In short, although I had audited a few classes in the alchemy elective and learned some necessary basics, I had never actually encountered this kind of in-depth knowledge, and it would be difficult to imitate it even if I wanted to.
"...So we came here without any preparation!" Annie exclaimed in shock, finally noticing this. "The round trip to that legendary hot spring must take at least a week! We can't possibly walk all of that! Isn't there any other way to get around?"
"You know what, there really is one."
I flipped through the information I had searched through my memory: "If we follow the existing map, we can find a forest with a herd of horses in less than half a day. As long as we can tame them, we can easily go anywhere in the mountains we want."
"Huh? There's a herd of horses here?"
Hikari looked at her questioningly: "But weren't there shops renting and selling fine horses at the foot of the mountain before? They even had large camel-like beasts and earth dragons suitable for carrying loads. Wouldn't those be acceptable?"
I shook my head: "Those are just ordinary horses tamed by the local families in the town. They lack strength and stamina. In the Abyss Mountains, they can only carry us to the area near the town, or at most to the halfway point of the mountain we are on now. They cannot reach the place we want to go, let alone return."
"As for camel-like beasts, they're just like ordinary horses, and they're too slow. Earth dragons are alright, but perhaps because there are rumors of ancient dragons in this mountain range, they only go so far before they give up, so they're not a good choice either."
This information was gathered from numerous inquiries; otherwise, making a hasty choice could lead to disaster. Imagine spending a fortune on a rental vehicle that goes crazy halfway through the journey, injuring itself, or running away with its belongings, leaving you with to pay compensation upon your return—that would be truly unlucky.
Some unscrupulous shops at the foot of the mountain even make extra money this way: they give extra training to the pets they rent out, and they pretend to kindly remind the renter before renting them out. But when something goes wrong and the renter comes back to cause trouble, they deny everything, insist that it was the renter's own fault, and demand a large amount of compensation for the lost pet.
Although they were shut down a few times during market rectification, they would reappear within a few years.
"If that's the case, do the horses we're looking for have something special about them?"
The little fool's brain worked surprisingly fast for once.
Before I could explain, the problem was solved on its own: "It's a Pegasus, isn't it? A winged spirit beast that only exists in the Abyss Mountains."
Somewhat surprised, I looked to the side and saw that it was Ai An, who had been silent the whole way, who had just spoken.
After having breakfast, the little guy had been quietly curled up to the side with his knees drawn up to his chest. I thought he was already asleep, but I didn't expect him to be awake and even interested in participating in the conversation.
Seeing me look at him, the boy quickly turned his face away, pretending to gaze at the distant edge of the grassland. After a moment's hesitation, he timidly added, "I just happened to have seen it in a book."
“What we’re looking for is indeed a celestial horse,” I agreed with his statement. “Compared to walking on mountainous terrain, a flying spirit beast would certainly be more convenient, wouldn’t it?”
The girls all showed obvious signs of anticipation.
"But, aren't Pegasus very difficult to tame?"
Ai An spoke again.
Although it was a boy's clear voice, it was very deep, as if it contained a kind of melancholy quality—perhaps a lingering effect of the previous events. Although the memory had vanished, some indelible shadows remained: "Can we really do it?"
“They are difficult to tame, but not impossible,” I said. “Moreover, Pegasus are generally quite good-tempered. As long as you are kind to them and lure them with their favorite food, you can get them to tame them.”
"What kind of food?" Hikari asked curiously.
"Carrots, or fruits with high water content."
"Just like a regular horse."
I quickly pulled the silly girl back from trying to burrow into the ground to find food. I was both amused and exasperated, and had to repeatedly assure her that everything was ready before she finally calmed down.
"Mr. Yumi knows a lot."
"No, I don't know a lot, it's just that I've encountered a lot of things, so I happen to know them."
Faced with such a remark, I found it difficult to respond and could only change the subject.
There's an old saying that's very true: knowledge is the accumulation of experience. If it weren't for my previous experience of being taken around by my mentor from time to time, I probably wouldn't have known anything about these matters.
So, besides the hot spring accommodation, was there anything else noteworthy about the time we were brought to the Abyss Mountains?
Just as we were peacefully enjoying our post-dinner rest, the hunting dog that had been playing in the distance suddenly appeared out of nowhere, jumped into my arms, grabbed my sleeve, and tried to drag me towards the woods. Judging from its anxious expression and its tail flailing wildly, I had no idea what had happened.
A cat, emerging late from the woods, stood in the shade and meowed in this direction.
The two little guys' reactions told me very directly that they had discovered something valuable and were waiting for my judgment, rather than warning of danger.
Somewhat curious, I gestured for the three to stay put, then got up and followed the hunting dog into the woods.
Since I didn't need to worry about the other three's speed, I followed the hunting dogs and moved quickly through the forest, soon arriving at the target location, which was the small river I had passed by while resting last night.
Considering the possibility of wild animal attacks and the issue of daily water supply, this place was not far from the temporary accommodation, although it was some distance away, so we arrived quickly. As we got closer, the scenery that had been hidden by trees was revealed.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
