NOVEL NEXT Chapter 05 - The Child of Centaurs
Title: Child of the Centaur (1)
Running through the forest while singing a song in my head, I spotted something sparkling in my field of vision.
(That must be a “star.”)
I approached to confirm, and indeed, with an uneven yet rounded shape, it was a star.
(It’s purple, so it’s a magic star. Life stars are golden.)
Though not as prominent as life stars, the magic star shone brightly in the dappled sunlight.
(But, even if I eat this, I won’t need to use magic.)
I pondered while rolling the magic star with my paw.
Deciding that I didn’t need the star I just found, I lifted my head, only to spot something else glimmering on the edge of my vision again. This time, it was a life star lying on the ground.
(I found another one nearby!)
Though I momentarily thought it was lucky, upon reflection, I realized I didn’t really need it either.
Furthermore, it seemed there were more stars in the vicinity. Three small fairy girls fluttered their wings and approached me, pointing to the trees, indicating, “There’s more over there.”
Sure enough, high up on the branches, amidst dense leaves, nestled another life star.
Stars left in the forest without being picked up or eaten remain there for about half a year. After that time, they are absorbed by the ground and plants, disappearing, only to fall from the sky later again.
Since I’m about six months old now, I’ll soon get to see the sight of stars falling again, which I’m looking forward to.
(Thank you, fairies, for telling me. But even if I find so many, it’s no use.)
I thanked the little fairies in my heart and waved my tail as I bid them farewell.
While humans covet the stars falling in this forest, in reality, stars that fall on the outskirts are probably mostly gone once picked up by humans.
In this unusual forest, humans easily get lost, so unless they’re reckless adventurers, they won’t venture far into its depths. Therefore, humans collect stars relatively safely at the forest’s edge.
The next day, for the third time, I went to play with the tree uncle.
Upon seeing me, the uncle grimaced and yelled in disgust.
“Gyaaaa! You came again! You damn cat! Go home!”
What a rude thing to say.
(It’ll be fun!)
With my pupils dilated and my posture lowered, ready to pounce at any moment, the uncle hastily tried to reason.
“I’m not your friend! Don’t get attached to me! I don’t play with cats!”
Sorry to the uncle, but once I enter “play mode,” it’s hard for me to control myself. Even though I won’t pounce on small opponents, since the tree uncle is big and sturdy, I thought he could handle me being a bit naughty.
“Find someone else to play with! Go to Dragon Country and play with a dragon! I’m not free enough to entertain you!”
Well, if you’re just waiting for prey to pass by, that’s not exactly busy, is it?
I thought as I swayed my tail, timing my movements, and then-
(Huh? What’s that?)
I spotted a strange shadow on the uncle’s head — in other words, in the leafy part of his head, something was wrapped in branches.
Squinting, I saw what looked like a horse’s leg up there, and then I finally realized that it was something the tree uncle had caught.
It seemed to be a horse’s body wrapped in branches, lifted up high.
(It’s not a mummy yet, but is it still alive?)
As I stared at the horse, the uncle spoke sternly.
“This is my prey. Stay away!”
No need to worry; I won’t eat a horse. I thought to myself when suddenly, I heard a voice like that of a human child.
“Help…!”
Just then, I saw that the upper half of the horse was actually a human. A brown-skinned boy with black curly hair was attached to the lower half of the horse.
(Is that a centaur child?)
In this forest, there are various creatures. Among the intelligent ones, some live in villages and lead human-like lives. Those are elves, dwarves, and centaurs.
This centaur child must have gotten separated from its companions and caught by the tree uncle.
“Help me…!”
Though the child was desperately screaming for help, as the branches tightened, he groaned in pain and fell silent.
“If you make too much noise, I’ll suck all your energy away.”
The lazy and capricious kitten that I am, even if asked for help, I wouldn’t be driven by a sense of justice.
But seeing the centaur child limp and helpless, I felt a little sorry for him. If left like this, he might die.
After pondering for a while, I concluded that it wouldn’t sit right with me to leave him there, so I reluctantly decided to act.
Hurriedly, I ran up to the tree uncle and scratched the trunk with all my might, using my claws.
“Ouch! You damn cat!”
But such an attack wouldn’t defeat the uncle. On the contrary, his branches reached out and almost caught me.
(What should I do?)
Avoiding the branches with graceful leaps, I distanced myself from the uncle.
Then, it hit me.
I quickly turned around and ran back.
“Are you running away? Guahaha!”
I could hear the uncle’s laughter from behind, but I didn’t stop. Though I sometimes got stuck between trees while running and occasionally got crushed between them, I sprinted through the forest until I reached my destination.
This was where I found three stars yesterday. There were supposed to be two life stars and one magic star.
(Life star, life star)
Searching the ground, I found the purple magic star in the same place as yesterday. When I put it in my mouth, it crumbled and melted on my tongue.
At the same time, I felt a surge of energy filling my body. This must be magic!
However, unlike when I ate the Life star and felt vitality coursing through my body, this time, it felt different. A dense, mysterious power enveloped me, but there was no particular change in my body.
Anyway, after eating the magic star, I hurried back to where the tree uncle and the centaur child were. As I ran, I thought about how to defeat the uncle using this magic.
“Gah! You came back!”
Facing the tree uncle once again, I puffed up my cheeks. Gathering the magic swirling around my body into my mouth, I imagined fiercely burning flames.
Then, I exhaled forcefully —
“Gwaaa! It’s hot!”
Though it was my first time using magic, the flames that engulfed the tree uncle were much more intense and larger than I had imagined, about three times as much. Maybe that’s just how powerful the magic from the magic star is.
Even I, who launched the attack, was taken aback by the intensity of the flames. Since I aimed slightly upward when I spat out the fire, the lower part of Uncle’s face wasn’t too bad, but the upper part with the thick foliage was burning fiercely.
(Oh no, the centaur child might get caught in the fire!)
I got terrified, but before I could do anything, the tree uncle panicked and released the centaur child. Then, using all his branches instead of his hands, he tried to put out the fire.
“It’s… burning! It’s burning…!”
As Uncle desperately tried to extinguish the fire, I tenderly retrieved the centaur child who had fallen to the ground. Gently biting his bare upper body — trying to avoid causing any pain, I dragged him to a spot where the flames wouldn’t reach.
Though I could probably lift the centaur child if I had human-like hands and strength, I didn’t want to risk hurting him with my fangs, so I was careful.
Once I had him in a safe spot, I let go.
(Are you okay?)
I poked the brown cheek of the unconscious child with my large paw, but he just groaned without waking up. He might not have become a mummy, but he seemed to have lost a lot of energy. Or maybe he inhaled too much smoke from the fire?
(He doesn’t seem to have burns, but anyway, he should be saved if I feed him a life star.)
There were two life stars where the magic star had been. If I had human-like hands, I could have brought the life stars here, but as a cat, the only way I could think of was to carry them in my mouth. But stars melt and are absorbed as soon as they enter the mouth.
So, I have to carry this child to where the stars are. It might be a bit difficult, but since we’re not far from here, I’ll give it a try.
So, I lightly bit the centaur child again and dragged him through the forest, leaving behind a trail of flames.
As I left, I glanced at the tree uncle, who was no longer looking at me and instead seemed despondent, emitting a smell of charred wood. Seeing his sad face made me feel guilty.
But the tree uncle was about to eat this child, so I only saved him. But maybe I went a bit too far with the intense flames. But still, it’s the uncle’s fault. No, but I also…
Thinking about various things, I concentrated on carrying the centaur child for now.