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Beast Tamer Who Got Kicked Out From the Hero’s Party Chapter 194

CHAPTER 194: RESUMPTION OF ADVENTURING ACTIVITIES

……..It has been about a month since the Iris incident.

Since it was a case of an unprecedented scale, it was only natural that after it was over there would be a whole lot of clean-up and paperwork that needed to be done……

Because of that, we have grown way more fatigued than we had initially anticipated.

That is why even though we only intended to have a short break, we decided to increase its length to properly recuperate and nourish our good spirits.

And so just like that an entire month had passed……

It was about now that we finally decided that it would be a good moment to resume our activities as Adventurers.

「Good morning.」

「Oh, if it isn’t Shroud-san. And Tanya-san, too. Welcome.」

When I entered the Adventurers’ Guild building alongside Tanya, Natalie-san greeted both of us with the usual smile on her face.

It feels like it’s been a really long time since I have last seen this smile.

The Iris Emergency Request took a long time to complete and……

We have been busy with a whole lot of post-processing and stuff like that after the proper incident was over.

「Fufufun! Rejoice! For we have decided to get back to our usual Adventurers’ work starting from today.」

Tanya said with a great deal of pride behind her words.

Hearing Tanya say that, Natalie-san flashed her a warm smile.

「Oh my, is that so? No, really now, that would be a huge help…… To be honest, without Shroud-san’s help, there are some requests that would be really hard for the Guild to resolve on our own……」

「Now, now, that cannot be true. I mean, the Adventurers’ Guild has other way better and way more experienced Adventurers than us, so……」

「Well, yes, that’s generally true, but…… When it comes to experienced and powerful Adventurers like Shroud-san, we are severely limited in that regard.」

「Surely that’s an over-exaggeration.」

「Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure of that. After all…… At the current moment, your party is one of the most prominent Adventuring parties in the entire city, Shroud-san. It would be no exaggeration to say that you even represent the city of Horizon as a whole.」

Oh wow.

That’s actually surprising.

When did that happen, I wonder?

It was a little bit embarrassing to be told something like that.

But still……

It made me feel proud to think that we had all been able to build up a reputation for ourselves and get to that point with our own power.

「Do you have any requests available?　I’d like something crisp and flashy that would be appropriate to announce our return.」

「Hey, come on now Tanya. You can’t really make decisions like that on your own.」

「Ouch!」

I gently smacked Tanya’s head.

「Uhh…… What the hell, Rein!? What was that for!?」

「Don’t just go out of your way to ask for some fancy requests right off the bat. It’s bad manners.」

「But I haven’t done much physical activities as of late! So I thought it might be good to get some nice and flashy request that would require someone like me to move around a whole lot!」

「Hmm, it’s not like I can’t understand where you are coming from with that……」

But if you suddenly start to move your body, you might end up hurting yourself, or those around you. And that would be something we would like to avoid at all cost.

So, what we really need here is some proper preparatory exercises that will allow us to get back into the swing of things.

「Are there any particular requests that we could do for the time being? Preferably something light and not too strenuous, please.」

「Hmm, let’s see here……」

Natalie-san took a file from the shelf and flipped through its pages.

「Then, how about defeating a pack of Hunter Wolves or something like that?」

「Hunter Wolves, huh?」

「It’s a fairly recent requests from one of the local farmers. Apparently the Hunter Wolves started to move around in larger packs as of late, and they are causing damage to the local livestock and wildlife on a large scale. And since for many farmers their crops and livestock are their main source of income, it is vital that this problem needs to be dealt with as soon as possible. So to accomplish the request you would have to exterminate the Hunter Wolves pack while making sure that the farmers’ livestock stay unharmed. I think it’s just the right kind of challenge for someone like Shroud-san and your party.」

「Hmm…… That honestly seems to be a little bit lackluster, but oh well. I don’t really mind that all that much.」

Tanya said after I cast a quick glance towards her, as if to see if she’s fine with a request like that.

Then I tried to gather my own thoughts on that matter.

A pack of Hunter Wolves would pose no threat to us at all.

We’d have to split the party in two when it comes to protecting the livestock at the same time, but we wouldn’t have a problem with that either.

「…… Yes, that’s right. Well then, we are going to take that request.」

「Yes, I understand. Well then, I shall take care of all of the formalities for you.」

And thus, for the first time in a long while, our party was going to go and fulfill a request.

***

The damage caused by Hunter Wolves was steadily increasing every day.

It was becoming a serious problem for all of the farmers, as their livestock and crops could be attacked and they would suffer huge losses.

So we decided to get to work on our request on that very same day.

Kanade, Sora and Luna were to protect the livestock……

The rest of us decided to take down the pack of the Hunter Wolves.

Initially that was supposed to be Tanya and I.

But then I also decided to add Nina and Tina to boost our forces. That way, we were ready to venture into the forest that was located a little bit away from the city.

According to the client, the Hunter Wolves made their home in that area of the forest.

「Fufun! My arms are all aching to see some much needed action after such a long period of rest! No matter what comes our way, I will take it on, for sure!」

「Just…… Just please don’t go all out on normal enemies, would you? I know that you are all enthusiastic to do this, Tanya, but I would like to finish this request without having to burn the entire forest down if I can help it.」

「Rein, do you honestly have me pegged as some sort of hopeless pyromaniac?」

Tanya gave me a really nasty glare as she said that.

But that being said……

Tanya’s words could sometimes be so dangerous that I was really having trouble with differentiating whether or not she was joking or being serious.

When we just met, I think she would often say things like wanting to burn her entire surroundings if it meant being able to take her enemies out. And she would suggest that without a single care in the world.

Well, I don’t think that Tanya was still the same as she was back then, but……

Sometimes I was still worried that she might overdo things if left unchecked.

「Ahh, that’s so nice. It feels so refreshing to be able to move my body freely, even in the daytime.」

Right above Nina’s head, Tina, who had taken on a new humanoid body, was humming with glee.

She looked very happy and pleased with herself.

But still……

Whether it’s a kettle or a doll, it would seem that her place of choice was right on top of Nina’s head.

What is it with Nina’s head that Tina was so particular about?

Could it be that it was just such a comfortable place?

「Monster…… that bully…… cows…… and goats…… are no good. I will…… do my best to…… get rid of them……」

Nina was also really fired up to do this.

Well, it was a good thing that she was so rearing to go, even though her reasons for doing so might have been somewhat silly.

However, since Nina doesn’t have all that much in terms of combat aptitude, I don’t really want her to force herself too hard.

Am I overprotective in thinking so?

If Nina ever heard me say that, she would most probably frown her brows and oppose my words, saying that she can fight, too.

「Say, say, Rein?」

Suddenly, Tanya spoke to me.

「Yes, what is it?」

「Could it be that you are worried about us?」

「…… How could you tell? Are you really some sort of esper, Tanya?」

「Fufun! No, I am not. It’s just that…… You are so easy to understand sometimes, Rein. I can tell what you are thinking just by having a quick glance at your face.」

Welp, she has me right there.

I don’t think I’ll be able to think of anything weird in front of Tanya for a while now. And seemingly way into the future as well.

「Oh well, I guess that is one of the good things about you out there, Rein. So don’t even change and just stay the way you are.」

「Was that supposed to be a compliment? Because it certainly felt like a tease.」

「Oh, that’s surprising you thought like that. Because it was supposed to be a genuine compliment.」

「Well, no matter what, that’s actually quite troublesome for me.」

…… Well then.

「Alright, that’s enough chatter for now……」

「Yes, I suppose so. I think it’s time for us to get to work.」

Tanya and I assumed defensive positions, and……

Nina and Tina followed suit.

Soon after, we were hit with a tense killing intent.

One Hunter Wolf emerged from behind the trees, followed by more and more of them.

They bared their vicious fangs and let out a low growl at us.

「…… About fifty in total, huh?」

「…… Hmmm. This is pretty easy. If you’re gonna have to deal with me, you’re gonna have to stay a hundred times longer than that!」

「No, that would be crazy.」

「I can do it no problem.」

Where does that confidence of hers come from, I wonder?

But the fact was that Tanya was really confident in her abilities like that, which made her both scary and dependable at the same time.

「Well then, let’s go!」

Tanya shouted out loud……

And then we charged at the wolves at once.

***

「Haah!」

I slashed Kamui vertically.

Hunter Wolf’s body was cut in half and it rolled to the ground.

Perhaps it’s because Gantz-san has performed some maintenance on it, but its blade was way sharper than usual.

「Hngh!」

Looking closer, I saw that Nina had teleported over the Hunter Wolf’s head and kicked it from directly above.

There, Tina used her telekinetic powers to crush it flat, a brilliantly coordinated move.

And then………

「That’s it…… This is the end!」

Our ace fighter Tanya waved her tail like a whip and cleaved the three Hunter Wolves together.

The Hunter Wolves that received that painful blow were unable to stand up and, as it was, transformed into magical stones on the spot.

「Well, I guess that about wraps it up?」

「Stay on your guard, just in case. There could still be some survivors somewhere else.」

「…… Yeah?　But there’s no sign of…….. Huh? Wait a minute. What is this?」

Tanya searched for any sign of enemies in our immediate surroundings, and then her face tensed up considerably.

What is it?

What the hell is going on……?

I was about to ask Tanya that question, when……

「KISHHHYYYAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!」

There was a sharp roar that ripped through the atmosphere.

I hurriedly ran towards the direction of that roar, and what I saw there was……

「…… A Dragon?」