Saving The Monster Race Starts With Breeding The Elf Village

Twenty minutes passed before the tears finally began to subside.

And when the elders realized that Luca had sat through the entirety of their emotional display, they felt slightly embarrassed.

Agnes bowed her head with a helpless smile.

”My apologies, Hero. We did not mean to burden you with such a display.”

But Luca simply shook his head.

”Don’t worry about it at all. A knight like Merda deserves no less.”

His words carried a warmth that revealed the depth of his own respect for the fallen elder.

The elders looked at him with renewed appreciation.

Agnes cleared her throat, composing herself.

”I must thank you for bringing her final moments back to us. And for allowing her to go the way she always wanted—protecting someone else.”

She smiled warmly.

”And for all that you’ve done for us, you are welcome to stay in the village as our honored guest as long as you like!”

Luca blinked in surprise at the unexpected invitation.

But before he could respond, a familiar concern surfaced.

”What about the younger centaurs? The ones who are still—”

Agnes waved her hand dismissively.

”Don’t worry about those little brats for a single second! If any of those foolish fillies give you trouble, just tell us who they are!”

”We’ll personally march over there with a bundle of wooden swords and spank their rear ends raw!”

The other elders chuckled and nodded in agreement.

”Just leave it to us elders. We’ll take care of it.”

”Don’t worry about that, Hero—just enjoy your stay.”

”I heard your granddaughter is giving you quite a lot of trouble, Agnes.” One elder teased.

”Both of my granddaughter and daughter, in their own way.” Agnes replied with a proud, exasperated smile.

”Your granddaughters?” Luca asked.

Agnes nodded, her expression softening. ”Riley and Nella.”

A look of realization dawned on Luca’s face. Now that he looked, he could see the resemblance—the same fierce eyes, the same proud bearing.

”Those two are troublemakers in their own way.” Agnes continued. ”If they’re giving you too much trouble, Hero, just send word to me. I’ll definitely teach them a lesson.”

Luca laughed and shook his head. ”There’s no need. Both of them are enthusiastic in their own way, and they have a unique talent for lighting up the room. I’ve got no complaints at all.”

The elders exchanged relieved glances.

They had worried that Luca might harbor grievances over how the younger ones had treated him, but his words put them at ease. There was no problem at all.

Then Agnes noticed the meaningful looks her companions were giving her—silent urgings to speak.

She rolled her eyes but turned back to Luca anyway.

”Now that the main topics are settled.” She said, her voice taking on a slightly hesitant quality. ”Would it be possible for you to share some stories from your old world?”

”Stories?”

Agnes fidgeted with her fingers, suddenly shy.

”The truth is, the main reason we brought you here was to discuss Merda and formally welcome you to the village. But...as elders, we also enjoy a good bit of gossip.”

The other elders leaned forward eagerly, their earlier melancholy replaced by childlike curiosity.

”When we learned that someone from a completely different world had arrived, we knew you must have countless stories to tell. If it’s not too much trouble, would you share some of them with us?”

”Of course, you are under no obligation!” Another elder added hastily. ”If the Goddess has placed restrictions on your tongue, or if you are simply tired, please ignore our silly request! Think of it as the rambling of foolish old women!”

Despite their polite words, their actions completely betrayed them.

All six centaur tails were swishing back and forth against the floorboards with barely contained, child-like excitement!

Luca grinned. ”I’d be happy to! What would you like to know first?”

Instantly, a chaotic barrage of questions erupted from the council!

”What does your world look like?! Is it similar to ours?!”

”Does magic exist there?! Is the mana fading in your realm as well?!”

”Do you have knights?! Are human knights as strong as centaurs?!”

”What color is your sky?! How many moons do you have?!”

”What kind of food do you eat?! Do the animals talk?!”

Luca opened his mouth, prepared to answer one by one, when a elder with brownish hair suddenly spoke up.

”Hold on for a second.”

The room fell silent. All eyes turned to Filda, who wore a shy, embarrassed expression.

”What’s wrong?” Agnes asked.

Filda shifted awkwardly. ”It’s nothing serious. I just...need to use the washroom. Could I have a moment to go? I don’t want to miss anything.”

A chorus of disgruntled voices rose up.

”Why do we have to wait for you?!”

”You should have gone before the meeting!”

”This is so typical of you, Filda!”

”Shut up! What can I do if nature calls?!” Filda’s expression turned stern. ”And let me tell you, if you dare start without me, I’ll duel each and every one of you! You’d better not test me!”

The other elders grumbled but didn’t argue further.

Filda turned to Luca. ”If I may, Hero?”

”Of course.” Luca said graciously. ”Take your time.”

Filda nodded gratefully. But instead of rising to her feet, she called out toward the door.

”Edith, darling? Are you there? Can you come help this old one up?”

The door opened and a younger centaur stepped inside. She cast a curious glance toward Luca before hurrying over to the elder.

”I need some help getting up.” Filda explained. ”I need to go to the bathroom. Can you assist me?”

”Of course, Elder.” Edith replied politely.

She crouched down and lowered herself beside the elder, offering her shoulder for support.

Filda placed a hand on Edith’s shoulder and slowly rose to her feet—and that was when Luca noticed something troubling.

The elder’s left front leg was trembling.

It hung at an odd angle, barely supporting her weight, and she leaned heavily on Edith just to remain upright. Even taking a single step seemed to require enormous effort.

Luca watched as they slowly made their way out of the hall, Edith supporting the older centaur every step of the way. The door closed behind them, and a heavy silence settled over the room.

Finally, Luca turned to the remaining elders.

”What exactly was that? Why does she need someone to support her just to go to the bathroom?” He paused, then asked more delicately: ”Is something wrong with her leg?”

Agnes let out a long, heavy sigh, her eyes clouding over with deep sadness.

”It is just as you suspect, Hero.”

She paused, taking a breath before explaining. ”A few years ago, while training the younger recruits in the rocky highlands, Filda suffered a catastrophic fall. She fractured her front leg severely.”

Luca winced in sympathy.

”Ever since that tragic day.” Agnes continued softly. ”She has been completely unable to walk without physical support by her side.”

Another elder chimed in from the right, her tone grim.

”Unlike humans, who can break a bone and simply rest in bed until it fuses back together, a centaur’s anatomy makes skeletal injuries far more catastrophic.”

”Our upper bodies and equine torsos carry immense weight.” A third elder added. ”All of that heavy pressure rests directly upon our four legs. If a leg bone breaks incorrectly...it is often a permanent, life-altering tragedy.”

”For the younger fillies, it is slightly better.” Agnes added with a bit of optimism. ”They possess immense youthful vitality, so even if they suffer a break, their bodies can eventually mend enough to walk, even if they lose their top sprinting speed.”

”But for older centaurs...our bones do not heal easily. A bad fracture leaves us permanently crippled.”

Luca nodded slowly, a heavy feeling settling in his chest. Back in his original world, a broken leg was famously a death sentence.

It made complete sense that centaurs suffered from the exact same curse.

”Can’t the dryads heal it?” Luca asked. ”Don’t they have high-tier healing magic or restorative potions?”

”In the golden age, yes. When mana was abundant, dryad elders could cast high-level regeneration spells that could knit even an elder’s bones back together.”

Agnes offered a helpless, bitter smile.

”But with the global decline of mana...dryad magic has lost its potency. Their potions can no longer mend deep bone breaks in older bodies.”

Another elder nodded grimly. ”Once again, it is different for the younger ones. Their injuries heal with minimal treatment. But for us elders...” She shook her head. ”We must live with this for the rest of our lives, with others supporting us constantly.”

”It is not just Elder Filda, either.” Sigrid added quietly. ”There are plenty of elders in the village with this problem. In fact, half of the ones here have a broken leg from their own accidents.”

To Luca’s surprise, Filda and two other elder slowly rose a little and showed off their front or back legs, where bandages were wrapped and strips of leather had been tied to hold everything in place.

It was a crude solution, and it clearly wasn’t doing much good.

Sigrid’s voice was grave.

”This is why, from the moment our foals can walk, we strictly teach them to watch their footing. It is why every main pathway in our village is smoothed out with flat stone, as you saw earlier. But...”

She lowered her head.

”...as we age, our bones naturally grow brittle. Sometimes, an elder doesn’t even need to fall. A leg can simply snap under their own weight during a morning walk.”

”It is simply another unfortunate reality of being a centaur.”

But then she lifted her head, and her voice firmed.

”Despite that, we will never regret being centaurs!”

The other elders raised their heads as well, their expressions proud.

”No matter how many problems come with it.” One of them said. ”Nothing can beat riding through the highlands at full speed, with the wind brushing past your face!”

”I dare any race to run as fast and as long as we do!” Another added.

”We are warriors! We are knights! A broken leg cannot break our spirit!”

The room filled with their defiant declarations, and Luca felt a surge of admiration for these women.

Even with their broken bodies, they radiated the unyielding spirit of true warriors.

—

The atmosphere had grown heavy with emotion, and Agnes was about to steer the conversation away from such somber topics when Luca spoke up casually.

”Well, if your broken legs are really such a bother...why don’t I just fix them?”

The room went completely silent.

Every single elder froze, their eyes wide with disbelief.

Even Sigrid turned around to stare at him, her jaw slack with shock.

”What...what did you just say, Hero?” Agnes managed to stammer.

Luca smiled easily.

”I said, if your legs are causing you trouble, I can help. I can fix them for you.”

The silence stretched for a long moment before erupting into chaos.

”I-Is he joking? He must be joking!”

”Fix our legs? That’s impossible!”

”The dryads couldn’t do it—how could a human?”

Even Sigrid looked uncertain. ”Sir Luca, this is a sensitive matter for the elders. Please don’t make light of it.”

Luca looked genuinely offended. ”Of course I’m not making fun of them. I’m telling the truth!”

He spread his hands as he said, ”Just because you don’t have methods in your world to deal with situations like this doesn’t mean I don’t have solutions in mine.”

The elders stared at him in a stunned, breathless daze, their hearts hammering against their ribs.

Could...could it really be true?!

”Honestly.” Luca chuckled warmly, rubbing his chin. ”I was feeling pretty damn guilty about tricking all of your granddaughters into drinking my wife’s breast milk earlier. But now?”

”Now I’ve found the absolute perfect way to make amends!”