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Beast Tamer Who Got Kicked Out From the Hero’s Party Chapter 239

CHAPTER 239: A SUDDEN TURN FOR THE WORSE

The final test was completed and we moved back above the ground.

「…… Huh?」

For some reason, Kanade had a puzzled look on her face.

「Is it just me, or are we perhaps one party short?」

「Now that you mention it……」

There were eight parties, thirty people in total, who took the final test.

But right now there were only seven parties here, with twenty seven people in total.

Does that mean that one party actually failed the test?

Or did they perhaps got eliminated while on their way to the goal line?

But even if that was the case, it would be unnatural for them not to be here, since all the tests have been concluded.

「I was going to announce the results of the exam right now, but…… Could you please give me a moment?」

Cell said to us and then turned around and went off somewhere with the other examiners.

Axe, who was accompanying her right now, also had a grim look on his face.

Could it be that there was some sort of a problem? Or maybe some trouble brewing?

「Speaking of which……」

Tanya looked as if she just happened to remember something and opened her mouth.

「The party that is missing…… Aren’t they those guys who tried to stir some trouble with you before, Rein?」

「Now that you mention it……」

「What’s going on here? Oh well, since they were the way they were, I wouldn’t really feel sorry for them for having failed the exam, but still……」

「Yeah, that’s right. If we were to spend our time worrying about people like that, we would be worrying all day long!」

I could clearly sense that the girls could not possibly care less about the members of the missing party, but……

I just couldn’t help it but to get worried for some reason.

I just couldn’t shake the feeling that something really sinister was happening in the shadows here……

And once I started to get such a bad feeling, it would simply refuse to go away.

***

After finishing his work, Arios returned to the large tent that had been prepared for him and his party.

Once inside, Aggath glanced at Arios.

「I haven’t seen you for a while…… Where have you been?」

「I have got a lot of work to do to help with the exam.」

「Is that so?」

As if he’d lost interest after hearing that response, Aggath turned away from Arios.

Arios then clicked his tongue in a quiet way, so that no one could be able to hear him.

Lately, Aggath’s attitude towards him has been really annoying.

Every time something would happen, he would start asking him questions, as if he was trying to interrogate him.

What have you been doing?

Where have you been?

You weren’t the one who did that, were you?

That kind of questions.

Just who does he think he is?

Even though he was just a mere fighter, he would dare to speak so disrespectfully towards the chosen one, the Hero…… That was truly unacceptable.

「…… Aggath seemed to have outgrown his usefulness. Maybe I should get rid of him one of these days, too?」

It was true that Aggath was a formidable warrior.

But Arios didn’t need someone who would constantly go to challenge his authority.

Maybe he should simply banish him from the Party, like he did with Rein?

The specific reason doesn’t really matter.

And if he was unable to find one, he could always make one up on the spot.

「Oh well, I guess I can always deal with Aggath later.」

But more importantly, there was something else that needed to be done now.

So Arios changed his mind and moved to the table where Rin and Mina…… and Monica were sitting.

「Oh, Arios. Welcome back.」

「You have been helping the Adventurers’ Guild with their exams a whole lot, haven’t you? That’s really admirable of you.」

「What took you so long? What are you doing there?」

「Well, you know, this and that. When you are a Hero like me there’s a whole lot of things you have to do.」

「Hmm, that sounds rough.」

「Is there anything we can do to help you?」

「No, it’s alright. But first, can I borrow Monica for a minute?　There’s something I need to discuss with you.」

「Hm? If you have something that you need to talk about, why don’t we do it right here and right now?」

「It’s something important.」

「A private conversation between you two?　That’s suspicious.」

「Rin, you mustn’t let your personality lead you to suspect people on every single occasion.」

「Right, right, whatever you say.」

Arios then took Monica out of the tent.

Just to be sure that no one would eavesdrop on them, they moved further out and headed for a rather unpopulated area.

「So…… Did it work as intended?」

Monica asked in a quiet voice.

To that question, Arios responded with a smile.

「Of course, without a hitch. I mean, how could it fail?」

Arios then handed Monica a piece of jewelry about the size of his thumb.

「This should contain it all.」

「All right. Now, let us process it to make sure that there are no problems, and I will check it out just in case.」

「Please do.」

「Yes, please leave it to me. Everything is for the sake of the Hero……」

***

It was about an hour or so after the final test was completed that things started to move in a big way.

One party did not show up at the finish line.

At first it was thought that they had flunked out, but they didn’t show up even after the test was over.

Could it be that they were stuck inside the ruins because there were traps everywhere?

Apparently such speculation led to the formation of a search party.

Cell and Axe.

Those two, as well as some other examiners formed a search party and ventured into the ruins once more.

As for Arios?

He was relaxing in his tent, as if he didn’t have anything to do with it.

Then the search party searched the ruins……

And eventually, they managed to find the missing party, who was unfortunately dead.

The three died because they couldn’t get past the test……..

Although such a view was expressed at first, a cloud of doubt was cast on that assumption in the middle of the investigation.

The three bodies had cuts on them, which made them horribly mutilated.

Whether they had been attacked by a monster or caught in a trap in the ruins, there was no way that they could have been cut this badly.

Here, the possibility that someone had attacked him had emerged before long.

And the culprit for that was……

「That’s rather unfortunate for you, Rein. I can’t believe you would do something like this.」

Arios began to assist in the case before long, and after conducting his own investigation he arrived at a certain conclusion. And that conclusion has led him to issue a warrant for my arrest.