"You're suspecting Filvis?!"
A tremor ran through Lefiya's heart.
Ever since meeting Bell on the seventeenth floor, she had been by his side almost the entire time, yet Bell had never once let that suspicion show on his face.
Lefiya was stunned by how deeply the boy had been thinking ahead. She deliberately lowered her voice so no one else would hear their conversation.
"It's not suspicion. I just think something about this is strange."
Bell replied softly.
The incident in the Pantry, the appearance of the Black Goliath, and the change in Filvis's attitude...
Taken together, all the signs suggested that Filvis was carrying some secret no one else knew.
Looking on the optimistic side, perhaps she was like Cassandra and had some special premonition of disaster.
In the worst case, Filvis might even be connected to that disaster.
"But... Filvis is so noble and kind... How could she possibly do something so cruel?"
Lefiya argued back.
She was certain that no matter what Filvis had gone through, the noble heart she had that cared for her companions was absolutely genuine.
On this matter alone, Lefiya did not want to believe Bell's words.
After all, they were lovers...
If they really had to doubt each other, to turn against each other, how heartbreaking would that be...?
Lefiya sank into that emotional sorrow, unwilling to accept it.
"Calm down first. I'm not saying Filvis herself is the problem."
Bell soothed the agitated Lefiya and explained, "I don't hold any hostility toward her personally. I just think Filvis may be being used by someone, or threatened."
Bell had already used [Argo's Ship] to confirm Filvis's thoughts. What he could say for sure was that she had not approached them with malice.
From that alone, the chances were high that Filvis had some reason she could not speak about.
"If that's true, then why doesn't she tell us?"
Lefiya asked.
Filvis's confession to Bell had been genuine. If that was the case, what could she possibly still be hiding from her own lover?
In Lefiya's mind, wasn't love supposed to mean sharing everything without holding anything back?
"No, there are a lot of possibilities. Filvis might be under some kind of special restriction. Or if she says it out loud, it could bring even greater disaster. In a worse case, someone Filvis knows might already be being held hostage."
Bell voiced part of his suspicions.
There were many unknown things in this world. Haruhime's collar was a good example.
To keep Lefiya from worrying too much, Bell deliberately emphasized that he was only considering the worst possible scenario.
Even so, Lefiya felt as if something had slammed into her mind, leaving it blank for a moment.
Just imagining the possibilities Bell described was enough to make her feel suffocated.
"These are only your guesses, right?"
Lefiya asked again.
If Filvis really was trapped in that kind of situation, unable to even ask her own lover for help...
That went beyond anything that could be called an abyss. It would be a pain and sorrow beyond imagination, just like the nightmare Filvis had endured on the twenty-seventh floor.
"Adventurers all call Filvis [Banshee], Lefiya-san. Do you believe in something like [Fate]?"
Bell gently guided her train of thought.
"As for Filvis's curse, I don't believe in that at all... Thanks to you, no one died this time..."
Lefiya replied at once.
"I don't believe it either. That's why I think the annihilation of Filvis's previous party was not a coincidence, but something deliberately arranged by someone."
Bell pointed out the most crucial issue.
The one behind it had not wanted Filvis to stain her own hands with blood. Instead, they had taken advantage of the way she thought and guided events toward a tragic ending.
"Mm... is that really possible?"
Lefiya asked in confusion.
To her, the conversation had already entered a fog she could no longer see through.
"Of course. The purer and kinder a person is, the easier it is to predict how they'll think."
Bell explained softly.
Just like with the nightmare on the twenty-seventh floor, Olivas had thrown out bait and drawn in countless righteous people.
Filvis and the others had surely considered every kind of danger as well, but with justice and nobility in their hearts, they still rushed without hesitation toward the place where tragedy awaited them.
"I don't understand..."
Lefiya lowered her eyes sadly.
Justice was shackled, while evil acted without restraint.
As someone on the side being manipulated, Lefiya felt endless sorrow welling up in her heart.
"Hmm... let me give you an example."
Bell adjusted his position and buried his face in Lefiya's thick golden hair.
"Are you thinking right now that this is disgusting?"
Bell raised his head and asked.
"No? It actually feels pretty nice... huh...?"
Lefiya was still immersed in her gloom, but then suddenly realized what had just happened.
"You hopelessly horny rabbit! What were you doing while I wasn't paying attention?! What I said before doesn't count!"
Her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment, and she hurriedly changed the subject.
"So... are we really going to be able to find out anything from this?"
"Not anytime soon, probably. Even if Finn had Goddess Loki test the waters, they still probably wouldn't get any results."
Bell answered honestly.
The red-haired woman, the Jewel Fetus, the plan to destroy the city, Evilus entering the Dungeon from some unknown route...
Within that vast darkness, trying to grope out the truth would probably be extremely difficult.
Even if they joined forces with the Guild and forcibly captured Dionysus and his Familia, that would not only risk alerting the enemy, it might also fail to get them the answers they wanted.
The consequences of doing that could even lead to the deaths of Filvis and countless others.
The fact that the one behind all this could so confidently let Filvis act alone meant he definitely had some way to ensure control.
In the end, everything was still only at the stage of suspicion.
Bell simply wanted Finn to know about it and keep watch on the movements of the Dionysus Familia.
That would also be a good thing for Filvis.
If God Dionysus truly stood on the side of evil, then under the eyes of the Loki Familia, he would definitely be constrained at every turn and eventually reveal an opening.
"I understand. I'll pass it on to the Captain."
After sorting through her thoughts, Lefiya asked, "If it's something this important, why didn't you just tell the Captain yourself?"
"You're actually bothered by that? Is it because I called you a magic idiot and now you're upset?"
Bell replied with a smile.
"Mm... of course not. I may be dumb, but I can still tell what matters more and what matters less, so hurry up and tell me the real reason."
Lefiya pressed him stubbornly.
"Hmm..."
Bell thought for a moment before answering softly.
"Filvis is afraid of contact with other people, but she still carried Lefiya-san on her back."
"So I think, in Filvis's heart, you must be someone extremely important."
Bell spoke frankly.
"Lefiya-san, if things really reach the point where there's no turning back..."
"I hope you'll help me save Filvis."
...
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