Chapter 19

Chapter 19 - Champion (2)

Homi followed skillfully, riding the hunting horse provided by the city. Since both Karas and Cressy were knights who traveled without squires, she had no one to compete against.

Swish!

"Oops!"

The bolt from the light crossbow Cressy fired missed the fleeing deer.

He possessed a lever-style reloading tool, but he continued to drive his horse without reloading.

Since his horsemanship was not fully matured, he could not let go of the reins when running through the rough forest like now. Wouldn't it be an embarrassing display to fall behind because he stopped the horse just to reload?

Thud!

The arrow Karas fired hit the deer's rump.

"Luck is not on my side."

He had originally aimed for a vital spot, but as the deer jumped to avoid a tree root, its rump was hit instead.

Wild animals have strong vitality, so if not hit in a vital spot, they endure for quite a long time even with an arrow stuck in them.

Furthermore, the deer was on the verge of escaping into a side path toward a cliff where the knights could not pursue.

"Forgive me, but I shall step in."

Thwack!

The arrow fired by the centaur Barun pierced the deer's chest.

Crash!

The deer, having fallen helplessly, trembled.

"As expected of a centaur."

"It was a decent fellow to decorate the celebration, so it's a pity."

Cressy and Karas slowed their horse's speed.

Just as it is a great glory to stand at the vanguard in battle or be the first to cut down an enemy commander, the one who catches the first prey in a hunt receives praise.

While the others made their horses walk, Barun rather increased his speed.

"Are you in a good mood after decorating the first one?"

"No. It is to perform the tradition of those people. Phew! It's comfortable since you are matching my pace, Sir Knight."

As Eugene followed leisurely without greed, it was also comfortable for Panis to run alongside him.

'I wasn't particularly being considerate, though.'

Eugene merely found the sight of the human weathervane on a horse, with his belly fat clattering noisily, more interesting than the hunt.

"Centaurs enjoy hunting, but they dislike giving unnecessary pain. Stepping in just now was an act of mercy, as it would have died slowly from the worsening wound if left alone."

"I heard centaurs are very bellicose on the battlefield, yet they are unexpectedly gentlemanly."

"Haha, you indeed speak pleasantly, Sir Knight. When I was hosting, the words that always came out were insults like calling them barbaric."

Whether he was a cherished subordinate, the look in Panis's eyes as he watched Barun was warm.

Barun, who arrived before the deer, took out a dagger, ended its life, and offered a prayer passed down in his tribe. It was a blessing wishing for the prey's soul to depart peacefully.

While the beaters recovered the deer, Barun approached and bowed his head.

"I apologize once again for intervening in the knights' hunt."

"Don't worry about it. It was a fellow we would have missed anyway if not for you."

"I heard you stayed in a monastery for a long time."

"Ah, you must have thought I would feel bad about superstitious actions."

"Yes."

The knight before Barun was someone Panis had strictly urged him to show absolute respect toward.

"Barun is a capable and thoughtful friend. While working on city affairs with me, we are perfectly in sync."

Panis tapped his shoulder.

The majority of centaurs are raiders steeped in barbarism and violence. A case like Barun, who can grasp the atmosphere and is capable of secular communication, is rare.

"I grew up in a monastery, but I was raised as a knight, not a priest. I am not offended at all, so please cherish your tradition."

"Thank you!"

The others did not look favorably upon the centaur's way.

Priests would try to lecture them, saying that souls only exist in humans, so why bother God with prayers for mere beasts?

Knights, for their part, thought it foolish to go through the trouble of dismounting for a mere animal. To them, a suffering prey was merely a decoration to boast about oneself.

"We centaurs believe that if we do not show mercy after a hunt, we will one day die just as painfully."

"Well, it's just a superstition, though."

Panis quickly added a word. Even if he was a generous knight, it was better to be more cautious.

"Even if it is called a superstition, it is one where the world becomes more beautiful. It would be good for such things to spread widely."

"...!"

At the unexpected answer, Barun's eyes widened.

"Could you teach me as well? The method of giving quick rest might be different for each prey. If I too come to die one day, I want to die comfortably."

"Are you speaking sincerely?"

"Though the opponent is a beast, I do not joke about dealing with life."

"I have made a slip of the tongue."

Eugene and Homi's hunting basically involves setting poisonous bait traps sprinkled with complex medicinal herbs.

Hunting based on weapons would require other skills. He also wanted to hear other know-how in the process.

"I shall teach you with all my heart and soul."

Barun spoke with pride while striking his brawny chest.

"And while you're at it, teach me the prayer you were chanting as well."

"Pardon?"

Barun wore a dazed face toward the knight who kept saying things he didn't expect.

"Since it's better to do things perfectly if one's going to do them at all. One day I'll have occasion to meet centaurs other than yourself, and it will be helpful in becoming close."

"Hahaha!"

In the end, Barun forgot even Panis's urging and laughed heartily.

* * *

Thus, Eugene and Barun became friends on the day they met.

Barun was surprised to learn that this knight was more skilled in the knowledge of the forest than he had imagined.

"You know how to track footprints. Furthermore, you're much more well-versed in medicinal herb powders than I am."

"I received teachings from a witch."

"You're good at joking as well!"

At Eugene's attitude as he spoke with a smile, Barun also laughed together. He couldn't have even imagined it was the truth.

"Since your foundation is so solid, I think I can teach you the rest quickly."

Barun gave a crash course on convenient hunting techniques to know.

"Since I have already enjoyed the glory of the first hunt, I shall serve you with all my heart and soul. I will surely drive the best prey for you."

Normally, Barun wouldn't be this enthusiastic. Even if the spirit of hospitality had been instilled in him under his superior, he had the pride of a warrior.

However, Eugene was different from the arrogant invited knights Barun had dealt with until now.

-Get out of the way! Where does a mere barbarian think they are going, getting ahead of a knight!

-Sir Knight, it's not that, I was trying to guide you...

-Shut up! If that's the case, then dismount and guide me as befits your station.

-...

To a centaur, dismounting meant kneeling and crawling.

Whether he said it knowing or without knowing, the very act of saying that to someone who was a horse and man in one was full of intent to insult.

-Ugh, what is this disgusting smell?!

-Clean yourself up a bit, you barbarian!

Body odor was a regular subject of insult. Even though he bathed every day while working with Panis, it couldn't be helped as long as he had the body of a horse.

"I am sorry. We have a smell when we move our bodies."

This was a complex for Barun as well, so he sought understanding from Eugene.

"Only a good smell comes from your upper body, though? It seems you wash more often than most people."

As expected, this knight was exceptional.

"Isn't the smell from a horse's body something that can't be helped? Most of it is from the apocrine glands, after all."

"Pardon? A-apo... what did you say?"

"There's something like that. I don't mind it at all, so it's fine for you to run in front."

Eugene glossed it over. The fact was that a horse's sweat glands are mostly apocrine glands, so the smell is intense like a human's armpit.

He didn't have a clue how to explain this to a person of the Middle Ages.

"If those who call themselves knights say something about that, they should be ashamed. I suppose they think the horses they ride smell of fragrance?"

"You surprise me with every word you say, Sir Knight."

But Barun's reaction was good, so that was that. Barun, who had been running diagonally to the side due to worry over the smell, pushed ahead.

Ping!

He fired an arrow into the path of a roe deer driven by the beaters, turning it precisely toward the knights. It was a talent only Barun could perform.

Thud!

"That's it! Well done!"

However, it was Karas who caught it. The arrow he fired had pierced the neck this time.

"I'm sorry. This is my first time hunting with several people, so my reaction is slow."

"I'm sure it is."

Barun laughed.

Eugene had been trying to save the face of his fellow knights because it seemed only he was receiving attention, but the quick-witted centaur had already caught on.

"Sir Cressy! Splendid!"

"Thank you, Chief."

As Cressy also caught a pheasant and managed to save face, the heat of the hunt ripened. It was the perfect timing for a big fellow to appear and decorate the grand finale.

Eugene looked at Barun's back and recalled the story he had shared with Godfrey in the past.

-When you roll around on the battlefield, you'll meet various Beastkin, and one of those to be wary of is the centaur.

-Aren't they cavalry from birth? Naturally, they must be fearsome warriors.

A perfect horsemanship with a muscular body and bellicose nature. It was only natural that they were dangerous.

-Even so, there's no need to be too afraid. Soldiers without experience are easily cowed when they first encounter them, but if you look at them, they're unexpectedly hollow. I too have cut down many on the battlefield.

Though not at the level of Luiamor or the Ancient Kingdom, there were groups that had shaken the world in their own right. For instance, those who trampled and plundered several countries even if they couldn't unify the entire continent.

However, despite their powerful image, centaurs had never left a great mark on history. The reason was apparent after hunting together with them.

"A wild boar! It's a big one, Sir Eugene!"

"I see it. It seems I have a connection with wild boars."

Barun was excited by the excellent prey that was hard to find. It was the perfect fellow to offer to Eugene, who had not yet caught a single one.

Barun pulled his bowstring with the intention of making it appropriately sluggish while avoiding vital spots.

Grrrr-!

However, befitting a veteran of survival who had lived to this size in the wild, the creature had a hidden move.

It used the moment its body was hidden as it passed by a large tree to make a sharp turn. It had turned back in the opposite direction from Barun in an instant.

"Oops!"

Barun hurriedly turned his bow, but his bow stopped at about 90 degrees and would move no further.

"Leave it to me."

Eugene turned his waist 180 degrees while on horseback and aimed a large crossbow with one hand.

Twang!

Squeal-!

The boar, having its spine severed by a bolt driven deep into the middle of its back, collapsed. Eugene turned his horse, pursued it, and fired once more.

Thud!

The bolt pierced the skull, giving the fellow a quick rest.

"That's monstrous strength. You fire such a crossbow in succession as if throwing daggers?"

Karas reconfirmed what kind of strength he had been thrown by at the tavern. It was fortunate that not a single part of him was broken.

The boar looked much heavier than the first deer they caught. It had to be considered hard to find another prey of this caliber.

"Amazing, Sir Eugene. You completely read its path. To accurately aim for the spine."

"As expected of the successor to the Prophetic Knight! Even if a creature like that tries to escape, it is but in the palm of your hand, Sir Knight."

An admiring Cressy and a fussing Panis.

'I didn't particularly anticipate the movement, I just aimed steadily and fired, though.'

It was embarrassing to say anything here, so he just kept his mouth shut.

Eugene dismounted and prayed for the dead boar. Since it was his first time, he could not bring out the centaur's unique rhythm well, but he recited the lines entirely.

"I am sorry. I could not assist you properly."

Barun apologized even more politely at the sight of Eugene praying seriously.

"No one was hurt, and we caught it, so that's enough."

Eugene soothed Barun as he stood up.

Being a horse and man in one didn't necessarily have only advantages. This was because a centaur could not perform a Parthian shot. A human can leave the maneuvering to the horse and turn their body freely, but the moment a centaur turns their body, their legs also turn.

Furthermore, with human cavalry, the horse can look forward even if the rider looks back, but for a centaur to run while looking back is the same as driving with eyes closed. A large accident could occur from a single stone in the path.

"Sir Karas, I have prepared a new horse."

"Thanks."

Karas switched to the horse handed over by the beater.

Stepping off the stirrups and moving to the side while mounted was a great display of movement.

Cressy and Panis seemed to want a rest. Hunting is a sport with high physical consumption as one has to roam the forest all day.

"Phew... phew..."

Above all, it was clearly visible that Barun was exhausted.

"Are you alright?"

"Just a bit, whew... I just need to catch my breath for a bit."

Maintaining a combat posture while paying attention consumes more stamina than one might think.

Fighting is for the human, and maneuvering is for the horse. Unlike human cavalry who could divide the labor, the centaur had to shoulder the fatigue alone. Since it was also impossible to switch to a spare horse, there was a weakness in endurance.

-Occasionally, a charismatic Great Chief appears and centaurs consolidate on a large scale. Even so, after a few grand victories, they eventually become disorganized.

Godfrey acknowledged the strength and fighting spirit of centaurs but did not consider them a powerful enemy as an army.

It was for the same reason they were pushed out from the rich pastures of their hometown and became wanderers. Because they lost in competition with human nomadic peoples.

"Let's stop here. Everyone has caught at least one, after all."

Eugene set the atmosphere to end the hunt out of consideration for Barun. No one was there to restrain his declaration.

* * *

The pheasant and roe deer were granted to the mercenaries who had acted as beaters, and the deer was cooked for the knights' dinner.

"Sir Eugene caught this?"

The boar was presented to the grand meeting with Eugene's permission. Everyone was impressed by a weight class that would have charged a hunting dog and sent it to its grave.

"Yes! The fellow cunningly hid behind a tree and fled in the opposite direction, but it was futile to try and deceive the senses of a great knight. He struck down in one shot what even Barun missed!"

Panis spoke the lines he had checked several times.

"I feel relieved now. Now I can sleep with my legs stretched out."

The members of the grand meeting let out a sigh.

To have hit a vital spot in one go meant that his reflexes, senses, and horsemanship were also outstanding. A knight's hunt is something where one can know ten by seeing one.

It is different from mercenaries who happen to commit murder after picking up a weapon and trying to make a living while being pushed by the hardships of the world.

A human weapon who has been tempered with blood and steel since childhood and trained in the art of killing his whole life... that is a knight!

Since they are educated organically in swordsmanship, horsemanship, tactics, and hunting, if one is outstanding, the rest are naturally outstanding as well.

"No one will have anything to say afterward now."

The Magistrate looked at Panis.

"It will be the Hall War soon. Treat the knights well during the remaining period so they can rest well and be in their best condition."

"Leave it to me. Isn't that my specialty?"

"Moderate the alcohol. It would be troublesome if the Champions' senses become blurred."

"I will take responsibility and create perfect body conditions. It is a matter where my life is also on the line."

"Let's suspend the grand meeting for the time being. There's nothing more we can do here anyway."

Whether they win or lose, the grand meeting will be held again after the Hall War is over. One can only hope that they will face each other with smiling faces.

When the Magistrate held up a glass of wine, everyone held up their own glasses.

"For our city, which will be free in the past, present, and future!"

He led the toast and downed the drink.

"For freedom!"

"For Bonyard!"

"Blessings upon the root of the Ancient Kingdom!"

After drinking while shouting their respective slogans, they threw their glasses to the floor.

Clink!

Hoping that the clear sound of breaking glass would drive away the last fear in their hearts.