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Beast Tamer Who Got Kicked Out From the Hero’s Party Chapter 33

CHAPTER 33: HOSTAGE

「You see…… Sora has a sister.」

Sora slowly opened her mouth and spoke up.

「She is actually my twin sister. She has a totally different personality than Sora has, but despite that we are very close with one another. She’s a very important person to me. My dear twin sister.」

「Nyah, so, you have a younger sister, hm?」

「Then maybe we should say hello to her as well. Isn’t your sister around? Why she’s not by your side?」

「……………」

Sora’s expression turned really sour here.

She looked like she was going to start crying at any moment now.

「My sister…… She’s not here at the moment. She is being held hostage. By the demon further down into the forest.」

「The demon……?」

「…… There are several paths that lead to the Spirit Tribe’s village, not only in this lost forest, but also in other parts of the world. Sora was…… alongside my sister Luna, we were tasked with guarding the path leading through the Lost Forest. To put it bluntly, it was a boring job, but it was also a fun one, day after day doing fun things, because Luna was with me at all times. Sometimes we would play in the forest, and those were really happy days.」

「You two must be really close, huh?」

「Yes, she’s my dear younger sister, after all. But one day a demon appeared in front of us. One that claimed that he was affiliated with the Demon Lord’s army.」

Apparently, Sora was thinking about those days right now.

The conflicting emotions of anger and fear came to her face all at once, mixing together.

「Naturally, Sora and the other Spirit Tribe members tried to fight back. However, no matter how hard we tried, we could never do anything to defeat the demon. …… And in the end, because we were unable to defeat it, Luna was captured as a result.」

「The kind of opponent that even the Spirit Tribe had troubles with……? What’s the name of that demon?」

「It was a Shadow Knight.」

「Hmm, I see…… Yeah, that’s a really bad matchup for Spirit Tribe.」

「Say, say? What are you talking about?」

Kanade asked, and we could almost see the question marks popping out above her head and floating there for the time being.

「The Shadow Knight is a C-rank monster, and sometimes even the top-tier Adventurers would have much trouble with it. However, it’s not because it is so powerful or anything like that. It’s just because of the certain ability that it has. As an individual, Shadow Knight possesses the rare special ability to completely nullify magic. The Spirit Tribe, on the other hand, is a race that specializes in the use of magic exclusively. So it’s the worst matchup imaginable for them.

「Nyaahn…… So, the Shadow Knight is the natural enemy of the Spirit Tribe? Is that it?」

「The Shadow Knight told me that if I wanted to save Luna, I had to break the wards on the entire forest. The Shadow Knight’s goal is to destroy the Ultimate Species that opposed the demons for so long. Naturally, such a demand was unacceptable. I rebuffed the demand and tried to save Luna on my own. But……」

「You were unable to do so?」

「Yes, that’s right. My companions did not even try to help me, either. The Chief couldn’t afford to put any more people in danger, you see. Fortunately, as long as they are inside the area protected by the wards, they will be safe. But that also means that they have more or less given up on Luna……」

Sora clenched her fists.

Her clenched fists then trembled slightly.

「What the hell is this!? That’s downright terrible!」

「Nyah…… I’ve heard that the Spirit Tribe has an overly rational side to it…… but that’s just too much! No matter how you look at it……」

「I want to save Luna, no matter what! But at the same time I can’t risk my friends getting hurt. I know what they are saying. If you ask me which one I should value more, my sister’s life or the lives of all the members of the Spirit Tribe, the choice is more than obvious here. But still…… Sora cannot accept that. Which should Sora choose, her sister or her companions? Sora had a choice to make. But Sora didn’t know which one to choose……… She wanted to choose Luna, but that would be equal to betraying her friends…… or so she thought. And if she chooses to protect her friends, she can’t protect Luna…….. Kuh.」

「Alright. I think that I understand the situation.」

「Ah……」

I then gently stroked Sora’s hair.

In a gentle and considerate manner.

Repeatedly.

「Seems like you really had it rough.」

「…… Rein……」

「Suddenly being attacked by your natural enemy…… Your sister being taken away from you…… Being stuck all alone in here…… It must have been really hard for you.」

「Uugh…… Aaahh……」

「But you see, everything is going to be okay now. We are going to make sure that all of your problems are taken care of. So you don’t have to do anything.」

「Hyih, high…… Eguuh, uuhh…… Uuuaaahhh!!」

Apparently, all the things and feelings that Sora had been bottling up overflowed all at once. All the things I’ve been holding back came pouring out at once…

The only thing that could be heard here right now was the sound of Sora’s weeping.

***

「…… I guess I showed you a pretty disgraceful side of me.」

After a while, Sora managed to regain her composure.

However, her eyes were still red from all the tears she had shed.

It was the demon’s fault for making Sora look like this.

When I thought that, I felt a surge of anger rising inside of me.

「Please, don’t worry about it. In a situation like this, it’s better to just let out what’s been pent up, once and for all.」

「…… Yes, I actually feel like a huge load has been lifted off of my chest all of a sudden.」

Sora then laughed ever so slightly.

「I knew it. You look a whole lot better when you are smiling, Sora.」

「…… Huh?」

「You look a whole lot cuter that way.」

「…… I-Is that so?」

「Nyauh…… Rein…… He really is a ladykiller, isn’t he?」

「And you never actually told me that I look cute or anything like that……」

For some reason, the way they both looked at me hurt just a little bit.

「So, about what we want to do from now on……」

「There is one thing that I would like to request from you.」

Sora stared at me as she said that.

It was a really clingy gaze.

「Even though I was so hostile to you all when we first met, now you are offering your help to me and want nothing in return for it…… Sora really is shameless for asking for your help like that. I am the actual worst. But still…… I don’t know what else I could do…… or to whom I should turn for help…… So please, help me save Luna…… Save Sora and the other Spirit Tribe people……」

「You can count on us.」

「Ah……」

「I promise you. We are definitely going to save your sister. We are going to defeat the Shadow Knight. And we won’t let the Spirit Tribe people risk their lives. So there you have it. Everything that you could possibly want, we are going to grant it to you.」

「Nyaah, Rein is so greedy today~.」

「But that’s how we do things, right? And we wouldn’t have it any other way.」

「Are you really sure…… that’s it’s okay? I mean…… Sora tried to hurt you all not so long ago…… And yet……」

「Yes, I’m sure of it. And I don’t mind at all. First of all, that wasn’t Sora’s original intention, I am sure of it now. I think I know that much.」

「…… Rein……」

「I suppose that you guys agree with me on this, right?」

「Yes, of course!　I’ll punish any demon that messes with Sora! You can count on that!」

「I guess that we could have seen this one coming. I’m not going to disagree with you now, that’s for sure.」

「Okay, so that’s that, then.」

Once again, tears welled up in Sora’s eyes.

As if to hide them, Sora lowered her head in embarrassment.

「Thank you……. Thank you so much……」

「You don’t have to thank us just yet.」

「I know, but…… I just really wanted to say it here…… Thank you so very much……」

***

Once Sora managed to pull herself together once more, she moved to the large tree that was the keystone of all the wards around the forest.

「Do you have any idea what kind of situation your sister might be in for now?」

「I’m sorry…… Shadow Knight only orders me around one-sidedly, so I have no idea how Luna is treated, or is she even safe for that matter.」

「Nyah, now I’m actually starting to worry……」

「I don’t mean to make you feel even more uneasy than you already feel, but…… How can you even know that your sister is alive and well?」

「T-This is……」

Sora’s expression turned dark.

「He used to let me hear Luna’s voice just to reassure me that she’s alive…… But lately he hasn’t been doing that and he’s been ignoring my please to at least let me hear her……」

「So this means that we have to hurry with the rescue operation.」

A demon wouldn’t care about a hostage’s well-being.

Sora’s sister could be treated badly, or in the worst case scenario, her life might even be in danger.
.
I don’t even want to think what other possibilities might be the case here.

We need to get her out of there as soon as possible and send her back to Sora, where she rightfully belongs.

「Once the wards are lifted, the location of the Shadow Knight is in a straight line from here. Maybe Rein and the others will be able to get there in a few minutes’ time, if you go at full speed.」
.
「 Yeah, I’ll do my best!」

「Let’s kick the crap out of that demon who is playing around with other people’s lives!」

Looking at Kanade and Tanya who were really enthusiastic about the rescue operation, Sora said with trepidation.

「Umm…… I knew it, maybe I really should accompany you all and……」

「No, you don’t want to do that, no matter what.」

Sora bravely offered to accompany us, but I dismissed that idea almost instantly.

「Your sister is being held hostage. If the Shadow Knight even considers the idea that you might have betrayed him, he might become so agitated and this may result in him trying to hurt the hostage to get an advantage over us.」

「That’s……」

「Also, I don’t mean to sound bad, but he might use your sister as a shield to turn us and Sora against each other, and I don’t think it’s best for you to leave your post like that. Well, that can be said for us as well, but as long as we don’t know the entire situation, the enemy will have the upper hand. I don’t mean to put it this way but I think it’s easier for us to do this by moving on our own rather than having you with us.

「……………」

「I know you may be anxious, but can you wait here for the time being, Sora?　Everything is going to be okay, I promise. We’ll get your sister back, I promise.」

「…… Yes. I am going to trust you on this one.」

Sora then smiled slightly.

She gave us a bright smile, as if trying to inspire us.

「Good luck out there.」

Like that, Sora saw us off, and……

We kicked the ground and ran towards the Shadow Knight at once.