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

Chapter 326: Looks like the positions are reversed?

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

"... Yes?"

What is Chiffon saying?

Unable to understand, I accidentally let out a dumbfounded voice.

"Ah..."

Seeing my reaction, Chiffon blushed with embarrassment.

However, she still held out the colored paper and pen towards me. With a mixture of hope and anxiety, she asked again.

"Um... Can I get your autograph?"

"Um... What? Huh?"

"Like I said, I'd really like your autograph."

"Autograph? As in, like, the kind that famous people give when they sign their names? That kind of autograph?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"...Why?"

I was completely puzzled by Chiffon's actions.

Why would she want my autograph? Is she trying to get me to co-sign a loan? Or maybe she's cooking up some excuse to forge my handwriting?

All these strange thoughts were going through my head, but Chiffon still seemed earnest, keeping the colored paper and pen extended towards me.

"Um, well, you see, I'm a fan of you, Rain!"

"Wait, a fan?"

What's going on?

I couldn't make sense of it.

"What do you mean? I don't really understand..."

"Like I said, I'm a fan of you, Rain! Even before you became a hero, from when you were just an adventurer!"

"...Why?"

Chiffon wasn't just A-rank, she had also been an adventurer longer than I had. I was also A-rank, but only recently. And I haven't even been an adventurer for a year.

I don't think I have any qualities worth admiring... Right? When I told her this, Chiffon disagreed strongly.

"I think you're amazing, Rain!"

"Oh, um... Okay?"

"First, you destroyed the bandit gang, Black Fang, right? Even we had a hard time with them, but you took them down soon after you became an adventurer. Then you exposed the misdeeds of the Lord of Horizon and defeated a demon! After that, you also defeated the demon in Pagos..."

Why does Chiffon know so much about me? Is she a stalker? I hope I'm not being too rude thinking that.

"Um... While all of that is true, I didn't do it by myself. I had my companions with me, and it's thanks to them. My abilities aren't all that great."

"But you were the leader, right? You made the decisions for the party, didn't you?"

"I guess I did."

"Then, see? You really are amazing, Rain."

Chiffon spoke slowly, with a warm expression on her face.

"It's not just about destroying bandits or defeating demons. Of course, that's impressive. But, you see, to me, those things are just the surface."

"What do you mean?"

"It's not about what you achieved, but what you thought and why you acted. That's the most important part."

"What I thought and acted on..."

"Rain, you did things for others, didn't you? You didn't just act for yourself, but for others. That's something not many people can do. Although I wasn't watching you all the time, I could tell that you were doing things for someone else's sake. It really comes across. That's why I admire you."

"Um... Thank you."

She spoke so straightforwardly that it made me quite embarrassed. But at the same time, it made me happy.

Even though I often do things wrong...

But hearing someone tell me that I'm not wrong, it felt really good.

Being appreciated by someone is truly a wonderful thing. It makes me feel like I can keep going.

"Thank you, Chiffon. I'm glad you said that."

"No, thank you."

"No, really, thank you."

"No, I'm the one who should be thanking you."

"Uh..."

Right at the point where we started an awkward back-and-forth about who should thank who, Mr. Kais quietly chimed in.

Whoops. I had completely forgotten about him.

"Lady Chiffon, I understand that you're happy to meet Rain, but could you please keep it discreet? It might be misconstrued that the hero is favoring certain adventurers."

"I don't play favorites!"

"I know that, but some people might not see it that way."

"Ugh... Such a hassle."

I didn't know Chiffon well, so I couldn't really tell, but with Mr. Kais, she seemed relaxed and more at ease. Maybe she trusted him or felt comfortable around him. It was a hint of their relationship.

"Also, could you ask for the autograph later? There's something else you need to discuss, right?"

"Ah, yes, of course. Sorry, I was just really excited to meet the real Rain in person."

From Kais's words, it seemed like there was something more important to talk about.

Well, I guess that makes sense. A hero wouldn't come all this way just to ask for an autograph.

Chiffon cleared her throat and began speaking with a more serious tone.

"I'll get your autograph later, okay?"

It wasn't over yet.

"Lady Chiffon..."

"I-I know, I know. What I just said was... kind of a joke."

It had sounded quite serious, but I decided not to comment on it.

"Um... actually, I have a favor to ask, Rain. It's a request."

"A request for me?"

This was strange.

I didn't know Chiffon's exact abilities, but...

Given that she used to be an A-rank adventurer and is now a hero, she must be quite skilled.

Yet here she was, making a request to another adventurer. Did she need extra hands, or was it something even she couldn't handle?

I hoped it was the former... but which was it?

"Please keep what I'm about to tell you confidential. Of course, you can decide whether or not to accept the request after I explain, but I ask that you don't share this information with anyone."

"I understand. I promise."

"Thank you. So, about the request... I think it might be best to explain my current objective first. Right now, my main goal is to collect legendary equipment."

"Is there some equipment here in Krios?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Oh? Then why are you here?"

"Like I said earlier, with all these stampedes happening, it's an unusual situation, so I couldn't ignore it. The king tried to stop me, but I ignored him. Ugh... He might be mad at me later."

We'd only just met, but I felt that Chiffon was a really good person. Despite the king's disapproval, she came to Krios; not everyone would go that far.

Also, I felt strangely at ease talking to her. It must have been her calming aura.

Comparing her to Arios might be odd, but... Chiffon seemed like she could be a great hero.

"Sorry, I got a bit off track again."

"No problem. So, the request—does it have to do with the equipment?"

"Yeah, it does. Right now, I've inherited the Shield of Truth and the Ring of Heaven from the previous hero. The only piece I'm missing is the Comet Sword."

"The Comet Sword... huh."

I remembered hearing about it while traveling with Arios. It was said to have been forged by a certain most powerful species from a piece of a falling star. The blade was said to cut through anything and would remain sharp even after a thousand uses.

Several decades had passed since the last war with the demons. During the chaos after the war, the Comet Sword had vanished, but had Chiffon found it?

"And this is the Comet Sword."

"Huh?"

Chiffon carefully placed a sword on the table.

"Have you already found it?"

"Yeah."

She answered without hesitation. I thought she'd need help finding it or maybe needed assistance getting to a difficult location.

"But there's a bit of a problem... Can you try pulling it out?"

"I'm not a hero. Can I pull it out?"

"You have the same blood, right? You should be able to."

"Oh, right."

I felt embarrassed for asking such a silly question. Seeing this, Chiffon giggled softly, clearly enjoying herself.

"Okay, let's see..."

Following her instructions, I tried pulling out the sword... but it didn't budge? No, it did move a little. It wasn't stuck, but...

"This is... really bad."

I managed to pull the sword out, but the blade was completely rusted, and there were chips and cracks all over. It didn't look like a legendary weapon at all.

"I don't know what happened, but that's how it was when I found it," Chiffon said.

"What are you going to do about it?"

"Of course, we'll repair it. But we don't have enough power to do it ourselves... Please, could you and your team help us?"

The new hero had brought a request—a job to repair the legendary sword.

TL Note- Have we found the side quest? Sorry for the missed release, I'm having my exams and will have them for the whole May, it's May Mania for me.

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