In the courtyard beside Twilight Manor, Ais and Tiona were swinging their weapons.
Tomorrow was the day of the expedition, and every first-tier adventurer in the Loki Familia was fired up.
Ais knew the reason. It was all thanks to Bell Cranel. The boy had planted seeds of inspiration in many people's hearts, as if telling them that the heroes from fairy tales truly did exist, and that as long as they kept moving forward, they could grasp what mattered to them with their own hands.
Ais remembered the sight of the boy facing the Black Goliath alone, and warmth seemed to fill her chest. Just as she swung her rapier again and clashed with Tiona, a brown-haired girl burst into their field of vision.
"Elfy...?"
Ais blinked in confusion.
In her golden eyes, Elfy was crawling toward the courtyard. She was clearly wriggling along the ground, yet her speed was strangely fast.
"Ais-san! I finally found you!"
Elfy was still sprawled on the ground, but her face carried a bright smile.
"Elfy, are you hurt?"
Tiona put away her weapon and asked about the brown-haired girl with concern.
Elfy sometimes did things that were hard to understand, such as asking Lefiya when she was going to marry the boy, thinking up new chants on her own that involved things like the abyss and the end, even though they were completely useless, or deliberately puffing out her chest in the bath and walking past Tiona.
Although she was that kind of strange talented woman, self-proclaimed, the sight of her crawling across the ground like this clearly meant there was a reason behind it.
"Elfy, did someone hit you? Who did it...?"
Ais slowly bent down and tightened her grip on the rapier in her hand.
Concern and fighting spirit gathered in her golden eyes. The little Ais in her heart seemed to have raised a fist, ready to demand justice for the brown-haired girl.
"Go ahead and tell us. I've been wanting to throw a punch anyway."
Tiona joined in with a smile.
"It was Bell Cranel! I even cried out, but he still hit me on the head without holding back. What if he knocked my brilliant brain stupid?!"
Elfy complained pitifully.
In truth, compared to Anakitty and the others, Elfy's injuries were barely worth mentioning. The fact that she had crawled here so quickly was proof enough.
"Bell...?"
Ais froze for a moment.
She pressed her lips together and quickly stood up. "Maybe there was some misunderstanding..."
"Exactly. Elfy definitely did something awful again! Just like last time, when she sighed while sticking out her chest and walked back and forth in front of me. Argonaut-kun would never hit you for no reason."
Tiona remembered what had happened last time and vented her dissatisfaction.
Elfy's chest was not exactly large, but unfortunately, it still beat the Amazoness girl's by a little. Although Tiona later found out that Elfy had only been provoked by Lefiya and was deliberately trying to regain some confidence from Tiona, Elfy still did not escape a punch.
It had to be Elfy's fault!
After learning that the one who hit her was the boy, that thought surfaced in both Ais and Tiona's minds.
"Ehh?!"
Elfy's voice rose in surprise.
Her hurt and shocked expression lasted only a moment before it quickly turned back into her usual smile.
She had not come here to complain. There was something far more important she had to do!
"Never mind that, Ais-san! I came here because there's something I have to tell you!"
There was not a trace of gloom on Elfy's face.
"Hmm...?"
Ais tilted her head slightly.
Bell's situation was clearly more important, so why had she suddenly changed the subject?
Under Ais's puzzled gaze, Elfy remained on the ground and explained why she had come.
"Just now, in the open space behind Twilight Manor, White Rabbit Boy said he likes Ais-san right in front of Riveria-sama!"
"Wow, that's our little Argonaut-kun! Elfy, is that true?"
Tiona immediately pressed her.
"It's absolutely true! I crawled all the way here just to say that!"
Elfy answered at once.
She was the talented woman who could get along with anyone, after all. How could she possibly deceive others with lies?
This resolve to devote herself to the truth alone was something no one could shake!
Elfy raised her head. A bit of dust clung to her brown hair, adding a touch of tragic weight and credibility to her words.
"..."
Ais's time came to a complete stop.
The White Rabbit Boy Elfy mentioned had to be Bell.
In the forest on the Dungeon's 18th Floor, Bell had once told Ais that he liked her. At the time, a ticklish warmth had filled her heart.
Now, hearing those words again, a faint blush appeared on her face.
Ais knew this was an aftereffect of the date two days ago, that numb, tingling feeling she had felt when her hand touched the boy's palm, as if a faint electric current had run through her. She did not understand where that feeling came from. She only knew that her heart was changing in subtle ways because of Bell.
Along with the warmth in her cheeks, another slightly sour feeling surfaced in her chest.
The little Ais in her heart took out a magnifying glass and began judging the boy's actions.
If he was going to say something as direct as "I like you," why did he not say it to her face? Why did he have someone else pass it on?
If Elfy had not crawled over, would she never have heard it?
And why did it have to be Riveria?
If the person he liked was her, was it not strange for him to say something like that to Riveria?
It almost felt like he knew about her relationship with Riveria and was deliberately trying to win Riveria's favor.
In that case, did Bell not actually like her, and had he only said it casually?
There was a problem.
No matter how she thought about it, it felt strange.
She had to find Bell and ask him clearly.
But what should she do if he said he did not like her...?
Caught in that conflict, Ais tightened her grip on her sword hilt once again.
"Ais? Are you going to find Argonaut-kun?"
Tiona asked in confusion.
The atmosphere coming from the blonde girl had none of the hesitation or shyness one might expect. Instead, it was sharp as a blade, carrying the sense of a storm about to break.
"..."
Ais pressed her lips tightly together and answered with silence.
She still had not decided what she should do.
Elfy seemed to notice Ais's confusion and loudly added, "White Rabbit Boy is having a mock battle with Aki and the others right now. If he wins... Riveria-sama has to kiss White Rabbit Boy!"
"...?!"
Images of Bell and Riveria flashed through Ais's mind.
There really was a problem! The little Ais in her heart slammed down the hammer of judgment.
In the next instant, Ais dashed out.
"Ais?"
Tiona hurried after her.
In the courtyard, the two left behind only a breeze.
Elfy gave a tragic smile and collapsed onto the ground.
Come to think of it, White Rabbit Boy could not see her from here, so why was she still lying down?
"Whatever... Now I can die without regrets."
"Huu, plop."
Elfy buried her head among the flowers and grass.