The Hero Mounted the White Horse
“Time to head out, so get in the carriage.”
I scowled at Jena von Darius, who kept talking down to me like I was some nobody, even though I was the damn Hero. Of course, I knew she'd act like a bitch no matter what—even if the Hero's grandpa showed up, as long as he was from some backwater shithole like me. Still, it pissed me off.
“Horse.”
“...What?”
“I don't wanna ride in that carriage. Get me a horse.”
I glanced at the carriage and shot back at Jena. It was a full week's hard ride from my village to the capital anyway. Sharing a bumpy coach with a saintess I couldn't stand was torture enough, and truth be told, I preferred the back of a horse to some rattling box any day.
“Ha? You even know how to ride one?”
Jena smirked mockingly at my words. It was a fair reaction, I guess. Horses cost more than most folks around here made in a year, and in a rural dump like this, nobody knew how to handle one. The other holy knights weren't hiding their sneers either, for the same reason.
“You that stupid? Why would I ask for a horse if I couldn't ride it?”
“What did you just say?”
I snapped back at her without missing a beat. Jena looked ready to chew me out, but I didn't give her the chance. I strode straight over to where the holy knights were prepping the horses and started eyeing them up. I could feel Jena glaring daggers at my back now that her plaything had vanished.
She probably figured I'd eat shit and embarrass myself by falling off. I ignored her and kept browsing casually. That's when I spotted one holy knight dragging his feet, hauling a dazzling white stallion that stood out like a sore thumb.
That's gotta be that bitch Jena's horse, right?
A sly grin tugged at my lips as I headed for the white horse, a full hand taller than the others. From what I remembered, it was her precious baby. Hell, the damn thing even had a fancy name like Tallion. It must've taken after its owner—stubborn as fuck, refusing anyone but her. No wonder the knight was late; it was probably throwing a fit at his touch.
“This one's perfect.”
I nodded at the white stallion the knight had wrestled over, and the holy knights burst out laughing. They knew damn well no one but Jena could ride it.
“That's the captain's horse. If you insist on riding, pick another...”
“Hand over Tallion's reins. Let's see if I can handle it.”
One knight tried to warn me off, but Jena cut him short. No reason for her to stop me from humiliating myself. If anything, she looked thrilled, like she had front-row seats to a comedy show.
“...Fine. Here.”
At her order, the knight reluctantly passed me the reins. The second I had them, I vaulted onto Tallion's back in one smooth motion. A few knights' eyes widened at how effortlessly I'd mounted.
“Hiiing!”
But that surprise didn't last. The horse bucked wildly, rearing up on its front legs like it wanted to hurl me off. The knights and Jena watched with smug satisfaction—especially her, with that infuriating smirk curling her lips.
“You little beast!”
I clamped my thighs tight to the saddle, gripped its mane instead of the reins, and yanked hard. Tallion went berserk, thrashing even harder, but I held my balance easily. Still, no point wrestling this idiot forever. I let a trickle of killing intent seep into my body.
Horses are smart cookies—quick on the uptake. It didn't take long for Tallion to sense the rider on its back could snap its neck anytime. The beast calmed right down.
“...No way. The captain's horse letting someone else ride it?”
One knight muttered in shock, staring at me atop Tallion. Jena shot him a death glare—probably pissed at the implication. The guy clamped his mouth shut too late; he'd be in for an earful later.
“What're you waiting for? You said it was time to go.”
I reined Tallion in expertly, stopping right in front of Jena. How'd she feel seeing her pride and joy under another man? Couldn't read her exactly, but her twisted scowl from down below was delicious.
“Move out!”
Her face flushed beet red as she barked at her subordinates. Guess her rage was spilling over onto them. She'd handed the horse over herself—no backing out now, no yelling at me either. Served her right.
Just you wait. I'll smash everything you hold dear, one by one.
I thought that as I watched her mount another horse with a sour look. My grudges ran deep, and she'd have to deal with the consequences of her own bullshit.
* * *
This is way too obvious.
I stared at Jena in disbelief. We'd only been on the road half a day since leaving the village, and she'd already pulled this petty stunt. The demon king's army wasn't rampaging yet, and monsters weren't overrunning the empire. At this point, the only big ones were the rare bruisers—most critters avoided humans like the plague. Otherwise, a remote spot like Kalein Village would've been wiped out ages ago.
And this wasn't some ragtag party. We had over ten holy knights decked out in gleaming plate. No sane goblin—cowardly little shits that could actually think—would jump a group like ours.
“What the hell? Jena! Clear those things out already!”
Marian Delarossi the saintess was just annoyed by the sudden goblin pack, but Jena didn't budge a finger. Neither did her knights—they just stood there gawking. I scanned their numbers slowly. Yeah, a couple short compared to when we left the village.
“Jena! Are you deaf? This is dereliction of duty!”
Marian nagged her to hurry up, but Jena had cooked this up herself—she wasn't about to play along.
“He's supposed to be the Hero, right? Mind showing us what you can do?”
Jena blew off Marian and turned to me with a taunt that made me chuckle. The saintess, though, lost her shit.
“What nonsense is that? Even the Hero's only just awakened. Of course he doesn't have the skills yet!”
“Saintess. I asked the Hero, not you.”
“What gives you the right to test him?”
I smirked as the two bickered, ignoring the actual guy in question. Back in my first timeline, I was pathetically weak at this stage. That's why Jena could torment me under the guise of "training" without backlash. Even Marian, who tried reining her in at first, ended up letting it slide once she saw how useless I was.
She'd bet everything on me as the Hero. A dud savior made her divine oracle look like bullshit.
“Fine. You wanna see? Watch.”
I stepped in as they glared daggers at each other. Jena smirked at my confidence; Marian looked half-worried, half-hopeful.
Sucks for the goblins, but...
Poor bastards minding their business until they got dragged here. Still, once the demon king's influence hit, they'd swarm humans anyway. I drew the sword I'd taken from some punk and advanced on the goblins slowly.
One locked eyes with me in terror, then let out a guttural screech and charged.
“Krurt! Krurruk!”