A rustling sound of leaves.
A Centaur appeared before Lucien.
He had platinum blonde hair, carried a bow and arrows, an extremely muscular upper body, and a light gold, silver-maned horse's torso for his lower half.
His eyes were astonishingly blue, like clear, serene sapphires.
"Firenze the Centaur, I extend my greetings to you."
Following that, Firenze clasped his hands into fists, crossed his forearms, and placed them on his chest, bowing slightly towards Lucien.
This gesture made Lucien raise an eyebrow, a look of surprise surfacing in his eyes.
He had read in books that this was a very formal greeting ritual for the Centaur race, usually only performed when welcoming distinguished guests or old friends of many years.
Moreover, Centaurs were quite cold, even disgusted, towards humans, always maintaining a respectful distance.
But this Centaur, Firenze, it was their first meeting.
Why would he greet him this way?
And how could he directly call out his name?
As for the somewhat cringey title Firenze recited afterwards, Lucien felt like complaining.
It was a good thing the Forbidden Forest was large enough to accommodate so many people... Lucien thought that Centaurs were very skilled at divination, especially observing the stars, so had he seen him in a prophecy?
How would he be described in a prophecy?
"Lucien Grafton returns your greetings."
Lucien's mind was racing, but his actions still maintained proper etiquette.
He gently touched his chest with the hand not holding his wand, and also bowed slightly.
Upon receiving Lucien's return greeting, Firenze nodded towards the glowing light.
"Greetings to you too, ' Unicorn' from another world."
Lucien's eyes narrowed, very curious why this Centaur would refer to the glowing light as a Unicorn from another world.
Was divination, or rather, Centaur divination, really that magical?
"Mr. Grafton, are you satisfied with your harvest in the Forbidden Forest tonight?"
"It's alright, and there were some pleasant surprises."
Lucien still needed one more Magical Creature observation record to repay his loan.
But he was also fortunate enough to encounter that pair of Unicorns and obtained unique data on a pregnant Unicorn.
If he sent it to Newt, it should be enough to convince the Magical Creatures expert.
"I wonder if I have the honor of helping you complete your harvest, sir?"
"Oh?"
Lucien found this Centaur's way of speaking very interesting, mystical, like a fortune teller.
Oh no, someone who practices divination, isn't that what a fortune teller is?
Lucien chuckled softly, caressing the wand in his hand.
"You know what I need to do?"
Firenze raised his hand and pointed to the starry sky above, saying in a gentle tone:
"The stars have given me insight."
Lucien found it even more amusing; he really was a fortune teller.
Not to mention, being able to prophesy and divine, he was quite good at putting on an act; a few mumbled words could give people a sense of profound mystery.
"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. Are you willing to take me to find one?"
Since this Centaur had already said so, he might as well state his request directly. If he didn't agree, it didn't matter; he would just go find it at the designated location.
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 extended his hand again, but this time he pointed to himself.
"I can tell you about the living habits of Centaurs, the characteristics of our race..."
To be honest, Firenze's words somewhat bewildered Lucien.
Although Centaurs were indeed classified as Magical Creatures, this was actually their own request, even though Wizards considered Centaurs to be an intelligent species.
However, Firenze's offer to directly provide information about Centaurs still left Lucien puzzled.
No, this was a bit too proactive; he and the Centaur had never met before.
What exactly had this fellow seen in his prophecies? Had the stars truly told him something significant?
While contemplating 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 abundant."
Upon receiving the system's reply, Lucien felt that it was sufficient, but he still wanted to ask the Centaur.
"If you're ready, shall I begin?"
Hearing Firenze's words, Lucien took out paper and pen, then indicated that 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 Firenze's narration, writing rapidly.
The more Lucien listened, the stranger his expression became, because Firenze was speaking in such great detail.
He even spoke about how young Centaurs were nurtured, the Centaur coming-of-age ceremony, Centaur funerals, and so on.
"Centaurs' reproduction..."
Hearing this, Lucien quickly stopped him.
"Stop, it's fine if you don't mention that."
The previous Magical Creatures also had knowledge recorded in these aspects, and anyway, they all met the loan requirements.
Lucien, somewhat embarrassed, communicated with the system again:
"System, is this information enough 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 several copies of this Magical Creatures data: one for himself, one to send to Newt, and one to give to the system to repay the loan.
In almost half an hour, Lucien completed the record of an entire species, which was arguably the fastest time yet.
Lucien put away his paper and pen, and looked at Firenze again.
"Friendly Centaur friend, may I ask why you are helping me this way, what revelation have the stars given you, regarding my prophecy?"
"And why do you call me the Master of the Unicorn? Does this child resemble a Unicorn? And what about 'another world'?"
As he spoke, Lucien stroked the glowing light that had been watching the whole scene nearby.
It was important to note that the glowing light's appearance was very different from the native Unicorn, so much so that even Newt, who had seen Unicorn before, hadn't recognized it.
But Firenze had called it out directly, which truly puzzled him.
Facing Lucien's pressing questions, Firenze maintained his gentle tone:
"The stars told me that this is a Unicorn, but not a Unicorn of this world. Perhaps it comes from a very distant world."
Listening to Firenze's words, Lucien's heart skipped a beat.
Is divination that powerful?
Can it even foresee the uniqueness of the glowing light?
Then, his own uniqueness, could it also be "seen"?
Lucien suddenly stared at Firenze, his dark green eyes deep and devoid of light, but his tone was very calm.
"Friend, what have you seen in the stars regarding me?"
Firenze looked up at the brilliant starry sky, a trace of bewilderment on his handsome face.
"I dare not look."
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