...Huh?

　Amidst everyone's surprise, Nina looked unsure of what to expect.

'Um ... guest?'
What?

　The clerk looks at me weirdly.

'Oh, no, no, it's nothing!　I'm fine.
Really?　If that's not a problem.......yes. If you have any additional orders, please feel free to give me a shout.

　The clerk smiled and disappeared into the back again.

''Huh...''

　To think that if he'd heard what you just said...
　Heartbreaking.

'Well everybody be quiet, okay?　I don't know why you're surprised, but it's what it is, and I don't want others to hear too much about it.
'Uh-huh. I'm sorry...

When did you get to that point?
'I mean, what happens to Arios?　There are too many things I don't quite understand.

　Everyone looks at me in wonderment...
　I nod my head when I see that.

'Huh?　Didn't I tell you?
Don't talk to me!　I don't know anything.
'I know that Arios was captured, but as for the brave... oh, I see. Come to think of it, we haven't talked about it yet.

　On the way, because Arios was about to trap me and everyone else, I completely forgot to tell him about the situation, including the fact that I have the blood of a brave man.
　This is a good time to talk about it.

　The fact that I have the blood of a brave man.
　Arios was disqualified from being a brave man and imprisoned.
　And that the king asked him to become the next brave man.

　I explained them all together.


'I see. So Rayne's ridiculous tame ability is because she has the blood of a brave man. That explains it, and it makes sense.

　Part of me nodded with a look of approval as I spoke...

'Yes!　That dumbass finally got caught!　And he's been imprisoned!　Suck it up.
I'll bring you some food, you know. Hmmm, it's so interesting to flick his favorite food in front of the prison, but instead of giving it to him, I'm going to eat it right in front of him.

　Some are laughing their asses off at Arios' arrest...


''That's great, isn't it a great promotion. Sola is very proud of that as a Rain messenger.

　Part of me was very impressed.

''Hey, hey, so we're going to be the brave party now?''
'Hmmm, I might be asked for an autograph or something. Hmm. I'd better practice my signature now.
I don't like to stand out, but it doesn't feel bad to be respected. Hmmm.

　We were all paranoid about this and that.
　I'm sorry to be the one to stab you in the face with it, but....

''Uh I told you before, but if you were talking about a brave man, I would have said no.''

　Silence.

　And .....

""Why?!"

　Everyone's eyes widened in amazement as they layered their voices in a splendid manner.
　..........By the way, Nina is pompous and self-paced.

''Um........customer?''
Hahaha, you know, it's nothing. Anything. Don't worry about it.
'Huh...'

　I manage to cajole the clerk and make a gesture to everyone to be quiet.

'I can't let anyone else hear this kind of talk so... let's keep the volume down, shall we?
'But, but but... why?　I could be a brave man, but to turn him down....hey, hey, why?

　Kanade looks like he doesn't understand and asks me questions.
　Everyone else feels the same way.

　Well, it's not hard to understand how they feel.
　It's a huge promotion from being a mere adventurer to a hero.
　Normally, there's no way I'd turn it down.

　But.....

Ummm ... what can I say?

　It's hard to put into words what's on my mind right now.
　But I want to face everyone properly so...

　One by one, though poorly worded, he lays out his heart in words.

'I've spoken to Kanade and Tania before but if there's anything I can do, I'll do my best. I'm willing to do whatever it takes. That's what I was thinking... but I don't think I'm ready for it yet.
Meow?　Ready?
I guess that's the kind of thing you need to be prepared to do as a brave man.

　I have become a brave man.
　My goal is to defeat the Demon King.

　......It's not that simple.

　The qualification of being a brave man is heavy.
　It's incredibly........probably even heavier than I imagined.
　You have to accept the expectations of the people and....
　Basically, failure is absolutely unacceptable.

　And above all, the brave must put the mission of the brave first.

　For example, do you save the lives of your friends or take the life of the Demon King?
　What if you encounter such a choice between the two?
　You have to be able to toss the demon king without hesitation.
　That's what being a brave person is all about.

I'm not yet prepared to go that far. When the time comes, I don't think I can sacrifice everyone else but I'm not sure I can.
'That's an extreme, Thora thinks, but...'
No, no. No, that's not entirely true. You know from the last incident that you never know when you're going to get into a situation, right?
''Ugh well that's just the way it is...''
And when it comes to fighting the Demon King, danger is inevitable. Forcing your companions to fight like that is like sacrificing them... and to be honest, I can't help but think that's a bit of a stretch.
'Rain is too kind. You don't have to worry about us, do you?
That's not how it works. They're all very important to me.

　If I can do it, if I have the power to do it....
　She wants to defeat the Demon King and bring peace to the world.
　But when it comes to forcing my friends to risk their lives in order to do so, I can't help but feel lost.

　If you say I'm naive, you're right, and I can't argue with you about anything.
　But.....
　He's a very important friend to me.
　They're as important to me as my own life ... or even more so.

'You care about it too much, don't you, Rain?　I feel like I'm thinking too much about the mission of a brave man, but I'm not.
Well, I guess you could be right.
Why don't you take it easy?
It doesn't work that way. You have to think properly and face that responsibility or you'll end up like Arios.
'Ugh I hate that. It's incredibly convincing.
Right?

　I say lightly and jokingly.
　Tania chuckles.

'And I think there are some things you have to be an adventurer to do.
Yeah?　What's that about?
A normal... boy, a normal Ken?
Nice try, Nina.
I'm sorry...
So that means you're asking for it, right?
Well, I guess that's pretty much it.

　Before I knew it, it was in quiz form.

'When you become a brave person, you can't take on normal requests. If a brave man were to accept a request easily, everyone would ask for it... and if you have time to do that, proceed with your journey to defeat the demon king.
Well, I suppose that's what being a brave man is all about, isn't it?
'That might cause some people to be able to help, but they can't. I don't like that....I don't like that, I don't.
Yeah ... that's the kind of person Rain is... right?
Yeah, I think so. We like it that way.

　Nina and Tina laughed in agreement with my thoughts.
　Everyone else gave me the same look.

　Everyone else is with me....
　Thanks for being there for me.
　I can move forward with confidence.

　A friend is not just a friend in a fight.
　It's the kind of thing that supports your heart when you're with them, and that's how I felt again.

I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most out of your time with us. That's the answer I came up with.
'I see... yeah!　That's a very Rain-like answer. I think it's a good one.

　Kanade smiles and agrees with me.
　As if that was a signal, everyone else nodded their heads as well.

''Of course, if the war against the demon race starts in earnest or something like that, we'll do our best to do that as well.
'But if Rain refuses to be brave, it's going to be a vacancy, isn't it?　Is that a problem?
'No problem. It looks like I'm not the only candidate for the next brave, there are others.
Huh, well you're not going to end up like that scrappy brave next time, are you?
'Tania, that's quite a bit to say... well, I can't argue with that, and I rather agree with you.
It's what Lane says.

　They giggle at each other.

'I don't think we need to worry about that. The king is a wise man, so he won't make the same mistake again and he'll think of various countermeasures. Well, it's not like we'll be deciding on a brave man any time soon.
'Somebody refused, so they couldn't decide right away!
Don't say that.

　Luna pointed out to me, and I gave her a pained look...
　Everyone laughed at me when they saw me.