A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor-Chapter 601: A Stronger Foundation - Part 3

"I agree, it doesn’t make sense, and we’ve already had a payment for it before… But it’s just, forty golds? It seems an awful lot for something as simple as slaying some Hobgoblins," Oliver said.

"The rarity of the ingredients and also the difficulty of their acquisition, combined with their usefulness – I think they go a long way to explaining the price. It is simply because few can do as you do, my Lord and slay a Hobgoblin so casually," Verdant said.

"You did kill one yourself, now that I remember," Oliver said.

"I would not call what I did casual," Verdant said. "I was a hairbreadth away from disaster, if anything."

"So, this clears the matter of the horse up, doesn’t it?" Oliver asked. "With forty golds, I should be able to buy one of my own, or so you say."

"Might I offer a possibly redundant bit of advice on that front, my Lord?" Verdant asked.

"By all means."

"I would advise you not to spend the last of your coin on a horse straight away. Not when our future already seems so uncertain. I do not wish to drop bad omens – for you’ve accused me of doing that before – but there might come a time soon when you are in desperate need of those forty golds, no?

As for a horse, you can survive a month without one, if you are content with lending one from I," Verdant. "With the matter of the saddle and harnesses, the feed and stabling, it would likely chew up every penny that you had."

"You make a good point…" Oliver conceded. "Fine. I shall save this coin, just in case, and I’ll have to renegotiate with Nebular, to see if we can find some better arrangement… We’re limited in the number of Hobgoblins that we can hunt each week, after all, as per Gavlin’s warning."

"There is much to be done," Verdant agreed. "Do you wish for me to arrange anything for you?"

"I likely ought to meet Asabel… If you could arrange that," Oliver said reluctantly. "And arrange a meeting with Nebular too. When might I go to these stables of yours, by the way? My day is apparently free now. It seems like a good time to get some riding practice in. There’d be less people to see me fall off, after all."

"Whenever you wish it, my Lord. If you would allow me a short few moments, I shall pen some letters and have Thomas send them," Verdant said.

"Thomas?" Oliver asked.

"One of my new retainers," Verdant reminded him.

"Oh, right," Oliver said, nodding. It was easy to forget since Verdant was still dressed in his priestly robes, but he was already beginning to act more like a noble. His father had ordered that he collect a handful of retainers of his own and apparently Verdant had already gone about it, though Oliver had yet to meet them.

…

…

By noon on that same day, they were walking through the sandy grounds of the stable area, with Troy Nebular trailing along behind them, seeming very out of place outside of his little workshop.

"Hm…" Oliver murmured, glancing at the space. Once more, it was a part of the Academy grounds that he hadn’t been to before. That was particularly surprising, given how vast they were and how long it could take just to go from one castle to the other. Yet even though not particularly surprising, it still felt surreal to see just how large it was and still so hidden.

If not for Verdant showing him the way, the tall trees that surrounded the stables likely would have kept them hidden from Oliver entirely. They were called the stables, but they were of course not the only stables in the Academy. Those who used their horses regularly housed their mounts in the main stables, closer to the Academy’s main entrance. These stables were more for students.

There was an equestrian course set up atop recently raked soft sand that had somehow been cleared of all its snow, despite the large amount of snowfall that they were having as of late.

There were various jumps along the length of it and appropriate distances in between. A space in which students could ensure the horses were well walked and then well ridden before they were bedded down for the evening.

Even as they walked along the thin path around the equestrian court, they were subject to a whirlwind of activity. There was clearly a class going on, with a dozen students all mounted on the court, gathering around as a teacher gently explained something or other to them. Oliver noted that most of the students were girls.

That class was the quiet part, though. It was the rushing of servants and stable boys that really set Oliver on edge. In thirty seconds he’d already been passed by four boys and four horses, each being led somewhere different.

"Busy…" Nebular noted, his face rather pale. He didn’t seem to be that fond of animals.

"Not your kind of place?" Oliver asked.

Nebular shook his head with a muted smile. "It could not be further from ’my kind of place’, Ser Patrick. I like the warmth of the cauldron. I have no stomach for riding even in the warmer months. To be here despite the cold is a contradiction that even my feet agree on."

"Ah, apologies then," Oliver said, "for scheduling our meeting here."

"You need not apologise for that, my Lord. It was my whim. I assumed that it would be easier for you to handle two acts of business at once. Your time is growing increasingly befuddled lately," Verdant said.

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Nebular grimaced, as Verdant made it evidently clear that he’d merely arranged things this way for his Lord’s convenience. The priest didn’t even try to make an apology.

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"It’s fine…" Nebular murmured to himself. "I too have a great respect for Ser Patrick’s time, given the assistance that he has lent to our store in recent times."

"Business is good then?" Oliver asked.

"Business hardly seemed to exist before," Nebular said dryly. "I have always been an alchemist, but it is only now that I feel myself to be a man of business as well. On that note, I wished to renegotiate. Though I am grateful to you for the position you’ve given me, with the investment of those Hobgoblin organs, I feel that I may have repaid that favour by now, no?"