Skeleton Knight in Another World Vol. 5

by Ennki Hakari

  “The driftpus are a sign of adulthood to the tiger clan. They’re practically like a partner to them. I figured if I picked up the mounts and kept them safe, eventually their owners would come back. However, we haven’t seen any members of the tiger clan in quite some time.”

  He paused to glance over at a driftpus that had wandered closer to us to graze. The man let out another long sigh.

  “As I’m sure you can see, the driftpus love to graze, and they eat a lot of grass while they’re at it. This has been quite a strain on my space, time, and food costs. On the other hand, it’s not like I can just release them back into the wild after taking responsibility for them. If I did, it’d destroy the relationship I spent years building with the tiger clan.”

  The man’s gaze was filled with sadness.

  He was looking at me in search of a way out, of some sort of help or assistance. Unfortunately, I really didn’t know what I could do.

  But if what he said were true, that the tiger clan was no longer coming into town, then we’d have no choice but to head out to their lands instead.

  “How many days would it take to travel from here to the Kuwana Prairie?”

  The man’s eyes glinted. “After crossing the Dodgas River at the edge of town, it’s a ten-day journey through the Singareeka Plains. The Kuwana Prairie is on the other side of the Syla River that flows down from the Khinray mountain range. Such a journey would certainly be reckless on foot. Why don’t you go by bandehaps? They’ve got great stamina, and I can get a few ready in no time.”

  The shrewd, rabbit-eared merchant gestured toward a small herd of large mountain goats beyond the fence and smiled.

  We almost exclusively traveled by teleportation, so the idea of mounts struck me as entirely unnecessary. On the one hand, sitting atop a massive beast of burden with all my bags dangling off its sides would add a nice fantasy adventure feel to our whole endeavor. On the other, we really weren’t here for the thrill of the adventure.

  I glanced over at Ponta, in Chiyome’s arms.

  “Kyii?”

  I turned back to the beasts of burden on the other side of the fence. It seemed incredibly unlikely that Ponta would ever enjoy a sudden growth spurt, allowing me to ride on its back as we traveled around the countryside.

  The merchant continued his sales pitch. “I’m quite serious, sir. Trying to make your way through the plains on foot is foolish. They may be a beautiful sight to behold, but the plains are filled with countless meat-eating monsters, always on the lookout for prey. Beyond the benefit of the bandehaps’ speed, they’re especially useful at night. They come from the plains and are able to pick up the slightest hint of a monster lurking close. They serve as great lookouts.”

  He had a point. We’d probably be all right traversing the plains during daylight hours, but once night fell, I wouldn’t be able to use my teleportation abilities, since there wouldn’t be any light. Ariane, Chiyome, and Goemon might do all right on night watch, but I wasn’t so sure of my ability to detect monsters lurking in the dark.

  The merchant seemed to sense my doubt and went in for the hard sell. “If the Kuwana Prairie is your ultimate destination, how about taking the driftpus with you instead? As I’m sure you can tell, most monsters’ claws and fangs are no match for their scales, and it might even prove useful for your negotiations with the tiger clan once you find them.”

  A shrewd smile graced the rabbit man’s lips. Not only was he pushing his problem off onto us, but he was looking to make some money while he was at it.

  To be fair, the man wasn’t wrong. Plus, this was pretty normal behavior for a merchant. For a moment, I was reminded of that young human merchant and his somewhat uncertain smile, but I shook his image out of my head.

  The man rubbed his hands together. “If you agree to take the driftpus, I’ll give you a discount on any other mounts.”

  I cocked my head in confusion. “If we have these two driftpus over here, I don’t think we’ll need any other mounts. Each one could carry two of us with no problem.”

  Ariane nodded in agreement.

  The man waved his arms and shook his head emphatically. “Well, I mean, you’re right, in the physical sense. But driftpus are very particular about who they let ride them. When someone other than a member of the tiger clan is working with them, we usually just pull them along by the reins.”

  He wiped some sweat from his brow and let out a sigh.

  “How do the tiger clan get the driftpus to accept them as their master?” I asked.

  Chiyome looked incredibly interested to hear the answer to my question and turned her gaze toward the older man.

  “Well, it’s actually quite simple. They face off against the driftpus in a show of strength.”

  I shot a look at the large reptilian creatures munching away on the grass.

  That explained a lot. It’d be pretty much impossible for a normal person to win in a contest of strength against these massive beasts. There were only a small number of people I could think of who might accomplish such a feat: Goemon here, with his unmatched fighting prowess, as well as some of the bear people back in the hideaway village.

  “In that case, I’d like to try my hand against one of the driftpus.”

  I dropped my bag to the ground and stretched my arms as I approached the fence.

  The merchant looked on in utter disbelief. “No, that’s crazy! They might look calm and docile now, but when they’re challenged, they’ll take a grown man out in a single blow! Even the powerhouses of the tiger clan sometimes lose.”

  The man turned his attention to Goemon, who was also eyeing one of the driftpus.

  “That one over there, he might stand a chance at getting one of them to obey him.”

  Several bystanders had gathered, drawn in by all the ruckus the merchant was making. They watched me intently, to see what would happen next.

  Goemon put his hand on the fence railing and hopped over it with ease. You generally wouldn’t expect that type of grace from such a large, muscle-bound man. Instead of his usual blank expression, he wore a defiant grin as he made his way toward the one of the grazing driftpus.

  Sensing that someone had entered their domain, the creature narrowed its yellow eyes and fixed this intruder with a glare.

  “Hey, some idiot’s going to challenge the driftpus!” one of the rubberneckers called out, drawing even more onlookers.

  “That big brute? Is he a member of the tiger clan?”

  “Nah, no way. I’ve never seen any of the tiger clan who are that color. He’s one of the cat people, I think.”

  The onlookers gossiped among themselves over the exciting event about to unfold.

  Goemon didn’t seem to hear the voices as he walked straight toward the driftpus, a stern look in his eye.

  The driftpus returned his gaze. It stretched out its six legs, raising its massive body covered in reddish-brown scales to its full height, which was about the same as Goemon’s. From where I stood, it looked almost like a small dump truck.

  The driftpus charged, its white mane fluttering in the wind as it turned its two horns straight toward Goemon.

  Goemon smiled and stuck out the palm of his hand, beckoning the driftpus to come closer.

  “C’mere. I’ll show you what true strength is.”

  It was rare to hear Goemon speak, though the challenge was oddly fitting.

  “Grweeeeeeee!”

  The driftpus let out an ear-splitting wail, almost as if it had understood Goemon’s challenge, as it continued its mad dash toward him.

  The crowd that had gathered let out gasps and cheers as they watched. Goemon, however, remained cool as ice.

  He launched into a dash of his own, heading just to the right of the driftpus. His opponent picked up on his movement and adjusted its course.

  Goemon’s body began glowing faintly. I could barely follow his movements as he reached up to grab the driftpus’s horns and dropped himself to the ground.

  It looked
almost comical as the massive driftpus flipped up and flew through the air before crashing to the ground and rolling straight into the fence, which creaked audibly on impact.

  Everything went quiet for a moment. Then, suddenly, the crowd began cheering.

  “I can’t believe it! He tossed it through the air like it was nothing!”

  “See? I told ya he must be from the tiger clan!”

  The driftpus’s eyes rolled in its head. It made no effort to try and get up. The fallen beast didn’t appear to be harmed, so Goemon would likely be able to ride it without any problems. However, despite its massive size, carrying four people was still out of the question.

  The rabbit-eared merchant ran over to make sure the driftpus was okay before turning back to yell at us.

  “What do you think you’re doing? The test of strength is a shoving match, not…hurling the driftpus through the air!”

  Goemon shrugged. Chiyome started explaining, but just then, the other driftpus let out a loud snort and stood up.

  It let out a menacing roar, shaking its head from side to side.

  “Grweeeee!”

  Apparently, it wasn’t too pleased to see its partner tossed around.

  Goemon turned to me and nodded his chin toward the raging driftpus.

  I set my bag on the ground, handed Ponta to Ariane, and bounded over the fence.

  Goemon and I bumped fists as we walked past each other. It was my turn to go.

  I could hear the roar of the crowd as I approached the driftpus.

  I cast my eyes around the enclosure. The land here wasn’t quite flat, but rather marked by several small hills.

  I was pretty sure that Goemon had used a ninja skill to throw his opponent around like that. Despite his large size, he was able to pull off some pretty intricate techniques.

  Realizing that I was lost in thought, the driftpus took the opportunity to bring itself low to the ground and start a full-frontal charge toward me, its yellow eyes glinting in the sun.

  “Grweeeeeeeeeee!”

  In a total rookie move, I hesitated over whether I should dodge left or right as the huge mass of muscle and bone came rushing in at high speed. That moment of hesitation cost me dearly as I found myself face to face with the oncoming horns.

  A massive thud echoed across the plain, followed by the cheers of the crowd. I had managed to grab both horns and shove the beast’s snout under my arm, stopping the driftpus in its tracks.

  I ignored the crowd and smiled down at the driftpus as it tried to slowly push its way through me.

  “Nnng… You’re a strong one.”

  In the game, the Paladin class gave me far greater physical strength than any normal character. However, here in this world, there were people who could actually face off against beasts like the driftpus. This made me fully aware just how dangerous it was to rely on my strength alone.

  That said, losing just wasn’t an option.

  I could feel my feet driving deep grooves into the ground as the driftpus slowly pushed me backward. Grabbing hold of its white mane, I dropped to the ground, pulling its head down with me.

  “Grwaaaaaaeeeeeeeeer!!!”

  The driftpus shook its head violently from side to side in an effort to break my grip. I squeezed tight with both arms, but I could still feel myself being pushed back ever so slightly.

  “Nnnng…”

  I threw all my weight to one side. This knocked the driftpus off-balance, three of its legs waving about in the air. The crowd let out a collective gasp.

  Not wanting to lose my hard-won gains, I twisted the driftpus’s head by the horns, sending the scaled beast slamming into the ground with an explosion of dust.

  “Whoa, no way! Did he really just take down a driftpus head-on like that?!”

  “I can’t believe it! Those guys must be demons!”

  As the crowd cheered, Ariane sighed and slumped her shoulders on the other side of the fence.

  All of a sudden, the crowd went quiet. The driftpus had gotten back up.

  “Grwaaaaeee.”

  It looked rather displeased, though it calmly dropped to its knees and lowered its head in front of me.

  Apparently, it was willing to accept me as its rider.

  I reached out to stroke the long strip of fur that covered its back. It was surprisingly soft compared to the surrounding scales. The driftpus narrowed its reptilian eyes and let out a low purr.

  I moved around to its side and hopped up onto its back.

  “Grweeeeeeeeeee!”

  With a loud screech, the driftpus stood back up.

  From this height, I could see far into the distance.

  I looked toward the fence and saw that the old man had finished checking on the fallen driftpus and was now looking at me, mouth agape.

  I pushed my heels into the driftpus’s side, and it began lumbering toward the merchant.

  The fallen driftpus had regained consciousness and, after shaking its head from side to side, kneeled before Goemon.

  I smiled down at the merchant. “We’ll be taking these two with us. Do you happen to have any saddles?”

  He forced a smile in return and offered up a terse nod.

  It looked like we’d secured mounts to take us out to the Kuwana Prairie—the home of the tiger clan.

  ***

  We left early the next morning, before the sun had even risen.

  Despite the hour, there were already people moving about the dimly lit town, beginning their days. Whether they were humans, elves, or mountain people, it seemed everyone here was an early riser.

  We’d managed to arrange for the rabbit-eared man to put saddles on the driftpus. Intricate markings had been stitched into the leather with colored thread, giving me some insight into the unique culture of the tiger clan.

  After attaching the saddles and purchasing various other equipment and goods we’d need for our journey into the plains, we spent the night at an inn.

  The merchant had been pretty excited about the prospect of selling us some other mounts to go with the driftpus, but unfortunately for him, the two beasts would be more than enough to carry the four of us, which meant he’d basically lost all of the money he’d spent on feed for the driftpus.

  However, when I told him that we would explain everything he’d done when we returned the driftpus to the tiger clan, he thanked us profusely, with tears in his eyes.

  This was assuming, of course, that I didn’t forget.

  We were now standing atop a bridge at the northwest corner of Fernandes. The Dodgas River running beneath us was quite wide, maybe two or three hundred meters across. Several small boats were docked at piers on the town’s side of the river. I could see their crews moving about busily.

  The river was clearly used as a waterway for transit.

  I turned my gaze away from the town and off toward the bridge ahead of us. At the center was a large drawbridge, which was currently raised in the air, held tight by large, thick chains. This was to allow taller ships passage up and down the river.

  Up ahead, a group of people waited for the drawbridge to be lowered. Most of them looked to be mercenaries, outfitted with light armor and weapons, though there was another group that appeared to be farmers, judging by the implements they carried. I could instantly feel all eyes on us.

  Chiyome and Goemon, being cat people, could easily blend into the crowds here on the southern continent, but Ariane and I—one of us a dark elf and the other outfitted in gleaming armor and a billowing, pitch-black cloak—drew a lot of attention. The driftpus weighed down with our bags and other gear certainly didn’t help things.

  As we sat on our mounts, I tried my best not to do anything that would invite further attention. Of course, given that driftpus was usually only ridden by members of the tiger clan, and I was most certainly not one of them, it made sense that people would be so interested in the sight of me riding one.

  Ponta, usually an ever-present fixture atop my head, had left its usual resting place
to play around in the white fur at the base of the driftpus’s neck. It would occasionally rub its face excitedly in the fluffy mane, eliciting a large yawn from the reptilian mount. At least the driftpus didn’t seem to mind.

  However, Ponta’s soft, cotton-like fur blended in perfectly with the mane, making it nearly invisible from a distance.

  Speaking of which…

  “You really like being high up, don’t you?”

  “Kyii?”

  Ponta shot me a curious look, currently standing at around the same height as me.

  Ariane, who’d been watching the exchange, teased us. “Haha! Maybe Ponta only likes you because you remind it of being back up in the trees.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Chiyome’s shoulders shaking slightly in silent laughter.

  Suddenly, the loud sound of metal on metal filled the air as the bridge began lowering. The two ends of the bridge connected with a heavy thud, and the ground shook beneath us. The crowd instantly began moving.

  I nudged my heels into the driftpus’s side, prompting it forward. Ponta immediately ran back up to assume its throne atop my helmet.

  “Ponta, I just don’t get you…”

  “Kyii!”

  I figured this behavior must be common to Ponta’s species and let out a sigh. Ariane, who’d been watching the whole situation unfold, laughed. I offered her my hand, which she took and easily hopped up onto the driftpus’ back behind me. Chiyome climbed aboard Goemon’s driftpus.

  Now that everyone was seated, I pulled on the reins and gave the driftpus the signal to start moving.

  Despite its hulking frame, the driftpus was actually quite nimble on its six feet and quickly outpaced the crowd.

  “Hey, don’t you think you’re going a bit fast, Arc?” Ariane clutched my back anxiously.

  I’d stored my shield and other belongings in the saddle bags hanging from either side of the driftpus, so when Ariane pulled herself close, I could easily feel the shape of her pressing against me. Of course, this was all through my armor, so I couldn’t feel her as much as I might have liked. How disappointing.