either.