Chapter 173: Loved By Horses And More

POV Eliza

We met the next morning outside the city gates, heading east. We had fixed up our gear the day before—and in my case, added to it. Since I hadn’t had any gear with me at all when we first met, I needed most of it new. I had replaced my clothes and similar items over the past few weeks, but I had to buy everything else from scratch. This included everything needed to survive in the wilderness. Among these were items for hunting or fishing, making a fire, or cooking utensils, a wool blanket, and so on. Overall, each of us had equipment to sleep under the open sky, prepare food, or make simple herbal potions.

At the gates, we met our contact named Hattar. He was a man in his 30s with a lean but muscular build. He was about 1.80 meters tall, had black hair and eyes, and sun-tanned skin. His hair was shaved on the sides, and only in the middle of his head did he wear his hair in a long, oiled ponytail. His upper body was bare, and he wore nothing else but a pair of black leather pants. Aside from his hair and eyebrows, he had no body hair whatsoever.

Standing beside him was a very stately horse. Its withers were almost exactly the same height as its rider’s, and it had the same black fur color. There was only a small white spot on its forehead. What was striking was the absence of a saddle and reins. Instead, it carried only two saddlebags. The horse stood calmly beside the man, nibbling at the sparse grass on the ground. Next to it stood four more horses of various colors and breeds. The only thing they had in common was that they were all about the same size. They had saddles and bridles.

He stood a little way off the road as the first travelers passed him, heading east toward the next town. When he noticed us, he looked up and nodded at us.

“Good morning, Hattar. Here we are.” Duke

Hattar nodded at us but didn’t say a word at first. He had spoken very little even during our first meeting, so I wasn’t surprised. He beckoned us over and had us stand side by side off the road. Then he walked over to the first horse and placed his hand on its back. It was a slender red mare. The horse then slowly walked toward us and sniffed each of us. Finally, it stopped in front of me and nudged me. I placed my hand on its muzzle and stroked it. As I did, it rubbed its head against me. It obviously liked me.

“Good. She will be your companion on our journey.” Hattar

Interesting. The horses chose their own riders? My theory was confirmed, because next, Hattar placed his hand on the second horse’s back and the procedure repeated itself. This time, it stopped in front of Bishop and nudged him. With that, the second of us had his horse, a stallion. The third horse, also a stallion and just as brown as the second, chose Betty.

Then something happened that none of us would have expected. The last horse, also a mare, this time black, went to Duke, shook her head snorting, and then came to me. She nudged me and nibbled at my coat.

“Huh? What’s going on now? None of the horses like me? I feel like I’m being bullied.” Duke

“Why do I have two horses with me now?” Eliza

“You’re very popular, Leo. What I find more interesting is that both mares are with you.” Betty

“Give me a moment.” Hattar

Hattar went over to the second mare and placed a hand on her back again. Then he stood silently beside her. At first, the mare shook her head several times and was visibly agitated. Eventually she calmed down, but she was still shaking her head.

“She doesn’t want to, and I’m not going to force her.” Hattar

“Hahaha, the ladies really don’t like you, Duke.” Bishop

“Oh, shut up.” Duke, pouting

“Sorry, but that’s too funny. As funny as it is, we’re facing a problem now. Without a horse for Duke, we can’t get out of here and can’t complete our mission.” Bishop

In the meantime, I stood there feeling pretty helpless between two horses, both vying for my attention and affection. No matter what solution we came up with, Duke needed a horse and I didn’t need two. I found it amazing anyway how freely and intelligently the horses reacted. Hattar could interact with them in some way without using words. Did he possess a skill that worked like telepathy? I didn’t understand, however, why both horses found me so likable. I wasn’t complaining, though; I just found it irritating.

“I’ll take care of it.” Hattar

Hattar walked up to the two horses standing beside me and placed a hand on each of their backs at the same time. He stood like that for a few minutes, then took his hands down. The red mare nipped briefly at my coat and then trotted over to Duke. The second mare watched the first one go and seemed somehow self-satisfied. I was surely just imagining that.

“See, Duke, you did manage to snag a woman after all.” Bishop

“Very funny. Forgive me, but I’ll laugh later.” Duke

“We’re setting off. It’ll take us just under three weeks.” Hattar

Hattar didn’t seem to have much of a sense of humor, for he interrupted our little spat without a flicker of emotion. He was very gentle with the horses, but with us he was cool and aloof. He seemed to draw a clear line between humans and animals, though in his case the horses were clearly number one. In any case, we mounted our respective horses. Hattar swung effortlessly onto his and pressed his knees lightly into its side. His horse then trotted off toward the east, and the others followed instantly, without a single command from us being necessary. Impressive.

At the start of the journey, Betty steered her horse next to Hattar and tried to get him to talk. I was too far away to make out anything, but I could tell that no conversation was taking place at first.

We were just taking our first break when something unexpected happened. Betty looked up at the sky and seemed briefly distracted. A short time later, I saw a bird approaching. It appeared to be a falcon or something similar. It flew straight toward Betty and landed on her outstretched arm. The horses grew slightly restless but quickly calmed down again. Hattar looked intently at the falcon and then nodded. Duke and Bishop didn’t react at all, so they were apparently used to the sight. I wondered what the falcon was all about and why I had never seen it before.

The falcon sat calmly on Betty’s arm and devoured a piece of jerky that was offered to it. I heard Betty talking quietly to him. From the snippets of conversation I caught, she was telling him about the events of the past few days. Was he her pet or something like that? In any case, this scene had the effect of making Hattar willing to talk to Betty afterward. I didn’t understand a word of the conversation, though, partly because my ears were hidden under the hood.

That evening, we camped off to the side of the road, away from the other travelers. Over a small campfire, we made ourselves some hot tea and a light stew to go with it. Hattar did the cooking, but the taste was mediocre. He just threw some dried meat, salt, and a few root vegetables into the pot and cooked it. We had soft bread and the tea to go with it.

“No offense, Hattar, but I’m cooking tomorrow. I brought some herbs along just for that. It should taste a lot better than this.” Betty

“Do whatever you want.” Hattar

“All right. But I don’t want to have to cook alone. Duke and Bishop are terrible cooks—I don’t want to put us through that. Leo, you can cook too. Should we take turns?” Betty

“Sure, if my meager skills are good enough for you.” Eliza

“Definitely. I can’t wait to eat something you’ve cooked yourself.” Betty

“You’re exaggerating. I’m not that good. So far, I’ve only helped others cook. Other than that, I can’t remember ever having cooked. I only know from you guys that I have the skill.” Eliza

“Don’t worry, I’ll eat anything you cook.” Betty

“You’re exaggerating.” Eliza

“Do her a favor and just go along with it. She won’t back down, and this will make her happy.” Duke

“Exactly. Look at her. The anticipation in her eyes says it all.” Bishop

I looked at Betty and her eyes were literally beaming. I sighed inwardly and then nodded. Her smile was beautiful and lived up to her nickname, Charming Betty. I felt my heart skip a beat. She had cast a spell on me, and that became especially clear to me now for the first time. Before, it had been uncertain and just a feeling. Now it was more than that, but we’d only known each other for a few weeks. It must also have something to do with the fact that I was a cat lover and had always preferred them to dogs.

Crazy. If someone had told me just a few days ago that I’d fall for a cat lady, I would have just laughed or shaken my head in confusion. Regardless of the fact that I was now in another person’s body in a different world, what were the odds that I would be found and saved by, among others, a woman who would enchant me?

But where should we go from here? There were definitely signs that Betty wasn’t rejecting me, but was that enough? I wasn’t completely inexperienced, but you really couldn’t call it much. I’d only gained at least some experience to distract myself from my unrequited love. But I could never tell my best friend how I felt. But that was in the past. I was in a different world now and would never see her again. The thought of it made me sad.

“Leo, what’s wrong? Did something happen? You look unhappy.” Betty

“Hmm, no, it’s nothing. I just remembered something I lost and can never get back.” Eliza

“You remembered something? From your past? Are your memories coming back?” Betty

Oh, right. I suffered from memory loss. At least everything that happened before our first encounter. And the time leading up to the Minotaur was still hazy. How could I best explain that I had memories from another life? Was I even allowed to explain it, or would I be declared crazy? I’d had this problem before and had kept it to myself back then. But I realized that I felt uncomfortable continuing to lie to Betty. Still, for now, it was probably for the best. I decided to go on the offensive and put off dealing with the problem.

“Maybe, but nothing specific. I remembered an old, unfulfilled love, and that made me feel melancholy.” Eliza

“What on earth are you talking about now?” Betty, confused

“Your smile just now reminded me of it. She was just as charming as you.” Eliza

“Whoa! Leo! How can you just say something like that out of the blue! My heart can’t take it.” Betty, bright red in the face

“But it’s true. Your smile is just very charming. Your nickname isn’t for nothing.” Eliza

Betty was speechless and gasped loudly. That happened extremely rarely, and she didn’t get her voice back for a while. I smiled quietly to myself, but I knew I would have to have a more in-depth conversation with her soon.