Chapter 415: Brace For The Impossible

The room fell into a silence, as all the elders stared at Luca.

Even Sigrid, who had grown somewhat accustomed to his casual miracles, could only turn her head and gape at him with her mouth slightly parted.

And Luca...Luca simply grinned back at them like a man with a plan.

It was, depending on one’s perspective, either deeply reassuring or mildly infuriating.

Agnes was the first to snap back into focus.

"If this is really true...if you can truly do what you claim..." She paused, and her composure cracked, just for an instant. "We would be more than grateful. It would be a favor so immense that I don’t know how we could possibly repay it."

Another elder with silver-streaked auburn hair named Helena shook her head in lingering disbelief.

"Agnes isn’t exaggerating, Hero. I had resigned myself to this years ago. I thought for the rest of my life I would be limping, shuffling, barely able to get from my bed to my front door without help."

She let out a bitter laugh.

"Do you know what it’s like to need your own granddaughter to help you use the washroom? It’s humiliating. Every single time."

Her voice softened, and she looked at Luca with something approaching reverence.

"If you can truly solve this...there are no words that could thank you enough."

The floodgates opened.

"My daughter—she cries about this, you know." One elder said, her voice trembling. "She tries to hide it, but I hear her at night. She blames herself, thinks she should have been there to prevent my accident. If she saw me walking again..."

She pressed a hand to her chest. "She would faint. She would absolutely faint from happiness!"

"Walking?" Another elder let out a wet laugh. "I want to run! I want to feel the wind against my face again! I want to gallop through the highlands until my lungs burn and my legs ache!" Tears were forming in her eyes. "I thought I would never—"

"There, there." The centaur beside her placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Don’t cry now. You’ll set us all off."

"Too late." Someone muttered, already dabbing at her eyes.

Finally, Agnes turned to Luca before bowing her head in a gesture of deep respect.

"Please, Hero. We humbly request your aid. A centaur is meant to run free across the highlands, unbound by anything. That is the essence of our existence."

"But these wounds have restrained us...chained us to the ground like prisoners in our own bodies."

She lifted her head, meeting his gaze with fierce sincerity.

"If you can help us, you will be giving us a second chance at life. We would be eternally grateful."

The other elders bowed their heads as well, their movements slow and reverent.

But Luca quickly waved his hands.

"There’s absolutely no need for all of that! We’re basically family around here, aren’t we?"

He grinned shamelessly. "And family doesn’t need to say stuff like thank you."

The elders looked at him with strange smiles, marveling at how naturally he had integrated himself into their community.

But when they thought about it, he was even closer than family.

Not only had he saved their lives from an immense threat, but now he was offering to give them a new life entirely.

Blood relation or not, two-legged or four-legged, he had become someone deeply connected to their village.

Luca suddenly placed a hand on Sigrid’s shoulder, making her flinch.

"Besides, Sigrid here will compensate me plenty for what I’m about to do."

Sigrid’s head whipped around. "What? I never agreed to—"

"Didn’t you?" Luca tilted his head with an innocent expression that didn’t fool anyone. "I could have sworn you just said you’d help me out with whatever I needed."

She opened her mouth to protest, then closed it again. The elders’ health was more important than her own comfort.

If Luca truly could help them walk again, then whatever he asked of her was a small price to pay.

"I...yes. I suppose I did say that." She admitted reluctantly. "Whatever you need, I’ll do my best to provide."

The words came out before she could fully consider their implications.

Normally, Sigrid was on high alert around Luca. She had learned through hard experience that the man was a chaos magnet with a silver tongue and zero shame.

But ever since he had seeped into her heart...her guard had dropped. And in this moment of pure happiness, she completely missed the mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Putting those thoughts aside for now." Luca continued, turning back to the elders. "There’s something more important. If I may—"

He looked at Agnes. "Call the rest of the elders. Anyone who has a broken leg, damaged tendons, any sort of leg problem at all—tell them to come here immediately."

Agnes didn’t hesitate. She turned and called out, her voice carrying the crisp authority of a commander: "Milly! Come here, darling."

The door opened, and a young centaur stepped inside, her expression alert. Agnes whispered something brief into her ear and her eyes trembled.

She nodded once, sharply, and then she was gone, her hooves pounding against the wooden floor as she galloped away with the speed of someone delivering news that could not wait another second.

"She’ll be here soon." Agnes said, and there was a tremor of excitement in her voice that she couldn’t quite suppress. "They all will."

And Agnes hadn’t been exaggerating.

Within minutes, the sound of hooves began to echo from outside. Not the crisp, rapid gallop of healthy centaurs, but the slower, more labored rhythm of those who moved with difficulty.

The large wooden doors burst open.

"What’s going on?!"

"Why such a hurry?!"

"Agnes, if you’ve called us here for another one of your long-winded speeches about proper hay storage, I swear—"

"Is there a war? Is it the humans again?! I still have my old sword somewhere—"

"I was taking a nap! A very good nap! This had better be worth it!"

They flooded in—fifteen, maybe twenty older centaurs, their bodies bearing the marks of decades of service.

And beside them, supporting them, came their granddaughters and daughters—young centaurs who served as their personal attendants, their faces tight with concern and confusion.

"It’s the Hero." One of the younger attendants breathed, spotting Luca. "The Hero is here."

"And he’s sitting on Commander Sigrid’s back!" Another added, her voice caught between disbelief and amusement.

"Still sitting there, I see." An elder observed dryly, her weathered face creasing with a smile. "He seems quite fond of that spot. Can’t say I blame him—Sigrid always did have the strongest back in the village!"

Sigrid felt her cheeks warm and pointedly looked away.

The elders, at least, relaxed somewhat at the sight. Whatever emergency had prompted this summons, it clearly wasn’t a military threat.

But the younger centaurs around Riley’s age remained on guard. They looked at Luca like gazelles who had spotted a lion.

Luca, attempting to diffuse the tension, gave them a friendly wave.

Unfortunately for him it had the opposite effect.

The younger centaurs immediately grabbed onto their elders tighter, pulling them closer, their eyes narrowing.

One of them actually stepped in front of her grandmother, as if preparing to shield the older centaur with her own body.

Luca’s smile froze on his face. ’What exactly do they think I’m going to do?’

But nonetheless he cleared his throat and said,

"Elders, please come in and make yourselves comfortable. We have important matters to discuss." He looked at the younger centaurs. "The rest of you may wait outside."

"Why exactly do we need to speak privately?" Sigrid asked in confusion. "If the elders need to move around or require assistance, it would be much easier if they remained here."

"Let’s keep it as a surprise. Just imagine how your family members would react to seeing their grandmothers and mothers running around on their own. Picture their faces. Their joy. Their tears."

He smiled. "Wouldn’t you rather experience that moment fresh, without any spoilers?"

The image struck deep into the hearts of every centaur present.

"That would be the best surprise ever." One elder whispered.

"I can’t even imagine..." Another added.

"You’re right. This is something they need to see for themselves."

The other elders, who had just arrived, were utterly confused.

"What’s going on? Why were we brought here?"

"What surprise are you talking about?"

"Someone explain what’s happening!"

But Agnes simply smiled with barely contained excitement.

"Come, come. I’ll explain everything. But first—the younger ones must leave."

The attendants hesitated, looking toward their elders for confirmation. One elder nodded reassuringly. "Go on. It’s alright. I’ll be fine."

"Don’t look so worried." Another added, playfully pulling her granddaughter’s cheek. "It’s not like the Hero is going to eat me. And even if he did want to eat someone, it would be someone young and tender like you."

She winked. "My old flesh is far too tough."

The younger centaurs reluctantly helped their elders settle onto the mattresses arranged near the original group, making sure they were comfortable before slowly filing out of the hall.

They cast glances over their shoulders as they left, clearly frustrated at being excluded from what was obviously an important meeting.

When the door finally closed behind them, the newly arrived elders immediately erupted with questions.

"Agnes, what is going on?!"

"Why did you summon us like this?!"

"What surprise were they talking about?"

"What’s the Hero doing here?"

"Is this about Merna?"

Filda, who had just returned from the washroom, blinked at the chaos.

"I was gone for five minutes." She said. "What did I miss?"

Agnes raised a hand, and the room quieted. There was a sparkle in her eyes, a barely contained giddiness that made her look twenty years younger.

"Sisters." She called. "I’ve gathered you here because the Hero has made us an offer. And I need you to brace yourselves, because what I’m about to say is going to sound impossible."

"Something." She whispered like a secret. "That might genuinely shock you so much you’ll keel over from a heart attack."

Several elders rolled their eyes.

"Nothing could surprise us at our age." One of them scoffed. "We’ve seen everything life has to offer!"

"I wasn’t even shocked when I heard the Hero defeated the entire human continent single-handedly."

Another added, folding her arms.

"What could possibly surprise me now!?"

But Agnes simply smirked.

"The Hero says he can fix our legs. All of them. He says he can make us walk again. Run again. Gallop through the highlands like we did in our youth."

"...are you still not surprised?"

The room went absolutely still.

The elders who had claimed nothing could surprise them now stared at Agnes with expressions of pure, unadulterated shock.

"WHAT?!"

"Y-You’re joking..."

"Agnes, please—please don’t give me false hope. I’ve had enough false hope for one lifetime."

"This has to be a prank! It has to be! The Hero is known for his pranks—I heard about the breast milk incident—"

Agnes chuckled, a warm, genuine sound. "That’s exactly how I reacted at first. Even I thought it was impossible."

She turned to Luca, and her expression softened with something that looked remarkably like maternal affection.

"But the Hero has promised us. And I believe him."

"And so do I!" Sigrid added loudly, and the weight of her words settled over the room. "I believe in what he says. Sir Luca would not offer something so precious if he couldn’t deliver!"

The words hung in the air. And slowly, like flowers turning toward the sun, the centaurs began to believe.

"Finally." one whispered. "Finally, I can run again!"

"I thought I’d never feel the grass under my hooves without pain!"

"I can chase my grandchildren. Actually chase them! Not just watch them run while I stand still!"

"Can I gallop? Please tell me I can gallop. I miss galloping more than I miss my youth!"

"I thought you summoned us for a war council." Another said, shaking her head in disbelief. "When did this turn into a miracle?"

They were all looking at Luca now—some with tears in their eyes, others with smiles so wide they threatened to split their faces.

And Luca, for his part, felt genuinely happy.

These were the same centaurs who, back when the dreams and suspicions had run rampant, had not immediately judged him.

They had given him a second chance.

And this was his way of paying them back and making amends for everything.

...the breast milk incident included.