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Vol 02 Chapter 60: Cavalry IV

The king of the Equus Tribe has three wives.

They are referred to as the first queen, the second queen, and the third queen.

The second queen gave birth to Mutzio. The third queen gave birth to the first son. The first queen gave birth to the third son.

The first queen comes from a more prestigious family and has a higher status than the second queen, and the third queen comes from a lower family and has a lower status than the second queen. Essentially, the lower the number on the queen’s title the higher her status.

This time, the one who fell ill was the third queen, the one who gave birth to the eldest son.

「Hmm…」

Julia examined the third queen through palpation, then she checked her throat and confirmed her pulse.

Finally, she checked her soul with magic.

「Can you cure her?」

King Equus waited for Julia’s diagnosis anxiously.

Julia nodded.

「Yes, I should be able to. I will proceed with the treatment immediately. …I would like to ask everyone to leave the room now. It’s a secret ritual.」

◇

Upon hearing Julia’s words, Almus, King Equus, and the others left the yurt. After everyone left, Julia began speaking to the third queen.

「You are not ill. This is a curse. And a very clever one at that. It doesn’t have an immediate effect but is a troublesome type of curse that gradually deteriorates the body of the target. Do you have anything that could serve as a medium for the curse?」

「A curse…? Something that could be used as a medium for a curse…」

The third queen desperately tried to remember. However, she couldn’t think of anything that could serve as a medium for the curse.

「Before you fell ill… About two or three months prior, did you receive something that you still keep with you? Something you use regularly?」

「I can’t think of anything off the top of my head…」

「Did you receive something from the first or second queen around that time?」

Julia questioned the third queen for more information.

「This pendant was a gift from the second queen. It was for the New Year celebration. It’s made with a garnet from King Domorgal’s Country.」

The pendant the third queen was referring to sparkled with a red gemstone. Julia took the pendant, sniffed it, and examined it closely.

「This is not the medium. Do you have anything else? Did you receive any celebratory gifts from the first queen?」

「Maybe this pillow?」

Julia took the pillow, smelled it, and grimaced.

「It smells.」

「I’m sorry…」

「No, not that smell. I mean the smell of the curse. Can I cut this open? I’ll sew it back together afterward.」

The pillow was quite expensive, and cutting it open would cause some damage, even if it was sewn back together later

「That’s fine.」

「Understood.」

Julia took out a knife and carefully sliced the pillow open. The wool inside began spilling out from the cut. She reached into the wool and pulled out the source of the smell: a centipede carcass.

「Kodoku1, huh… a common curse. But it seems like its effects are being controlled thanks to the use of several different drugs. The smell is cleverly concealed too. I should probably cast a curse reversal on this. Well, at most only the sorcerer who cast the curse will die, the person who commissioned the curse won’t be affected by it.」

Julia took the centipede carcass and put it into a bag. She then retrieved several herbs from her medicine box and began to concoct some medicine.

She formed the prepared medicine into balls and then wrapped them in preservation grass.

「Take thirty of these, one a day. They have a purifying effect. I believe this will help you recover. After this, just eat properly and get enough sleep. You should be able to regain your strength soon. That’s all. As for dealing with the origin of the curse… I will leave it to you.」

The issue of succession is a problem for any royal family, and Julia’s family wasn’t any better.

Interfering with this could lead to complications later, so it’s best to leave it to the third queen for now.

Julia decided to not involve herself further.

◇

「And that’s what happened.」

「Sigh… succession struggles are tough in any country.」

「Really. It’s a problem not to have an heir like in our country, but having too many like the Equus Tribe is also an issue.」

Over wine, Julia and I discussed the situation.

In this private setting, we speak casually, without the need for formalities.

It seems that the queens’ personalities are more of a problem than the Equus tribe having too many heirs.

I hope Julia and Tetra don’t end like them. I can’t help but feel that this isn’t someone else’s problem.

「But normally, wouldn’t they target the eldest son, Methil? It would have been easier to harm him when he was a baby.」

「That would have been tough. The security around the prince would be much tighter.」

I see. It was a desperate measure, huh?

However, it’s premature to assume that only the third queen was cursed. There might be plans to curse other relatives too, or they might be cursed already but haven’t shown symptoms yet.

「Plus, the status of women seems to be higher in the Equus Tribe compared to King Rosais’ Country. The mothers of the princes seem to have a lot of influence. Maybe that’s why they attacked the third queen. It’s easier to maneuver against the prince if his supporter is eliminated.」

「True. Lower risk, lower return is safer than high risk, high return.」

I understand the feeling, as I’m also the cautious type. But isn’t that strategy too long-term?

Oh, maybe they did it like this because a strong curse would be too noticeable. Curses are tricky. They’re surprisingly ill-suited for assassination.

「What will Mutzio do?」

「Oh, the one you were with last night?」

「You shouldn’t say it like that, you’re not wrong, but it’s easy to misunderstand.」

We did stay up all night DRINKING.

「Speaking of which, he promised to give you a new horse tomorrow, right? The negotiations with King Equus will begin after that.」

「Yeah, that’s right. The distribution of the tyrant dragon scales and fangs is also tomorrow.」

I’d like to wrap up the negotiations quickly. According to the reports I received via hawk from King Rosais’, there’s no significant movement around the border at the moment, but I’m still worried.

「I think you should choose a white horse.」

「White… hmm, I’d prefer black or red. They look cooler.」

Besides, I’m not a prince. I’m a lord. White doesn’t suit me.

「Well, I should head back and get some sleep.」

「You could stay over, you know?」

「Don’t be silly; that would cause a huge problem. We can’t start our own succession conflict now; that’s a matter for later.」

I pulled Julia closer and pressed my lips to hers.

「See you tomorrow.」

「Yes.」

◇

「Let’s start with the distribution of the tyrant dragon. You don’t mind splitting the spoils in half, do you?」

「Yes, that’s fine. The problem is the dragon metal and the reverse scale. How should we divide them? We can’t divide them in half.」

Dragon metal is a special metal found in the heart of a dragon. When mixed with Damascus steel through a special process, it becomes Dragon Damascus steel. However, only the desert people can forge it. It’s useless otherwise.

The reverse scale is a single scale that grows in the opposite direction to the others. It’s softer than the other scales, so it’s a common weak point of all the dragons.

Its beautiful color makes it valuable as an ornament.

「I’m about to get married soon, so I’d prefer to have the reverse scale. Is that okay?」

Mutzio pointed to the reverse scale while saying that.

I’m also about to get married… but I didn’t give anything to Tetra for our wedding, so it wouldn’t be right to give something to Julia now.

「Understood. I’ll take the dragon metal.」

Ainz-san will be able to either sell it or process it for me.

Honestly, I don’t care much about the tyrant dragon loot. Its teeth, claws, and scales are as hard as iron, but they’re difficult to process.

They’re perfect for armor, though.

However acquiring enough materials for mass production is impossible, so tyrant dragon materials aren’t viable for widespread military use. Instead of that, I’m interested in the horses.

I need a horse that can replace that traitor.

「Don’t be so eager. Come with me. I’ll let you choose.」

「Sorry. As for the payment…」

「Don’t worry about it. It was originally our fault for being late to discover the tyrant dragon.」

Mutzio led me to the stables.

「Any specific requests?」

「Well, I’d prefer it to be red or black. Also, I want a brave one. The last one was tame but was a coward.」

Considering I use black powder in battle, a horse that runs away is out of the question.

「Brave, huh? Those tend to be a little too spirited, is that okay?」

「I’ll decide after I see them. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll choose another.」

As we talked, we arrived at the stable.

「I’ve gathered only the best horses here. The four on the left are uncastrated stallions for breeding. The seven on the right are castrated. Feel free to choose.」

I started by looking at the uncastrated horses.

They seem spirited, and it looks like they wouldn’t run away when faced with a threat. But…

「I’ll pass. I doubt I can ride them.」

Or rather, they don’t look like they’d let me ride them.

I’m not bad at riding, but I’m not great either. I don’t want to fall off and die.

Next, I looked at the seven castrated horses on the right.

They seem calm and fast. Not bad, but…

「Hmm, something isn’t clicking. Are there any others?」

「There are some in the stable across. I’ve prepared some there too.」

I headed towards the stable Mutzio pointed to.

「These are mares. But they’re inferior to the ones we just saw.」

I see. They definitely seem a step down from the famous horses over there.

But what I need isn’t a fast horse. What I need is a horse that won’t run away when it matters most.

「Can I make a loud noise to test them?」

「Go ahead.」

I took out a firecracker. I brought them to use against wolves in case they attack us.

I threw it on the ground with all my might. The loud noise echoed, startling Mutzio enough to make him almost lose his balance.

At the same time, the horses neighed and started to panic. It took a few minutes for them to calm down.

「Hey, if you were going to make such a loud noise, you should have told me first. Anyway, did you get your result?」

「Yeah, I’ll choose this one. It’s the only one who didn’t get scared.」

I pointed to a red horse.

The color suits my taste as well.

「That one, huh… I’d advise against it. It has black spots, which legend says bring evil spirits, its mother died after its birth, and it was the sole survivor of a recent stable fire.」

「Then why did you keep it here? Didn’t you gather these horses for me to choose from?」

「No, that one was just for laughs. You get it, right?」

I don’t get it. What are you, a high schooler?

Well, he’s about the same age as me, so if we were in Japan he would be a high schooler, but still.

「Well, I have already decided on it, so I’ll keep this one. Besides, that it’s just superstition, right? You could also say it has a strong will to survive.」

It seems a bit unfair to judge it by its appearance.

By the way, why have they been raising it if it’s considered unlucky? They could have just gotten rid of it.

「Its parents were famous horses. It has quite high abilities itself. It was being raised for breeding. Well, if you want it, it’s yours. But no complaints if you die, okay?」

If I die, I won’t be able to complain.

「Do you want to go for a test ride?」

「That’s a good idea. It’d be problematic if we’re not compatible.」

「That’s wise. With horses it’s like with women, you won’t know if you’re compatible or not until you ride them. This one is a female horse so….」

I hate to break it to you, but that joke wasn’t funny at all.

◇

「Not bad, not bad at all.」

The ominous horse I chose ran quite well. It behaved well, even with the unfamiliar saddle and stirrups.

It seems like we’re a good match.

「What should I name you? Well, we can decide that later. For now, ‘Nameless’ will do. ‘Ominous Horse’ sounds a bit harsh. Huh? Why are you stopping?」

Suddenly, Nameless halted and refused to move.

Looking closely ahead, I saw a black mass moving through the thick grass.

That’s… a wolf, isn’t it?

Why am I encountering a wolf on my first ride, in broad daylight, near the capital of the Equus Tribe?

You really have some terrible luck, don’t you?

「Well, it’s fine. I have some firecrackers.」

As the wolves closed in, I took the firecracker out of my bag while keeping an eye on them.

「Here, go away.」

I threw the firecracker, and the wolves scattered, frightened. Some of them cowered, unable to move.

They look kind of cute like this.

「Let’s hurry and get out of here. Don’t worry about it. It might be my bad luck, not yours.」

After that incident, we safely made our way back to the Equus Tribe’s capital.

Now, it’s time for the diplomatic negotiations.

TN: “Kodoku” is an esoteric ritual found in Japanese folklore, and is related to the Chinese Gu magic. The ritual consists of putting several poisonous insects in a jar and letting them consume one another until only one survives, the surviving insect, having absorbed the life force and malice of the other insects, will be then used as poison or vessel to curse other people.