From the time Luke left Oukiwa for the north of the Empire a week has passed. For this trip, which he hoped would be quick, he took a few things on the horse borrowed from Oliver.
According to the old retired Adventurer, the horse named Atom was the fastest in the Strogueher's private stable and used to take part in races when younger. However, Atom was well past the age of ten and had therefore retired a few months ago.
Although Luke had never had the chance to ride a horse before, he was more than happy to welcome Atom, not least because the journey on foot could last several months. During the journey, Luke slowly learned how to master the horse's wills and steer it in the right directions.
In Atom's saddlebag, Martha put a lot of fruit and some bread, which should take a few days to spoil. In addition, Luke also put in his inventory a few pounds of oatmeal, which was easy to prepare and quite nutritious, and since it was in his inventory it wouldn't ever spoil.
However, the horse ate a lot and needed plenty of energy to run for entire days, and because of this the fruits were already about to expire with only a short time of travel. Luke was not worried about food for himself, because he could rope the horse to the trunk of a tree and hunt for a few minutes, the real problem was Atom, who couldn't eat meat.
In that moment of tightness, Luke regretted that he had never accompanied Meredith out of Oukiwa when the girl was going to get herbs, so he would know which ones were good for the horse and which ones were not.
"All right... we must be near some town or inn." Luke thought as he stopped the horse at the side of a winding dirt road for the animal rest.
From one of the pockets of the saddlebag, which was on the sides of the horse, Luke pulled out a map.
"Lucky Shiro gave this to me, otherwise I would have been easily lost."
Shiro was an Adventurer who, before becoming a Strogueher official, had traveled extensively both for the Landfords and also independently, so it was no surprise that he had a large map. But this particular map was head and shoulders above any other map Luke could buy.
There were drawings of hundreds of routes Luke could follow, as well as several dozen towns Luke could pass through. Since Luke's goal was to get to the Cardinal Kingdom, to use his S-Class Gene Skill license and also to ask for information, he circled the drawing of the largest city on the continent on the map.
After checking that the road, he was following seemed to be the correct way, Luke put the map in his saddlebag, made sure that the Black Egg was intact on the other side of the saddlebag, and continued on his way, thinking that he should reach the nearest city the next day.
However, to his delight he found what appeared to be a small village a few minutes later, which made him think:
'Wow, today is my lucky day! I hope I can refill my canteen at their well...'
Then, Luke naturally approached the village, and before he entered, he was glad that he could read the sign. "Au-ro-ra Vil-lage... I guess that's what it is. I hope I'm not wrong, although I don't know what Aurora means. I've never even heard that word."
This small village with huts made of wood, did not seem to be very busy. Right at the entrance you could tell by the marks on the ground that there were more horses. As Luke entered the property, he really found two horses tied to a piece of wood, and also a wagon with two other horses.
The half-wolf got off of the Atom, looked around, untied the Black Egg's bag from the saddlebag, and placed it behind his neck. "Now where I go, you go with me." Luke spoke, then slapped the pouch weakly twice.
Of course, Luke found it strange not to be greeted by anyone, but that was explained when he finally managed to read the sign that was written on the hut where the other horses were tied up.
[Aurora's Tavern].
As the half-wolf entered the establishment, the bell over the door tinkled. Tlim, Tlim, Tlim!
The chattering noises immediately stopped, and also the sound of mugs being placed on the table.
Luke was relieved when he saw that this was indeed a tavern, and that he was not breaking into a house by mistake. Without showing any reaction, Luke looked to both sides of the enclosure, saw that there were at least ten guys present, and went to the bar, where there was an old woman.
"What brings you here, traveler?" She asked, continuing to cut the bread she intended to serve to one of the tables.
Seeing that Luke was not looking for trouble, most of the men turned their attention to their own mugs.
Trying not to stare at the huge mole on the old woman's chin, Luke replied:
"I'm just passing through. I was wondering if I could refill my canteen at your well, and also if you would have some horse hay. Of course, I will pay..."
"Ok. Is there anything else you would like to ask? If you are interested, I dare say our Mead is the best in the region!"
"Just what I ordered, please."
The half-wolf thought about buying fruit, but since autumn had arrived, he didn't want to leave the small village without having anything to eat, not to mention that he still had enough to get to the nearest town the next day.
"All right... Hey Pedro, kid, get over here quick!" The old woman shouted, and from one of the tables, a teenage boy stood up.
"Do you need anything, Ms. Aurora?" He asked politely.
"Yes. Go to the barn and get a five-pound bale for this man's horse, and also take the opportunity to fill his canteen."
"All right." The boy spoke.
When the boy looked at the half-wolf, he was suddenly startled to see his yellow eyes and animal ears. But he soon remembered the rumor of a half-beast being the Champion of this year's Tournament of Legends, and he calmed down.
"Your canteen, please." He asked, internally cogitating whether the one in front of him could be that Champion or not. 'Of course, it's not him... the Champion would never stop in a place like this.'
The boy then walked away. Luke was undecided about what to do during the minutes he waited and his lost gaze met the curious eyes of the table Pedro came from.
"Are you fancy a game of 'Luck or Fight', half-beast?" One of the men at the table, who was also the skinniest, asked loudly.
For a few moments, Luke pondered. He had never been greeted this way at any inn or tavern he had ever visited, and since he had nothing to do to make the waiting time pass more quickly, he accepted the unusual invitation.
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