Chapter 49: Horsemanship Manual

"Wolf, I’ll introduce you to my friend."

"...A large and beautiful friend."

Hilda had brought not just plate armor but also a large, magnificent black horse. Though it wasn’t my first time seeing a horse in person, it felt like the first time seeing one so striking. I found myself stroking the black horse’s neck, and he simply snorted without pulling away.

"Schatten seems to like Wolf too."

"His name is Schatten? As in stealthy and swift like a shadow?"

"Rather than that, Schatten just came to mind when I saw him, so that’s what I named him. My dear friend."

Surprisingly, Hilda’s horse was a stallion. Since stallions were fiercer and more combative than mares, ladies typically rode mares. And knights considered riding mares unmanly and shameful. Hilda seemed to enjoy rough riding; she probably rode better than I did.

"Since Schatten is my personal horse, there’s no problem if Wolf rides him."

"I’m truly embarrassed receiving so much help. I’ll succeed without fail and make you happy."

"Helping Wolf is reward enough for me."

Why did Hilda only say such lovely things? As I gently pulled her close to kiss her, Schatten nudged my head with his snout. Thanks to that, my aim went wide. Hilda giggled and stroked Schatten’s head. Schatten snorted, as if mocking me. This damned horse!

"I forgot he’s the jealous type. Hehe."

"I see now—he’s my fated rival."

"Can you befriend your rival?"

The truth was, I’d never actually ridden a horse. When would an office worker ever ride one? At best, I’d sat on docile horses at tourist spots. Schatten was a war horse. And Hilda was a woman who rode such war horses as a matter of course. Not typical noble lady behavior, but I liked that about her.

[Purchasing Horsemanship Manual.]

[Purchasing Mounted Combat Manual.]

I paid 3,000 points for both combined. Since Hilda had lent me a horse, this was naturally the top purchase priority. Hilda assumed I already knew how to ride, but I couldn’t help it. Not knowing horsemanship as a knight was rather humiliating. A necessary bluff.

[Horsemanship Manual]

[Stage 1 Training Quest]

[Walk–Trot–Canter–Gallop]

[Proficiency 0/100]

[Reward — 1,000 points, 1 silver coin]

So I visited the royal stables outside Breisburg with Hilda. I was a little nervous since it was my first time leaving the city, but Hilda was on familiar terms with the stable staff, even exchanging greetings. She seemed to come here often. It was right beside the city, so there was no danger.

I placed my foot in the stirrup and gripped hard to pull myself up into the saddle. Feeling the heavy pressure on my inner thighs, I was genuinely nervous—it truly was my first time on a horse. Then Schatten, sensing my unease, held still and waited patiently.

I was lucky Schatten was being considerate—if he’d ignored me, it would have been deeply embarrassing. Just as I’d grown strong through the swordsmanship manual starting from nothing, I expected the same process with horsemanship would let me ride skillfully in time. First, the walk. A slow, steady walk.

The walk was a four-beat gait where each of the horse’s legs moved individually in a natural walking motion—the most basic technique for first-time riders. So I gave a light kick to the horse’s belly with the heel resting in the stirrup. Schatten slowly began moving forward.

Right, this was a warm-up. Just a warm-up.

Walking along bit by bit, this was definitely enjoyable. Occasionally Schatten snorted in protest.

We’ve warmed up enough—aren’t you going to let me run soon?

Hey, if I suddenly break into a gallop and you fall off, don’t blame me.

I’d grown somewhat accustomed to walking. To attend the investiture ceremony, I’d be riding to the royal palace, and a walk was all I needed for that. Galloping on city roads was illegal. As I continued leading Schatten at a slow walk, his frustration seemed to build; he suddenly stopped obeying. I instinctively yanked the reins.

"Hey, hey. What’s gotten into you? Don’t do this to me."

Neigh! Neigh! Snort!

He even bucked his hindquarters and made a scene. I nearly fell but managed to stay on thanks to the posture correction provided by the horsemanship manual. After I barely calmed him down, Hilda’s expression as she watched from a distance was priceless. As if she’d seen a ghost. She came running toward me looking furious.

She was clearly livid, but I could tell she was suppressing her voice to maintain her composure in front of me—like speaking through clenched teeth.

"This is your first time riding, isn’t it?"

"Actually, yes, my lady."

"You realize how incredibly dangerous that was?"

Angry Hilda was adorable, but she seemed genuinely furious, so I took my scolding in silence. And then I had to submit to horsemanship instruction from Hilda. First, I drilled the walk until it was second nature. The key was to keep my back straight and take care not to put pressure on the horse’s bit.

Hilda explained that Schatten had gotten upset earlier because I’d yanked the bit too hard, setting off his temper. Listening to various precautions like that, I learned what posture to maintain for comfort and how to guide the horse properly. Since Hilda was leading from beside us, Schatten behaved himself.

"That knight seems to be learning to ride from Lady Valkyrie."

"Hmm, if it were any other lady, it’d be shameful for the knight, but if it’s Lady Valkyrie, it’s worth learning from her."

"No knight has ever beaten Lady Valkyrie in a riding competition."

I caught murmuring among the stable hands. I hadn’t misheard, had I? Valkyrie? A title evoking the great, noble female warriors of Norse mythology. Perhaps because my hearing was sharp, I’d picked up every word of their whispers.

Brünhilt and Valkyrie.

Too fitting.

"How does it feel, learning to ride from Valkyrie?"

"An honor, noble and great female warrior."

"The church despises that title, but I personally like it."

"But is it true you’ve beaten other knights in riding competitions?"

"Never lost once. Because of that, His Highness the crown prince and Leo kept challenging me relentlessly. I beat my brothers too, and every knight who came looking for a match after hearing the rumors."

When Hilda had first introduced herself, she’d mentioned liking to race horses in the fields. At the time, I’d simply thought she was a lady who enjoyed riding, but she turned out to be an undefeated champion. So I was receiving one-on-one lessons from the champion herself. Direction changes were harder than expected, but once I grasped the knack, they came easily enough. Horses had a habit of turning in whatever direction the rider faced.

So facing right and applying pressure with the right leg changed direction to the right. The same for the left. When I executed it smoothly, Hilda praised me for having a natural talent for riding. Rather than innate talent, it was probably thanks to the horsemanship manual, which boosted posture correction and comprehension.

When stopping, I was to apply pressure with both legs and give a vocal command to halt.

"Whoa~"

Snort!

He seemed to be protesting the stop. When Hilda told him to halt, he obeyed without fuss. Afterward, I moved on to learning the trot. The key was to move in sync with the horse’s rhythm. Maintaining the same posture as the walk, it was important to ride while absorbing the horse’s bounce.

"You’re doing well. Already picking up the rhythm. As I thought, Wolf has a real talent for riding. If we have a competition later, I think it’ll be quite an exciting match."

"But I’m no match for the undefeated Valkyrie."

"Oh my, I think it’s possible. Now, match the rhythm carefully. Maintain your posture, balance through your legs. Relax your upper body and don’t put tension on the reins."

Driving Schatten while keeping a bouncing rhythm, I managed a fairly polished posture. Thanks to Hilda’s exacting instruction and the horsemanship manual? Confidence began to swell. Hilda smacked my leg with her riding crop. Ow! Honestly, no exaggeration—it stung worse than a sword cut.

"If you get sloppy from half-baked confidence, you’ll fall off."

"I’m sorry, teacher. Please keep me in line."

"Hehe, a student who learns quickly. I’ll give you a reward later."

I was very curious about the reward, but I focused on the lesson for now. And the training continued until sunset. The next day was the knight investiture ceremony, yet I’d been practicing riding hard right up until the day before. Fortunately, with the horsemanship manual, nothing I’d learned faded overnight.

But having done nothing beyond walking and trotting, Schatten’s pent-up frustration seemed considerable. Hilda changed into riding clothes, saying she’d give a demonstration, and appeared before me. Hilda in a riding outfit—a riding tunic, her slim figure holding a crop—wore a rather provocative expression.

Hmm, if this was part of the game too, perhaps I could enjoy it?

"I’ll show you what Valkyrie can do. Watch closely."

And I witnessed a woman on horseback performing acrobatics that rivaled the Mongols, right there at the stables. No matter how much I was learning horsemanship with the manual’s help, that seemed a realm I could never hope to imitate. Come to think of it, Michael had lamented as much.

If Hilda had been born a man, she’d have made a name for herself as a knight.

Even though she rode like that, to me she was still a cute, lovely fiancée—but in other men’s eyes, she apparently looked like general material. In any case, I wrapped up the stable outing and headed home. Because the investiture ceremony was the next day, Hilda stayed at my house instead of returning to hers.

Since Priscilla was standing guard with watchful eyes to protect the young lady’s honor, I could only look on longingly. Lately Hilda had been teasing me in ways that drove me to distraction. She truly delighted in such mischief. Right—just endure one more month. Once we were married, I wouldn’t let her off easy. I wouldn’t even let her sleep.

The day before the investiture ceremony, there was a ritual to perform. Simply put, something akin to a ritual bath. After washing thoroughly, I put on clean white clothes and slept on a bed with white sheets—that was the first step.

A knight investiture tradition meant to cleanse oneself of evil and impurity.

Hilda had taught me this as well. There was no need to consult the system when Hilda handled everything. Her detailed knowledge of the knight investiture ceremony was likely born of regret at having been born female. As Michael had said, if she’d been born a man, she could have achieved great things as a knight.

And besides Hilda, I’d had no senior knight to guide me.

That was how little contact I’d had with other knights—my connections were sorely lacking. The only person I could have asked was Guard Captain Eisenach, who’d survived the fight with Klugen, but he still hadn’t recovered from his injuries. Klugen had truly been a monstrously strong knight.

After fully mastering Fühlen, what training awaited next? I’d come this far through training alone. If I’d perfected Fühlen, could I have fought Klugen on equal terms? Opponents that formidable were rare to come by, so Klugen’s death was, in a way, regrettable.