Chapter 14 – The Legendary Beast-Taming Art
Take this for example: even fox-bears go wild for Longan Fruit—so imagine how much a rhino would love it.
Osren gave a subtle hum of acknowledgment as he watched the rhinos contentedly. As the saying goes: you can't bite the hand that feeds you. But more than that, it was Gon's natural friendliness that set the tone.
After devouring the Longan Fruits, the two white rhinos stopped their aggressive snorting. The female, who had been pawing the ground to charge, calmed down. Their aggressive posture faded, and they nestled quietly side by side, even touching noses every so often—showing off their affection like no one else was around.
They really couldn't care less about the humans watching.
Leorio breathed a sigh of relief and set the metal case beside him—at least the danger had passed for now. Meanwhile, Matthew collapsed to the ground, his twin batons clattering beside him. The encounter had nearly scared the life out of him.
Kurapika, on the other hand, eyed the huge backpack slung over Gon's shoulders. Apples, bread, Longan Fruit… All of it had come from there. Was that entire pack just filled with food?
Osren exhaled slowly. Two massive rhinos had a kind of primal intimidation to them. And if what Gon said was true—that Longan Fruit was a rare delicacy from Whale Island—then it really was one less fruit with every bite. If it hadn't been for the circus antics earlier, this mess wouldn't have happened.
So Osren decided to do something about it.
"I haven't told you all yet—but I'm a beast tamer. I practice beast-taming arts." He casually strolled back to the group and made the announcement as if discussing the weather.
"Beast-taming?"
The term was unfamiliar to Gon, Leorio, and the others. They looked at him in confusion.
"What's a beast tamer, Osren?" Gon asked directly—true to his curious nature.
"Simply put, it's someone who can train wild animals to follow complex commands. It's somewhat similar to how you can communicate with animals, Gon—but still quite different at its core," Osren explained. "That's why I want to try asking these two rhinos to help us."
Matthew stood up and dusted himself off, still looking rattled. Upon hearing Osren's plan, he scoffed with a dismissive sneer. Bribing the rhinos with rare fruit, then calling it beast-taming? If he had been given that Longan Fruit, he could've pulled it off too.
"Beast-taming? What if it backfires and makes things worse?" Matthew grumbled, acting like he hadn't just nearly gotten them all killed. He seemed to have forgotten that it was his intrusion into the rhinos' territory that started this whole mess.
Osren ignored Matthew and stepped toward the rhinos. He stopped just a pace away, looking them in the eye.
"Going to use an even rarer fruit?" Leorio guessed based on Osren's actions.
"White rhinos aren't magical beasts. They don't have human-level intelligence. Even a rarer fruit than the Longan wouldn't be enough to make them cooperate," Kurapika countered with a calm analysis.
But to both their surprise, Osren didn't ask Gon for more fruit. Instead, he began softly communicating with the rhinos—occasionally letting out deep, low-pitched growls.
Even Kurapika, with all his knowledge, had never heard of anything like this.
"So that's what beast-taming looks like…" Gon murmured. He had been standing right next to the rhinos but now deliberately stepped back, giving them space.
Although Leorio had just been making a fuss and seemed skeptical, seeing Osren preparing to demonstrate his secret technique, he still turned around and respectfully faced away.
Kurapika, ever the gentleman, had already stepped aside and closed his eyes, lost in thought.
Only Matthew tried to eavesdrop. He didn't care whether it was useful or not—if it was a secret, he wanted in. He stood not far away, tiptoeing quietly, trying to peek. But without seeing the boy's mouth, even his lip-reading skills were useless. Scratching his head in frustration, he was dying to know what kind of mysterious beast-taming technique this clever little brat had up his sleeve.
Half a minute later, Osren finished.
"Good news, everyone," he said casually. "I just negotiated with the rhino couple—they've agreed to escort us out of the forest to the nearby town."
Leorio blinked. "They're giving us a ride? For real?"
"Is beast taming really a thing?" Kurapika asked, clearly unsure due to how cryptic Osren had been.
"I am a Beast Tamer, after all," Osren replied calmly. "Even rhinos have to give me some professional courtesy. As long as you say the passphrase, they'll let you ride."
"There's a passphrase? What is it? Let's hear it," Leorio said, now fully interested.
"The passphrase is... 'Osren is super handsome,'" he said without missing a beat.
And just as the words "Osren is super handsome" left his lips, the rhino couple lowered their forelegs respectfully, clearly waiting for riders. Leorio had a snarky comeback ready but swallowed it on the spot.
Such a ridiculous password actually worked? That didn't make sense!
"It really is some kind of amazing beast-taming technique. Too bad I didn't get a good look," Matthew muttered, eyes gleaming with curiosity. He was kicking himself for not getting closer.
"There are two rhinos, but if too many people ride one, it'll slow us down or even be dangerous. But if I ride one by myself… I could get there faster and safer. I already know the password, so why should I hang around with these kids…" Matthew silently plotted, already getting itchy feet.
He edged toward the rhinos.
Then Osren suddenly called out, "Matthew, come here. I need to talk to you."
Matthew quickly dropped his scheming look and obediently walked over—after all, the white rhino was in the direction he wanted to go.
"Look, since you're a bit clumsy, I'll make this simple: Just say the password and you're good to go. But whatever you do, never say the words 'Himalayan monkey' while riding the rhino. Got it? The consequences would be very serious. Extremely serious."
"Himalayan monkey? What's the Himalayan...?" Matthew frowned. And what exactly were the "serious consequences"?
"Don't worry about what it means," Osren said with a grave expression. "Even if someone points a gun at you, you cannot say it. Trust me—you do not want to find out what happens."
"…Got it," Matthew nodded seriously.
With two rhinos available, the group began to split up.
"Osren, let's ride one together," Gon said.
"I want to go with Osren too," Leorio cut in quickly.
While everyone was distracted, Matthew suddenly shouted, "Osren is super handsome!" and dashed forward, vaulting onto the male rhino's back with lightning speed.
The rhino let out a deep bellow, then charged like a mini truck, tearing off into the forest. Matthew had stolen a rhino and made a head start.