Chapter 280: Strange Journey Through the Fields

"Mm, I will stay here then."

"...Is that not dangerous?"

The next moment, Fenrisulfr jumped lightly and landed neatly on the horse’s head.

Qiong Xing worried that the horse might dislike it, but surprisingly it did not react at all.

It did not shake its head or show any sign of resistance.

"What a smart horse."

"Yeah. Very smart. (Though it is shaking like crazy.)"

Qiong Xing who did not have much experience dealing with horses did not notice the horse trembling slightly.

"(Well, I guess it would shake if it does not know when it might get killed.)"

The horse was clearly aware of Fenrisulfr.

...

As he humming happily, Qiong Xing swayed gently on the horse while watching the passing scenery as they headed toward their destination.

"...You are in a good mood."

Rohen smiled as he watched Qiong Xing casually humming and looking around.

"The weather is nice today. And I have never been outside that town before, so I am happy."

Although Qiong Xing and the others lived outside the town, his poor sense of direction meant his range of activity was not very wide.

As for Leander and the others, they also did not travel far often due to the risk of being attacked by humans.

"Do you think Captain Narka is crying right about now?"

"No way. He is not a child. He should handle his own work."

This time, there were six soldiers for training, along with Rohen as the supervising vice captain.

Narka stayed behind since having him there would cause problems in case of emergencies.

He was probably drowning in paperwork right now.

"At this pace, I might even forget this is a request... ah, Albe, Albe! A goat, a goat is ther-...?"

...Huh?

"Why are you making such a fuss over a goat? It is not that rare, is it?"

In this world there were cows and horses, so goats should not have been strange at all.

And yet...

"The goats I know were supposed to be a bit cuter..."

They were clearly huge.

So large that even from a distance it was obvious.

Ever since coming to this world, Qiong Xing had seen many different things.

The names were mostly the same, but colors, traits, and even taste were slightly different.

He never complained about it, though he did sometimes feel a bit disappointed.

But this was different.

"Why is this goat bigger than a horse?"

"Goats are like this, aren’t they?"

Is that so...? So... huh...?

Qiong Xing felt something was off but decided to accept it for now.

"Can you get milk from that one?"

"Huh? It is a goat."

"Yes, a goat."

"..."

Wait. So in this world, do goats not give milk?

When Qiong Xing looked at Rohen for confirmation, Rohen was also staring at him in surprise.

"Do goats produce milk?"

He was asked in return.

Since Qiong Xing had never done milking here, he could not say for sure.

"The goats I know did... would it be alright if I tried?"

Even though the goats here were different in size, he believed they should still produce milk if they were raising young, so he asked to try.

The soldiers were surprised, but they did not stop him.

A goat milking expedition with soldiers present.

"I think goat milk is supposed to be quite nutritious. It has a stronger taste compared to cow milk, but it is good for the body. Ah, there it is."

Despite its size, the goat was calm like a cow and allowed itself to be milked without resistance.

"We should be able to make cheese with this too. Cari will be happy."

"Really? Then I will try too."

Albe also became motivated for the sake of his little brother.

Thanks to that, they managed to gather a large amount of goat milk, which would surely make Cari happy.

"Incredible. Goats are this large here, so they are hard for people to raise. That is why cows are usually used for milk..."

"They are not that different from cows. They give milk, and their meat is tasty too. Well, it does have a strong flavor, so it might not suit everyone."

"What!? Then we shall eat it today!"

For some reason, Fenrisulfr had gotten excited.

His food was supposed to be magic power, but recently, after eating with Qiong Xing and the others, he sometimes preferred actual meals over magic power.

"I do not mind, but I cannot butcher it, you know?"

Qiong Xing could handle fish to some extent, but he had no experience and no desire to dismantle an animal carcass.

Seeing Fenrisulfr’s tail droop in disappointment, Rohen spoke up.

"I do not mind, but if possible, may we have a little as well?"

It seemed he had become curious after hearing Qiong Xing’s explanation.

Since the goat was quite large, there would still be enough even if they shared, so Qiong Xing nodded.

Rohen then proceeded to dismantle the entire animal with impressive skill.

"We even got something to bring back for Yue."

"She will definitely be happy, but... is it really okay to keep making stops like this?"

"Detours are fun, you know?"

Albe let out a sigh as if giving up at Qiong Xing’s completely irrelevant answer.

A detour on a journey is also a detour for the heart.

Rather than moving forward with nothing but purpose, seeing and eating various things was, in Qiong Xing’s opinion, the true enjoyment of travel.

Technically, this was not sightseeing, but a guild request and work.

"You like meat too, right, Albe?"

"Yeah. I am growing, after all."

"That is exactly why you should not keep growing."

If Albe kept pulling ahead, it would be unbearable.

Qiong Xing insisted it had to stop, only to be laughed at by everyone present.

"Qiong Xing is fine as he is." 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Tall people always say that! Do they even understand how it feels to be short?"

Unfair!

When he insisted that they should try understanding how smaller people felt, they only laughed even more.