Though the horse was bound, it struggled so violently that the ground shook.
The nearby horses trembled as though frightened by its rampage.
THUD, THUD, THUD.
SNORT!!
It was muscular but gaunt, as though it had not eaten or drunk properly for at least several days.
“When I give the signal, remove its shackles.”
“But……!”
“It is all right.”
Leaving the concerns of the merchants and trainers behind, Sola stood before the struggling black horse.
‘Solacius learned all sorts of things in the Fairy Forest.’
Tae Gwang-hwi decided to make use of Solacius’s memories.
Solacius had learned many things in the Fairy Forest, including how to handle animals.
[Easy now. You are safe.]
His mouth opened.
[Do not fear. I will not harm you.]
An unfamiliar language rather than the continental Common Tongue emerged from his lips.
It was the Fairy tongue. But not merely the Fairy tongue. The Fairy words carrying the solemnity of nature soothed the struggling horse.
The Elven words that came from his mouth sounded like a song.
[Rest now, child of the wild.]
Sola’s Fairy words, carrying nature’s mystery, continued.
After a while.
Snort……
The black horse that had been rampaging became docile as though it had never done so.
“Good heavens…….”
The merchants and trainer watched with their mouths hanging open.
“Remove its shackles now.”
Regardless of how they saw him, Sola ordered them to remove the shackles.
CLANK, CLICK!
Freed from its shackles, the black horse neither rampaged nor ran away.
“Yes, yes. Good. It looks as though you have been hungry for a long time, so bring it food and water.”
It only busied itself rubbing its face against Sola’s body and acting affectionately.
“I will take this one.”
Sola spoke with a a satisfied expression as he stroked the horse’s mane.
“I should give you a name, should I not?”
[Would you like a name?]
He alternated between the Common Tongue and the Fairy tongue.
Snort.
The horse responded as though it understood Sola’s words.
“Your name is Manhattan Cafe. What do you think of Manhattan Cafe?”
The name Manhattan Cafe that he gave it came from a game on Earth that he had enjoyed before the Great War. It was the name of a character in a game that personified horses.
Neigh?!
The black horse, Manhattan Cafe, furrowed its equine face and tilted its head.
If it had been human, its expression would have said, “What is that supposed to be, you fucking nerd?”
“It is good that you like it.”
Regardless, Sola seemed to have already settled on the name.
***
The day after obtaining the black horse Manhattan Cafe.
The hastily assembled Second Subjugation Force departed from Oski.
Sola traveled with the Kalt Merchant Company, which was joining the campaign as war merchants.
“Do you mean magical artifacts that generate cold?”
Head Merchant Kalt looked up at Solacius, who was mounted on the large and rough black horse.
“Yes. Offensive magical artifacts would be fine as well.”
“I will look into it.”
Because he could guess the reason, he did not ask. In exchange for his exceptional martial prowess, Knight Roan Shalut had the side effect of being extremely sensitive to heat.
Even now, he wore the lightest clothing among the entire subjugation force.
“I have a request to make.”
“A request? Please give an order. We will first search among the goods we brought with us. Dominic!”
It was a perfect opportunity to help their benefactor for once. Kalt called Dominic, and Dominic, who had been listening beside them, began moving as though he had been waiting.
‘I should have mentioned it while I was in the city. Why did I not think of it then, only to remember now?’
Watching the merchants bustle about, Sola clicked his tongue.
Then he turned his gaze toward the front of the procession.
The mercenaries, adventurers, and wandering knights who had volunteered for the Second Subjugation Force rode on horseback. There was also a knight from Oski to command and manage them.
Because it aimed to be a small elite unit, the subjugation force numbered only fifty people, excluding the merchants and drivers.
They were all said to be people with names known in the area, but honestly, Sola did not know them.
There were no witches, mages, or priests. They were rare classes to begin with, and they did not move unless ordered by the Queen, the Royal Witch Council, or the Mage Tower. They preferred staying shut away in their own workshops, making them even bigger homebodies than Tae Gwang-hwi.
‘They do not think highly of me.’
When Sola looked at the members of the subjugation force, a few of them openly glared at him, perhaps sensing his gaze.
Come to think of it, he had not even properly introduced himself to them yet.
He had only exchanged a brief greeting with the mid-ranking knight from Oski leading the subjugation force.
The mid-ranking knight serving as commander did not involve Solacius in anything. That only made the relationship between Sola and the other members more distant.
He did not know whether it was due to the special treatment from the Kalt Merchant Company and the Mayor of Oski, his status as an exiled imperial royal, or perhaps both.
“We found them, Sir.”
As he engaged in something like a staring contest with the subjugation force at the front, Kalt’s voice sounded beside him.
Sola stopped the staring contest and turned his gaze.
“For now, these two are all we have. When we stop at the next city, we will try to obtain more.”
“Head Merchant, should we place an order with the witch workshop that trades with our merchant company?”
“Once we reach a city, do so immediately, Dominic.”
Leaving Kalt and Dominic’s conversation behind, Sola examined the magical artifacts they handed him.
Both were forearm-length rods with mana stones the size of fingernails embedded in their tips.
“How are these used?”
“Yes, Sir. Remove the sealing strip and throw it hard in the desired direction.”
‘It looks like a stick grenade.’
After hearing Kalt’s explanation, Sola examined the seals on the magical artifacts.
“Luhan is in the north, so it is cool even in summer. Therefore, it is difficult to obtain magical artifacts that cool the heat unless they are custom-made.”
Kalt continued explaining the magical artifacts beside him.
“And this one?”
“That is a combat magical artifact. It is called Ice Boom. Once thrown, it can instantly freeze enemies in that direction. Its effect improves the colder the place where it is used.”
‘It really is a grenade?’
Once again, he found the magic of medieval fantasy fresh. Of course, unlike on Earth, every such magical artifact was extremely expensive.
“Is it single-use?”
“That is correct. It is a very wasteful magical artifact because it detonates an entire mana stone at once. It is rarely used except in a real emergency.”
It was expensive and single-use.
‘It is better than nothing. I can use the Sun Sword, set one off in an open area, and rest inside it afterward.’
After hearing the explanation, Sola placed the two Ice Booms in his dimensional inventory.
***
The Oski subjugation force’s journey continued smoothly.
There were no bandits in sight. It seemed that word of the Second Subjugation Force had spread widely.
Though it was small, every member was a known expert. Above all, the wandering knight of exiled imperial royal origin who had recently made a great name for himself was in the procession.
Perhaps because of that, the leisurely and tedious journey continued through the second day.
Both the subjugation force members and Sola thought that they would have time to relax until they joined the Church. So everyone lowered their guard and unwound.
“Hm?”
Sitting on a wagon roof and looking at the scenery, Solacius focused his eyes when he saw something ahead.
Mana entered his eyes, allowing him to see something far away clearly.
“A witch?”
He could tell just from the clothing. A wide-brimmed pointed hat worn by witches, a black robe shaped like a skirt, and even a broom in one hand.
If that was not a witch, what else could it be?
“Pardon? A witch?”
At Solacius’s words, Dominic, who was seated beside the driver, took out a telescope.
“Huh? It really is. But it is a young witch. Is she an apprentice witch?”
Sounds of commotion came from the front of the subjugation force, where they too appeared to have spotted the witch blocking the road.
“There do not appear to be any insignias…… She does not seem to belong to the Royal Witch Council.”
Listening to Dominic, Sola carefully observed the young witch.
She was a girl who seemed to have only just entered puberty. She appeared to be no older than thirteen, perhaps fifteen at most.
The witch hat obscured her face, but her visible hair and eyes were gray.
‘This is my first time seeing a spellcaster.’
It was the first spellcaster he had seen since being summoned into this other world. There were spellcasters in Oski as well, but they did not leave their workshops unless there was something special to do. They were so proud that they would not listen even to the Mayor of the city.
“She is clearly an apprentice witch. Who could her master be? A master would not leave such a young witch to wander alone.”
“Maybe she ran away from home.”
Sola watched the witch with shining eyes.
“Either way, we must not deal with her carelessly. There will be a master witch behind that apprentice witch. And…….”
“And?”
“Her clothing is no ordinary kind. The same goes for her broom. She is certainly the disciple of a high-ranking witch.”
The distinction between mages and witches was simple. A man who could use magic was called a mage, while a woman who could use magic was called a witch.
Unlike knights, the methods of gathering and manifesting mana differed depending on male and female bodies when it came to magic.
For that reason, masters and disciples were strictly separated by gender as well. If a master and disciple were of different genders, the inheritance of a Circle was impossible.
Mages accepted only young boys as disciples, and witches accepted only young girls as disciples. Even if they discovered a child with great talent, they did not take them in if the child was of the opposite gender. Instead, they introduced the child to an acquaintance who was a mage or witch.
“Which school do you belong to, Witch? We are a subjugation force assembled in Oski to stop the necromancer’s rampage!”
While Sola recalled the setting for witches and mages in this other world, the front of the subjugation force and the young witch faced each other at a distance of about twenty meters.
“I will stop that necromancer, so you may return!”
A voice that seemed somewhat mature for her build was heard.
“Disband your subjugation force! I will not say it twice!”
Of course, even though it seemed mature, the voice still retained the traces of a young girl.
“We cannot do that. This is a subjugation force formed by order of Her Majesty the Queen, before it was formed by the Mayor of Oski. We can disband only with an order from Her Majesty.”
Then Kalt, who was in charge of supplies and served as a war merchant for the subjugation force, stepped forward and shouted.
‘Clumsy.’
To see the witch more closely, Solacius stood directly behind Kalt.
The witch reflected in his eyes was clearly an apprentice witch with little experience. Even the way she stood was awkward, and her hand holding the broom trembled slightly, as though she were nervous.
“T-This is my final warning! If you do not disband at once, I…… I-I will kill you!”
Her manner of speaking also made her tension obvious.
“What should we do?”
A mercenary at the front of the subjugation force turned his head and asked.
“That is what I would like to know. If it were bandits or the Imperial Army, we could kill them and continue, but…….”
The mid-ranking knight from Oski serving as commander furrowed his brow.
“She does not seem willing to listen.”
She was obviously an immature witch without experience in the world.
“Could we not simply subdue her, tie her up, and continue? Even if she is a witch, she is only such a young apprentice…….”
“No. The fact that she was waiting here means she has prepared something. We may be the ones caught off guard.”
The mid-ranking knight shook his head at the mercenary and wandering knight’s suggestion.
“We could suffer casualties before even reaching the necromancer, much less joining the Church. Besides, that accent…….”
He trailed off in the middle of speaking.
Then he glanced at someone nearby.
“…….”
“…….”
The awkward standoff continued for around three minutes. The apprentice witch opened her eyes wide and did not move a single step, while the subjugation force rolled their troubled eyes and searched for the witch’s master, who might be nearby.
“Come to think of it, we have not heard your name yet. Which school’s witch are you? State your name and affiliation.”
Unable to watch any longer, Sola finally stepped forward. He rode Manhattan Cafe, the black horse, to the very front.
“……!”
A larger frame and more threatening mane than the other horses. A blond, golden-eyed knight calmly mounted atop that horse.
“Y-You…… What are you!”
The young apprentice witch seemed overwhelmed by Solacius’s presence and shrank back more than before.
“Witch, state your name and background. Then I will introduce myself as well.”
The knight standing before the witch was different not only in his handsome appearance, but in his manner of speech and the air he exuded.
“…….”
The apprentice witch looked at Solacius with flustered eyes. In particular, she studied his golden eyes and blond hair.
“Sir Roan, please show restraint. The apprentice witch’s accent carries the same High Imperial tone as yours.”
At that moment, Kalt cautiously advised Sola from beside him.