The beast tamer exiled from the hero’s party and the cat eared girl from the strongest race meet
"Contact Mina...?"
Hearing Eris's objective, I couldn't help but frown.
Chiffon had said that Mina needed to be captured—or, if necessary, eliminated.
On the other hand, Eris, a member of the Church, said she wanted to make contact with Mina.
What accounted for this difference?
Was it merely a difference in wording, or was there some other motive hidden beneath it?
"If you do make contact with Ms. Mina... what do you intend to do?"
Apparently Chiffon had the same question. She fixed Eris with a somewhat stern gaze.
I thought it would be better not to ask so directly. At least, she should hide the fact that she was suspicious...
Still, that straightforward honesty was so very like Chiffon that I couldn't help but admire it.
"First, I wish to hear her side of the story. Why did she do such a thing? Where is she now? What has become of the former Hero? There are many things that I must ask her."
"And after you've heard her out?"
"If she had unavoidable reasons for her actions, then I want to help her."
"And if she didn't?"
"Then I will pass judgment upon her."
The two of them locked eyes.
The pressure between them was so intense that the rest of us couldn't get a word in.
After a moment, Chiffon's expression softened.
"I see... Okay. I believe you."
"Thank you very much."
"Rain, everyone... I think we can trust Ms. Eris and let her travel with us. What do you all think?"
"I don't have any objections. As a fellow knight, I feel she's someone we can trust. At the very least, I don't think she was lying just now."
"Hmm... I agree with Stella. She doesn't give me a bad feeling."
Stella and Kanade were in favor.
But Sakura...
"Grrrrrr..."
She let out a low growl, baring it at Eris.
"Sakura, what's wrong?"
"Rrr..."
"You don't trust Eris?"
"Whine..."
When I asked, Sakura gave an ambiguous response.
It seemed something about Eris bothered her, but she couldn't point to anything specific.
If Sakura was wary, I couldn't simply dismiss it as a misunderstanding.
She had probably sensed something Eris was hiding.
Still, that made it all the more difficult to simply leave Eris on her own.
It would be better to keep her close where we could watch her.
"I agree too. Let's search for Mina together."
"Thank you."
Despite the fact that we'd practically been treating her with suspicion, Eris didn't get angry.
Instead, she thanked us.
Maybe she really was a good person.
...Though it was also possible she was simply acting.
"Then, from this moment on, we're a party. We're all pursuing the same goal, so let's do our best together and get along."
"Yeah."
"Indeed."
"I'll do my best!"
"Yes."
"On!"
For the time being, we all stacked our hands together to fire ourselves up.
Sakura still seemed to have her reservations, but she'd stopped growling and was making an effort to meet Eris halfway.
Hopefully things would work out...
Now then, what would happen next?
"Haaah!"
Eris's sword flashed through the air, cleaving a monster clean in two.
Unable even to scream a dying cry, it collapsed before transforming into a magic stone.
As expected of a Holy Knight.
Her swordsmanship was incredibly sharp—skilled enough to rival Chiffon's.
"Rain! The remaining monsters are heading your way!"
"Got it!"
At Eris's signal, I drew Kamui.
The corridor was rather narrow, making Kusanagi unsuitable here.
"Meow!"
"On!"
Kanade and Sakura each struck with a probing attack, halting the monsters in their tracks.
Stella and I followed up, slashing in from opposite sides and driving our blades into them.
The finishing blow came from Chiffon.
"Mega Bolt!"
A bolt of lightning tore through the corridor, piercing straight through the monsters' cores.
"Phew... Is everyone okay?"
"Yep. Sakura and I are fine. How about Chiffon and Stella?"
"I'm fine."
"No problems here."
"Eris?"
"Thank you for your concern. I'm perfectly fine as well."
"That's good to hear."
After that, we resumed exploring the dungeon and had reached the middle floors.
Although it wasn't an especially difficult dungeon, once you reached the middle levels, letting your guard down was dangerous.
Even veteran parties had, on rare occasions, been wiped out in an instant because of a single careless mistake.
So, partly to get used to fighting alongside Eris, we'd been advancing cautiously.
But...
"Eris, you're really strong, aren't you?"
Chiffon looked at Eris with sparkling eyes.
Faced with such sincere admiration, Eris bashfully shook her head.
"N-No, not at all...!"
"Don't be so modest. Anyone can tell how skilled you are... Hmm... Even I'd like to learn from your swordsmanship."
"I'm honored to hear that from the Hero."
Since we were now companions tackling the dungeon together, Chiffon had revealed her true identity as well.
"I still have a long way to go myself. If we get the chance, let's practice together sometime."
"I'd be delighted."
Chiffon had already become friendly with Eris.
Only someone with Chiffon's straightforward personality could accomplish that so quickly.
"...Rrr."
Meanwhile, Sakura still hadn't lowered her guard.
She'd accepted Eris traveling with us, but she clearly hadn't opened her heart to her at all.
And yet...
I couldn't sense any hostility from Eris.
Just what was Sakura so wary of?
At times like this, not being able to speak the same language as her was incredibly frustrating.
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