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Beast Tamer Who Got Kicked Out From the Hero’s Party Chapter 171

CHAPTER 171: WHAT IS THE MEANING OF TRUST?

On top of the stage, Rein and the Shadow were engaged in a fierce battle between one another.

Two people with the exact same abilities and skills were locked in a fight.

There was no difference in power between them, it was almost an even match from the bystander’s point of view.

But still.

If I had to be so daring as to comment on this battle, I would say that Rein was actually being pushed back.

This was the kind of opponent that he had never fought before.

It would be the first time he would be fighting a battle against someone who was quite literally himself.

That confusion had become a fetter and was slowing Rein’s movements considerably.

「Fumuh…… Yeah, this doesn’t look good. Rein is being pushed back here.」

Aru, who was watching the battle from the side as well, calmly analyzed the match as it was going forward.

The Village Elder seemed to have the same opinion and sniffed boringly at Aru’s words.

「Hmph! Of course he is bein pushed back. I mean, he is only human! But I must say, the fact that he is being so distraught by having to fight a battle against himself here is the sign that he is still quite immature. I thought there would be a few highlights to this battle, but I guess I was wrong after all.」

「No. That’s a wrong way to look at it. It’s perfectly normal for someone to be distressed at the thought of having to face oneself in combat like that. Wouldn’t you agree?」

Aru couldn’t really help herself but to follow up on the Elder’s harsh words with a comment of her own.

The Village Elder then glared at Aru with anger in his eyes.

「Are you taking the side of that human, Aru?」

「I don’t really know if I am his ally or not, but my girls put a fair amount of trust in that boy. And as a mother, it is only natural for me to want to support my children’s decisions and choices.」

「What nonsense. You are allowing yourself to be swayed by emotions way too much.」

「Every parent out there loves their children. And the children can’t help themselves but to like and love the people that they like and love. Isn’t that the natural order of things?」

「Let me say that again: that’s utter nonsense.」

Even as they talked about it, the battle continued on on top of the stage.

Like a hungry beast, the Shadow was persistently chasing after Rein.

As for Rein, as he was unable to be on the run this entire time, every now and then he would get attacked by the Shadow and needed to put everything that he had into defense.

He hadn’t received any fatal blows yet, but…..

It seemed to be only a matter of time before something like that was going to happen.

「Sora, Luna. It seems that the person you call your Master doesn’t have that much power inside of him at all. To be cornered by an opponent of this level is plain old boring to watch.」

「Ohhh? That’s an interesting statement. But, the Village Chief…… Had you gone blind with age? In my opinion, the game is still on. Everything can happen.」

「It’s only a matter of time before that human ends up losing.」

「Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure about that. In my opinion, Rein is definitely going to win this.」

Sora and Luna never looked away from the stage, not even for a moment.

They stared at the sight of their beloved Master fighting a desperate battle against himself.

There was an overflowing amount of trust in their eyes.

They didn’t seem to think for a minute that Rein would lose this battle.

When the Village Elder noticed this, he wondered about Sora and Luna for a moment.

How could they put so much trust in that human like that?

No matter how close they were with each other, if Rein was going to be outmatched like that from the very beginning, it would only be natural that the two of them would slowly start to doubt his ability to emerge victorious here.

And yet, Sora and Luna were still looking as though they believed in Rein’s victory without hesitation.

Why?

Why would they do that?

「…… How can you trust one person to such an extent?」

「…… Hm?」

Luna tilted her head to the side for a moment, resembling an owl with that move to a certain extent.

「What do you mean by that?」

「Don’t you dare to play dumb with me. You don’t doubt that man’s victory, do you?　Even though the odds are stacked so heavily against him. But you still say that the match hasn’t been decided. How can you believe in him that much?」

「…… Ohhh……!!」

Luna popped her palm in her opened hand, as if she hadn’t realized it until she was told that by the Village Elder.

Sora also nodded her head in agreement.

「Now that you are saying this, Village Elder, I guess that you are right. I don’t doubt Rein’s victory, no matter what might happen out there. It might sound strange, but we didn’t realize it ourselves until you specifically told us that.」

「But hey…… Maybe that’s just a normal thing for Sora and Luna to do.」

Sora and Luna said those words as if they were speaking the most obvious and fundamental truth about the world itself.

It was honestly quite baffling just how confident they seemed to be here.

They were so unconcerned with it, as if they were saying something that was pretty much common sense.

And it was that kind of attitude of theirs that was throwing the Village Elder off of his game.

What could possibly stir up these two people’s thoughts to such an extent?

What would it take to win that much trust of someone like them?

Sora and Luna might have been very young, but……

But still, they were a part of the Spirit Tribe.

They grew up being taught that humans are incompatible with them in the deepest, most basic of levels, but……

Before they left the village, they had never doubted that, and they believed it with all of their hearts.

And yet…… What was that just now?

Instead of doubting Rein, they trusted him with more than one hundred percent of their hearts.

It was the complete opposite of when they were still in the village.

What the hell happened to them out there, in the outside world?

What would make Sora and Luna change so much in such a small amount of time?

The Village Elder became curious about that.

「…… Is that human really that important to you, you two?」

「Yes, he is.」

「Umu!」

They nodded their heads without hesitation and……

Once again, the Village Elder elder knew the strong feelings that Sora and Luna had for Rein.

「…… Is that because that human helped you out when you were in need, or perhaps……?」

「Hmm, that’s part of the reason, but not the only thing.」

「Being with Rein is just so much fun! Also, it makes my chest feel all warm for some reason. And I really like that kind of feeling inside of me, I’m not going to lie.」

「Yes. Luna is right. Being with Rein makes us feel safe and comfortable at all times.」

「So we want to be around Rein for a long, long time!」

The words of both Sora and Luna made the Village Elder gasp in exasperation.

The Spirit Tribe was a race that despised humans down to their very core.

And yet, those two were clearly showing the signs of infatuation with that human.

No, it was not something as simple as that. Not at all.

They did not seem to realize it themselves quite yet, but……

It might have been entirely within the realm of possibility to say that those two were in love with that man, without a shadow of doubt.

However, the Village Elder could not possibly understand the basis on which those two would come to develop that kind of feelings for that man.

Rein, fighting on top of the stage, was still being pushed back by his Shadow.

He was being overpowered on every possible front.

How could they be so fascinated by such a weak existence?

It’s more satisfying to be told that the two of you are being duped.

I’ve already heard that.

But still, the Village Elder couldn’t help it but to ask himself that question over and over again.

「Why do you trust that person so much?」

「I mean, when you ask us why so openly……」

「It’s not like we can actually explain it to you all that well.」

「What?」

The Village Elder was stunned by the two extremely inappropriate replies to his question.

「Because of reason X, or because of reason Y…… There is no way that we could ever hope to possibly explain it to you like that. We think that it is something that cannot be put into words. It is something that you feel in your heart rather than explain with words and logic…… Isn’t that what trust is?」

「It’s just what Sora says. We didn’t think about all the trouble I’d have to go through with Rein. We simply wanted to be with Rein, that’s all that really is to it. The desire to be with someone and the trust you put into someone because of that.」

「……………」

The Village Elder was silent upon hearing Sora and Luna’s explanation.

Then, he turned his attention to Rein, who continued to fight on top of the stage.

「How can that human engrave himself so much onto the hearts of others……?」’

The Village Elder did not understand.

He was just unable to comprehend it.

But even though he was unable to understand it……

This was the first time that he has shown interest in a person named Rein Shroud.