There were probably more hints before about Aino's pressure that will be obvious on a reread, but man honestly this chapter makes me look even harder into the whole"childification" aspect of all this. Because Aino's childhood was taken from her in order to be the hero that was asked of her after her brother died. So like, wandering around the world as a younger version of her, having wonderful adventures with the person she cares about most? She's literally living the life she was denied and missed for the sake of the mission. The mission that killed her! She didn't survive the demon king, she trained her whole life in her brother's shadow only to die too. Iro is what brought her to life, both extremely literally, but also in the past when they first met, as seemingly one of the few people who saw her more than her role, and chose to take on the burden with her.
Augh this is so good. The mom isn't even like some terrible, comically manipulative villain. She's a grieving mother with extremely high expectations, likely for both of her children, that ended up entirely directed upon Aino when her brother died. It already hurts and is only going to hurt more in a month. So long to wait, but thank you for the translation!!
last edited at Apr 28, 2025 11:58PM