Chapter 144. Helayt

Helayt and I stepped aside so that the other girls wouldn't overhear us, though I doubt I wouldn't share what was said with them later. Only when Helayt herself was happy with the distance did she start speaking.

"I know Anna thanked you for everything you had done, but I wanted to thank you myself." She started.

We had taken a direction towards the Centaur village, and it looked like Helayt had a destination in mind, so I let her lead.

"Your thanks are accepted, but that's not really a reason to pull me away from everyone?" I nudged, trying to get more out of her.

Helayt gave a short laugh. "No. There is more I want to say, but everything comes back to the fact Zeldi is safe now. Something that we were all scared of even after your last visit. Don't get me wrong, I believed you with everything you said but..."

"Words may be sweet, but actions can sour," I said, remembering how Abelha had said the same thing to me.

"Yes." Helayt gave a sigh, seemingly thankful I hadn't pushed. "We wanted the best for Zeldi, and when that best was someone we had only known for a day? It was a little hard to accept."

"What about now?" I asked, genuinely curious.

I was also lagging behind as I wasn't as fast as she was and had to jog every now and then to catch up. Helayt noticed and slowed down enough to offer her back for me to ride.Unlike last time, I took the offer without delay.

"Now we are incredibly satisfied with everything you have done. Even Daxel complained that he didn't have a Dragon in his own harem, though that might have been more because he wanted the scales for his forge." Helayt answered as she picked up speed. She gave an approving smirk at me as she did. "You are a lot better at riding a Centaur now. Has Zeldi been training you?"

"Well, a little bit before we knew she was pregnant," I admitted. "We both agreed that it probably wasn't a good idea after that."

Helayt hummed with amusement. "It's not often mares get to be ridden in that regard. I'm sure she enjoyed it."

Her words trailed off as she started to run, and I found myself having to hold her rather tightly around her human belly. Helayt was no slouch in the chest department, but didn't hold a candle to Zeldi. The darker mares chest was, of course, bouncing in between her galloping, and I was trying my absolute hardest not to let my arms raise any higher.

"You are also rather thoughtful." She continued, not breaking her stride or even registering that she was talking while running. "I am not blind to males staring or their thoughts, but you don't even try. You don't even use the opportunity to 'accidentally' do anything."

She followed this up by giving a little jump that had me losing my grip on her belly and drawing my hands up. I instinctively let go and held a death grip with my legs to not get flung off. Helayt caught my arms before I could pull away fully and held them as she hit the ground, changing into a slow trot.

"Exactly like that." She continued. "Not even the slightest attempt to feel my tits even though you could have played it off as an accident."

I could feel the blush starting to build from her admission. Helayt wasn't dumb, but even this seemed a little bit too forward for her.

"I...I." I couldn't find the words.

"You don't have to make excuses, Clovek. It's a compliment."

I felt the blush rage through my face before disappearing just as quickly.

"I guess it's just because I don't want to lose what I already have," I said even though Helayt wasn't expecting it.

"What do you mean by that? I don't believe Zeldi would ever betray you over something like that?" Helayt pushed.

I could see the curiosity in her even though she was looking straight ahead and not at me. Still, I wasn't ashamed of my actions, nor the reason for them.

"I don't want to even give her a doubt about my stance." I started returning my arms to her belly. "Back in my old world, humans only have one partner. I know it's different here, but I would rather not risk losing what I have in order to gamble on gaining some more. If that makes sense?"

Helayt let out another laugh. "Oh, that makes complete sense, and I wish other males shared your views." She waited for a second before replying, and this time turned her shoulders so she could see me. "But don't get any ideas, Mister. I have a mate, and just because I'm testing you does not mean I wish to join my daughter's herd."

"Wouldn't dream of it." I quickly replied. "I think Zeldi would hate having another head mare to deal with."

Helayt's eyes squinted at me. "I'm sure she would also hate the idea of another Centaur as well?"

"Weeeeellllll." I tried to say. I wanted to deny it and protect Zeldi's honor, but Helayt held her hand up with another one of those truth rings.

"I am well aware of her tastes, Clovek. It would be rather hard for her to hide that from me during her adolescence." Helayt mused. "At one point we were concerned she would completely ignore the Stallion we were trying to pair her up with and go for a mares-only herd."

That got my attention.

"You tried to pair her up with someone?" I tried to just sound curious, but there was a little bit of jealousy hidden in it.

Yenem had mentioned that Centaur parents partner their children up with one another to try making sure they aren't alone in life, but no one had ever mentioned Zeldi had gone through it. Or that it had been tried.

Thankfully, Helayt didn't feel like teasing me. "No. Well, I say tried, but it was obvious when they were both foals that they wouldn't stay together. We had hoped they would at the time because Zeldi had been quite stubborn about being a head mare and only really stood a chance at being one if we did pair her up early."

We entered the village at this point, but Helayt still had a location in mind, so she didn't stop for anything.

"We didn't want her to make a bad decision and choose a Stallion just because she wanted to be a head mare. Too many stories of those relationships going poorly." Helayt continued.

"That would be bad." I agreed. "Well, she got her wish in the end."

"And the support of both a good male and a Dragon. She will make every mare in the village jealous when word spreads." Helayt mused as we came to a shop I hadn't seen before. "I would like to thank you once again, Clovek and this time I would like to give you a gift as well. The gift is from everyone in my husbands herd, not just me."

The sign on the store held a book that my first guess stood for a library, but that didn't quite seem right when there was another picture of a potion bottle in the window.Without waiting for me to figure it out, Helayt walked in still carrying me on her back. That was when I figured it out.As we entered, rows apon rows of books firmly chained in place were visible. This wasn't a library; it was a magic bookstore.

"Zeldi mentioned you could use magic from a book that the Drow traded for, so we thought buying you another would be a great addition to your skills. It would also mean you have another way of assisting our daughter, so it serves a dual purpose." Helayt explained, nudging me off her back. "We do have a price limit, but if it would help out Zeldi, we don't mind going over... Within reason."

I was too stunned to reply as I mechanically got off her and started to browse the books.There were many different types, from the ability to create fireballs to the ability to fall slowly. Each one was bound in chains so they could not be opened.

From the back of the store, a rather old Centaur mare wearing a witch hat could be seen pretending to read a non-magical book while she kept an eye on us. I gave her a nod to indicate I knew she was watching before returning to the options available.

It did not slip my mind that I could have sent them to my inventory with a thought and kept them, but I squashed that thought before it could fester. I wasn't a thief, and this store gave me so many possibilities.

One of them being that I finally had a use for the city close to my farm.Trading my girls' products for gold to spend here.

Now the real question was what did I need?

Enhanced plant growth caught my eye as I passed, but I had the Dryad's back home to cover that. I did, however, keep that in the back of my mind if I couldn't find anything else.

Helayt walked with me through the shop, pointing out a few books she thought would be good, and while she wasn't wrong, she definitely had a priority, as all her suggestions were combat-related.

In truth, I was banking on my new quest to give me the combat power I lacked, as well as Abelha's training. This would be more of a support ability than anything else. Something that would make my job as the farmer easier.

The answer was so very obvious the moment my eyes landed on it. The hard leather was wrapped in more chains than any of the other ones, with its description written underneath instead of the total being visible.

Teleportation.

You bet your ass I wanted this one.