3 bar menu

Beast Tamer Who Got Kicked Out From the Hero’s Party Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11: COMRADES

「…… Nyah……」

Kanade, while sitting across the table from me, looked like the end of the world had come all of a sudden, and let out a somber sigh.

I had forgotten about it because of the incident with the bandit group, but I had also completed the request to collect those medicinal herbs.

Remembering that, I reported it to the Guild just a few minutes ago.

The reward for securing a large amount of medicinal herbs of huge variety was also tripled.

I was able to obtain a single silver coin for my efforts.

It was actually a truly unheard of reward for just collecting some medicinal herbs just like that.

In addition to that, the reward for defeating the bandits was three gold coins.

It would seem that we won’t be having any troubles with finding ourselves a place to stay for the time being.

However, there’s still a long way to go for us if we want a stable life for ourselves.

It’s not so much to get pumped up, but since it’s the first reward that we have ever gotten, I thought I’d have something delicious for us to eat in celebration……

「…… No fish…… no fish…… no fish…… no fish…… Nyaaahhh~~~……」

Yes, that’s right.

This city right here, “Horizon”, is a city located deep inland, so there is no seafood to be had here.

Occasionally, a merchant from the seaside is said to be able to obtain marine products by trading with the locals near the sea, but this is a fairly rare occurrence.

In Horizon, fish are highly valued as a high-class food product, and are rarely seen, and even when they do appear on the market, they are quickly bought up by the members of nobility.

It is impossible to find fish in a restaurant frequented by ordinary Adventurers.

Kanade, who was completely ready to eat fish, couldn’t have been more disheartened upon learning that.

「’My fish…… fish…… where art thou……?」

「Well, I mean, the meat looks good, too, doesn’t it?　Look, doesn’t this herb-grilled chicken look great?」

「But I really wanted some fish…… I’m not in the mood for meat right now……」

This is a really serious situation, huh?

I’d like to take care of it if I could help it, but…… Hmm, what to do?

「Oh yeah, that’s right.」

I suddenly remembered something and rifled through my luggage bag.

We did stop by the beach once when I was still with the Hero’s Party……

And if I recall correctly, it was around that time when I……

「Oh yeah, there it is!」

「Nya?」

「It can’t possibly measure up to some freshly grilled fish, but how about trying one of those fish preserves I was able to obtain a while back? Who knows? It might suit your tastes just fine.」

「Nyah!?!?!?」

Kanade immediately jumped up and grabbed the fish preserve in a frenzy.

「Oh, ooohhh…… It smells just like real fish! Is it really okay for me to eat it? Really? Like, can I actually eat this!?」

「Of course you can. That’s why I gave it to you in the first place.」

「Uuuhhh…… Ahhh, t-thank you so much, Rein! My fish benefactor!」

「Well, that’s a weird phrase if I have ever heard one. Also, while you are eating this, I will also order something else. After all, it’s bad manners to just borrow a seat so we can eat our own food.」

「Yes, sir♪.」

***

By the time we finished eating, the sun had already set.

I don’t think it’s a good thing to push ourselves too much on our very first day, so we decided to go back to the inn and call it a day.

For now, I got a room for one week in advance.

「Ooooh, a bed♪! I’m so glad! I’ve been sleeping out in the fields for so long these days! It’s so nice to sleep in a real bed for once!」

…… How did this happen?

Kanade, who was in the room with me, was quickly getting on the bed and frolicking around the mattress like a small child.

I, on the other hand, was in the mood where I wanted to just hold my head in my hands, sensing a mighty headache incoming.

Kanade and I would get one room each.

That was the plan for the upcoming week.

Getting two rooms would increase the expense of that, but it was something that couldn’t be helped.

Even though the other party is a Cat Spirit Tribe, she is still a young girl, and extremely cute at that.

It would be weird if we were to sleep in the same room just like that.

And yet……

There was no other room available, so Kanade and I were squeezed into a double room for the time being.

「What’s wrong, Rein? You’re not going to sleep? The bed is so soft, you know?」

「Uh, n-no, I’m good. I mean, I’m going to camp out today…… Yeah.」

「H-Huh!? What!? Why!?」

「Well, I can’t sleep in the same room with a young girl, can I?

「Huh……」

For some reason, Kanade seemed to be disappointed.

「But! I wouldn’t mind having you here with me, you know?」

「No, that;s not the issue here. I’m still a man.」

Could it be that she was not conscious of me as a member of the opposite sex? Is that what’s going on here?

Because if it was indeed like that, then that makes things even weirder.

「Nya, I am aware of this much, I’ll let you know. Rein is a boy. And I am a girl.」

「Then, you know why it’s not okay for us to sleep in the same room, right?」

「I know, but I don’t understand.」

Now it was becoming even more confusing for me to understand her reasoning.

「Well, I guess that it is still slightly embarrassing? Or not…… It’s really, really embarrassing. Sleeping in the same room as Rein, who is a young man…… Nyah, now my face is getting all hot for some reason!」

「Then, in that case…….」

「But I believe in you, Rein.」

「……………」

「Rein, you would never do anything weird to me…… I’m fine with it because I believe that. If I didn’t, we wouldn’t be sleeping in the same room, after all!」

Is that being called good-natured? Or maybe she is simply way too oblivious as to how the world around her works……?

For crying out loud.

I guess that convincing Kanade here would be really difficult, and in the end it would still amount to nothing.

「Please listen to me, Kanade. Don’t trust people so easily. We just met the other day.　It would naturally be really bad to start trusting someone you’ve just met like that, right?」

「Muh, I feel like you are trying to make a fool out of me here.」

「I’m not trying to make a fool out of you, but I’m telling you to have more of a sense of urgency. Kanade, you are a really cute and beautiful girl, so you need to pay more attention to stuff like that.」

「Nyaah…… Rein told me I’m cute♪! I’m so glad!」

「I have no intention of getting my hands on you, Kanade, but I’m a man myself, after all. Who knows? I might end up doing something to you completely by accident.」

「It’s fine! It’s going to be fine♪!」

「How can you be so sure of that?」

「Because Iike I said, I belive in you, Rein.」

Not good. We are going to be trekking in circles at this rate. This conversation is not going anywhere.

「Haah…… How come that you can trust people so easily, huh?」

「I don’t believe just in any random person out there! I only believe in you, Rein!」

「I’m not sure I understand the difference here.」

「If it was anyone else, I wouldn’t believe them, alright?　But that’s not the case with you, Rein. Because we are…… We are comrades, aren’t we?」

「……………」

Those words would pierce deep into my heart.

Comrades……

I remember when I was still in the Hero’s Party.

The people I thought to be my friends weren’t my friends or anything like that.

It was only a selfish assumption on my part.

Then what about Kanade?

Can I really believe her when she was saying that?

Or could it be that she is only saying that just so that she can get on my good side?

…… No, that’s not true.

Kanade really is…… my precious comrade.

We’ve only just met, we don’t know each other very well yet, and our outlandish behavior can be startling at times, but it’s not the same.

But it’s without a doubt that she is my comrade.

And that she is also my precious friend.

「You are my dear comrade, Rein! That’s why I can trust you, no matter what!♪」.

「……I see.」

Well, now that’s quite a pickle for me.

I was going to convince Kanade, but on the contrary, she ended up convincing me instead.

「Alright. No more planning on camping outside the city walls tonight! I’ll sleep here tonight.」

「Nyaah, yes♪! That’s the best thing to do here!」

A bright smile returned to Kanade’s face.

Maybe I was smiling, too.

「Ahh, but you know, you know? I would still like you to look the other way when I am going to change, okay? As expected, being seen like that would still be embarrassing…… Nyah.」

「Y-You don’t have to tell me that! I realize that! H-How about doing it right now? Come on, don’t be shy!」

「Yup.」

Kanade smiled at me once more.

It was a smile that was as bright as the sun.

Looking at that smile, I could feel that the inside of my chest was getting all warm and fuzzy.

If only I could……

I want to be with Kanade like this forever.

It’s a pretty embarrassing thing to think about, but……

That was an unmistakable truth.

The first time I made a ‘real’ comrade. And the first time I’ve made a real ‘friend’.

I didn’t want to let that warm and pleasant feeling go.