novelraw Chapter 77 : To Raymond With Noah
Chapter 77 : To Raymond With Noah
The time has finally come.
I’ve been busy chopping down trees and building a paddock, but today, I’m off to Raymond!
Mostly, I just want more of that amazing bread!
I know it’s a little pricier than the bread in Carlton, but that soft, white loaf is worth every penny. Selina loved it too, so I’m planning to stuff my Storage with as much as I can carry.
It’s funny how the bread gets harder and browner the farther you get from the city. The capital, Raymond, Carlton, and then finally our little village.
I wonder if the bread in the royal capital is even whiter and softer?
It’s a shame Selina only ever brings back books. You’d think she’d grab a loaf or two. She definitely loves to eat, even if she has zero interest in cooking.
I load the things I want to sell into my pack and swing myself onto Noah’s back.
I think he’s finally getting used to me, because he doesn’t fuss anymore when I put on his saddle and bridle. All those apples I’ve been feeding him are clearly working.
The only uncool part is needing a mounting block to get on.
I can slide off just fine, but climbing up is a whole other story. I gotta stand on a wooden crate, find the stirrup with my foot, grab the saddle, and haul myself up. And there’s definitely no way I could ride sidesaddle like a proper lady.
Whenever I ride Noah, I wear trousers under my black robe. It probably looks a little clumsy, but it’s better than having my legs on full display. Besides, it’s still chilly out.
Selina, on the other hand, can mount a horse so smoothly, even at her age. She must’ve had formal lessons when she was young. Though apparently, they never taught her how to put on a saddle.
Could she have been a princess? The image just doesn’t fit. I can’t picture her sipping tea elegantly in a fancy dress. A princess wouldn’t just sprawl out on the sofa, would she?
“Selina,” I call out, “I might stay at an inn tonight. If I don’t come back, you can have the stew in the pot for dinner.”
I’m planning to come home, really, but if the Foal’s Inn has a room free, I might just take it. It’s all about new experiences.
“Why not just teleport back from the inn?” she grumbles from the sofa.
She’s always zipping off to the royal capital or the Kingdom of Sarina whenever she pleases, but the second I mention staying one night at an inn, she has to complain.
She just doesn’t want to do any housework, does she?
Besides, riding with a pack on my back wasn’t exactly comfy…
“What in the world are you doing, dressed like that?” Selina had asked, looking at my bulging pack. “You should put your things in saddlebags.”
Oh. Now that she mentions it, the people I saw on horseback at the Raymond gate did have their luggage loaded onto their horses.
I’ll check for some at a shop, and if they seem simple enough, I’ll try sewing a pair myself!
I’m running a little late after all that back-and-forth, but I finally teleport to the Great Forest near Raymond.
I find the road and let Noah walk us toward the city. It’s so much easier than going on foot.
My pack keeps banging against my back, which stings a little, but it’s still an improvement. If only I could use my Storage in front of other people, life would be so much simpler.
I wait in line, show my Guild Pass, and enter the city. This whole process is such a hassle. But it’s all for today’s goal.
First stop: the Guild, to make some money.
“Right, I gotta get Noah stabled.”
I head for the stables behind the Guild building. “Could you look after him for a bit?” I ask the stable master.
The old man’s eyes light up when he sees Noah. “Well now, what a fine horse you’ve got here! There, there, let me get you some water.”
He coos at Noah, much like someone would coo at a cat.
Wait a minute. This guy must know a lot about horses.
“Back at my home, I made a track for him to run on and a paddock next to it,” I explain.
“The paddock is fenced in and has grass, and I was wondering… would it be all right to let my two cows share the space during the day? They already share a shed at night.”
The old man listens intently, stroking Noah’s neck the whole time.
“If you’ve only got the one horse, sharing with a couple of cows is fine. If you get any more, you’ll want to give them separate stalls. Horses are sensitive creatures, you see. As for the paddock, dirt is actually best… but if you’re planning on letting him graze in there, you could sow some clover or alfalfa seeds. It’s almost spring, so they should sprout soon. Cows like that sort of grass too, so it ought to work out nicely.”
Pasture grass isn’t just… regular grass?
“Is it bad if he eats medicinal herbs?” I ask.
The old man lets out a booming laugh. “No one in their right mind would feed a horse valuable herbs. Mind you, I’ve heard rumors that some knights who dote on their warhorses will give them a few herbs now and then. Can’t be bad for them, I suppose.”
I remember giving Merry and Ben herbs all the time when they started getting old. I guess I can give Noah some every now and then.
Now that I’ve given him a name, I’m getting pretty attached.
Inside the Guild, I sell the Almiraj fur and magic stones. While I’m there, I check the buyback prices for wolf parts.
The meat is cheap, just as I thought. But the magic stones and fur are worth more than the Almiraj’s.
“But the Almiraj fur is so much fluffier,” I say, confused.
Sally explains with a patient smile, “Wolf hide is very popular for making armor.”
Oh, that makes sense. For armor, a big wolf hide would be much more useful than a tiny Almiraj pelt.
Looks like it’s time to throw a wolf-themed festival with the contents of my Storage.
Before anything else, I stop by the bakery and buy enough bread to fill my pack to bursting.
The moment I’m out of the shop, I duck into a back alley and transfer it all to my Storage. That way, it won’t get hard.
Right, now for today’s main objective: renting a small horse-drawn cart.
“Excuse me,” I say to the stable master. “I’d like to rent a small cart.”
Ugh, he’s giving me such a dirty look. “You’re going to make a fine horse like this pull a cart?”
“It’s just a little one. What’s the harm?”
He crosses his arms, still hesitating. Is he just that devoted to horses, or is Noah really that exceptional?
Selina’s family must be pretty wealthy to have afforded Noah.
“We’ve got handcarts you can pull yourself, you know,” he huffs.
Why is it fine for me to pull it? I’m rather small, you know! I’d prefer not to call myself short, but still.
“Then what’s the point of having a horse?”
If I told this man I plan to have Noah pull a cart piled high with lumber, he’d probably punch me.
We have a bit of a staring contest, but he’s the first to break.
Of course he is. Noah is obviously stronger than I am.
“Well… I suppose one this size might be all right.”
He reluctantly rents me the smallest cart he has. Then, as I fumble to attach it to Noah, he clicks his tongue.
So rude.
That settles it. No staying at the Foal’s Inn for me today. I’m going back to the cabin to study this little cart and draw up some blueprints.
That old man may be kind to Noah, but he’s way too strict about how horses should be treated.
Besides, this has just made me want to practice having Noah pull a cart.