After that flirty little moment with Jessica the Elven beauty, I returned to where the Barbar Mercenary Party had gathered.
「Gaia. There’s some kind of fuss going on.」
「Huh? What now?」
It wasn’t exactly hostile, but people had formed a circle, grumbling with clear dissatisfaction.
At the center of the circle stood Uncle Athos.
He must’ve just come back from reporting to our employer, the Vaffancrow Empire.
Uncle Athos wore a weary expression as he tried to calm everyone down.
「I told you, it couldn’t be helped…」
「But I wanted to ride a horse!」
「There weren’t enough horses for everyone! We only captured three!」
「Those horses looked tasty! Man, I really wanted to eat one…」
「Horses aren’t food!」
What the heck…?
They’re arguing about the captured horses?
I pushed into the crowd and called out to Uncle Athos.
「Uncle Athos! What’s going on?」
「Oh! Gaia! Listen to this!」
He seemed relieved to see me, like he’d found an ally, and immediately launched into an explanation.
The fuss was about the horses we’d captured from the enemy.
Uncle Athos had just returned from reporting our victory to the Vaffancrow Empire’s main camp.
And then—
「We’d like those fine warhorses. You’ll hand them over, of course?」
That was the not-so-subtle pressure he’d received from some bigwig in the Empire.
「I see… That’d be hard to refuse. But you didn’t just hand them over for free, right?」
「Of course not! I traded them for two bags of silver coins, and a donkey!」 New chapters come out on g.com first.
「A donkey?」
「This guy right here!」
Uncle Athos pointed.
Standing where he indicated was a donkey.
It was harnessed to a small cart.
「I get it now… That’s why everyone’s complaining…」
I’d gotten the gist of things.
The Barbar lot were all griping because they’d wanted horses instead.
The crowd around us started raising their voices again.
「Horses are better, no question!」
「Yeah, yeah!」
「Donkeys don’t even look tasty…」
「Hey! Don’t eat it! Seriously, don’t eat it!」
Uncle Athos looked genuinely worried the donkey might end up on someone’s plate.
…They really would eat a donkey, huh.
Anyway, I understood the situation now.
The whole Barbar gang was just grumbling that they’d rather have had horses.
「I actually think it was a decent trade.」
The one who’d been going on about wanting to eat horse meat, Rosso, chieftain of the Great Lizard Tribe, snapped at my comment.
「Gaia! Why!?」
「Rosso. Just listen. Horses eat a lot. Keeping them fed is a pain.」
「Huh? Can’t we just let them eat grass or something?」
That’s what most people think.
But it’s not that simple.
「That won’t cut it. Horses need beans, hay, good feed to perform. Feed costs alone can bankrupt you.」
「「「「「Whaaa!?」」」」」
Judging by their shocked reactions, the Barbar gang hadn’t known that.
Horses are high-maintenance.
「Donkeys can get by on less. They’re small, but strong, easier to care for and hard workers.」
Donkeys are low-cost to maintain.
And they’re agile, so they’re useful even in mountainous or forested terrain.
They’ve been used by armies throughout history.
Napoleon used them during the Alpine crossing, and they were still in use in places like the Afghanistan War.
「Wow, that so?」
Even Uncle Athos seemed surprised and impressed.
「Also, look! This cart can carry the wounded. We won’t have to leave anyone behind.」
I tried appealing to their sense of camaraderie.
The so-called 「bonds of the battlefield.」
The Barbar Mercenary Party seemed genuinely moved, some even looked teary-eyed.
A warm mood settled over the group.
「Eh~ but you know… there’s not much meat on it.」
And Rosso went and ruined the mood.
「Rosso! I told you, donkeys are not food!」
「Ehhh~」
「Don’t eat it! Seriously, don’t eat it!」
That’s enough! Let’s just move on to the next battlefield already!