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Beast Tamer Who Got Kicked Out From the Hero’s Party Chapter 184

CHAPTER 184: GOOD ENDING, BUT NOT HAPPY ENDING

…….. A week has passed since then.

The impact that Iris had left behind in various places was great, and both the Adventurers’ Guild and the Knights Order were forced to deal with it.

Like rebuilding the village of Pagos.

Like treating the injured.

Like investigating for the presence of similar seals all over the continent.

The Adventurers’ Guild and the Knights Order were working together to deal with the situation in various places.

As for us……

Despite the fact that I violated my orders and chose to go to do my own things despite the direness of the situation, based on the way in which the incident was resolved I was not punished in any form or way.

My disregard for orders was to get insurance in case the Strike Force would fail to do what they set out to do.

And acting on my own, I noticed Iris’s trap beforehand and took it upon myself to help everyone else to deal with it.

That’s how things were justified, and that was the official story that everyone seemed to roll with for the time being.

While in truth I just did whatever I wanted to do……

But, well, as it turns out, since no one was blaming me for anything, I just decided to leave it at that and just let bygones be bygones.

There was a lot going on, but it’s not like I wanted to stop being an Adventurer because of that incident.

If Ax and Cell had accused me of everything, maybe this wouldn’t have happened, but……

They said nothing and just casually walked away.

Maybe that was their own weird way of showing kindness to me? I don’t really know.

But it was also true that we did not say goodbye to one another.

I was reminded once again that I was no longer connected to the two of them in any form or way.

It was something I was prepared for, but when it came down to it, I was a little sad.

After the hearing regarding the entire incident was finally over, we were able to join in the aftermath efforts.

As to why I did that, I thought that by moving my body around, I would be able to stop thinking about something else.

I wanted time to collect my thoughts and feelings.

And so the week went by in the blink of an eye.

***

I had come to the mountain where Iris was sealed.

However, it wasn’t the site of the shrine.

I had moved to a better vantage point.

「Rein, is this going to be more than enough?」

Kanade showed me some flowers she’d picked nearby.

「Yes, more than enough. Thank you, Kanade.」

「No, this is the least I can do, so no problem.」

「Okay, I’m also done here.」

Tanya brought me a simple cross made of wood.

It was simple, but it was also quite beautiful.

「Thank you, Tanya.」

「W-Well, I mean, doing this much is nothing! So don’t sweat over it too much!」

As she said it, Tanya placed that cross on the ground.

Then Kanade added some flowers over it.

「“Holy Breath.”」

Sora and Luna chanted their magic.

A pale light spread around the cross.

It was a magic used mainly by priests and other members of the clergy to give a blessing to the target of the spell.

「「……………」」

Nina was on her knees in front of the cross, hands clasped together, eyes closed, praying.

The kettle on top of her head was humming slightly…… It was Tina offering her own unique prayer.

There was no need for her to do this, but I appreciated that still.

「……………」

Following in their footsteps, I offered a silent prayer as well.

Kanade, Tanya, Sola and Luna did the same.

「Fuh.」

After a while, I gently opened my eyes.

Shortly after me, the rest of my party did the same.

Seeing them, I said softly to them.

「Thank you, everyone. Thank you for going along with my own selfish request.」

After all the post-processing was done, the first thing I did was……

It was to build a small grave for Iris, to honor her memory.

Since she caused so much pain and destruction in such a short amount of time, it was only natural that no one would give her a proper burial, no tombstone to mark her final resting place.

Rather, she would be remembered as a Devil who spread fear and destruction everywhere she went.

But…… That outcome seemed way too sad for me.

So I decided to at least make a makeshift tomb for her.

I don’t know where the Celestial Tribe used to live, so……

I chose this place so that she could sleep peacefully in a place with a good view.

「……………」

Looking at the grave of Iris was giving me the kind of a feeling that was quite difficult for me to actually describe.

After all, even though it was her grave, Iris was not inside of it.

In fact, she was gone, alongside the ruins of the Celestial Tribe…….

Thinking about that still hurt so much.

Couldn’t there have been a better way to solve this problem?

What if I did whatever it took to keep our hands connected and pulled Iris up, even at the cost of my own arm?

That was all I could possibly think about.

It was not a good thing to think about, but still……

But it didn’t really help me to feel less regret about this entire thing.

「Rein.」

The next thing I knew, Kanade was holding my hand in both of her hands.

「Rein, you did your best out there.」

「Kanade……」

「I wasn’t there but… but I think that your feelings managed to reach Iris’s heart. Because…….. You said that she was smiling right at the very end, right?」

Of course, I have told everyone in my party about the events that transpired inside of the Celestial Tribe’s ruins.

「I know that things ended up the way they did, but…… What you did there was not in vein, Rein. Besides, it’s not like you did anything wrong, you did the best that you could do at the moment, and there was no other way for you to…… Nyah?」

For some reason, Kanade seemed to be getting more and more confused as she was talking, and now she was tilting her head in puzzlement.

After all, Kanade was not very good at this kind of pep talk……

But it was actually kind of funny. It made me want to smile and laugh.

「Anyways.」

Tanya interrupted from the side.

「You have accomplished something that no one else has ever done, Rein. That’s all there is to it. You should feel proud.」

「Tanya……」

「You should be proud. No one else could have done that. Of course, it didn’t all work out the way you wanted it to, but you can’t keep regretting it forever, now can you?　Would Iris approve of such a thing?　No, I don’t think she would. She would surely say……」

「Fufufu…… Now that you have bested me in combat, you should feel more proud about yourself, Rein-sama!」

「Hey! That’s my line!」

Tanya shot Luna a nasty glare, visibly not being happy that someone actually managed to snatch her line from her before she was able to say it.

In spite of that glare, Sora laughs softly at them.

「A gloomy expression doesn’t suit you at all, Rein. I want you to be smiling like you always have been. I’m sure Iris would have preferred that, too.」

「I think so, too. You’ve got a nice smile on your face, huh?」

「Iris will get angry with you if you look so pale all the time. “I don’t like you making that kind of face, Rein-sama.” I’m sure she would say something like that.」

Nina and Tina have joined the conversation as well.

They were all looking out for me in their own unique ways.

They care about me a whole lot.

I’m very happy about that.

I felt a sense of warmth in my heart from those words.

「…… I guess that you are right.」

How long can I possibly drag this out?

My regret was not going to go away anytime soon.

I’m not going to forget about Iris anytime soon, either.

But I’m still alive.

Because I’m here with my precious companions.

I have to look forward and walk towards the future..

「……………」

I looked at Iris’ grave one last time.

And I tell her in my heart.

We have been through a lot……. But I still can’t bring myself to hate you, Iris.

In fact, I think I might have even preferred her to be that way.

Right now, I want you to take it easy and rest. You have earned it.

「…… Goodbye.」