The Goddess Granted Me the [Hatching] Skill and Somehow I Became the Strongest Tamer, Commanding Mythical and Divine Beasts - Chapter 120: Taming Contest

Chapter 120: Taming Contest

“Hey, you!”

After parting ways with Charlotte and returning to the dormitory, four students approached me.

It seemed like two boys and two girls from the same group. All of them were glaring at me.

“Um, do you need something?”

Maybe they wanted me to introduce them to Charlotte. With that hope in mind, I responded, but…

“Don’t get too friendly with the Count’s daughter when you’re just an outsider!”

“Huh?”

I froze at their completely unreasonable accusation.

“Listen up! There’s an unspoken rule in our Tamer School.”

One of the boys raised his right index finger and began explaining.

“The lineage of the first tamer, Rint, is sacred. Tamers must command, love, and live alongside their tamed beasts. We must never speak to her directly and only watch over her from afar.”

“That’s right! Talking to her is totally disrespectful!”

“We just want to watch over her smile!”

“So we can’t allow an outsider like you to break the rules!”

All four of them started ranting at me.

“Wait a minute. So you’re saying the reason none of you ever talked to Charlotte was because of this ridiculous rule?”

“R-Ridiculous?!”

One of the boys turned red with anger and glared at me.

“Who even wants that? Charlotte is hurt, you know?”

She was ashamed that no one from our school wanted to pair up with her for the tamer camp, so she ended up inviting me instead.

“…But we were always told to do it this way…”

When I told them how sad Charlotte was, they exchanged glances and mumbled.

“Who told you that?”

I was curious about who forced them to follow such a rule.

“The person in charge of this event.”

Negrei’s face came to mind. So he was the one putting pressure on Charlotte.

“Sorry, but I’m not going to distance myself from Charlotte.”

I declared firmly. If I followed their demand, I’d be just as guilty as them. More importantly, I didn’t want things to go as the mastermind planned.

“She’s an important friend to me!”

When I stated that clearly, they became visibly angry.

“Then have a match with me!”

One of the students pointed at me and issued a challenge.

The next morning, we all gathered outside the dormitory.

“Alright, yesterday everyone explored the island and learned about the terrain and the monsters living here.”

“The purpose of this tamer camp is to observe wild monsters, understand them better, befriend them, and form bonds. From now on, we will enter the period where you can acquire a tamed beast, applying everything you’ve learned so far.”

After saying that, the teacher stepped back. For the next three days until the retrieval ship arrived, we were free to act as we pleased.

We could gather food and water to survive, observe monster behavior, or try to befriend and form contracts with them.

“Um… aren’t we being glared at?”

While most groups immediately started moving, one group of four students remained, staring daggers at me.

They probably didn’t like that I was with Charlotte.

“Uh… they kind of challenged me to a contest…”

I hesitated but told her.

“A contest…?”

She tilted her head, looking curious about the details.

The challenge was to see who could bring back the rarest monster.

“You better keep your promise if we win!”

“I never even agreed to this.”

I was getting tired of them deciding everything on their own.

“And what exactly is this promise?”

I couldn’t bring myself to complain, so Charlotte shot a sharp look at the four students.

“If we win, we’ll make sure he stays away from Lady Charlotte!”

However, the boy who challenged me proudly told Charlotte about their condition.

“…I don’t want that.”

“Huh? W-Wait…”

He panicked as Charlotte glared at him, even though he thought he was doing something good for her.

“You are from a prestigious and pure tamer family!”

“You’re our role model! We can’t allow such an honorable person to be led astray by a man with a suspicious background!”

“That’s why we—”

“Enough!”

Charlotte cut them off sharply.

“If you try to force this selfishness on me and separate me from Lord Klaus, then I will—”

Charlotte was getting worked up. Unlike her usual self, she was clearly angry and about to say something harsh.

“Charlotte, stop.”

“…Mmph!”

I covered her mouth with my right hand.

The four students seemed too shaken by Charlotte’s anger to react.

“Fine. If you insist, I’ll accept your challenge.”

“Lord Klaus?!”

Charlotte turned to me with clear disapproval in her eyes.

“But if I win, you’ll have to listen to one request from me.”

After I said that, we all went our separate ways.