A rustling of leaves echoed nearby.
A Centaur emerged before Lucien.
He had platinum-blond hair, carried a bow and quiver of arrows, and his powerful upper body merged seamlessly with a light-golden, silver-maned horse's torso.
His eyes were a startling blue—clear and indifferent like sapphires.
"Centaur Firenze, I greet you."
Firenze immediately clasped his fists, crossed his forearms, pressed them to his chest, and bowed slightly to Lucien.
This gesture made Lucien raise an eyebrow, surprise flickering in his eyes.
He had read in books that this was a highly formal greeting ritual among Centaurs, usually reserved for welcoming distinguished guests or for reuniting with old friends after many years.
Centaurs were known for their cold, even disdainful, attitude toward humans, always maintaining a respectful distance.
But this one—Firenze—was greeting him for the first time.
Why would he greet him this way?
And how did he know Lucien's name?
As for the rather cringeworthy title Firenze had recited just now, Lucien couldn't help wanting to complain a little.
It's a good thing the Forbidden Forest is big enough to accommodate so many visitors...
Lucien thought to himself that Centaurs were known for their skill in divination, especially star-reading. Had Firenze seen him in a prophecy?
How exactly would that prophecy describe him?
"Lucien Grafton returns your greeting."
Though his mind was racing, Lucien maintained proper etiquette. He gently touched his chest with the hand not holding his wand and bowed slightly in return.
Seeing this, Firenze nodded toward the glowing light.
"And I greet you as well, 'Qilin' from another world."
Lucien's eyes narrowed slightly, intrigued by why this Centaur would refer to Lumen as a Qilin from another world.
Divination and prophecy... Could Centaur divination truly be so miraculous?
"Mr. Grafton, are you satisfied with your harvest in the Forbidden Forest tonight?"
"It's been fine. There were some unexpected pleasant surprises."
Lucien still needed one more magical creature observation record to repay his loan.
But he had also been fortunate enough to encounter that pair of Unicorns and obtain rare data on a pregnant one.
If he sent it to Newt, it should be enough to convince the magical creature expert.
"May I have the honor of helping you complete your harvest, sir?"
"Oh?"
Lucien found this Centaur's way of speaking quite interesting—mystical, like a charlatan.
Then again, aren't prophets and seers all a bit like that?
Lucien chuckled softly, lightly caressing the wand in his hand.
"You know what I'm trying to do?"
Firenze raised a hand and pointed to the starry sky above, speaking in a gentle tone, "The stars have given me enlightenment."
Lucien found it more and more amusing—truly like a charlatan.
Still, someone who can prophesy and divine is also skilled at theatrics. A few words are enough to create an aura of mystery and depth.
"Your sincerity prevents me from concealing anything, so I will get straight to the point. I want to observe a magical creature and make some records. Would you be willing to take me to find one?"
Since the Centaur had already spoken, Lucien figured he might as well state his request directly. If Firenze declined, he could just search on his own using the mapped locations.
But Firenze shook his head.
"There's no need for such trouble. I can tell you directly."
Lucien frowned.
"Tell me? Tell me what?"
Firenze reached out and pointed again—but this time, he pointed to himself.
"I can tell you about the living habits of Centaurs, our racial traits…"
To be honest, Firenze's words left Lucien a bit confused.
Although Centaurs are indeed classified as magical creatures, that was due to their own request. Wizards typically regard them as intelligent beings.
Still, for Firenze to offer information about his own kind so directly was baffling.
No, this is a bit too proactive, isn't it? We've never met before.
Just what exactly did he see in that prophecy? Did the stars really reveal something significant?
While pondering these things, Lucien also communicated with the system in his mind.
"System, since Centaurs are classified as magical creatures, will obtaining information about them satisfy the loan requirements?"
[First-hand data naturally satisfies it, as long as the individual samples of the information source are rich.]
Upon receiving the system's reply, Lucien felt that was acceptable, but he still wanted to confirm with the Centaur.
"If you're ready, shall I begin?"
Hearing Firenze's words, Lucien took out paper and pen, then indicated he was ready.
"Centaurs have the head, torso, and arms of a human, connected to the body of a horse...
"The color of the horse's body varies greatly. There are...
"Centaurs are skilled in divination, archery, astronomy, and magical healing…...."
The quill automatically recorded, swiftly transcribing Firenze's narration.
The more Lucien listened, the more peculiar his expression became—because Firenze was speaking in such great detail.
Even how young Centaurs are raised, their coming-of-age ceremonies, funerals, and more were all covered.
"The reproduction of Centaurs—"
At that, Lucien quickly cut him off.
"Stop, it's alright—you don't have to mention that."
Previous magical creatures also included information on those aspects, and they all met the loan requirements anyway.
Feeling a bit awkward, Lucien communicated with the system again:
"System, is this data sufficient now?"
[The standard has been met. Would you like to submit the data and repay the loan now?]
"Wait a moment, I still have a use for it."
Lucien planned to make a few copies of these magical creature records—one for himself, one to send to Newt, and one to give to the system to repay the loan.
In just under half an hour, Lucien had completed the record of an entire species—arguably the fastest time yet.
He put away his paper and pen and looked at Firenze again.
"Friendly Centaur, may I ask why you helped me like this? What enlightenment did the stars give you about my prophecy?"
"And why do you call me the Lord of the Qilin? How could you judge that Lumen is a Qilin when it was in a white orb's form just now? And what do you mean by 'another world'?"
As he spoke, Lucien reached out and touched Lumen, who had been silently watching the entire time.
It was worth noting that Lumen's appearance differed greatly from native Qilin—even Newt, who had seen one before, didn't recognize it.
But Firenze had called it out directly, which truly puzzled Lucien.
Faced with Lucien's persistent questions, Firenze maintained his gentle tone:
"The stars told me that this is a Qilin, but not a Qilin of this world—perhaps from a very distant one."
Hearing Firenze's words, Lucien's heart skipped a beat.
Is divination really that powerful?
Can it even perceive Lumen's uniqueness?
Then what about his own uniqueness as a transmigrator—had that also been "seen"?
Lucien suddenly stared at Firenze, his dark green eyes deep and unreadable, though his tone remained calm.
"Friend, regarding me—have you seen anything in the stars?"
Firenze looked up at the brilliant night sky, a hint of confusion flashing across his handsome face.
"I dare not look."
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11 Advance Chaps- P@treon/DarkDevil1