Unya........nyah!
Eat this!
"'Dragoon Howling!

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

　We rushed into the old castle and searched inside for about thirty minutes.
　We still haven't found the demon race that we thought was the mastermind.
　Instead, demons appeared and attacked sporadically, but everyone had fought off all of them.

　Seeing the extent of their activities, Rifa looks impressed.

''Amazing.''
You're all very resourceful.
You're the same strongest species, but you seem to be stronger than me. Experience?　But I don't think there's more to it than that...

　Rifa looked at everyone with a somewhat envious look in her eyes as she said that.

''Does Rifa want to be strong?''
Yes.
A quick answer. Any reason?
I want to be like my brother.
Does Rifa have a brother?
Yeah. One upstairs. I'm so proud of you.

　Rifa is always expressionless, but right now she had a vaguely proud look on her face.
　That's how much she cares about her brother.

　However, his face would soon turn dark.
　It was a face that looked like it might start to cry if it were to happen.

''What's the matter...?''
'I'm sorry. I just got a little sentimental about my brother for a minute.
Maybe....
Hm. My brother is already gone. He died in here.

　I remembered that before we were approached, the demon tribe attacked us and we were returned to them.
　The participant at that time........must be Rifa's brother.

''So that's what happened.........''
I'm proud of you. And I'm going to get even.

　Rifa gripped the hilt of the blood-generated scythe tightly as she said this.

　It wasn't hard to understand Rifa's feelings, but even so, she felt a little too enthusiastic.
　It would be better to relax his shoulders a little.
　However, that would be quite difficult to do in this situation.
　What's a good way to do it....

''Well if you don't mind, can you tell me about Rifa's brother?''

　I suddenly thought of something like that and asked him about it.
　Rifa had a very kind face when she mentioned her brother.

''Why?''
'Sort of. I'm not saying you have to force yourself if it's hard to think back, but...
No, I'm fine. It's hard to hear about your brother's death. But I'm happy to remember him. It's all right.
Okay?
Hmm. Okay, yeah.

　Looking lightly ahead, Kanade winked at me as if to say, leave this one to me.
　It seems that he sensed our situation before he said anything else.
　It's really a dependable companion.

　I'll take advantage of everyone's goodwill here, and I'll focus on talking with Rifa.
　By doing so, I want to unwind her mind.

''My brother is very smart. That's not only that, he's strong. He's one of the best of us.
One of the best of the demon tribe... well, I can't imagine how it would be.
Why?
'The strength of the strongest species is off the charts, so it's hard to imagine it close to home. That's right. Compared to Rifa, how strong is your brother compared to Rifa?
A thousandfold.
What?
My brother is a thousand times stronger than me.

　With a somewhat proud face, Rifa was clear about it.

　Probably Suz-san or Al-san, they're in that class.
　I somehow understood that they must be that strong.

　Well, as expected, a thousand times more is probably an exaggeration, but.......
　On the contrary, it proves that Rifa adores her brother that much and how proud she is of him.

'I admired my brother and tried to become strong too. I trained for it.
That's why the Rifa is so strong.
'But I'm not there yet. I can't reach my brother's level. My brother is a thousand times stronger than me.

　There's an extra digit.

Then you'll have to work harder to be strong.
Yes.
If there's anything we can do to help, we'll help.
Really?
Of course.
Well then, no. I'm still good.

　He was about to say something and Rifa swallowed the words.

　What was he about to say?
　I'm curious, but before I can ask a question, the conversation moves on to the next.

I want to be strong like my brother, but he doesn't think well of me becoming strong.
Is that so?
Yeah. He said I'm a girl and I should be doing something girly, not fighting or anything like that.
I see. Well, that makes sense, doesn't it?
Do you think I should just be a girl?
I wonder...

　Maybe it's an anachronistic idea, but I think girls should just be girls.
　Well when I look at you all, I feel like I'm going to be blown away by that idea.

''Mm. Rain is with her brother.

　Rifa puffed out her cheeks in a huff.

'I want to be like my brother. And yet, your brother tells you not to be. 'You're mean,'
I don't think I'm being mean to you.
Why?
I know this because I'm a guy too, but guys are a bit selfish and have a tendency to want their girls to be like them. Especially when it's someone you care about.
Well a man's mind is complicated.

　He's not very convinced.
　I don't blame him for that.
　There's a certain kind of imposition of what I want it to be like.

'Rain might be a lot like her brother.
Is that so?
"Hm.

　Rifa was staring at me.

'....Stroke my head.
'What?　Why?
"My brother used to stroke my head a lot. So pet me too, Rain.

　I don't know what the reason is, but...
　He gently stroked his head, hoping that Rifa would want him to.

'Aww,'

　Rifa looks ecstatic.
　Since she looks so comfortable, I can't help but put my hand into stroking her.

　Rifa's eyes are glazed over, and she's almost drooling a bit....
　Not long after, their gazes focus on each other with a huff of realization.

'Watch out. I was about to be taken prisoner.
'Well ... you like it?'
Yeah. Rain's stroking feels good. It's no better than your brother's.
Thank you?

　It's a compliment, in case you're wondering, right?

'Stroke me some more,'
Good.

　As much as you want.
　It's not as big a deal as this, so I continue to stroke Rifa's head.
　Slowly and gently.
　Poppin' lightly.

　And so, how much time has passed?

.........brother.......

　Rifa spilled a single tear.
　She must be remembering her brother.

　I felt uncomfortable and gently wiped Rifa's tears away with my fingertips.
　When I felt that touch, Rifa looked at me in surprise.

''Ah........Rain.
I'm sorry. Did I remind you of something painful?
No....it's never been hard for me. It's your brother. But I was crying. Oh, I see, I was crying.

　He seems to realize that he's crying now.
　
　The tears touched Rifa's hand.

''..........''

　Rifa slumped again as she stared at her wet hands.
　He froze in the same position...
　Eventually, he closed his hands tightly.

　It was like a scene of determination.
　I'm sure he's thinking about his brother and his friends in his heart.
　How should I face them, what words should I say to them, how should I treat them?
　I'm sure he is in the process of transforming those thoughts into a strong belief.

Rain.

　Somewhat later, Rifa looked up.
　Her eyes were not wet with tears.
　Instead, they were full of strong, strong determination.

Let's go.
Yeah.

　Taking Rifa's hand, we head to the deepest part of the old castle with our friends.