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

Chapter 406: Hunting

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

With a flock of Hidori in tow, I explored the surroundings a little.

I found it!

The dungeon... I found the village of the Phoenix Tribe.

Thank goodness.

There was a possibility that I had been transported ridiculously far away, but that didn’t seem to be the case. Surprisingly, I was quite close.

It’s probably about an hour’s walk.

If that’s the case, I can return right away.

Huh?

Just as I was about to release the assimilation, I saw members of the Phoenix Tribe.

One, two, three... They kept appearing one after another.

Groups of three spread out around the area.

The way they moved resembled hunters on a hunt...

No.

They’re probably actually hunting.

And their target is... most likely... me.

――――――――――

“Ah... W-welcome back.”

When I canceled the assimilation and returned, Finia greeted me.

Her eyes were filled with hope, as if expecting I had discovered something.

“...I found the village of the Phoenix Tribe. It’s about an hour’s walk south of here.”

“R-really!? That’s great... So we weren’t teleported to some weird place after all.”

Finia looked relieved and happy to have found the way back.

But I couldn’t share her relief.

Returning to the Phoenix Tribe’s village like this wouldn’t exactly result in a warm welcome.

Most likely... from their perspective, I’m a heinous villain who used Lin to kidnap Finia.

There’s no way they’d listen to my plea, and judging from what I saw earlier, they’d likely attack me on sight.

Damn it.

Thanks to Lin and Monica messing around, everything’s in shambles.

I have to find a way to fix this, but I can’t think of any solutions.

“U-um... I-is something wrong?”

“Oh?”

Finia and Sakura looked at me with concern.

It seemed my frustration was showing on my face.

“Ah... well...”

There was no point in hiding it.

I straightforwardly told them about the scene I had just witnessed.

“T-that can’t be... Everyone is after you, Rain?”

Finia’s face turned pale.

Still, the fact that she reacted this way... Could she be worried about me, even just a little?

Even in a situation like this, that thought made me happy.

“Uh, uh... W-we’ll explain it’s a misunderstanding! I’ll try my best to explain!”

“I doubt it’ll work. I don’t think they’re in the mood to listen to reason.”

I recalled the Phoenix Tribe members, brimming with bloodlust, as they hunted.

Even if Finia were to stand in front of them, I doubted they would listen.

At best, they’d forcibly detain her.

“T-then... we could accuse the humans of being the culprits or something...”

“Unfortunately, there’s no way to prove that.”

The Phoenix Tribe probably thinks Lin and I are in cahoots.

There’s no evidence to deny that claim.

Besides, knowing Lin’s nasty personality, if I took her in front of the Phoenix Tribe, she’d seize the chance to make it seem like we were allies just to trap me.

Although I’ve restrained her to stop her from causing more trouble... it’s not enough to prove my innocence.

If only there were a way to bring her inner thoughts out into the open.

If Sora and Luna were here, they might be able to make that happen.

But they need to stay behind to continue treating Iris.

Wishing for what isn’t possible won’t help, so I have to think of another way to break through this situation.

“...”

I suddenly noticed Finia looking unusually serious.

She seemed to be deep in thought, muttering quietly to herself.

“Finia?”

“...”

“Um... hello, Finia?”

“Ah! Eek!”

Finia jumped in surprise.

I must have startled her—my bad.

“What’s wrong?”

“Um, well...”

Her eyes wavered nervously.

Did she have something she wanted to say?

If so, I decided to wait patiently without rushing her.

You can’t push someone like her. It’s important to let her find her own words in her own time.

“...Um!”

After a short while, Finia seemed to have made up her mind. She looked straight at me with resolve.

“P-please leave it to me!”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“I’ll... um, I’ll try to persuade my mother!”

That was an option I had considered.

If we could convince Elfin, the village leader, this whole ordeal might come to an end.

But... as much as I hate to say it, could Finia really pull that off?

Her personality didn’t seem suited for such a task.

Sensing my doubts, Finia desperately added to her explanation.

“I-I know it must be super w-worrying to rely on someone like me... but I-I’ll do my best!”

“...Why are you so determined?”

“Because... this is wrong.”

Finia’s face turned somber.

She lowered her gaze and gripped her clothes tightly.

“My mother and everyone in the village... they’re usually so kind. But now they’re scary... Hunting people... that’s just wrong. It has to stop. It has to.”

“...I see.”

I couldn’t help but smile as I reached out and gently patted Finia on the head.

“Eek!?”

“Finia, you’re a kind person.”

“Huh...? Me... kind?”

TL Note- Finia the Kind.......

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