Chapter 112 (1/2)

Translator: Kurehashi+ Aiko

Editor: [QueenieZhuz]

Episode 11: The Fox girl thinks of her brother

Rustle, rustle, rustle

Ah the woods in order to clear her restless rass was really intense and its juices were dirtying the hem of her skirt, but Mikoto didn't care about that at all

Having her own safety in mind, she only went as far as the nearby woods, froet back hoic particles here with all of her senses — a clear sign that powerful spirits were living here

Her training as a Shrine Maiden taught her to always act cool and cautious, not letting her emotions to take the best of her

Still, for now she wanted to be left alone, preferably as far from Senjiro as possible

As soon as she could hear nothingof the trees, Mikoto stopped and looked for one that looked good enough

Then she took out her wand, pointed it at her own feet and channelled herher feet with a spell she learned back ho froht froh, she stopped and sat at the base of the branch

The trees in this forest were all i and thick enough to support her weight, without putting tooher own tail, Mikoto finally let out a sigh

「…… I can't believe this」

She ht hear her

「She really is strong」

It was si

The fact that her ears were hung doas a testian with the square portion of fenced land, an arena for Lava and Ligurila's urila and Senjiro to practice their skills in a few urila was demon who bested Senjiro each and every ti noric

That is because back in their houardian even earlier than Mikoto did, and she becaest Shrine Maiden in history

He was a guardian who had it all: mind, body and skill, to surpass even those of his seniors who had natural talent as well And he reached that level by nothing ether with Shrine Maidens, the Guardians were the protectors that defended the people froers iainst the hordes of monsters and evil Gods, they used their unique powers and un eaten or their ho destroyed

The coht only by the efforts of the Guardians, and so they were deeply respected and revered by thehout the land for having rejected one of the Gods so that he could still do his duty unobstructed

So even when Senjiro said that he wanted to 'Devoteof a surprise

But the moment the two of the he truly was

Rulance, their strikes seemed to cut space itself

Their es, and her ears couldn't keep up with all the sounds

The tides were changing rapidly, with the only sound that could be heard being steel clashi+ng against steel

Elvie, as right beside her, was looking at all of that with a pale face, looking like he was about ready to pass out

As a Shrine Maiden, Mikoto understood the importance that martial arts had on the battlefield

The Araurila…… She said she was a deher than that

And Senjiro was so able to keep up with her wild dance across the battlefield

For thes to one another without using words

Mikoto understood that

Just how strong were Big Brother Sen's feelings for that woman?

She also understood that there was just no way for her to compete with that woman

The only reason Senjiro was so nice to her, was probably because he thought about her as a younger sister as close to hian her work as a Shrine Maiden, Senjiro was already a part of the elite ast the Guardians

He would always play with her, would buy her sweets and was far stronger than anyone else in the entire village

He was an older brother that she was proud of

And because of that Mikoto wanted to becoether with hied to steal his heart and the two of theed soon after

Her elder sister was a true prodigy froe, a splendid Shrine Maiden, people respected her deeply and as a finishi+ng touch she was breathtakingly beautiful

So even when she was told that the two of theed, she was happy to see both of them happy with one another For what she could tell, they were ement was soon cancelled

「Senjiro went on a journey to find his soul mate」

It was her elder sister, Makoto, who told her that

With her usual, gentle sht that she would never forgive hi like that

Up until now, she thought the anger was about Senjiro left her elder sister after playing her for a fool

So when the idea of studying abroad was presented to the Shrine Maidens, Mikoto was the first one to raise her hand, and because of her flawless reputation it was decided that she would be sent to the Kingdom of Ballow

However,

「That's not it……」

Mikoto squeezed her tail hard and pressed her face to her knees

Her heart was filled with a inable pain

When Ligurila pointed that out to her last night, Mikoto at first thought it was just stupid

He was supposed to be nothing more than a brother to her

Everyone would be worried if a ot up and left God knohere

Thinking like that, she ainst that Araurila

At that tiot all about it, but the truth was she was siht, and she hoped that by denying her and her words she would regain her inner peace

But it was this kind of thinking that eventually drove her into a corner

For the truth was that the way in which Mikoto felt about Senjiro was far fros of a sister towards her brother

That anger she was feeling was the anger at her Elder Sister, for stealing her beloved Senjiro fro after Senjiro for her country's sake She wasn't doing that for her Elder Sister's sake She was doing that for her own selfish reasons

But now it's too late

Mikoto's love was ripped apart the very moment she realized what it truly was

It turned into nothing more than a one-sided crush

And whatand unreasonable, was the fact that Senjiro was head over heels in love with Ligurila

But above all else, she clearly saw that those mock battles were only an excuse to deepen their bonds even further

His expression while exchanging bloith her was brighter than ever, unlike anything he shohile he was still back hoh he may not realize it, Mikoto could understand that because she was chasing after hi

Senjiro has finally found the one he was looking for

There was no longer any room for Mikoto inside of his heart

And she knew that no et between theh

But that didn't help to ease the pain that she was feeling inside of her chest

Now that she are of her own feelings, there was no way that she could look at Senjiro and Ligurila and wish for theether

So she ran away in hopes of cal herself down

「Does your sister know about this?」

She even knew that

Suddenly, for soely siurila The look in their eyes was exactly the sa, especially since her elder sister was always really perceptive, just like Ligurila

So if she recommended Mikoto to study abroad, it s or wasn't treating her like a potential threat

「…… It's so e in her eyes and going down her cheeks, dripping onto her feet one by one

Mikoto raised her head, and once she could feel the cold touch of wind on her face she gradually began to cale to meditate

It was one of the practices employed by both Guardians and Shrine Maidens, but it was also an effectiverid of that pain in her chest will take months, if not years

That is why she wanted to calm herself down to the point where she would be able to look both Senjiro and Ligurila in the eyes, without feeling an urge to run away

The woods were the perfect place for meditation

If you listen to the natural sounds of the forest and let the dense ic-filled air overtake you, your consciousness would quickly drift away

Then you just had to let your thoughts floithout concentrating on anything in particular

Then, her ears picked up so

She opened her eyes, and in thatstor fast

She then turned her head towards the source of hostility, seeing a weird winged creature coht at her fro-looking and were larger than Mikoto herself

It also had a big beak and sharp-looking talons

It was probably a y froe from this distance, it could probably be able to lift Mikoto up and carry her aithout problem

She cliround, but was still attacked froht the round, the monster would catch her on her way down

If she tried to get down, she would be handing herself to the monster on a silver platter

The Shrine Maiden's as programmed in such a way that it would allow its owner to fly on de the distance between thely fast