As a proud centaur, Ronan was no less perceptive than any human when it came to social awareness. Seeing the two of them chatting intimately while the creature that had driven the acromantulas into a frenzy showed no sign of pursuing further, he gave a distant bow.
"Since I have delivered Lord Lewis safely, I shall take my leave."
With that, he silently withdrew.
What a tactful fellow.
"Alright, Daisy, that's enough."
Lewis finally managed to free himself from the enthusiastic embrace of the centaur girl and set his feet back on the ground. "I'm not a child… Ronan saw that."
"Hehe, it's because you never come to visit me," Daisy scratched the back of her head and laughed foolishly. "I just missed you."
Sigh. Back then, he hadn't realized how strong and optimistic Daisy had been. Becoming a druid had completely unleashed her nature—but somehow, that had turned her a little… goofy.
"Anyway, Ronan said you wanted to discuss the basilisk with me?"
"Yes!" Daisy nodded rapidly. "Before, we could still suppress it using the roosters you gave us, but recently it's gotten much worse! If we don't deal with it soon, we'll all be in trouble!"
"But we should talk about the details at my place."
As she spoke, she stepped lightly in front of him and bent her knees slightly.
"…You want me to ride you?" Lewis blinked. "Isn't that… a bit inappropriate? I heard centaurs consider that an insult."
"Tch, only old fossils like Bane think that way!" Daisy waved it off disdainfully. "Besides, with our relationship, why would we care?"
"…Fair enough." Lewis felt oddly touched. "Then I won't hold back."
He swung himself onto her back.
"Hold tight!"
Daisy kicked off and dashed forward.
It didn't take long for Lewis to realize a problem.
There was no saddle. No mane to grab. And Daisy, being lively and energetic, ran with an enthusiastic bounce.
The issue wasn't motion sickness.
It was… where exactly was he supposed to hold?
Where could he hold?
Where did he want to hold?!
Suppressing the urge to grab onto certain places, Lewis forced himself to focus. With a quick spell, he gathered Daisy's now longer hair into a ponytail and used that as a handle.
Through his psychic senses, he faintly felt her disappointment.
Soon, Daisy brought him to a tall oak tree at the edge of a valley. Beside it stood a spacious wooden house—her home.
Not long after becoming a druid, Daisy had moved out of the centaur tribe.
Not because of conflict. Quite the opposite.
Her reputation among the centaurs had risen to rival even that of their leader, Magorian.
A leader's wisdom was essential for a tribe's survival, but a druid could provide countless magical services the centaurs desperately needed.
For instance, identifying poisonous plants. Ordinary centaurs relied on experience—or trial and error. Daisy just needed a simple Detect Poison.
And that was just the beginning. She contributed to farming, animal husbandry, healing—even clearing the skies for stargazing when needed.
From a once-rejected rebellious girl, she had become someone respected by all.
But druid training required closeness to nature. Living in the tribe wasn't enough.
Daisy understood clearly—her status came from her power. To maintain it, to grow stronger, she had to leave and live within nature itself.
Lewis still remembered the determination in her eyes when she told him she was moving out.
He hadn't expected that someone who once craved recognition would give up a life of comfort and admiration.
In that sense, she truly was suited to being a druid.
Looking at the cheerful centaur girl waiting outside her house, Lewis couldn't help wondering if she was really the same person.
"Hey, teacher, we're here!"
Daisy turned back happily.
"Hehe, seeing Lare carry you around all the time, I've wanted to try it myself."
After Lewis got down, she circled around him, looking eager.
Now she understood why the proud unicorn was willing to carry him every day. It was the perfect excuse to stay close to him. Every little bump meant feeling him pressed against her back.
That feeling… she could repeat it forever.
"Next time, I'll carry you again!"
she declared seriously.
"Then at least tie your hair beforehand," Lewis sighed.
Lately, when interacting with girls, he felt like he was the one being chased. It was… unsettling.
"I need to be more assertive," he thought.
Inside, the wooden house was surprisingly spacious. Both height and area far exceeded what it looked like from the outside, thanks to the Extension Charm Lewis had cast himself.
He had been deeply involved in building Daisy's new home—including growing this massive oak tree.
Well, his student deserved special care.
Daisy seated him in a vine-woven chair and brewed a pot of flower tea.
"By the way, where's Lare today?" she asked curiously. "Don't you usually visit her first and then ride over here?"
"…Does that mean today I'm the first one you came to see?" she asked hopefully.
Lewis shook his head, shattering her expectations.
"No. I went to see Lare first. But to protect her from the basilisk, I helped her relocate."
"Relocate? Where?"
"To a demi-plane. A separate world, basically. Near my home."
Daisy immediately puffed up her cheeks.
"That's unfair, teacher!"
"So many creatures are suffering from the basilisk, but you only care about unicorns!"
"I want to move too—no, I mean, I want to be your neighbor!"
She stomped and protested like a little girl.
Lewis struggled to keep a straight face. "Stop being childish. What about your tribe? You can't expect them to fight the basilisk with roosters forever."
"But… but…"
She tried to look pitiful, her pink eyes shimmering. Unfortunately, not a single tear came out.
A tomboy pretending to be delicate—she really tried.
Lewis thought for a moment. "How about this? I'll create a passage here that connects directly to my place. That way, you're still my neighbor."
Daisy's eyes lit up. "Really?!"
"You don't trust me?"
He stepped outside, gathered some mushroom spores from her, and scattered them on the ground.
With a burst of druidic magic, the spores rapidly grew into a perfect mushroom circle.
In reality, such circles were just a natural phenomenon caused by radial fungal growth.
But in druidic magic, they held special significance.
Lewis took a strand of mycelium from the circle, cast Magnificent Mansion, and returned to his demi-plane. There, beneath his own oak tree, he planted it and grew another circle.
With both circles linked, the ritual was complete.
Ripples of space shimmered at the center of the ring.
On Daisy's side, she saw it too.
She stepped into the circle—
—and the next moment, she stood beside Lewis's tower.
Lewis smiled at her. "See? Not playing favorites anymore."
Before he could finish, she lunged forward and hugged him again.
"Teacher, you're the best!"
Once more trapped in her embrace, Lewis caught the scent of flowers and wood from her body. Something soft pressed against his chest, making things… awkward.
After a while, she finally let him go.
"Happy now?"
"Mm-hmm!"
"Then let's talk about the basilisk."
"I can solve it," Lewis said. "But you're the main force among the centaurs. I need information."
"Ask anything," Daisy replied without hesitation.
Lewis nodded. "Have you seen a red-haired wizard in the forest recently?"
"Red-haired wizard?"
She tilted her head.
"Freckles. Ordinary face… and a big nose."
Daisy thought for a moment, then nodded. "I think I've seen him. More than once."
"Wait!" She suddenly slapped her thigh. "Every time I saw him… it was after the basilisk had just rampaged through the forest!"
"As expected."
Lewis nodded.
That confirmed it.
Now he could move forward with dealing with Ron.
But before that, he had to handle the basilisk itself.
A creature whose gaze could kill instantly was no joke. Even petrification alone was equivalent to a top-tier ninth-circle druid spell.
And there was also the young Voldemort backing it up.
Either one alone was manageable.
But together?
That was a different story.
The basilisk compensated for Voldemort's lack of direct combat strength, while Voldemort covered the basilisk's weaknesses.
Lewis would need to proceed carefully.
Fortunately, he already had a plan.
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