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Beast Tamer Who Got Kicked Out From the Hero’s Party Chapter 248 Part 2

CHAPTER 248: THE WHEREABOUTS OF THE MAGIC TOOL PART 2

「Once again, thank you very much for all of your help. With you helping me out, I am sure that we are going to handle this case no matter what comes our way.」

「Are you sure that’s all the information that you want? …… We can still help you out a bit more, you know?」

「Yes, I know. And I appreciate the offer, but you have already done more than enough for me. Besides, it would put both of you in jeopardy if they found out that you were helping me all along.」

「You dumbass…… Now it’s time for you to worry more about yourself than you would worry about us.」

Axe looked pretty annoyed with me right now, but he said nothing more to me regarding that subject.

「Just be sure to give us a shout if you need us for anything. We would be more than happy to help you out.」

「Thanks. Maybe I will. If that time comes, I will be counting on you two.」

I smiled with gratitude at Axe and Cell……

And then I just walked out of there.

***

Axe and Cell, who were left in the room, looked at one another really subtly.

「That guy, for someone who is supposed to be pretty backed into a corner, he surely doesn’t seem to require our cooperation all that much, huh…… I wonder if he’s going to be okay on his own like that?」

「Well, of course he’s not going to be fine on his own. For you see, in situations like that you really need the help and comfort of others to go through tough times, even if the others can only offer you some words of kindness.」

「But if that’s the case, then why……!?」

「He most probably did not want us to get involved. For our sake, don’t you think?」

「……………」

「Now that we know what’s going on here, we cannot say that we can stay out of trouble. So…… Let’s just proceed forward while watching our steps closely, alright? That’s the best thing that we can possibly do right now.」

「But still, you know, it’s not that……」

「Yes, I know. I know that you’re still not convinced, and neither am I. So let’s just do what we want for the time being. After all, Rein has no right to stop us from doing what we want, right?」

「Alright! That’s my Cell for you! I knew you’d say that!」

「And since when did I happen to become “yours”, huh?」

「Gubeah!?」

As per their usual antics, Axe was then smacked across the head by Cell in a merciless fashion.

***

Since we had very little time to spare, we decided to proceed right away with our preparations for seizing the magic tool from Arios’s hands.

From time to time, we consulted with Thalia-sama and asked her to share her wisdom with us, which proved to be really invaluable more than once.

Thalia-sama was in the position of the Royal Princess, of course.

As a person standing above the rest of the common folk, she was well versed in the information about the Knights’ Order.

She had plans drawn up from scratch, and had a floor plan of the Knights’ Order’s headquarters drawn up.

Hidden passageways and pathways that were no longer in use were also described on the maps that she provided us with.

She had made all of this up from scratch, so she must have had a ridiculously good memory.

Other than that, I made all the other preparations I could think of……

And then the day finally arrived.

***

「Rain-san, please be careful out there…… In case of an emergency, just give up on the magic tool and put yourself first.」

「Yes, I understand.」

I gave a firm nod to Thalia-sama as she came to see me off.

Then, for some reason, she smiles at me brightly.

「Good grief…… You are so easy to understand, Rein-san. That was obviously a lie, wasn’t it?」

「Well, that’s……」

「For the sake of Kanade-san and the rest of your friends, a little recklessness is surely inevitable…… That’s the look you have in your eyes right now.」

「…… Am I really this easy to read?」

「Yes, very much so.」

Oh dear me.

I didn’t want to cause her unnecessary worry, but it seems that Thalia-sama had seen it all coming.

「Promise me that you shall come back safely.」

「Is that an order for a princess?」

「No, it is not. I am simply asking you to promise me that.」

「Well, alright. I will do my best to keep myself safe as best as I possibly can.」

「Yes, and I’m counting on it, you know? After all, Rein-san is an integral part of this country’s very future right now…… No. I should say that I consider you to be an indispensable person for the world itself. Please don’t let me see such a person disappear in a place like this…… Don’t let me see such a tragic end to your story, okay?」

There was no need for her to be so dramatic about it, but……

But I could tell that Thalia-sama was seriously worried about me.

So I nodded my head and showed her a firm resolve before I turned around and ran out into the city.

Just like the day before yesterday, I made a temporary contract with the wild birds and wild dogs to explore my surroundings for me.

Unlike before, it was noon now, so I couldn’t let my guard down for a moment.

There are so many people out here on the streets, it was really hard to just find the way towards the Knights’ Order’s headquarters.

But even so, I managed to reach the back of the Knights’ Order’s headquarters without being found by anyone.

After petting the head of a wild bird and a wild dog respectively and canceling their temporary contracts, I entered the building through the back door.

This place was a kind of a storage room.

All of the currently unused items were crammed in here, and that’s why it wasn’t even properly locked.

There was no way to get around this place naturally, but…… If there is no road, then that means I just needed to make one myself!

「Show me the way.」

I made a temporary contract with the rat and asked it to examine the room for me.

The rat, with its keen senses, moved to the edge of the room and disappeared into a small hole at the back.

The walls in here must have been thin from years of age.

Carefully peeling back the wall so as not to make a sound……

A path appeared in front of me that led deeper into the Knights’ Order’s headquarters.

「Just stick with me a little longer, please.」

Asking a rat for some more guidance, I proceeded down a narrow passage.

The passageway seemed to have been disused due to repeated renovations, so it was full of dust and dirt.

I wrapped a handkerchief around my mouth, so that I would not cough by accident and announce my presence to whoever would be around at the time.

Dust would get in my eyes and tears began to well up in my eyes, but other than that, I was able to remain undetected.

The rat led me to the back of some room and……

Soon, I heard people’s voices.

「…… See, isn’t that just what I promised you? Just as I said, I’m lending you my magic tool for inspection. But since this is an important piece of evidence, I want you to be very careful with handling it, okay?」

What I heard just now was Arios’ voice.