386. Steel Horse

After entrusting Treant to Grandpa Magiatite’s care, I head to the royal capital Alban together with Alo, Nightmare, and Volk.

Treant sees us off from the entrance of the mine with a dead expression.
Nightmare didn’t want to be left alone with Treant, and Treant feels frustrated that he can’t be together with me and wants to switch places with Nightmare.
S-Sorry Treant…… I’ll buy you some nutritious fertilizers if I find any.

Using〖Automatic MP Recovery〗, I waited until my MP was fully recovered before using〖Human Transformation〗, but when I was about to use it, Volk stopped me.

“I know you don’t want to be noticed. But we also don’t want to spend too much walking to get there, right?”

Volk calls me out.
I let out a ‘gru~o’ to Alo and have her answer for me as a kind of interpreter.
Alo does as I say and tells Volk my answer, while half-hiding behind my front leg.

“…… R-, Ryujin-sama is asking if you have some other idea in mind”

“I’m saying that we should just catch us a ride. There’s a monster around here called the Steel Horse, and although wild, they’re famous for letting anyone ride them if you manage to catch one. Many adventurers use them to go to Alban. We’ll reach our destination faster that way”

A Steel Horse……? And, it’s a monster?
It’s true that we could rely on speed on our hands, so it’s definitely not a bad idea.

In my case, since only my attack and defense stats get halved during humanization, I’ll still be fast enough to go to Alban in a short time, but I can’t say the same to Alo and Nightmare.
Volk’s idea is certainly good, but who knows, this so-called ‘Steel Horse’ that he mentioned might be something that only high-ranked adventurers can handle, and we might stand out even more when we arrive at the city.
But oh well, if it can take us there along with Alo and Nightmare, then who am I to complain.

“The Steel Horse is cowardly and will immediately run as soon as they spot a threat from afar. But, I’m sure it’s nothing you can’t handle”

Ohh, sounds interesting.
Alright, let’s try it.

After wandering around the outskirts of the Great Alban Mine for a while to look for a Steel Horse, it’s obviously that one, right? I’ve had my eye on it since I sensed its presence from afar.

I can see why they’re called Steel Horse.
Their whole body is literally just steel, and I can even see some kind of seam in between the joints.
They kinda look like moving statues.
There really aren’t any normal animals in this world, huh.
And no, I’m not just talking about the monsters. Even the humans aren’t normal, look at Volk here.

Anyway, let’s check out what their description says.

【〖Steel Horse〗: RankＣ- monster】
【A horse monster whose body is made of metal.】
【Other than being sturdy and agile, it has no notable abilities.】
【When it encounters an enemy of equal or greater strength, it will use its incredible speed to immediately run away in the blink of an eye.】
【However, if its favorite food,〖Adamant Dragora〗, is in its presence, it will exhibit a violent behavior.】
【…… But, it doesn’t necessarily get any stronger.】

I see, it’s exactly as Volk described.
They’re rankＣ-, huh. Even if they stampede towards us, I'm sure we can handle it.
If we catch two of them, then Alo can ride with me, and the other two can ride their own……

I wonder if Volk also used that to get here.
When I was wondering that, Alo shares to Volk about what’s on my mind.

“…… U-Uncle, have you ridden on a Steel Horse before?”

Volk looks at Alo.
Alo shies away and hides behind my front leg again.

“Hm? I came here by running, of course. What did you expect?”

Ah…… I see.
That only removes any point of having to hunt for a Steel Horse now.
Although, running together with Volk to the city doesn’t sound too practical since we’re taking Alo and Nightmare with us, so we’ll still choose to ride on a Steel Horse anyway.

“Still, we’re lucky we found one right away. They tend to hide often, despite their usefulness”

Yeah, you did say they have a cowardly nature……
But, won’t scaring them just make them not want to listen to us instead?
I wonder if there’s some kind of trick to determine that we’ve captured them.

While I was thinking to myself, the Steel Horse that we found noticed us and immediately trots away.
Ah, wait! It’s okay to chase it, right? Right? It took us a while just to find one, and Volk said that we should catch it……
Then, without a moment to waste, Volk unsheathes his Leral.

“Stand back and watch as I hunt down that beast. With your big size, you might accidentally squash it”

Volk lowers his posture and runs off after it.
In no time at all, Volk was already outpacing the Steel Horse while holding his big sword like it weighs nothing.
Watching this scene unfold before, I slowly started to understand the meaning of hunting a Steel Horse.

“Ne-…… neighh!!”

The Steel Horse lets out a cry with a voice that sounded like a rusty musical instrument, and then its speed increased.
And yet, despite that, it still can’t seem to shake off Volk’s pursuit.

Volk then jumps and cartwheels over the Steel Horse.
While his body was upside down in the air, he holds his sword from the other side and attempts to grab onto the Steel Horse.
His movements were so natural.

But, as if by luck or by instinct, the Steel Horse bends its head down to avoid Volk’s hands.
Volk only managed to graze through its steel mane.

Impatience is seen in Volk's expression.
He forcefully stretches his arms and turns his body, swinging his sword and aiming to slam the Steel Horse’s head with the side of his sword.

A high-pitched metallic sound is heard, and the weight from the impact of Volk’s sword reaches the Steel Horse’s knees, causing it to lose balance and trip in the midst of running at high speed.
Volk uses the additional force from his last swing to spin in the air and land on his feet, with his sword back in its scabbard.

Well, results are results, but you think you can fool me?!
Volk looks at me and notices my eyes handing out criticism to his last action.

“T-This works too! At least I hunted the beast! Did you really think I would stray from my way of the sword that easily?”

Ehhh??
I saw you get impatient when your plan didn’t work, so you went and slammed its head ‘cause you were mad, and now its knees are dislocated.

“I-I heard the Ouroboros is good with white magic! She’s still breathing. You can still fix her!”

…… It’s a she?
I feel like I chose the wrong guy to be our guide to the royal capital.