It became clear that these Centaurs, with their slightly different appearances, were an Ancient Species.
As the other companions began to set up the camp, the man who had been pulling the baggage cart finally arrived from behind.
“Ah, excuse me, thank you very much.”
When I called out to him, the man unhitched the cart and wiped his sweat with exaggerated effort.
“Haa, what exactly is this all about? Why do I have to pull the luggage? It’s about his child, so he should handle it himself. Why me too…”
He was grumbling complaints, but the moment Cor’s father, who was at the front, turned his head this way, he fell silent. Then, seeing him approach, he began to tremble.
“Ah, I shouldn’t have, did he hear that? He hits people right away when he’s in a bad mood.”
“You’re finally here, you’re as slow as ever. Hey! Don’t get too close to Vee!”
He suddenly yelled, and the man next to me and I both flinched. Vee must be his wife. He didn’t like that I had been talking to the man next to me earlier.
The father glared at us and returned to the front. After he left, the man next to me disappeared somewhere, still muttering complaints.
“I’m so sorry, my master is always like that. But he’s a good person at heart, though he is quite rough.”
Cor’s mother, Vee, spoke to me apologetically.
“No, but it must be difficult. Um, this might sound rude, but doesn’t he hit you or anything…?”
“Hehehe, no, not me. He’s gentle with me, or rather, he’s very clingy and helpless. It’s a bit troublesome, though.”
She then said goodnight and walked away with Cor.
The next day, we set off early in the morning, before the sun had fully risen. Of course, the man from yesterday was still pulling the baggage cart behind us.
We simply advanced across the vast, empty desert, with Cor’s father at the front. I wonder if they knew where we were going. Everywhere I looked was a sea of sand, with no sign of any animals. There was nothing to block the sun, so the daytime was truly hell. I could well understand why it took the Slave Merchant months to capture Cor.
After a while, another group appeared in the distance. I could see a large number of Centaurs, led by a woman with a bow slung over her shoulder. I thought the number was small, but it seemed they had been traveling separately.
The woman at the front lightly raised her hand in greeting to Cor’s father. Cor immediately rejoined his friends and happily began to play.
“He went on ahead, so we decided to split into two groups. It’s too dangerous for everyone to go together.”
Saying that, Vee smiled with relief. His companions surrounded Cor, and one by one, they rejoiced in his safety. The flock became one again and began to move forward with renewed liveliness.
