The beast tamer exiled from the hero’s party and the cat eared girl from the strongest race meet
"Hey."
The cat spirit man looked over at me with a gentle smile.
However, since he was in the middle of fishing, both of his hands remained gripping the rod.
"Ah, yes. Hello."
"Yeah, hello."
He greeted me in a friendly manner, but… who is this?
He seems to know me, but I don’t recognize him at all.
"If you’d like, how about fishing together?"
"Huh? Fishing?"
"You look like you’re troubled about something. At times like that, it’s better not to force yourself to find an answer—just relax. If you do that, the answer will come to you on its own."
"I see…"
"And when it comes to relaxing, fishing is perfect. It’s fun, calming, and you can even catch some tasty fish. Three benefits in one, you could say."
"Um… then I’ll take you up on your offer."
I took the rod and stood beside the man.
"You can use this."
"Thank you very much."
He handed me a folding chair.
I sat down, got ready, attached the bait to the hook, and started fishing.
"You’re pretty good."
"Am I?"
"Yeah, you’ve got a good feel for it. I’ve been fishing for quite a while, but it’s rare to see someone as naturally talented as you. Have you fished before?"
"I used to travel, and I did it to gather food during that time."
That said, I rarely caught anything entirely on my own.
Most of the time, I had my tamed animals help me.
So fishing purely by myself like this was unusual.
Including the time earlier with Rifa, this would be my second time.
"Ah."
Before long, the rod gave a small tug.
Something had taken the bait.
I quickly pulled up the rod, but…
"Ah…"
Failure.
Only the bait was eaten, and it got away.
"Don’t rush. Stay calm and patient. But at the same time, don’t miss the right moment when it comes."
"I see."
"Here, give it another try."
He handed me a box of bait.
This really isn’t the time to be fishing, but…
Well, whether I do it once or twice doesn’t make much difference.
And like he said, maybe I do need a break.
"This time, don’t pull the rod up right away. Watch carefully for a bit. Wait until the fish properly takes the hook into its mouth."
"Got it."
I cast the line again.
"…"
"…"
No words were exchanged.
Only a calm, unhurried time passed between us.
This kind of time isn’t so bad.
Because of everything that’s happened, I haven’t really been able to relax quietly…
But right now, I’m just taking it easy…
Yeah.
It feels really comfortable.
Maybe it’s not just about charging forward recklessly—sometimes, it’s important to stop and take a break.
"By the way…"
"Yes?"
"Thank you, always."
"Huh? For what?"
"My daughter hasn’t been causing you trouble, has she? She’s a good girl, but her perspective can be a bit narrow, and she tends to mess things up sometimes."
"…Wait a second."
The cat spirit man said “my daughter.”
That means…
"Could it be… you’re Kanade’s father?"
"Ah, that’s right."
"…"
I froze in shock.
I never expected to meet Kanade’s father in a place like this.
And to think we’d been fishing together without me even realizing it.
"Oh, right. Sorry about that—I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Furi."
"Um… I’m Rain Shroud."
"Yeah. Nice to meet you, Rain-kun."
"N-nice to meet you."
What should I do?
Now that I know he’s Kanade’s father, I suddenly feel nervous.
Am I going to be purged as some shady guy getting close to his daughter?
I’ve heard fathers can get pretty extreme when it comes to their daughters…
"Sorry about that."
"Huh?"
"I’d heard about you all, but I’ve been going around dealing with monsters approaching the village. I only just got back. I should’ve greeted you properly, but I ended up prioritizing fishing."
"Ah, no… that must’ve been tough."
"It’s nothing serious. The monsters around here aren’t that strong."
"I see…"
"Just between us… Suzu is scarier than any monster. When Kanade left the village, we got into a fight… yeah, I thought I was going to die back then. Hahaha."
That’s not really something to laugh about… is it?
"Um… you’re not angry?"
"Hm? About what?"
"About me. Like… thinking I led Kanade astray or something."
"Did you?"
"Of course not!"
"Right. I took a look at her, and she doesn’t seem like that at all. She looks very happy. Being with you must be what makes her happy."
"…"
"So really, I should be the one thanking you. Thank you for always taking care of Kanade."
He bowed his head to me.
"N-no! I’m the one who’s always being helped by Kanade…"
"No, no. I’ve heard from Suzu—if it weren’t for you, who knows what would’ve happened to my daughter…"
"No, but…"
"No, really…"
We both kept bowing to each other…
"…Nyaa. Rain and Dad, what are you doing?"
Before I knew it, Kanade had come over, looking at us with a very puzzled expression.
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