LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 06 - The Child Of Centaur (2)
The Child Of Centaur (2)
Dragging the Centaur’s child to where I found the stars yesterday, I momentarily left him and searched for the life star. It was still there, untouched like the magic star, in the same place as yesterday.
Since it melts when put in the mouth, I tried to move the star by rolling it with my front hooves, but the ground was uneven, obstructed by grass, tree roots, and stones, making it difficult to roll it smoothly to the unconscious Centaur’s child.
(There, there!)
The dense grass hindering our progress, I frustratedly exerted force with my front hooves, and the life star hooked onto my claw, curving lightly, and soared into the sky. It would’ve been a nice shot if there were a competition for sending stars into the sky, but there wasn’t, so it wasn’t good.
I gave up on the star I accidentally sent flying and decided to feed the other life star to the Centaur’s child. Looking for the life star that the fairy had pointed to before, I searched the branches of the tree.
Sure enough, there it was, tucked behind the leaves I peered into.
At the same time, perhaps the same fairies from yesterday approached, seeming to ask, “What are you doing?” Are they living around here?
Dropping the life star from the branches, I looked at the fairies and exclaimed joyfully,
(You came at just the right time!)
I then gestured to the fairies that I wanted them to feed this life star to the Centaur’s child.
The fairies, alternating their gaze between the life star and the unconscious Centaur’s child, seemed to understand surprisingly easily, and all three fairies lifted the life star together and carried it over.
(Yes! Thank you! But I need one of you to help me retrieve the other life star.)
I lightly tapped one of the fairies with my big nose, and it mewed, leading the way into the depths of the forest.
With a puzzled expression, the fairy followed behind.
(The two of you, please take care of this child. I’ll be back soon, so please feed him the life star first.)
As I communicated with mews, the two fairies understood and began to carry the life star towards the Centaur’s child’s mouth.
Watching them complete the task, I set off with the remaining fairy to retrieve the life star I accidentally sent flying.
(Where is it? Ah, there it is…!)
It went straight up into the sky, so it mustn’t have gone too far. Relying on the presence of the star, I searched the ground and quickly found it.
Recalling what I did earlier, I extended my claw to hook onto the life star and send it flying. Following this process several times, I arrived at the tree’s location.
The old man still had a sad expression, barely acknowledging me with a glance. He was completely disheartened.
With the help of the fairies, I managed to lift the Life Star and approached the old man.
“Meow!”
“… What, damn cat. Go away already.”
The old man replied weakly, then suddenly fell silent for a few seconds as he looked at the life star, his eyes widening.
“T-That…! A star!? Why is it here… and did you bring it? Why…”
The old man was confused. He realized I was trying to give him the life star.
(I may have overdone it a bit, so I brought it to apologize. You’ve also helped me play.
…But if you’re going to regain your strength and attack forest creatures again, I can’t give it to you. I’ll give you the star if you promise not to attack anyone anymore.)
I continued to talk to the old man with my meows, and he reluctantly agreed to the condition.
“If I promise not to attack anyone anymore and live like a tree, taking in water, light, and air, then you’ll give me that star? Because I’m going to wither away like this.”
I looked into the old man’s eyes to see if he was lying, but honestly, I couldn’t tell. But he seemed serious.
But if he were to attack someone again, I could just eat the magic star and defeat him again. So, for now, I’ll help him.
(Please.)
Signaling to the fairy, I watched as the fairy tossed the life star into the old man’s mouth.
“Huh, it melted right away… Oh!”
As the old man widened his eyes, the charred trunk began to regenerate beautifully. The branches that had burned away began to grow rapidly, and lush green leaves bloomed as if in full bloom.
And ultimately, the old man became larger and stronger than before he burned.
“Wow! What a refreshing feeling. My body is filled with power! With this, I can last for months without hunting.”
“Meow.”
The old man shook his branches vigorously, full of energy. I’m glad.
Now that the old man’s issue was resolved, it was time to see if the Centaur’s child had fully recovered. I returned to the Centaur’s child with the fairies in a hurry.
“Meow!?”
However, the Centaur’s child was still lying on the ground, just as limp as before I left. Confused as the fairies approached, they pointed to a nearby tree.
(A crow? Ah! The life star…)
Perched on a branch, a crow held the life star in its beak. It seemed that the fairies had been robbed of the star by that crow. The crow seemed like an ordinary animal, not a demon or anything.
(Crows like shiny things, don’t they?)
I rushed towards the crow, but it flew away, out of my reach.
Watching the crow fly to a height I couldn’t reach, I drooped my ears.
(Finding a new Life Star might be easier than chasing the crow.)
With that in mind, I perked up my droopy ears.
(I should be able to find another star quickly.)
I think I’m good at finding stars. I can sense the presence of stars much more sensitively than other creatures.
Regaining my composure, I began to search for stars with the help of the fairies.
Then—
“Meow!”
I found it! Just as I thought!
It took a little time, but I found a golden life star. I guess I really am good at finding stars.
With the help of the fairies, I fed the Centaur child the life star this time.
When the child put the star in his mouth, he moved his tongue as if in pain.
“Ugh, mm…”
Then, as he opened his eyes, the Centaur child’s complexion improved rapidly.
“Huh? Me…”
He got up with firm movements and looked down at his body in wonder. To confirm his senses, he jumped several times with his four-legged hooves.
“Was that the life star earlier? You guys helped me, didn’t you?”
The Centaur child, with a black-haired, tan-skinned upper body and a black-haired foal lower body, approached me and the fairies with a gentle smile.
“Thank you very much.”
“Don’t mention it,” I replied, wagging my tail. After the fairies shyly giggled and disappeared somewhere, the Centaur child looked up at me and said, “I’m Ades. What about you?”
“Meow.”
Although I replied that I didn’t have a name yet, Ades didn’t seem to understand.
After tilting his head, he suddenly said, “Oh! This isn’t the time to relax. Mom and Dad must be worried. We have to go back to the village.”
(That’s a good idea.)
If you have parents, it’s better to return to them.
Although I’ve never been to the Centaurs’ village, I know where it is. I have knowledge of it in my head.
(It’s this way.)
“Wait! Do you know where my house is?”
Ades seemed to know the way home, but I led the way.
Can he keep up with my agility? I smirked confidently, but the Centaur ran fast, and Ades was keeping up just fine, and he even slowed down a bit to match my speed. I stopped smirking.
“Do you like running too?”
(Not really.)
“There are various creatures in the forest, but I’ve never seen a big cat like you before. Your fur is so fluffy.”
As Ades ran alongside me, he stroked my side.
“Do you have parents too? If not, you can come to my house. It would be wonderful to live with a creature like you.”
“Meow.”
As Ades said such things while running, I don’t have parents, but I like my freedom, so I wouldn’t live at Ades’s house. Staying over for a few days would be nice, though.
While chatting, we ran through the forest for a while. We then approached the village where the Centaurs lived. This area had many old, large trees, and even though it was daytime, it was dim because the leaves covered the sky.
As we carefully advanced to avoid tripping over the tree roots, we encountered a group of Centaurs ahead. We had arrived at the village.
However, the Centaurs seemed to be sleeping on the ground like horses. Despite being called a village, there were no houses around. It was just as dark as in any part of the forest.
“I’m back!”
Ades smiled relievedly, but from my perspective as an outsider, the Centaurs seemed quite intimidating when grouped. They were huge because they had a human upper body attached to a horse lower body, and the men were muscular. Plus, almost everyone had a spear, which seemed dangerous.
Though, from a Centaurs’ perspective, I might be bigger and more intimidating, but I don’t have any weapons.
And they all had black or brown hair covering the horse part of their bodies, with no one having white hair. Their upper bodies also had tan skin, and their hair colors seemed to be mostly black or brown.
“Ade, you’re back! Where were you?”
A female Centaur rushed out from the group towards Ades. Although the men were naked, all the female Centaurs wore a cloth around their chests.
“You didn’t come back overnight, so everyone was worried. Your father went to search with everyone else in the village, but he should be back soon, so we gathered here to search together.”
The woman seemed to be Ades’s mother. She had long, curly black hair and a beautifully sculpted face.
“Sorry for worrying you…,” Ades apologized and explained about being caught by the tree man. After his mother hugged him with surprise and relief, she said, “I’m glad you’re safe.”
The other Centaurs also said, “I’m glad,” and watched over the reunion between parent and child.
“We weren’t too worried about getting lost in the forest. We were worried that you might have been caught by humans who entered the forest,” said the muscular Centaur man.
Humans who entered the forest from the outside would quickly lose their sense of direction, but those like the Centaurs who were born and raised in this forest never lost their way home. It seems to be a homing instinct; they can always find their way back home.
By the way, I’m even more amazing. Not only can I find my way home, but I can also come straight to the Centaurs’ village. I know the location of the Elf village, which I haven’t been to yet, for some reason. Since birth, I seem to have a general understanding and map of the forest in my head, which is very convenient.
I’m not a god, so I don’t know everything about the forest.
“If that had happened, we would have had to fight the humans,” another Centaur said.
They are quiet by nature, but are deeply emotional towards their comrades and won’t remain silent if they are harmed. They are very aggressive.
Although the Centaurs originally had few facial expressions, they seemed happy that Ades had been found.
And after the safe reunion, Ades’s mother looked at me suspiciously.
“…By the way, what about that big cat?”
“This cat helped me.”
“I see.”
Ades’s mother approached me cautiously. She gently stroked my nose and said, “I hope it doesn’t bite.”
It tickled, and I felt like sneezing.
The other Centaurs also looked at me with interest.
“Thank you, kitty. …Kitty, right?”
(I’m a big cat, but yes, a kitty. You’re welcome.)
As I replied in my mind-
Achoo! I sneezed loudly. Excuse me.
Ades’s mother wiped off the saliva from my face, and Ades asked her while hugging me, “Mom, isn’t this cat cute?”
“Yes. It’s a bit big, though,” Ades’s mother replied with a wry smile, and Ades continued, hugging my thick neck and saying, “Hey, can we keep it at home? I’ll take care of it properly.”
However, despite being kind, Ades’s mother frowned at her son’s statement.
And she firmly said, “No. We can’t keep such a big cat at home. Take it back to where it came from.”
“Aw! I want to keep it!”
“No! Taking care of a living creature is hard!”
While watching the argument between mother and son, well, in any case, I thought it was good that Ades safely returned to his parents.
Furthermore, the magical power temporarily imbued by eating the magic star did not disappear even after burning the tree man once. After that, I had to breathe fire into the empty air several times to consume the magical power in my body.
I could leave the magical power as it was, but I felt a slight discomfort in my body due to the magical power, so I had to get rid of it.