The beast tamer exiled from the hero’s party and the cat eared girl from the strongest race meet
I separated from Tina and Iris and spent about thirty minutes searching for Nina.
Still, no clues.
“This is bad… We’re running out of time, and at this rate…”
I began to feel anxious, and my mind became unsettled.
“No… I have to calm down.”
Taking a deep breath, I tried to settle my restless heart.
It didn’t completely work, but it helped a little.
Enough to give me the clarity to think properly.
“Mona kidnapped Nina… to use her as a hostage, right? Then she’ll definitely make some kind of demand. In that case… ah, I see.”
In order to make demands, she’ll have to show herself eventually.
Just waiting feels frustrating, but…
With no leads, I have no choice but to remain on the defensive.
What I can do is stay calm no matter what demands Mona makes.
And think of a plan to take Nina back.
So, as I continued to think, waiting in place for a while…
“Hellooo~”
A strangely cheerful voice rang out.
Before I knew it, Mona was there—at a short distance—and with her… Nina.
“Nina! Are you okay!?”
“…”
Nina didn’t respond.
Her eyes looked vacant, unfocused.
“Nina?”
“Ahaha, nope, nope! Totally useless! Right now, this girl is my loyal puppet~♪”
“You…!!!”
So she was using some kind of magic to control Nina.
I don’t think she could have brainwashed her so deeply in such a short time—
If I take down Mona, things should return to normal.
I drew my dagger, but Mona grinned mockingly as she saw it, clearly amused.
“Wow, I’d heard the rumors, but it’s true—when it comes to your friends, you turn into an idiot. Don’t you realize you’ve been lured out?”
“I had a feeling.”
“Oh?”
“Your goal is probably to eliminate me. You kidnapped Nina to divide us—that’s right, isn’t it?”
“Huh. I thought you were just a hothead, but you can think. That’s unexpected.”
“Now, give Nina back.”
“Sure.”
Mona said it so casually, and lightly pushed Nina forward on the back.
Nina slowly began to walk toward me.
Then, her pace quickened—
She broke into a sprint, slicing through the wind.
And with her fingers shaped like claws—
“Kh…!?”
I hurriedly dodged to the side.
A moment later, Nina’s fist tore through the air where I’d just been.
“Nina!?”
“…”
I called out to her strongly, but got no response.
Nina continued to attack relentlessly.
Each strike was sharp and powerful—
Taking even one blow wouldn’t be without serious consequences.
“How does it feel, huh? Being attacked by your friend—won’t you tell me? Ahahaha!”
“Damn you…!”
I wanted to punch Mona across the face, but I had no room to breathe.
Though Nina’s movements were slightly dull compared to usual…
She was still a top-class fighter—
Even slightly slowed down, she was a serious threat.
And worst of all, I couldn’t fight back.
Nina was only being controlled.
I wanted to bring her back to her senses without hurting her.
Is Mona’s ability responsible for controlling Nina?
If so, maybe damaging or defeating Mona could break the control and return Nina to normal.
But Mona’s ability should be shapeshifting.
Teleportation is probably being done with the same type of magical tool Monica uses, so maybe the mind control is a magical tool too?
In that case, even if I defeat Mona, Nina might not come back…
“Kh!?”
Another attack from Nina came flying at me, and I barely dodged.
Can’t I at least think in peace?
“Gravity Reversal!”
I doubled the gravity acting on Nina to halt her movements.
“Material Creation!”
I created a rope and threw it toward Nina.
Just like when using Narukami, I tried to restrain her as is…
“Ah ah, I won’t let you do that.”
“Tch.”
Mona interfered and shielded Nina.
She wasn’t just watching from the sidelines as Nina and I fought…
It looked like she intended to join the battle herself.
Two against one.
And Nina is still under mind control.
This… might be quite the challenge.
“Actually, I’m kind of a blabbermouth, you know?”
“Where did that come from?”
“One reason I came all the way out here is to prevent the woman’s memories from being restored… but I have another reason, too.”
“…Is it me?”
“Ding ding ding! Correct~!”
Mona answered in a silly tone.
She looked like she was having a lot of fun, but in direct contrast, my mood was plummeting fast.
“At first, you weren’t considered a big threat at all. But lately, you’ve been doing a lot, haven’t you? So now you’ve got Reez keeping an eye on you too, and if possible, she want to take care of you while we still can.”
“Reez…?”
“Oops, maybe I shouldn’t have said that? I might get scolded.”
Mona stuck out her tongue with a playful "tehe".
She looked like she was just messing around…
But at the same time, it felt like she might’ve really slipped up.
Reez… huh.
Most likely a demon.
I need to remember that name carefully.
And in order to do that—
“First, I need to do something about this situation.”
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