Beast Tamer Who Got Kicked Out From the Hero’s Party Chapter 111

CHAPTER 111: SUZU’S TEST *2*

「Alright then. This is where the true test really begins.」

Suzu-san said while smiling brightly.

Speaking like that and proclaiming that the true test was about to begin……

Does that mean that we are going to fight Suzu-san…… or something like that?

It’s not like it’s something completely impossible.

As far as various tests go, that is actually something that is fairly common with them, and……

I can now sort of understand why we went to all that trouble of moving outside of the city’s limits, where nothing would be damaged and no one would interfere.

At least that’s what I initially thought, but……

「We are going to play tag for a little bit.」

「Huh……?」

「Like I said, we are going to play tag for a bit? Oh my, could it be that you don’t actually know what playing tag is……?」

「No, I do know what it is, but……」

Why are we going to be playing tag of all things……?

What does this have to do with the matter that is going to decide whether or not Kanade is going to be taken back home and away from us?

I just couldn’t help myself but to think about it with a really puzzled and troubled expression on my face.

I could also see that everyone else had basically the same kind of reaction as I just showed.

「Hey, Mom?」

「Yes? What is it, Kanade-chan?」

「What does that have to do with you having to bring me back home……?　Because I think it actually has nothing to do with it at all……?」

「Oh, but I think it does, and a whole lot. After all, it is important to be able to plan your possible escape routes at all times.」

「Planning the escape routes?」

「Yes. ‘When you continue to be an Adventurer, sometimes you meet enemies you can’t possibly measure up against, no matter how you try, right?　At that point, you will have no other choice but to run away, but if you are not fast enough to escape, you will be caught by the enemy and things might turn really nasty from there on out. To avoid such a situation, I want to check how fast you can all think and run to avoid such a situation from happening.」

「Well, I don’t really know if I understand that logic, but……」

「It’s something really dubious to be testing those kinds of skills seemingly on the fly like that, but……」

I just let out a sigh as I exchanged quick glances with Tanya.

「Now, you can actually join us for this one, Kanade-chan.」

「Nyah? I can really join in with all of you?」

「I mean, if it turns out that you are too slow of a runner, then what would be the point of any further tests?」

「Hmm?　Well, I guess so?」

「Alright then, so let me explain the rules really quick. The time limit is three minutes. During that time, if even one of you manages to avoid being captured by me, then it is going to be your win, Rein-san. But if I catch all of you during the allocated time limit, it is going to be my win.」

「The time limit is only going to be three minutes? That seems like an easy way to me.」

「Fufu, I see that someone here is really motivated to do this.」

「Guys, we shouldn’t really underestimate Mother. When it comes to all sorts of physical activities, she’s someone who manages to break outside of the confines of common sense.」

「Hmm…… Alright, I have a question: can we use magic during the game?」

「Yes, that’s fine by me.」

The time limit is three minutes.

And we’re allowed to use magic in order to escape Suzu-san.

Honestly, the rules seem to be pretty much in our favor.

But even so, Suzu-san’s smile hasn’t wavered at all.

Does she have confidence that she can win even under these unfavorable conditions?

I mean, normally, against any kind of normal opponent we would have a match like that pretty much in the bag, but……

We’d better not let our guard down. Let’s brace ourselves for anything.

「So, are you guys ready?」

「Yeah.」

「Alright then, when I give you the signal, run away as fast as possible, in whichever direction you feel like. I am going to give chase after thirty seconds have passed.」

「Right, as you wish.」

「Now then…… Okay, let’s go!」

At Suzu-san’s signal, we scattered in all directions.

Tanya ran furiously ahead of the pack, using the physical abilities of a Dragon that she possessed.

In the blink of an eye, I couldn’t even see her back anymore.

Sora and Luna both used their magic and flew high in the sky.

Although Suzu-san said that we could use magic in any way we wanted, I find it really hard to believe that she would be able to get them up in the air like that……

Nina also had been moving farther and farther away from me thanks to her Teleportation ability.

And there was no way to actually touch her while she was in the middle of her teleportation movement.

In a way, Nina might be the most troublesome opponent for Suzu-san out of all of us.

As for Kanade and I, we were running through the forest side by side.

If we acted in a coherent manner, there was a risk that we would be swept away at once, but……

To some extent, I wanted to keep track of my allies’ movements, so I decided to work with Kanade for a while.

「Rein, Rein. What do we do now?　Can we get away from Mom with just running normally like that?」

「You said that Suzu-san is the absolute pinnacle, even amongst the Cat Spirit Tribe, right?」

「Yeah. She’s super strong.」

「Then, just to be on the safe side…… I’m going to send some scouts up ahead and behind us.」

While we were running, I made a temporary contract with a small bird that was passing us by.

I then assimilated with it and then flew my way towards where Suzu-san was.

「Well then, here we go!」

It seemed that she had just finished counting for thirty seconds, and I saw Suzu-san start to move out.

Suzu-san bent over lightly and……

Suddenly, her figure disappeared from my view.

「What?」

As I hurriedly ran my gaze around, I saw Suzu-san’s figure in the distance.

She was able to cover that much distance in a single instant……?

While I was clearly stunned, Suzu-san already managed to catch up to Tanya.

Tania seemed to be equally as surprised as I was.

Suzu-san, at her own pace, with a smile on her face, easily touched Tania’s shoulder, tagging her.

「No way……」

It was crazy fast.

How does she move that fast?

Instead of breaking common sense, it was as though she was existing outside of the boundaries of human comprehension.

After catching Tanya, Suzu-san scurried around to look for her next prey.

Far above where Suzu-san was, both Sora and Luna were hovering in the sky at a slow pace.

If they were that far apart, it wouldn’t normally be possible for anyone to get near them anytime soon……

But as expected, Suzu-san was clearly not confined by such terms as “normal”.

As a matter of fact, she was able to spot the two of them almost right away.

She looked up and made a troubled face.

Yes, that’s right.

Even for someone like Suzu-san, there was simply no way that she would be able to reach them. Not without possessing the ability to fly herself……

「And there we go!」

Just when I thought that…… Suzu-san leapt into the air once more.

She rushed furiously through the air as if a shell had been a cannonball that was shot out of a cannon.

I saw Sora and Luna, both noticing Suzu-san charging through the air, looking jittery at one another.

They hurriedly changed their flight course in response.

With this, Suzu-san had no choice but to land at once.

No matter how much of a monster she is, changing her trajectory in the air is just……

「There we go!」

Suzu-san then kicked the air.

Correcting her trajectory in an absurd way, she closed in on Sora and Luna.

And then…… she was able to easily tag them.

They both got caught in an instant.

「Well then, how about I go for that God Tribe child next?」

Having landed on the ground, Suzu-san now ran after Nina.

She was so fast that I could lose sight of her if I wasn’t paying attention closely.

How fast is she even able to go like that……?

I felt dizzy just thinking about it.

「Hyaah!?」

「There, I caught you!」

Just like that, Nina was also easily caught as she was targeted between one teleportation and the other one……

And after that……

「……………」

Suzu-san looked at me, assimilating with the little bird.

Our eyes met for just a moment.

Oh shit.

With an instinctive sense of urgency, I immediately broke the assimilation.

「Rein?　What’s going on?」

「Let’s get the hell out of here! We’ve got to get out of here, now!」

「What?」

I dashed as fast as I could together with Kanade.

We ran in the opposite direction of where Suzu-san was.

「You Mom, she already managed to catch everyone else.」

「Oh wow! That was fast!」

No matter how strong the opponent is, no matter if she was supposed to be the strongest of the strong, her opponents were also the Ultimate Species. So there is no way that they would be able to be caught so easily……

It’s just not what we were expecting at all.

And if we don’t hurry, we were going to suffer the same fate.

I was just starting to get impatient when I felt a presence behind my back.

The sound of footsteps approaching at a tremendous rate.

I didn’t need to look back to see who it was.

It was Suzu-san.

「Kyah! She’s here already!」

「We’re splitting up!　We need to buy ourselves some more time……」

「I won’t let you!」

Just as we were about to split off to the left and right, Suzu-san came around to block our attempt at escaping from her.

There must have been a good distance between us, and yet I can’t believe she’s already caught up with us so easily……

Talk about a crazy amount of speed.

「…… This is the end.」

Suzu-san was closing in.

Neither Kanade nor I had any way to prevent her approach from happening.

But still, we can’t just give up!

At the very last moment, I was trying to figure out a way to get us out of this situation……

「…… Ah.」

With a snap, Suzu-san’s hand, which was about to catch me, stopped right n front of me.

「……..?」

「I’m sorry, but it looks like it’s been three minutes already.」

「R-Really now……?」

「Yes. So you’ve passed the second test, too. It’s a pity, since I was so close……」

……..Thus, we’ve broken through the second test, even though it was a very close call.

However, it was not something to rejoice over, as it’s something that could be the result of a dumb luck, and not actual skill or strategy.