The Chase to Mount Akina

Maple stomped hard on the stirrup, and the horse surged forward!

“Hold on tight! I’m taking it up Mount Akina!”

“What’s that? A mountain in the Black Forest?”

Meanwhile, the Unicorn pursued relentlessly, its equine face contorted into a profoundly masculine grin as it bore down on us.

A shiver ran down my spine, my first thought being, ‘Is there truly no weapon on this horseback that I can fire at it?!’

During the competition, I had grumbled about Maple’s failure to equip our mount properly. Had he done so, it would have been incredibly useful right now!

“There is a bow, actually.”

‘Someone, anyone, shoot that thing for this Princess!’

Alas, there was no one but myself. I had to take matters into my own hands.

I unhooked the bow from the horse’s flank and clumsily drew an arrow from the quiver, nocking it onto the string. But even though I was a boy, this Princess had no idea how to shoot a bow!

“Let me.”

Maple snatched the bow from my grasp, turning instantly to adopt a firing stance! He drew the fletched arrow back to its maximum tension, taking aim at the relentlessly pursuing Unicorn!

As expected of Maple, he could ride a horse and shoot an arrow simultaneously!

He let loose an arrow, which flew with a whoosh—only to be deflected with a thwack by the Unicorn’s sheer muscle.

Maple froze for a moment. “What kind of monster is this?”

“Watch out! The path ahead is blocked by a fallen tree!” I shouted, warning him.

“Hold onto me tightly!”

Maple stomped hard on the stirrup again. The horse suddenly tilted to one side, sliding deftly through the gap beneath the fallen tree!

“Whoa! That was incredibly cool!”

Behind us, the Unicorn charged, smashing the obstructing tree clean in half.

‘That’s brutally simplistic, isn’t it? Can even obstacles no longer stop it?’

“Do we have any more hot dogs?” Maple asked abruptly.

“To feed it?”

“To throw at it!”

“Got it!” I rummaged through Maple’s satchel, pulling out the remaining hot dogs and hurling them at the Unicorn. Anything to impede its speed! Keys, wallets—I snatched everything from his satchel and flung it indiscriminately!

The red scarf I threw landed on its horn, making it look as though it wore a red bandana. It then flashed a philosophical grin at me, just like a certain ‘Banana Guy.’

A dark line appeared on my forehead. ‘This is utterly insane… Is there truly no one who can stop it?’

We and the Unicorn drifted left and right, navigating the treacherous five-bend hairpin turns of the mountain road, yet we simply couldn’t shake it off!

Maple’s satchel was empty of anything to throw. Just then, he suddenly reined the horse to a halt!

Panic and confusion washed over me. “Why have you stopped running?”

“There’s no more road ahead. It’s a cliff.”

“Oh, no!”

I felt a chilling premonition of my demise.

Seeing us cornered, the Unicorn grew so brazen it began walking upright on its hind legs!

No, wait! It was actually striking a profoundly masculine dance pose for us!

It flexed its muscles, closing in on us.

‘We thought we were hunting the Unicorn, but it turns out we were the prey all along, weren’t we?’

I desperately tugged at Maple’s clothes. “Maple! Aren’t you the best in Britannia? Quickly, fly us across!”

“What kind of logic is that? Can you swim?”

“I don’t remember if I can swim! I have amnesia! Whoa!”

Before I could even finish speaking, Maple stomped hard on the stirrup! The horse charged straight towards the cliff!

I thought he was about to perform some incredible stunt, like leaping across two mountain peaks. Instead, there was nothing on the other side of the cliff!

Maple, the horse, and I plunged down the cliff!

As I fell to my certain death, I caught a glimpse of the lake below. Finally, I understood why he had asked if I could swim!

“Whoa! Maple, I hate you!”

Splash!