Chapter 263: The Centaur Orell, Dumb as a Groundhog
"This girl, she's not afraid of being discovered at all. She just came walking along the main path?"
Dylan was a little surprised. Luna's carrot-patterned sweater was remarkably bright in the dark. The wicker basket in her hand swayed as she got closer. Dylan could see it was completely empty. The girl probably planned to gather some things in the Forbidden Forest to bring back.
"Good evening," Dylan greeted her when she finally stood in front of him, looking as calm as ever.
"Hello," Luna said, glancing at Dylan and then at Buckbeak, who was still eating his roasted meat. "Hello to you, too."
Buckbeak looked at Luna but didn't respond. He just kept his head down, happily eating the delicious roasted meat.
"Since you're here, shall we go?" Dylan didn't ask her why she was so composed or how she had managed to walk so brazenly and undisturbed into the Forbidden Forest.
Luna nodded. "It's over there, but it's not on the edge of the forest. We might have to go a bit deeper."
Dylan nodded, indicating he understood. "Then please, lead the way."
Luna lifted her foot and started walking in a certain direction. Dylan turned back to Buckbeak. "I'll come and see you again when I have time."
Rumble~
Buckbeak didn't speak but just made a low rumbling sound in his throat. Dylan smiled and followed Luna.
The shadows in the Forbidden Forest were thick. In the darkness, it was difficult to see where you were going without a light. This didn't bother Dylan, and Luna's wand was already providing a soft glow. The tip of her wand tore a narrow path through the surrounding shadows. Luna's light footsteps on the thick, fallen leaves made almost no sound. Dylan followed close behind, also without a sound, though many of the dry branches still broke under his boots. However, they made no noise whatsoever.
The journey was long. Dylan felt like he and Luna had been walking for a while. He wished he had just used a spell to travel here. Along the way, no creatures appeared, but Luna did collect several plants. However, since it was this season, many plants hadn't grown yet.
"Are we almost there?" Dylan asked softly.
Luna looked left and right. In fact, Dylan had no idea how Luna could even tell where she was. Even he, when just walking through the Forbidden Forest, would probably get lost if he didn't use magic to help. But Luna just glanced around and seemed to know exactly where to go. It was a skill that made even Dylan a little envious.
"Almost, it's just ahead," Luna replied.
That's good. Dylan nodded slightly and continued walking with Luna.
Suddenly, Luna stopped, tilting her head towards the bushes in front of them. Dylan followed her gaze and immediately saw a neck covered in dark brown hair sticking out from between the branches of the bushes, along with a pair of sharp eyes in the dim light. It was clearly a Centaur.
The centaur was well-hidden. Dylan hadn't noticed him without using magic. Luna was the one who had spotted him first.
"You've been found, so what's the point of hiding?"
Dylan stepped forward and stood in front of Luna, raising his wand. When the centaur came out, Dylan raised an eyebrow. He recognized this centaur. He had run into him the last time he was in the Forbidden Forest. After beating him, Dylan had thought about asking the centaur to bring his whole family next time so he could bring them all into his world. But he hadn't had the time to come back until now. He couldn't believe they had run into each other again.
They really were fated. It seemed that even destiny wanted him to save these poor centaurs from the Forbidden Forest and bring them to a new world where they could run free. But… why was he alone again? Why hadn't he brought any other centaurs with him?
The centaur obviously recognized Dylan. He peered out from the bushes, his eyes wide. He snorted, and two jets of white air shot from his nostrils. He bared his teeth in a snarl, and the arrow on his bow was instantly aimed at Dylan's chest.
"You've got a lot of nerve," Dylan sneered, and the tip of his wand began to glow eerily.
Just as the two were about to fight, the centaur suddenly caught a glimpse of Luna behind Dylan. He froze, then lowered the hand holding the arrow, pointing it at the ground instead of at Dylan and Luna. The centaur's body, which had been as tense as a bowstring, also slowly relaxed.
Dylan raised an eyebrow, a bit confused. What did this mean?
At this moment, Luna peeked out from behind Dylan, tilting her head to look at the centaur. "Oh? Is that you?"
Hearing this, Dylan turned his head, his gaze darting between Luna and the centaur. "You know each other?"
Luna walked out from behind Dylan. "The last time I was here looking for Crumple-Horned Snorkacks, I ran into him. Someone had hurt him, so I helped him with a potion. He said a nasty little thief hurt him."
"A nasty little thief?" Dylan laughed.
Orell glared at Dylan. "It was you, you nasty little thief! You have wicked magic. It must be you who hurt the unicorn, too! What do you want now? Are you after our kind again?"
Luna tilted her head. "Did you two have a problem with each other?"
Dylan shrugged. "Last time, I was just wandering in the Forbidden Forest. I ran into this guy, and he tried to attack me, so of course, I fought back. Then he ran away. I didn't chase him down, but I can't believe he's slandering me now, calling me a nasty thief with evil magic. I'm heartbroken." Dylan put down his wand, turned to Luna, and looked utterly devastated.
Luna's expression was calm, but she glanced at the centaur across from her. "Then he really is nasty. I wish I hadn't saved him."
Orell's eyes widened. What was happening? Was he being slandered by both the person who hurt him and the person who saved him? Or was he just a part of these two human wizards' little game?
What a blind moth! How could this beautiful girl with the golden hair fall for such a simpleton of a vole? It's a shooting star gone astray!
Orell wanted to lose his temper, but he didn't know what to say. It seemed his brother, Bane, was right. Humans were not to be trusted!
Dylan saw the centaur's frustrated expression—his mouth opening and closing—and knew what he was thinking. He let out a soft huff. "Fine. You stupid groundhog. Since you know Luna, I'll let you off the hook."
Huh? Let him off the hook?
A howling rabbit in the moonlight—ridiculous! He needs to be let off the hook?!
"What, you don't like it?" Dylan narrowed his eyes. Although he had put down his wand, the tip began to glow faintly again.
Orell's heart skipped a beat. He knew from experience what this human wizard's magic could do. If he had managed to attack by surprise, he might have had the upper hand. But now that they were face-to-face, he knew he had little chance of winning. Even as a centaur, he knew one truth. The trajectory of a star never collides with a stubborn rock. A stag also knows how to avoid a hunter's trap.
In other words, a wise man knows when to retreat. That's what that slow-witted Ronan, who was always staring at the stars, said. Even though Ronan would always mumble to himself after looking at the night sky, sometimes his words made a lot of sense. Last time, Orell escaped because he was fast.
Orell huffed, two faint wisps of white air puffing from his nostrils. He turned his head but lowered his bow and arrow.
Dylan smiled. "That's better. A wise man knows when to retreat. To be honest, you probably didn't really want to fight me anyway. Otherwise, you would have ambushed me when you were hiding."
"I did want to fight you! But I didn't want to hurt an innocent person. If you were alone, my arrow would have already pierced your chest!" Orell's face flushed as he retorted, but he looked more like a stubborn fool.
Dylan shrugged. "Then what do you have to say? If you truly think you can hurt me, then you can try next time. I'll be coming to this place often in the next few years, anyway."
Orell froze, then a look of fury returned to his face. "I knew it! Are you the one spreading fear in the Forbidden Forest? And did you kill the unicorn?!"
"What? A unicorn died?" Dylan frowned.
Luna looked over, too. "Little centaur, are you sure a unicorn has been harmed?"
Orell glanced at Luna, and his face flushed again. "I didn't see a unicorn's body, but there are several spots in the Forbidden Forest with unicorn blood. Someone must have killed them!"
"And I'm not a centaur, I'm a centaur, and I have a name! My name is Orell!" This human wizard with golden hair had very thick hair and beautiful eyes, like a constellation he once saw. Unfortunately, while her eyes were beautiful, they weren't very good at seeing. How could she have fallen for a guy who looked so weak and fragile, like his bones would break if he was stepped on?
Look at those thin limbs! They're worse than a centaur child's!
Even without using Legilimency, Dylan could sense the intense emotions radiating from this centaur, and he had a general idea of what he was thinking.
Him? Thin limbs? Weak and fragile?
Dylan looked at his own height, which was almost that of an adult, and chuckled. He was only a third-year. His height was already pretty good. What more did they want from him? He wasn't raised on hormones!
Dylan looked Orell up and down. "Speaking of which, your hair is quite long. But you haven't come of age yet, have you?"
Orell's chest puffed out, thinking Dylan was complimenting him. "So what if I haven't? My bow and arrows aren't weak! Even Firenze said I'm strong!" As he said this, he tossed his head, and the hair on his neck swayed. He flexed his muscles.
It was true that every creature had its own advantages. Like this centaur. Although he wasn't an adult yet, he was already quite tall, and his muscles were solid. Dylan had thought he was an adult, but he wasn't. He couldn't help but click his tongue, remembering his earlier thought of capturing the whole family.
"Why did you click your tongue?" Orell glared at Dylan again. In centaur culture, clicking your tongue meant contempt and a warning. This ugly human wizard, with his thin hair, was looking down on him?
Look at these muscles! Look at this thick hair! So strong! Hmph! Why does this thin-limbed human wizard look down on him? He had already taken a step back. If this human wizard pushed his luck, he wouldn't be a pushover!
Dylan rolled his eyes. "I can click my tongue if I want to. I'm not clicking at you, so what's it to you?"
"You!" Orell snarled.
Dylan couldn't be bothered to argue with him anymore. Arguing with a centaur was tedious and pointless.
"Fine. Tell me about this unicorn thing. What exactly happened?"
"Why should I tell you?!"
Dylan chuckled. "Just now, you said I killed the unicorn. Let's set aside the fact that you haven't even seen a body, so you don't even know if a unicorn is dead. But since you said I killed the unicorn, and this has something to do with me, and you want to cause trouble for me, why won't you tell me what you know? You centaurs have to look at the stars to judge someone, right? So won't you at least give me a chance to defend myself? Are you trying to say you're more fair than the stars?"
Orell's face twitched, and his voice got louder. "I never said I was better than the stars! Don't lie! That's a blatant slander against me!"
Dylan rolled his eyes again. "Alright, alright, as if you weren't slandering me just a minute ago."
"How did I slander you? Did you not kill the unicorn? You attacked me viciously last time!"
Dylan was truly puzzled. Were all centaurs just all muscle and no brains? No, that couldn't be right. Both Firenze and Ronan were masters of astrology and knew a lot about various plants.
They also had a deep understanding of their own society and the balance of nature. Although centaurs were muscular and loved the power that came with living in nature, they weren't stupid. On the contrary, they were usually quite intelligent. But then again, in any race, there were smart ones and dumb ones.
Maybe… this guy was one of the dumb ones?
Dylan glanced at Orell.
(End of Chapter)
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