Their scheduled departure was delayed-
Although the Probationary Officer repeatedly insisted that he was fine...
The horse had died.
A venomous snake had bitten the leg of the horse pulling the police carriage.
The potent venom had stopped the horse from breathing.
Simon therefore had to walk to the town they had passed earlier to buy a new horse, then ride it back to their temporary campsite.
By the time he returned, it was already evening.
Traveling at night was hardly a wise choice. Especially after an examination revealed that a venomous snake had killed their original carriage horse, Simon was even less inclined to insist on leaving that night.
This time, the snake had killed a horse.
Who knew who would die from a bite next?
And so Arthur, Simon, and the others had to spend another day resting at the campsite before setting off again the following morning.
"The wilderness really is dangerous. There are so many venomous snakes!"
The Probationary Officer muttered under his breath, having glimpsed venomous snakes slithering through the dense woods while fetching water that morning.
Meanwhile, he kept applying snake repellent to the carriage-the owner of the horse had given it to him for free when he bought the animal in town yesterday.
"We have some snakes around here, but ones that venomous are very rare.
"You really were unlucky!"
The Probationary Officer could still recall the horse owner's tone as he said those words.
If they weren't pressed for time, he would have gone back and dragged the man here, making him open his eyes wide and see what bullshit his so-called "very rare" was.
Arthur clearly heard Simon's muttering and the sounds of him applying the repellent.
The young "Medium" nodded in agreement. There really were far too many venomous snakes