I... had no name.
I was an ordinary horse born on an ordinary ranch.
Not to brag, but they raised me as that year's most promising horse. I worked very hard to live up to their expectations. Mainly at eating, exercising, and sleeping. I grew very strong and gradually became confident that I could carry any load.
One day, things changed.
A wealthy merchant came to visit, someone who made even the arrogant ranch owner bow and scrape, and bought me. He looked very rich and carried himself with great authority. Surely I wouldn't be sold somewhere terrible-I braced myself.
He bought a mare along with me. Since he'd gone out of his way to buy her after learning my sex... could she be my breeding partner...? Seriously? I'd thought she was a fine mare for a while now...
No, no, no, I couldn't get flustered. She wasn't confirmed to be my breeding partner yet. Uh, but... no, I couldn't get my hopes up.
I was tied to a dragon and flown through the sky.
Oh, so that was it. I was dragon feed... a souvenir to take home, right? Hahaha, what a short life I'd had.
Just as I was thinking that, I was dropped off somewhere that looked like a ranch in a village.
The ground was neither too hard nor too soft. Judging by the fences, the place wasn't spacious, but it wasn't cramped either. The grass growing there was delicious.
The stable was newly built. There were goats in the same place, but the difference in our sizes kept them from approaching carelessly, so I didn't mind. In other words, the surroundings weren't bad. No, they were good. It was a good place. Which meant the mare beside me... was my breeding partner. Hooray!
Whoops, I couldn't let my delight show too much. I had to stay calm. Yes, I needed to handle this calmly. First contact was important. If I failed now, there would be all sorts of trouble later. So I had to think before I acted... I spoke to her.
"How many children do you want?"
Too sooooon! W-w-wait, that didn't count!
She kept her distance from me. Boo-hoo...
While I was wondering if there was any way to get along with her, the owner of this place arrived. He was a human.
He wanted to ride yours truly? Hmph, fine. He could enjoy just how comfortable I was to ride.
...It felt awful. Apparently, he'd never ridden a horse before. He gave his commands the wrong way, too. I didn't think he had any talent for riding.
My conclusion: this owner failed as a rider. Also, the wolves he brought with him were terrifying. Please, don't scare me.
Sometimes, people other than my owner came to ride me. One was a girl with long ears, and another was a girl with animal-like ears.
Both handled horses better than my owner, and running with them felt good.
So, owner, please stop looking at me with such resentment.
One day, a slime came to ride me.
Hey, hey, hey, a slime wanted to ride yours truly... no, I couldn't be prejudiced. All right, I'd let it try.
Ooh, not bad. It felt as though I wasn't carrying anything on my back.
The slime fell off. Sorry, I'd run a little slower next time.
Huh? That was good, so it wanted to go again? I didn't mind...
I kept running with the slime. The slime was a hardworking fellow-though I didn't know whether slimes had sexes.
The slime was riding a wolf. What a blow! Was a wolf better than me?
I lay down and ate grass. I didn't feel like doing anything anymore.
The slime came to ride me.
Hmm? Wasn't the wolf faster than me?
W-well... i-if it was going to go that far, I-I supposed I had no choice. Just a short ride. Heh heh, saying I was more elegant to ride than a wolf-there was no need to tell me that...
Rivals appeared. Those creatures called centaurs.
Ugh, they were actually running around with my owner on their backs. He was my owner, you know.
Owner, owner, wasn't it about time he rode me? At a time like this, I could put up with a little poor technique. I'd make up for whatever the rider lacked.
It was a problem when it went beyond what I could make up for. But I couldn't lose to some centaurs. Somehow, I felt that losing to those creatures would be the end of me.
Heeey! Centaur brat! Don't seduce my wife!
I'd let my guard down because he was a child. Even if he was still a child, a male was a male.
Huh? She wanted to know when she'd become my wife? Hey, hey, hey, sweetheart, why was she still saying things like that?
She should think back to that spring when we'd given in to mating season. With her belly so swollen, she'd be giving birth soon.
The village seemed busy with its growing population, but the long-eared girl and the animal-eared girl came to help look after my wife. I was counting on them.
My son was born.
Ohh... I was moved. He'd grow up in no time.
My wife had worked hard, too.
My name was Belford.
My owner had originally named me after a famous horse from somewhere, but it had never felt quite right. Perhaps that was because, at the time, I'd been worrying about how close I should get to my wife.
Belford was the name the animal-eared girl gave me, and it suited me well. Perhaps that was because my wife and I had grown close by then.
In any case, as the fastest horse in this village, I would keep working hard.
Son, take a good look at your father's gallant figure.
Today was the day I raced those centaurs. I'd even put in proper practice for this day.
I couldn't worry too much about the results.
Yes, everything depended on luck at the time.
One mustn't get hung up on winning and losing.
Though Daddy wasn't in a very good mood today, so he was going to sleep.