The beast tamer exiled from the hero’s party and the cat eared girl from the strongest race meet
A lot of things had happened...
And it turned out that I had a lot of things I needed to do as well.
That said, there’s no way we’ll instantly know the enemy’s objective or location.
We’ll have to properly gather information, analyze it, and then narrow things down from there.
Monica had done whatever she wanted up until now.
And Arios, who’s probably still with her even now.
The two of them need to take responsibility for the foolish things they’ve done.
This time, it’s our turn to strike back.
…That being said, we haven’t gathered the crucial information yet, so we can’t do anything right now.
All we can do is rest and prepare for when the time comes.
"Really, so much has happened. Everyone’s probably tired too, so we need to rest properly."
And with that, I was taking a walk around the house.
By the way, I was alone.
I could have invited someone, but unfortunately, everyone had gone off somewhere.
"Hm?"
I spotted Kanade a short distance away.
And with her… was that Sakura?
"……"
"……"
The two of them stared at each other intently,
"Meow!"
"Woof!"
They barked at each other.
"Meow?"
"Woof?"
"Meeow"
"Woofff…"
"Myaaaan!"
"Woooof!"
"Meow… huh!?"
Kanade was having a funny little exchange, but when she noticed my gaze, she jolted in surprise.
Her cheeks turned bright red with embarrassment.
"R-Rain!? When did you get here!?"
"Um… sorry?"
"Don’t apologize! You’re making me seem like a total weirdo!"
"What exactly were you doing?"
"I was talking to Sakura."
"Wait, you can understand her?"
"Not really. But, like, from the tone of her barks, I can kind of get the gist."
"Woof!"
Sakura barked enthusiastically, as if to affirm Kanade’s words.
They’d kind of done this conversation thing before too…
A cat and a dog.
Maybe they really can understand each other better than we think.
Or maybe it’s just that the two of them get along really well.
"Woof! Woof woof!"
Sakura looked at me with eyes that seemed to be asking for something.
But I could only understand that much.
Exactly what she wanted—I wasn’t sure.
"Kanade, can you tell what Sakura’s saying?"
"I think… she wants to go on a walk?"
"A walk?"
"Yeah. I think she wants to go for a walk with you, Rain."
Ah, I see.
The Fangwolf tribe has a lot in common with dogs, so they must love walks.
Now that I think about it, it’s been a few days since we got home, and I haven’t taken her out even once.
From Sakura’s point of view, that might be seriously frustrating.
"Sorry. I totally forgot about walks—or rather, it didn’t even cross my mind."
"Woof!"
"She says don’t worry about it."
"Well then, should we head out for a walk now?"
"Woofff!"
"She says yay!"
Kanade’s interpretation must’ve been right.
As proof, Sakura’s tail was wagging back and forth so hard it looked like it might fly off.
"The leash… I guess we don’t really need it. Let’s just do a lap around the town—hm?"
"Meow…"
Kanade was gazing at Sakura with a somewhat envious look.
Then, she turned her eyes toward me, as if wanting something.
Maybe… does Kanade want to go on a walk too?
With a collar on, and a leash attached...
"No way that’s actually the case."
For a moment, I ended up imagining something I definitely shouldn’t have.
I shook my head vigorously, trying to dispel the weird—no, the totally wild thoughts.
"Kanade, do you want to come along on Sakura’s walk too?"
"Is that okay?"
"Of course. I mean, it’s not really something you need to ask permission for, right?"
"Well, yeah, I guess so… but like, I was just wondering, maybe it’d feel like I’m cutting in or something..."
She mumbled, looking a little embarrassed and uncertain.
Ah, so that’s what this is about.
Kanade and I… we’re in kind of a delicate situation right now.
That’s probably why she’s been holding back a little.
This is my fault.
It might sound selfish, but…
I want things between us to feel as normal as they used to.
And for that to happen, I need to make an effort too.
"Let’s go together."
I held out my hand to Kanade.
"I want you to come too, Kanade."
"…Rain…"
"So, here."
"Yeah!"
Kanade beamed with a full, radiant smile and firmly took my hand.
Watching the two of us, Sakura let out a high-pitched bark, as if saying “good grief.”
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