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“Really?” Tafel asked, her forehead wrinkled. “It’ll take a month to go to England?”
“That’s right,” Frederick III said and dabbed at his forehead with his handkerchief. “If a rider rushes on a horse, it’ll take them a month at the very least. He’ll have to ride several horses to exhaustion and have the stations prepped in advance. There simply isn’t a faster way.”
Tafel frowned and rubbed her chin. The world had such an abundance of mana, yet no one knew how to use it. If this was back in her home world, there would’ve been teleportation gates everywhere. They cost a lot to power, but with all the ambient mana floating around, perhaps even a regular citizen could use one. Unfortunately, it was quite difficult for her to set up a teleportation gate by herself. Someone would have to be at the location she wanted to create a portal to holding one of her beacons, but if the distance was too far, they’d need a lot more mana than weeds could supply them. She shook her head and dismissed the idea of setting up multiple gates. A time mage couldn’t only teleport through space, they could also manipulate time in a local area. “I’ll ride there personally. I just need a guide.”
Frederick III nodded. “Are you sure you don’t want us to send a rider with one of your necklaces? You could wait here and magic yourself over there when he arrives.”
“It’s too slow,” Tafel said and stood up. “Is the rider ready?”
“Yes,” Frederick III said. “He was waiting for you to give the order.”
“Alright.” Tafel draped a cloak over herself and gestured for Frederick III to lead the way. After exiting the castle, she arrived at a courtyard where the stables were. A man was waiting next to a horse. He kneeled upon seeing Tafel, and she nodded at him. “Get up. I’m going with you to England.”
The man’s expression didn’t change as he rose. “Yes, Your Majesty. Shall I prepare a carriage?”
Tafel shook her head. “A single horse is faster.” She ignored the hand that the man offered her and leapt onto the horse with ease. She scooted back and patted the front of the saddle. “You’re riding here.”
The man glanced at Frederick III before climbing onto the horse. “The journey is a long one,” he said. “I’m not looking down on your ability, but are you sure you can handle this?”
“It won’t take that long,” Tafel said, her horns glowing silver. She patted the horse’s rump, and the face of a clock appeared on its skin. It was made of silver light, and the hands on the clock were rotating at blinding speeds until the naked eye could only see a circle of light. “Go.”
The man didn’t comment as he whipped the reins. The horse galloped forward, and it immediately screamed once its hoof left the ground. It whizzed forward, turning into a streak of brown light. The streak nearly crashed into a wall as it left the courtyard, and it came to a stop fifty meters outside of the castle. The man panted for breath, as did the horse. “I didn’t know horses could scream,” the man said and swallowed. “Your Majesty, what happened?”
“I sped up the horse,” Tafel said and frowned. “You can’t control it at that speed? It’s only thirty times faster than usual. Since it’s supposed to take a month, I sped it up by thirty times to make it take only a day.” Tafel licked her lips. Usually, she couldn’t speed anything up that drastically, her limit being three times the speed, but with the abundant amount of mana in the air, the impossible became possible. Perhaps she could train her dynamic vision this way. “Let me drive. Just tell me which direction to go and try your best to not fall off. You … might get seriously injured if you fall off when we’re going that fast.”
The man’s face paled as he climbed off the horse. Tafel scooted forward, and the man hesitated to climb back on, his hand trembling as he grabbed the saddle. “Is, isn’t it inappropriate for you to ride in a man’s arms? Perhaps you should swap me with a woman rider instead. They’re rarer than men, but if you search hard enough—”
“Nonsense,” Tafel said and patted the back of the saddle. “Just hold onto the saddle. If you hug my waist, I’ll throw you off.”
The man looked like he was about to cry. “Your Majesty, I’m just a normal human. Can you bless me with great strength or a sturdy body to ensure my safety?”
“My husband could do that, but he’s not here,” Tafel said and pursed her lips. “How about this? I’ll tie you to the horse, and if you fall off, I’ll support your body with some wind magic. Have you ever flown a kite before?”
“What’s a kite?”
“Oh, you’ll see,” Tafel said and nodded. She opened a portal, and a mob of peasants appeared on the other end. “I need a rope.”
“The Herald of the Apocalypse needs a rope! Who has some rope!?”
A few seconds later, a coil of rope appeared in front of Tafel, and she thanked the peasants before closing the portal. She passed the coil to the guide. “Make sure you tie it on tight. Remember, if it’s loose, the only one that gets hurt is yourself.”
“Are you sure it wouldn’t simply be easier to find a woman guide?” the man asked. He gestured towards the castle with the coil of rope. “It’s only one second away, Your Majesty.”
“That may be so, but it’ll take a while to find a woman rider as you said,” Tafel said. “We’ve wasted enough time already, and we’re going to be riding for a whole day. Hurry up and tie the rope.”
The guide sighed and went to the front of the horse, tying a loop around its chest, stomach, and back. Then he fastened the makeshift harness to himself. He made eye contact with the horse while doing so. It looked just as frightened as him.