Pioneering the Apocalyptic World - Chapter 80

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Chapter 15: The residents of the wilderness

Uru became depressed and said “Maybe it would be better for me to walk?”, but as expected, it would make me feel bad to let her walk alone, so we continued by riding the horse together.
After all, it is easier than walking and the consumption stamina is reduced by a ton. However, now that it has become a reality, it seems that I could fall into the dilemma that if I rely on the horses too much, I won’t gain any physical strength.

I let the horses walk in the direction that they have came from. For the moment I can’t see any signs, but maybe we could find a village or a resident who came looking for horses. As expected, I don’t have the guts to just ride the horse and run away. If we couldn’t find anyone, It would be another case.
Regulus is still unfamiliar with horses and can be seen occasionally getting flustered on horseback, but Uru who is behind me??it was the better to her be in the back than in the front because her tail??is awfully quiet.
I’m holding the reins, so It’s not a problem to control the horse, but I wonder if she is feeling down because the horse got scared at her or if she is focused at the rare experience of horseback riding.
Or maybe she is just tired. I heard that if you ride a horse for a long time, your buttocks and legs will start to hurt, so you need to make sure to take a few breaks.

“Uru, you’ve been quiet since a while ago, are you tired?”

“… No, I’m not.”

“Then can you see anything that interests you?”

I asked her if felt that anything had changed because she had a slightly higher point of view, but she replied with the same “No, I’m not.”.
I feel like it’s unusual for Uru to be this evasive. Hmm?

“Since a while ago… How can I say it, I feel restless.”

If there was something dangerous coming from somewhere, she would be more tense… Maybe she just didn’t want to ride a horse that much?

“Would you like to get off the horse and walk?”

“… It’s fine like this.”

“That so… If there’s anything, just tell me.”

When I told her that, Uru squirmed her arms that are around my stomach and nodded slightly while resting her forehead on my shoulder.
…… As I expected, I wonder if she is actually tired and just not aware of it? Let’s take a break when we’ve gone a little further.

After progressing for a while and taking more breaks, It became night and after camping until the next morning, we started riding the horse again and after a while, It seems that our desired change has finally come.

“… Rion, I can see a shadow ahead.”

“Oh?”

“A horse again?”

Uru has good eyesight. Regulus and I can’t see it yet, but she seems to have caught something.

“It’s a horse, but… There are people riding it, as far I can see there’s about three?”

“Oh, we discovered residents!?”

It was my first encounter with the locals after crossing the river. My tension rises whether I like it or not.
However, with her continued words, I calmed down somewhat.

“They have weapons, so you should be on guard just in case.”

It could be for hunting, and in this day and age, there’s a high possibility that they might need weapons against monsters.
It’s just that… I already learned.

That not all residents are necessarily good people.

This is not a game world. It’s the reality.
That’s why, although it’s sad, you should keep the possibility of being attacked in a corner of your mind. I’ve been warned.
We are (appears to be) just three children. We only looks like a perfect prey for robbers. Since our true power is high, in that case, I can only say my condolences, you deserved it.
I’m ready to take my weapon out of the QA box at any time. If we are armed from the beginning, we may stir up unnecessary hostility, so we just prepare for it. I could also feel tension from Regulus.

In less than a few minutes, the horses and their riders became visible in my eyes. Perhaps they saw us over there as well, they subtly changed their course so that we would confront them head-on. …… Does it mean that they have no hostility and no intention to launch a surprise attack, or they will just be going to charge at us head on…….
As I approached them with my heart pounding in my chest, they slowed down in front of me, stopped their horses, and pointed the tip of the spear that they are holding downwards.
Phew… I’m glad it didn’t turn into an immediate battle… But I wonder how it would turn out depending on our conversation.

One person, perhaps the representative, comes out a few steps ahead.
It look at me and Uru, then look at Regulus… It blinked his eyes several times and shook his head. …… What’s that mean?
It made a gesture that I didn’t quite understand, and then raised Its voice.

“Excuse me for asking, but.”

The person riding the horse was unexpectedly a young girl. She looks just like me. And it doesn’t really matter, but she is pretty cute. I still prefer Uru, though.
Her beige hair has some white mesh, and round ears are popping out from her head. She is a beastman(Beast).
Although her body is slender, it is toned, and like Uru, if you would try to measure her strength from her physique, you will likely have a bad time.
The rest are both men, one is a young man and the other is a middle-aged man, and they both looks that are also beastmen. Their eyes are sharp and the arms peeking through their sleeves are thick, and they look very strong.

Well… It’s me who should answer. I quietly took a deep breath, so they don’t notice my tension before replying.

“What is it?”

“… Are these horses yours?”

Ah, as expected they’re the owners of these horses, aren’t they? I can’t let my guard down yet, but I don’t have a reason to lie, so I’ll answer honestly. If they are really the owners of these horses, I will be only treated like a horse thief if I lie.

“No. I found them wandering around yesterday, but the owner wasn’t there, so I thought I’d give it a ride.”

“I see. Those horses are my horses. They became scared by a monster attack the other day and ran away. I will pay some amount of compensation, so could you return them?”

“… I know that I’m asking you a rude question, but do you have any proof that these horses are yours?”

In the unlikely event that when we get close to return the horses and be attacked, it would be a problem.
The two behind her seemed to be offended by my remark and put their hands on their weapons, but the girl stops them by gesturing them with her arm.

“Isn’t there a tag on their ears? It should have the names Mallow and Blau written on them.”

Huh, I didn’t notice.
When I looked at the horse ear… It was tagged with the name “Blau” as was pointed out.

“Excuse me. It certainly looks like They are your horses. We don’t have intention of running away with them, so we will return them.”

“Thank you”

I wanted to have fun on the road, but I also wanted to return them to their owner.
When I honestly agreed to it, the girl was visibly relieved. It seems that neither of us want to fight.
I had a lot of worries, but it was a baseless worry. Thank goodness.
… And I thought it was over with this, but.

“By the way. Since you are the one that accepted the conversation, are you the leader of this pack?”

The girl asked me that question.
This pack… Well, I guess that’s part of their culture. I should just interpret it as an another word for a party.

“Yes. What about it?”

“…… In that case.”

The girl put strength into her eyes.

“I want that man as my groom. Duel with me.”

Looking at Regulus, she spoke something I had never thought that was possible.

“… What?”