The beast tamer exiled from the hero’s party and the cat eared girl from the strongest race meet
After returning from the village of the spirit tribe...
I handed the Crimson Tear to Gantz and asked him to forge it into a weapon.
As with Kamui and Narukami before, I added my own ideas to the design.
Gantz grumbled, saying I was a demanding guy...
But his expression was like that of a child with a new toy.
It must have ignited his soul as a weaponsmith.
However, he said it would take at least a month to complete.
Since it's a legendary-grade ore, that much time is necessary.
In the meantime, I bought a replacement weapon...
And to test how it felt, I decided to have a mock battle with Kanade.
"Unyaaah..."
"..."
We faced off in the backyard behind the house.
Everyone else watched from a distance.
"Rain, do your best!"
"Master, please show Sora and the others how cool you are."
"Good... luck."
Cheers came flying toward me.
"Discharge cat, try your best, at least a little."
"Thieving cat who ate my snacks, do your best."
"Hehe, comic-relief cat-san, please give it your all."
Were those... cheers for Kanade?
"Why do I suddenly have three weird nicknames!?"
Well, maybe it's understandable coming from Tania and Iris, but if even Rifa says so, you probably deserve it.
Come to think of it, I feel like she’s stolen snacks from Sora and Luna before, too...
Is Kanade just a glutton?
"Alright then, here I come."
I readied the short sword I bought at Gantz's shop.
Of course, since it was a mock battle, the blade was covered.
The grip and weight were excellent.
But since it wasn’t Kamui, which I had used for a long time, there was still some discomfort.
"Hah!"
"Nyan!"
Kanade and I both kicked off the ground at the same time.
We clashed head-on.
"Unyan-nyan-nyan-nyan!"
Kanade launched a rush of punches.
Each strike was heavy and fast.
But the movements were simple, so reading them wasn’t too difficult.
I didn’t let a single blow land.
Still... that’s odd?
I doubt the Kanade trained by Suzu-san would fight with such straightforward moves...
"...Ah, so that’s what it is!"
I soon realized Kanade’s true aim.
She was pretending to attack simply in order to back me into a position with no escape.
Then, once I was cornered, she planned to land a powerful blow.
I won’t let that happen.
Time for a counterattack... I threw my short sword.
"Eh!?"
Kanade’s eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected move of throwing my only weapon.
But despite her shock, her body reacted properly, and she dodged it.
Exactly as I expected.
"Gravity Manipulation!"
I altered the gravity acting on the short sword, pulling it back to my hand.
"Wait, you can do that!?"
"Yup, I can!"
"Geez, Rain—when did you even learn that? Actually, the power you gained from making contracts with everyone... you’re getting better and better at controlling it precisely!"
"I’ve been working hard at it. Here comes another one! Gravity Manipulation!"
"Nya-nya!?"
I set Kanade’s gravity to zero.
Her body floated gently.
With her feet off the ground, she couldn’t brace herself.
"Hah!"
While she was defenseless in midair, I landed a kick.
Kanade was blown away but kicked in the air to regain her posture.
"Awawa, Rain-san, y-you’re amazing..."
"Hehe, that’s the power Rain got from making a contract with me, y’know?"
Tina stood proudly.
Finia looked at her with sparkling eyes full of admiration.
"Unyaaah... I'm not going to lose!"
As if it were her turn now, Kanade charged forward.
She was fast.
Faster than an arrow, perhaps?
It had been quite a few days since I first met Kanade...
And yet, she was still continuing to grow.
I couldn't afford to fall behind either.
I braced myself and prepared to face Kanade head-on.
"Unyan!"
"Kh...!"
Our two shadows crossed paths.
The one who fell to his knees on the ground... was me.
"Ouch... not bad, Kanade. That was a solid hit."
"See? I can do it if I try. I'm not going to let you keep calling me a useless cat forever. I mean—wait, are you okay...? Maybe I went a little too far..."
Kanade looked at me in concern...
When I touched my cheek, I felt blood.
It must have come from the strike just now.
"I'm fine. It's not a serious wound, it'll heal on its own."
"But still, I'm worried... Why don't we have Sora or Luna use healing magic? Oh, or Finia could do it too. Either way, we should—huh?"
"What's wrong?"
"Rain... your cheek, it's..."
"Huh?"
I touched my cheek again—there was still a trace of blood, but no pain.
In fact, the wound itself had completely disappeared.
"What in the world...?"
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