Chapter Seventy-Five: Red! With Horns!

"Ryan, thank you for your help."
Ruby was suspended in midair in a rather peculiar posture, his arms firmly grasped by Ryan as he carried him. The Golden Sword Lion flew with him toward a certain place on the outskirts of the imperial capital.

"You're too polite. I believe Mr. Ruby must have his reasons for this," Ryan replied, shaking his head. Having Ruby rely on him was a good thing, and it finally allowed him to fulfill his long-held wish to do something for Ruby.

After Tina stormed off yesterday in a fit of pique, she hadn’t returned to Miona’s house, which was quite expected—fools’ emotions were always so straightforward. After giving it some thought, Ruby decided to find Ryan and inquire about the noble who had hurt someone. Although Ryan didn’t know much about it, a quick investigation by his subordinates yielded results.

The noble was named Vansa, the only son of a marquis. Unlike other nobles, his family was quite unique, renowned for breeding unicorns—a prestigious lineage. Unicorns were mounts second only to earth dragons, and owing to their elegant appearance and gentle, intelligent temperament, they had always been the first choice among nobles.

The family’s unicorn-breeding tradition began with Vansa’s grandfather, who, at a loose end, started raising a few unicorns and quickly became obsessed with horsemanship. People lavish care on what they love, and so, over time, their unicorns became the finest of the finest. Vansa himself was an avid equestrian, which explained why he was always seen riding with his steed.

"We’ve arrived," Ryan announced as he gently landed. Before them stretched a vast, seemingly endless riding grounds—the very place where unicorns were bred, and where nobles often gathered to socialize and compete.

"Lord Ryan, welcome," greeted the attendant in charge of receiving guests, quickly recognizing Ryan. In Miona’s eyes, Ryan might not be much, but to others, his status was incomparably distinguished—the empire’s youngest grand magus, the emperor’s most favored confidant, and the list went on. No one dared neglect him.

"I have a friend who’d like to look around. Is Vansa here?" Ryan asked, flashing a polite smile and gesturing to Ruby.

"Yes, yes, I’ll take you to him right away," the attendant replied, not daring to be slow, and immediately led them inside. This, after all, was why Ruby had asked Ryan to accompany him—connections made things easier.

Unicorns of gorgeous form could be seen everywhere in the riding grounds. At first, Ruby had thought unicorns were simply horses with horns, but seeing them in person, he realized there were differences. His experience on Earth told him that unicorns’ skeletal and muscular structure varied from that of horses; they were a bit leaner, but much more explosive in power. At that moment, a unicorn carrying a rider leapt nimbly over a five-meter-high obstacle, drawing cheers from the gathered nobles.

"That’s Vansa," Ryan pointed out, indicating the rider who had just dismounted—the very one who’d cleared the obstacle. Ruby nodded and strode over.

"Well, well, a new face. Care for a race?"
Vansa was a young man with gray hair, cropped short for convenience in riding. He was always eager to challenge others to a race, and upon seeing Ruby, he asked with interest.

"Do you remember what happened yesterday on Bluebird Street?"
Ruby shook his head, signaling he wasn’t here for a race. Instead, he brought up the incident from the previous day. In Aerlak, the streets where commoners lived were all named after animals.

"Hmm? Another one of the princess’s lackeys? How many of you are going to chase me down? I already arranged for someone to turn themselves in. Isn’t that enough?"
Vansa’s face soured with impatience, and he leaned against his unicorn. The beast snorted, its eyes casting a haughty gaze toward Ruby—a perfect reflection of its master’s attitude.

"Is it really so hard to apologize?"

"Apologize? You want a noble to apologize to a commoner? If it weren’t for that meddling princess, I wouldn’t even bother sending a scapegoat!"

"You seem to look down on commoners."

"So what if I do? Do you see this riding grounds? Its existence feeds and pays thousands of commoners. With a single word from me, they lose everything. That’s the difference between nobility and commoners."

"I am a commoner, too. If I beat you in something you’re best at, wouldn’t that mean you’re wrong?"

Vansa’s arrogance didn’t faze Ruby; he’d long grown past being angered by mere words—weren’t all nobles like this?

"It’s been a while since I’ve met such a cocky commoner. And what did you have in mind?"

"Your expertise is horsemanship, isn’t it? Let’s make a wager. If I win, you must apologize to the commoners you’ve hurt."

"Win? You must be joking. And if you lose, you’ll muck out my champion’s stable for a month—without magic!"

Vansa threw back his head and laughed heartily. Even his unicorn seemed to share in the amusement, casting Ruby a look full of mocking delight. Ruby couldn’t help but marvel at the uncanny resemblance between master and mount.

"Agreed."

"A commoner like you probably can’t afford a unicorn. I’ll be generous and lend you one. Whether you can handle it is up to you," Vansa said, beckoning Ruby toward the stables. He doubted Ruby could beat him, but every master occasionally needed to trounce a novice—here, among nobles, he had to be careful whom he challenged. It had been ages since he’d enjoyed leaving someone so far behind in the dust.

"These are all guest unicorns. Need me to show you the basics?"
"No need," Ruby replied, as he began to inspect the unicorns one by one. All were well-trained and mild-tempered; some munched on feed, others dozed, none shied from his touch.

"Hey, over there is—"
Vansa began to caution Ruby against wasting time, but was cut short as he saw Ruby heading deeper into the stables.

Hmm?
Ruby had a vague sense that something was lurking in the shadows at the far end of the stable, but couldn’t quite make it out. As he approached, a sharp red horn shot out from the darkness, aiming straight for his chest. Fortunately, his reflexes were quick enough to dodge just in time.

A furious whinny rang out as the creature emerged from the shadows—its entire coat a blood-red sheen, as though it had just fought its way through a battlefield. The horn atop its head was an even deeper crimson. A unicorn, red as blood, glared at Ruby for disturbing its rest. Its mere presence seemed to unsettle all the other unicorns into uneasy silence.

"So you’ve drawn out that lunatic. If you die, I’ll make sure you’re buried," Vansa called from the stable entrance, flashing a gesture that all but said, "Good luck surviving."

Though the red unicorn repeatedly warned him to stay away, Ruby advanced slowly. The horn lashed out time and again, but curiously, it never managed to touch him. This, of course, was thanks to Ruby’s own experience—treating the unicorn’s horn like a lance, it was easy to predict and evade its strikes.

With every step closer, the unicorn was forced to retreat, until it found itself backed into a corner. Suddenly, it turned, realizing there was nowhere left to go. Furious but helpless, it faced Ruby—a first for the beast, being driven to such a point by a human.

"Will you do me a favor?"
At last, Ruby stood face to face with the unicorn. He wrapped his arms around its long, slender neck and gently stroked it.

The unicorn’s eyes widened—he was the first human ever to touch it. But that didn’t mean it would submit. Rearing up, it flung Ruby off and sent him sprawling to the ground. When he looked up, the unicorn lifted a massive hoof, ready to bring it crashing down.

"Trust me—I’ll bring out all the strength you possess."
If unicorns truly understood humans, Ruby was willing to bet on it. He raised his fist, looked the unicorn in the eye, and spoke firmly.

To his surprise, the unicorn paused, hoof poised above him. It regarded Ruby for a long moment, then lowered its head to sniff him. It even brushed his fist with its hoof before turning and striding out of the stable. Noticing that Ruby hadn’t followed, it glanced back and snorted loudly.

"Hate to lose, do you? What an interesting fellow."

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PS: Ruby: Honestly, when they first asked me to ride, I refused—after all, it’s not a guaranteed win. If I lost, the readers would definitely curse me. But when I saw that red-horned one, I knew my cheat had arrived.
PS: Many thanks to Book Friend Lanhwang015015 for the 500 tip, Baiyan vs Heiyan for the 200 tip, and Qiufeng Yeying for the 100 tip!