So It Begins! Horse-Style Life Consultation
“What a coincidence meeting in a place like this.”
Malong gracefully dismounted his horse with a warm grin, exhibiting his usual gallantry. Not a single “hupty-doo” escaped his lips.
“Were you the ones pursued by those bandits?”
In response to Malong’s casual inquiry, Rafina intended to wear her customary saintly smile and display perfect manners, but…
“Huh?”
She failed. For an instant, all she perceived was white, and Malong’s face vanished from her sight. Then, dizziness overcame her, and…
“Whoa there.”
Immediately afterward, she heard a voice very close. Lifting her gaze again, she found Malong’s face still obscured in an ivory mist. It dawned on her, the peculiar circumstances—Malong had caught her.
“…Huh?”
I’ve already escaped the clutches of death, so why is my heart still pounding? While Rafina pondered her thoughts, Malong gently set her down, propping her against one of the trees.
“You’ve got to be more careful, alright? You’re quite an important lady, Miss Rafina.”
“Y-You’re right. Th— Ah!”
Hurrying to stand up, Rafina once again found herself grounded.
“Hey now, you can’t be moving around so much when you’re—”
“Before that, there’s Mia! She’s back there. In the shrubs.”
Malong nodded while Rafina remained flustered. “Oh, I see. So, you were with Miss Mia.” Malong pushed through the underbrush and extracted Mia from beneath the overgrowth.
“She hit her head on a branch while we were evading those bandits.”
“Hm? Did she fall off?” Suddenly, it seemed as if a chill had swept over Malong’s face.
“No, she hit her head on that branch over there, and then she lost consciousness, so I lowered her to the ground.”
“On a branch? Oh. This?” Malong looked up at the tree and, with a short hop, seized the branch. Yielding to Malong’s weight, the branch sagged, surprisingly elastic. Afterward, Malong approached Mia, still reclining on the forest floor, and examined the shape of her head.
“Will Mia be alright? I don’t know what I’d do if she was seriously injured…”
Rafina gazed into Mia’s face, tears welling in her eyes. And then…
“Uuunnnngh… Mushrooms… Butter… So tasty…”
She listened to Mia’s dreamlike mutterings, observing as Mia’s mouth gently opened in tandem with her words. Rafina and Malong exchanged glances.
“Well, I suppose she’s alright. She doesn’t appear to be injured, and since she didn’t fall off the horse when that branch struck her, she must not have been moving very fast… or maybe the branch wasn’t that sturdy. Regardless, I believe it’s just the shock that rendered her unconscious, but…” Malong’s expression suddenly turned serious. “I’ve repeatedly warned her not to look away while riding. Even with bandits on their tail, she didn’t bother bringing any guards. I wager she got carried away trying to bring a smile to your face. I better have a stern talk with her later.”
“Ah! Wait! None of this is Mia’s fault. It’s all mine for asking her to take me riding in the first place.”
Malong narrowed his eyes in disbelief. “Really? Mia has a tendency to get carried away. If someone needs a scolding, it’s best to administer it. It’ll ultimately benefit her.”
“Not at all! Mia did everything she could to help me! She’s entirely blameless!” Rafina glared at Malong, as if she were Mia’s defender.
“Hm… There’s something a bit different about you today, isn’t there?” Curiosity filled Malong’s eyes as he observed Rafina.
“Eh?” Caught off guard, Rafina could only blink in response.
“Well, maybe it’s not just today. Perhaps you’ve been this way for a while now. But I always thought you were the calm and collected type, with that perpetual smile on your face.”
Rafina only realized it herself after it was pointed out to her.
He’s right. I was getting worked up. Losing my composure and letting my emotions take over really isn’t like me.
“In any case, you’ve got to be cautious when riding. Otherwise, it’s risky. Let your guard down for a moment, and you’ll regret it. So, if you don’t want me scolding your good friend, you better do it for me, okay, miss?”
Chastised rather sternly, Rafina offered an incredibly meek yet firm nod.
I must caution Mia. For her own well-being.
That resolute determination held steady in her heart. And just like that, Mia’s admonisher transitioned from Malong to Rafina.
“Uuungh… Nnh?”
With remarkably well-timed precision, Mia furrowed her brow and emitted a groan.
“Well, I think you’re better off like this anyway.” Malong’s expression softened.
Rafina, met with his gentle smile, responded with a questioning gaze. “Just what does that mean?”
“It means exactly that. Getting angry while trying to protect your friends, standing up for them even when it doesn’t seem logical—it’s natural. I’ve always felt like you were holding too much of that back. There’s no need to push yourself so far, is there?”
“I haven’t been… pushing myself.” Rafina puffed out her cheeks. Why hadn’t she ever felt like this before? The answer was simple—before, she didn’t have such friends. There was no one she could effortlessly protect, as she had just done moments earlier. In that moment, fear suddenly bloomed in Rafina’s heart, a twinge of guilt that seemed oddly similar to the elation that had filled her chest. After facing danger with a friend and confronting an overwhelming peril, she had felt content, and a part of her perceived that moment as a lapse in virtue.
As the Holy Lady of Belluga, shouldn’t I avoid acting like this? Shouldn’t I approach these situations with more composure?
“Y’know, when there’s a horse in front of you, you’ve gotta ride it. It’s just like that.”
Rafina, on the verge of descending into the abyss of despair, was brought back to her senses by Malong’s words. Although she didn’t quite comprehend what was happening, for some reason, he was talking about horses!
“Um?”
Unable to follow Malong’s train of thought, Rafina held her head in question. Unaware, Malong continued.
“Horses are great! They accept us humans just the way we are. Plus, with a horse carrying you across this vast earth, the tiny troubles and worries of us people feel like nothing at all. I’m sure that horses worry about us, and that’s something Miss Mia has come to understand. She comprehends the way horses feel about things, and I bet that’s why she invited you out riding, Miss Rafina.”
“Right…” Rafina gave a vague nod before changing the subject. “By the way, Malong, did you come here to apprehend those bandits?”
“I did. The Forest Clan was already in the area, so once we heard about the gang, we thought it’d be a good chance to go and capture them, but… they’re quite the group. We’ve been struggling.” Malong laughed and looked back at his horse. “Still, it’s not like we came out of it empty-handed.”
Only then did Rafina notice what—or rather, who—was riding on top.
