Chapter 49
Chapter 49
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Reading Marathon (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The man in the lead, Lirin, quickly powered through the remaining quizzes.
The third one came from volume two of Sherlock Holmes, and it came with a mission he had to complete at the same time.
Several pillars stood in a dug-out pit, and he had to leap between them to reach the other side.
"Ugh! I'm no good at keeping my balance!"
To put it nicely, he was the textbook knight—straight-laced, with zero flexibility.
He was used to honest, by-the-book movements from his training manual, but situations like this that demanded initiative left him struggling.
Still, his knightly training had been thorough enough to keep him from failing.
"That was a close one."
He hopped over to the other side, turned back for a glance, and let out a sigh of relief.
He wiped the sweat from his brow once and took off running again.
Having cleared the last two quizzes like that, he headed to where the horses were waiting.
"Guess I have to ride to the next territory from here."
He approached the man tending the horses.
With a polite expression, he requested one of the horses.
"Understood. Just be careful, though. Normally—"
"I know. They look gentle, but they can be finicky too."
To him, horses weren't just familiar—they were like old friends.
A commoner might not get it, but as a knight, he'd ridden plenty.
This one just wasn't broken in.
In other words, he had to ride a horse he didn't know into a sprint.
A twinge of unease settled over him.
He'd handled wild ones before, but for an honest guy like him, it was still a burden.
"Whew, no choice but to do it. What's your name?"
"Pufo."
Steeling himself, Lirin approached the horse slowly and calmly.
Horses were skittish creatures—you couldn't rush up to them.
"Easy there, Pufo?"
You didn't approach from behind either; you had to let the horse see you coming.
Extend your hand nice and slow, let it sniff you—
Pffft!
"Whoa!"
Pufo rejected Lirin outright!
Tossing its head, it reared up on its front legs, forcing Lirin to scramble back.
"Damn it!"
"Haha, we've got others."
"Hey now! Horses are sensitive creatures. If I go to another one now, it might reject me too."
Lirin tried approaching slowly again, calling its name, but Pufo rebuffed him once more.
His pride kicked in, and he resolved to tame Pufo somehow.
As Lirin struggled, other participants started trickling in.
Among them was Poten, whom Edn had pegged as a top contender.
"Ooh, what a fine horse!"
He made a beeline for a gray-coated steed.
Its name was Philent, and it accepted Poten without a fuss.
"Well, all right then. Let's go."
Poten swung up onto Philent without hesitation and took off at a gallop.
Snatching up a commoner along the way and seating them behind him.
"Eek!"
"Sorry about that! Just bear with it."
Poten looked set to seize the lead like that, but Lirin finally managed to mount Pufo.
He hastily yanked a commoner aboard and plopped them in the rear seat.
"Nngh! Let's ride!"
Lirin spurred Pufo into a frantic gallop to catch Philent.
Pouring on the speed, he closed the gap in no time.
"Not so fast! You can't pass me!"
"Haha! Time to hand over the lead, don't you think?"
The two gripped their reins tight, jockeying for position.
Now they really had to push it.
Lirin stared straight ahead, face stern.
"Here's hoping we meet at the finish."
"Same here."
Poten replied while fixing his gaze forward, ready for the serious ride ahead.
The pair surged onward in a fair race, neither hindering the other.
Meanwhile, things behind them were anything but pretty.
Unlike those two, some were resorting to dirty tricks to block each other.
"Argh! Who the hell's throwing mud?!"
"Gah! I didn't say not to!"
A few who hadn't mounted yet hurled mud and stones.
At those trying to mount, or fresh arrivals, and so on.
Chaos unfolded as several fell victim.
But rather than retaliate, they opted to mount up and bolt.
Better to save energy and ride away than waste it fighting.
Despite the sabotage, they picked up commoners one by one and pressed on.
The saboteurs eventually mounted too and cleared the area.
About half the original group rode off toward the next territory.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Poten and Lirin traded the lead back and forth as they rode.
Luckily, the horses held strong, letting them reach the next territory in one go.
"Ah, that must be it."
Lirin spotted the destination first.
A row of tents. He steered his horse that way.
Poten followed suit, and the two arrived together.
Guides approached the moment they dismounted.
"Welcome. Here's your next task."
"Three sheets, three tasks?"
Lirin eyed them curiously—it wasn't what he'd heard beforehand.
The guide shook his head lightly.
"No, just pick one you like. Do it as instructed beforehand, and get it stamped on completion."
"Got it."
Lirin glanced at the mission sheet and chose the hardest one.
One tough task would save more time than two easy ones, he figured.
Poten, on the other hand, thought differently.
Even if it meant moving twice, easy ones were faster.
They clocked each other's choices and exchanged well-wishes.
"Good luck out there."
"You too."
Courteous words, but each inwardly believed they'd win.
They parted ways, and the commoners they'd brought along scattered to tackle their own missions.
He walked slowly, reviewing the mission sheet again.
"Hm. Help a farmer move five sacks of rice. Simpler than I thought."
Convinced it'd be a breeze, Lirin headed to the nearby fields.
A guide was there. He approached and declared his intent.
"Understood. Please move these rice sacks over here."
"Right away—huh?!"
His eyes bulged at the massive sacks the guide pointed to.
Each one had to be at least 40kg.
"Wh-what the hell?!"
Lirin was staring down over 200kg of rice in total.
A trained knight like him could probably handle it.
But rice sacks weren't neat weights.
They shifted shape when lifted, demanding constant readjustments.
If you'd never hauled them before, it'd burn unnecessary energy.
Lirin shot the guide a troubled look.
The guide read his mind and smiled.
"Sure you can manage? You can switch, but the other participants are arriving soon."
"Nngh, no helping it. I'll do it!"
Grinding his teeth, Lirin hoisted the first sack.
With a grunt, he slung it over his shoulder and trudged to the drop-off.
"Nngh. Should've picked an easy one."
Too late for regrets now.
Lirin swallowed his second thoughts and moved as efficiently as possible, conserving strength.
Meanwhile, Poten—who'd picked the two easy ones—strolled into the village, looking around.
"Crowded place. All here to watch?"
As Poten scanned the area with his mission sheet in hand,
he spotted a guide and approached.
"I'm a participant. According to the sheet—"
Poten tried to get started on his mission, but there was a problem.
Most folks here had come to watch the participants.
And when someone openly declared himself a contestant, all eyes turned.
"What? A participant's here?"
"Heh, shall we watch?"
"Whoa, mister! What's your name?"
The crowd swarmed toward Poten.
Panicking amid the sudden mob, he shouted,
"Wh-what's going on?!"
"What's going on? They're all here for you!"
A kind soul explained, but it didn't help Poten much.
He just realized this wasn't organic.
Shoving through the throng, he yelled at the guide,
"What do I do?!"
"Deliver this item here."
The guide pointed to a fragile vase.
Normally, with care, it'd be simple.
But ferrying breakables through a mob like this? No easy feat.
Even Edn hadn't foreseen it.
He'd underestimated them, judging by their gentlemanly protests outside Jenectra Publishing House.
This world had plenty who craved the dopamine rush—and as many reckless types.
Especially in medieval times, order often broke down.
This was one such moment.
One showed interest, two approached; three clustered, five spectated.
A chain reaction swelled the crowd.
Poten, suddenly hemmed in and unable to move, seethed with frustration.
"Get out of the way, please!"
His pleas barely budged the masses.
They echoed emptily into the air.
Swept up in the human tide, he couldn't even start his mission.
The two faced entirely different ordeals.