While Ansu and Celia were whispering to each other, Radish had already been fed two bundles of fodder by its owner.
However, Radish didn't seem full at all, its mouth never stopping for a moment.
"Radish eats this much?" Ansu asked in surprise.
The owner gave an embarrassed laugh. "It might be because its physique is too large, so it consumes a lot of energy when moving. It usually eats this much."
How is its energy consumption high? Celia muttered to herself. It only strolled around the track today.
The owner's smile became even more awkward.
"Brother, take this bonus." Ansu pretended to reach into his pocket and pulled a stack of bills from his warehouse, handing them to him. "Just a thousand pounds, a small token of my appreciation. Use it to improve Radish's meals."
"How can I take this?" Seeing the stack of Empire Livres printed with the old Emperor's portrait, the owner's eyes widened in shock, and he immediately tried to refuse.
"This is too much! No, no..."
"Enough with the pleasantries. If it weren't for you and Radish today, I wouldn't have made so much." Ansu forced the money into the man's hands.
"Well, alright then..." The owner looked helpless, but his hands were very quick to tuck away the bills.
After exchanging a few more words, Ansu looked at Radish, who was still eating, and suddenly asked, "By the way, how much longer can Radish live?"
"Hmm..." The owner thought for a moment. "Probably less than a year. After all, it's a modified racehorse, and I think you two should know what this so-called 'modification' entails."
"Is it really less than a year?" Ansu stepped forward and gently stroked the mane on Radish's neck.
Radish didn't have the irritable temperament of those modified breeds at all. It lifted its massive head and submissively accepted Ansu's touch.
"After all, it was injected with monster blood, and it must have been that high-concentration filthy blood." Celia shook her head. "The horses in these underground racecourses are all consumables. Even that impressive-looking Monster is the same."
Ansu looked back at Celia, thinking that when he set out with Professor Duncan, he would be short on horses—especially the kind that could adapt to harsh environments.
So he asked, "How about this? Why don't you just sell Radish to me? I see it's quite sturdy; it shouldn't have any trouble with long-distance travel."
The owner hadn't expected the other party to offer to buy the horse. "Radish does have very good endurance, but..."
He glanced at Radish, who was silently eating grass again, and after thinking for a moment, he readily agreed.
"Very well, sir. Radish's price is ten thousand pounds. If you have truly made up your mind, I hope we can agree on a flat price."
"Of course," Ansu agreed just as readily.
"But where would you keep a horse?" Celia leaned closer to Ansu. "Are you going to put it in that cramped, run-down house of yours in the Black Harbor District? Vera will be driven mad if she sees horse manure everywhere."
"I'm moving back to my old manor in a while, so I'll have a yard then." Ansu pondered for a moment. "But right now, I really don't have a place..."
"Hmm..." Celia looked Radish up and down, then suddenly suggested, "Then let it stay in my yard for the next few days. To be honest, I'm quite interested in the modification methods used by this underground racecourse. I can use Radish as experimental material!"
"Huh?" Ansu looked at her helplessly. "You're not planning an extreme modification on Radish, are you? It's the great hero who made us our fortune..."
Celia curled her lip. "Of course not. Do I really seem that crazy to you..."
Actually, she really is, Ansu thought.
"Honestly, I don't just perform an extreme modification on anyone!" Celia gave a helpless smile. "I just want to study its blood. Look at how good and stable Radish's state is! Maybe I can even research a good way to suppress mana backlash!"
Seeing Ansu's skeptical expression, she tugged at his arm and blinked her eyes pleadingly.
"Just let it stay at my place for a few days for research... okay? I'll feed it well and keep it fat. At most, I'll just draw a tiny bit of blood. Hmm... I won't let it grow tentacles all over its body, trust me~"
Under her pathetic pleading, Ansu relented and nodded his head.
"Alright then, it can stay with you for a few days..."
Celia immediately looked delighted. "Then I'll have the head maid pick it up in a while!"
Radish lifted its head, expressing clear resistance toward the witch who was looking at it with such excitement. It didn't even care about eating anymore as its hooves shifted nervously.
Ansu silently looked at the anxious Radish and prayed for it in his heart.
Since the young lady witch had said so, when he took Radish back, it should hopefully still look like a horse...
...
After eating and betting on horses, it was already afternoon.
The two of them ate and wandered through the streets and alleys of the Black Harbor District. Ansu acted like a tour guide, telling her about the history of those dilapidated neighborhoods and sharing some stories from his childhood.
"There used to be a church orphanage over there. Hmm... that's where I met Vera. Since we were both newcomers at the time, we were always bullied by the small cliques in the orphanage, so we could only huddle together for warmth."
"Once, while I was away, they beat Vera until she cried. I stood up for once, pouncing on them and nearly choking that brat to death. When they saw me like that, they were terrified and never bullied us again..."
"However, they changed their strategy later and started cold-shouldering us. They even secretly hid the clothes and food the nuns handed out. In short... it was quite annoying. Fortunately, only two years passed before Dr. Morris appeared and offered to adopt both of us. Vera and I never went hungry again..."
"It seems you had a very hard time as a child." Celia felt a pang of sympathy as she saw Ansu recount these childhood experiences so nonchalantly.
"It was all thanks to Dr. Morris. He was indeed a good man; it's just a pity he didn't live to see the day you got into the Benalu Royal Academy."
"Yeah..." Ansu sighed.
His foster father's passing was indeed a tragedy. It was a shame that the doctor cannot heal himself...
Celia also felt a bit sentimental. She disliked high-sounding hypocrites like the people in the Church, especially Archbishop Paul, but she had great respect for truly good people like Ansu's foster father, Dr. Morris.
Moreover... if it hadn't been for his careful upbringing, the Ansu she admired would not have been delivered to her like a gift.
"What happened after that?" Celia blinked curiously; she truly enjoyed listening to Ansu tell stories of his childhood.
She wanted to know more about him.
There was just one fly in the ointment... in the stories of Ansu's childhood, Vera's presence was simply too overwhelming...
Vera, Vera, Vera... in Ansu's past life, it seemed that no matter what he did, Vera was always by his side.
These two were like each other's destined other half. Celia didn't even know how to describe such an incredibly close relationship...
This also gave her an inexplicable sense of crisis.
"Hmm... after that..."
As Celia listened to Ansu's narration, she lowered her head slightly, her eyes swirling with complex emotions.
The more she cared, the more she didn't want to ignore the people around him. When she visited his home in a few days, perhaps she should prepare meticulously...
"Eh, even the primary school I attended has been demolished to build a factory?" Ansu looked helplessly toward the billowing black smoke in the distance, feeling that the Black Harbor District was gradually becoming unfamiliar.
"Ansu..."
Celia didn't respond this time. She just keenly scanned the area behind them and said calmly, "They've followed us."
"Gangs?" Ansu quickly glanced behind him and raised an eyebrow. "They actually dare to follow us?"
Rate on N.U.
