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Beast Tamer Who Got Kicked Out From the Hero’s Party Chapter 229 Part 2

CHAPTER 229: THE MARATHON RUN PART 2

And since I did not want her to force herself too much, I was carrying her on my back this entire time.

By the way, Tina was of course sitting on top of Nina’s head this entire time.

I was giving Nina a piggyback ride, and Tina was sitting on top of Nina’s head, so……

Our current formation was a really strange one, kind of similar to a strange totem pole that was growing higher and higher with more elements being added to it.

「I’m not heavy…… Aren’t I?」

When I looked over my shoulder towards my back really quickly, I could see that Nina was visibly squirming while sitting on my back.

There was also a vaguely apologetic look on her face.

「No, you are not heavy at all, Nina. In fact, you are really light, almost like a feather. Are you sure that you are eating well?」

「Ehhh, ahh…… Y-Yeah. I am eating properly. The food that Luna makes…… It’s so delicious…… I really like it.」

「I see. That’s good to hear.」

But still, the fact remained that Nina was really light.

She was really just like a feather, as she must have barely weighted anything.

Could it be that all children are like that, and I was simply worrying over nothing here?

「If you are going to eat well, you are sure to grow big and strong.」

「Well, that’s…… Umm…… Y-Yeah. I will.」

For some reason, Nina’s expression turned really troubled the moment I said that to her.

「Well now, this won’t do, Master Rein. This won’t do at all.」

「H-Huh? Could it be that I said or did something wrong here?」

「No, you don’t really have to worry about that. But here’s advice for the future, Master Rein. You don’t just go and tell a girl to grow up, under no circumstances. The girls who worry about it will worry about it even more as a result. Or rather, any girl out there would start to become self-conscious if you were to say something like that to them.

「Ah, so that’s it, huh?」

She must have meant weight here, right?

As for me, I wanted for Nina to grow up healthy and strong, but……

I did not know that Nina would take that as a remark about her weight and would become self-conscious about it.

「I’m really sorry, Nina. But you know, I didn’t mean it like that. I just wanted you to eat a lot more and be even more healthy than you are now……」

「Uhm, yeah…… It’s okay, I understand. I know that you meant…… and it makes me happy, Rein……」

「I see, thank you.」

「Hmm, yeah, yeah. This is what Nina is all about. She’s just so cute, even when she’s so flustered or is having problems with voicing her feelings out loud.」

「Ehehe…… It feels nice…… to be praised…… like that……」.

Being praised like that, Nina was obviously embarrassed.

「But…… Are you really sure that I…… am not too heavy? Are you really okay?」

「Yes, I am sure. So don’t worry about it, really.」

「T-That’s good to hear……」

「If anything, I would say that Tina is probably way heavier than you are.」

「That’s mean!? Why am I suddenly the one who is being targeted like that!?」

「I’m sorry. It just kind of slipped from my mouth.」

「Goodness gracious. If anyone else were to say that to me, I would be suing them for sexual harassment right away! So you’re in luck, Master Rein!」

「Yeah, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. To make it up to you, I shall listen to whatever request you might have for me later on.」

「Hoo, hoo~? That’s great to hear. What can I have you do for me, hmm?　Hey, Nina. What do you think would be a good request here?」

「Umm…… Patting on the head?」

「Why are you asking Nina for opinion?」

「Fufun! Because myself and Nina are a match made in Heaven, obviously! So it should be obvious that my wish is also Nina’s wish!」

「But that’s only because you keep riding on top of Nina’s head, right?」

We kept on rambling and talking so much that it was hard to believe we were in the middle of a Promotion Exam.

Considering that this was an endurance race, it would be better not to waste our energy needlessly, but……

But I guess that we still had room here for at least a little bit of leeway.

So far, I would estimate that I have consumed about ten percent of my energy and stamina?

So even if worse would come to worst, I could always use my “Boost” to strengthen my physical abilities and keep on running.

And besides………

It was more empowering to talk to my comrades like this, instead of worrying about my performance.

It was way more fun to run with others than to run alone.

I was able to naturally relax and run with a more relaxed mind thanks to that.

I could run at a calmer pace and I did not have to waste nearly as much energy.

「Well then, let’s give it our best, shall we?」

「Hang in there, Master Rein! We are right alongside you!」

「Good… luck, okay? I’m rooting…… for you……」

「Yeah!」

With the two of them cheering me on, I felt like I would be able to run as much as I wanted right now.

I regained my spirits and increased my running speed a little bit.

***

The examiner, who was running at the back of the pack of Adventurers, would increase the speed of his run little by little.

Just like that, he was able to overtake yet another person.

「That makes eight people disqualified, huh?」

It’s been about an hour since the test started.

Up until now he has been running at a fairly reasonable pace, but there were still about ten people who managed to fail the test early on.

However, it was still a better result from the last year’s exam, where about right now the number of disqualified people would amount to at least twenty if not more.

This was really promising. Apparently they would have a good addition of possible A Rank Adventurers in their midst.

…… Or not.

More than an especially good batch of Adventurers this year, there was a group that was clearly abnormal when compared to the rest of their peers.

「Nyaaaaaahhhhhh!? I’m not going to let you overtake me that easily!!!」

「Fufun! Don’t you even think, not even for a second, that I’m going to give you a fighting chance!」

He saw a pair of Adventurers running right next to him, and doing so at a tremendously fast pace.

So that would mean that those two actually managed to lap the examiner here.

But that was not the only abnormal situation that was happening right now.

Looking ahead, there was a young man with a fox-eared little girl riding on his back, and that young man was going forward at a steady pace while chatting and laughing with the little girl.

Thinking that the young man should take this test more seriously, the examiner increased his pace, but strangely enough……

For some reason, he did not seem to be able to catch up to that young man and little girl.

The moment he would increase his speed, that young man would do the same, increasing his pace as well.

When the examiner would try to catch up to them, they would simply give him the slip without even the slightest trouble.

Moreover, they could easily do such a thing like chatting and laughing while getting away from him.

Just what is the deal with this year’s A Rank candidates……?