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

Chapter 423: Just one more step...

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

Thanks to Nina, the spatial distortion that had been overflowing with monsters was successfully sealed.

With that accomplished, the rest was simple.

Working together with the Phoenix Tribe, we protected the non-combatants while driving off the invading monsters.

Monsters are only troublesome because they appear endlessly, without pause…

Once reinforcements are cut off, a mere horde of monsters isn’t much of a threat.

In about thirty minutes, we finished clearing out the monsters.

Afterward, under Elfin-san’s command, we treated the injured and reinforced the door leading to the fourth layer, just in case. This took around two hours.

And then… it was time to address the final issue.

"Now then..."

The main members gathered in Elfin-san’s room, where she served as leader.

Amidst the group, Elfin-san glared coldly at Lin and Monica, who were restrained.

Lin flinched under the weight of her piercing gaze.

Even Sakura and Finia, who were tasked with guarding the two, trembled slightly, though the anger wasn’t directed at them. Elfin-san’s sheer presence was terrifying.

But still…

"…"

Despite being completely cornered, Monica showed little change in her demeanor.

She neither looked panicked nor exuded any particular sense of calm or composure.

Was this all within her calculations?

Or was she simply concealing her distress?

It was hard to tell, and I wasn’t sure how to proceed.

"This entire incident… was caused by these two humans, correct?"

"Yes, that’s correct. They had a bit of a grudge against me, and either came to sabotage me or to target the strongest races, like the Wolf Fang Tribe and the Phoenix Tribe. Their exact intentions are unclear, but it’s obvious they acted with malicious intent."

"Hey! Don’t just make stuff up! That’s way too harsh—don’t say things like that! We’re comrades, aren’t we? It was just a little… misunderstanding, that’s all!"

"My comrades are Kanade and the others. You’re not one of them, Lin."

"You—!"

Lin tried to talk her way out of it, but I wasn’t so foolish as to be swayed by such weak excuses.

I shot her down, and she bit her lip in frustration.

Elfin-san addressed me.

"What do you think we should do?"

"There’s a lot I want to ask them. Not just about this incident, but about what they’ve been doing until now. About Kagune, and about Arios, too. There’s a lot that needs to be clarified. Let’s get it all out of them."

"Agreed. First, we interrogate them. Once we’ve extracted all the information, we burn them."

"…"

It was an extreme suggestion, but I didn’t feel like objecting.

They’d done as they pleased for far too long.

I was probably unaware of most of it, but I had no doubt they’d committed some truly heinous acts.

And… most likely, it was Lin who had hurt Iris.

There was no way I could forgive that.

I had no intention of sparing Lin. She brought this upon herself.

Frankly, I didn’t care what happened to her.

"W-Wait… you’re not serious…!?"

Lin, sensing my quiet anger and Elfin-san’s icy killing intent, panicked.

"I-I didn’t mean to do anything bad! It’s not my fault, really! I didn’t want to banish Rain, you know!? Arios and Aggas and Mina pressured me so much I couldn’t resist—it wasn’t my idea!"

"…"

"And even after that, it wasn’t what I wanted! Things just… turned out that way! I don’t even know why it ended up like that! It’s not my fault!"

I hadn’t expected such a pathetic excuse to come out of her mouth.

Of course, I wasn’t about to believe it. Not even a little.

It didn’t make me angry, though.

What I felt was a mixture of fatigue and disappointment.

Even if her title had been stripped, she had once been part of the hero’s party, a position of unmatched honor.

You’d expect her to have some pride or dignity befitting that role.

But instead, Lin shamelessly spewed lies and excuses, utterly lacking self-awareness.

It seemed hopeless to expect her to take responsibility.

She hadn’t changed at all.

"What a vile human… Perhaps I should just burn her now?"

Elfin-san’s disgust was evident as she voiced the suggestion.

Lin squealed in terror and trembled violently.

She tried to free herself from her bonds, but the restraints wouldn’t yield to mere struggling.

The Phoenix Tribe had crafted them, and they weren’t something an ordinary human like Lin could overcome.

Especially not without her equipment, which had already been confiscated.

"N-No way… I can’t… not here… I still have so much fun to have ahead of me… Monica, help me! You can do something, right? Please!"

"…"

"Say something! Don’t just stand there in silence—answer me! Monica! Hey!"

Lin flailed her bound body and shoved Monica’s shoulder, demanding a response.

At that moment, Monica collapsed.

She fell—and her body dissolved into mist, vanishing entirely.

"H-Huh?"

Lin’s eyes widened in shock at the sudden turn of events.

Neither she nor we could immediately grasp what had happened, leaving us all momentarily stunned.

“Could it be…”

After a few moments, I regained my composure and thought of a possibility.

“Monica… created an illusion of herself and used it as a decoy?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I don’t know the exact mechanics, but Monica can create illusions and control them freely. We thought we had captured her, but it was probably just one of her illusions.”

“How troublesome. Is there a chance this woman is also an illusion?”

“Fufu. Don’t worry, the Lin standing there is the real one.”

“!?”

A voice echoed from somewhere unseen.

“That voice… Monica!?”

“Yes. I came to check on how things were progressing here, and it seems I’ve arrived at just the right time.”

Somehow, Monica had appeared in the corner of the room.

Kanade and the others immediately raised their guard, and the Phoenix Tribe members followed suit.

However, Elfin-san didn’t issue an attack order, likely staying cautious of Monica’s sudden appearance.

“Monica! When did you escape!? Leaving me behind as bait—how could you!?”

“I never intended to use you as bait. It’s just that there wasn’t much I could do here, so I decided to focus on my task, and you focused on yours. We simply divided our roles, Lin-san.”

“Ugh… gghh… ugh! Anyway, just help me already! Get me out of this!”

“I’m sorry, but at this point, the game is over for you. I have a teleportation artifact, so I’ll be fine, but unfortunately, I don’t have one for you.”

“W-What are you saying!? Are you abandoning me? We’re comrades, aren’t we!?”

“Of course we’re comrades. That’s why I’ve come to help you one last time.”

“Help…?”

“To be honest, I didn’t expect things to escalate to this point. Ideally, I wanted to pit the two strongest races against each other and cause mutual destruction. At worst, I aimed to prevent Rain-san and the Phoenix Tribe from reconciling. But none of that worked out, and things have turned out rather poorly. So, I’ve decided to play my final card. And that card… is you, Lin.”

“Stop messing around! What do you expect me to do in this state!? I can’t move, and I can’t use magic! How am I supposed to help!?”

“Don’t worry. I’ve already retrieved your equipment.”

Monica revealed a glass-like staff that she had hidden behind her back.

“Even so, what do you expect me to do with this!? I can’t move, and having the Rainbow Crystal staff is useless in this condition!”

“Don’t worry. I’ll support you… like this.”

Monica smiled softly as she began to vanish.

A teleportation artifact?

In a panic, I searched for her, realizing she had reappeared right beside Lin.

I tried to act quickly and restrain her—

But Monica moved faster.

“Now, Lin-san. Show us your power.”

With those words, Monica plunged the glass staff into Lin’s chest.

TL Note- Monster Lin?

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