Chapter 245
Chapter 245: Starting a New Business. (3)
“Sympathy… ability? The one our ancestors supposedly had?”
At Ascon’s question, Ghislaine nodded her head.
“Yes. If the Dwarves were blessed with the blessing of production, then the true blessing received by Elves is the ability to communicate with nature and animals. Through that, they could become outstanding Spirit Mages.”
The Elves burst into laughter at Ghislaine’s somewhat serious words.
“Hahaha!”
“Wow, Lord, what are you saying! You’re still like a boy!”
“Sympathy ability! That’s something that only appears in storybooks!”
“If we could do that, we wouldn’t have to worry about getting beaten by the Lord! Where can such a thing exist?”
Without saying much, Ghislaine rolled up her sleeves. At the same moment, the Elves stopped laughing and straightened their posture.
Instantly, they connected with each other’s hearts. The retainers accompanying Ghislaine wondered if she might really have the ability of ‘sympathy’ after seeing their swift response.
Ghislaine slowly lowered her fist and asked while looking around at the Elves.
“You just read my mind, right? You can do that, right?”
“Ah!”
Hearing the Elves’ loud response, Ghislaine nodded.
“Good, you can do it, so don’t worry. Hey, bring over the prepared horses.”
A while later, the soldiers brought horses according to the number of Elves. However, their appearance was quite unusual.
Neighhh!
“Whoa! Stay still!”
“What kind of strength is this!”
“Please listen to me!”
The horses were constantly kicking and trying to attack the soldiers, who looked like they had been through a terrible ordeal bringing them in.
These horses had been living a life of constant battle in the harsh northern environment. Naturally, their temper was fierce.
Ghislaine stroked her chin as she observed them.
“Hmm, we need to tame them quickly. They’re getting angrier by the minute.”
It was not easy to bring them here either. Thanks to the hundreds of knights capable of handling mana, they could barely bring the horses in by forcing them together.
Having suddenly changed their environment, the horses began to stress out and buck even more as time passed.
The Elves swallowed hard as they regarded the fierce horses.
‘You want us to tame those things?’
‘It feels like we’ll be the ones getting tamed.’
‘Wow, look at those muscles on that horse. It must have been running every day.’
The Elves had no idea how to tame such rugged horses.
Though they had seen pets a few times living in a noble house, that was the extent of their experience. They had no particular interest and had never felt anything extraordinary by getting somewhat close to them.
They had heard about such abilities from their ancestors, but thought it was just an exaggerated legend.
Seeing the Elves’ faces filled with worry, Ghislaine said, “Alright, now grab one horse each and try to tame them.”
“How do we… do that?”
“You just need to sincerely ask. You can say you want to be friends or ask for help. Then the horses will read your heart and do as you wish. That’s the blessing that Elves are born with. It’s no different from spirit affinity.”
“……”
The Elves, taking what they learned to heart, made sincere, pleading expressions as they asked Ghislaine.
“Isn’t there any other way?”
“Start quickly.”
Ghislaine casually ignored their pleas.
This method had been proven in her past life. It was just that the Elves had yet to grasp it, but all the Elf companions who fought alongside her could use it.
In her previous life, thanks to them, she could quickly train cavalry as long as there were horses. After talking a few times with Elves, the horses would naturally listen and move well on their own.
But unlike Ghislaine, the uncertain Elves approached the horses with looks of impending doom.
And soon, the battle between the Elves and the horses began.
Neighhh!
“AHHHHHHH!”
Following Ghislaine’s advice to treat the horses sincerely, the Elves began a genuine struggle.
“Stay still! You! Be my friend!”
With their upper body muscles overly developed, the Elves climbed onto the horses’ backs and tried to choke them by gripping their necks with their biceps. They relied on their trained muscles to attempt to dominate the horses.
However, these horses had lived by killing people and monsters in the north. Their fierceness and temperament were incomparable to ordinary horses.
Thud!
With eyes turning bloodshot, wild with excitement, several Elves couldn’t handle the force and fell to the ground.
Thud!
The horses ruthlessly kicked backward at the fallen Elves or stomped on them mercilessly. Thankfully, thanks to their trained muscles, none of the Elves died.
“How dare you act so cockily for just a horse!”
“Do you think we’re a joke!”
“We are the true rulers of nature and animals!”
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The excited Elves began to hit their animal friends with their fists, turning the training grounds into utter chaos.
In the midst of the chaos, one horse stood out. It was a splendid black horse, far sturdier and with a much more impressive mane than the others.
Neighhh!
“Wow! What is this horse!”
“Why is it so strong!”
“It looks incredibly cool!”
The furious black horse kicked and bucked multiple times. Its wild spirit kept the Elves and soldiers at a distance.
But the horse seemed unsatisfied with that, beginning to charge indiscriminately at those around it.
It was clearly a horse with a foul temper.
“AHHH! Run! It’s charged!”
“That horse is just insane!”
“Shit! Just like the Lord!”
As the people cursed and scattered, the black horse began to look for something to vent its fury on.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
With its eyes shining brightly and a furious vigor, it charged straight toward Ghislaine.
Like a storm ready to sweep everything away.
Seeing this, the retainers around gasped and shouted.
“Lord!”
“Get out of the way!”
As Gillian and the knights moved to intervene, Ghislaine reached out a hand to stop them and stepped forward instead.
Neighhh!
The black horse came charging with a fierce roar, showing no signs of slowing down.
And just as the horse was about to collide with Ghislaine, she slowly drew her fist back.
In the moment of impact between the horse and Ghislaine—
BAM!
The horse, struck in the face by Ghislaine’s fist, turned its head and collapsed.
Looking down at the fallen horse, which was frothing at the mouth and trembling, Ghislaine quietly said, “Sit. If you’re slow, I will kill you.”
Boom!
The horse jumped up as if it hadn’t fainted at all, bending its legs and sitting down. It was now perfectly positioned for someone to ride it.
As soon as Ghislaine climbed onto its back, the horse straightened its legs and lifted its head high.
It looked exactly like Ghislaine—proud and arrogant.
While the side of the horse’s face was slightly swollen, its solid body and magnificent mane masked the ugly injury well.
Ghislaine continued to look around with her proud eyes as she said, “See? When you show your sincerity, the other side accepts it too.”
“……”
A heavy silence fell over the training ground.
Onlookers and Elves stared at Ghislaine in disbelief. Even the wildly kicking horses stopped to look at her.
“Why? What? This is my sincerity, so what? By the way, this one is sturdy and has a fierce temper; I’ll have to ride it. What should I name it? How about ‘Black Bean’ since it’s black? Isn’t that cute?”
The more fierce and robust the horse, the greater the power it would exhibit on the battlefield. Ghislaine smiled contentedly, having obtained a good horse.
Meanwhile, the retainers facepalmed at her bizarre naming sense.
Claude approached Ghislaine carefully and said, “Um… can’t you just hit them all once, my Lord? Then it’d probably be over quickly.”
“No way. Then only I can ride it. Everyone needs to be able to ride easily to bolster the cavalry quickly. What are you doing? Everyone should sincerely persuade the horses!”
The struggle between the Elves and the horses began again. Trying to convey their sincerity, there were even Elves punching the horses as Ghislaine had.
Of course, that Elf was met with a kick to the chest and went flying.
No one could figure out how to communicate with the horses. Eventually, they could only grab the horses’ necks and curse at them.
“Please listen to me! You monstrous bastards!”
“I think it would be better to just exercise!”
“How can you expect me to communicate in the midst of this chaos!”
Even Lumina was in the same boat. She clung tightly to the horse’s neck, sweating profusely.
‘What on earth am I supposed to do?’
To communicate with sincerity sounds easy, but what animal understands human speech?
Even now, the horse was bucking wildly with her on its back. All she could do was hold on and not fall off.
‘Please…’
She gave up trying to suppress it with force and simply closed her eyes, pleading.
‘Just be still!’
‘Really, this damn territory is driving me crazy!’
‘Can’t you just let me ride easily?’
At first, it was frustration and resentment. Having lived comfortably as a noble, everything had turned upside down since coming here.
Crazy lord, crazy retainers, and now crazy horses. It felt like she might lose her mind.
After some time, that resentment slowly turned into earnestness.
There was no certainty it would work. No, to be honest, she thought this was utterly impossible. She was merely obliged to follow the Lord’s commanding insistence.
That crazy Lord would surely need to succeed to put an end to this madness.
All Lumina could do was continue appealing to the horse.
‘Please, just behave…’
‘Be it a friend or anything else, just listen to me.’
‘I’ll ask sincerely.’
While the horse shook violently, she stroked its mane trying to soothe it.
And so, she kept doing it, striving to convey her genuine feelings to the horse.
At some point, Lumina began to lose her fear of the horse’s wild movements. She started to recognize the motion as just a natural occurrence.
‘It’s okay…’
Whirr—!
Suddenly, she felt something running from the crown of her head down her spine and opened her eyes wide.
“Ah…”
Something was felt.
The rustling wind, the ever steadfast trees, the swaying grass—it was as if they were whispering.
The birds were talking. The insects were talking too.
Though she couldn’t understand everything, she could vaguely sense they were all saying something to her.
“Ah…”
Boom!
The world swayed. Everything blended like paint and then settled back into place.
Right after, she felt something she had never experienced before—the emotions emanating from all the animals and plants around her.
While she couldn’t fully understand their meanings, she felt, faintly, what they wanted to convey.
“Don’t trouble us, love us, be with us.”
They were all saying that.
“Ah…”
Only then did she finally understand.
Why the Elves were called guardians of nature.
She had no choice but to protect it. She had to protect it.
Now that she had learned of nature’s beauty, heard the whispers of life, and felt their emotions, she could no longer turn a blind eye.
Everything bore into her heart and became one with her.
“Ah, I see now…”
And that’s why Elves chose a life entwined with nature.
“It’s okay…”
Lumina gently stroked the horse’s mane again.
The horse was still bucking. But astonishingly, she didn’t fall off its back without exerting any force at all.
As if it were the most natural thing in the world, Lumina moved as if she had become one with the horse.
“I won’t hurt you.”
“I’ll protect you.”
“We’ll always be together.”
Every time she spoke softly, the horse’s movements gradually slowed.
Lumina vividly sensed what the horse desired.
“We’ll be able to roam the battlefield again. We’ll run without rest. I don’t want to, but… that Lord will surely make it happen.”
Her genuine feelings were conveyed to the horse. Slowly it stopped moving, kicked a few times, and eventually calmed down.
Lumina stepped down and lovingly caressed the horse’s cheek as she said, “Will you stay with us?”
The horse rubbed its head against her cheek in response. Then, it neighed loudly as if to say it would help.
Neighhh!
At its cry, all the other horses froze and turned to look at Lumina.
The other Elves, too, who had either collapsed on the ground or clung onto their horses, were all staring at her.
“Is this for real?”
“That crazy horse calmed down that fast?”
“How is this possible?”
It wasn’t just the Elves. Even the retainers watching alongside Ghislaine were gaping in astonishment.
They had thought the Lord was just doing something crazy again, but to see it actually work?!
To tame those wild northern horses like puppies!
Only Ghislaine was watching this scene with a delighted smile.
“See? When you speak sincerely, it gets through!”
The Elves looked at her with expressions of disbelief.
Could it be that Lumina had just happened to manage a calmer horse? That doubt lingered.
But if that were the case, it didn’t explain how all the other horses suddenly calmed down too.
Ascon, half believing, observed the horse before him.
The horse stared back at Ascon. And soon, it turned into an eye contest.
Thud!
The horse’s gaze began to turn wild again. Ascon glared at it and thought, ‘Sincerity, sincerity… didn’t they say to talk sincerely?’
He had tried to dominate it with brute force without conveying any genuine feelings.
Cautiously, Ascon approached and cupped the horse’s face with both hands. Unlike before, the horse accepted his touch calmly.
Gaining confidence from this, Ascon conveyed his true feelings.
“Hey, you bastard.”
In that moment, Ascon felt his sincerity reach the horse. The horse replied with its own feelings.
Neighhh!
Thud!
The horse’s hind leg slammed into Ascon’s chest.
