The beast tamer exiled from the hero’s party and the cat eared girl from the strongest race meet
I hesitated, but in the end, I decided to keep quiet about Zillor.
I hadn’t learned any major information.
She didn’t seem like a dangerous person, but that was only my impression. If I said something carelessly, it might cause unnecessary confusion.
For those two reasons, I chose not to mention it.
If the situation changed drastically and even the smallest bits of information became valuable, then I’d bring it up again.
After regrouping with everyone, we used Sora and Luna’s teleportation magic to leave the city.
They couldn’t jump long distances, but slipping out of the city without anyone noticing wasn’t a problem.
From there, we moved to the rendezvous point with Tania and her group.
“Hmm? It seems Tania and the others aren’t here yet.”
“It’s still a little early for our meeting time…”
“But since this is demon territory, I can’t help but worry.”
Could something have happened to them?
That uneasy thought kept rising in my mind.
“It’s fine.”
The one who reassured me was Yuki.
He gave my shoulder a friendly pat and flashed a bright smile.
“I don’t know them very well yet, but… they’re reliable comrades, aren’t they?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Then there’s no need to worry. I get why you’d feel uneasy, but at times like this, it’s not about worrying—it’s about believing that everything’s fine.”
“…”
I was left speechless for a moment.
He was right… Yuki was absolutely right.
If I don’t believe in Tania and the others, then who will?
“If it’s Tania and her group, there won’t be any problems.”
“Yep, that’s the spirit.”
“…Thanks, Yuki.”
“Ahaha, you’re welcome.”
That smile from my dependable partner calmed me down.
…Wait, partner?
Did I just think of Yuki as my partner?
That thought came to me naturally, without even realizing it…
“Mmm, Rain and Yuki are getting along a little too well. How scandalous!”
“Indeed, quite scandalous. But…”
“But?”
“…In a way, this isn’t so bad.”
“Whoa… sister, you’re not awakening some weird fetish, are you?”
You know I can hear all of that, right?
“Rain—!”
I turned around to see Tania waving with a smile.
Not just her—Iris and Gray were there too.
“Sorry, we’re a little late.”
“It’s fine. We haven’t waited long, and as long as you’re all safe, that’s what matters.”
“Rain-sama, were you worried about us?”
“That’s sweet of you, but really, we would’ve been fine on our own. You should trust us a little more, you know!”
“Ah… yeah, sorry. I just got taught that lesson a moment ago.”
“?”
“?”
Tania and Iris both tilted their heads in confusion, but Gray seemed to catch on. He gave a smile to his master, Yuki.
It was the kind of smile a parent gives while watching their child grow…
As a personal guard, perhaps it was only natural that his master’s progress and development would make her happy.
“Well then, let’s exchange information.”
――――――――――
“So the demons are living peacefully, just like humans… huh.”
“I don’t mean to doubt Rain and the others, but that’s a story that’s hard to believe at first…”
First, I told them what we had seen.
As one might expect, Tania and Iris both wore troubled expressions.
Gray furrowed his brow as if he couldn’t believe it either.
“I couldn’t say anything about the people who were taken or the Four Heavenly Kings’ plans… but even so, this is very important information.”
“I see… Well, whether we need it right away is another question, but it’s definitely information we should have for the future.”
“I was taught that the demons are to be exterminated… Was that teaching wrong? Or perhaps the ones teaching were wrong…? Huh, it’s a perplexing thing.”
“How about Tania’s side?”
The information we’d gathered couldn’t really be acted on yet.
So we put it on hold for the time being.
“Heh heh heh, prepare to be surprised! Guess what…”
“We traced the location where the kidnapped humans were taken.”
“That’s what I was about to say!?”
“Heh, first come first served.”
Iris felt less like an angel and more like a little devil.
“Give us the details.”
“I’ll explain that.”
Gray appeared to have compiled the details; he picked up a notepad and began to speak.
He said that a little way from the demon town they’d seen, there was a ruin being used as a temporary base by the hardliners.
When they investigated the area around that ruin, there were scattered eyewitness reports saying humans had been taken into that ruin.
Further investigation even confirmed the presence of one of the Four Heavenly Kings — Altera of the Blazing Flame.
“…Well, with all that info together, there’s no mistake. I can’t say whether it’s every single kidnapped person, but there are definitely humans being held there.”
“I see, a ruin…”
“We checked too, and I think it’s almost certainly right. When we looked into it a bit, we saw reactions not only from demons but from humans as well.”
“How many human reactions?”
“We couldn’t take our time, so it’s a rough estimate… maybe twenty, thirty or so?”
“That’s a fair number… How many demons are using the ruin as a base?”
“About a hundred.”
“There were also some really nasty vibes I could pick up. Probably the Four Heavenly Kings and their close attendants.”
“I see.”
A lot of pieces were coming together.
But still not enough.
“One thing we still don’t have is Altera’s motive.”
Why are they kidnapping people? That wasn’t clear…
They were pretending to attack towns while secretly planning to abduct large numbers of people.
The ones currently captured were likely taken in a prior phase of that plan.
That much matched what we’d already learned earlier.
But now there was the added dynamic of a clash between the hardliners and the moderates.
Is Altera kidnapping people for some sole purpose?
Or is she planning something extra — like eliminating the moderates’ town and Zillor as well?
“If Altera is also considering getting rid of Zillor and is acting for that purpose, that’s going to be really troublesome…”
At worst, we could be dragged into a fight between the Four Heavenly Kings themselves.
If that happened, it wouldn’t just be the captives’ safety at risk — we would be in danger too.
“Still, judging from the situation, open conflict between the Four Heavenly Kings seems likely. Which means… we might have to charge into a battlefield full of swords and magic to rescue the hostages.”
Can that even succeed…?
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