The Shrieking Riders
Following Seria's guidance, we arrived at a breeding ground on the outskirts of the territory. The animals inside had a look I'd seen plenty of in my past life in Korea.
-BWWWEEEEEENK!!
-SKREEEEEECH!!
-KYAAAAARGH!!
Just... considerably more bulked up.
'Aren't these... Gorani?'
Their long snouts, vacant eyes, and the oversized fangs protruding from their mouths — aside from the sheer size, they were unmistakably the same creatures that used to dash across Korea's roads.
And as we appeared, the Gorani started screaming even louder.
"Seria. What do you call those things?"
"They're indigenous to the mountain ranges — Great Fang Screaming Deer. They can be difficult to approach given their size and vicious-looking fangs, but their actual temperament is surprisingly docile."
"Not monsters?"
"No, my lord. They're animals."
'...Those are animals, not monsters? And she says they're docile?'
Docile, huh. They're certainly making one hell of a racket.
Though, I suppose the Gorani from my past life were pretty loud too.
But what the hell are those monstrous fangs about?
'Time for a test.'
Right now, confirming whether they genuinely aren't startled by gunfire was the priority.
I slowly drew the musket from my belt.
I loaded it, raised the barrel toward the sky, and fired.
-BANG!
The shot rang out, a deafening explosion echoing across the entire breeding ground.
Any ordinary warhorse not trained for gunfire would have reared up, panicked, and either bolted or gone berserk.
-KEK KEK KEK KEK KEK KEK KEK!!
-BWOK BWOK BWOK BWOK BWOK BWOK BWOK!!
-KYAK KYAK KYAK KYAK KYAK KYAK KYAK KYAK!!
'...They seem to like it.'
The bulked-up Gorani didn't flee from the blast. Instead, they started stomping the ground and bellowing even more wildly than before, as if they'd just heard a hilarious joke.
Like they were cheering — thrilled that something louder than them had finally shown up.
Their vacant eyes all turned toward me at once.
Then, drool dripping from their mouths, they wagged their blunt tails like excited puppies.
'Wait — are they wagging their tails or their whole asses?'
One of them even sniffed at the gunpowder smoke rising from the muzzle, poking its nose through the fence with a curious snort.
'...That's kind of disturbing.'
I flinched, stepping back as noses pushed through the gaps in the fence.
Disturbing appearance aside, the result was pretty damn good.
I let out a wry laugh as I looked at the Gorani.
"They're not scared of gunfire at all — they actually find it entertaining. Looks like they love the gunpowder smell too."
"Yes, my lord... They've gone beyond 'not scared' into genuinely losing their minds for it, it seems..."
Seria replied with a look of utter disgust.
Completely unshaken by gunfire. Powerful hind legs optimized for rough terrain.
And any enemy who saw knights charging atop those grotesque creatures would be so terrified they'd lose all will to fight and run.
"Seria."
"Yes, my lord."
"Go ahead and try riding one."
"...Pardon?"
At her question, I pointed at the Gorani still bouncing around like lunatics.
"We need to check the ride quality and how well they can be controlled if we're actually using them for cavalry. And as our Knight Commander, you should set the example."
"Th-that is true, I suppose..."
Hearing the order, Seria's face instantly darkened.
"...As you command."
With a grim expression, she opened the gate and stepped inside the pen.
The Gorani hesitated briefly at her imposing aura, but then one who seemed to be the leader snorted and shoved its face toward her.
-Snort snort.BWEEEEEENK!!
"Ngh..."
Seria grimaced at the blast of hot breath reeking of hay and animal musk, then grabbed the Gorani by the scruff and vaulted onto its back in one swift motion.
-KYAAAAAAAARGH?!
As soon as she mounted, the Gorani let out an ear-splitting scream and started bucking wildly on the spot, as if it had been waiting for this.
"Tch!"
Nearly thrown off, Seria quickly wrapped her lower body in Aura and clamped her thighs tight around the creature's midsection.
-Kek kek!
The Gorani, which had been thrashing to throw her off, seemed to sense her strength and calmed down, letting out a series of grunts.
"Oh, not bad! Seria, take it for a lap around the pen!"
At my words, Seria lightly tapped the Gorani's neck in a signal.
And then —
-SKREEEEEEECH!
The Gorani's hind leg muscles bulged explosively, and it shot forward across the pen at an incredible speed.
"How is it? Rideable?"
Seria, plugging her ears atop the Gorani, shouted frantically back at me.
"My lord! It's slower than a horse, but the speed is still considerable! However!"
"However?"
"My ears... I think my eardrums are bleeding AAAAAARGH!!"
Even as she screamed, the Gorani kept running, bellowing like a mad thing.
-BWOK BWOK BWOK BWOK!! KYAAAAARGH!!
"Hmm. Not bad at all."
I pressed my hands tight over my ears and nodded with a satisfied smile.
Any enemy who saw knights charging atop those grotesque creatures would be too terrified to do anything but run.
"Seria! That's enough! You can dismount!"
I shouted at Seria, who was still covering her ears with a dazed expression atop the Gorani.
She stopped the creature, then stumbled as she jumped off its back.
Her vacant look was like someone whose soul had left her body.
"My lord... It screamed directly into my ear the entire ride... I genuinely thought my eardrums might burst..."
"Good work. Still, the performance is solid."
I deliberately turned away from her exhausted appearance.
'Hmm... Taking them to the training grounds would be a bit much.'
No matter how good their performance, I couldn't bring those horribly screaming Gorani into the lord's castle or the village where people lived.
The commoners and soldiers would end up with PTSD.
As for the knights — 'Knights are tough. They'll be fine.'
"Seria. Unfortunately, bringing them to the training grounds isn't feasible."
"Ah...! Then you'll be abandoning the idea of using them as cavalry after all...?"
Seria's face brightened instantly as she replied with a hopeful tone.
'That's not what I said.'
Feeling a twinge of guilt, I opened my mouth.
"...No. I meant that starting today, send the 32 who swore the oath over to this breeding ground. Have them live here for a while, eat and sleep with these beasts, bond with them. Make them get used to the noise. If we want to use them in actual combat, isn't this the only way?"
"...Pardon?"
Seria's mouth fell open.
Her black eyes trembled, then turned toward me with unmistakable resentment.
'I feel bad, but there's no other option.'
"Oh, right. I'll make earmuffs and supply them. If they wear those while riding, their eardrums shouldn't get damaged."
"...As you command."
Seria closed her eyes tightly, as if in resignation, and bowed her head.
Behind her, the Gorani's screams played like a funeral dirge.
Back in the lord's castle, inside the study.
Elisa was wrestling with an endless mountain of documents at the desk.
"Welcome back, Master. I trust the matter of mounts was resolved satisfactorily?"
"Yeah. I found a perfect replacement for warhorses. The knights are going to suffer a bit, though."
I said as I approached her.
"Anyway, Elisa. We've wrapped up most of the major tasks that needed handling in Karon by now, right? The paperwork and handover preparations?"
Elisa nodded as she organized the documents.
"Yes. From the allocation of prisoners for labor to the procedures for incorporating knights into the order, and the stabilization of the weapons workshop — all proceeding without issue. I've also prepared all the handover documents for the successor when we return to the capital."
"That's my Elisa. Thanks."
"I appreciate the praise."
The big things I needed to take care of in Karon were all finished now.
'Now I should make those noise-canceling earmuffs for the knights. And a carbine for the cavalry would be nice too.'
I was just thinking that and about to sit on the sofa when —
-RUMBLE!
The sound of hooves and carriage wheels came from outside the window.
"Huh?"
I moved to the window and looked past the open frame. Several carriages were rolling in from the road leading to the capital.
The Espada royal crest was embossed on the carriage doors.
"Oh. Looks like they've finally arrived. Let's go down."
"Understood."
Elisa and I immediately left the study and headed for the first floor.
The carriage was just coming to a stop as we stepped into the inner courtyard.
The escort knights spotted me, quickly dismounted, and approached.
"We greet Prince Ian!"
"Good work, all of you. Is my brother Kael here?"
"Yes! We've brought him safely inside the carriage!"
One of the knights answered and moved toward the carriage.
-CREAK.
The knight opened the carriage door and pulled out something that looked like a large bundle.
Wrapped tightly in a blanket like a caterpillar.
"...Brother?"
Just as I was stepping closer with a puzzled expression —
Perhaps due to the impact of hitting the ground, a groaning sound came from inside the rolled blanket.
"Uuugh..."
The blanket wriggled, and a disheveled head popped out through a gap.
"Huh? Brother? What are you doing?"
At my startled voice, Kael's eyes snapped open, crusted with sleep, and began trembling uncontrollably.
"Wh...Where is this?! Where's my bed?!"
After looking around and grasping the situation, my brother started rolling on the ground, still wrapped in his blanket, wailing.
"No! NO! Send me back to the capital right now! I don't want to work here! WAAAAAAAH!!"
"..."
I couldn't bring myself to approach him. I just lowered my head.
My reunion with Kael was the worst possible outcome.