The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

Chapter 246: Starting a New Venture (4)

“Ughhhk!”

Ascon lay sprawled on the ground, repeatedly attacked by the horse.

Ignoring Ascon, who was gleefully being trampled, Ghislain turned to Lumina and spoke.

“How about that? When you speak with sincerity, they really listen, don’t they?”

Lumina nodded with a bright smile.

“Yes, and now I understand what our race must do.”

She was no longer the elf who had succumbed to idleness and apathy.

Through exercise, she regained a healthy body and mind and even realized the mission of her race.

Ghislain smiled in satisfaction and nodded.

‘Now she finally seems a bit like a true elf.’

If the elves regained their true selves, they would be a great help in the times of chaos.

When that time came, racial divisions would lose their meaning.

Protecting the world was the same as protecting nature, so in his previous life, even the reclusive elves had allied with humans to fight together.

“From now on, Lumina is the representative of the elves. Everyone should follow her lead and focus on taming the horses for now. Make them easy for others to ride. After that, we’ll move on to the next training.”

“Argh!”

Since Ascon had no desire to be a representative, he didn’t resist much. Even if he had complaints, he was too busy cursing while being trampled by the horse to voice them.

Taking advantage of the horses calming down, the elves rushed toward Lumina.

“What’s this? How did you do it?”

“Teach us the method too!”

“These weren’t docile horses, were they?”

Lumina smiled and explained the method to the elves.

“You just have to speak with sincerity.”

“……”

It was the same thing the crazy lord had said.

‘Could the horses really understand if we speak sincerely?’

Reading the disbelief and doubt on the elves’ faces, Lumina continued.

“I thought the same as you at first. But for our race, this is truly easy. It’s the blessing that the World Tree gave us. Trust yourself and try it. Speak with genuine sincerity.”

Lumina’s confident words made the elves move hesitantly, though still doubtful.

Since Lumina had succeeded and the horses had calmed down, approaching them wasn’t difficult.

The elves tried to communicate with the horses in their own ways, sincerely as best they could.

‘I’ll give you a carrot. Just stay calm a little longer.’

‘Please, at least pretend to cooperate.’

‘I’ll introduce you to a girlfriend.’

Snort.

Though some made nonsensical promises, a few horses began to connect with the elves, sitting down or nuzzling their heads against the elves’ cheeks.

“Wow, wow! Ohhh!”

Cries of astonishment erupted from the elves who managed to bond with the horses.

Of course, they hadn’t achieved the deep level of communication that Lumina had. Thanks to her, the horses had found some stability, making basic communication possible.

Now that they had an idea of how to do it, the elves would soon exhibit their natural affinity.

As more and more elves succeeded in bonding with the horses, the retainers turned their astonished gazes to Ghislain.

“This… this really works…”

“It wasn’t just a coincidence…”

“How did the Lord know about this…”

Even when Lumina succeeded, there had been doubts. They thought the horses had calmed down by sheer luck.

But with multiple elves succeeding one after another, it was no coincidence.

As Ghislain said, elves truly possessed the ability to connect with nature.

Of course, it would take more time for all the elves to fully recover their communication abilities.

But it was only a matter of time. Those who understood the method could help and teach the others.

Ghislain smiled at Lumina and said,

“Now there shouldn’t be any problem raising these horses, right? Make sure even regular soldiers can ride them well.”

“Of course! I’ll do my best along with the others. Don’t worry about anything.”

Lumina, who had embraced the mission of her race, smiled warmly without ceasing. She no longer cursed or harbored negative thoughts.

Finally, she was beginning to exhibit the elegance and grace traditionally associated with elves.

Ghislain nodded deeply and continued.

“All right, then let’s start taming the horses from today. As quickly as possible. You know my style, right?”

“Yes! Leave it to me! I swear it on the honor of the elves!”

“Good. Very reliable. Hey, bring the rest of the horses.”

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

The horses, their eyes reddened and drool dripping from their mouths, began dragging the soldiers in their frenzied stampede.

“Huh…?”

Lumina’s face turned pale as she witnessed the scene.

She had barely arrived before being thrust into physical training and had no idea how chaotically this estate operated. She also didn’t realize how many horses the lord had brought back after his expedition.

Ghislain, seeing her frozen in shock at the outlandish sight, patted her shoulder and smiled again.

“Let’s hurry. This estate is busier than you think.”

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

Soldiers screamed as they were dragged along by the unruly horses.

“Ahhh! Help me!”

“These horses are too wild!”

“I’m sorryyyy!”

Lumina, staring blankly at the approaching chaos, muttered to herself involuntarily.

“Damn it… What the hell is this estate…?”

She deeply regretted speaking so confidently earlier. She couldn’t hear any whispers of nature, no soothing harmony—only the overwhelming sense that nature had abandoned her.

Changing her words to Ghislain was not an option. Knowing his personality, he would never tolerate backtracking. She was stuck.

Meanwhile, Ascon was still being trampled by an enraged horse.

“Ahh! Dammit! Stop hitting me, you crazy beast!”

The horse, deeply “communicating” with his sincerity, showed no intention of stopping.

“Wow! The number of cavalry is growing like crazy!”

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

Neigh!

Horses carried soldiers as they galloped across the training field. None of the riders looked frightened.

“Wow, I can ride a horse this well?”

“It moves exactly as I want it to!”

“They weren’t this docile before!”

The soldiers had seen firsthand how ferocious the newly acquired horses were. Yet, after a few “conversations” with the elves, the horses transformed into docile lambs.

Even soldiers with only basic riding skills could now handle the horses with ease. The animals responded precisely to the riders’ commands.

While they weren’t at the level of skilled cavalry yet, wielding weapons and maneuvering on horseback posed no problem. Naturally, the number of cavalry units skyrocketed.

“Elves are shedding weight like crazy too!”

The elves didn’t need any special training to lose muscle mass. Wrestling with the mad horses took care of that naturally.

Seeing how smoothly things were progressing, Ghislain decided to push even harder.

“Let’s take this opportunity to teach all soldiers how to ride.”

The horses were so well-trained that learning equestrian skills was easy. In just a few days, the soldiers could become beginner cavalrymen.

Ghislain envisioned an entire infantry force capable of riding.

“If every soldier mounts a horse and turns into cavalry, how could I pass up on this?”

The mere thought was electrifying. Leading a force capable of adapting to any terrain and situation was every commander’s dream.

Even the retainers, observing this transformation, were stunned.

“I can’t believe cavalry can be trained this quickly…”

“At this pace, they’ll be useful for both transportation and combat in no time.”

“So that’s why he brought the elves. Who knew they could handle horse taming so effortlessly?”

With the number of competent riders rapidly increasing, it was time to launch a new business.

Stables, relay stations, and logistics warehouses were swiftly constructed across villages and towns, and soldiers trained in equestrian skills were deployed.

The soldiers, however, muttered gloomily among themselves.

“So, we’re supposed to be law enforcement, handle deliveries, fight as cavalry in wars, act as infantry, and train nonstop?”

Learning to ride was nice, but the workload was overwhelming. The soldiers, who had been accustomed to good meals, ample sleep, and regular training, felt as though their world was collapsing.

Still, the additional pay was too good to refuse. In fact, their families were so eager that they pushed them to join faster, leaving the soldiers no choice but to work through their tears.

—

Though not flawless, the groundwork was complete. Ghislain gathered his retainers to announce the start of the Fenris Arrow Delivery business.

“To commemorate the launch of our business, we’ll offer free service to our estate’s residents for one month!”

Ghislain clenched his fist with confidence as he declared this. His retainers, by now accustomed to the eccentric lord, simply accepted it and commenced the business as planned.

A large-scale promotional campaign followed, but the estate’s residents were lukewarm in their response.

“Arrow delivery…? What’s that?”

“They’ll deliver letters and goods quickly and safely?”

“How is this different from hiring a merchant guild or mercenaries?”

The concept was so unfamiliar that people didn’t even consider using it.

For an entire week, not a single person visited, prompting the retainers to speak up cautiously.

“Taming the horses and increasing the cavalry numbers is great, but… does this business really have potential?”

“The response has been underwhelming.”

“Why not just use it for transporting goods? At least it won’t be a loss.”

Despite their concerns, Ghislain shook his head.

“People just don’t know how convenient this is yet. There’s no need to worry. Keep expanding.”

Ghislain was utterly confident. In his past life, once someone tried this service, they never went back. Word would spread quickly, even if only a few people used it.

The retainers, accustomed to their lord’s stubbornness, merely shrugged.

‘The expenses are steep, but… we can afford this loss now.’

‘Just training cavalry this fast is already a huge gain.’

‘Not everything the lord tries will succeed, right? If this flops, maybe he’ll start listening to us more.’

Having dealt with so many unusual ideas before, they had developed a tolerance for such risks.

Finally, after a week of inactivity, a middle-aged woman walked into one of the empty relay stations.

“Welcome!”

The young man working there leapt to his feet and greeted her. Though the pay was excellent, he had been idle for a week, doing nothing.

Working at such an easy job made him overly enthusiastic about providing good service—he really didn’t want to be fired.

The woman hesitated for a moment before cautiously asking, “Do you really deliver letters and goods immediately?”

“Of course! At Fenris Arrow Delivery, we provide the fastest and safest delivery service anytime you need it. Even if there’s only one request! Plus, it’s currently free during our launch period!”

“What if it’s perishable, like meat? Can you still handle it?”

“Absolutely! Every relay station, logistics hub, and delivery point is equipped with refrigerated carriages!”

“Then… I’d like to send some meat. And I heard you could help write letters too. Is that true?”

Although many academies had been established in Fenris, teaching people to read and write, most of the population was still illiterate.

To address this, each relay station employed staff to write letters for customers.

From a corner where he had been dozing, a man raised his hand and said, “I can write for you. Usually, we keep it short, but… since there are no other customers, I can write as much as you’d like.”

Having not written a single letter all week, he felt compelled to justify his wages.

The woman smiled brightly and asked for assistance. Her letter wasn’t long.

“It’s to Ricardo, who works in the Forest of Beasts garrison in Ferdium. He has blue hair and is about…”

The woman was Ricardo’s mother. After Ghislain had taken control of Fenris, she and her husband had moved from Ferdium to seek work.

Moving between Ferdium and Fenris was relatively easy, as the two territories allowed free movement of residents.

Though population size directly translated to strength in this era, Ferdium actively encouraged its people to migrate to Fenris. This was because Ferdium struggled to manage the rapid population growth after absorbing half of Digald.

The young man, meticulously recording all the details about Ricardo, nodded repeatedly.

“We’ll make sure this gets delivered safely.”

“I’m counting on you.”

“Don’t worry. Speed and safety are the core principles of Fenris Arrow Delivery.”

The staff, thrilled to have their first customer, sprang into action. A waiting soldier examined the items and promptly hitched a small refrigerated carriage to a horse.

― ‘Serve every customer with utmost dedication. If the customer desires, deliver even to the most remote areas.’

This was the motto of Fenris Arrow Delivery. Every delivery soldier had been drilled on it so many times it was etched into their minds.

And they were reminded—failing to follow through might mean death at the hands of their lord.

The soldier, fully resolved, loaded the letter and meat into the carriage and set off with a determined expression.

“Let’s go!”

At his command, the horse began to stride forward energetically.

Delivery soldiers wore blue vests to distinguish themselves from others. The back of the vest bore bold letters:

[Arrow Delivery]

Thus began the very first mission of Fenris Arrow Delivery.