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Beast Tamer Who Got Kicked Out From the Hero’s Party Chapter 156

CHAPTER 156: IN THE DEEP OF THE NIGHT……

「Fuuh……」

I went outside and took in the night breeze.

Earlier, we had heard everyone’s reports, put them together into a single cohesive story, and then planned an appropriate course of action for tomorrow.

The research and investigation on the subject of Iris had been somewhat difficult.

There was a mountain of lore and other information about her, but there wasn’t much in the way of some actually credible information.

As they were passed down from person to person in the form of lore, the accuracy of the information became less and less accurate over the years, until eventually they all became vague and improbable, just like myths and legends.

So, we were actually unable to obtain any information about the seal itself, or how to perform the ritual itself.

So far, there have been no dazzling results or new developments.

Well, we expected this to happen to some extent, so we were not all THAT disappointed, at the very least.

It’s just that, we were actually lucky that we were able to find SOMETHING.

So, based on that assumption, we would continue to work slowly and steadily.

As for the bolstering of the defenses of the village, that has been working out rather well.

We set up a wall on both sides of the village to prevent the monsters that walk on the ground from entering.

Nina’s Material Creation was very helpful in building the barriers around the village’s perimeter.

By working together with what we had at hand, I think we were able to save a lot of time.

We set up a fence made of wood and traps with thin steel wires wrapped around them.

The low-ranked monsters would be injured just by approaching it and would not be able to make it into the village itself as a result.

Also, we set up gates at the front and back of the village, just in case.

Even though we called them gates, they were just some simple formations made from a bunch of logs that were stacked on top of one another.

It was different from the ones made of iron, like the ones in big cities.

They were also not all that strong to begin with, but……

Nevertheless, they could still limit the number of monsters that would be able to make it through to the village to a certain extent.

Without the,, the damage to the village would be much bigger.

「Is it okay for me to say that things seem to be going relatively well?」
　
I said to myself while looking up at the night sky.

「…… Now then, I wonder what is going to happen now?」

It was evident that Iris was in the vicinity of the village.

The battle would take place as soon as the main Strike Team would arrive here.

Oh well……

With the nonsensically strong physical abilities and special powers that were simply beyond human comprehension, I guess that she could be pretty much anywhere, and would still arrive here in a flash if only she wanted to do that.

But be that as it may.

There’s actually nothing more that we can do here.

I wouldn’t say that our chances of winning this were seating at zero percent, but it was an abysmally small number. There was never any doubt about that.

The only thing we can do is to find a way to seal Iris away once more, in case that the main Strike Team fails.

That’s about it.

Do we want to defeat Iris?

Or do we want to seal her away?

Either way, that would be the end of Iris.

No matter how powerful she is as the member of the Ultimate Species.

No matter how powerful we are.

Once she decided to destroy that village and kill its people, that was the moment Iris sealed her fate, making herself an enemy of the country.

And no matter how it’s going to end, this case is going to be settled soon.

And it will come to an end in the form of the defeat of Iris.

「…… But are we really sure it’s the right thing to do?」

There was something that stuck with me this entire time.

Is it really okay for me to stay like this?

But I did not know what part of me was causing me to feel so uncomfortable, so there was nothing I could do about it.

「Fuhh…… I knew it. What a troublesome opponent that Iris is.」

「My, oh my. Could it be that you are talking about me behind my back?」

All of a sudden, a familiar voice came from right behind me.

「And who else could I possibly be talking about?」

「Oh my, you don’t sound even the least bit surprised, Rein-sama.」

With a bright smile, Iris showed her face before me.

She was wearing her usual bewitching smile on her lips.

Could it be my imagination?

I feel like she seemed to be sulking a little bit.

Could it be that she thinks that it was boring that I was not surprised with her sudden appearance?

…… Since this is Iris that we are talking about here, that’s entirely possible.

「Do you remember the first night that we met?」

「Yes. Yes, why, of course.」

「I was wondering…… That since tonight was the exact same night like that one, that I might be able to see you again……」

「Fufufu, maybe it’s fate at work here?」

「Fate, you say……?」

「Wouldn’t it be nicer if it was indeed something like that?」

「Yes, maybe you are right.」

Iris then stood right next to me.

She held a hand to her hair, bathed in the night’s breeze.

……. Looking at her like this, she was just like any normal girl.

But she was the member of the Ultimate Species.

And a Celestial Tribe at that.

Or even the Devil itself.

But not right now. Right now she didn’t look like any of those things.

「Why are you here tonight?」

「Oh my, I don’t suppose that you have forgotten already? You said it yourself, didn’t you, Rein-sama? That you wanted to see me again.」

「Yes, I remember. But I am more surprised that you actually decided to keep your word.」

「I’m a very loyal person, you see. I make it a point to keep my promises.」

「Even though you have betrayed Arios so readily?

「Fufufu, you don’t hold back from hitting where it hurts the most, I see.」

Giggling for a bit, Iris then laughed.

I could sense that Iris did not come here to actually start something.

She seemed to just be enjoying a perfectly normal conversation with me.

「Oh, but just so you know, I have honored my deal with the Hero. Well, at least partially.」

「The part where you made it look as if Arios was the savior of the Pagos village……」

「I suppose he just wanted some credit and for the people to recognize his “bravery”. He offered me such a deal based on those desires. To be honest, I could have refused this deal from the get-go, but since he was the one to set me free, I accepted his offer out of sheer gratitude. Also, I was told that it would be boring if I hunted my prey all at once, so there is that……」

「And here we go, those last words really ruined it……」

「I AM the Devil, after all.」

Iris laughed just like a normal girl.

Looking at her like this, really…… There was no difference between her and a perfectly normal girl……

So why would she do all that?

If I could, I would like to look inside of Iris’ mind.

「There is one thing I would like to ask you…… if you don’t mind, that is.」

「I’m all ears.」

「You are an Adventurer, aren’t you, Rein-sama?」

「Yeah, that I am.」

「Did you happen to interfere with my operation here on this occasion because of a request to do so?」

「Well…… I guess that you could say that. It’s close enough.」

Having been asked to conduct an investigation regarding Iris.

Looking for a way to seal her away once more.

I told her all about those things.

There was a question of whether or not I should have been telling her all of this on my own like that, but……

I had a feeling that Iris could easily expose me even if I was trying to hide the truth from her, so I decided it was futile and decided to be straightforward with her.

「Hmm, I see, I see.」

Iris nodded her head, looking very pleased with herself.

「Hm? What’s wrong?」

「If I’m going to be wrong here, could you please point it out for me?」

「Yeah, of course.」

「Rein-sama, you have undertaken an investigation into me, but this request does not include you having to defeat me in battle. Isn’t that right?」

「Yes, you are correct.」

What does Iris mean by that……?

「Well then, I guess that there is no need to force yourself to fight me.」

「Iris……?」

「There should be no problem if we just continue to meet like this, turning a blind eye on our respective actions and just leisurely pass the time like this. And then, you can just report that even when you have encountered me on some occasions, you weren’t able to achieve any significant results and just had to retreat. I’m sure that your reputation is going to suffer a little bit because of that, but knowing you, Rein-sama, you will be able to rebuild that reputation and make even more amazing achievements in no time at all. So there’s nothing to worry about, is there?」

「What’s your point here?」

「Will you please step aside and leave this place?」

Iris looked at me.

Her eyes, which seemed to suck me in, almost made me faint on the spot.

「This is……」

「I’m asking you to leave here and allow me to do what I set out to do.」

「…… Why would you even say that?」

「Fufuf, well, isn’t it obvious?」

Gently, Iris stroked my cheek.

With a bewitching smile on her face, she whispered into my ear.

「It’s because I have grown quite fond of you, Rein-sama……」

「Is that true? Or is that perhaps a lie?」

「Oh my, that actually hurt. Just to let you know, Iris is always telling the truth. I never lie.」

「Then why do I have the feeling that you were lying just now……?」

「Fufufu, whatever do you mean by that, I wonder?」

She laughed like a naughty child.

Sometimes with a bewitching smile on her face……

Sometimes innocently, just like a small child.

Which is the real face of Iris?

Suddenly, I thought about that.

「I was wondering…… Why do you care about me so much?　Sure, our first meeting was a complete accident, but then we hooked up again and…… And I don’t really think that it’s because you have suddenly developed a great fondness for me or anything like that.」

「Hmm, yes, that’s right…… This is just a feeling that I am getting, so I don’t know how else I can possibly explain that, but…… It’s rather vague, but I feel ‘something’ about Rain-sama that is different from any other normal human.」

Iris spun those words as she stared straight at me.