The beast tamer exiled from the hero’s party and the cat eared girl from the strongest race meet
A few more days passed...
Elfin returned to her village.
Alpha headed to Krios.
Chiffon and the others left for the royal capital.
The day had come for each of them to set off on their respective journeys.
We moved to the entrance of Kagune to see them off.
"I have no intention of getting too friendly with other humans… but well, Rain, you're an exception. If something happens, I'll lend you my strength. It might not be easy to drop by casually, but please come visit again. You will be welcome."
Elfin said this with a smile—something she hadn't shown before.
"I will live with my kin for a while. During that time, I want to find what I truly should be doing and discover my role."
Alpha left behind those words, as composed as ever.
"Rain-kun, I won’t say goodbye. Besides, I’m sure we’ll meet again. If anything happens, can I rely on your strength? Next time we meet, I’ll be even more like a true hero!"
"Thanks for everything! Also, sorry for all the trouble I caused. I’ll work hard so that won’t happen again!"
"Really, thank you! If we hadn’t met you, we would’ve stayed the way we were—completely hopeless. We’re truly grateful."
We exchanged handshakes with Chiffon and the others, using that as our farewell—for now.
And then…
Everyone set off on their own paths.
Will the day come when our paths cross again?
When that time comes, will we be able to talk about everything with smiles on our faces?
With those hopes in mind, I watched their backs as they walked away.
"Hey, Rain."
After seeing everyone off, Kanade called out to me.
"What are we going to do now?"
"Well… there are a lot of things we need to take care of."
The increasing activity of the demons.
Monica, whose actions remain unpredictable and mysterious.
And… Arios.
We’ll probably have to deal with them again.
I’d rather avoid it, but they will surely come to us.
To prepare for that, we need to gather information and train… but—
"For now, let’s head home. We’ve been away for quite a while because of all this… and besides, after everything that’s happened, we need some rest."
"I agree. I worked too hard. I want to shut myself in for a whole month."
"Luna, while I also agree that we need some rest, I won’t allow you to be a shut-in. You must get some exercise and study properly."
"I just want to take a long nap. Even I’m exhausted after all this."
"Napping… sounds nice."
"Nina, want to nap together?"
"Mmm."
"I’ll clean up. I bet our house is covered in dust by now."
"I’ll help!"
"Aww, Rifa, you’re such a good kid. Here, have a candy."
Everyone was chatting with smiles, imagining what it would be like when we got home.
Behind them, Finia seemed restless.
She kept trying to speak up but hesitated, then tried again, only to stop herself.
"A-Au…"
Her shy nature made it difficult for her to join in.
I was about to give her a little push—
But before I could, Iris moved first.
She slipped behind Finia and gently pushed her forward, just as I had been about to do.
"Hya!? I-Iris-san?"
"Don’t just stand there. Let’s join them. Come on, let’s go."
"Y-Yes!"
The two of them joined the group, and even more smiles blossomed.
I had been worried about Finia's shyness and about how things would go between her and Iris, since they had fought before…
But it turned out to be unnecessary.
They were laughing together as if they had always spent time side by side.
I was truly glad to see this scene unfold before me.
――――――――――
"So, that being said…"
After seeing off Chiffon and the others, and returning to the inn, Iris and Finia came to visit the room I was using.
"Would you please make a contract with us too?"
"W-Wait, what!?"
Iris said this with a mischievous smile, while Finia looked extremely tense, each saying their piece.
"Huh?"
"Why are you surprised? We’ve become Rain-sama’s companions, so of course, it’s only natural that we should make a contract, right?"
"Is that really how it works?"
I was so happy to have been able to help Iris, but I hadn’t really thought about what would come after that...
Maybe that’s why Iris's request was so unexpected.
"Finia, do you agree with Iris?"
"Y-Yes!"
Finia's response was a bit ambiguous, making it hard to tell if she was agreeing or not.
However, since she was shaking her head up and down vigorously, it seemed like she was agreeing.
"Umm… I get it. But I’m not sure if it will work…"
"I don’t know if it will succeed either, so please don’t be angry if we fail."
Iris spoke before I could finish my sentence.
"…As Kanade-san said, hehe, Rain-sama’s actions are easy to predict."
"Hmph."
"Rain-sama is as humble as ever, not being confident at all. I’d like it if you just said something like, 'Don’t worry, I can easily make the contract, so trust me!'"
"Even if you say that…"
"Sometimes, girls want to be led, you know? Right, Finia-san?"
"L-Led... I’m nervous..."
"Alright, alright. Anyway, I’ll do my best."
Since the conversation seemed to be drifting in an odd direction, I quickly corrected it.
It had been a while since I made a contract with two people at the same time, the last being with Sora and Luna... But I’ll do my best to make it work.
I bit my thumb and used the blood to draw a magic circle.
"My name is Rain Shroud. I make a new contract and establish a bond here. With a vow in my chest, hope in my heart, and strength in my hands. Answer me. What is your name?"
"…Iris…"
"…Finia…"
Both of them answered, and the contract was completed.
After staring at the magic circle that appeared in my hand, they both smiled brightly and said together:
"We look forward to working with you from now on."
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