I spoke briefly with Veronica before going to bed for the night.
As Talvel had said, there was no sign of a village ahead. The map only showed the continuation of the forest, with nothing else marked. The only change was that the tall, luxuriant trees had gradually become fewer, replaced by low bushes and hard ground.
The landscape became more open, allowing us to see further, but this meant there was nothing to block the sunlight, and it was very hot. The cart Philiana was pulling rattled and bumped against the small stones. I happened to glance at her and noticed her gait seemed a little awkward.
“Does your foot hurt? Do you want to rest a bit?”
“Ah, no, it’s not that, but my hooves are a little out of sorts. I wear horseshoes, but I haven’t maintained them for a while, and my hooves have grown quite long.”
As she said, even to an untrained eye, her hooves looked a bit too long.
“Do I have to take it off and put it back on?”
“Yes, with the rough roads we’ve been on, the shape has probably gotten worse too.”
Even so, no one among us could fix it, and there were no large towns nearby. I regretted not staying longer.
While I was thinking about this, Piyo, who had been flying around in the now-widened sky, descended.
“What’s wrong?”
“Philiana seems to have trouble with her hooves. Are there any places with people anywhere far away?”
Piyo then pointed to the top of a hill.
“There’s a Centaur up there. They might be able to fix Philly’s hooves.”
At Piyo’s words, everyone’s gaze turned toward the hill all at once. Squinting, I could indeed see what looked like the figure of a Centaur. I decided to go and fetch Philiana.
Leaving the others behind, I headed towards the hilltop. The figure remained motionless, staring intently at us. They were probably assessing our situation as well.
When I finally reached the top, I found a youth standing there. He had a cream-colored horse body and clear silver hair, appearing slightly younger than me. He seemed kind at first glance, but there was a possibility of hostility.
I cautiously approached the still-standing Centaur youth.
“Hello, um, I’m Arisugawa Hiroaki. I’m traveling with my companions, and I was wondering if there’s a village around here where we could rest for a bit?”
He then quietly opened his mouth.
“Are you perhaps an adventurer heading to a new town?”
His voice was gentle, yet dignified.
“I don’t know about a new town, but if you did, I’d be grateful if you could guide us. See, our companions are over there.”
I pointed to our companions below. He leaned forward slightly and looked down the hill.
“Your companions are rather unusual. Is this what adventurers are into these days?”
“We’re not adventurers, we’re travelers. Well, as you can see, it’s difficult for us to go to places with a lot of humans. This is Philiana, and her hooves are having trouble, so we’re looking for a place to get them fixed.”
He then responded with a thoughtful sound.
“If you’d like, please come to my village regarding the rest. I can’t let you stay long, but I can fix hooves.”
We happily followed him.
