The beast tamer exiled from the hero’s party and the cat eared girl from the strongest race meet
"Thanks to Tina, we were able to destroy the wedge, but..."
"Doesn't seem like much has changed though."
The surroundings remained unchanged, still shrouded in darkness.
Considering this was inside someone's heart, it likely meant the curse hadn’t been lifted yet.
"Al-san, can you hear me?"
"Yes, I can hear you."
"We destroyed the wedge, but... there hasn't been any real change..."
"Of course not. Destroying just one wedge won’t cause a major change."
"Just one...?"
That phrasing suggested—
"Wait, there’s more than one wedge?"
"Yup, that’s right."
"You’re stealing my way of speaking!?"
Al-san, showing a rare playful side, had mimicked her tone.
"The number of wedges varies depending on the progress of the curse. In the early stages, there are a few. In the late stages, there might be around a hundred."
"A h-hundred!?"
Tina let out a shocked cry.
"What about in Nokia-san’s case?"
"Hmm... I can’t say for certain, but it’s not the early stage. Still, it’s not at the terminal stage either. I'd say the lighter side of the mid-stage... around thirty to forty wedges?"
"That's, well..."
Even destroying one wedge had been quite a struggle.
And now, they had to do it thirty more times at the very least?
"—No, I can’t let myself think that way."
It didn’t matter how many wedges there were.
Whether it was thirty, a hundred, or even a thousand, they would smash them all to pieces.
They would save Nokia-san.
"Understood. We just need to destroy them all, right?"
"To hear that and not be discouraged... you're something else."
"I made a vow to save her."
And then, he would see Nina’s genuine smile.
For that ultimate reward, he could give it his all, no matter what.
"But we can’t rely on Tina for everything."
"P-Please, give me a break... If you do that, I’ll die..."
"Aren’t you already dead?"
"Don’t ruin the mood like that. Well, as long as we take breaks, I should be okay."
Despite everything, Tina had no intention of backing out and was showing her resolve.
"Ah—about that."
"What is it?"
"You all can only stay inside the heart for about half a day."
"What!?"
Don’t drop that kind of info on us at the last minute!
"Entering someone’s heart is taxing for both the one entering and the one being entered. To do it safely without causing harm, the limit is about half a day."
"If that's the case, then it can’t be helped... but half a day, huh?"
An hour had already passed.
And in that time, they had only removed one wedge.
In the remaining eleven hours, they’d have to remove at least twenty-nine more wedges...
"That’s going to be pretty tough."
"We’ll have to find the remaining wedges quickly and also figure out a way to remove them easily and efficiently... This is ridiculous, isn’t it?"
"...But I’ll do it."
With a strong expression Nina spoke, looking more determined than ever before.
Her face radiated a kind of strength they’d never seen in her before.
"I’m going to save... Mama!"
"Yeah."
Tina smiled warmly and gently patted Nina’s head.
She couldn’t actually touch her, but even so, Nina looked so happy.
"Mmm..."
"If we don’t give it our all, Nina’s mom is going to be in big trouble. So, we’ll do whatever it takes—even if it’s reckless!"
"My, I would call that 'a little reckless'... but still, I won’t oppose it."
"Yeah. Let’s do our best."
That said, just having the motivation wouldn’t solve everything.
They had to find a method to remove all the wedges within the remaining eleven hours.
A simple calculation meant they needed to remove three wedges per hour.
Finding them was already hard—removing them would be even harder.
"……"
Think, think, think...
Then, suddenly, it came to him.
"Maybe... this could work?"
He thought of a way to locate the wedges.
And a way to remove them.
But it was all just theory in his head.
He hadn't actually tested it, so he couldn’t be sure if it would succeed.
"...And if it doesn’t work, I’ll just think of something else. Right now, I just need to take a step forward."
"Rain, did you think of something?"
"I’ve got something I want to try. First, let’s find the next wedge."
――――――――――
About ten minutes later, we found the next wedge…
And I immediately put the idea I had come up with into action.
"..."
Everyone was stunned into silence.
"Alright, scatter! Find the wedges!"
Dolls began pouring out of the wedge one after another…
But I tamed every single one of them.
Then, placing them under my control, I had them explore the mental world to search for the wedges.
This way, we should be able to locate the wedges more smoothly.
And as for how to remove them…
"For now, this many dolls should be enough. Then next is the wedge... Reverse gravity!"
I reversed the gravity acting on the wedge.
With a creaking sound, the roots cried out...
Then, after a short pause, the giant tree began to float into the air.
I deactivated the ability.
The massive tree came crashing down to the ground.
Then, as if time were being fast-forwarded, the tree rapidly withered before our eyes.
If the wedge draws energy by rooting itself into the heart, then—even if it's a bit forceful—pulling it out should cut off that source.
That was the idea I had, and it seemed to work just fine.
"To pull up a tree that massive as if it were a weed... That kind of creativity and decisiveness—it's unbelievable. Truly, I once again regret having fought against you, Lord Rain."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
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