The Story of a Middle-Aged Knight Who Tried to Live a Relaxed Slow Life in the Countryside, Only for a Duke's Daughter Whose Engagement Was Broken Off to Move in With Him

In Search of Fodder

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*****

Once we had both finished drinking down the 'taste of life', I remembered something and said,

「Oh right, your horse has been tied up in the manor's stable.」

「Ah! That's right! How is Aisha doing?」

「She's behaving. I wiped down her wet body. Though, since there wasn't a horse in this manor to begin with, we're going to need to have some fodder prepared for her.」

「T-Thank you for the trouble...」

「That's a fine horse. You rode straight here from the royal capital, right? She looks surprisingly lively considering that.」

「We came in fits and starts... matching Aisha's pace.」

「Do you like horses, Cistilia?」

Considering she managed to ride such a long distance while monitoring the horse's condition, it was skill worthy of a knight order dispatch rider.

「Yes, I've been with Aisha since she was a foal. We often went out on long rides together.」

「Not to say anything bad about it, but that's a rare hobby for a noble young lady.」

「Um, it gives me a reason to go outside. Father is very strict.」

「Ah, I see.」

Being the daughter of a great noble, she probably couldn't even go out freely.

「My maid Maryse is originally the daughter of a horse dealer. I learned all about how to care for horses from Maryse.」

「That's a rare story, a duke's daughter having a maid who's the daughter of a horse merchant.」

「Maryse originally came to the mansion together with Aisha to act as her caretaker. While serving there to learn manners, we found out we got along well, and she officially became my maid.」

So the maid was essentially a bonus attached to the horse.

For nobles, a fine horse is an irreplaceable asset.

Hiring its caretaker along with it wasn't an entirely unheard-of story.

「Um, can I go check on Aisha?」

「Of course.」

I stepped out through the manor's entrance and headed toward the stable on the right.

Though called a stable, it was just a small structure meant to tie up a single horse.

Right now, a white horse stood quietly inside it.

「Aisha!」

Cistilia broke into a run.

「Oh, Aisha! Thank goodness, you look well... I'm sorry for pushing you so hard, okay?」

*Snort*, Aisha shook her head.

Cistilia gently patted her neck.

Just then, someone called out from the slope in front of the manor.

「Oh, Magistrate. Perfect timing.」

A farmer in his early thirties was walking up the slope. He was Granny's grandson, sporting an affable, round face that looked just like hers.

「Flap. What is it?」

「About that fodder my granny was asked to provide—we happened to run out of it. As for the morning portion, well, see, I've gathered it here.」

Flap said that and lifted the wooden tub he was holding.

「Huh? Aren't there horses in the village too?」

「Yeah, we've got an aging horse. Unfortunately, no foals were born, so we'll have to catch a horse dealer and buy one before long. Well, we do have cows, though. We aren't having any trouble pulling the plows.」

In this village, horses aren't meant for riding.

They are a labor force for tilling the fields.

Compared to Aisha, who was welcomed into a ducal household complete with a caretaker, it was worlds apart for horses of the same kind.

「I see... What do you do for fodder for that old horse?」

「It just grazes on nearby grass on its own. Since it's only one head, we manage with that, so we didn't stockpile much fodder. We do have some, but looking at the long term, it probably won't be enough.」

「That's a pickle.」

I glanced over at Aisha.

「Ho, so that's the horse Granny was talking about. Now that's a cute horse.」

Cistilia was diligently brushing Aisha's mane with a brush left in the stable.

「So, is that young lady the Magistrate's 'special someone'? My, the Magistrate's got game.」

Flap whispered that, sticking up his little finger.

「No, it's not like that.」

That old woman, she talked right away.

Judging by this, it must already be spreading all over the village.

In a small, peaceful village, the residents are starved for gossip.

If it concerns the romantic affairs of the newly appointed magistrate, it would make prime gossip material.

「It'd be pretty harsh to tell a cute horse like that to just eat whatever grass is around here.」

「Fine horses are also important assets for nobles. If you don't take proper care of them, you'll regret it later.」

「If that's the case, it's a bit far, but there's a pasture near Iwanarisawa. It'd be best to head over there and let it eat some fresh grass.」

「Iwanarisawa? I've never been there.」

「Nothin' to it, just head up the stream and you'll be there in no time. There's a waterfall flowing through the rocks, and the sound echoes all around. It sounds just like the rocks are rumbling, you see. That's why it's called Iwanarisawa.」

「Huh. So I just need to head toward where the sound is coming from?」

「Go up the stream and you'll find a fork in the path. From there, just head toward where the sound is coming from and you'll find it right away.」

「Got it. Thanks, Flap.」

「Don't mention it. It'd be a pity to send the horse out on an empty stomach, so you'd do well to give it this fodder first.」

I took the fodder bucket and all from Flap and approached Cistilia and Aisha.

「Did you hear that?」

「Yes, we just need to go to the pasture, right?」

「Yeah. Let's go together.」

I placed the fodder in front of Aisha.

When I turned around, Cistilia had frozen up.

「D-Does that mean we'll be riding double?!」

「Nah, since it's a path through the forest, it'd be tough to ride on horseback. Let's walk and lead Aisha along.」

「I-I see... But I'm glad we can let Aisha eat fresh grass. Sorry to put you out.」

「Don't worry about it. I like horses too.」

Irregular knights rarely had the chance to ride horses, but I frequently took care of regular knights' horses.

Being a knight myself, however minimal, I had also undergone cavalry training.

「Oh, Magistrate. Granny said that if you're heading to Iwanarisawa, she'll make you a boxed lunch, so you should stop by.」

「Is that so? That's a big help.」

「Well, I'll be off then. I'll let Granny know.」

Once Aisha finished eating her fodder, I returned the empty tub to Flap.

Flap took it and headed back the way he came.

「Alright, once it's noon, let's stop by Granny's place and head over to Iwanarisawa.」

「Yes! I'm looking forward to it!」

After receiving the boxed lunch from Granny, Cistilia and I headed out to the stream just as Flap had instructed.

The stream flowed down from between the mountains.

Passing through the village fields, the stream entered the forest.

Well, entering the forest—more like it was emerging from the forest, actually.

Fitted with a bit, Aisha followed Cistilia, who was walking on foot, stepping firmly through the forest.

When you hear 'noble's fine horse', you tend to picture a frail animal that has only ever walked on nice roads, but Aisha's build and gait were magnificent.

Cistilia had said she bypassed the village to avoid being seen, so she must have traveled through the forest off the main highway as well.

Without proper training for both rider and mount, it would be difficult to advance through a poor-visibility forest in the middle of the rain without losing one's bearings.

(Cistilia might actually be a better rider than me.)

Just in case, I kept a lookout for monsters.

I brought my sword hung at my waist as well.

Cistilia also had a small bow for self-defense slung across her back.

Apparently, this young lady even practiced mounted archery.

「It's a beautiful river.」

Cistilia said that while peering into the stream.

The river was probably about ten paces wide.

The water was crystal clear, making the large stones on the riverbed clearly visible.

Even at its deepest points, it probably only reached about the waist.

Fish could also be seen in the water.

「Yeah. It's delicious even if you drink it straight. The village farmland uses this water too, which is why the crops in this village are so good.」

Since the royal capital has so many people, the river inevitably gets dirty.

Well water also varied in quality depending on the location. Naturally, the good wells were exclusively monopolized by the nobility.

「It seems melted snow seeps out from that mountain.」

「Even though it's already early spring.」

「According to the village's knowledgeable old-timer, it takes time for the melted snow to seep into the ground and flow out. The old man said the land is blessed, making the water delicious.」

Cistilia, Aisha, and I traced our way upstream, occasionally quenching our thirst with the river water.

「Whoops, is this the fork?」

The upper reaches of the stream split into two branches, with water flowing in from each.

「They said we'd be able to hear the sound of a waterfall, but...」

「Ah, I can hear it! A roaring sound.」

I drew closer to where Cistilia was and strained my ears.

「I can definitely hear it. Rather than the sound of a waterfall, it sounds kind of like some sort of growl.」

「It's true that the rocks are ringing, isn't it?」

Following the narrowing stream for a while longer,

「Is that the waterfall?」

「There are rock walls surrounding the waterfall, aren't there?」

Just as Cistilia said.

Water plunging from a height that made you look up collected in hollows formed all over the rock face and then fell further down into lower hollows.

Because the distances between the hollows varied, the pitch of the waterfall's sound varied with the distance, and echoing off the rock walls, it seemed to play a sort of chord.

It was a unique resonance akin to the pipe organs in the royal capital.

「It's quite a sight to behold, but where is the pasture?」

「Isn't it back beyond there?」

I looked in the direction Cistilia was pointing.

Beyond the path along the rock wall, deep within the forest trees, there seemed to be an open space.

Navigating the somewhat treacherous footing caused by the waterfall's spray, we soon emerged into that open space.

Beyond where the forest trees ended, a gentle slope spread out.

It was a field entirely covered in low grass and flowers.

Cistilia and I, having traveled through the gloomy forest until now, squinted at the sunlit field.

「Wow... It's beautiful!」

Cistilia said with her eyes sparkling.

The flower-blooming field was reasonably sized.

It sloped downward from right to left, and beyond that, it seemed to drop off into a cliff.

On the right side, a sheer rock wall towered. Water trickling down along the rock wall formed a small pond.

From the cliff visible on the left, we could catch a glimpse of Ascot Village beyond the forest's tree canopy.

I hadn't noticed, but the journey up until now seemed to have been a slight incline. Since we were heading from the village toward the mountains, I suppose that was only natural.

「Eating lunch here feels like it'll be delightful.」

Granny must have anticipated that far and prepared the lunch for us. As expected of someone who boasts she hasn't forgotten a young girl's heart.

While Cistilia and I were captivated by the scenery of the pasture, Aisha lowered her neck to the ground and sniffed at the lushly growing grass.

I had been wondering what to do if it wasn't to her liking, but Aisha immediately started munching away on the pasture grass.

「Good. Looks like she likes it.」

「Is that so?」

「She's not a picky eater by any means, but her reaction differs between things she likes and things she doesn't.」

Cistilia squatted down right there, plucked a bit of the grass, and popped it casually into her mouth.

「...Yup, I think this is a taste Aisha likes.」

「Y-You can tell something like that?」

I also pinched a blade of grass and tried eating it.

「...Just grass.」

「It's not delicious for humans. But it doesn't have any harsh aftertastes. The water must be good, after all.」

「This really is a great spot.

Now then, shouldn't we have our meal too? Let's eat our lunch over at that rock area.」

「Yes!」

Leaving Aisha behind on the spot, Cistilia and I sat side by side on a rocky outcrop near the pond.

It was a flat rock about the size of a bench.

I scooped up water from the pond using the two wooden cups Granny had given us and handed one to Cistilia.

I unwrapped the cloth enveloping the lunchbox.

Opening the lunchbox woven from bamboo grass leaves, inside were rice balls, pickles, and meat dumplings.

「It looks delicious.」

「Actually, Granny's food is delicious. Or rather, the food made by the women of that village is mostly delicious. There's no other entertainment, after all.」

「I-I must make sure I don't lose to them...」

Cistilia glared at the lunchbox with a serious expression.

.........

「Um, are there... no knives or forks?」

「Ah, so that's it.」

I had forgotten because she took care of her own horse and even understood the taste of the pasture grass, but Cistilia was a ducal daughter.

「You eat this with your bare hands. Here.」

I grabbed a perfectly round rice ball from the lunchbox with my bare hand and took a huge bite out of it.

The well-salted rice ball tasted exceptionally delicious, probably because of the walk we had just made.

「Mff, goud」

「B-Bare hands...? Um...」

Cistilia timidly reached out her hand toward a rice ball.

Bringing it to her mouth with nervous hesitation, she managed to open her small mouth wide with effort and took a bite.

「It'sh sho delishish」

「Right?」

「...*Gulp*. The salt soaks right into my body.」

「Since she's an old-timer, the salt flavor is strong, but it's just right after moving your body.」

I said that as I pinched a piece of pickle with my fingertips and tossed it into my mouth.

I chewed it with a crunchy, crisp sound.

The natural sweetness of the turnips and carrots harmonized with the distinctive sourness of the pickles in a magnificent balance.

The more I ate, the more my appetite grew.

As expected of Granny, she does fine work.

Beside me, Cistilia also put a piece of pickle into her mouth.

A modest crunching sound.

「These pickles are also delicious.」

「The meat dumplings are great too.」

While gazing at the magnificent scenery, Cistilia and I silently relished Granny's boxed lunch for a while.

「Come to think of it, why aren't there any forest trees here?」

Cistilia asked.

「They probably cut down the trees to make it a pasture. If you don't maintain it properly, things other than pasture grass will start growing right away.」

If trees grow too dense, dark spots form, making it easier for monsters to spawn.

Even in the forest we walked through to get here, there were signs that the village woodcutters had thinned out the trees.

「In that case, I'd think they could make it a bit closer to the village.」

「Now that you mention it, you're right.

...Whoops, you've got a grain of rice on your cheek.」

I removed the grain of rice from Cistilia's cheek.

「Eep, how embarrassing...」

「Don't worry about it.」

I casually tossed the grain of rice on my finger into my mouth.

「W-W-W-What...?!」

Cistilia flushed bright red and recoiled.

「What's... Oh, my bad. I just went ahead and ate it.」

「'Just went ahead' isn't an excuse! I was startled!」

「I kinda started feeling like I was taking care of a kid.」

「Th-That's against my will!」

Cistilia turned her face away, her cheeks still red.

Right then, Cistilia froze in place.

「Hm? What is it?」

「What's that over in the shade...」

Cistilia stood up from the rocky area and jogged toward the rock wall.

She squatted down in front of a small flower blooming at the foot of the rock wall.

I also set down my boxed lunch and went after Cistilia.

「What about this flower?」

The flower Cistilia was gazing at so intently had a fragile appearance.

Multiple small, pale purple flowers hung from the stem like bell-flowers.

「I think it's a 'Moon-Waiting'...」

Cistilia said.

「'Moon-Waiting', is that the one that becomes medicinal herb?」

「Yes. It's supposed to be extremely rare to find, but...」

「There are several blooming here.」

Several of the same flowers grew in a cluster at the base of the rock wall.

They all seemed to be blooming in cool, shaded spots.

「Might I take one back with me?」

「Huh? Can you cultivate medicinal herbs, Cistilia?」

「No, I'm not well-versed in it. But I was thinking if there's some way I could cultivate it.」

「This area is the village's common land, so there shouldn't be any problem.」

If the villagers were cultivating it, it would be a problem, but the 'Moon-Waiting' here looked nothing if not naturally grown.

Cistilia carefully dug up a single stalk of moon-waiting grass, roots and all.

She placed the 'Moon-Waiting', along with its soil, into the fodder tub that she had carried on Aisha's back.

Cistilia and I plucked some pasture grass and put that into the fodder tub as well.

Gathering too much wouldn't keep well, and this place wasn't all that far from the village. Every two or three days, we could just bring Aisha along as part of a walk.

(...Though, who knows how long Cistilia will be staying here.)

Even if I delayed my report, the Duke would surely have people out searching for Cistilia.

「Hehehe... That was fun.」

On the way back, as Cistilia smiled and said that, I quietly averted my gaze from her.

(Don't get too invested.)

It took quite some time to swallow down the bitter lump stuck in my throat.

*****

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