The horses were neighing as Sylvester, and the group entered the small enclosure where the horses were kept. The horses looked at them with interest, at the new faces.
"These three are the trained ones, and that biggest one is under training. Two of the trained ones are mares, while one is a stallion. That unruly under-training one is also a stallion." The stable master informed them.
Sir Dolorem was already checking the three horses to see if they were good. He wondered if the last carriage was left because it was the worst. Won't the horses be the same? The worst ones would be left.
But, he was surprised. "These three are as good as any horse."
"That's because they just returned. A group of preachers had taken them to the nearby town."
"I want that one! The biggest!" Felix quickly pointed toward the under-training white horse.
But Stable Master was not so sure if he wanted to give the horse away. "Ugh, It'd be better if you don't take him. Well, it's very unruly, and… and it has tried to mate with the mares 69 times. It's as if the horse is always in heat."
"Max, you can take that one. I'm taking this stallion." Felix quickly changed his mind. "I'd rather be with a smaller stallion than a horny one."
Gabriel chortled. "Pfft… just like you."
"Why did you not geld it in time? He's an adult now." Sylvester asked the man.
"We got it much later, as its previous owner died falling from its back. Something must have happened to it. That's why it's acting like this."
Sylvester walked towards the horse while talking to Miraj secretly. "Try to talk to that horse and scare it to be obedient to me."
"Aye aye, Maxy." Miraj jumped away and landed on the horse's back.
It alerted the horny beast, as it could feel something was on its back but not see it. However, it had undoubtedly calmed down once Miraj started to speak near its ears.
Miraj had no idea if he could talk with animals, as he had never seen anything other than birds in his long life. So he gave it his best, also making his voice sound low-pitched to scare better.
"Oye Oye… are you courting death? Look at that man, strong and handsome, my son. Obey him, stop being horny, or he will chop you and eat you." Miraj sounded like a typical bad guy.
Sylvester saw the interaction happening with interest. Miraj had not said anything in a different language, so he had zero hopes something would happen.
But he was wrong; something did happen.
"Nehehe…!"
Bam!—Sylvester caught Miraj in his arms as the cat was thrown away.
Sylvester sighed and walked to stand in front of the horse and look it in the eye. He was feeling emotions from this beast. It was a mixture of fear, lust, excitement, and rage. 'Hmm, why are its eyes a little dilated?'
"What have you been feeding it?" Sylvester asked.
"We don't feed them anything. We just let them go out in the open and graze on the fields. We have walled the whole land, so we don't worry for them much."
Considering stable master's words, Sylvester thought of a possibility. "Go and check the grounds. There must be something it ate that's doing this."
"Grass is making him mate with 69 mares?"
"It does not necessarily have to be grass. Send someone to look for anything peculiar growing in your land. Take this horse with you, and maybe it will guide you to it. Meanwhile, stable master, let's talk about the carriage." Sylvester didn't care much about the horses. They could take them from the guilds, too, for a price. But the carriage was the main thing, as they shall be sleeping in it, using it to transport people.
As they returned to the warehouse where the carriage was, they felt it appear even uglier.
"Are you sure this is it? We're supposed to catch criminals, not sell vegetables. This carriage is mainly used for transporting goods." Sylvester uttered in a scolding tone.
"Ugh… Priest… this is all we have. All other carriages have been taken by clergy members. Usually, anytime the carriages are returned, they get taken away immediately. If you can wait a day or two, then maybe I can get you a good stagecoach."
Sylvester sighed and looked at the ugly thing on wheels. "Time is something I don't have, sadly. Do you have spare parts? I wish to make some repairs to it before I take it."
The Stablemaster nodded quickly. That would be a win-win for him anyway. "Of course, we have many broken carriages in the other warehouse. Use whatever you want from it. I shall go and call the carpenter and blacksmith."
However, Sylvester rolled up his sleeves and stopped the man. "No need; I shall make the changes myself. Just bring the tools."
"Max, what are you planning?" Felix inquired interestedly.
Sylvester instead picked up an ax from nearby and handed it to the man. "I need you to rip off the reinsman seats. I shall not allow our asses to suffer."
…
They only had one day to make all the necessary changes and improvements. So all the boys and Sir Dolorem, who was a jack of all trades, got to work.
Sylvester had all the plans in his mind. They were little things that could make significant changes. First of all, they needed more storage. They could not just throw everything in the back. For example, they needed a dry place to keep their tents, utensils, spices, and sugar.
At the same time, a few major improvements he made to the floor of the carriage. First, he replaced the rotting wood. After that, his focus was on the wheels. Initially, they were too big and thick, and more prone to being stuck in the mud.
So he entirely changed them by using smaller wheels, however, these were reinforced with steel around the circumference. This gave them a lot of durability.
After all the structural things, he focused on comfort. For this, he made a simple spring frame with metal for the base of the reinsman seat. Then added some leather cushioning to the seat. And at last, for better visibility at night, added side frames for hanging lamps.
From the morning to evening, all the way until the sun wasn't out of their sight, they worked on the carriage and made it worthy of being the seat of two God's Favored.
"Let's hope you know what you are doing," Markus muttered as he wiped off his sweat.
Sylvester scoffed, wondering if he might have just revolutionized the carriages and stagecoaches by introducing a spring, as he had not seen the thing until now.
"I'm tired now, Priest Sylvester." The stable master was also there, as Sylvester didn't let the man leave and made him work.
"I found it!" However, just then, a man came running. His clothes and face looked mudded, but he had a smile.
"The horse was eating this all this time. I ate too, and it made my… my tool erect!"
Sylvester walked forward and took the plant the man had brought. He sniffed it first and then took a small bite. 'Wait, isn't this… Ginseng?'
"Let me try." The stable master also tried to take one piece.
But Sylvester stopped him. "No! It could be poisonous!"
At the same time, he spoke with Miraj secretly. "Boy, go and store all the roots this man found in your belly! But remember, don't eat it, or you will become like that horse."
"Let the church do their investigation on this before you eat it. Ah, look outside. It's late at night. We should leave now." Sylvester took away all the samples the man had brought.
'The land belongs to the church. They will do nothing with it anyway.' He thought and decided to sell these roots later outside to some noble as a cure for erectile dysfunction. It may not always work, but even as hope, it was worth a lot.
But the problem still persisted. "So, is that horse considered fine then? Because this root was causing the behavioral disorder? Sir Dolorem, can you check it?"
"Of course."
As Sir Dolorem went to check the horse, Felix and Gabriel went to tie it to the carriage with two horses. While Marcus got onto the third.
Eventually, Sir Dolorem approved the stallion. "It's not the best, but it's trained enough to ride on it. You can likely handle it, Priest Sylvester."
"Great! It's time to head home then. Sir Dolorem, get on the carriage." Sylvester jumped on top of his horse and rode out of the stables.
As they slowly left, he noticed Miraj coming back, running. He jumped over and sat down in front of Sylvester.
However, Sylvester noticed something. "Chonky, you ate it, didn't you? I told you not to."
"I didn't, you didn't see me eat it."
"Yeah? Then why are you panting? And show me your eyes."
Miraj glared back, wanting to prove his innocence.
Sadly, there was none. "Dilated eyes, you ate it. You're not sleeping on the bed tonight."
"Nooooo…!" Miraj screamed towards the sky with his paws high, cursing his luck because it really sucked.
He knocked on Miraj's fluffy head and made him sit down silently. Then they rode back to Pope's Peninsula, tied their horses, and parked the carriage in the stables.
Sylvester ordered them around as he and Felix held the authority this time. "We shall head out tomorrow morning. The destination is not decided yet. I will have to analyze all the information tonight first.
"Don't be late. Felix, sleep early. You don't wake up on time otherwise. I will see you in the morning."
With that, he and Sir Dolorem left for their residences. As it was in the same direction, they spoke while strolling.
"You should just call me Sylvester when we're not in official places. Adding Priest behind my name is strange." He suggested to the man who considered him a son.
Sir Dolorem chuckled. "Get used to it, Priest Sylvester, soon you will be called Archpriest, then Lord as a Bishop, Your Grace as an Arch Bishop, and then His Eminence as a Cardinal. These words are meant to instill grandeur in the minds of the masses. They are necessary."
Sylvester sighed as he reached Bright Mother's residence. "I do hope we're not so grand that the masses can't even feel one with us—as that would only give more ground to Anti-Light Sect. Well, good night, Sir Dolorem."
As he left, Sir Dolorem watched Sylvester in wonder and nodded in affirmation to himself. 'Yes, he's the one—if not him, then nobody can.'
