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Beast Tamer Who Got Kicked Out From the Hero’s Party Chapter 154 Part 1

CHAPTER 154: THE PURSUIT PART 1

「That’s why, you know…… There is no need for you to try to change or anything like that. You can stay just the way you are, Rein. Because…… We really like you the way you are. Acting like that is a very “Rein-like” thing of you to do.」

「I see……」

Kanade’s words were strangely soothing to me right now.

Maybe I wanted someone to affirm me of this.

Maybe I wanted someone to just pat me on the back and say to me that everything is going to be okay.

「Thank you, Kanade.」

「Nyah, you’re welcome.」

I patted Kanade’s head in return.

I know that this was neither the time nor the place for feeling that way, but I was really grateful for Kanade’s company and words right now.

And also, those words of hers made my heart a little bit lighter than it was just a moment ago.

The fact that I wasn’t alone was reducing the burden on my heart by a tremendous amount.

「…… Fuah!?」

Kanade suddenly jerked up, turning bright red as if she just happened to remember something really embarrassing all of a sudden.

「Hm? What’s wrong?」

「Huh!? Umm, no, it’s just, you see…… When I said that I like you, Rein, I meant that as I like you as a companion, but I didn’t mean that in a way that would just make you feel a little bit better! But, but, the truth is that I also like you in a sense that…… Funyaaaaaahhhhhh!?」

「K-Kanade? Is everything alright?」

「Uuuhhh…… P-Please, don’t worry about it. It’s just a little bit of self-destruction as I realized that I almost said something really embarrassing, and now I’m starting to deeply regret it.

「Y-Yeah? Is that so?

Kanade’s face had turned an even brighter shade of red right about now.

Looking at her from the side, I know that she said that I don’t have to worry about it and that it was nothing, but I wasn’t actually so sure of that…….

Oh well, since Kanade was saying that it was nothing, I don’t think it was actually a good idea for me to pursue that matter any further.

After hesitating for a little bit, I decided to just pay attention to her and keep an eye on any signs of unusual behavior.

If Kanade’s strange behavior continues, then I am afraid that we would need to have a serious talk about it.

「Umm…… Rein, Rein?」

「Yes? What is it?」

「We have managed to actually chase that Celestial Tribe woman away, but what are we going to do now?　Are we going to find a way to seal her away once again?」

「That would actually be the best course of action here, but before we get to do that, there are some other things that we need to take care of.」

「Nyaah? Things that we need to take care of? What’s that? Did something happen?」

「Yes, it has.」

…… We need to pursue the lead of Arios being involved in this entire case.

***

「What do you want?」

I summoned Arios and his Party to the Village Chief’s house.

Inside with me, there were the members of my party, as well as Ax and Cell.

As a bonus, the Village Chief was also present, as well as some of the villagers, the village chief and a few villagers.

Even though the house had a decent amount of space in it, it felt cramped when this many people were gathered together inside of it.

However, it was not the kind of thing to talk about where you don’t know who might have been listening, so I would have to keep that to myself and make sure to not speak that out loud.

「As you can clearly see, we are busy. We have to go after that Celestial Tribe as soon as possible. If this is a boring story, can we talk about it sometime later?」

「So, is that it? You are simply going to run away? Just like that?」

「What did you just……?」

I said that in order to provoke Arios.

As expected, Arios glared at us, but he wasn’t scared at all.

「Didn’t you say so yourself right when Irius showed up in the village? That Iris was cooperating with you guys? And that the reason for that was because it was you who freed her in the first place……」

「Huh!?」

Arios’s expression was distorted in a flash.

「W-What are you saying……」

「No way, that’s not possible!」

「A Hero would never do such a thing!」

There was an uproar amongst the villagers.

However, many people still believed in Arios being their great Hero and savior, and words came out of their mouths to defend him.

The villagers were all evacuated by the time that story came out to light. So surely they haven’t heard any of it.

Arios saw those villagers and a smile appeared on his mouth.

「…… It would do you good to stop making such trivial and petty accusations. You see, I have risked my life to save the villagers and I would never do something so foolish as releasing a long-since sealed Devil. And yet, you accuse me of doing just that. And moreover, you also accuse me of actually collaborating with said Devil…… I do know that you love talking nonsense, but there is a time and place for everything.」

「Hmm, I don’t know about that. It all seems to be rather fishy to me.」

「What did you say?」

「I don’t know your exact purpose of doing that, but I’m sure that you were trying to use Arior to propel your own agenda forward, Arios. That is one fact that I have heard for sure. But…… It seems to me that you have greatly underestimated Iris. Maybe you thought that you could control her. But Iris was better than that, and she wasn’t going to be your tool. She got off of your leash and went out of control and as a result you had to take a painful spanking here…… Isn’t that about right?」

「…… You say that as if you have seen it all.」

「Well, let’s just say that I understand well just what kind of person you really are.」

After all, we have traveled together for a while.

Arios’s personality and what he is likely to do is something that is somewhat predictable to me.

He tried to use Iris for his own devices, but in the end he was the one who was being used, instead.

That’s probably what the truth of this incident is.

But……

It was that kind of nonsense that caused so much damage to be done.

If Arios hadn’t broken the seal, none of this would have happened.

Thinking about it made me really angry.

「Hmph, that’s nonsense. All of this is something you can only speculate about. Do you have any proof?」

「Well, this is……」

「You don’t, do you? Just as I thought. Because there can’t be any proof. It’s just your boring, delusional speech, as always. To try to disgrace me and tarnish my honor by doing something like that…….are you ready to face the consequences?」