Chapter 246: Starting a New Business (4)

"Ughhhh!"

Ascon lay sprawled on the ground, continuously being attacked by the horse.

Ignoring the thoroughly trampled Ascon, Ghislain turned to Lumina and said, "So? See how they actually listen when you speak sincerely?"

Lumina smiled brightly and nodded. 

"Yes, and now I understand what our race is meant to do."

She was no longer the elf who had once wallowed in idleness and lethargy.

Through exercise, she had regained a healthy body and mind, and now she had even come to understand her race's true mission.

Ghislain nodded, a satisfied smile on his face.

'Now this feels like a proper elf.'

If the elves could reclaim their original nature, they would be a tremendous help in the times of tribulation.

When that time came, the distinction between races would no longer matter. Protecting the world was the same as protecting nature. In his previous life, even the reclusive elves had formed alliances with humans to fight side by side.

"From now on, Lumina will be the representative of the elves. Everyone, follow her lead and focus on taming the horses for now. They need to be easy for others to ride. After that, we'll move on to the next stage of training."

"Ack!"

Ascon had no objections to not being the representative. Even if he did, he was too busy cursing as he got stomped on by the horse to voice any complaints.

Taking advantage of the moment when the horses had calmed down, the elves swarmed around Lumina.

"What? How did you do it?"

"Tell us your secret!"

"That wasn't just a calm horse, right?"

Lumina smiled and explained, "You just have to talk to them sincerely."

"..."

It was the exact same thing the crazy lord had said.

'Will they really understand if we just speak sincerely?'

Lumina, noticing the disbelief and doubt on their faces, continued, "I thought the same as you at first. But this is something natural for our race. It's the blessing the World Tree gave us. Trust yourself and try it. Speak to them with genuine sincerity."

Reassured by Lumina's conviction, the elves hesitantly began to move.

Since Lumina had succeeded, and the horses were calmer now, approaching them wasn't as intimidating.

Each elf attempted to connect with a horse in their own way, sincerely—or at least their version of it.

'I'll give you a carrot, so just behave for a bit.'

'At least pretend to cooperate.'

'I'll introduce you to a girlfriend.'

Snort.

Some offered absurd deals, but a few of the horses responded. They either sat down or rubbed their heads affectionately against the elves' cheeks.

"Wow, wow! Ohhh!"

Cries of amazement erupted from the elves who had successfully bonded with their horses.

Of course, none of them achieved the deep connection that Lumina had. Thanks to her efforts, however, the horses had found some stability, making communication possible.

Now that they had a basic idea of how to connect, it was only a matter of time before the elves' natural abilities flourished.

As more elves succeeded in bonding with their horses, Ghislain's vassals exchanged astonished glances.

"This... this is really happening..."

"It's not just a coincidence..."

"How does the Lord know these things..."

Even when Lumina had succeeded, they had doubted. They thought it might have been luck, that the horse had simply calmed down on its own.

But with so many others now succeeding, it was no coincidence. Just as Ghislain had said, the elves truly possessed the ability to communicate with nature.

Of course, not every elf had fully regained this ability yet. It would take more time for all of them to reach their potential.

But it was only a matter of time. The elves who had figured it out could teach and assist the others.

Ghislain smiled at Lumina and said, "Now there shouldn't be any problems with training the horses, right? Make sure even the regular soldiers can ride them easily."

"Of course! I'll do my best with everyone. You don't have to worry," Lumina replied, her smile soft and confident.

Having understood her race's purpose, Lumina no longer cursed or harbored negative thoughts. She was finally beginning to embody the elegance and dignity that elves were known for.

Ghislain nodded grandly and continued, "Good, then let's start taming the horses today. As quickly as possible. You know my style, right?"

"Yes! Leave it to me! I swear on the honor of the elves!" Lumina declared.

"Great, that's the spirit. Alright, bring in the rest of the horses."

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

Wild-eyed and frothing at the mouth, a horde of crazed horses came barreling in, dragging soldiers along as they screamed.

"Uh..."

Lumina's face turned pale as she watched the scene unfold.

She had started physical training immediately after arriving here, so she had no idea just how chaotic this territory was. Nor did she know how many horses the lord had brought back from his recent expedition.

As she stood frozen, staring at the surreal sight, Ghislain clapped her shoulder and smiled again.

"Let's get moving. Our territory's busier than you think."

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

The soldiers, still being dragged by the rampaging horses, cried out in desperation.

"Ahhh! Help us!"

"The horses are too wild!"

"We're sorryyyy!"

Watching the approaching chaos, Lumina muttered under her breath, almost involuntarily, "What the hell… what is this place..."

She instantly regretted speaking so confidently earlier. She couldn't hear the whispers of nature anymore, only the deafening clamor of impending disaster. It felt as if even nature itself had abandoned her.

The lord would never tolerate going back on what he had said. There was no turning back now.

Meanwhile, Ascon was still being trampled by the furious horse.

"Argh! Dammit! Stop hitting me, you crazy beast!"

The horse, having truly connected with Ascon's sincerity, showed no sign of stopping.

***

"Wow! The cavalry unit is growing so fast!"

Ghislain watched the elves and the tamed horses over the past few days, a deeply satisfied smile on his face.

Neigh!

The horses carried soldiers as they galloped around the training grounds. Even the riders looked completely at ease.

"Wow, am I really this good at riding?"

"The horse moves exactly how I want it to!"

"They weren't this tame before!"

The soldiers had seen firsthand how wild and aggressive the newly brought horses had been. But after a few "conversations" with the elves, the horses were as docile as lambs.

Even soldiers with basic riding skills could easily handle the horses. The animals responded perfectly to their commands.

While they weren't quite at the level of seasoned cavalrymen, wielding weapons and maneuvering on horseback posed no issues. With such obedient horses, the number of cavalry soldiers grew rapidly.

"The elves are slimming down nicely too!"

There was no need for special training to reduce the elves' muscle bulk. Wrestling with the wild horses naturally took care of that.

Seeing how smoothly everything was progressing, Ghislain decided to push them even harder.

"This is a perfect chance to teach all the soldiers how to ride."

With the horses being so cooperative, their riding skills were improving rapidly. Within a few days, the soldiers were capable of functioning as beginner-level cavalry.

Ghislain was determined to train every infantryman in the estate to ride a horse.

"If every soldier can ride, we'll have an entire army of cavalry? That's too good to pass up."

The very thought thrilled him. Leading a force capable of adapting to any terrain or situation was every commander's dream.

The vassals, observing this, looked both amazed and bewildered.

"I can't believe we're raising cavalry this quickly..."

"At this rate, they'll be ready for both transport and combat in no time."

"So this is why he brought the elves. Who knew they'd be so good at taming horses?"

With the growing number of trained riders, it was finally time to launch the delivery business.

Stables, relay stations, and logistics warehouses were quickly established in villages and towns. Soldiers who had mastered riding were assigned to these new facilities.

The soldiers, however, grumbled under their breath.

"So basically, we're supposed to be law enforcement, delivery workers, cavalry during war, infantry when needed, and still train on top of that..."

Learning to ride was great and all, but the workload was overwhelming. The soldiers, who had been used to eating well, sleeping well, and just training, felt like their world was collapsing.

Refusing the extra duties wasn't an option, though. The additional pay was too good to turn down. In fact, their families were urging them to take the job, leaving the soldiers with no choice but to work through their tears.

Though not perfect, the basic preparations were complete. Ghislain gathered his vassals to announce the official launch of the Fenris Arrow Delivery business.

"For the grand opening, we'll offer free service to the people of the estate for one month!" Ghislain declared, raising his fist confidently.

The vassals, now accustomed to their eccentric lord's antics, simply went along with it and began the business as planned.

A major publicity campaign was launched, but the reaction from the people of the estate was lukewarm at best.

"Arrow delivery…? What is that?"

"They say it sends letters or goods quickly and safely?"

"How is that any different from hiring a merchant guild or mercenaries?"

The concept was so unfamiliar that people didn't even consider trying it out.

For an entire week, not a single person used the service. The vassals cautiously voiced their concerns.

"Taming the horses and growing the cavalry is great, but… do you really think this business will succeed?"

"The response has been pretty underwhelming so far..."

"Why not just use it for transporting goods? At least then it won't be a loss."

Despite his vassals' suggestions, Ghislain shook his head.

"People don't understand yet how convenient this is. No need to worry. Keep expanding."

He was utterly confident. In his previous life, this was the kind of service that, once tried, became indispensable. Even if only a few people used it initially, word of mouth would spread rapidly.

Since the lord was adamant, the vassals, as usual, decided to go along with it.

'It's costing us a lot, but… we can afford these losses now.'

'Just raising cavalry this quickly is already a huge win.'

'Not everything the lord does can succeed, right? If this fails, maybe he'll start listening to us.'

Having gone through so much already, they had developed a remarkable ability to let things slide.

One day, after weeks of inactivity, a middle-aged woman finally walked into one of the nearly deserted relay stations.

"Welcome!"

A young man, recently hired by the relay station, jumped to his feet and greeted her with enthusiasm. The high pay and a week of doing absolutely nothing had made this job a dream come true. Naturally, he didn't want to lose it.

The woman hesitated for a moment before cautiously asking, "Do you really deliver letters and goods right away?"

"Absolutely! Fenris Arrow Delivery guarantees the fastest and safest service! Whenever you need it, even if it's just one request! And right now, we're offering it for free!"

"What if it's perishable, like meat? Can you handle that?"

"Of course! All our relay stations, logistics warehouses, and delivery hubs are equipped with refrigerated carts!"

"Then… I'd like to send some meat. And I heard you can also help write letters—can you?"

While literacy had improved thanks to the growing number of academies in Fenris, a large portion of the population still couldn't read or write. To address this, relay stations employed staff who could assist with letter-writing.

A man who had been dozing in a corner raised his hand and said, "I can write it for you. I can't do anything too long, but… since there's no one else here, I can write as much as you need."

He hadn't written a single letter in the past week, so he felt it was the least he could do. Sitting idle while collecting pay weighed on his conscience.

The middle-aged woman smiled brightly and requested his help. Her letter wasn't very long.

"It's to Ricardo, who works as a guard in the Forest of Demonic Beasts. He has blue hair, and he's about…"

The woman was Ricardo's mother. After Ghislain took control of Fenris, she and her husband had moved from Perdium in search of work.

There was freedom of movement between Fenris and Perdium, making such relocations possible.

In this era, the size of a lord's population was directly tied to their strength. Interestingly, Perdium actively encouraged its people to migrate to Fenris. This was because, after Ghislain took over half of Digald, Perdium was struggling to accommodate its rapidly increasing population.

The young man meticulously wrote down Ricardo's details as the woman dictated, nodding the whole time.

"I'll make sure it's delivered safely."

"Please take good care of it."

"Don't worry. Fast and safe delivery is the cornerstone of Fenris Arrow Delivery."

The staff, thrilled to finally have a customer, sprang into action. A soldier on standby checked the cargo and quickly hitched a small refrigerated cart to a horse.

— Even for a single customer, we give it our all. If the customer needs it, we'll go anywhere—even to the ends of the earth.

This was the motto of Fenris Arrow Delivery, drilled into every delivery soldier's head. It was reinforced with a clear threat: failure to uphold this standard would result in a painful reckoning from the lord himself.

Fully prepared and mentally fortified, the soldier loaded the letter and the meat into the cart. With a determined expression, he shouted, "Let's go!"

At his command, the horse began to move with steady strides.

Delivery soldiers wore blue vests to distinguish them from other personnel.

On the back of each vest, large letters clearly read:

[Arrow Delivery]

At last, the first delivery of Fenris Arrow Delivery was underway.

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