Ryosuke was so engrossed in his impression of Tamayo that he didn't notice the change in atmosphere around him, continuing to describe her based on his feelings.
"She's very gentle, good-tempered, and very tolerant. Her temperament... hmm, it's very special, with a kind of refined charm. She's also older than me, and her figure..."
He tried hard to recall the outline of Tamayo's dignified kimono, carefully choosing his words.
"...Well-proportioned and shapely, quite good."
"Ah?!"
Rika was completely dumbfounded!
She instinctively looked down at her slightly immature, petite frame... Rika: Σ_(꒪ཀ꒪"∠)!
Brother Ryosuke! So you like that kind!!!
Wuwuwuwu... No! From today on, I'm going to drink milk! Eat papaya!
I don't believe it!
My fate is in my hands, not heaven's!!!
Unaware of Rika's inner roar, Jigoro beamed, nodding repeatedly, automatically imagining a gentle and virtuous woman.
"Good, very good! Gentleness and virtue are a blessing! A woman three years older brings a golden brick, being a little older is nothing! She'll be doting! Quickly, tell me, how old exactly is that girl?"
Ryosuke was still thinking about Tamayo's four-hundred-year-old temperament, and he blurted out, "Exactly? Hmm... just a bit older than you, Grandpa..."
"Pfft—!"
The water Shota had just drunk immediately turned into a jet, spraying out, his eyes wide as if they would pop out of their sockets.
Not a chance, buddy!
Are you seriously going out to kill demons and ending up with a sugar mommy?!
Rika suddenly looked up, the color instantly draining from her rosy cheeks, leaving only bewilderment and blankness, as if struck by an invisible bolt of lightning.
At this moment, countless absurd images flashed through the girl's mind:
Ryosuke, full of deep affection, arm-in-arm with a white-haired, wrinkled old woman.
The old woman tremblingly handed him a bowl of soup, and Ryosuke held her hand, feeding her.
"Grandma darling~ careful, it's hot..."
The girl's worldview and her fragile heart gently shattered.
Jigoro's kind smile also froze, then cracked inch by inch.
His hand, gripping his cane, suddenly trembled.
The wrinkles on the old man's face seemed to deepen by countless lines at that moment.
The entire Peach Mountain fell into a deathly silence, even the noisy chirping of insects disappeared.
Jigoro coughed a few times, then said earnestly,
"Ryo, Ryosuke..."
"Huh?"
"I know killing demons requires facing immense psychological pressure. If, if you..."
Jigoro choked, his lips twitching wildly.
"If you feel uncomfortable, you can tell Grandpa. Please don't do anything wrong!"
Unconventional! This is unconventional!
Ryosuke scratched his head, feeling utterly baffled.
"Oh, okay—"
Jigoro staggered back into the house, step by step.
It seems I still need to let Rika and Ryosuke interact more!
Good thing I asked today!
What on earth is going on!!!
Ryosuke frowned. The moment he turned around, Rika, her eyes red, rushed into her room and slammed the door shut!
Bang!
The world was quiet again.
Ryosuke looked at Shota, who sighed and patted his shoulder, his face full of admiration!
"Good brother! If you get rich, don't forget me!"
"Are you sick?"
Ryosuke rolled his eyes at him.
Shota didn't care, happily returning to his room.
After all, in his eyes, Ryosuke was now a living warrior!
He didn't care who Ryosuke was with, as long as he didn't mess with his sister!
Ryosuke sighed, feeling like his head was as big as an ox.
They seemed to have misunderstood something. Forget it, trying to explain this kind of thing would only make it worse, and his liver still hurt... For the next few days, the atmosphere on Peach Mountain was very strange.
Jigoro's sighs became more frequent.
During training, his gaze towards Ryosuke was incredibly complex, mixed with self-doubt like, "Did I lead the child astray?"
Ultimately, to nip Ryosuke's terrifying thoughts in the bud, Jigoro always intentionally or unintentionally sent Ryosuke towards Rika.
"Ryosuke, go help Rika turn over the drying herbs."
"Ryosuke, this wooden stake is a bit crooked, you and Rika straighten it."
"Ryosuke, the water barrel..."
Unfortunately, it had little effect, even backfiring.
Rika visibly withered.
The lively girl who chirped like a little sun was gone.
She became very quiet, often spacing out during training, and couldn't even eat, her face clearly stating, "I! Am! Not! Happy!"
When Ryosuke spoke to her, she either softly "hmm-ed" with her head down or avoided his gaze and found an excuse to quickly slip away.
Shota, as her brother, even with nerves as thick as a beam, finally sensed that something was wrong.
That evening, after training.
Shota, seeing Rika staring blankly on the porch, sat down beside her.
"Rika! What's wrong with you these past few days? Why are you so spiritless in everything you do?"
Shota grinned, trying to use his usual cheerfulness to dispel his sister's gloom.
"Who bullied you? Tell big brother, and I'll beat him up!"
Rika slowly turned her head, her big eyes clouded with an unresolvable mix of grievance and confusion.
She looked at Shota for a while, then softly asked,
"Brother... am I... am I very ugly?"
"Huh?"
Shota was stunned.
Ugly? His sister ugly?!
From childhood to adulthood, Shota Kiritani could proudly thump his chest and say,
The entire Peach Mountain... no! Within a hundred li radius! His sister Rika was the cutest! The prettiest!
Every time he accompanied Rika down the mountain, which of the boys from nearby villages coming to the market wasn't secretly glancing over?
"Who?! Who dares to call you ugly?!"
Shota's fists cracked as he clenched them, veins bulging on his forehead.
"Brother will go and pluck out his eyeballs for you to play marbles with! Dare to call my sister ugly? He's got a death wish!"
Hearing Shota say that, Rika became even more depressed.
She sobbed, looking towards the figure in the training ground, her voice filled with incomprehensible grievance.
"Then... then why... does Brother Ryosuke like an old woman even older than Grandpa?! I'm not bad either!"
"Ah?"
Because of this?!
Shota's teeth ground together, and he glared resentfully at Ryosuke, who was practicing Total Concentration Breathing Constant.
Ah ha! The root of the problem is right here!
It's all this scoundrel! Saying he likes old grandmas! Making his precious sister so sad!
At the same time, Jigoro also looked at Ryosuke, his eyes filled with worry.
Three gazes, like three arrows, all focused on Ryosuke.
Ryosuke, who had just been thinking about where to kill some small demons to make up for his ten years of lost lifespan, suddenly felt a chill.
The next second, he met three pairs of staring eyes.
The courtyard was dead silent, the air seemingly frozen.
Ryosuke's scalp tingled under this "three-person interrogation."
He blinked blankly, his voice innocent.
"No... why are you all looking at me?"
Ryosuke was completely at a loss.
He had been diligently practicing his Breathing Technique these past few days, he hadn't done anything wrong!
Ryosuke's innocent expression made Shota want to explode just by looking at him!
"You bastard!"
"Caw—"
Just as Ryosuke was at a loss, a sharp cry ripped through the air.
A dark blue Hummingbird landed on his shoulder, delivering an order.
"Urgent report! Urgent report! Yasui Ryosuke!Geng-rank order! Caw!"
"A demon is suspected to be in Yamagata Prefecture! Investigate immediately! Depart at once!"
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