01x01 - Meeting of Fate

[bunniefuu]

Rein

You're fired.

Meeting of Fate

Beast Tamer.

It's a class that is able to communicate

and enter into contracts

with many kinds of animals

Taming their strength as your own.

Beast Tamers aren't well-suited to combat,

but I worked hard to support my

comrades during our harsh journey,

and my comrades in the

Hero's party trusted me for it.

Or so I thought.

Um, hang on a sec.

This is kind of sudden,

so I'm not sure I follow

Wait, is this a prank?

Of course not.

Arios

Aggath?

Leane?

Mina?

You're serious about this?

I-I want to know why!

You want a reason?

You mean other than the obvious one?

It's because you're useless!

You don't serve any purpose!

Do you get it now?

You've been holding us back so much,

you even being around

is more trouble than its worth!

I am?

You have to have noticed, right?

You never do any damage to our enemies,

and we're constantly having to save you.

All you really contribute

is scouting and carriage,

using the animals that you've tamed.

Doesn't that sound worthless to you?

It was asking too much of

him in the first place.

What is this?

We don't have time for babysitting.

I was always against letting

a Beast Tamer join up.

Don't be like that.

Worthless as he is, I thought he could

shine by sharing the same spotlight as me.

Arios, you are so kind!

Very. The only sin here lies with this man

who has wasted the grace of the Hero, Arios.

This is what my party thought

of me this whole time?

I This can't—

Rein

Don't lower our opinion of you

any more than you already have.

And make sure to leave your gear behind.

We're the ones who gathered it.

This means we can finally

take on the Lost Woods.

We've waited long enough.

I understand.

This town is big, but there's nothing in it,

and we've been here for days.

How long was he going to spend

on gathering supplies, anyway?

We were mistaken to have even

the most modest hopes for him.

Let us simply consider this a brief respite.

Good idea!

When you put of it that way, maybe he

was of some use at the very end.

In that moment

It felt like anything between us

had come to a permanent end.

You're weak, like a child.

You still seem to lack both the bearing

and the skill required of the Hero's party.

Are you ever going to be good

for anything besides running errands?

So worthless

No need to be so harsh.

Rein is trying his best.

At least, for a Beast Tamer!

I thought the reason they were so hard on me

was because they had high hopes

for what I could accomplish.

But

Maybe they never cared

about me in the first place.

But more importantly, what do I do now?

No goal, no gear, and no coin.

I'm starting with next to nothing.

Rein!

Did you finish your job for the Hero?

Uh, actually

Do the thing then, come on!

Please!

Come on, please!

Do it! Go on!

Okay!

So, for today

There.

That's the temporary contract.

Go on, say hello.

Wow!

Nice job.

And thank you.

Bye-bye!

See you around!

There it goes

Well, like I told you,

that contract was only temporary.

They're easy to form,

but they don't last very long.

Maybe that was a little hard to understand?

You really are awesome, Rein!

I wanna be a Beast Tamer when I grow up!

Me, too!

Me, too!

Huh

I thought you said you wanted

to be a hero before?

I mean, the Hero and his party

always look annoyed

when commoners like us come up to them!

Even though they suck up

to rich folks and nobles

It's kind of nasty, right?

And scary.

I didn't know people thought that way

about Arios and the party.

I guess that explains the reception

I got whenever I went to buy supplies.

You're different though, Rein!

You always play with us!

And you're nice!

It's gonna be even harder

to tell them I got fired now.

So I'm gonna be an adventurer,

and travel all over!

And make a fortune overnight!

A fortune!

A fortune overnight! A fortune overnight!

An adventurer

Living like a migratory bird on

the wing, free to live or die as I please.

Making a living off my skills

by taking jobs as an adventurer?

Now that I don't need to worry

about defeating the Demon King,

it might be the perfect job for me.

Okay!

Welcome to the Adventurer's Guild!

I'm Natalie, the receptionist.

Let's start with an explanation

of the adventurer's trial.

Could you tell me a bit more

about being an adventurer first?

I hate to admit it, but I actually

don't know that much.

Arios and the others

looked down on adventurers,

so we didn't interact with them much.

You're an earnest one, aren't you?

Most of the applicants don't really

put too much thought into it

Personally, I think you're

on the right track!

You really do?

I really do!

Let's start at the beginning, then.

Adventurers, like monsters,

are assigned ranks from S to F

and that's everything.

Is there anything else

you had questions about?

Nope. Thank you.

I should be good, now.

In that case, let's move onto

the matter of the adventurer's trial.

What's your class?

Beast Tamer.

Beast Tamer?!

Um will you be okay by yourself?

It's because you're useless!

Don't do anything reckless, okay?

Adventurers need to know

when a job is too much.

Right. Of course.

Do you understand why

the guild requires a trial

in order to be registered as an adventurer?

Is it because if there were

a bunch of unskilled adventurers,

it'd undermine trust in the guild?

Correct! Well done!

And without that trust,

the government would get involved.

But putting that aside, the details

of the trial involve slaying ten goblins,

and collecting 20 medicinal herbs.

Adventurers take on a variety

hunting and collection jobs,

so this is the bare minimum required

to pass muster with the guild.

That's ten.

Thanks for helping me find the goblins.

I guess even a Beast Tamer can

handle F-ranked monsters like them.

I've got the rune stones from the goblins,

so I just need to gather the herbs

and head back to the guild

A scream?

It's from further in the forest!

A k*ller Tiger?!

Oh, no!

The D-Ranked monster k*ller Tiger.

Even a veteran adventurer could be k*lled

by one of these if they weren't careful!

And of course, I don't stand a chance.

But

It's better this way.

Hey, you!

Can you move?

You need to run while you can!

No monsters to tame.

No weapons to use.

But I can at least buy her

enough time to get away

Wh-Why are you still there?!

With the last

Of my strength

Wow. She took down

a k*ller Tiger in one blow.

Just who are you?

There are beings of inexplicable power

in this world known as ultimate species.

Dragonoids. Fairies. Demigods.

They all count among the ultimate species.

But one of them is more rare than the rest.

And that is

A Cat Spirit?

And I am done.

Hey!

Hey, are you all right? Were you hurt?

Say something!

So

So?

So hungry

She's the real deal?

Despite being one of the ultimate species,

the Cat Spirits are said to be

on the verge of extinction.

They can't use magic, but they've

evolved to have athletic abilities

that make them among

the ultimate in the world.

And she really is one?

Thank you so much! You're a life-saver.

I thought I was gonna die back there.

I'm just glad I had some

traveling rations on me.

Still, are you sure you're not exaggerating?

Not at all!

I've gone days without

anything to eat or drink.

I could see my grandparents

in heaven waving me over.

She must've been in pretty rough shape.

That would've been another

step toward extinction.

Okay, extremely bad shape!

Oh, I never introduced myself, did I?

My name's Kanade!

As you can see, I'm a Cat Spirit.

Nice to meet you!

I'm Rein Shroud.

I ran into you in the middle

of my adventurer's trial, miss.

Wh-What is it?

I'd rather you call me "Kanade" than "miss."

Okay, if you call me Rein.

Okay then, Rein!

I'm glad you're the one who helped me!

What were you doing out here

in the first place, Kanade?

I mean, it's kind of strange

to find an endangered Cat Spirit

in some unremarkable forest

I've just been traveling, is all.

There's not many of us, so we

live quietly, deep in the mountains

But life was kind of boring that way,

so I went on a journey,

where I ran into you,

who saved me!

Feels kind of like fate!

Now, tell me about you, Rein!

Then you were in the Hero's party, Rein?

Yeah. Only for six months, though.

This is strange

Thinking about it has been so depressing,

I never told anyone else,

but I'm telling Kanade everything.

And that's how it went

Kanade?

That Hero ought to be ashamed!

I can't believe he kicked you out

When you're such a nice person!

Are you mad on my behalf?

Of course I am!

Because Rein, you're I

You're really sweet, Kanade.

But it's okay now.

They were right about me being a hindrance,

and I doubt any good would have come

from staying in that party.

Okay.

If you're not mad, Rein, then I'm not mad.

Still kinda frustrated though

Yeah.

Thank you, though.

Oh, no! That was on reflex

What a relief. She doesn't seem to mind.

But I want to make one thing clear.

You're not useless at all, Rein!

If anything, you're really strong!

But I'm just a Beast Tamer.

And you've got an incredible gift for it!

The reason being

I'm pretty sure you could tame me, Rein.

How do I put this?

It's like the second I saw you,

I felt this buzzing, like electricity!

I thought that you would be

able to tame me.

There are only a handful of people in the

whole world who can tame Cat Spirits!

Which means you're really amazing, Rein!

Me, taming a Cat Spirit?

I never even considered it before

Come on, Rein!

Try taming me!

If I could actually tame

an ultimate species

It would be an unimaginably big help.

Nothing like that would ever happen again.

With an ultimate species

Feels kind of like fate!

Oh that's right.

It's not because she's from

an ultimate species.

I want to get to know Kanade better.

Okay. Let's try it.

Yeah!

My name is Rein Shroud.

In establishing this new contract,

a bond is formed.

An oath in our hearts, hopes in our souls

Your power, in my hand.

Speak now your name.

If Kanade gives her name now,

the contract will be formed.

Otherwise

Kanade.

Did it work?

Yep. The contract is sealed.

Look at the palm of your hand.

There's some kind of weird pattern!

It's the symbol of what links us.

You and I are contracted now, Kanade.

Really? Then this means you

and I are bound together, huh!

That's great!

Bound together?

Was I wrong?

No, you're right.

It symbolizes our bond, Kanade!

Yeah!

It's a pleasure to be

traveling with you, Rein!

The feeling is mutual!

Wha—hey!

There are the ultimate species,

with inexplicable power

I was a Beast Tamer kicked

out of the Hero's party,

bereft of a goal or any comrades

And now one of the ultimate

species is working with me.

Hey, aren't we going back to town?

I need to finish my adventurer's trial first.

I think they should be

around here somewhere.

Ah, there we go.

Rabbits?

Yep. First, a temporary contract

There he goes.

But, wait, Rein how can you—

Next, he brings his friends over.

Friends?!

I'm in fluffy heaven!

Then I form temporary

contracts with all of them.

Okay, everyone,

I need you to look for medicinal herbs

in the area and bring them to me.

Be careful not to mistake them

for food and eat them!

Okay, off you go.

That ought to do it

What's wrong?

What the heck is going on?!

You were able to tame so many at once!

And give them complex commands!

Is that really so rare?

You bet it is!

Normal

Even with temporary contracts, most Beast

Tamers can only handle one at a time!

Weird

Not to mention, you've tamed me,

so you shouldn't be able to do any more, Rein!

I mean, I know I said you were

an amazing Beast Tamer, but

This is supposed to be impossible!

Huh, you know a lot

about this stuff, Kanade.

How is this happening?!

I've never heard of a Beast Tamer

doing all this at once!

I'm not sure what to tell you

Back home, everyone can do this sort of thing.

It's just normal for

a Beast Tamer, isn't it?

It's not even kind of normal!

And you called me inexplicable?!

Comrades