The group arrived at a large town in the desert.
When the man bowed, applause erupted. A rare beast auction, I see. The idea is to put on a sideshow tent for the wealthy people here. Several assistants came out from behind, pushing boxes covered with cloth.
“Well, first up is the beautiful winged fish, the Butterflyfish.”
As the cloth was quickly removed, a goldfish with butterfly wings appeared. It was very beautiful, gracefully swimming with its long tail fin. Sharin next to me was also staring intently, as if it were a rarity.
“How is it? Beautiful, isn’t it? But that’s not all. Bring out the next one.”
With a shout, another aquarium appeared. However, inside was a bird like a parrot. It was quite strange, with wings as short as a penguin’s, and it swam skillfully, occasionally flipping over like a sea otter.
After that, he introduced various strange creatures. There were small dinosaurs with tiny, fairy-like wings, sharks with legs, and mice with horns – all animals that looked like they were made. Surely, this world must be full of such never-before-seen creatures.
“So, everyone, did you enjoy yourselves? Hehehe, but the climax is yet to come. Please don’t leave yet.”
Then, a particularly large cage appeared on stage. This elicited excited murmurs of anticipation. Could it be a Gryphon inside?
“Now, everyone, pay attention! This is the horse of heaven, the gold that gallops through the desert!”
The sound of the cloth being removed was met with gasps of admiration. Inside the cage was, surprisingly, a Centaur boy. But he was different from any Centaur I had met before; he was of a different race.
As the man said, the horse’s body shimmered, reflecting even the slightest sunlight as if it were covered in gold leaf. Furthermore, his body, taut like a racehorse’s, had no wasted flesh, and the lines of his muscles were clearly defined.
His ears were not pointed like Philiana’s, but resembled those of an animal, and long hair grew from his head to his waist, like a mane. Upon closer inspection, the shape of his pupils was different from ours, being oval, reminiscent of a goat.
The poor boy was huddled in the back of the cage, trembling with fear.
“Isn’t he magnificent? This is the star attraction for this auction. Come on, come out where everyone can see.”
But he remained motionless. The frustrated man struck the cage with his staff. The boy flinched and shrank his shoulders. It was fortunate that Philiana was not here. She would surely have been heartbroken by this situation and tried to help him.
Unfortunately, it probably wouldn’t go so well this time. It was pitiful, but there was nothing we could do. I lowered my eyes and left the place.
