Amaku Yasashii Sekai de Ikiru Ni Wa – 30
We start to practice on the obstacle course I have made. Blanc is kicking off the ground vigorously, and we rush towards the ten fences to jump over them in the specified order. (1)
First, we come up on the first, second and third levels*. The third one’s height is a person’s chest height. Next, we run towards the fourth and fifth level which are higher than the previous levels, and then jump the Oxer* fence. (2)
It is difficult to keep all the fences in my gaze, but if I only focus on one of the fences, I will miscount how many strides I will need for the next. Blanc is helping me keep all the fences in my sight. He focuses on the next jump while I count the strides for the jump after the previous one. I come upon the sixth and seventh level. The seventh level is a double combination jump* and the last three levels are a triple combination jump. The last three are a the eight level, ninth level, and a square oxer. I can get past the first two, but the last Oxer is difficult. (3)
The last jump is very difficult. The height is increased, and the distance I have to keep in the air is much more than previously. This will test both the speed of the horse, its leg strength, and the concentration of the rider to time the jump correctly. Horses are very sensitive to changes in the rider. A single moment of hesitation will cause the horse to hesitate as well. As result,
Bam! Dong! Bash! Gangangangangan! Bssh!
“Master Doyle!”(Ballad)
At the moment of the jump, my hesitation causes Blanc to hit his feet on the bar and I fall over. I let go of the reins of Blanc to make sure I do not get dragged, and Blanc keeps moving because of his momentum. I am glad I did not get dragged, but hitting the ground like that still hurts.
I have lost count of how many times I have fallen from my horse. Ballad always rushes up to me with the medicine that Leo prepared.
“Are you alright, Master Doyle!”(Ballad)
“-cough- Yes, I am fine.”(Doyle)
I think dropping on my back caused my breathing to stop for a bit. I only have a few scratches and bruises from this fall. I am grateful that I have such a strong body as it does not get damaged that easily.
“Master Doyle, I will now clean the wound and apply the medicine.”(Ballad)
“Thank you.”(Doyle)
Ballad has become an expert at applying medicine. He can clean the wound perfectly and apply just the right amount of medicine to make sure the wound heals, and the pain gradually goes away.
I have used an incredible amount of medicine as I still have some remaining from what Leo gave me that day. Leo truly is incredible for being able to make such amazing medicine from low-cost ingredients.
It has been two days since I accepted Lute’s request for a duel. I prepared the course at the place Mr. Hengst showed me that day. I started to practice immediately, but I have not been able to jump over that last Oxer. The match is tomorrow, but even after doing it so many times, I still have not been able to jump over that Oxer.
It has nothing to do with Blanc because I know it is because I am hesitating. I know in my head that Blanc and I can easily make that jump, but when I am going at that kind of speed, I start hesitate and mess up. I need to have courage to believe that I can fly over that last Oxer.
I look back at the Oxer and give a sigh. Show jumping in this academy consists of five vertical jumps and five Oxer combination jumps. They are arranged in the order I have right now. The rules for it are easy, the one with the shortest time wins. The lowest amount of time in which a person can complete the course is 80 seconds. If you miss a jump, five seconds are added to your time. If you drop a bar, one more second is added. Three seconds are added for if you mess the order, and ten seconds are added for every time you fall off the horse. The best record in the academy is 92 seconds.
The biggest challenge students have with this course is the last Oxer combination jump after the eighth and ninth level. The Oxer is already a very tall square Oxer. A large amount of air time is also required as the Oxer is quite long. The horse must be at maximum speed to jump above it but the fear of crashing at the speed overtakes most of the students.
It is not easy to overcome this fear as a first year student. Thus many students do not try on the last jump and try to get back onto the horse fast as possible to make up for failing the jump. But for me to perfectly defeat Lute, I have to make that jump.
Lute may be able jump over this Oxer. Thus, I must also make sure that I can jump over it as well. I can jump it and hit only one bar, but that will still make me lose if he is able to jump over this Oxer. I know he is confident in winning this competition because his house owns a horse breeding ranch, and he has practiced for a very long time. Thus, the only way I can compete with him is to perfectly complete this course.
I do not object to Lute picking Show Jumping as the duel. I already knew he would pick this in my heart. I am just upset that I can’t punch him in the face. If he picked a regular duel then I would have broken at least half the bones in his body because he is weak in battle. Thus, him challenging me through this method was given.
I also would not have cared what he picked as I would have accepted it either way. I accepted this challenge and payed the price by making Gray sad again. Thus, I will not back down. Also, I think I will feel much better when I destroy him at the one thing he prides himself at being the best at.
I will win that match. Blanc is first-grade horse.
I am also good at horsemanship.
. . . The only thing left is to overcome my hesitation.
“Master”(Blanc)
“Blanc, I am sorry for giving you so much trouble.”(Doyle)
“This is no trouble at all!”(Blanc)
He shakes his head and makes a snorting sound to indicate that he is fine to keep going. I am the one at fault, Blanc is perfect. I should easily be able to surpass that jump with Blanc, but I repeat the same mistake over and over again. Blanc truly is an amazing horse for being able to keep going for this long.
“Master Doyle, I have applied the medicine on the scratches. Please lift your shirt so I may apply it on your back.”(Ballad)
“Okay.”(Doyle)
He treats all the scratches on my body from the fall and the injuries on my back from the fall. Ballad does this without saying anything. Even though I know he wants to stop me, he silently watches me and treats my wounds. I am truly unworthy of his help.
“Master Doyle, I have finished treating the wounds.”(Ballad)
“Okay, thanks.”(Doyle)
I apologize to Ballad in my heart as he cleans my wounds and treats them without saying a word.
“Master Doyle, how about a break? I need to get more medicine since we have used all of the medicine I received during this treatment. I will make some tea as well.”(Ballad)
“Okay, I understand.”(Doyle)
“Master Doyle, please do not practice without me watching over you.”(Ballad)
“. . . Don’t worry, I won’t do that. I will wait for you to come back.”(Doyle)
“Master Doyle. Please I beg you, do not practice until I get back with the medicine.”(Ballad)
“I understand, okay.”(Doyle)
“Thank you.”(Ballad)
I nod my head at Ballad. Ballad then walks over to Blanc, takes off his saddle, and takes it with him. He then puts it in the storage bag he has on Amaro and goes to get the medicine.
I am truly grateful to Ballad who is silently watching over me. I cannot do it right now, but when this duel is over, I will apologize to him and everyone else. Luce, Leo, Eleanor and Gray for allowing my selfishness.
When I close my eyes, I see the two faces he made at me. The smile when he said “I leave it to you” and sad eyes when he asked “why”.
“Master?”(Blanc)
I open my eyes and see Blanc in front of me. He is trying to cheer me up by rubbing his head against my head. I pull his reins and stroke his nose.
“Both of us are now on a break. Go drink the water over there and rest. We will start again when Ballad returns.”(Doyle)
“Yes, Master”(Blanc)
I pull on the reins and being Blanc to the water well, and he starts to drink the water. I lightly clean the dirt off his coat that he got from stomping on the ground. I turn back to the fences and look back at Blanc.
I know 100% that if it is Blanc, he will be able to fly over that.
He is faster than any horse here.
His boasts at the beginning were not for show.
I know for a fact that he runs faster than any other horse and can jump higher than any other horse.
If I trust Blanc, I know he will get past all those fences with ample time.
I try to control my emotions again, but I cannot seem to get rid of the instinctive fear I have in my heart no matter how hard I try.
The memories from my past life say that the fastest a horse can go is 75 kph. However, I know Blanc can go faster than that so he must run at 80-90kph.
This is very scary to me.
The height at which we are jumping is two meters, and Blanc is going fast as 80-90 kph. The fences are made out of wood and the G-force I experience from going that fast on Blanc is quite taxing. Blanc body also tilts 45 degrees.
To be honest, this is much more scarier than any roller coaster I have gone on.
I have tried that last jump many times now, and when push comes to shove, I lose all the energy in my hands. I know my body is durable, and I will not die . . . but my fear will not go away.
I dunk my head into the water Blanc is drinking to cool off. I also try to think of a good method to overcome this fear while doing this.
Unlike the time with the spear, I can get skills from horsemanship. In addition, I already have some skills in that section. I have obtained the [Heavenly Soaring Horse] skill during this time as well. Horsemanship is something I can train in and obtain skills from. I know I will leave Lute in my dust if I can get over my stupid fear.
This is not waste of time like before.
I will keep persevering as long as possible. Compared to the ten years I spent practicing the spear, this much training is nothing.
(1) Show jumping starts off with the rider walking and strolling along the course. This is done to gauge the speed and distance required for each jump and understand how many steps are needed. Doyle has already done that part and is now starting his jumps over the obstacles. The rider must jump over the obstacles in the order they themselves have specified beforehand to the judge.
(2) More show jumping terms. Levels are the height of fences, 0 is the shortest and 9 is the tallest. Oxers also have levels. An Oxer is two fences that are placed closely together | | like this but with the second one being taller than the first. This is an ascending oxer.
(3) A course can have up to 13 jumps. A single level can consist of up to three jumps. Here level 7 is a double combination jump meaning it has two jumps in a row. A combination jump is classified by how many strides you can take in between. The rules of show jumping officially say that when there are only two strides between jumps, that is a combination jump. A square Oxer is when both fences are the same height, and since it is combined with level 8 and 9 which are the tallest jumps, this is very hard to pull off.
Amaku Yasashii Sekai de Ikiru Ni Wa – 30
We start to practice on the obstacle course I have made. Blanc is kicking off the ground vigorously, and we rush towards the ten fences to jump over them in the specified order. (1)
First, we come up on the first, second and third levels*. The third one’s height is a person’s chest height. Next, we run towards the fourth and fifth level which are higher than the previous levels, and then jump the Oxer* fence. (2)
It is difficult to keep all the fences in my gaze, but if I only focus on one of the fences, I will miscount how many strides I will need for the next. Blanc is helping me keep all the fences in my sight. He focuses on the next jump while I count the strides for the jump after the previous one. I come upon the sixth and seventh level. The seventh level is a double combination jump* and the last three levels are a triple combination jump. The last three are a the eight level, ninth level, and a square oxer. I can get past the first two, but the last Oxer is difficult. (3)
The last jump is very difficult. The height is increased, and the distance I have to keep in the air is much more than previously. This will test both the speed of the horse, its leg strength, and the concentration of the rider to time the jump correctly. Horses are very sensitive to changes in the rider. A single moment of hesitation will cause the horse to hesitate as well. As result,
Bam! Dong! Bash! Gangangangangan! Bssh!
“Master Doyle!”(Ballad)
At the moment of the jump, my hesitation causes Blanc to hit his feet on the bar and I fall over. I let go of the reins of Blanc to make sure I do not get dragged, and Blanc keeps moving because of his momentum. I am glad I did not get dragged, but hitting the ground like that still hurts.
I have lost count of how many times I have fallen from my horse. Ballad always rushes up to me with the medicine that Leo prepared.
“Are you alright, Master Doyle!”(Ballad)
“-cough- Yes, I am fine.”(Doyle)
I think dropping on my back caused my breathing to stop for a bit. I only have a few scratches and bruises from this fall. I am grateful that I have such a strong body as it does not get damaged that easily.
“Master Doyle, I will now clean the wound and apply the medicine.”(Ballad)
“Thank you.”(Doyle)
Ballad has become an expert at applying medicine. He can clean the wound perfectly and apply just the right amount of medicine to make sure the wound heals, and the pain gradually goes away.
I have used an incredible amount of medicine as I still have some remaining from what Leo gave me that day. Leo truly is incredible for being able to make such amazing medicine from low-cost ingredients.
It has been two days since I accepted Lute’s request for a duel. I prepared the course at the place Mr. Hengst showed me that day. I started to practice immediately, but I have not been able to jump over that last Oxer. The match is tomorrow, but even after doing it so many times, I still have not been able to jump over that Oxer.
It has nothing to do with Blanc because I know it is because I am hesitating. I know in my head that Blanc and I can easily make that jump, but when I am going at that kind of speed, I start hesitate and mess up. I need to have courage to believe that I can fly over that last Oxer.
I look back at the Oxer and give a sigh. Show jumping in this academy consists of five vertical jumps and five Oxer combination jumps. They are arranged in the order I have right now. The rules for it are easy, the one with the shortest time wins. The lowest amount of time in which a person can complete the course is 80 seconds. If you miss a jump, five seconds are added to your time. If you drop a bar, one more second is added. Three seconds are added for if you mess the order, and ten seconds are added for every time you fall off the horse. The best record in the academy is 92 seconds.
The biggest challenge students have with this course is the last Oxer combination jump after the eighth and ninth level. The Oxer is already a very tall square Oxer. A large amount of air time is also required as the Oxer is quite long. The horse must be at maximum speed to jump above it but the fear of crashing at the speed overtakes most of the students.
It is not easy to overcome this fear as a first year student. Thus many students do not try on the last jump and try to get back onto the horse fast as possible to make up for failing the jump. But for me to perfectly defeat Lute, I have to make that jump.
Lute may be able jump over this Oxer. Thus, I must also make sure that I can jump over it as well. I can jump it and hit only one bar, but that will still make me lose if he is able to jump over this Oxer. I know he is confident in winning this competition because his house owns a horse breeding ranch, and he has practiced for a very long time. Thus, the only way I can compete with him is to perfectly complete this course.
I do not object to Lute picking Show Jumping as the duel. I already knew he would pick this in my heart. I am just upset that I can’t punch him in the face. If he picked a regular duel then I would have broken at least half the bones in his body because he is weak in battle. Thus, him challenging me through this method was given.
I also would not have cared what he picked as I would have accepted it either way. I accepted this challenge and payed the price by making Gray sad again. Thus, I will not back down. Also, I think I will feel much better when I destroy him at the one thing he prides himself at being the best at.
I will win that match. Blanc is first-grade horse.
I am also good at horsemanship.
. . . The only thing left is to overcome my hesitation.
“Master”(Blanc)
“Blanc, I am sorry for giving you so much trouble.”(Doyle)
“This is no trouble at all!”(Blanc)
He shakes his head and makes a snorting sound to indicate that he is fine to keep going. I am the one at fault, Blanc is perfect. I should easily be able to surpass that jump with Blanc, but I repeat the same mistake over and over again. Blanc truly is an amazing horse for being able to keep going for this long.
“Master Doyle, I have applied the medicine on the scratches. Please lift your shirt so I may apply it on your back.”(Ballad)
“Okay.”(Doyle)
He treats all the scratches on my body from the fall and the injuries on my back from the fall. Ballad does this without saying anything. Even though I know he wants to stop me, he silently watches me and treats my wounds. I am truly unworthy of his help.
“Master Doyle, I have finished treating the wounds.”(Ballad)
“Okay, thanks.”(Doyle)
I apologize to Ballad in my heart as he cleans my wounds and treats them without saying a word.
“Master Doyle, how about a break? I need to get more medicine since we have used all of the medicine I received during this treatment. I will make some tea as well.”(Ballad)
“Okay, I understand.”(Doyle)
“Master Doyle, please do not practice without me watching over you.”(Ballad)
“. . . Don’t worry, I won’t do that. I will wait for you to come back.”(Doyle)
“Master Doyle. Please I beg you, do not practice until I get back with the medicine.”(Ballad)
“I understand, okay.”(Doyle)
“Thank you.”(Ballad)
I nod my head at Ballad. Ballad then walks over to Blanc, takes off his saddle, and takes it with him. He then puts it in the storage bag he has on Amaro and goes to get the medicine.
I am truly grateful to Ballad who is silently watching over me. I cannot do it right now, but when this duel is over, I will apologize to him and everyone else. Luce, Leo, Eleanor and Gray for allowing my selfishness.
When I close my eyes, I see the two faces he made at me. The smile when he said “I leave it to you” and sad eyes when he asked “why”.
“Master?”(Blanc)
I open my eyes and see Blanc in front of me. He is trying to cheer me up by rubbing his head against my head. I pull his reins and stroke his nose.
“Both of us are now on a break. Go drink the water over there and rest. We will start again when Ballad returns.”(Doyle)
“Yes, Master”(Blanc)
I pull on the reins and being Blanc to the water well, and he starts to drink the water. I lightly clean the dirt off his coat that he got from stomping on the ground. I turn back to the fences and look back at Blanc.
I know 100% that if it is Blanc, he will be able to fly over that.
He is faster than any horse here.
His boasts at the beginning were not for show.
I know for a fact that he runs faster than any other horse and can jump higher than any other horse.
If I trust Blanc, I know he will get past all those fences with ample time.
I try to control my emotions again, but I cannot seem to get rid of the instinctive fear I have in my heart no matter how hard I try.
The memories from my past life say that the fastest a horse can go is 75 kph. However, I know Blanc can go faster than that so he must run at 80-90kph.
This is very scary to me.
The height at which we are jumping is two meters, and Blanc is going fast as 80-90 kph. The fences are made out of wood and the G-force I experience from going that fast on Blanc is quite taxing. Blanc body also tilts 45 degrees.
To be honest, this is much more scarier than any roller coaster I have gone on.
I have tried that last jump many times now, and when push comes to shove, I lose all the energy in my hands. I know my body is durable, and I will not die . . . but my fear will not go away.
I dunk my head into the water Blanc is drinking to cool off. I also try to think of a good method to overcome this fear while doing this.
Unlike the time with the spear, I can get skills from horsemanship. In addition, I already have some skills in that section. I have obtained the [Heavenly Soaring Horse] skill during this time as well. Horsemanship is something I can train in and obtain skills from. I know I will leave Lute in my dust if I can get over my stupid fear.
This is not waste of time like before.
I will keep persevering as long as possible. Compared to the ten years I spent practicing the spear, this much training is nothing.
(1) Show jumping starts off with the rider walking and strolling along the course. This is done to gauge the speed and distance required for each jump and understand how many steps are needed. Doyle has already done that part and is now starting his jumps over the obstacles. The rider must jump over the obstacles in the order they themselves have specified beforehand to the judge.
(2) More show jumping terms. Levels are the height of fences, 0 is the shortest and 9 is the tallest. Oxers also have levels. An Oxer is two fences that are placed closely together | | like this but with the second one being taller than the first. This is an ascending oxer.
(3) A course can have up to 13 jumps. A single level can consist of up to three jumps. Here level 7 is a double combination jump meaning it has two jumps in a row. A combination jump is classified by how many strides you can take in between. The rules of show jumping officially say that when there are only two strides between jumps, that is a combination jump. A square Oxer is when both fences are the same height, and since it is combined with level 8 and 9 which are the tallest jumps, this is very hard to pull off.
