The beast tamer exiled from the hero’s party and the cat eared girl from the strongest race meet
Kanade’s house is smaller than I expected.
Since she said everyone could stay, I had imagined something like a large inn, but…
That wasn’t the case at all—it felt like an ordinary standalone house.
Instead of being made of stone, it was mainly built from wood.
It had a warm, natural atmosphere. A really nice place.
“Isn’t it a bit cramped if all of us stay here?”
“If it comes down to it, I don’t mind sleeping outdoors…”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Come on in.”
Guided by Kanade, we stepped inside the house.
The entrance was spacious and clean.
Beyond it, I could see the living room and a staircase.
“Is there a basement too?”
“Yep. I made lots of rooms down there for when guests come. My room is on the second floor, but the basement is nice and cool—it feels really good.”
When we went down to the basement, it was several times larger than the first floor.
There were more than ten rooms.
I see.
With this, all of us can definitely stay here.
Still…
To be able to own a house like this—Suzu really is amazing.
“Everyone, pick any room you like. Up to three people per room is fine, but you can use one by yourself too.”
“In that case, I’ll luxuriously take one all to myself.”
“Hehe, me too.”
“I… will stay with Mama.”
Everyone went off to their respective rooms.
“Oh, Rain, do you want to use my room?”
“Huh?”
“…J-just kidding!”
Apparently embarrassed by what she said, Kanade turned bright red.
That kind of reaction is the hardest to deal with, so please give me a break.
Anyway, I went to an empty room and put my luggage down.
There was a table, a bed, and storage.
All the basic furniture was there—it felt just like an inn.
An inn run by the cat spirit tribe… yeah, I bet it would be popular.
However, ordinary people can’t come to this village.
At Suzu’s request, the spirit tribe has set up a barrier around it.
It’s not extremely strong, but normal people won’t even recognize that the village is here—they just pass right by.
To enter the village, you either need one of the strongest species with you…
Or be invited from within.
“…Well, I guess that can’t be helped.”
When I first met Kanade, we got into trouble with other adventurers…
Not everyone is a good person.
There are plenty of people who scheme evil things.
Thinking about that, it’s only natural to keep some distance from others.
Still, it feels a bit lonely.
Maybe it’s because I know Kanade and the others so well…
Humans and the strongest species can join hands.
They can laugh together, and cry together.
So I hope that someday, that gap will disappear…
As I was thinking that, there was a knock on the door.
“Come in.”
“Excuse me.”
Suzu appeared.
“How is the room?”
“It’s very comfortable. Thank you.”
“Hehe, don’t worry about it. Kanade-chan is always in your care, after all. At times like this, I have to properly show my hospitality.”
“You don’t have to go that far…”
“Rain, here—take this.”
Suzu handed me a key.
“What’s this?”
“It’s the key to Kanade-chan’s room.”
“Huh?”
“Now you can sneak in at night anytime.”
“I’m not going to do that!?”
Please don’t suddenly say something outrageous like that.
I couldn’t help but raise my voice.
“You’re not?”
“I’m not…”
“Hm, so you’re not that close yet. Kanade-chan is quite shy… Rain, why not take this chance to make her yours?”
“Please don’t try to egg me on…”
“How disappointing.”
She really looked disappointed, which made it even more troublesome.
Suzu can be quite forceful sometimes… or rather, she just pushes forward without worrying about others.
What a handful.
“By the way, are you tired, Rain?”
“No, not really.”
We only walked a bit.
I’m not trained so weakly that something like that would tire me out.
“Then, shall we do some light exercise?”
――――――――――
The village square is also used for exercise, so it’s quite large.
It might be about the size of the lord’s mansion in Horizon.
At its center, Suzu and I faced each other.
We were about to have some light exercise… in other words, a sparring match.
“Hmm, Mom versus Rain… who will win? I’d like to say Rain… but the opponent is Mom.”
“Hey, cheer properly for our master, you lazy cat.”
“Ah, hearing that again somehow makes me feel at ease.”
“Is that really okay…?”
“U-um, Iris! H-how about some snacks?”
“Oh my, thank you. Let’s eat together.”
Around us, everyone had gathered after hearing about it.
The atmosphere was relaxed, like watching a street performance.
“I heard from Al—Rain, you’ve formed contracts with various strongest species since then?”
“Yes. Um… Rifa, Finiya, Iris. An ogre, a phoenix, and an angel.”
“I see, I see… in that case, it should be fine to use that.”
“That?”
What could that be?
I have a really bad feeling about this…
Before I could say anything, Suzu moved first.
“Alright, here I go. Sssu… Meow!!”
With a fierce shout, Suzu entered her awakened state.
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