A gentle breeze blew as Bell and Anakitty crossed blades, while Riveria stood quietly at the side.
She could not hear their conversation, and she had no intention of tactlessly stepping in to interrupt the sword dance between the boy and the Catgirl.
Bell had deliberately closed the distance and given up using Magic. He had to have had some reason for it.
What Riveria never could have imagined, however, was that one second, the boy was gently reaching out his right hand to help Anakitty up from the ground. The next, their figures had completely overlapped, and the boy's entire face was buried in the Cat girl's soft chest.
"..."
Riveria could not help furrowing her graceful brows.
She did not know what the two of them had said to each other, so she could only judge the situation based on what she had seen.
Was it Aki who made the first move?
Indecent behavior in broad daylight. How disgraceful!
Riveria glared at Anakitty, ready to step in and punish this shameless Catgirl.
But before she could move, a violent gale swept across the battlefield.
"Bell..."
Ais murmured the boy's name.
He said he liked her, but here he was, doing this and that with another girl...
If not for Elfy, she never would have discovered the truth.
Bell really was a liar.
That "liking" her was just a lie he told to please Riveria.
In that case... did Bell not like her at all?
Was that why he had deliberately done those things in the Loki Familia...?
Why...?
Lefiya would definitely be hurt.
And what did Riveria think about it?
What a pain...
So annoying...
Liar.
Bad guy.
This Bell...
She did not want him.
Absolutely not.
"Bell... Bell..."
Ais kept muttering his name.
On this matter, the little Ais inside her heart had reached the same conclusion.
Liars deserved to be punished.
The boy led astray by two lumps of useless fat had to be corrected.
Give back the pure boy from before... the one who lay on her lap!
A tremor appeared on Ais's beautiful, doll-like face.
It was an expression she had never shown before.
It was not hostility. It was not killing intent. It was something even heavier than intense jealousy.
"Bell..."
"Tempest!"
Ais summoned the air currents with her Chant.
In an instant, raging wind wrapped around her, and the ground burst apart.
On the other side, Anakitty and Bell simultaneously fought against the pull of inertia and quickly separated from each other.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to."
Bell knew what had just happened had crossed a line, so he apologized honestly.
"I-it was just an accident. I'm the one who should apologize. I shouldn't have ambushed you just now. I'm really, really sorry, nya!"
Anakitty answered with her face flushed bright red.
Even though she was usually calm and composed, the Catgirl had never had such intimate contact with a man before. The moment Bell's face sank into her chest, Anakitty inevitably panicked.
Her black tail swayed as she held her hands in front of her chest.
Just then, a gust of wind swept Anakitty's embarrassment away completely.
"Bell... Bell..."
Ais had not drawn the Desperate Sword, but wrapped in those violent air currents, she could already be called a Desperate Sword herself.
Only two short seconds passed from the moment the gale formed to the moment the blonde girl reached their position.
"Ais-san...?"
Anakitty did not know why she suddenly felt so flustered.
Like a cat caught stealing food, her tail instinctively shot upright.
"..."
Bell sensed that something was wrong with the blonde girl and quickly grabbed Anakitty's arm, dodging the incoming gale.
Ais saw it happen, and a strange light flashed through her golden eyes.
"Ais, calm down."
Riveria rushed forward at once, raising her wand and standing in front of the boy.
From within the gale, she could sense Ais's emotions. It felt like a rampage bound in endless darkness, yet when she touched it even slightly, it did not contain that utterly unrestrained, pitch-black intensity.
From a child's point of view, this might only be a tantrum. But for Bell, such an extreme reaction was far too unhealthy.
"Riveria...?"
Ais looked at the wand blocking her way and tilted her head in confusion.
"Yes, it's me, Ais. Release the Magic first."
Riveria spoke gently.
"No. Bell... liar... must be punished..."
Ais had no intention of backing down.
She left everything to the little Ais inside her heart. Whether it was liking him or those strange emotions she could not understand, sorting through the feelings churning inside her was simply too much trouble.
She only needed to deal with the source.
Knock Bell unconscious, chase Aki away, escape from Riveria's sight, then find a deserted corner and lay the boy on her lap.
Then all the unpleasant feelings would surely disappear.
Bell would go back to the way he was before...
Yes, that had to be it.
Ais repeated it in her heart.
"Ais-san."
Bell was about to explain, but the instant his voice came out, the gale felt even sharper.
"Nya?!!"
The same went for Anakitty.
She had only stood beside the boy and stolen a glance at Ais, yet she received an overwhelmingly heavy stare in return.
It was as if Ais had placed all the blame on Anakitty.
The Catgirl let out a Cat People wail and instinctively edged closer to the boy.
"Bell Cranel, take Aki and step back for now. Get out of the way together."
Riveria realized that as long as the two of them stood there, no explanation would do anything but worsen Ais's negative emotions.
She held her wand horizontally, intending to calm the rampaging Ais by herself.
"Understood. Once I get the others somewhere safe, I'll come right back."
Bell made his decision at once.
"I think Ais-san may have just misunderstood something... nya?"
Anakitty still did not want to accept reality and tried to negotiate, but the boy firmly grabbed her wrist and fled backward with her.
The two of them regrouped with a completely confused Alicia, then carried Line, who had been wounded by the freezing Magic, and left the area together.
"Bell..."
Ais stared at the place where the boy's hand had touched the Cat People girl's, her gaze lingering there for a long time.
"Ais, you must have misunderstood what happened just now. It was only an accident during the mock battle. Bell Cranel didn't do anything inappropriate."
Riveria explained softly.
She understood Ais's temperament very well, so she laid out what had happened without hiding anything.
Under normal circumstances, once Ais learned the truth, she would put away her childish temper.
But this time was different.
Ais placed her hand on the Desperate Sword and slowly spoke.
"Liar... Bell is a liar... Riveria is on his side too..."
"I have to catch up to Bell and beat him up..."