The next morning Mr. Hetty came to pick me up with Rebecca.
　The horse market starts in the morning and most of the good horses are usually sold by the afternoon. Because of this, the best way to get a good horse is to go there first thing in the morning.

　As expected, I wasn't expecting them to come at 6:00 a.m., so if I hadn't noticed Marina pantomiming in front of the mirror, I might have lingered in my room until about 8:00 a.m. Thank God I set my alarm for 6:00.

　When I woke up and walked out into the living room of the mansion, the two of them seemed more enthusiastic than ever, "After all, horses must be male", "It's not a battlefield, so of course they must be female", "Horseshoes must be made of mithril", "What shall we do about the horse armor?", "That's why I said it's not a battlefield!". They've been arguing about something all day.
　Really, they're good friends, aren't they?

　After that, we took some time to get ready (I told Deanna and Marina to wear UNIQLO clothes, but Deanna came again in her usual outfit, so I had Marina coordinate it and so on, but it got late), and we arrived at the horse market a little before 8:00 a.m. about. The market had already begun and was lined with livestock, mainly horses, probably not less than 100 head.

　I vaguely imagined that only horses ...... were sold for riding, but there were also farm horses, buffaloes, donkeys and ponies for sale (farm horses and riding horses look the same to my eyes, and I can't understand the difference between a donkey and a pony).
　I'm amazed at the demand for donkeys in this world, especially when a donkey seller has nearly 30 donkeys with him.

Donkeys are much cheaper than horses, they can be used for riding and transporting, and they don't take much effort to raise. And they can drink milk.

　That's how Hetty explains it to me. It's true that the decapitator, which is sold to be able to run as fast as a horse, may be useless for normal life. In the Japanese sense, it's like the difference between a kei car and a sports car: ......?

　Anyway, the purpose of today is horses. And it's a riding horse. Donkeys are cute, but riding around on a donkey is just not a very tight fit.
　But Deanna, Deanna, Marina, and I can't even tell whether a horse is young or old, let alone be a connoisseur.
　So we decided to leave the horse selection to Hetty and Rebecca, basically.
　Deanna said, "I want a white one. The white one," but I silenced her. The white one itself was hardly for sale, and Deanna was not a ding-dong dealer to ride a horse that stood out even more when she was just as conspicuous, and it was unacceptable for a master to do so.
　Marina said, "Ma, that's good enough for Marina. It's good enough," he said, pointing to the donkey, which was also silenced.
　But I just said to Rebecca, "I prefer the black one. And I'm going to name it Black King or something like that: .......

　It's not that many people actually buy horses for riding, even though it's a horse market, there are still plenty of horses left even though it's around 10 o'clock. The price is negotiated with the merchant (it doesn't have a price tag on it, after all), so I don't know, but I'm sure the price is incomparable to that of a donkey.
　In fact, the donkeys are selling very well, and I've noticed that there are only about 10 donkeys instead of the 30 that should have been there.

　Hetty and Rebecca were examining them one by one, as if they were buying their own horses. Hetty was dressed in her maid's uniform and stood out from the crowd, while Rebecca said, "I want one too," and asked the horse trader questions.
　I didn't expect the two of them to get so excited about ....... I've dressed Deanna and Marina in horse-riding clothes, but I didn't want them to come over.
　Well, I'm sure Hetty and Rebecca are almost like professionals, and it's not a problem because it would be right to leave it to them.

　And now Hetty and Rebecca are consulting in front of a horse.

'What do you think of ............?　Becky.

'Well, yeah, ....... It's a little too good to be true. But that's okay with the budget, Hetty. You said it's up to the individual to a certain extent, but isn't there a limit to how much you can spend?

'I have to admit, I'm a bit strict about it ....... But you know that a horse is better off with a little bit of pressure.

It's not like Jirou is going into battle.

That's true, but even merchants are at risk. When you are attacked by thieves on the street, your footwork can make the difference between life and death for sure.

A foot difference between them would seem like a trivial matter in a bandit's case.

'Well, I'm afraid. You don't know how well you handle your horses with the utility of your vocation, Master Knight.

What does it matter what I'm called?

'There is. You can ride any bad horse and it will be a great horse. I'm sure he'll be able to escape not only bandits, but also magical beasts to protect his master.

Isn't that what a ......, er, ............ horse is supposed to be like?

'This is totally Becky.
　Some horses are like that, but many of them just get a little startled and get stuck or lose control. Otherwise, why would a horse trained as a warhorse fetch a high price?

'I see. ....... That's how people bought their expensive horses. ......

I was wondering why in the world.

I don't know if that's a good look.

Shit.

　In front of them were three siblings who were reportedly born from the same warhorse breed, ranging in age from two and a half to three years old.
　One of them had a gray body with gold gathers and a tail, and this one seemed to be a reed-haired one, which would eventually turn white.
　The other one was blackish (or maybe brown) with black gathers and a tail. Strictly speaking, it is classified as a "blue-deer hair" (a kind of fur color called "thanks"). Only its forehead and toes are whitish, which is cute. It's cute that they also have some hair on their legs.
　The last one is also gray (darker than the first one) with a black mane and tail. This one seems to be called "Aoikusuge" (blue). Only the forehead of this horse was white in a meteor shape.

　I heard that there were three good horses for sale, and Hetty wanted to decide on them, but I heard the price was very high.
　I'm happy to see them (some of them are blackish, after all!) , it's still somewhat distressing to have them buy something so expensive. I mean, I'm not sure if it's really okay that Deanna's guiding support is enough to make me feel so much better. I'm anxious, and it's strange.

'Jirou-sama, these boys look the best in the city this time. They have good bloodlines, are well trained, and their age is perfect.

　What do you think?　So, of course I don't disagree. It's just the monetary thing: ....... When you have three of the best horses in the city, that's a lot of money .......

It's just 20 gold coins. That's still a reasonable amount of money discounted.

'Is it 20 copies ....... Um, are you sure?

No problem.

　Twenty gold coins are worth three million yen, in other words. That means a horse is about 1 million yen (and that's after discounting).
　Well, I don't know the price of a horse, or even the market price of a horse, but it's quite expensive ....... But if you think about it, the dogs and cats sold at the pet store cost more than 100,000 yen, so it's only natural that they would be more expensive if they were good horses. It's rather cheap ......?
　I heard that the saddle and reins are also included in the set, and Hetty said that it was a bargain.

　So we ended up buying the three horses as is. They also gave us a brush and oil to help us care for them.

　Well, even though we'd been promised, the fact that we were asked to buy such a large creature was a fantasy!


　We dragged the horses down the road.
　All the while, Deanna, Marina and I are listening to Rebecca and Hetty's advice on how to keep a horse.

You can leave some of the horse's care to others, but we think you should at least brush the horse yourself every day. Don't look after them, just ride them, because at ...... horses are creatures that don't recognize their masters as masters.

I know. Horses are very important partners... all three of you have to take care of your own children, don't you?

'Yes. When it comes to daily care, what else is there to feed, brush, clean the stables and ......?

The other important thing is the grazing. Almost no one comes around here, and I let my kids go out to pasture, so if you let them play in that area, they'll be fine.

'Grazing?' 'Free to walk the horses?　You want me to?　If you've gone somewhere or something, go to .......

'With a little help, it'll be fine. Horses are smart, they don't just disappear on their own.

And what else am I supposed to do with the food?

'I buy it in the village and have it delivered regularly, so Jiro should do the same. Jirou should do the same. I eat wild grasses when I'm grazing, so you don't have to worry so much about what I'm feeding them.

And salt. I'll get this for you.

Also, we need to get some straw for the stables.

　With no means of transportation, "I need a horse! I said simply, "It's easy," but keeping three large animals is not only a natural thing to do, it's a hard enough thing to do, not to mention an easy thing to do.
　But Hetty and Rebecca both seem to be enjoying themselves in some strange way.

'Um, do you both like horses?'

I like it." "I like it.

　I knew it.





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　We went back to the house and put the horses in the stables.

　This time we need to quickly prepare food and water troughs and straw for the stables, so we headed to a nearby village.

　The name of the village is ...... I think I heard it before in the guild, but I've forgotten it. There seems to be about 100 households, even though the village is called a village. However, it may be small for a village near the city of Elishe.

　If you hear of a village and the impression is that there are a number of houses in a small place, but here the houses are scattered over a fairly wide range, and it was a village of them all. Well, since the streets and the town are close to each other, there is no need to live in a group, because it is not bad for security.

　Well, since we are going to the village, I think we should finish other things we were going to do in the village as well.