h.e.l.lo
I love april fools so here is 6 chapters.
4/6
Thank you one of the G.o.ds of editing Axelia.
Please donate to yoshi for more tsuki
Amaku Yasashii Sekai de Ikiru Ni Wa - 35
"It is starting Master."(Blanc)
". . . Yes."(Doyle)
It seems Lute finished his preparations, as I was thinking about the reason he started this match. Mr. Hengst starts to wave the flag. Lute should be able to easily finish this within the 80 seconds, but whether or not he surpa.s.ses my time is different. I would have missed his attempt entirely if Blanc did not remind me. No matter what, it is proper courtesy to watch your opponent in a serious match.
I do still have the possibility of losing.
I do not think that his horse is better than Blanc, but I do know that Lute possesses some horsemanship skills. Whether these skills are for training or for increasing the physical ability of your horse is a different story. If all his skills are for increasing the physically ability of his horse, then I have an 80% chance of losing. Skills in this world are something that no amount of hard work can subst.i.tute for. This is also one of the reason I cannot become the [Hero of the Spear].
The moment the flag is waved, Lute"s horse runs out at full speed.
His horse is very fast!
The speed of Lute"s horse is slightly lower or maybe on par with Blanc"s. Blanc is superior as a horse, but it looks like Lute really does possess horse-related skills.
He jumps over the first five obstacles with ease, and his momentum does not slow at all. Lute seems to know the shortest path between each of the obstacles and is using that knowledge to shorten his time as much as possible. The gallery becomes silent and watches Lute"s horsemanship in awe.
As he jumps over the sixth and seventh obstacles, he comes up to the last three combination jumps. He jumps over both the eighth and ninth obstacles while keeping his momentum. The last Oxer is the only one left. I feel that he may truly beat me, as I do not feel that much time has pa.s.sed yet. As his horse jumps over the last Oxer, I see Lute"s hands move slightly. I wonder if made a mistake since it was a moderate distance away, but I think I saw his hand make a trivial move.
I cannot ascertain the truth, but as I see his horse perform an impressive jump over the last Oxer towards the finish, a sudden sound occurs. The back leg of his horse seems to have hit the bar. The bar is now shaking from the hit, and no one can tell whether or not it will fall.
Everyone starts wondering whether or not it will fall.
Lute still makes his way to the goal and quickly turns around to see the bar shaking, hoping that it does not fall. As it continues to shake, the bar falls on the ground.
The sound of the bar hitting the ground echoes throughout the field. Many people hold their breath, waiting for the announcement of Lute"s time. The staff member in charge of making the announcement takes out a magic tool and announces the time. A very loud and clear voice announces the result of the match to the gallery.
"The time for Lute Stapp is 78:07! One bar fell! Thus, one second is added! Lute Stapp"s final time is 79:07 seconds! Therefore, the winner is Doyle Von Aghinis!"(Staff)
The moment the official announces Lute"s time and the victor of the match, the audience erupts into cheers again. I was really worried there for a second. The difference between our times if I take out the mistake is a mere three seconds. I have won, but I think it is only because I had gone first and applied psychological pressure on him. Otherwise, I might have lost this match, and he would have been the one who broke the record.
Lute who lost by such a small margin has a very stunned and frustrated look on his face. His horse is worried about him, but Lute does not notice it and falls to the ground with a look of hopelessness. I see Lute open his mouth to say something, and I reflexively use wind magic to pick up his voice.
". . . No . . . I could not do it . . . I am sorry, Cerejeira . . ."(Lute)
The audience is loud, but I hear Lute mutter the name Cerejeira. I feel as though I have heard this name before. I take Blanc"s reins and head for where Lute is.
Cerejeira seems to be a feminine name thus, I can a.s.sume he is talking about a woman. I try to go through the faces of the women I know and try to connect this name to them, but I cannot remember it. I eventually reach Lute and see that his horse is trying to comfort him. Although it is the job of the master to comfort the horse who has done well to bring his master all way here, Lute does not seem to be in the condition to do so. Mr. Hengst comes up, tries to comfort the horse, and tries to distance it from Lute. I come up to Lute and speak.
". . . It is proper horsemanship to comfort one"s horse after a win or a loss. I expect much better from someone who carries the Stapp name."(Doyle)
Although I do not want to throw mud on his face while he is down, I cannot find any other way for us who have no relation to interact. I do hope he will forgive me for this in the future.
Mr. Hengst seems to want to say something after hearing my words, but seeing my and Blanc"s expressions, he stops himself. Lute on the other hand, gives an expression of regret and bitterness.
". . . I would have done it even if you had not told me to."(Lute)
"Well then, I hope you will keep you promise then?"(Doyle)
I do not try to comfort him or show him compa.s.sion. I try to raise his spirits another way. I get off Blanc and come close to him so only he can hear me.
"Please do not approach His Highness ever again. His Highness is not a tool to be used for your career advancement."(Doyle)
"I know! But I still have something-"(Lute)
"Does it concern the woman named Cerejeira?"(Doyle)
"How!"(Lute)
"Whatever reason you may have for wanting status is yours. I just do not want you to use His Highness to obtain it. However, as I do owe you a debt, I will help you out concerning this matter if you let me."(Doyle)
"How can you help? All of this happened due to you being so pathetic!"(Lute)
"What!"(Doyle)
"It does not matter now, I will keep my word! Do not worry! I will not go near His Highness anymore! Let"s go Chestnut!"(Lute)
Lute reacts to the name Cerejeira very strongly. This name must have something to do with his sudden impatient nature. He gets on top of his horse and quickly leaves the field. He goes in the opposite direction of the gallery and jumps over the fence. I try to follow him and get more information, but I am too late and cannot find him anymore.
I did not think that he would immediately leave after I had said that name, but he did say he would keep his promise. He will not come closer to Gray in the future. Besides, we had this grand show in front of so many people. I do not think he will be able go close to Gray for a while either way.
I return to Mr. Hengst and the others and remember what Lute said to me.
"All of this happened due to you being so pathetic!"(Lute)
The way he spoke meant that I already know the woman named Cerejeira, and I caused something to happen between her and Lute. I feel like all of this would become so much more clearer if I could remember who is Cerejeira, but I cannot connect anyone to that name, be it a male or female. I cannot help him or even apologize properly unless I investigate the relationship between Lute and Cerejeira, but from the sound of it, I must have done something during my rebellious phase.
This makes me think that it is tough to atone for all the things I have done when I have done so much wrong. I just wanted to live up to the expectations of my father and grandfather during that time. I wanted to be their proud grandson and son. I wanted to help my friend who would carry the country on his back.
It is hard to live and follow the path of a [Hero]. I can only make one decision and follow through with that decision, but whether that decision is correct is something I can only find out after making it.
I walk slowly with Blanc and then look at my hands. My hands seem so small when I think of my goals. I can only grasp the few things in front of me, unlike my father and grandfather who are legends. I am still far from being the [Hero] I want to be. I want to cherish this country and the people in it, but I will inevitably end up hurting someone.
Nevertheless, I will not give up on being a [Hero]. Even if I cannot become like my father who saved the world, I will at least protect the things that matter to me. I will at least get strong enough to protect the ones I see in front of me. I know this will happen because I love this world, and I know this world loves me as well.
"Master Doyle!"(Ballad)
Ballad notices me and draws me back to my senses. I look towards him and see Leo and his gang. Luce, Solcier, and Jeff are with them, as well as Eleanor. Mr. Hengst is also coming towards me from behind them. I do not see Gray and Jin though. I look towards where they were earlier and they seem to talking. Jin is saying something, and Gray is not listening to him.
I head towards them to give my apology before I return to Ballad, but the moment he sees me coming, he turns around goes in the opposite direction. Jin tries to stop him but seems to be unable to do anything to stop him and follows him out. The gallery again splits like the how Moses split the seas and he disappears. I am stunned by him leaving.
Twice! This has happened to me twice in a row!
This is the first time I have seen Gray like this. This is not his usual anger. I know he did not forsake me since he came to watch this match, but I think his anger has reached a point where he does not want hit me anymore.
. . . I feel like letting him hit me once won"t quell his anger.
I try to think of other potential actions which may help me calm his anger this time, but none of them seem to work in my mind. All of the solutions I think of do not seem plausible since I cannot go see Claire. I remain in a stunned state until Ballad calls out me.