Not daring to look?
Is divination in this magical world really that dangerous? There doesn't seem to be any rule about going mad from seeing things you shouldn't, does there?
Lucien was genuinely surprised by Firenze's response. He'd braced himself for the centaur to shower him with grand titles—Future Star, Heaven-Sent Prodigy, or something equally dramatic. Instead, all he got was, "I don't dare look"?
Well, if there was something about him that blocked Firenze's divination, it was probably the system.
Lucien mentally called out to it: "System, are you the one stopping others from divining me?"
[Protecting the host on their quest for knowledge is my duty! (`Д´)ゞ]
"…"
It just admitted it outright? No cryptic riddles or mysterious deflections?
What a great system.
But then another question popped into Lucien's mind. "System, it's your presence that's blocking the divination, right? It's not something special about me, is it?"
[…]
[As the host pursues their life's goals and strives to learn, the system will provide all the help it can.]
"You can't say? Or you can't say yet?"
[…Does the host need any new loans? We've got some fresh options…]
Lucien promptly shut down the system's chatter. If it wasn't going to answer directly, there was no point dragging it out.
Heh, who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going? Those big philosophical questions didn't need exploring right now. He'd barely scratched the surface of magic, learned only a fraction of what there was to know. Why waste time on vague mysteries when so much fascinating knowledge was waiting to be uncovered?
"Firenze, if you couldn't divine my future, why are you being so friendly and enthusiastic?" Lucien asked.
Firenze snapped out of his thoughts, his deep green eyes meeting Lucien's with calm clarity. "I can't divine you, but I can see the futures of those around you."
"It's like you're at the center of a massive vortex, pulling things in, sending things out, altering the paths people were meant to follow."
Lucien wasn't entirely surprised by this. His presence was bound to shake things up—people's fates, tragedies, partings… they'd all shift because of him.
But "pulling in" and "sending out"? Pulling in knowledge, maybe? And what was he sending out?
Not being able to be divined meant he'd have to carve his own path, which was just another way to explore the unknown. That wasn't so bad.
"Altering paths… including yours, your people, the centaur tribe?" Lucien pressed.
Firenze nodded gently. "Yes."
"I can't tell if this change is good or bad, but the stars tell me that becoming friends is never a bad thing, right?"
Lucien's lips curved into a grin, his tone lightening. "So, getting in good early, like a gift with a price tag already attached?"
"No price," Firenze replied. "I'm grateful to the stars for their guidance. Tonight, in this place, I can gain a precious friendship."
Lucien nearly called him a mystical con artist but held back. Firenze was just too kind, helping him out and speaking so warmly.
"Firenze, I love gathering knowledge, and I learned a lot from you tonight. Thank you," Lucien said. "I'm honored to have the help and friendship of a centaur."
A faint, serene smile spread across Firenze's handsome face, his eyes glinting with obvious joy. "The honor is mine."
The atmosphere softened, and Lucien seized the chance to clear up a lingering question. "Firenze, since you didn't actually divine me, what was with all those titles you threw out when we met?"
Firenze shrugged casually. " 'Knower of the Unknown'—it's self-explanatory, right? 'Lord of the Qilin' was obvious enough. As for the rest…"
"I made them up."
His matter-of-fact tone left Lucien momentarily stunned. Wait, what? Had this centaur ever been punched by another centaur—or a human wizard, for that matter?
Who just admits to being a fraud?
Noticing Lucien's confusion, Firenze continued, "You humans seem to love piling on titles. Take your greatest wizard, Dumbledore—Headmaster of Hogwarts, President of the International Confederation of Wizards, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, First-Class Order of Merlin…"
"They're all just one person, aren't they?"
Wow. Was this how centaurs thought? It… actually made sense.
It was like a banquet hall that looked like it held a few dozen people but was actually packed with hundreds, maybe thousands.
Lucien opened his mouth to explain but felt utterly defeated. In the end, he managed, "It's just a human way of showing honor."
"Oh, I see," Firenze said. "I'm quite curious about human culture, but not many people talk to me about it."
Lucien rubbed his forehead, exasperated. "I can lend you some books on it if you can read human writing. Or you can just ask me directly."
"Firenze, have you ever… you know, been attacked for something you've said?"
Firenze lifted a hoof, his expression proud. "I've been the runner-up in the centaur tribe's racing competition for years. They say I run like the wind!"
Well, he should thank the stars—and his parents for those long legs.
After a bit more small talk, Lucien said goodbye to Firenze and left with the little Qilin.
Not long after, the sound of hoofbeats approached. "Firenze, why'd you make me hide so far away? And how'd it go with that human?"
Firenze glanced at his approaching companion, a centaur with black fur and a bushy beard. "Far, Bane? They spotted you ages ago."
"That 'Qilin' kept looking your way, and Lucien never put his wand away."
Bane stomped a hoof, frustrated. "Humans are so sneaky. You really think you can be friends with him?"
"The stars told me I'd gain a precious friendship tonight," Firenze replied.
Bane crossed his arms, shaking his head. "You're the most gifted diviner in the tribe, so I guess you're right."
"But you shouldn't be spilling our tribe's secrets to a human."
Firenze pointed in the direction Lucien had gone. "Oh, Bane, sharpest-eared archer of the tribe, champion of the racing competition—why don't you chase down that boy and stop him?"
Bane's face darkened to match his fur. "I'm not ready to die, and tonight's not the night to ascend to the Star Temple!"
"Firenze, if you want to be champion, practice running instead of egging me on!"
"And stop using those human-style titles for me!"
"Centaur divination should focus on the grand tides of the era. What's one human?"
Used to his friend's grumbling, Firenze just gazed in the direction Lucien had gone, murmuring to himself, "But that one human could change the era."
please vote this story to motivate me post 2ch/day