The Centaurs

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Your Race level has increased. You acquired 1 SP.

Your Job level has increased. You acquired 1 SP.

Your 【Death and Chaos Magic Eye】 level has increased.

Your tamed monster's Race level has increased.

Your tamed monster's Job level has increased.

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In the end, we continued exploring the riverbank until Kal and I had both gained a level. I was satisfied that we'd been able to test our physical abilities and magic power in actual combat. It's a little early, but let's head home soon.

"Oh? What's that...?"

On our way home, I spotted a group of four walking across the grassland as I looked down from above. At first, I thought they were ordinary enemies and considered launching a preemptive attack, but on closer inspection, they didn't seem to be ordinary monsters. Various kinds of beasts had gathered together, and every one of them had a humanlike upper body attached.

These are Centaurs, the people Muno-sama told me about! They were people who had transformed from Beastmen and wandered the fields in family groups. If that's the case, then that group must be one family.

"Since we're here, let's go say hello to our neighbors. Kal, perform some aerobatics on purpose, then land a little way away."

"Gwooon!"

"Whoa! It's fast! So fast!"

Kal responded well to my troublesome request. It repeatedly rose and descended at tremendous speed, drawing figure eights in the air while rolling. The speed and unexpectedly violent movements made me feel dizzy, but I think finding this fun was simply a sign that I'd gotten completely used to it.

Kal's enormous body made quite a spectacle, and I caught the Centaur family looking up at us from the corner of my eye. The one who seemed to be a small child leaped about excitedly, while the adults raised their weapons in apparent alarm. Yes, that was exactly the reaction I'd expected.

"GROOOOOOAR!"

Perhaps Kal had had its fill of flying around in the sky, because the aerobatics ended after about a minute, and it landed a little way away as instructed. Good boy.

After landing, we began walking toward the spot where the Centaur family was gathered, this time at a slow and dignified pace. Kal's footsteps had a weighty sound to them, so surely this much theatrics would prevent them from underestimating us.

"I'll get that out, then."

"Stop!"

As we approached the Centaur family, a young boy pointed a handmade spear at us and shouted a warning. Judging by the fur on his upper and lower bodies, I assumed he was a Race known as a Tiger Centaur. He sounded brave, but the spearhead was trembling, so he seemed to be afraid of Kal.

The man and woman behind him were also poised to move at any moment. However, the small child behind the woman was looking at Kal with sparkling eyes. I'm glad they enjoyed the aerobatics.

That was enough observation. I jumped down from Kal's back as he came plodding forward, and the boy looked startled. But he immediately steeled his expression and turned his wary attention toward me as well.

"Wait, boy. We don't intend to fight you. I want you to look at this."

I showed them the 'Nadeus Clan's Crested Handprint' that I had placed in my palm beforehand. It was an item Muno-sama had given me in the past. She had said that showing it would persuade any continental resident who knew of the Nadeus Clan to hear us out. Now was the perfect time to test its effect!

The boy ignored it and glared at me, but the man behind him nodded as if convinced and lowered his weapon. He had a slender but well-toned physique, and distinctive horns with grooves that curved slightly backward from their bases. My knowledge of animals was too limited to tell what kind of Centaur he was. Perhaps he was related to goats?

"So what?!"

"Calm down, Abart. This gentleman isn't an enemy. Isn't that right, friend of the Nadeus Clan? Was Muno-sama in good health?"

Good, good! The child might not understand, but it seemed the adults did.

"She looked as though she could live another thousand years, I'd say. I am Izaam, and this is Karnagtur."

"How very polite. I am Lucite, the head of this family. This is my wife, Abashin; my son, Abart; and my daughter, Lucin."

As I'd heard, they were all related by blood. However, every one of them was a different kind of Centaur. As mentioned earlier, Lucite appeared to be goat-like, while his wife Abashin was larger than her husband and a beautiful, gentle-looking woman. Her distinctive feature was a pair of magnificent horns that extended to either side, their tips curving upward. She was probably a Water Buffalo Centaur.

As mentioned earlier, their son Abart was a Tiger Centaur. Their daughter Lucin had fluffy fur, rounded triangular ears, and small fangs peeking out like canine teeth. She had been wagging her tail from side to side the whole time, so she was presumably a Dog Centaur.

This meant that a carnivorous Centaur could be born to herbivorous Centaur parents. It was just as I'd heard, but it was still a very strange sight.

Judging from the names of the parents and children, it seemed that the children inherited half of each parent's name. Since their appearances could differ so greatly from their parents', perhaps this custom existed to show their parent-child relationship.

"I'm sorry for causing such a commotion. Kal, my companions, and I came to this continent a short while ago, but this is our first time meeting Centaurs. I took to the sky so you might enjoy it even a little."

"Hahahaha! So that's what it was! At first, I thought it was an attack, but I was confused because I couldn't sense any killing intent."

"Ah! Hey! Lucin!"

While Lucite-sama and I were chatting amiably, Lucin apparently couldn't contain herself any longer. She darted out from behind her mother and ran toward Kal's feet. Then she looked up at him with fascination and reached out her hands, hopping adorably just as she had before.

"Dwagon-san! Tell me your name!"

"Grrr?"

"Is it Grrr? I'm Lucin! My name's Lucin!"

Ignoring the fact that her parents and brother had gone deathly pale, Lucin introduced herself to Kal without the slightest hesitation. She apparently had no thoughts whatsoever of being afraid or staying away from him. I gave a wry smile, knelt on one knee, and brought myself down to Lucin's eye level.

Even when a silver skeleton approached her, Lucin didn't seem troubled at all. She merely looked at me curiously. Was her wariness simply too weak, or was she a remarkable child...? It had to be the latter.

"This is Karnagtur, Lucin-chan."

"Karyuna...? Not Grrr?"

"Kal can't speak human language, so just call him Kal."

"Okay! Karyu! Let's play!"

Lucin was tugging hard on Kal's thick, powerful foreleg. When Kal glanced at me, I could see the unmistakable anticipation in his eyes. Even though the word Lesser had finally disappeared, he was still mentally a child. There was nothing strange about him wanting to play with a small child.

"Kal, play with her."

"Gwooon!"

After giving a single cry, Kal slowly lowered his head and brought his face close to Lucin. When she stroked his snout, he let out a pleased, high-pitched cry.

Lucin was so excited that she hugged Kal's head and, incredibly, climbed on top of it. Seeing how much fun she was having, Kal slowly raised his head while taking care not to drop her.

"So high! Amazing!"

"Um, Izaam-sama? Is this all right?"

"Kal shows no mercy to enemies, but he's tolerant toward allies and anyone without hostile intent. He won't get angry unless someone does something outrageous, like sticking their fingers into his eyes or nostrils."

While Lucite-sama breathed a sigh of relief, Kal and Lucin began another game. They were using Kal's long neck as a slide, turning it into an improvised playground. Kal had even spread his wings like a safety net in case she lost her balance, so Lucin could play safely.

"My little sister is playing with a Dragon..."

"How about you, Abart-kun?"

"I'm not that young!"

I'd made the suggestion because he had been staring blankly at the two of them playing, but Abart turned away with a huff. He was at the age when being treated like a child made him angry.

In any case, I'll leave the children to Kal for now and continue my conversation with Lucite-sama. Just as I did with the Nadeus Clan, I needed to make myself useful to him.

"By the way, Lucite-sama. Is there anything you need or any problems you're having? If there's anything we can do, we'll help as much as possible."

"Well... This applies not just to our family but to the Centaur Race as a whole, but we'd like a permanent home like the Scars have."

"A house?"

Perhaps he had sensed what I hadn't said—if they wanted one, why not build one?—because Lucite-sama sadly shook his head.

"We're faster than other Races and can move even through places with poor footing. But we're bad at fine work and construction."

"Ah, I see."

When he put it that way, it did make sense. Centaurs had lower bodies that were much larger than those of other humanoids, so they were probably good at transporting cargo. However, they weren't suited to carpentry. Building houses for them would presumably require support structures more than twice the usual size and strength.

Besides, if they were to own homes, they would need high ceilings and a great deal of floor space. If they established a settlement, they would have to guard an area far too large for their population. That wouldn't be practical, and their powerful bodies allowed them to survive on the grasslands, so they lived as wanderers instead.

So it wasn't that they didn't need homes; they simply couldn't have them because maintaining them was too difficult. That was unfortunate... No, wait! There is a place with an absurd amount of empty space and houses to spare!

"Lucite-sama. You know about the Black Wall, don't you?"

"Yes, of course. It's a dangerous place."

"Actually, we've occupied the area beyond it. There are more than enough houses there. Would you like to use them?"

"Y-yes?"

I had invited Lucite-sama to 'The Secret City of the Mist-Crying Princess,' and he stared at me with an expression that said he had no idea what I meant.