The beast tamer exiled from the hero’s party and the cat eared girl from the strongest race meet

Chapter 255 Fateful Day

(TL:By Rafael,valhallatls.blogspot.com)

The next day... I parted ways with Lady Sarya and made various preparations.

Then, I left the capital and headed back to the "Wedge of the Earth."

It's a ruin located away from the capital, once used as a fortress.

It was used as the venue for the A-Rank adventurer test...

And it's the place where Arius separated me from my important comrades using his scheme.

It's a place with many memories for me now.

"As expected, the security is tight."

I stopped about 500 meters from the ruins, hiding behind a rock. I only exposed my face to check ahead.

Knights were deployed at regular intervals around the ruins, in pairs.

The distance between them is roughly about 100 meters.

There are no major obstructions around, and visibility is excellent.

They can see each other, so if something happens, they'll know immediately.

"The above-ground security is tight, it seems."

Then, what about underground?

I thought about it when I explored the ruins during the test...

That ruin is quite extensive.

It spreads underground like an ant's nest, with passages branching out in different directions.

What if I can find the entrance?

"Alright... Hey, would you come over here?"

I made a temporary contract with a lizard walking nearby.

This lizard is called the "Thin-Legged Lizard" and has the characteristic of digging holes in the ground to make its nest.

"Good, you're a good one. I'm sorry to bother you, but please listen to my request."

The lizard chirped softly and called its companions.

Lizards gathered in a row.

Fortunately, the lizard I made a temporary contract with seemed to be the leader, and the other lizards moved as I wished without doing anything.

They scattered around and started digging holes.

I repeated this modest work for a while...

A Thin-Legged Lizard chirped, signaling the leader.

"It looks like they found it successfully. Thank you."

I released the temporary contract.

I gave the lizard some dried meat as a reward and moved to the point where the lizard chirped.

The Thin-Legged Lizard dug a hole in the ground, and it was relatively deep, about five meters.

To protect themselves from predators, they put extra effort into building their nests.

However, the Thin-Legged Lizard in one particular spot only dug a shallow hole and quickly returned.

That's exactly what I was looking for.

"It's here...!"

Expanding the hole dug by the Thin-Legged Lizard, I soon hit a wall.

It was clearly a man-made object.

But it was quite deteriorated.

It was the ceiling of the passages of the ruins that stretched in different directions.

To find this, I had lizards dig many holes.

"This... This is quite tough!"

I kicked the ceiling.

It had been used as a fortress in the past, so it was certainly sturdy.

But after kicking it with all my might multiple times, cracks eventually appeared...

A hole opened in the ceiling, and debris fell.

I waited in that position.

If the ruins were also monitored, someone might come because of the noise I made...

"It seems fine."

I waited for a while, but I didn't hear any footsteps, and there was no sign of people.

I entered the ruins through the hole in the ceiling.

"Material Creation. Fireball."

I created a makeshift torch and lit it with a low-power magic.

Fortunately, it was a familiar place.

I passed through during the test.

I just needed to retrace my steps in reverse from my memory.

"Kanade, Tania, Sora, Luna, Nina, Tina... Wait for me, I'm coming to rescue you!"

――――――――――

Sure enough, the ruins were not completely empty, and as I approached the entrance, I could sporadically see the figures of knights.

The reason why knights were not deployed throughout the entire area to the end of the ruins was likely due to a shortage of manpower.

Or perhaps Arios couldn't control many knights with his power...

In any case, there were only a few knights deployed within the ruins.

I tamed a rat to act as my eyes and proceeded along the path, outsmarting the knights.

Before long, I reached a path leading to the surface.

I cautiously observed the area.

I saw several large tents.

The row of tents connected in the back was probably the knights' waiting area.

Is Arios and his group also there?

When I moved my gaze further, I saw five tents where multiple knights were stationed, giving off an atmosphere more like surveillance than security.

"That's it."

The tent where everyone was likely being held.

There seemed to be one missing, but...

Perhaps Tina is not of the strongest breed, and her compact size might have led her to be held with someone else.

"This is tough... What should I do?"

It would have been better if everyone were gathered in one place, but...

It's difficult to rescue them when they're scattered.

Even if I rescue one person, the others might be taken hostage.

Was that the reason for their placement?

"Rescuing everyone simultaneously is difficult... but now that I've infiltrated this far, I have to move forward."

――――――――――

Arios went to the ruins and took direct command at the scene.

The transportation of Kanade and the others is complete, and preparations for the execution are in place.

With a signal, the execution can be carried out in five minutes.

All that's left is to wait for Rain to appear.

He returned to the tent and took a break for now.

"This time... Rain, I will...!"

Arios imagined the moment he cornered Rain and grinned wickedly.

It was a malicious smile that didn't befit a hero.

"Arios-sama."

"Monica... Is something the matter?"

It seemed that Arios' tone towards Monica was somewhat gentle.

He must have placed some trust in her to a certain extent.

"We've caught our prey."

"What...? I haven't received such a report... Are you sure?"

"There's a hole in part of the ruins. It wasn't there until recently. I think someone has infiltrated from there and is already within our midst."

"Those useless lot."

Arios scolded the knights who couldn't find Rain.

But it was inevitable.

Rain had contracted with various animals, maximizing their effects, making him equivalent to a stealthy profession, an Assassin, or even more, securing superior stealth.

For knights like Monica, it might be possible, but for ordinary knights, it was extremely difficult to detect Rain's presence or traces.

"However, the ultimate species are still in our hands. We hold the trump card."

"I see. Then... execute the punishment immediately. Inform everyone of this."

"Immediately, you say?"

"Rain is skilled in sly schemes. If we leave him alone, we don't know what he might do. We can't afford to let him take the initiative. Let's act first."

Arios equipped his sword and prepared his gear.

"If we attempt to execute the ultimate species, Rain should come out. H0e's a fool. Catch him then and there."

"Understood. In that case..."

Monica bowed her head to Arios.

Therefore, Arios couldn't see Monica's expression.

Monica... was smiling.

TL Note- Monica :1 , Arios: 0.

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