The rustle of leaves announced an arrival.
A centaur appeared before Leo. His hair was platinum blonde, he carried a bow and quiver on his back, his upper body was powerfully muscular, while his lower half was a pale golden horse with a silver mane. Those eyes were surprisingly blue, like tranquil sapphires.
"Centaur Firenze greets you."
Firenze made fists with both hands, crossed his forearms over his chest, and bowed slightly toward Leo.
This gesture made Leo raise an eyebrow in surprise. He'd read in books that this was the centaur race's most formal greeting, generally only used when welcoming honoured guests or old friends of many years.
Moreover, centaurs' attitude toward humans was extremely cold, even disdainful, always maintaining their distance. Yet Firenze was clearly meeting him for the first time.
Why would he greet him this way? And directly call out his name?
As for the peculiar titles Firenze added afterward, Leo wanted to complain. Fortunately the Forbidden Forest was large enough to accommodate so many dramatic introductions...
Centaurs were very skilled at divination, especially observing stars. Had Firenze seen him in a prophecy? How would prophecy describe him?
"Leonardo Grafton returns your greeting."
Leo's mind kept working, but his etiquette didn't falter. Using the hand not holding his wand, he lightly touched his chest and similarly bowed slightly.
Receiving Leo's return greeting, Firenze nodded toward Aurelius as well. "I greet you as well, Qilin from another world."
Leo's eyes narrowed slightly. He wanted to know why this centaur would call Aurelius a Qilin from another world. Could divination and prophecy really be this accurate?
"Mr Grafton, are you satisfied with tonight's harvest in the Forbidden Forest?"
"Not bad, with some unexpected gains."
Leo still needed observation records of one more magical creature species to repay his loan. But he'd fortunately encountered that pair of unicorns and obtained unique data on pregnant unicorns. If sent to Newt, it should convince the magical creature expert.
"I wonder if I have the honour of helping you complete your harvest?"
"Oh?"
Leo found this centaur's way of speaking very interesting—mysterious and cryptic, just like a fortune teller. Though those who could divine and prophesy were exactly that, weren't they?
Leo smiled faintly, his fingers tracing along his wand. "You know what I want to do?"
Firenze raised his hand and pointed at the starry sky overhead, his tone gentle. "The stars gave me enlightenment."
Truly a mystic. Indeed, knowing prophecy and divination made one quite good at creating an air of mystery—just a few cryptic words could create that impression.
"Your sincerity leaves me unable to hide my intent, so I'll be direct. I want to observe a magical creature species and make some records. Are you willing to take me to find them?"
Since this centaur had already said so, he'd just make his request directly. If Firenze didn't agree, it didn't matter—he'd search on his own.
But Firenze shook his head. "No need for such trouble. I can tell you directly."
Leo frowned. "Tell me? Tell me what?"
Firenze raised his hand and pointed, but this time at himself. "I can tell you about centaurs' living habits, racial characteristics..."
Honestly, Firenze's words left Leo somewhat stunned. Although centaurs were indeed classified as magical creatures, this was actually at their own request, even though wizards considered centaurs an intelligent species.
But Firenze's offer to directly provide information about centaurs still puzzled Leo. This was too proactive—he and the centaurs had never met before.
What exactly did he see in the prophecy? Did the stars really tell him there was something significant?
While pondering this, Leo also communicated with the system in his consciousness. "System, since centaurs are classified as magical creatures, would obtaining their information satisfy the loan requirements?"
[First-hand data naturally satisfies requirements, as long as the source individuals provide rich samples.]
Getting the system's reply, Leo felt that would work, but still wanted to confirm with the centaur.
"If you're ready, shall I begin?"
Hearing Firenze's words, Leo pulled out paper and quill, then indicated he was ready.
"Centaurs have human heads, torsos and arms, connected to horse bodies. Horse body colours are varied, including..." Firenze began methodically. "Centaurs are skilled in divination, archery, astronomy and magical healing..."
The quill automatically recorded, rapidly writing down Firenze's narration. The more Leo listened, the stranger his expression became, because what Firenze described was incredibly detailed.
Even how young centaurs should be nurtured, centaur coming-of-age ceremony procedures, centaur funeral rites—he covered everything comprehensively.
"Centaur reproduction—"
Hearing this, Leo quickly interrupted. "Stop, you don't need to mention that."
Previous magical creatures also had these aspects recorded anyway, all meeting loan requirements.
Somewhat embarrassed, Leo communicated with the system again. "System, is this data sufficient now?"
[Standard has been met. Do you need to submit data and repay the loan now?]
"Wait, I still have uses for it."
Leo planned to make several copies of these magical creature data—one for himself, one to send to Newt, and one to submit to the system for loan repayment.
In almost half an hour, Leo completed records of an entire population—the fastest documentation time yet.
Leo put away his paper and quill, looking at Firenze again.
"Friendly centaur, why did you help me like this? What enlightenment did the stars give you—prophecies about me?"
"And why do you call me Master of the Qilin? Does this creature resemble a qilin? What about 'another world'?"
As he spoke, Leo patted Aurelius, who had been watching quietly from the side.
Aurelius's appearance was very different from native qilins—even Newt, who had seen qilins years ago, hadn't recognized it. But Firenze had directly identified it, which truly puzzled him.
Facing Leo's questioning, Firenze maintained his gentle tone. "The stars told me this is a qilin, but not a qilin from this world. Perhaps from a very distant world."
Hearing Firenze's words, Leo's heart jumped. Could divination really be this powerful? It could even reveal Aurelius's special nature?
Then could his own special nature also be "seen"?
Leo suddenly stared at Firenze, his dark green eyes deep and unreadable, his tone very calm. "Friend, regarding me, have you seen anything in the stars?"
Firenze raised his head, gazing at that brilliant starry sky. A trace of confusion appeared on his handsome face.
"I don't dare to look."