3 bar menu

Beast Tamer Who Got Kicked Out From the Hero’s Party Chapter 244 Part 1

CHAPTER 244: THE MOVING CONSPIRACY PART 1

「Right this way.」

When we walked out of the Knights’ Order’s headquarters, we instantly blended ourselves into the moving crowd in an attempt at shaking off any potential pursuers……

Then, Thalia-sama led us to a small house located in one of the city’s many back alleys.

It was a small and barely even furnished house, perhaps for a single person to live in.

As for its actual size, it was barely enough of a fit for the two of us to be standing right next to each other inside of it.

As for its furnishing, there was a hard and dusty old sofa by the wall and two chairs.

Aside from that, there was nothing else in here.

For the time being, Thalia-sama sat down on the sofa.

Then I proceeded to take the handcuffs off of her wrist.

「Please excuse me.」

「Fufu, I must say, being handcuffed like that was quite a new experience for me.」

I was sure that Thalia-sama meant those words as a joke here to lessen the tension, but given our current circumstances, it was hard for me to actually laugh at that joke.

「Well then…… Could you please fill me in on the current situation, Thalia-sama?」

「Yes, of course.」

The smile disappeared from Thalia-sama’s lips in an instant and she turned completely serious.

Her expression right now was filled with some genuine concern for me.

「About a week ago…… We received news that Rein-san and your friends had been arrested on suspicion of murder of some Adventurers during the A Rank Promotion Exam. Of course, knowing full well that it was impossible for you to do something as gruesome as that, we wanted to conduct our own private investigation, but it was met with fierce opposition from Arios-sama, who said that there was no need for us to do something like that…… Arios-sama was certain that you have committed that crime, Rein-san…… Rein-sama……」

「Alright, that part I understand…… So what happened next?」

「There was something really unnatural about Arios-sama’s attitude to all of this…… It was as if he was really trying to make it look as if you were the ones that committed that crime. And since I was convinced at that time that he was hiding something from us, I decided to contact Monica.」

「Monica?」

「Oh, Monica happens to be that female knight who was recently assigned to join the Arios-sama’s Hero Party.」

「…… Oh, that person, huh? Come to think of it, there was a new person with them who I did not recognize.」

Those words made me remember that female knight.

She was a truly beautiful woman.

But it was just……

There was something strange about her eyes, something inorganic. There was also a matter that sometimes, I had a feeling that the look in those eyes of hers was strangely cold and distant.

Hence, it was only natural that she would leave a somewhat strong impression on me.

Perhaps that female knight named Monica had been assigned to the Hero’s Party so that she could keep an eye on Arios and his cronies.

As expected, when it comes to the Pagos Village incident, Arios went way too far and the crown surely had to take notice.

So Monica must have been sent to monitor Arios by the order of the King himself, who felt that something needed to be done about Arios.

When I asked Thalia-sama for confirmation in that regard, she simply nodded her head in agreement.

「Monica was originally a member of my father’s Royal Guard…… So basically, you can think of her as someone who is on our side. So she should have known about that “something” that Arios-sama might have been hiding.」

「But judging by your tone there, she is yet to uncover anything that could be called conclusive?」

「……Yes, unfortunately. Monica also seems to have her suspicions about Arios-sama, but she has no hard evidence as of yet, and said she would continue to monitor him closely for the time being.」

「Hm……?」

For some reason, there was something about Thalia-sama’s words just now that made me feel really uncomfortable.
　
The female knight named Monica…… Since she is a member of the King’s Royal Guard, then that means that she must be quite talented both as a knight and a person.

That’s probably why she has been chosen to monitor Arios’s actions in the name of the crown.

And yet, how is it possible that she did not know what was going on with Arios? She surely should have been able to sniff something out by now.

But I guess that whatever it was that Arios did there, he must have done a pretty good job in preparing it all and covering his own tracks.

Or, could it be…….? Could it be that our predictions were entirely wrong all this time and Arios was really not involved in this case in the slightest?

…… Not good. No matter how hard I try to think About it, I can’t make any sense of it all.

We don’t have nearly enough information to conjure any hypothesis.

For now, it would be best for me to simply hear the rest of Thalia-sama’s story.

「After that happened, we continued our own investigation without anyone knowing about it, but…… I’m really sorry, Rein-sama. We have not been able to find anything concrete on our end, either. However, I can assure you in the name of my royal lineage that Rein-sama and your friends have not committed any crimes. So I thought that at the very least I might try to help you in escaping prison……」

「And that basically brings us to the current point in time, hm…… Alright, I think I understand what’s going on.」

「I’m sorry, Rein-sama. I’m sorry for being such a useless member of the royal family…… Now, if only I had more power, I could have cleared your names from any suspicion on the spot, but……」

「No, please, you don’t have to beat yourself over it, Thalia-sama. I am really grateful to you for helping me escape from prison like that. Besides, I have no idea where he could have gotten it from, but Arios had some sort of video footage of me committing the murder. As long as he has that kind of evidence on him, no matter how powerful you might have been, Thalia-sama, I don’t think that you could possibly overturn the ruling.」

「It’s really nice of you to say that.」

Thalia-sama said so while giving me a soft smile.

She must have felt guilty to a certain extent here, thinking that she was useless as a member of the royal family.

But I just had to wonder……

「Why are you willing to go to such lengths for me, Thalia-sama?」

It was true that I had saved Thalia-sama’s life before, but……

That should not be the only reason for someone to go that far for someone else’s sake.

Especially that Thalia-sama was a member of the royal family, so she also had her own position and status to consider……