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

Chapter 355: Invisible Malice

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

After that, I wandered through the foggy town and talked with Nina, Tina, and Rifa.

All three of them were still trapped in their dreams, but they seemed to feel a sense of unease.

If there was some kind of trigger, they might be able to regain themselves.

However, finding that trigger is difficult.

What kind of words would act as a trigger?

Or perhaps, it's not words but actions.

Or maybe it needs to be something completely unexpected, something unimaginable.

We don't have enough information to make that judgment yet.

If possible, I want to wake everyone up...

But with the situation changing, we can't afford to take things too leisurely.

It has likely become clear that there is a third force different from Alpha-san.

This person seems to release monsters into the town without hesitation.

It would be dangerous to leave them alone.

So...

"Let's temporarily put Alpha-san on hold and search for the one controlling the monsters or the one involved in those activities. Honestly... Rain-sama, your leniency hasn't changed at all."

Iris said, seemingly exasperated.

To Iris, my running around for unrelated people probably seemed ridiculous.

I can't blame her for thinking that way.

"Well, how should I put it... this is just who I am."

"Wouldn't it be more efficient to ignore other things?"

"Maybe, but I don't like it."

I can't help everyone in the world who is in trouble.

I can't even say something as arrogant as helping them.

But.

If there's someone in trouble within my reach?

If there's someone I can help by taking action?

In such cases, I want to do something about it.

Otherwise, I might regret it later, thinking, "If only I had done something back then..."

I don't want that.

"Well... to put it simply, it's my self-satisfaction."

"Yes, it is self-satisfaction."

"Ugh..."

"But... heh, I don't dislike that about you, Rain-sama."

Iris smiled as if she had no choice but to go along with me.

I really think Iris has changed.

She used to show a pure smile like this before too.

But it was just a little.

Now it's different.

She often smiles innocently as if it's natural.

I don't know what kind of change in her mindset brought this about...

But the current Iris looked very beautiful.

"However, Rain-sama, how do you plan to find this third force? You were using dogs earlier, but they didn't find anything, did they?"

If it's an opponent who can escape the dogs' detection abilities, they must be quite troublesome.

It's highly likely they are using magic or some special ability to hide.

"I want to borrow your power, Iris."

"My power?"

"Can you summon a bee called Arlbee with your summoning magic?"

"A bee...? Yes, I can, but what do you plan to do with it?"

"Just watch."

"Alright..."

Though she seemed not entirely convinced, Iris cast her summoning magic as requested.

A magic circle appeared in the air, and from it, a bee emerged.

I quickly formed a temporary contract with it before it could fly away.

"Alright, done."

"What will you do with that bee? Are you going to have it search for us?"

"Half right."

The bee doesn't have the extraordinary detection abilities like the dogs...

But it can fly.

Changing from a two-dimensional search to a three-dimensional search.

With that, I thought we might discover something new.

"Please."

At my signal, the bee took off into the sky.

It moved at quite a speed and soon disappeared from sight.

"Do we just wait now?"

"No. I also want to take another measure."

――――――――――

A deserted back alley.

There, Lin and Monica were present.

They moved stealthily, trying to avoid being seen.

Though they looked suspicious no matter how you saw it, no one paid them any attention.

There was no one else around.

Because this area had not been developed, it was rarely visited by people.

The two of them, while being cautious of their surroundings, entered a certain house.

The house was so dilapidated that the word "abandoned" couldn't fully capture its state.

The walls were leaning, the windows were broken, and there were large holes in the doors.

The two of them, having moved into such a dilapidated house, let out a sigh.

They composed themselves...

Then focused their magic power into their hands.

In response to that magic power, a vortex-like thing formed in the space.

Connecting to another dimension, it formed a hole.

What overflowed from there... were monsters.

One, two, three...

The magic power was concentrated, and one after another, monsters were born.

Seeing this scene, Lin affixed a vicious smile to her lips...

"Come forth, flames of the otherworld."

Such a voice echoed.

Immediately after, with a roaring sound, the abandoned house was blown away along with the monsters.

――――――――――

Watching the collapsing ruins of the abandoned house, I felt my face twitch.

In contrast, Iris was smiling with satisfaction.

"Hey, Iris... wasn't blowing it up right away a bit too much?"

"Oh my. There's no need to be considerate towards someone who creates monsters."

"Well, you might be right, but... hmm."

I felt a bit conflicted, like I had become a villain.

"Even so... as expected of Rain-sama. To find the enemy so easily like this."

"It’s thanks to your cooperation, Iris."

The other strategy was very simple.

I cast a body-enhancing spell on Iris and had her search for presences.

Combining Arlbee’s detection...

With the information gathered by Iris’s detection, we pinpointed the enemy’s location.

It was a rough method, like searching every corner of the town...

But because Iris’s basic abilities are so high, we were able to reach the answer quite quickly without taking much time.

"Without Iris's cooperation, it would have taken more time, and we might not have found them at all."

"I won’t deny that... but it was Rain-sama who thought of such a strategy. That should be acknowledged."

"For now, let's put that aside... it's time for a confrontation."

We confirmed that the enemy was creating monsters in the abandoned house.

However, we hadn’t confirmed their detailed appearance.

Who exactly are they?

What is their purpose?

We need to find out properly.

Iris and I prepared ourselves to move at any moment.

In that state, we slowly approached the collapsed abandoned house.

The enemy is someone who uses magic to create monsters.

I doubt they were taken down by that last strike.

"......"

Even though I don’t think they were taken down, for some reason they don’t show themselves.

Could they have escaped?

No.

We’ve surrounded the area with tamed insects and animals.

If they escaped, we would have been immediately notified.

Since we haven't been notified... did they die from the last strike?

Are they buried under the rubble of the abandoned house?

I don't think it would be that anticlimactic.

That silhouette... it's familiar.

If it’s the two I know... Monica and Lin, they should still be alive and kicking.

"Hmm."

Iris took a step forward.

She extended her right hand towards the remains of the abandoned house and started to form some kind of magic circle.

It looked like she was probing for something, similar to Sora and Luna’s magic.

"I see."

"Did you find something?"

"It seems the enemy escaped. There’s a faint magic reaction. They probably used some kind of magic."

"Magic..."

The Lin I know hasn’t learned any escape magic.

However, a considerable amount of time has passed since we parted ways, and it wouldn’t be surprising if they gained new abilities.

We need to stay alert.

"Rain-sama, do you perhaps have an idea about this third force?"

"Yeah. I can't say for sure, as it could be a misleading trap... but it's probably someone from Arios's group."

TL Note- Villains are back again.....

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