Chapter 246
Chapter 246: Starting a New Business (4)
“Ughhhh!”
Ascon lay face down on the ground, repeatedly trampled by the horse.
Ignoring Ascon being enthusiastically stomped on, Ghislaine spoke to Lumina.
“How is it? When I speak from the heart, they really listen, right?”
Lumina smiled and nodded.
“Yes, and now I know what our race must do.”
She was no longer the bored and lazy elf she once was.
Through exercise, she had regained her healthy body and mind and understood her race’s mission.
Ghislaine nodded with a satisfied smile.
“Now she looks a bit more like an elf.”
Once the elves regained their true forms, they would be of great help during the Age of Turmoil.
When that time comes, the distinction between races becomes meaningless.
Protecting the world is akin to protecting nature, which is why even elves who had lived in hiding in their past lives united with humans to fight together.
“From now on, Lumina will be the representative of the elves. Everyone, follow Lumina and do your best to tame the horses for a while. Make it easier for others to ride them. After that, we will proceed with the next training.”
“Yikes!”
Since Ascon didn’t want to be the representative anyway, there was no strong opposition. Even if he had complaints, he couldn’t voice them while being stomped on by a horse.
Taking advantage of the horses settling down, the elves rushed to Lumina.
“What’s up? How did you do it?”
“Teach us how too!”
“They weren’t calm horses before, right?”
With a smile, Lumina shared her method with the elves.
“Just speak from the heart.”
“……”
It was exactly what the crazy lord had said.
‘If I speak from the heart, will those horses really understand?’
Reading the disbelief and confusion on the elves’ faces, Lumina continued.
“I thought the same way at first. But it’s truly an easy task for our race. That’s the blessing the World Tree has given us. Trust yourselves and try. Speak from your heart.”
Encouraged by Lumina’s confident declaration, the elves moved with hesitant expressions.
At least since Lumina’s success, the horses had calmed down, making it easier for the elves to approach.
The elves began attempting to communicate with the horses in their own way.
“I’ll give you a carrot. Just stay calm a bit longer.”
“Please, at least pretend to cooperate.”
“I’ll introduce you to my girlfriend.”
Swoosh.
While some proposed ridiculous conditions, a few horses connected with the elves and began to sit down or rub their heads against the elves’ cheeks.
“Wow, wow! Ohhhh!”
Gasps of excitement erupted from the elves who succeeded in connecting.
Of course, they hadn’t achieved the same depth of connection as Lumina. Thanks to her, the horses found some stability, making communication possible.
But now that they had a sense of what to do, the elves would soon be able to showcase their unique traits.
As more and more began to successfully connect with the horses, the retainers gazed at Ghislaine with astonished eyes.
“Is this really working…?”
“This can’t be a coincidence…”
“How did the lord know this…?”
Even when Lumina succeeded, there had been doubts it could be mere luck. They thought maybe the horses had calmed down by chance.
But once multiple people succeeded in a row, it was no longer a coincidence.
Just as Ghislaine said, the elves truly had the ability to commune with nature.
Of course, it would still take a bit more time for every elf to regain this ability.
But while it might take time, the possibility of success itself was unassailable. The elves who had understood the method could help and teach the others.
Ghislaine smiled at Lumina and said,
“Now we won’t have any issues raising the horses, right? We need to ensure the regular soldiers can ride well too.”
“Of course! I’ll do my best with everyone else. You don’t need to worry!”
Having realized her duty as an elf, Lumina continuously wore a gentle smile now. She no longer swore or held negative thoughts.
Finally, she was beginning to embody the grace associated with elves as people had described.
Ghislaine nodded vigorously and continued.
“Alright then, let’s start taming the horses from today. As quickly as possible. You know my style, right?”
“Yes! Leave it to me! I pledge on my elf honor!”
“Excellent, very reliable. Hey, bring the other horses as well.”
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!
Crazy horses with red eyes and drool starting to flow began dragging soldiers along.
“Uh…?”
Seeing this, Lumina’s face turned pale.
She had no idea how hectic this territory had become after stepping in.
And she didn’t know how many horses the lord had brought back from his expedition.
Ghislaine patted her shoulder, frozen by the sight that exceeded common sense, and smiled again.
“Let’s hurry up. Our territory is busier than it seems.”
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!
Soldiers, being dragged by the horses, screamed.
“Aaaaah! Help me!”
“The horses are too ferocious!”
“I’m so sorry!”
Lumina murmured unintentionally as she watched the stampede of horses.
“Damn… what the hell… this territory…”
She regretted having spoken with such confidence. Nothing of nature could be heard; it felt as though she had been abandoned by it.
The lord would never tolerate changing what had been said. There would be no turning back now.
And until then, Ascon had been trampled by the furious horses.
“Yikes! Dammit! Stop it! You crazy horse!”
The horse that had connected with his sincerity didn’t stop until the end.
*
“Wow! The cavalry is increasing rapidly!”
Ghislaine looked at the horses tamed by the elves over several days, wearing a very satisfied smile.
Neigh!
The horses were frolicking in the training grounds, carrying soldiers on their backs. The mounted soldiers showed no fear at all.
“Wow, I didn’t know I could ride this well!”
“They’re moving just as I want!”
“They weren’t this docile before!”
The soldiers knew well how ferociously the newly brought horses had rampaged. However, those that had a few conversations with the elves transformed into lambs.
Even soldiers who had only learned basic horsemanship could now handle the horses with ease. The horses obeyed just as their riders wished.
While they weren’t yet at the level of seasoned cavalry, there was no issue swinging weapons or moving atop the horses. Naturally, the cavalry had to increase rapidly.
“The elves are losing weight nicely!”
The elves didn’t need separate training to lose muscle. After dealing with those crazy horses, their muscles shrank automatically.
Seeing the progress was going smoother than expected, Ghislaine decided to push even harder.
“I should ensure all the soldiers learn horsemanship in this opportunity.”
Since the horses obeyed well, their horsemanship would improve easily. In just a few days, they could utilize them as junior cavalry.
So, Ghislaine thought of teaching all the infantry in the territory how to ride.
“Every troop can turn into cavalry just by riding horses? I can’t resist this.”
Just the thought was exhilarating. Leading troops capable of responding in any situation or terrain is every commander’s dream.
The retainers looked on in disbelief.
“I can’t believe cavalry can be fostered this quickly…”
“With this pace, they can be rapidly deployed for transport and combat.”
“So this is why you brought the elves. I had no idea they could train horses so easily.”
Now that more people could ride, it was time to start the delivery business.
Stables, telegraph offices, and logistics warehouses were quickly built across towns and cities, with soldiers who had learned horsemanship assigned.
The soldiers grumbled gloomily.
“So, we’re also expected to act as a guard unit, do delivery work, be cavalry in war, infantry, and undergo training…?”
Learning how to ride was great, but there were just too many tasks. The soldiers who had been comfortably eating, sleeping, and training felt like the sky was falling.
But the extra pay was too enticing to refuse. In fact, they were even being pushed to hastily provide support for their families, leaving no choice but to cry while working.
Though not perfect, the basic preparations were complete. Ghislaine gathered her retainers and announced the start of the “Penris Arrow Delivery” business.
“During the opening month, we will offer free services to the territory residents!”
Ghislaine confidently declared, clenching her fists. The retainers, now accustomed to their eccentric lord, just accepted it and prepared to start the business as planned.
Massive promotions began, but the territory residents’ reactions were lackluster.
“Arrow Delivery…? What is that?”
“It says it will deliver letters and items quickly and safely?”
“Isn’t that just entrusting it to merchants or mercenaries?”
Upon encountering such a novel concept, they didn’t even think to try it.
After a week went by without a single person utilizing the services, the retainers cautiously spoke up.
“It’s great that the horses have been tempered and the cavalry is increasing… but is there really any business viability here?”
“The response is quite underwhelming…”
“Just use it for transporting materials then. It wouldn’t be a loss at least, right?”
Even with the retainers’ statements, Ghislaine shook her head.
“People just don’t realize how convenient it is yet. There’s no need for worry. Keep expanding.”
Ghislaine was truly confident. In her previous life, this was a service that once tried would never be given up. Once just a few people used it, the word would spread rapidly.
Since the lord was being stubborn, the retainers accepted it as always.
“It does cost a lot of money… but we can handle that kind of loss now.”
“Having the cavalry trained this quickly is already a great benefit.”
“Not everything the lord does can succeed. If this fails, maybe we’ll hear more from him.”
Having all gone through various experiences, they gained a boldness to let things like this slide.
Then finally, among the ghost town-like telegraph offices, a middle-aged woman walked in.
“Welcome!”
A young man who had recently started working at the telegraph office sprang up to greet her. Despite the good pay, he had been idling for over a week without any work.
Working in such a sweet job, he couldn’t help but be overly service-minded. He definitely didn’t want to get fired.
The middle-aged woman hesitated for a moment before cautiously asking,
“Do you really… deliver letters and items right away?”
“Of course! Our Arrow Delivery is faster and safer than anyone else! We deliver exactly when the customer wants, anytime! Even if it’s just for one person! Plus, right now, it’s free!”
“Meat can spoil, is that possible too?”
“Absolutely! We have refrigerated wagons at all our telegraph offices and delivery points!”
“Well then… I’d like to send some meat. And I heard you can also write letters on behalf of someone, is that right?”
Although many had learned to write as academies sprang up all over Penris, there were still far more people who couldn’t read.
To assist them, there were employees at the telegraph office who handled dictation.
From somewhere in a corner, a man who had been dozing raised his hand.
“I can write it for you. It can’t be too lengthy… but since we currently have no customers, I can write as much as you wish.”
Having not written a single letter in a week, he felt he could manage this much easily. It felt too wrong to accept money without doing any work.
The middle-aged woman beamed brightly and requested the dictation. It wasn’t a long message.
“I’m Ricardo, working in the Perdium Forest of Monsters’ guard unit. With blue hair and height…”
The woman was Ricardo’s mother. After Ghislaine took over Penris, she had come over from Perdium with her husband to find work.
Due to the freedom of movement between Perdium and Penris, it was possible.
While the number of territory residents was soon becoming the strength of the territory, in Perdium, they were actively encouraging residents to migrate to Penris.
This was due to the difficulty of managing the sharply increased population after taking half of Digald.
The young man carefully wrote down all of Ricardo’s specifications while nodding.
“I will ensure it is delivered properly.”
“Thank you very much.”
“Don’t worry. Our principle is fast and safe delivery.”
The employees, now being greeted by their first customer, became excited and set into motion. The waiting soldier, looking at the items, immediately connected a small refrigerated wagon to a horse.
— Even if it’s just one customer, we give our all. If the customer wants it, we’ll run there no matter what.
This was the motto of Penris Arrow Delivery. All delivery soldiers were drilled with this education until it was stuck in their ears.
Failing to do so would result in a serious beating from the lord.
With their mental fortitude firmly in place, the soldiers moved the wagon, loaded with a letter and meat, with a grave expression.
“Let’s go!”
With the soldier’s shout, the horse moved forward vigorously.
The soldiers performing delivery wore blue vests to distinguish themselves from others.
On the back of their vests were large letters saying,
[Arrow Delivery]
Finally, the first operation of “Penris Arrow Delivery” had begun.
