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Beast Tamer Who Got Kicked Out From the Hero’s Party Chapter 89

CHAPTER 89: LET’S GO FIND THE POACHERS!

Ogg and Kreutz are veteran Adventurers who go by the nickname ‘The Blade of the Gale’.

Despite being a small party of only two people, they have accomplished numerous requests with little to no trouble, never failing one.

They have traveled to many places without settling in one place for too long.

This meant that they had accumulated a vast amount of both experience and knowledge.

Although they were Rank C, I think it was more appropriate to compare them to actual B Rank Adventurers. I honestly believe that.

Because I was sure that if they were to take the actual promotion exam, they would have easily aced it and be promoted to Rank B without much issue.

The only reason they didn’t do it is because they simply didn’t have the time to do it, not with all of their travels.

The duo of Ogg and Kreuz were, without a doubt, two Adventurers who could be called seasoned veterans for sure.

They had steadily climbed to their current position without experiencing any setbacks until now.

They understand that this is due to their own abilities and hard work.

Hence, they have a lot of pride as Adventurers.

And now a mere child, at least from their point of view, was appointed the very same C Rank, and after a mere month of accepting requests and becoming an Adventurer.

It was only natural to assume that people who have heard this story for the first time would assume that I didn’t do it on my own.

It was natural to assume that I managed to do that only because of the power that the Ultimate Species were lending me.

It was only natural to assume that I was cheating.

Yes, people would certainly think along those lines.

「That cheeky brat, it is our duty as his superiors to knock some actual sense into that thick skull of his. Before the world does that for us.」

「Yes, I agree.」

「Who does he think he is? Getting into a C Rank only a month after he first became an Adventurer? While it took us years to get to the same point? There’s no way that’s possible. I bet that he only managed that because of the power of that Ultimate Species that hung around with him.」

「We don’t want to see the increase of Adventurers like that. It’s going to be bad for the profession as a whole. People will think that the overall quality of the Adventurers started to go downhill.」

「Yeah. And that is something that I am simply not going to accept.」

「I don’t really want to pose as a bad guy here, but…… Yeah, we must give a delusional child like that a reality check. Preferably before it’s going to be too late.」

「Hahaha, the kid might just break into tears.」

「Or downright retire even.」

「Oh well, it’s something that cannot really be helped. After all, when you see the difference between a counterfeit and a genuine article, it is only natural that you are going to break down on the spot and fall into despair.」

「Shall we show them what a real Adventurer looks like?」

Ogg and Kreutz laughed genuinely, but they didn’t seem to notice at all.

Which one of their parties was more naive than the other.

***

「Alright, let’s go, Rein!　We need to catch the poachers as soon as possible!」

Kanade gingerly pulled my hand while she was dragging me away.

「Now, now, please calm down, Kanade. While it is true that we might be in a hurry, do you actually know where the poachers might be?」

「…… Ah.」

「Thought as much. You have no idea.」

「Nyah…… It’s just that…… I really don’t want those guys to win!」

「Kanade….. Could it be that you are actually a sore loser?」

「Nyaguh!?」

Nina’s words were supposed to be non-offensive, but they actually ended up stabbing Kanade where it hurt the most.

「Besides, you have a tendency to just blindly charge forward when you happen to assume something, don’t you?」

「I suggest that you try and act a little more calmly and intelligently. Like we do.」

「I know that you don’t want Luna of all people to be telling you this, but she’s kind of got a point……」

「But I’m always thinking about my actions before I make them!」

「YEAH. SURE YOU DO.」

「Why do I get a feeling that this answer was more of an insult!?」

「Alright, everyone. Please calm down for now.」

Like this, the conversation would only continue to get sidetracked more and more.

Because all of my companions have such lively personalities.

「I’m not going to let those guys beat us, either.」

「Hmph…… Rein, that’s not really all that motivating, you know?」

「I mean, honestly, I feel kind of mad that they were talking so much about us without actually knowing the first thing about us. So when the time comes to get serious, we get serious.」

「And that’s why you are so cool in the first place, Rein.」

「Hm? Did you say something?」

「N-Nothing! It was nothing, really.」

「Oh, really? Oh well, if that’s the case, then how about we get started as well?」

「Nyah? Get started? Get started how?」

「Of course, I’m talking about looking for those poachers.」

Seeing a rabbit pass us by, I made a temporary contract with it.

I asked it to bring its friends over, and I made temporary contracts with them as well. Now I had a dozen rabbits serving as my eyes and ears.

「Oh wow…… so many rabbits……」

Seeing them all, Nina had genuine twinkles in her eyes.

Could it be that she likes rabbits that much?

I mean, it’s only natural for children to love and adore small and cute things.

「Alright then, let’s go.」

At my signal, the rabbits scattered in unison in all directions.

「Nyaah…… No matter how many times I see it, it’s always a sight to behold.」

「Me too…… It’s the first time…… I saw something…… like this, so…… it was really…… surprising…..」

「If you are going to be surprised by something like this, then you are going to be genuinely shocked by what awaits you down the line.」

「Now, please don’t describe others as if they were some sort of Jack-In-the-Box……」

「But still, is it really okay to use rabbits for such an important task? I wonder if they can actually differentiate between a poacher and a normal person?」

Tanya’s question was actually a really fair one.

「The orders I gave to those rabbits are simple: ‘Find people and tell me where they are’.」

There are other people in this forest besides us, and the two Adventurers from earlier.

Some of them are bound to be just regular hunters.

The rabbits don’t have the ability to distinguish between those regular people and the poachers.

Or rather, it’s impossible to give them such complicated orders.

First of all, I don’t know what a regular poacher would look like, either.

Because of that simple fact, it would be impossible to find them.

So, we are going to make one more move in advance.

「Don’t worry. I actually took that thought into account.」

「What are you going to do?」

「Once the rabbits are going to find some people in the forest, I will remotely assimilate with them for a little while. Then I’ll be able to determine if the person they have found is a poacher or not. We’ll have to check each one of them individually, but this will be a surefire thing in the long run.」

「Ah, I see, nya.」

「But, how are you going to assimilate with the contracted animal remotely? I…… I have never even heard of something like that before, so……」

「Hm? Well, I can do this without any problems. Didn’t I tell you that?」

「No! You certainly did not!」

「Rein…… That’s actually kind of amazing……」

「Trust me, this sort of thing happens literally all the time with this guy. And it is bound to happen even more down the line. So the best thing you can actually do now is to get used to it.」

「…… Yeah.」

Guys, please. I’m standing right next to you, you know?

「Alright, we need to assume that I am going to assimilate many different rabbits in a rapid succession, so please be vigilant about our surroundings and guard my body, just in case.」

「Aye, aye, sir!」

「…… By the way, there’s something that I have been meaning to ask you.」

「Yes?」

Was there perhaps something that I have omitted in my explanation just now?

While I was wondering about that, Tanya asked me an unexpected question.

「Rein, you can assimilate with any creature that you have signed a contract with, right?」

「Yes, that’s right. What of it?」

「…… So, does that mean that you would be able to assimilate with us, too?」

「Huh?」

「Ah, now that I think about it, you might actually be able to pull it off…… I mean, it’s Rein that we are talking about, so……」

「Rein assimilating with Sora and Luna…… T-That’s kind of…… I mean……」

「…… Yeah. That’s awfully embarrassing.」

Everyone started blushing all of a sudden, as if that was implying something really strange and inappropriate.

So I quickly waved my hands as if trying to deny that.

「No, no, no, no, no! No way! There’s no way I would be able to do something like that!」

「But……」

「The only creatures who I can assimilate are small animals like rabbits, because they can’t, or rather, they do not possess a strongly defined ego of their own. And even if I could do that, how could I possibly do something like that to any of you?」

「…… Well, I guess that’s true, but……」

Tanya laughed hysterically, looking convinced.

「I mean, if he had the guts to do something like that, he surely would have done so already……」

「Nyahaha! Yes, it’s impossible for Rein! He’s way too much of a nice guy!」

Does that mean that everyone trusts me so much?

Or are they criticizing me for not having enough guts to do something really specific?

I guess that the boundary between those two things is thin and really fragile.

「W-Well, anyways. I would like you to keep your eyes peeled for anything while I will be gone. And once the rabbits react to someone, I need to assimilate with them right away.」

「Just leave it to us! No one is going to lay a finger on you while we are around! I promise you that!」

「Yeah…… so do your best!」

「Sure thing…… Oh wow. Won’t you look at that? While we were talking, I already got a response from one of the little fellas! Alright then, I leave the rest to you, guys!」

I know that I will be safe with everyone guarding me.

I sat down on a nearby rocky area and slowly closed my eyes.

「……………」

When I opened my eyes again, my gaze was fixed on the ground-threshold…… much lower than what I was used to.

It must be the perspective of a rabbit.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the pair of adventurers who we had separated from earlier.

It seems that the rabbit reacted to these two.

So, that’s a bust.

Onto the next one!

***

After several rounds of assimilation with the rabbits, I was still unable to spot the poachers.

Adventurers, hunters, merchants…… I found all sorts of people, but the all-important poachers were nowhere to be seen.

Are they not in the forest right now?

Or did I simply miss them?

When I was finally starting to become slightly impatient……

「Huh!?」

As I assimilated another rabbit, I found a group of suspicious-looking men.

The four men had bows and arrows and hunting knives in their hands.

If that was all that there was to them, it would have seemed that they were just plain and ordinary hunters……

But they were going after a Horn Wolf.

There was no doubt about it.

These were the poachers that we were looking for.