The beast tamer exiled from the hero’s party and the cat eared girl from the strongest race meet

Chapter 312 Brother

(TL:By Rafael,valhallatls.blogspot.com)

"Meow... Meow!"

"Take this!"

"Dragoon Howling!!"

Kanade's fist, Tania's tail, and Sora and Luna's magic intercepted the monsters.

Thirty minutes into infiltrating the old castle and exploring its interior.

The demon believed to be the mastermind still hadn't been found.

Instead, sporadic monsters kept appearing and attacking, all of which everyone managed to repel.

Watching their performance, Rifa's expression seemed impressed.

"Amazing."

"Everyone is reliable."

"Even though we're all the strongest species, I feel like they're stronger than me. Is it just the difference in experience? But it feels like there's more to it than that..."

Rifa, saying so, looked at everyone with a somewhat envious gaze.

"Do you want to become stronger, Rifa?"

"Yeah."

"That was a quick response. Any particular reason?"

"I want to be like my big brother."

"You have a brother?"

"Yeah, one older. He's my proud big brother."

Rifa, who always had an expressionless face, now seemed somewhat proud. It seemed she treasured her brother very much.

However, her expression quickly turned dark, almost as if she was about to cry.

"What's wrong...?"

"Sorry. I just remembered my big brother for a moment and got sentimental."

"Could it be..."

"Yeah. My big brother... he's no longer here. He died here."

Before we could even speak, the oni attacked and were defeated, a story I recalled. The participant at that time... must have been Rifa's brother.

"I see... that's what happened."

"My big brother is my pride. So, I'll avenge him."

As Rifa said this, she tightly gripped the scythe handle generated from blood.

I could somewhat understand Rifa's feelings, but I felt she was overburdened. She should relax a bit. However, I thought it would be quite difficult in this situation. Is there any clever way...

"...Would you mind telling me about your brother, Rifa?"

Suddenly, I thought of something and asked.

When Rifa mentioned her brother, she had a very gentle expression.

"Why?"

"Just curious. If remembering him is painful, you don't have to force yourself..."

"Nah, it's okay. It's painful that my big brother died. But memories bring happiness. It's fine."

"Then, is it alright?"

"Yeah, it's okay."

Glancing ahead, Kanade winked as if to say she would take over. She seemed to understand our situation before we even said anything. She's really a reliable comrade.

Deciding to rely on everyone's kindness, I focused on talking to Rifa. By doing so, I wanted to unravel her heart.

"My big brother is really smart. Not only that, he's strong too. Among us, he's at the top."

"Among the oni's top... Hmm, I can't quite imagine that."

"Why?"

"The strength of the strongest species is extraordinary, so it's hard to imagine it up close. I see. Compared to Rifa, how strong is your brother?"

"A thousand times stronger."

"Huh?"

"My big brother is a thousand times stronger than me."

There's a sense of pride in her expression. He's probably in the class of people like Suzu and Al.

Well, saying a thousand times might be an exaggeration...

On the other hand, it's evidence of how much Rifa admires her brother and how proud she is of him.

"If I want to become strong like him, I have to work hard."

"Yeah."

"If there's anything we can do, we'll help."

"Really?"

"Of course."

"Then... no, never mind."

Rifa stopped herself before saying something.

I wonder what she was about to say?

Though I was curious, the conversation moved on before I could ask.

"I want to become strong like my big brother, but it seems my big brother didn't like the idea of me becoming strong."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. Because I'm a girl, he said I should do girly things instead of fighting or anything like that."

"I see. Well, I can understand that."

"Do you think I should be more girly, Rain?"

"Hmm... I'm not sure."

It might be an outdated notion, but I believe that girls should act like girls.

Well... when I look at everyone, even such thoughts seem to vanish.

"Mmm. Rain is just like my big brother."

With a sulky expression, Rifa puffed out her cheeks.

"I want to be like my big brother. But even so, my big brother says, 'Don't become like me.' He's mean."

"I don't think he's mean."

"Why?"

"Because I'm a guy too... I understand that guys can be a bit selfish, or rather, they have certain expectations of how girls should be. Especially when it comes to their loved ones."

"I see... the male heart is complicated."

She doesn't seem very convinced.

But I guess that's understandable.

There's a kind of imposition in wanting someone to be a certain way.

"Rain might be similar to my big brother."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah."

Rifa stared at me intently.

"...Pat my head."

"Huh? Why?"

"My big brother used to pat my head a lot. So, pat mine too."

I couldn't understand the reason behind it...

But if it's what Rifa wants, then I gently patted her head.

"Ah..."

Rifa's face turned blissful.

Seeing her enjoying it so much, I inadvertently put more effort into patting her.

Rifa's eyes glazed over, and she seemed to be drooling a bit...

Shortly after, she snapped back to reality, and her gaze focused.

"That was close. I was about to be ensnared."

"Um... did you like it?"

"Yeah. Patting by Rain feels good. It's as good as my big brother's, if not better."

"Thank you?"

Well, I guess I'm being praised in a way.

"Pat me a bit more."

"Alright."

If that's what she wants, I'll pat her head as much as she likes.

Slowly, gently.

Lightly, with a 'pon pon' motion.

And how much time passed like this?

"...Big brother..."

A single tear trickled down Rifa's cheek.

She must be remembering her brother.

Feeling uneasy, I gently wiped away Rifa's tears with my fingertip.

Upon feeling the touch, Rifa looked at me, surprised.

"Ah... Rain."

"Sorry. Did I make you remember something painful?"

"No... it's not painful. It's about my big brother. But... I was crying. I see... I was crying."

She seemed to realize just now that she was crying.

Rifa looked at the tear on her fingertip... then, she touched her own cheek.

Her tear touched Rifa's hand.

"..."

Rifa stared at her wet hand, then lowered her head again.

She remained frozen in that position...

Eventually, she clenched her hand tightly.

It was a sight of determination.

Surely, she's thinking about her brother and her comrades inside her heart.

How to face them, what words to offer, how to interact with them.

Thinking about such things... and in the midst of turning those feelings into strong convictions.

"Rain."

After a moment, Rifa raised her head.

Her eyes weren't wet with tears.

Instead, they were filled with strong determination.

"Let's go."

"Yeah."

Taking Rifa's hand, I headed towards the depths of the old castle with my comrades.

TL Note- Shoutout to all big brothers out there......

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