The Regressed Mercenary's Machinations-Chapter 246: I Will Start a New Business (4)

“Uuugh!”

Ascon lay sprawled on the ground, being continuously trampled by the horse.

Ignoring the thoroughly stomped Ascon, Ghislain turned to Lumina.

“Well? Doesn’t speaking sincerely actually work?”

Lumina smiled and nodded.

“Yes, and now I understand what our people are meant to do.”

She was no longer the apathetic, lazy elf she had once been. Through physical training, she had regained a healthy body and mind, and now she’d even come to understand the purpose of her kind.

Ghislain smiled approvingly, nodding.

"Now they’re starting to look like real elves."

With the elves restored to their original selves, they would become valuable allies in the times of calamity. When that time came, divisions among races would be meaningless. Defending the world was the same as protecting nature. In his past life, even the reclusive elves had united with humans to fight together.

“From now on, Lumina will lead the elves. All of you are to follow her guidance and focus on taming these horses, making them easy for anyone to ride. After that, we’ll move on to the next training.”

“Ack!”

Since Ascon hadn’t wanted to be the leader anyway, there was no resistance. And even if there were, he couldn’t voice his complaints, as he was currently occupied with cursing while being trampled by a horse.

Taking advantage of the calm among the horses, the elves rushed to Lumina.

“What’s the secret? How did you do it?”

“Show us how!”

“That horse wasn’t just docile, was it?”

Smiling, Lumina shared the method with the elves.

“Just talk to them sincerely.”

“...”

It was the exact same thing the crazy lord had said.

‘Will these horses really understand if we speak sincerely?’

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Seeing the confusion and disbelief on the elves’ faces, Lumina continued.

“I had the same doubts as all of you at first. But for us, it’s truly simple. This is the blessing that the World Tree granted our people. Believe in yourselves and try speaking sincerely.”

Her confidence encouraged the elves, who hesitantly approached the horses with mixed expressions. With the horses calmed after Lumina’s success, it was easier to get close.

Each elf tried to communicate sincerely with their assigned horse.

‘I’ll give you carrots. Just stay still for a bit.’

‘Just pretend you’re cooperating, please.’

‘I’ll find you a girlfriend.’

*Snort.*

Some elves offered ridiculous incentives, yet a few of the horses responded, sitting calmly or nuzzling the elves’ cheeks.

“Whoa, wow! Amazing!”

Excited cheers erupted from the elves who had succeeded in making a connection.

Though their connection wasn’t as deep as Lumina’s, thanks to her efforts, the horses had calmed enough to allow basic communication. Now that they’d gotten a feel for it, the elves could soon fully harness their innate abilities.

Seeing more and more elves connecting with the horses, Ghislain’s retainers looked at him in shock.

“This... this really works...”

“It’s not just luck...”

“How did Lord Ghislain even know about this...?”

Though Lumina’s initial success had surprised them, they’d suspected it might have been a fluke. They had thought she’d just been lucky in calming the horse.

But now, with multiple elves succeeding one after the other, it was clear this was no coincidence.

Just as Ghislain had said, the elves indeed possessed the ability to communicate with nature.

It would take a bit more time for all the elves to regain this skill, but the outcome was no longer in doubt. Those who had mastered the technique could help guide the others.

Ghislain turned to Lumina with a smile.

“Taming these horses won’t be a problem now, will it? Make sure they’re tame enough for the regular soldiers to ride.”

“Of course! I’ll do my best with everyone’s help. Don’t worry.”

Having discovered her calling, Lumina wore a soft smile, no longer cursing or harboring negative thoughts. She was finally starting to exude the grace that people had always associated with elves.

Satisfied, Ghislain nodded approvingly.

“Great. From today on, let’s work on taming these horses as quickly as possible. You know my style, right?”

“Yes! Leave it to us! I swear on the honor of the elves!”

“Good. I trust you. Alright, bring in the rest of the horses.”

*Thud thud thud!*

More horses appeared, led by soldiers who were being dragged along by them, their eyes red and froth bubbling from their mouths.

“Uh...”

Lumina’s face turned pale at the sight.

Since she’d jumped straight into physical training upon arrival, she didn’t fully grasp how hectic this domain was. Nor did she realize how many horses the lord had brought back from his expedition.

Watching her freeze in shock, Ghislain patted her shoulder with a grin.

“Let’s hurry up. This domain is busier than you think.”

*Thud thud thud!*

The soldiers screamed as they were dragged along by the unruly horses.

“Aaaaah! Help us!”

“The horses are too wild!”

“We’re sorryyyyy!”

As Lumina stared at the approaching stampede, she muttered to herself.

“Damn... What kind of place is this...”

She instantly regretted her confident words. She felt completely disconnected from nature and the so-called “voice of the earth.” It felt as if nature itself had abandoned her.

Knowing the lord’s personality, there was no chance he’d let her take back her words. The decision was final.

Meanwhile, Ascon was still being thoroughly trampled by his horse.

“Ack! Damn it! Stop kicking me, you crazy beast!”

The horse, fully connecting with Ascon’s “sincerity,” did not cease its relentless assault.

“Wow! The number of mounted soldiers is rising fast!”

Ghislain observed the elves’ progress with a broad smile over the past few days as they tamed more and more horses.

*Whinny!*

The horses galloped around the training grounds, carrying soldiers who showed no signs of fear.

“Whoa, I’m riding so well!”

“It’s moving exactly as I want it to!”

“They were so wild before!”

The soldiers had seen firsthand how fiercely the newly brought horses had behaved. But after a few “conversations” with the elves, they had become as docile as lambs.

Even soldiers with basic riding skills could now control the horses effortlessly. The horses responded perfectly to their riders’ commands.

While they weren’t trained to the level of elite cavalry, the soldiers could easily maneuver and wield weapons while on horseback. The ranks of mounted soldiers were growing swiftly.

“And the elves are shedding weight fast!”

There was no need for separate muscle-reduction training for the elves. Wrestling with wild horses daily naturally slimmed them down.

Seeing how smoothly things were progressing, Ghislain decided to push even further.

“Let’s make it so that every soldier in the domain learns how to ride.”

With the horses now compliant, improving riding skills was easy. Within a few days, even the most basic riders could be useful in battle.

Ghislain planned to train every infantry soldier in the domain to ride.

“If every soldier can be transformed into a mounted warrior, how can I pass that up?”

The mere thought thrilled him. Leading a force capable of adapting to any terrain or situation was every commander’s dream.

The retainers, however, looked on with baffled expressions.

“To think cavalry training could go this fast...”

“At this rate, they’ll be ready for transportation and combat.”

“So that’s why he brought in the elves. I didn’t realize they’d be able to manage the horses so easily.”

With a growing number of riders, it was time to launch the delivery service. Stables, courier stations, and storage depots had been swiftly constructed in each town and village, staffed by soldiers trained in horsemanship.

But the soldiers were grumbling.

“So, basically, we’re supposed to do guard duty, deliveries, cavalry during wars, infantry, and training...”

The soldiers had mixed feelings about learning to ride. While it was a valuable skill, it had come with a mountain of responsibilities. The soldiers who had grown accustomed to a life of good food, good sleep, and steady training felt as though the sky was falling.

Refusing was hardly an option, as the additional pay was too tempting. Many of their families even encouraged them to apply, so they had no choice but to take on the work, albeit begrudgingly.

With the basics in place, Ghislain gathered his retainers to officially announce the start of “Fenris Arrow Delivery.”

“To celebrate our launch, we’ll offer one month of free service to the residents!”

He pumped his fist confidently, and the retainers, accustomed to his antics, simply prepared for the business’s official launch.

The publicity campaign began in earnest, but the residents’ reactions were lukewarm.

“Arrow Delivery...? What’s that?”

“They’ll deliver letters and goods quickly and safely?”

“How is that different from using a merchant or a mercenary?”

The concept was so foreign that no one even considered trying it.

A week passed without a single customer, and the retainers spoke cautiously.

“It’s great that we’ve tamed the horses and increased the cavalry, but... will this business really work?”

“The response has been underwhelming.”

“Perhaps we should limit it to transporting supplies. We wouldn’t be losing anything that way.”

Despite their doubts, Ghislain shook his head.

“People don’t realize how convenient this is yet. Just give it time. Keep expanding.”

Ghislain was absolutely confident. In his past life, once people tried it, they couldn’t stop. As soon as

a few people used it, word would spread quickly.

Resigned, the retainers continued as instructed.

‘The expenses are high, but... we can handle a little loss.’

‘Even just the increased cavalry is a huge advantage.’

‘Not everything Lord Ghislain tries will succeed, right? Maybe after this failure, he’ll listen to us more.’

Having been through so much, they’d become surprisingly resilient.

Then, finally, a middle-aged woman walked into one of the previously empty courier stations.

“Welcome!”

A young employee, who had started working at the station, sprang to his feet to greet her. Although he’d received excellent pay, he’d been sitting around for over a week with nothing to do.

Eager to prove himself in this cushy job, he was determined to make a good impression.

The middle-aged woman hesitated before cautiously asking,

“Can you... really deliver a letter and goods directly?”

“Of course! Fenris Arrow Delivery promises the fastest and safest service! We’ll deliver whenever and wherever you want, even if it’s just for one person! And right now, it’s free!”

“I have some meat that might spoil... Is that okay?”

“Certainly! All our stations, storage depots, and delivery outposts have cold storage carriages available!”

“Then... I’d like to send some meat. And I heard you also offer a letter-writing service?”

Though literacy rates had improved with new academies across Fenris, most people still couldn’t read or write.

To accommodate them, each station employed a scribe for dictation.

From a corner, a young man raised his hand, having dozed off from lack of work.

“I can help with that. Normally, there’s a limit, but... since we’ve had no customers, I’ll write as much as you need.”

After a week of inactivity, he felt too guilty to turn her down.

Beaming, the woman asked him to help write a simple message.

“To Ricardo, stationed in the Ferdium Monster Forest. He has blue hair and is....”

The woman was Ricardo’s mother. After Ghislain had taken over Fenris, she and her husband had moved from Ferdium to find work.

Due to an agreement between Ferdium and Fenris, movement between the regions was unrestricted.

Though the size of a region’s population was a measure of its strength, Ferdium had actively encouraged its residents to move to Fenris due to a population boom after taking over half of Degald.

The young man wrote down Ricardo’s details carefully, nodding the whole time.

“We’ll make sure it’s delivered safely.”

“Thank you very much.”

“No need to worry. Speed and safety are the hallmarks of Fenris Arrow Delivery.”

With their first customer, the employees at the station jumped into action. A soldier inspected the package and quickly loaded the meat onto a small cold-storage cart attached to a horse.

Their motto was straightforward: *Serve even a single customer with utmost dedication. If the client asks, they’ll go to the ends of the earth.*

Every delivery soldier knew this by heart, thanks to the terrifying reminders from the lord himself.

The soldier loaded the letter and meat into the cart with a determined expression.

“Let’s go!”

At his call, the horse trotted forward.

Delivery soldiers wore blue vests to distinguish themselves from the others.

On the back of each vest, written in large letters, was:

**[Arrow Delivery]**

Thus, “Fenris Arrow Delivery” began its very first mission.