Chapter 413: A Knight All The Way To The End

Finally, one of the elders could not suppress a peculiar smile.

"Sir Hero." She called out. "Why exactly are you sitting on Sigrid’s back? We prepared a mattress over there—the fluffiest, softest one in the entire village. It’s made especially for honored guests. You’re welcome to use it."

Sigrid’s face immediately flushed with embarrassment.

She had known this question would come eventually, but that didn’t make it any easier to hear!

Luca, however, was utterly shameless.

"I appreciate the offer, truly." He said, patting Sigrid’s back affectionately. "But I believe Sigrid is probably the best seat in the entire village."

The elders’ eyes flickered with surprise.

Sigrid felt like she might die from mortification right then and there.

But Luca wasn’t finished.

"Seriously." He continued shamelessly, wiggling his rear slightly to adjust his position on her back. "She is the softest, most ergonomic, and most pleasant seat I have ever had the privilege of sitting on!"

"Back in my world, whenever I had to ride normal horses, I always had to use a thick leather saddle. Otherwise, after an hour of travel, my lower back would be screaming in pain."

"But Sigrid’s body is built completely different! I’ve been sitting on her for ages, and I haven’t felt a single ache! It’s almost as if her body was custom-designed for someone to ride upon!"

He smiled warmly.

"It’s almost as if she was meant for someone to ride upon."

"Sir Luca!" Sigrid snapped, twisting around to glare at him. "You cannot say things like that!"

"Sorry, sorry." He held up his hands in mock surrender. "I mean, it’s meant for only ’me’ to be ridden upon."

"THAT DOES NOT MAKE IT ANY BETTER!" She shouted, glaring at him.

The elders watched this exchange with open fascination.

They had expected Sigrid to be more resistant to this arrangement or at the very least, more uncomfortable with it.

She was, after all, the commander of the Galloping Brigade, the proudest warrior in the village. Being ridden by anyone, let alone a human, should have been a source of deep shame for her.

And yet, here she was, bickering with him like an old married couple.

One of the elders finally spoke up, her voice warm with approval.

"It is good to see that you and our dear Sigrid are getting along so well, Hero."

The words made Sigrid want to bury her face in her hands. She knew exactly what the elders were implying, and she had no idea how to respond to it.

Part of her considered pushing Luca off her back and making him sit on the prepared mattress, just to maintain appearances.

But for some reason, she didn’t want that. She felt it was better if he stayed where he was.

So she remained still, forcing her way through the shame.

—

Luca, sensing an opportunity to address the elephant in the room, decided to be proactive.

"Anyway." He said, clearing his throat. "About the breast milk that I—"

"Breast milk?"

The elder who interrupted him tilted her head with a curious expression, her eyes twinkling with what might have been amusement.

"What exactly do you mean by that, Hero?"

Luca froze mid-sentence.

Slowly, carefully, he asked, "Is that...not why I was called here?"

In his mind, he had been absolutely certain that this meeting was about reprimanding him for his behavior.

Not only had he defeated every warrior in the village yesterday, but today he had tricked an entire group of young centaurs into drinking breast milk

Surely they wanted to address it.

But the elder simply shook her head.

"No, not really. However..." A glint of amusement entered her eyes. "We are rather interested in hearing more about this ’breast milk’ business."

Luca realized, with a surge of relief, that the elders already knew what he had done. There was no way they hadn’t heard the complaints.

But instead of confronting him, they were choosing to let it slide, treating it as a harmless prank rather than a serious offense.

They were giving him a way out, an opportunity to avoid an awkward confrontation.

He was grateful for that.

So he laughed nervously and waved his hand dismissively.

"Ah, well, you see...it’s really nothing important. I was just thinking about being a father lately, and all the baby-related activities that come with it. Diapers and feeding times and such. You know how it is."

He was rambling, but the elders simply nodded along, their expressions gracious.

"I see." The one who had spoken said. "How wonderful. Fatherhood is a beautiful thing."

Luca let out a relieved breath. Then, curiosity getting the better of him, he asked:

"Well, if it wasn’t about that...why exactly have you invited me here?"

For a moment, the elders expressions shifted. A hint of sadness crept into their eyes that made even these composed, dignified women seem momentarily fragile.

Finally, the lead elder, a woman named Agnes, with blonde hair now streaked with platinum grey and bright blue eyes spoke.

"It is about Merda."

Luca frowned. "Merda?"

He didn’t recognize the name at all.

Then Agnes added: "She was the grand elder of our village. The acting leader of the entire council."

She paused, her voice softening. "And she was also the same person you met a couple of months ago during the summoning ceremony."

And then the memory clicked into place.

An image surfaced in Luca’s mind, an elder centaur with blackish-silver hair and a powerful, dignified body.

He remembered her warm hands reaching out to pull on his cheeks, treating him with the same casual affection one might show a beloved grandchild.

"Oh...you’re talking about her." He said softly.

Agnes smiled, though there was a bittersweet quality to it. "Yes. We’re talking about Merda."

She chuckled, shaking her head.

"Even though we call her the Grand Elder, she was basically our dearest friend. The one who held us all together." Her voice grew thick with emotion. "The heart of our village."

Another elder spoke up, her voice equally soft. "She was also the commander of the Galloping Brigade in the past. The previous queen’s first knight. She held the same position as Sigrid does now."

Luca’s gaze shifted to Sigrid, who had gone very still beneath him.

He could see the same grief that marked the faces of every elder in the room.

"You must have respected her quite a lot." He said gently.

"I always looked up to her when I was young."

Sigrid nodded, her voice barely above a whisper.

"She even taught me many lessons in the past. Many of the sayings I hold dear now are things I learned from her."

Luca realized in that moment just how significant Merda had been—not just to these elders, but to the entire village.

She had been a mentor, a leader, a friend. Someone whose influence had shaped generations of centaurs.

But then he frowned, misinterpreting their intentions.

"If you’re asking about what Merda left for the village, I’m pretty sure you should have received the letter she sent. One of the elves should have delivered it to you at the start of the ceremony."

Back then, Leona had some foresight, and instead of waiting for everything to get over, she sent an elf to deliver all the belongings to each of the corresponding races."

Agnes shook her head.

"It’s not that. We already received the letter she sent." A look of nostalgia crossed her face. Then she looked up at Luca, her eyes earnest. "We just want to hear about your experience with Merda."

Luca blinked. "My experience?"

Another elder nodded. "We want to know what she was like in her final moments. What she said. How she acted."

"Did she go out in a dignified manner?" Another asked. "Or was she crying?" She chuckled, though her voice cracked. "With how emotional Merda was, she might as well have done both."

"Basically." Agnes said, and her voice dropped. "We want to know what she was like when she was with you. What your impression of her was, in those final moments."

The room fell silent. Every elder was looking at Luca intensely, their eyes holding years of unspoken grief.

Even Sigrid turned back to look at him, her gaze fierce and searching.

Luca understood. This was a question that had been weighing on their hearts for months.

They had lost someone precious to them, and they wanted to know everything that might help them find closure.

Seeing that this was a serious matter, he didn’t joke around. Instead, he met their gazes solemnly, offering a small, apologetic smile.

"I’m sorry to say this, but honestly...I don’t have much of an impression of Merda at all."

The centaurs didn’t react negatively, allowing him to continue.

"The time I spent with all the elders including Merda was very short. It barely amounted to a couple of minutes of actual interaction. But..."

He paused, a faint smile touching his lips as memories surfaced.

"What I can say is that she treated me with genuine kindness from the very first moment we met. Like I was her own grandchild."

He chuckled softly.

"She bent down all the way just to pull on my cheeks. And when the others complained about how her body were blocking them from getting to me, she just ignored them and continued to caress my face like it was the most fascinating thing in the world."

The elders’ faces softened with fond smiles. Some of them clenched their hands in their laps, clearly struggling with emotion.

But Luca continued, his voice growing more serious.

"Most importantly...what I definitely remember is that when the humans attacked us suddenly, Merda was the first person to stand in front of me."

The elders’ eyes glistened with tears.

"She hadn’t even drawn her sword yet. She was just...there. Stepping forward to protect me. Placing herself between me and danger without a moment’s hesitation. She was my shield in that moment."

He paused, letting the memory wash over him.

"And even though I was supposed to be the Hero...I felt a genuine sense of safety when she stood before me."

The dam broke.

"Damn it, Merda...!" One of the elders sobbed silently, burying her face in her hands. "You just had to act like a shield until the very end..."

"They used to call her the Shield of the Village..." Another wept, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. "Who would have thought she would act as a shield for a Hero from another world as well?"

"She even had the guts to stand tall against the most powerful entity in the world!" A third elder declared proudly through her tears. "She went out in pure glory, weapon in hand, protecting the future!"

"She lived and died as a true centaur!"

One by one, the elders broke down, sharing stories of Merda through their tears.

Even Agnes, composed as she was, struggled to hold back her own grief.

Luca felt overwhelmed by the sudden wave of emotion. He was about to say something when he realized that Sigrid was also tearing up.

He had never expected the mighty commander to cry. But it made sense.

Seeing how deeply everyone admired her, it was clear she had been a truly great person. Who wouldn’t get emotional hearing such heartfelt stories about someone so close to them?

Without thinking, Luca reached out and gently patted Sigrid’s back, offering what comfort he could. Then he produced a handkerchief from his spatial portal and handed it to her.

Sigrid accepted it with a trembling hand.

"I-I’m sorry, Sir Luca." She whispered. "I’m sorry for showing you such an undignified sight."

Luca simply shook his head and continued patting her back without a word.

And strangely, Sigrid felt comforted by the gesture. It was as though, in this moment of vulnerability, she didn’t need to hide her tears from him.

He wouldn’t judge her for them.