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Beast Tamer Who Got Kicked Out From the Hero’s Party Chapter 196 Part 2

CHAPTER 196: THE FALSE ACCUSATION PART 2

However, no one outside of Horizon would actually know Tanya and the fact that she is not a bad person, especially some bigshots from the capital. Hence their hasteful decision and the crude way of handling things.

They decided that Tanya was the culprit because they had no other option here.

And as a servant of the country, Stella couldn’t actually disobey those orders, either……

So she had no other choice but to bring Tanya in……

「Well, if that’s what you’re talking about here, then I guess it’s easy enough of a problem to solve.」

「What’s that supposed to mean?」

While Stella was visibly wondering what I meant by that, I hurried to explain my reasoning to her.

I told her that besides Tanya, there was now a second Dragon in the vicinity of Horizon.

We also told her that it was that other Dragon that attacked that Adventurer in the forest just recently.

We went to explain all of those events in great detail.

「Hmm…… So, you’re saying that there is some other member of the Dragon Tribe near the city, one that is different from Tanya?」

「Yes, and that Dragon was in the middle of attacking some random Adventurer. So in all likelihood, that’s the culprit that you are looking for.」

Hmm…… Yes, I see…… I see……」

「Yes!　Now, with that being said, I guess that clears me of all of those stupid charges, right? So with that being said, can we go home now?」

Tanya said with a smile, but Stella shook her head with a sad expression.

「I’m really sorry, but I’m afraid that I cannot allow you to do that just yet.」

「…… What? Why not!?」

「I’m afraid that Rein’s testimony alone is not enough proof that there is some other member of the Dragon Tribe on the loose out there. Of course, I don’t believe that Tanya would ever do such a thing, but there are some other rather hard-headed people out there who do not share my opinion on this particular subject.」

「Then what else would you want us to do about it? If you REALLY want us to, we can ask that Adventurer that we have saved to testify and……」

「I’m afraid that this wouldn’t be nearly enough to convince the top brass, either. Besides, Rein is Tanya’s companion. The top brass is sure to just rebuke your testimonies as false, under the accusation that you testify in the favor of your friend……」

「What’s with that logic!? Besides, isn’t giving false testimony in court a serious offense!? A felony, even!? So why would anyone want to do that in the first place?」

「No, you would actually be surprised just how common of an occurrence that can be.」

「Now I’m even more shocked…… This is hardly even being hard-headed and stubborn here. Are those fools at the top mad or something like that? Because that’s what it looks like to me!」

Without paying much attention to Tanya’s tirade, Stella made an apologetic face.

I could somewhat understand where she was coming from.

When it comes to the position of managing the Knights Order, Stella had a tremendous amount of power and authority in her hands.

However, in other words, from that amount of power and authority, the burden of responsibility that rested on her shoulders was also tremendous.

If she was to make a hasty decision that would turn out to be incorrect, that could create a huge damage and have far-stretching consequences.

Therefore, there was no room for error on the part of those who were calling the shots.

They must examine all possibilities, act carefully, and pursue the truth no matter what.

They couldn’t simply take my word for granted and act based solely on that fact alone.

「Besides…… Umm, I really did not want to tell you guys this, but…… About that other Dragon……」

「What now?」

「It would seem that this Dragon goes all over the place calling herself: “Tanya of the Dragon Tribe!” or something like that.」

「Wha!?」

「Now, since I know you personally, I do realize that you are not that Dragon, Tanya. However…… for those who do not know you, it would be something that would be really hard to tell. I’m sure that most of the people in this city know about you, but…… The same cannot be said for the higher-ups from outside of Horizon.」

「They even took my name without my permission! Gaah! This is so annoying, I just can’t believe it! But…… I guess that it is something which cannot really be helped now…… But thanks to that, I understand your behavior now, Stella. And given the situation at hand, I can hardly even blame you for being suspicious of me.」

Stella then added, as if trying to defend herself a little bit here.

「Since I have my orders from the top, I cannot actually disregard them that easily…… I’m really sorry for this, but do you think that you could maybe stay in here for the duration of the investigation? There’s no way that I am going to place you in jail for real, Tanya. I don’t want to do it, and I won’t do it. So I want you to stay hidden here until we find the real perpetrator behind those attacks and bring them to justice.」

「You’re not going to put me in jail, are you?」

「No, I won’t do that. I’m going to have you stay in this guest room for the time being. But I can’t allow you to leave the Knights’ Order’s headquarters, so you could think of it as a form of a house arrest……

「The hell is this? That sounds like way too much hassle for what it’s worth……」

Tanya complained out loud.

It’s not liek I couldn’t understand where she was coming from with that.

We know for a fact that it was someone else’s doing.

And yet, it’s was good enough for me to simply testify of Tanya’s innocence, and she had to be accused of a crime that she did not commit.

But I also understand Stella’s position of having to follow orders and…..

It’s not that I don’t understand what the higher ups are thinking as they were issuing those orders.

So in the end……

「So it sounds like there’s only one way to solve this case — by apprehending the real culprit.」

「…… Rein?」

Tanya looked at me with a surprised look on her face.

Really now…… Why do you look so surprised here?

If our friends are suspected of a crime that they did not commit, it’s only natural that we should help them out.

「As long as we are able to prove that it’s the other Dragon Tribe member that is responsible for those attacks, everything should be fine, right? So catching the perpetrator is the most logical thing for us to do here.」

「T-This is…… Umm…… Ahh…… That’s true, but are you sure that you are okay with this? I was actually planning on resolving that matter with the use of the Knights’ Order alone. I had no real intentions of getting you involved, Rein.」

「Tania is already involved in this incident. And she’s not just some sort of a stranger to us. So we are going to do whatever it takes to prove Tanya’s innocence.」

「…… Rein……」

Tanya stared at me with a happy expression on her face.

Her cheeks were even tinged with a slight shade of red.

Could it be that she was being embarrassed by this situation right now?

But come to think of it, there was nothing for her to feel particularly embarrassed about here……? I guess that a woman’s heart is still pretty much a mystery to me.

「In that case, could you actually wait here until we are done with this case, Tanya? I promise you that we are going to get the real perpetrator, no matter what.」

「……………」

「…… Tanya?」

「…… O-Oh, I see, I see. Well then,, if you’re going to do that, then I’m going to leave it to you, or rather…… Please, I want you to get the real perpetrator. A-Anyways! I expect that you do your very best here for my sake! Because if you fail to do just that, then I am never going to forgive you for that.」

「Oh, don’t worry about that. We will not fail. Not when we are doing this for you. So we are absolutely going to pull this off.」

「That’s just good and all, but you’d best not underestimate here too much……」

「…… Tanya? Is something wrong?」

「N-No, it’s nothing. Anyways, I will leave this matter to you guys to take care of it. Since there is another member of the Dragon Tribe on the loose somewhere out there, go knock some sense into their head and prove my innocence while you are being at it!」

「Yea, we are on it! Just leave this to us!」

I nodded my head firmly in response to Tanya’s words.