22 Chapter 22 - The Wisest Of The Centaurs

(Apollo POV)

"Casca, my name is Casca." Her voice sounded weak.

Casca was a beautiful, short girl with dark skin who appeared to be 14 years old. She had brown eyes and long black hair, like the deepest night.

On her body, she wore a long white dress.

She possessed a decent amount of mana in her body.

"It's a pleasure, Casca." I smiled and placed her gently on the floor.

Her hands still held my clothes, but reluctantly, she let go.

Then I turned to the young centaur who was chained to the first stone pillar.

He was a handsome young man if we ignore the lower part of the horse.

Thanks to [Pure Sunlight], all of his wounds had been healed, along with his broken jaw.

His appearance was that of a calm and gentle young man. He possessed delicate features, with long brown hair and gentle blue eyes.

The peculiar thing about him, apart from his lower half, was that this young man possessed divine power in his body.

But this divine power was greatly weakened, in a way that until now I had not noticed.

And it wasn't just that, because until now he was very different from the centaurs, especially in personality.

After all, he had shown concern and even pity for the women, well, he is also imprisoned with them, and that alone is a reason to differentiate from his race.

"And who would you be?" I asked, grabbing and pulling out one of the luminescent blades stuck in the ground.

"Firstly, it's a pleasure, Lord Apollo." He said it politely, lowering his head in respect for me.

"I am Chiron, son of Kronos and Philyra." Chiron, with a polite and friendly tone, exclaimed its origin.

(A/N: I'm not going to include images of Casca and Chiron yet because the images I have of them are adults. But Casca is from Berserk and Chiron and from Fate/Grand Order.)

Chiron?!

I couldn't help but be surprised, already in front of me was the "wisest and fairest of all centaurs" and Teacher of the most famous Greek heroes in history.

As far as I know, Kronos in horse form copulated with Philyra, one of the 3,000 Oceanids, who are aquatic nymphs and daughters of the Titan Oceanus.

Thus, Philyra, who had been impregnated by the god of time, gave birth to a baby that was half human and half horse.

What surprises me about this story is not the fact that Kronos turned into a horse to have sex, after all, Greek gods are strange by nature.

My surprise comes from the fact that how old must this guy be? Since Kronos was played in Tartarus at least over 30 years ago.

"How old are you, Chiron?" I couldn't help but ask.

"I am 50 years old, Lord Apollo." Chiron gave a grin.

50 years old, but looking like a malnourished 15-year-old teenager.

I thought, with a wry smile, as I raised my blade and then swung.

Chiron calmly looked at me, and in the next instant, the chains on his wrist and body were cut.

"Thank you, Lord Apollo." Chiron gets up from the ground, flexing his paws.

"Well, there's no need for this Lord thing, after all, technically, you are my uncle, besides being much older than me."

Even though I said it, it seemed like a certain centaur didn't agree with my words.

"Sorry, but using Lord is necessary, I'm just a bastard of Kronos and a centaur, and besides, it was Lord Apollo who saved me." His look possessed the purest conviction.

Chiron seemed to be the kind of stubborn person who was unlikely to change his mind, but in a contradictory way, he seemed open to new ideas.

"If it makes you more comfortable, then that's fine." I shrugged as Casca stood closer to me.

"I wanted to ask you a few questions, but first it's best to release these women."

"I agree with Lord Apollo."

With Casca very close to me, I approach the red-haired woman trapped in the pillar.

The girl appeared to be around 16 years old. She had short red hair, which reached the end of her neck, and her eyes were greenish. On her curvy body, she wore a dark green dress, with a brown cape on the back. In her hands, she had a pair of long dark gloves, and a pointed hat on her head, as well as high-heeled boots.

She raised her head but didn't look me in the eye.

"Lord Apollo."

This Lord thing is going to be something I'm going to have to get used to.

"Mn! Who are you?"

"My name is Wizard." She said, shaking her head.

(Wizard image)

Your name is Wizard?!

You're dressed in clothes that practically scream "I'm a Wizard", and your name is literally Wizard.

Your parents were very lazy when it came to names, weren't they?

Stopping to think about it, I swung my blade of light and cut the current on his arms and body.

She leaned her body against the pillar and stood up.

Standing, she adjusted her clothes that had been messed up by the centaur. And the next moment, she lowers her head and curtsies.

"Thank you very much, grace to Lord Apollo, my purity has been preserved." Her tone was completely respectful.

"You are welcome." With that, I went on to the next person.

She was a rather pretty young woman, with long black hair tied into a waist-length ponytail and eyes the same color as her hair.

On her body, she wore a dress with pants and cloaks that seemed to prioritize ease of movement. On her feet, she wore sturdy boots.

Even though her body was curvy, you could see that her body was well-built, probably coming from rigorous training.

When I saw her confident look and her body that seemed molded in martial arts, I admit I was slightly afraid to ask her name.

And before I could muster up the courage to ask, the Wizard walked towards her.

"Fighter, are you okay?" Wizard, even without much emotion on her face, asked, with some concern, to the woman I freed.

(Fighter image)

Seriously, Fighter?!

Where is the originality of the names?

"I'm fine, Wizard." She said this, filling her chest with pride.

Stop; you have no right to be proud; after all, your name is Fighter.

"That's good." Wizard let out a light sigh.

Trying to ignore those weird names, I just swung the blade of light cutting through the chains.

Fighter stands up much faster than Wizard, showing her superior physique.

"Thank you very much, Lord Apollo." She bowed while slamming her fist into her palm.

I know your name is Fighter, but let's try to avoid stereotypical ones.

"Hmm! I'm sorry to ask, but you two are friends, right?" They have to be known by these names.

"Yes, we have been friends since our childhood." Fighter said, with a jovial tone.

This explains a few things.

"Okay, so…"

I muttered, looking around at the other 3 women, who didn't have much life in their eyes.

Considering the situation these women have suffered, I think the last thing they want is a man talking to them, even if it's someone who helped them.

"Fighter!" I called out to the girl.

"Yes, Lord Apollo?" She cocked her head to one side.

"Can you release these women?" I said, pushing the blade of light towards her.

"Of course." She took the blade of light and headed towards them.

I could hear her murmuring that everything would be okay and that they were now safe as she cut the chains.

With that, I turned to Chiron.

Casca was still close to me, it was as if she felt safer in my presence.

"So, Chiron, I will ask my questions now."

"Feel free to ask any questions, Lord Apollo."

"Okay. So how did a god who possesses Cronus' blood manage to get caught by centaurs, who honestly weren't very strong?" This was something that had been bothering me for some time.

Furthermore, Chiron was over 50 years old, after all, the power of a God grows naturally with age.

"That's the point, Lord Apollo, I wasn't caught but handed over to the centaurs 50 years ago. Besides, it's not that the centaurs are weak, but the opposite, you are very strong."

I raised one of my eyebrows, ignoring the part of his strong being and focusing on the part where he was handed over to the centaurs.

"Who handed you over to the centaurs?"

"My mother, Philyra." Chiron gave a faint, sad smile, and then he continued to say.

"Let's say that my mother doesn't really like that her son was born with the lower part of a horse, so she decided to give me to a group of Centaurs to be raised by them when I was just a few months old."

"I'm sorry, but weren't you supposed to be able to escape after a few years?"

"Yes, that would be the Natural course of things, but unfortunately the centaurs discovered that my blood increased their mana, so they always drank my blood until it left me in an extremely weakened state, stunting my growth." Chiron smiled awkwardly.

He didn't need to say more, you could already see why he couldn't run away.

"I understand. I'm sorry."

"Thank you, but I believe that bad things happen to open doors of opportunity in the future." His words were calm as if the past pain was just a distant past.

The wisest centaur, indeed. He's practically a gem in the rough, it would be interesting to see how the hero teacher dissolves

I thought with a slight smile.

"Hmm! Lord Apollo." Hearing Wizard call me, I turn my gaze to her.

Even though she had a face without much emotion, you could tell that she was a little restless.

"What?"

"W-What will Lord Apollo do to these women?" She said this, pointing to women who, even when they were freed from handcuffs, remained on the floor with no desire to live.

"That's a good question." My answer surprises Wizard.

Honestly, I didn't know what to do with them because this is a delicate subject.

"Did they have any relatives?" I asked Wizard, but the one who answered was Chiron.

"No, Lord Apollo, these women's husbands, fathers, friends, and every important person were killed when the centaurs invaded their village."

Chiron's look was complicated because, whether he wanted to or not, he was a centaur, and apparently he felt guilt in his being.

"That complicates things, what about you, Casca?" I asked the girl, who was very close to me.

Her black eyes looked at me, and with a serene expression, she said:

"My mother died giving birth to me, and my father was killed yesterday when he was hunting." There didn't seem to be much sentimentality in her voice.

"Mn! How long have you been here?"

"Just one day ago, after all, I had come with my father, so on the same day he was killed, I was taken to this village." Upon saying this, Casca's expression became sad for a few seconds.

Almost unconsciously, I raise my hand and stroke her long black hair.

Surprise takes over her face, but in the next instant, she gives a slight smile and lowers her head.

She is quite a strong girl, but at the same time, she is fragile.

I kept my hand in her hair and turned to Wizard.

"It's you, are your parents okay? Do you have a place to go back, Wizard?"

Wizard, who was looking complicatedly at Casca who was being caressed by my hand, returned to her emotionless expression upon hearing me ask her.

"No, my father died when I was a child, I even have a single family member, but I have no idea where he is.

Now, about me having a place to go back?

No, I don't have a place to go back to."

Things are getting even more complicated. I really have to stop this business of taking responsibility for things.

"And how is your friend's situation on these same issues?"

Before she can respond, I hear Fighter's voice, making me look to the side.

"My situation is much like hers, Lord Apollo." Fighter said, carrying the women and placing them together.

Even though I had saved them, they were a little afraid of me in the depths of their lifeless eyes. Probably because I'm a man, after all, it's quite possible that these women developed androphobia.

"I understand!" I removed my hand from Casca's hair, placing my fingers on my chin, wondering how to solve this.

I have a weakened centaur, 4 broken and raped women who are very likely to have androphobia, 3 women who are fine but still have no place to return, and one of them seems very attached to me.

Honestly, I can't think of what to do.

In this type of situation, I think my sister would come out better than me…

My sister!?

Of course.

With an idea in mind, I smile and raise my hand while letting out a whistle.

My divine power being released along with a melodious whistle draws attention to me.

"Lord Apollo?" Chiron exclaims.

But quickly his vision goes upwards, along with the sound of hoofs hitting the air.

And from afar, I can see Scarlet pulling the golden carriage.

It looks like we saw each other much sooner than planned, my girl.

I thought with a slight smile on the corner of my lips.