The Retired Supporting Character Wants to Live Quietly - Chapter 27 – Ride Your Steed, Knightley (7)

Chapter 27 – Ride Your Steed, Knightley (7)

[Translator – Peptobismol]

Chapter 27 – Ride Your Steed, Knightley (7)

“Help me already!!”

“This is part of your private lesson. Endure it!”

“You son of a XXXX, XXXXXX!!”

Swearing profusely, Knightley used every muscle in her body to cling to the horse.

But the horse bucked with an unbelievable strength that made her seriously suspect it might be part monster.

After several failed attempts to shake her off, the horse suddenly bolted forward at full speed.

“Kuh?!”

The sheer speed of the horse created a windstorm, leaving Knightley breathless.

Knightley had been riding since she was very young, being from a noble family.

She had experience with everything from ponies to large combat horses and had even won awards in youth riding competitions.

Despite her extensive experience, she found it hard to believe an ordinary animal could run this fast. And with no saddle to rely on, all she had was the rope around the horse’s neck.

Relying on just a rope while riding a bucking wild horse was an impossible task for an academy student.

As the scenery blurred past her, Knightley realized she was about to fall.

The grip in her hands was long gone, and her muscles, especially in her legs, were screaming in pain.

I can’t hold on anymore…

Just as she began to slip off, something grabbed her collar with immense strength and threw her back onto the horse.

“Hang on, Knightley!”

Turning her head, she saw Dian riding another wild horse right beside her.

“If you fall, you die!”

“You shouldn’t have put me in this situation to begin with!! I can’t hold on any longer!”

“You can do it! You survived the night infiltration, didn’t you?”

“I’m going to fall!! Help me!”

As she tried to throw herself off the horse, Dian extended a foot and pushed her back into place.

“Hold on till the end! If you give up now, you’ll never accomplish anything in the future!”

“I can’t! I just can’t!”

“Endure it! If you give up here, your private lessons end today!”

“You bastard!”

Despite her curses, Knightley clung to the horse with renewed determination.

“Focus on the center and pull the rope! Lean back as if you’re lying down! Pull the horse’s neck back with all your might!”

“Ugh…!”

Instead of protesting, Knightley used her remaining strength to pull the rope.

As the noose tightened around the horse’s neck, she felt it slow down a bit.

“Good. Now pull harder with your left hand! We’re about to hit a rock!”

Looking ahead, she saw a massive boulder in their path.

Gritting her teeth, Knightley yanked with her left hand. The searing pain in her palm was intense, but the horse swerved just in time.

“Well done, Knightley. Now keep swinging it left and right!”

Following Dian’s instructions, Knightley twisted the rope around her wrists and alternated pulling with each arm.

The horse, initially resistant, began to sway left and right under her control.

“Keep it up, Knightley. Just like that.”

“If I survive this… I’ll make sure to get my revenge!”

“That’s the spirit. Overcoming adversity with a heart full of hatred rather than hope!”

“You’re insane!”

Time seemed to stretch endlessly.

Finally, the leader horse’s speed dropped significantly.

The once raging horse slowed to a walk, occasionally kicking out before it snorted and started pacing in small circles.

“That’s enough, Knightley.”

Dian dismounted and took the rope from her hands.

“Uweeeek!”

Knightley, dismounting, fell to her hands and knees, vomiting bile.

“Good job. You did it.”

“Uweek…”

Despite Dian’s praise, Knightley couldn’t muster a reply, only dry heaving from exhaustion.

Damn professor, you bastard… I almost died…!

But she was too exhausted to voice her curses.

“Congratulations, Student Knightley!”

Orendi, running over, patted her back in congratulations.

“Congrats, Student Knightley…”

Anna, arriving later, gently patted her head before turning her attention to the horse.

“Congratulations, Knightley.”Findd new 𝒔tories on nov/e(l)bin(.)com

With Dian’s words, Knightley finally passed out.

# # # # #

[Translator – Peptobismol]

“Knightley subdued the leader horse, Professor Anna!!”

Orendi, seeing the leader horse stop, shouted excitedly, almost foaming at the mouth.

“She managed to stay on that crazy horse till the end!”

“Yes…”

Unlike the excited Orendi, Anna scratched her head, muttering gloomily.

“This is strange… It shouldn’t have ended this quickly…”

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it logically… That horse is huge… It doesn’t make sense for it to tire so quickly just because an academy girl rode it… Even ponies don’t give in that fast…”

“Hmm, really? Maybe Student Knightley weighs more than she looks. Let’s hurry and get over there!”

Orendi, dismissing Anna’s suspicions, ran cheerfully towards Dian and Knightley.

Following him, Anna pondered over the situation.

The original plan was for her to teleport onto the horse’s back and for Dian to throw the lasso to exhaust the horse’s strength.

With the Brun Plateau’s wild horses, especially the leader, even two professors were cutting it close.

But Dian, without prior discussion, had substituted Knightley for Anna, putting a student in an obviously dangerous situation.

Dian had remained unfazed and didn’t throw the lasso, leaving Knightley to hold on alone.

As the horse bolted, he nonchalantly mounted another wild horse to pursue them.

With this plan, Knightley would have had to endure for over an hour, but astonishingly, the leader horse submitted in less than ten minutes.

Before they started Dian had claimed it would only take ten minutes, and miraculously, he was right.

However, this was an impossible event that even expert Professor Anna could not have predicted.

Anna’s thoughts swirled with questions:

1. Why substitute a student for a specialized combat riding professor?

2. How could Dian accurately predict the time it would take?

3. How did Knightley manage to control an untrained wild horse so effortlessly?

Unless he could foresee the future, that it would end without anyone getting hurt, he couldn’t be so nonchalant while carrying out such a ridiculously bold plan.

Anna couldn’t shake off an incredible suspicion… did Professor Dian possess the power to foresee the future?

As she gently patted the exhausted Knightley’s head, she noticed Dian’s peculiar behavior just before handing over the rope.

“Yes, yes. Good boy.”

Dian murmured, stroking the horse’s mane.

Surprisingly, the horse leaned into Dian’s touch, nuzzling his face affectionately.

“Do you remember me now? Yes, it’s me.”

He continued, speaking to the horse with a gentle expression and tone.

What… is he saying to that horse…?

“You’ve grown into a fine leader of your herd. I’m so proud of you.”

What on earth is he talking about?

“Head Professor… did you know this horse from before…?”

“Huh? No?”

Dian answered Anna’s question, pretending as if he didn’t know what she was talking about.

“But you just asked if it remembered you…”

“What are you talking about? I didn’t say anything.”

“R-right….”

Despite asking twice, Dian’s denials left the shy Anna scratching her head, unable to pursue the matter further.

This is really strange…

### # # # #

Knightley slowly opened her eyes.

She recognized the ceiling—a familiar sight.

Hearing rustling nearby, she turned her head to see Maya, the Priestess, writing in a patient journal.

I fainted and got brought to the infirmary again…

As Knightley tried to sit up, a wave of excruciating pain washed over her, forcing her to lie back down.

It feels like I’ve been beaten all over my body with a club. Especially my groin muscles—they hurt the most.

Having clung to a wild horse’s back without a saddle, it was no surprise she was in such pain.

Watching Maya out of the corner of her eye, Knightley carefully spread her legs and started massaging her inner thigh muscles.

The second private lesson.

The first was a night infiltration mission through a nearly impassable area; this time, she had tamed a wild horse with no safety measures.

This isn’t normal academy student training.

Professor Dian is insane. There doesn’t seem to be any deep meaning behind his actions.

That man just doesn’t like that I pressured the headmaster into making him give me private lessons.

He’s giving me impossible tasks to make me give up.

That man is…

Wait a minute.

Come to think of it, I completed both private lessons.

I survived the perilous night infiltration and tamed the infamous wild horse of Brun Plateau.

During our first meeting, Dian said he was curious about how far I could grow.

Could it be that Professor Dian deliberately put me in situations just barely within my capability?

To push me just a bit further each time…?

Alright. I’ll fall for it one more time, Professor Dian.

I’m curious to see how far I can go too.

“Still, it’s frustrating….”

If only Professor Dian had told me what was planned, I could have been better prepared.

For instance, I could have worn riding pants and boots.

What kind of person makes a female student ride a wild horse in a skirt?!

Anger bubbling up again, Knightley moved her hands faster, massaging her aching groin muscles, and winced from the pain.

### # # # #

Priestess Maya, observing everything, calmly continued writing in the patient journal.

[Professor Dian brought an unconscious, beautiful female student to the infirmary. Her wrists bore rope marks, and her inner thighs were bruised.]

[Based on the condition of the bruises, it is assumed that it occurred through rigorous up and down movements. Professor Dian claimed it was due to a “riding lesson,” but there was no combat riding class on the official schedule today.]

[In addition, traces of dried sticky substance were seen around the corner of the female student’s mouth. Whether the dried sticky substance is vomit or something else is currently unknown.]

[After some time, the student regained consciousness, expressing disappointment, spread her legs, and then began massaging her inner thigh muscles with her hands.]

[The student continued this action with an increasingly excited expression until she winced and stopped. It is unclear what she was disappointed about or whether it was resolved.]

[TL/N: This holy priestess is not so holy…]

[Translator – Peptobismol]