At a corner of Rivira Town's street, Asfi watched Bell in the distance and quietly complained to Laurier.
"Honestly… why did you have to do that…?"
One of her own members had fed medicine to her lover with a kiss, right in front of a crowd.
There was nothing morally wrong with it, but it had still caused Asfi plenty of trouble.
What bothered her most were the knowing grins from the rest of the Familia.
"Wow, even that pure Laurier is that bold now. Captain, you're falling behind."
Comments like that kept flying her way.
Asfi let out a long sigh.
"You knew perfectly well you could've just poured the potion over him, didn't you?"
Laurier licked her lips before answering.
"If you drink it directly, the healing effect is a little better."
"Is that really all?" Asfi fixed her with a sharp look.
"…"
Laurier turned her head away and simply stared at Bell in the distance, saying nothing.
"Sigh… forget it. Once they're ready, we'll head back to the surface."
Asfi had already finished treating the wounded.
Bell and Ryuu's arms were too badly injured. Without an Elixir, they could only be bandaged for now. Proper treatment would have to wait until they returned to the surface.
As a few passersby walked past, one casually commented, "Hey, is that some kind of new couple's outfit?"
"Wha…?!"
Flushed with embarrassment, Ryuu released a burst of killing intent that instantly sent them scurrying away.
"Ryuu-san? I don't think they meant any harm."
Bell smiled helplessly.
The two of them did stand out. White bandages wrapped around their arms, dark red blood staining their clothes.
To avoid exposing her identity, Ryuu had removed her cloak and mask, letting her slightly longer hair fall loose.
Unless someone looked very closely, they would only see an injured young woman. No one would connect her to the identity of [Gale].
And because of that, she was constantly mistaken for Bell's lover.
"Cranel-san… how much longer do we have to wait?"
Avoiding the gazes of passersby, Ryuu asked softly.
"Until Lili and the others finish sorting the monster Drop Items and collecting the weapons. And… I heard they're planning to borrow a kitchen to cook something, too."
Bell gave a small laugh.
"Injured patients like us should just rest without feeling guilty."
When he defeated the Black Goliath, Bell had obtained [Goliath's Hard Skin].
He still hadn't decided what to do with such a valuable material.
On top of that, the effect of [Luck] seemed even stronger than he'd expected. Every monster he killed had dropped high-quality materials.
Since they couldn't carry everything back in one trip, Bell had asked Daphne and Lili to sell part of the haul to shops in town.
"Cranel-san, would you come somewhere with me?"
Standing beside him, Ryuu found herself unable to calm down.
"Of course."
Bell agreed without hesitation.
After informing Cassandra where he was going, he left Rivira Town together with Ryuu.
Without monsters roaming about, the Eighteenth Floor was breathtakingly beautiful.
Forests, grasslands, and lakes stretched out under the glow of the blue crystals overhead.
"Cranel-san, that dagger of yours… it must be worth quite a lot, right?"
Ryuu asked as she led the way.
Bell had been using that pitch-black dagger since Lv.1. Judging by its durability, any ordinary weapon would have been replaced long ago.
And from what Ryuu had observed, the dagger bore sacred inscriptions. Whenever Bell gripped it, a faint blue-violet light would glow from its surface.
"I don't really know what it would be worth either. I'll have to go back and ask Goddess-sama."
Bell hadn't expected the dagger to break.
[Argonaut] puts an enormous strain on whatever part is used to store power. That was exactly why Bell tried to avoid charging directly through his body whenever he could, choosing to fire it off as Magic instead.
But in the fight against Goliath, Ais's wind didn't increase the power of Magic. Even if he charged up Firebolt and lightning, it was still hard to land a decisive blow.
So in the end, Bell had no choice but to charge through the dagger.
Logically, if it was due to the effects of [Argonaut] and [Ariel], it should have ended up like that jet-black greatsword, the entire blade reduced to ash.
Yet the Hestia Knife had simply split cleanly in two. The upper half showed no additional cracks, chips, or damage.
Even Welf, a blacksmith, had no idea how to explain it.
"Astraea-sama will be making a secret visit to Orario soon. Since she's been living in the Sword Smithing City Solingen all this time, she might know something about a god-made item like this," Ryuu said quietly.
"Yeah. Astraea-sama wrote to me a few days ago, so I knew," Bell replied honestly.
"Is that so…"
Ryuu blinked, a strange feeling rising in her chest.
Her closest friend and the goddess had both become the boy's lovers. Somewhere she didn't know, they were still keeping in touch, still connected.
Ryuu didn't understand what that lonely, sinking feeling was supposed to be.
Without saying anything more, she walked ahead, guiding Bell along a narrow path through the forest until they reached a graveyard.
Pale blue crystals surrounded the area, casting a faint, sorrowful glow.
"This is where it ended for them…"
Bell looked at the wooden, cross-shaped grave markers. White flowers hung from them like tears, dotted with small beads of dew.
"…Yeah."
Ryuu nodded softly.
"I wanted to bring you here. If Alise and the others could see you, they'd be so happy."
The boy who spoke for justice.
A hero who could push past anything.
Ryuu wanted her old friends to know that someone like that truly existed in this world.
Just hearing his voice made your heart fill with courage, enough to keep walking the path of justice.
As long as Bell was there, even the most hopeless calamity, even tragedy itself, felt like it couldn't happen.
From the bottom of her heart, Ryuu couldn't help thinking how much better it would've been if she'd met him sooner…
Bell could feel her sadness.
That slender body had been carrying pain for far too long.
Swords, staffs… all kinds of weapons lay rusted, as if time itself had left its scars on them.
But Bell couldn't offer her comfort.
Because of the promise he'd made with Astraea-sama, a taboo that no one else could know.
"Ryuu-san… did they leave behind only these weapons?"
Bell asked in an unusually calm, steady voice.
"…"
Ryuu froze for a moment.
His words felt like they were prying open her wound, forcing her to look at what lay inside.
The Bell she knew, always gentle, shouldn't have asked something like that.
She turned to him and met those unwavering crimson eyes.
No hesitation. No doubt.
A silent flame burned in them, like it was speaking directly to her soul.
In that instant, she understood. Bell was completely serious.
"We ran into a calamity… When it was over, all I could do was retrieve their weapons and bury them here," Ryuu answered quietly.
Her words faded into the breeze.
Bell didn't say anything.
Ryuu couldn't read what he was thinking, but she could tell he was turning something over in his mind.
Flowers and grass swayed softly.
Silence settled around them.
Keeping a delicate distance, the two of them spent a stretch of time alone.