Behind Twilight Manor, the mock battle was nearing its end.
After the healer Line lost the ability to fight, Loki Familia's attrition strategy fell apart.
"Anakitty-san, are you not going to surrender?"
Bell was very curious about what was driving this Cat People girl to fight until the very last moment.
After the earlier battle, Alicia had completely lost her will to fight. First came the boy's instruction, then the drool on the scarf. Put together, the two left the clean-freak blonde Elf standing frozen in place, muttering to herself.
Of course, even if Alicia had not accepted the reality of defeat and had charged forward or chanted Magic, Bell still had ways to deal with her.
Crimson arcs and pale blue light intertwined, and the ringing sword dance played its closing song.
When Anakitty was the only opponent left, Bell chose not to fire Firebolt.
With every clash of blades, he could feel the Catgirl's refusal to admit defeat.
"Bell Cranel, you're holding back on purpose, aren't you? Why aren't you using your fire Magic? Do you have some kind of weird fetish?"
Anakitty swung her one-handed sword, sweat clinging to her beautiful face.
From her point of view, the boy seemed to be deliberately maintaining the balance of the battlefield, keeping up a rapid back-and-forth exchange of attacks and defenses with her.
"Not at all. Having to point my blade at such a cute girl pains me deeply."
Bell swung his short blade again and again, showing no sign of ending the fight.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but sweet talk won't work on me. Hurry up and end this mock battle."
Anakitty ignored the boy's compliment.
Because of the Familia Goddess Loki's preferences, most of the women who joined this Familia were strikingly beautiful. Unlike the others, however, Anakitty had a rational resistance to honeyed words.
"Anakitty-san, I want to use this chance to learn more about you."
Bell spoke his thoughts honestly.
"Nya? What are you saying in the middle of a fight?!"
Anakitty's round shield hesitated for an instant, but the boy did not seize that opening to break through her defense.
"When a beautiful girl is crying in front of me, isn't it normal to want to know what she's thinking?"
Bell kept the distance between them within inches, searching for the truth hidden in those black eyes.
Battle was an exchange of hearts.
Bell could feel Anakitty's stubbornness and effort, but behind her cool, aloof expression was a faint trace of confusion.
"I'm not crying, nya?"
Anakitty slammed her shield down hard, as if trying to place a barrier between them.
The boy did not let her have her way. His pitch-black short blade rushed forward first, knocking aside her straight sword. His passionate crimson eyes followed close behind, slipping past the fierce shield strike by the narrowest margin.
"If you wanted to end this, Anakitty-san, you could [make a mistake] at any time, couldn't you?"
Bell pointed out the blind spot she had ignored.
Even if she did not want to surrender outright, Anakitty could have deliberately created an opening and ended the battle. But she had not done that. Every swing of her sword and every lift of her shield had been done with all her strength.
"...You really don't give up, do you? Do you honestly think I'd tell someone I just met what's in my heart?"
Anakitty dodged the boy's question.
"Of course you couldn't tell other people, but I hope you'll tell me, Anakitty-san."
Bell stubbornly closed the distance between them.
"That line is pretty awful..."
Anakitty watched his constantly moving crimson eyes, and a strange feeling rose in her chest.
It was a secret she was not supposed to speak of. She had never even told Alicia and the others.
But through each clash of blades, Anakitty sensed the boy's purity.
There were no ulterior motives. He only wanted to step into her heart and drive away the gloom inside.
Anakitty's hands did not stop moving, but a relieved smile flickered across her face.
"Bell Cranel... To be honest, I'm searching for [Something Real]."
Most Cat People were deeply fixated by nature. They would be drawn to something and feel a curiosity they could not suppress.
For Anakitty, that something was absolute truth.
Wealth and status were false.
Anakitty was born into a noble family and had seen far too many tragedies. Cat People who once held beautiful dreams were lured by money and slid step by step into ruin. Those who called themselves noble, no matter how polished they looked on the surface, did things more savage and cruel than beasts.
Romantic love was false.
As the child born from her parents' love, Anakitty learned very early on that cats were creatures that went into heat when spring came. From her parents' arguments and affairs, the only things she gained were early maturity and reason.
Freedom was false.
Even after leaving her homeland and saying goodbye to her parents, Anakitty had not found a shred of freedom in the vast world. Her heart wanted to pursue [Something Real], yet she remained locked inside a cage, unable to take even half a step forward.
Companions were false.
The Familia Anakitty had once joined appeared friendly and harmonious on the surface, but behind the scenes, some people were secretly lining their own pockets. After one fierce argument, she lost all hope and left that Familia.
Effort was false.
After wandering through several places, Anakitty came to Loki Familia and met Ais. She was a doll-like girl who left Anakitty far behind, as if mocking all her effort.
Ais herself had never thought that way, but that was the reality.
There was nothing real in the girl named Anakitty.
"So I want [Something Real]..."
From between her lips, Anakitty forced out the thing she had chased all her life.
"..."
Bell understood why she had always given everything she had.
Because she did not want to miss [Something Real], she threw herself one hundred percent into anything she did.
What surrounded Anakitty was an extremely vague, hollow question. She likely knew that neither Goddess Loki nor Riveria and the others could give her the answer.
But Bell was different. As an outsider, he could instead step into Anakitty's heart.
"Anakitty-san, you already have [Something Real], don't you?"
Bell took advantage of her fatigue, used his short blade to knock aside her one-handed sword, then followed with a hand chop that sent the Cat People girl down onto the grass.
"You put away your short blade on purpose. Trying to leave me with a gentlemanly impression?"
Anakitty lay back on the grass and stared blankly at the sky.
She did not answer the boy's question. She only looked at the distant clouds.
"You and Alicia-san are very close. Your coordination in battle is excellent."
Bell continued the conversation on his own.
"That's just the result of spending time together."
Anakitty replied softly.
"Your commands were very accurate, but you're too smart. That actually makes it easier for people to guess the outcome. Anakitty-san, you could stand to be a little more cunning."
"..."
For a moment, Anakitty had nothing to say.
"Your abilities are quite outstanding. If you keep working hard, you'll definitely reach Level 5."
"Says the Level 3. You've got some nerve saying that."
Anakitty retorted with a smile.
"Your looks and figure are very attractive, and your heart is incredibly strong. If you softened that cold personality of yours just a little, you'd definitely be popular. Though I wouldn't want to see that. Tsundere Anakitty-san is best."
"That is pure harassment, you know?"
Anakitty tilted her head slightly and looked up at the boy standing before her.
She was a clever girl, so naturally, she understood what his words meant.
Everything the boy had named was part of Anakitty's [Something Real]—proof that she existed as herself.
All this time, Anakitty had simply refused to admit it. She did not want Alicia and the others to know that she liked them very much, so she had used the idea of the [Something Real] to deceive her own heart.
"Thank you for enlightening me. I found it, my sly [Something Real]."
Anakitty looked at the right hand the boy held out to her and flashed a wicked smile.
She seized the moment Bell let his guard down and suddenly sprang up, trying to reverse their positions.
But the boy's reflexes were extraordinary.
Bell lowered his body and dodged Anakitty's hand chop.
What came next was the Cat People girl's beautiful, full chest.
Bell could swear from the bottom of his heart that this was absolutely the effect of [Luck], not something he had done on purpose.
Unfortunately, the coincidence continued.
The instant Bell's face sank into the girl's chest, under Riveria's watchful gaze, Ais arrived at the scene.