Escaping Reality
Brother Noel called out to me, worried since I had frozen up.
“Jo-Joan, are you okay?”
“Ah!? Sorry… I was escaping reality for a second.”
“Ah—yeah. Understandable. I’d probably do the same…”
“U-um, Snowy… do you actually have wings?”
(Wings? Oh, these?)
In response to Father’s question, Snowy spread her wings.
Where were they even stored? I couldn’t tell at all.
“Wh-Whoa. So you do have wings… I see… Search spell wasn’t wrong after all. Right, of course… this is real. Not a dream. Yep. Okay, you can put your wings away now.”
(Okaaay. Hey, Joan. I’m hungry. Do you have more carojins?)
“Ah, yeah. I do. You’ll want water too, right? I’ll ask Ian to bring some.”
(Yup. I’ll wait~)
As I headed back to the stall with Ian, we found Father waiting at the entrance to the stables.
“Ian, I need you to stay calm and listen. The truth is—”
Father explained Snowy’s evolution and firmly reminded Ian not to tell anyone.
“Understood, Master. I, Ian, swear on my life that I will not speak of this to anyone.”
“I’m counting on you. Now, let’s go back. Snowy is waiting.”
“Snowy, we brought your food.”
(Thank you, Joan. And Ian. Oh! It’s the first time I’ve talked to you, right, Ian? I look forward to working with you.)
“O-ohh! You really are talking… I’m so happy! I never thought I’d hear a horse talk…”
(Ehehe, but all the seniors are grateful to you and Adam too, you know. They told me not to cause trouble when I arrived at the stables.)
““““Eh!?””””
“Snowy’s seniors?”
(Yup, seniors are seniors. Like Senior Ain, Senior Zwei, Senior Drei, and the others.)
“They really thought of us like that… Uuuhhh, I’m so glad… It’s really good to be on stable duty.”
“Y-yeah. That’s great to hear. …Hey, Snowy, would you be willing to help bridge the gap between the horses and us humans—for Ian and Adam?”
(Of course, Mr. Papa. The seniors have things they want to talk about too. Right, Senior?)
When Snowy called out to the other horses, they all averted their eyes awkwardly.
But… they looked kind of happy. I mean, I think.
“Good for you, Ian. Also, tell Adam to come see me later.”
“Understood.”
“Alright, let’s head back to the office. There’s a lot to think about…”
“Yes. See you later, Snowy.”
(Yup. Bye-bye~)
＊＊＊＊＊
In the office were me, Father, Brother Noel, Brother Gene, Gray, Nancy, Mr. Abe, and Elle.
Father explained the whole story about Snowy to everyone.
[……….]Ah, everyone froze…
Well, can’t blame them. Who’s ever heard of a horse evolving?
“Wait, Pegasus is supposed to be a creature from legends, right? How can it actually exist?”
Brother Gene asked Father.
“It is indeed a mythical creature… but one is currently in our stables.”
“Well… I guess that’s just typical of Young lady Joan.”
“Well, she is our young lady.”
“Indeed. As expected of Young lady Joan.”
“Eh!? W-wait, are you saying this is my fault?”
Gray and Mr. Abe are totally blaming me! No way! And Nancy, what exactly is ‘as expected’ supposed to mean?!
“Well, think about it. It clearly said Skill Overlap in the Search results.”
Brother Noel said something completely reasonable, leaving me speechless.
“Haah~ At this point, I think we need to contact that guy…”
“Master, let’s give up. I’ll check his availability.”
“Oh, and contact Julie as well. If we report this to her later, she’ll definitely complain.”
“True… Understood.”
Saying that, Gray left the office.
That guy? Who could that be?
Brother Noel and Brother Gene also tilted their heads, clearly not knowing. But Mr. Abe, Elle, and Nancy were all smiling wryly, so maybe he’s someone they knew in the past?
“Is ‘that guy’ someone from the former Monster Subjugation Unit?”
“Hmm? Well, yes, he was in the squad for a bit. He’s… my childhood friend, I suppose? We were classmates at the academy.”
“I see.”
“In any case, everyone is to keep Snowy’s situation a secret. Make sure to inform the others as well.”
“““Understood.”””
“Noel, Jean, and Joan—you three too.”
“““Yes.”””
“Oh right, hey Jo—that’s not fair! Only big brother got to teleport! And he got to talk to Snowy! I want to do it too!”
“Ah—okay, want to go see Snowy?”
“Of course!!”
“Ah, Joan. I want to go too. It was so sudden last time.”
“Ahaha, right. Okay, Brother Noel, let’s go too. Father, if you’ll excuse us.”
““Excuse us.””
“Alright, let’s go. To the stables—Teleport.”
Poof
“The young lady’s totally used to teleporting now, huh.”
“Yeah, but that was really convenient. I was surprised by the teleporting, sure, but I didn’t expect she could teleport while riding. That’s amazing.”
“Ahh—Elle? Apparently, normal people can’t teleport while mounted.”
“Eh!? Then that means…”
“Probably just another ‘because it’s Joan’ thing.”
“Pfft—ahahaha. That’s so like her.”
“As expected of Young lady Joan.”
“Haah~ munch munch… She really gets herself into all kinds of stuff… seriously. munch munch…”
“Master, you just can’t give up your dried fruits, huh.”
“These things… munch… really do help… munch munch… with fatigue…”
“Still, Master. Talking while eating isn’t exactly the best manners, is it?”
“… My apologies.”
Abe and Elle looked on with amused smiles as Nancy scolded Stanley.
What do you think about this chapter?
