62 - Chapter 62: Fortitude Does Not Give Up ④ ~The Saboteurs~
Originally, there were no ranches in Berture.
However, naturally, each farmer had their own farmland, and they owned farm horses to till it. While maintenance was difficult, they could earn unearned income by leasing them to the mines during the off-season, so it is said that wealthy farmers kept a considerable number of them.
But, the mines became abandoned, and horses began to be in surplus.
Just as they began to worry about what to do, horse racing became a major movement in Berture. Not only farmers, but merchants also began to own horses as sponsors, and wealthy farmers who originally had large farmlands converted their fields into ranches and began to make a living through consignment management fees and such.
Misora Barclay also came from a wealthy farmer who transitioned from farming to running a stable.
The Barclay family, who were commoners but were granted a name by the former lord for managing farmers, continued farming even after the lord who was dismissed due to financial ruin had left, but they kept only a small part of their farmland and turned the majority into pasture. Many wealthy farmers decided to transition after being approached during the reform period ten years ago by Radglyph or Bethlehem... or rather, it was a proposal from Geoglyph, but at the time, it was judged that he could not be trusted due to being only five years old... deciding that it was better than continuing to farm on a small scale.
As a result, the Barclay finances, which had been leaning toward ruin at the time, were greatly restored. In the last ten years, they produced four honored horses, and they were recognized as being among the top tier of the several stables.
Until just two years ago.
The year before last, Misora's father, Rag Barclay, passed away. The cause of death was said to be a fall during a race.
There are many trainers who enter as jockeys while running a stable. This is because, as horse racing is still in its dawn, trainers who are used to handling the horses daily are often better at it than unskilled jockeys. As time passes, it will likely become refined and specialized, but in this transitional period, one can see truly miscellaneous sights.
However, being both a trainer and a jockey means, simply put, it is a one-man operation.
If the main pillar breaks, the downfall is abrupt. Of course, Rag, perhaps because he was in his prime, had selected and trained several jockeys to foster the next generation for the future. It is said that at one point he had nearly twenty disciples. But, as mentioned before, it was a one-man operation. Once the charisma is gone, the rest is a castle built on sand.
And the last one... Datt left just a moment ago. If there is any salvation, it is that he also went out not just for himself, but to save the Barclays.
There are horses that can run. But there are no jockeys. Misora can ride a horse as well as anyone, but it is a different story when it comes to competition. She is still only half a trainer, so if she jumped into the world of competition now, she would only be preyed upon. Either she would be crushed before she fully grew... no, before that, the Barclay stable might not survive the financial struggle. Even now, they are selling off their own horses one by one.
For her, victory in the Arima Kinen was a move for a desperate turnaround.
Basically, the runners are decided by fan vote, but by convention, horses counted as honored horses can enter almost unconditionally as a retirement race. Misora took advantage of that to squeeze in a horse from her own stable. If she could produce results here, she could sustain them for a while with stud fees even after retirement. It was nothing more than buying a few years of time, but she wanted that time now. If she had a few years, she could at least make time to grow as a jockey in the worst case.
But that too was crushed by Datt's departure.
She just wanted to save the stable her father left behind.
"Hahaha... I see... You've been through a lot, big sister."
"Ugh... ugh... You've really suffered..."
"U-um...?"
Kazuha, who had been listening to the life story while moving toward the stable, hugged Misora while shedding tears at her struggle, and Reiter patted her on the shoulder. The one being hugged was just desperately moving, perhaps not very aware of it, and was merely bewildered.
"It's okay now... Reiter-sama, Reiter-sama will surely do something about it..."
"That's a heavy expectation... Well, for now, I'll see the horse that's entering."
Is this some kind of "Chronicles of a Small-Time Trainer's Success," Reiter grumbled, though inside his heart, his tension was rising at the excitement of meeting a racehorse. This furry fan really doesn't read the room.
The Barclay stable was in a ranch to the southeast of Berture. Several stables were crowded in this area, and one corner seemed to be owned by the Barclays.
The wooden stable was divided by several partitions, and several horses were tied up, but those were horses they were looking after, so the owners were different. In the deepest part of the stable, in the stall that could be called the master of the Barclays in a sense, sat the horse that was the last owned horse of the Barclays...
"His name is Fortitude."
The horse lying down in the straw of the stall was bay. Judging from its build and appearance, it was a lightweight colt of around 500kg. Looking at the muscles protruding from that lean body, Reiter recalled the Thoroughbreds from his previous life.
Horse racing in this world is still infantile, simply put, it is an extension of agriculture. Humans have merely found value in farm horses other than their original purpose. Therefore, there are still many side-jobs now, and the breed improvement of horses that make a living solely as racehorses is only just beginning.
That is why the builds are truly varied. There are horses with builds that look like they wouldn't run, to horses whose muscle development is specialized for hauling loads. That is also the reason why Reiter had won so easily at the racecourse earlier. At the very least, the horse racing of this world is shallow enough that even he, who has never lived off betting tickets, could see through it.
And in the eyes of Reiter, who knows many famous horses from his previous life, the build of this horse called Fortitude is suited for racing... no, specialized for it.
Furthermore.
"This child is..."
Welcome back, Misora. Who are those people?
A thought flew from the horse who turned its gaze while lying down.
"An Aria Horse...! Are you serious!?"
Reiter was speechless at that fact. This horse is not just a horse.
"Reiter-sama, an Aria Horse is, if I recall, something used in the brush that Reiter-sama possesses..."
"That's right. Also known as the horses that do not flock. Because they can communicate their intentions through telepathic ability even when separated from other horses, they have a wide-area warning network, and when others approach, they immediately communicate and move the entire spread-out herd, so even if an approacher sees them, they only see one. That is why in the era before scholars studied them, they were also called lonely horses."
Depending on the region, they are worshipped as a type of god or their messenger, and because they have telepathic ability, they sometimes interact slightly with humans. Even if they do not have the intelligence or combat ability of the divine bird GrimEdda, they were not recognized as monsters since they are at least not a species that harms humans.
They could be called a race that has maintained an ideal distance between humans and wild animals, neither too close nor too far.
"I once met a 'stray' in the forest of my hometown long ago. I became friends with it then, and it gave me a bit of its tail hair, but this is the first time I've seen an Aria Horse in a human settlement..."
When Reiter was a child, he met a foal that had fallen out of an Aria Horse's spread-out herd... simply put, outside the telepathic domain network, in the forest, and there was a period where he took care of it for a while. In the end, it was taken back by the parents who came to fetch it after about a week, and at that time, he reportedly received a bit of tail hair from the parents as a thank you.
By the way, in this world, it is a lucky item, like a rabbit's foot.
Nice to meet you, new people. I'm "Fortitude" the Aria Horse. Since it's long, please call me "Forti."
"Oh, I'm Reiter. Nice to meet you."
"I-I'm Kazuha."
Fortitude, who stood up slowly, peeked its face out from the stall to greet them. Reiter's face broke into a smile at that friendliness, and Kazuha, who was having her first encounter with an Aria Horse, was slightly nervous.
"I'm sorry, Forti... Datt got a riding request for another horse, and he went that way."
I see... but it can't be helped. I can't run like I used to anymore.
Fortitude nodded to Misora, who told him this while stroking his large blaze. He was disappointed, but somehow resigned.
Seeing that, Reiter frowned, thinking he was a mismatched fellow.
"Hey, you, Forti. Why are you giving up when you have such a great body?"
That is...
"Your body is not that of someone who has given up. That ripped muscle build shouldn't be the result of reluctantly following a trainer's instructions."
Fortitude's words and actions were too inconsistent with his body. This is the finish of someone who has built up their body in anticipation of the Arima Kinen. The time spent was likely not short enough to be thrown away with a single word like "it can't be helped." Moreover, he is an Aria Horse who can convey his own will. If he truly hated it, unlike ordinary horses, he should have been able to convey his will to refuse.
Without doing that, he had finished himself for the big stage. That means...
"Somewhere in your heart, you haven't given up yet, right?"
Fortitude did not deny Reiter's words. However, he closed his eyes and said this.
But... but, I am a "human-killer."
The absurdity (Serious) that stood in his way did not allow him to run freely.
●
Marianne and Lilitia, who left the gambling den after leaving their deposit, spent their time strolling through the town... or rather, they were indulging in visiting food stalls. Lilitia asked Marianne, who shrugged and said she had lost the mood to do other gambles today.
"Sister. Is this alright?"
"What is?"
To Marianne, who was munching on gizzard skewers, Lilitia showed the paper in her hand.
It was a horse racing newspaper issued for two large copper coins. This kind of letterpress printing itself was in the process of being popularized by the Romanette Great Trading Company... to be precise, through previous life knowledge via Marianne... and while it was somewhat expensive, it was suited for the mass production of identical documents, so it could be seen throughout the Empire recently. This horse racing newspaper was one of them, and it contained race tables for several days and short reviews of the highlight races of the weekend.
"The content of the match. No matter how you look at it, isn't it disadvantageous for you, sister?"
"You think so?"
"Because look, this horse..."
Turning the page of the newspaper, there were short reviews of the weekend's Arima Kinen... the race Marianne and Nid were betting on.
There, a provocative phrase was written "Absolute Emperor Rietlingen, will he achieve consecutive Arima wins!?" and it was written in detail how Rietlingen was a fine horse that had achieved wonderful records. The popular prediction for advance tickets was also the immovable first favorite. Even at this stage, it was a so-called "rock solid" with estimated odds of 1.2 times.
Although matches are unpredictable, when there is such a difference in power based on the pre-race reviews alone, even Lilitia felt anxious. After all, Marianne had yielded the priority to choose the horse to bet on.
"Without a doubt, that guy will bet on this horse. And probably..."
"The saboteurs, right."
In addition, during the stall hopping, unsettling words entered the ears of the two who were gathering information.
"As a result of cracking down on match-fixing and shutting out the mafia, it seems external intervention has increased after all. It seems they are doing various wicked things."
The cheating they predicted when facing Nid had become a reality. As a result of eliminating the necessary evil, a greater evil that the administration cannot control has begun to intervene. In the last few years, major races have been disrupted, and the administration is taking measures, but they cannot crack down on it completely. The year before last, a popular jockey even died in a fall accident.
It seems the bookmaker who has a string attached to Nid... the superior of that person is the mafia, and they are probably connected to the saboteurs, or perhaps they are the saboteurs themselves.
And Rietlingen is a popular horse. Without a doubt, Nid will designate him, and there is a high possibility that they will use the saboteurs to target the horse Marianne chose to ensure victory.
No matter how you think about it, the odds are bad... but she smiled brightly.
"Lilitia, remember this well. A great gambler of old once said. I don't dislike bets with bad odds. The more risk you take, the more the return increases."
Generally, this is the line of people called "dark horse bettors."
Certainly, theoretically, if one chooses only races that smell of an upset and repeats the number of trials, the payout may exceed the stake used. However, regarding this time, it is a one-time match. Pulling a dark horse in that one time is quite severe. Whether it is great luck or bad luck, it would be impossible unless one is loved by the god of gambling.
"But sister. This time it doesn't balance with the return."
"Oh, that's not the case."
Lilitia, who understood this, complained, but Marianne hid her mouth with a folding fan and giggled.
"Obtaining 2000 gold coins and breaking the nose of a fake gambler who is insolently confident in his own victory... for a gambler, there is no more heart-pounding merit than this."
If one could have seen her mouth hidden by the folding fan at this time... the corners of her mouth were twisted, and an expression that fit the nuance of sneering rather than smiling could have been seen, but to Lilitia, she only looked like she was smiling optimistically.
Yes. At this time, she still had no way of knowing Marianne's wrath.
●
Meanwhile, Geoglyph, who saw off Reiter and Kazuha, and Marianne and Lilitia, had invited the Bethlehem bailiff to a room in the assigned hotel. When he left the guidance of the Serious Breakers to his subordinates, he had whispered to Geoglyph alone that he had something to talk about.
Geoglyph, who had been told by the guide that he would come soon, therefore did not go sightseeing in Berture and waited at the hotel. Latia was beside him, and he urged her, "It's okay if the four of us go together?" but she firmly refused, saying, "It would be bad for the four of them, and if I'm sightseeing, I'd rather be with Geo."
For that reason, the two of them welcomed Bethlehem and sat down on the sofa.
"So, what is this matter you wished to discuss?"
"Actually, you see..."
"Ah, she is family."
To Bethlehem, who cast a glance at Latia sitting next to Geoglyph, he waved his hand and gave his seal of approval that it was okay. At that sight, Bethlehem nodded and directed a grin, as expected, a smile of evil loyalty.
"Hoho, is she the young master's future wife?"
"Wife...!?"
"Ahaha... I'm thinking it would be good if it became so someday."
"Fwah!?"
At Geoglyph's unexpected response, Bethlehem softened his cheeks as Latia's face steamed, her ears twitching and her gaze wandering. It was not the rebellion face from before, but a smile of affection as if a grandchild had found a good partner. By the way, as for Latia, she had traveled to a world of delusions that were bad for Geoglyph's heart, such as "wife..." "marriage..." "pregnancy..." "large family..."
"My my, the young master is also a sinful person. Now, as for my story..."
Bethlehem sensed that there was some kind of obstacle in the way Geoglyph spoke, but since it deviated from the main topic this time, he set it aside.
The main topic was the story of the saboteurs who have been rampant in Berture for the last few years.
"I see. If it's just personal cheating, I'd overlook it as part of the technique, but saboteurs, huh... I sent the match-fixers to undeveloped mines, but that didn't work, huh..."
"Not involving the underworld backfired. A few years ago, injuries began to occur among jockeys and horses, and the year before last, there was finally a dead person..."
Of course, there was a reason for not involving the underworld.
Or rather, in Geoglyph's initial assumption, it was not this large-scale. He thought it would be enough if it had popularity on the level of a grass race at most. There, he would make them compete and refine themselves like a cauldron of poison, and once strong military horses were created by breeding them in order of good results, he would make a profit by shipping them to various regions. The race was merely a process, and the purpose was breed improvement for strong military horses.
Therefore, he found no necessity to involve the underworld, and since it seemed it might interfere with the original purpose in some cases, he excluded it in advance.
However, for some reason, it gained popularity that could be called excessive, and it has even become the main pillar supporting the current Berture. And various people came, thinking they could make a profit... but they were shut out from the start by legal power. But the profit involved in getting involved is too enormous to give up.
If so, they could just launch interventions from the outside... and that's how the saboteurs appeared.
Of course, it's a mass of illegality. But when a colossal amount of money that cannot be handled by such things moves, humans are such that they will launch it even by using schemes. In fact, the culprits are people who are intended to be discarded, such as failing adventurers, mages covered in debt, or alchemists who want operating funds for research.
"Have you investigated the roots?"
"Of course. But..."
Naturally, Bethlehem had traced it from there and had a guess, and he had already made arrangements to seize them by the scruff of the neck. For that reason, he placed the documents tucked in his breast on the table and presented them to Geoglyph.
"As expected. I'll take a look."
He took them, flipped through the pages, understood the outline through speed reading, then closed them with a snap and looked up at the sky.
"Hahaha, certainly this is something one cannot touch carelessly..."
"It is pathetic, but as a bailiff, I lack the authority. That said, if I inform His Excellency directly, there is a possibility that they will notice and conceal it before His Majesty's sanction is granted."
"People who are good at self-preservation have a keen nose. The movements of my father and my older brother, the next head, are probably being watched. If a person close to power moves strangely, it will be noticed. In that case..."
Certainly, if the opponent traced is this, it would be difficult for Bethlehem, who is just a bailiff even if capable, to move. That said, if Radglyph, the lord, moves directly, it will be noticed before it is transmitted to the Emperor, the administrator. In some cases, a false report that there is a movement of rebellion in the Triad might be made, and they would be dragged into a quagmire. In fact, since it is false, explanation and excuse would be possible, but it would take a tremendous amount of time, and the evidence would be concealed while they were delayed.
If possible, it would be best to inform the Emperor directly.
"Alright, then I'll move. As the profligate son of the Triad."
And fortunately or unfortunately... as a result of what he did during the earth dragon commotion, the Serious Breakers had such a connection.