The beast tamer exiled from the hero’s party and the cat eared girl from the strongest race meet
Today is such a beautiful day.
The sky is completely blue, with white clouds slowly drifting across it.
The warm sunlight feels really pleasant.
If I didn’t have errands to run, I’d love to stop by the park and take a nap.
"Hey, Rain."
Rifa, who came shopping with me, spoke up curiously.
"People are looking at me a lot, you know?"
"Unlike Krios, there aren’t many ‘strongest races’ in Horizon. So you stand out a bit. Is it bothering you?"
"No, not at all. It doesn’t feel bad. This is a nice city."
Rifa said that with a small smile.
That made me a little happy.
To me, Horizon is the place where I began my journey as an adventurer, where I have a home, and it’s become a city I’m really fond of.
So hearing Rifa call it a nice city made me honestly glad.
"Hey, Rain."
"Yeah?"
"Why is Tania keeping her distance?"
"Uh…"
Rifa was looking curiously at—
"…"
Tania, who was facing away from us the entire time.
She was supposed to come shopping with us too, but ever since we left the house, she’s been like this.
Well, actually—
Saying “since we left the house” might not be entirely accurate.
She’s been acting like this for a while now.
Whenever we see each other at home, she lets out a small scream and runs off.
When we eat in the living room, she takes the furthest seat from me.
Lately, I don’t even remember having a proper conversation with her.
It might sound rude, but it reminds me of how Phinia was at the beginning.
"Rain, did you do something bad?"
"No, not really. It’s just… you know…"
It’s hard to explain.
Tania’s acting this way almost certainly has to do with the whole confession thing.
Even someone as dense as me can figure that much out.
She’s blushing and clearly flustered—so yeah, no doubt about it.
The fact that Tania ended up like this is honestly kind of surprising…
But, maybe a bit contradictory, I sort of understand it too.
Tania is usually confident, strong-willed, and assertive…
But she’s still a girl.
When it comes to romance, it seems like she doesn’t handle it well. Once she starts thinking about it, she just can’t act normal anymore.
To be honest, I also haven’t known how to approach her or what to say… so I’ve just left things as they are—
And now we’ve ended up with this awkward situation.
"I really need to do something, but I have no idea what…"
"You guys didn’t fight?"
"Nope."
"A love triangle?"
"Where did you even learn that word…? Well, I guess you’re not entirely wrong."
"Rain, you womanizer."
"Again, where are you learning these words?"
"Secret."
Could this be Rezona’s influence?
She’s so bold and free-spirited, it wouldn’t be surprising if she was saying all kinds of strange things around a young girl.
"You have to make up. You must."
"I know, but how?"
"Rain, you’re hopeless."
"Ugh… Sorry."
"No choice then. Just leave it to me."
"Huh? You’re going to do something?"
I wonder what she’s planning?
Curious, I watched her closely.
"Tania."
"W-what?"
"Come here, come here."
"Eh? Wai—"
Rifa grabbed Tania’s hand and pulled her back over.
"Rain, hold out your hand."
"Like this?"
"Okay. Touch."
"“!?”"
Rifa placed Tania’s hand on top of mine.
The unexpected move caught me off guard.
Tania seemed just as surprised—her already red face turned an even deeper shade of crimson.
"H-Hey, R-Rifa!? What are you doing?!"
"Tania, you’re the one at fault for getting flustered. You can’t keep avoiding Rain."
"Ugh… I-I mean, but this is, uh—"
"Making excuses isn’t like a dragon. Totally uncool."
"U-Uncool…?!"
Tania looked deeply shocked, even stumbling in place a little.
If a kid like Rifa called me uncool, I’d definitely be crushed too.
"All done. Rain and Tania are friends again."
Looking satisfied, like she’d just completed an important mission, Rifa beamed proudly.
Meanwhile, Tania and I had no idea how to respond—we were both just standing there, blushing and awkward.
But… I can’t just leave it at that, can I?
What should I do now?
I still don’t really know, but… in times like this, I think it’s up to me—as the guy—to take the lead.
At least, I understand that much.
"Tania, um… since we’re already out, want to keep shopping like this?"
"Eh!? L-Like this…? Still holding hands?"
"Y-Yeah, pretty much."
"But, uh… are you okay with that, Rain?"
"I’m fine with it."
"!"
Tania flinched slightly at my immediate answer.
Then, almost timidly, she looked up at my face.
Her cheeks were bright red.
Her eyes were glistening with emotion.
But this time, she didn’t look away—she gazed directly at me.
And I met her eyes without turning away.
"…"
"…"
We both got too embarrassed and looked away at the same time.
"Hey, no looking away!"
"Y-Yeah, but still…"
"This is really embarrassing, you know?"
"You’ve got to push through the embarrassment. Come on, let’s do this!"
"Ughhh…"
And so began Rifa’s mysterious “training session.”
Until Tania and I were finally able to talk normally again, she worked us hard—really hard.
Thank you for the chapter!
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