In Lefiya Viridis's heart, Ais held an extremely special place.
Whenever Lefiya's own clumsiness caused trouble for Ais, she would be filled with guilt.
When she was feeling down and Ais comforted her by stroking her hair, Lefiya's eyes would grow damp, and she would hold back the tears gathering in them.
When Tiona smiled brightly and hugged Ais from behind, Lefiya would watch the two of them together and envy that simple friendship between girls.
Although the golden-yellow elf did not have romantic feelings for women like Loki joked, Ais truly was different from Tiona and the others in her heart. Lefiya wanted to stay by Ais's side. She wanted their relationship to grow closer, close enough to be like sisters.
To Lefiya, Ais Wallenstein was that important.
That was why, when she heard that the boy intended to use force against Ais, Lefiya's eyes widened, and she could not shake off her shock for a long while.
"No, no, absolutely not!"
Lefiya threw aside her embarrassment and used her skill-boosted [Strength] to grab the boy's arm.
Unleashing artillery magic at the blonde swordswoman she had always admired was an unforgivable sacrilege!
A few days earlier, during the [Holy War] caused by the Moon Goddess, Lefiya had indeed stood against the drunken Ais. But that time, she had used healing magic to neutralize the alcohol, so she had been able to act without guilt.
This time was clearly different.
"Don't worry. Ais-san is a highly skilled First-Class Adventurer. With the Magic Power the two of us have, we won't put her in danger."
Bell slowed down and comforted the golden-yellow elf.
[Argo's Ship] might be overpowered, but it had its limits. If Lefiya did not chant magic within a certain distance, Bell would not be able to replicate it.
Tomorrow was the expedition. Without knowing the enemy's true nature, they had to increase their combat strength as much as possible. And testing the effect of [Argo's Ship] with artillery magic required several conditions.
The spell had to have a long chant in order to see the effect, and its power could not be too strong, in case something went wrong during replication. On top of that, since [Argo's Ship]'s strength was tied to the depth of affection, the subject had to be chosen from among the women he had encountered.
Taking all of that into account, Bell had chosen Lefiya's artillery magic.
The problem was that the golden-yellow elf had no fighting spirit at all.
"Even then, no!"
Lefiya frowned, unconsciously tightening her grip on the boy's left hand.
The boy's argument sounded like he was saying that since a First-Class Adventurer like Ais was so sturdy, the two of them could go up and kick her without it making any difference.
Even if that was true, Lefiya could not accept it.
"Bell Cranel, you're not allowed to go over there either. I'll help you think of a way to persuade Ais-san! So..."
Lefiya lightly bit her lip, clearly unsure how to deal with the rampaging blonde girl.
All she could do was cling to Bell's arm and make her request in a pleading tone.
Bell saw through her conflict and timidity. He stopped completely and turned to face Lefiya.
"Lefiya-san, my grandfather once told me something."
"...?"
Lefiya looked at the boy in confusion.
Even though she had a feeling Bell was definitely trying to trick her into firing artillery magic, Lefiya still blinked her long eyelashes and waited for him to speak.
Bell cleared his throat, deliberately imitating his grandfather's weathered yet cheerful tone.
"A real man should become strong for the sake of others. So, Lefiya-san, let's go together."
"No, no, no. I'm a girl, you know?"
Lefiya retorted, looking completely speechless.
The boy's excuse was so clumsy that her tense mood loosened at once.
"It's the same for girls. If you stay where you are, nothing can begin. Lefiya-san, you want to become a little stronger too, don't you?"
Bell slowly took a step forward, closing the distance between them.
Her deep-golden hair traced beautiful arcs in the wind. Between them, there was only a breath of distance and the cold air rushing past.
"Hm...?"
Lefiya instinctively stepped back.
But the boy had no intention of stopping there and followed right after her.
Lefiya retreated again and again until her back met the hard wall.
Her face flushed bright red as she pressed her lips together. Her blue eyes met Bell's for only an instant before she immediately lowered her head and looked away.
"I-I understand... as if!"
Lefiya suddenly raised her head and glared at the boy, puffing up in anger. "You perpetually horny rabbit! Do you think I'm an idiot? Did you really think you could handle me that easily just by saying something about being strong?!"
"Huh? You saw through me?"
Bell answered with a light laugh.
"Ugh... idiot, idiot, idiot!"
Lefiya vented her emotions without holding back.
For one instant, she had even thought the boy would keep moving closer until there was no distance left between them. Thanks to that, endless embarrassment surged up in Lefiya's heart.
"Lefiya-san, what I actually wanted to say comes after this."
Seeing that the timing was right, Bell decided to persuade her.
Lefiya cherished her relationship with Ais and treated this incident as an incredibly important choice.
Even though the boy's place in her heart was far higher than Ais's, Lefiya still found it hard to accept expressing that vague idea through actual action. Because doing so would be like saying she liked the boy more than Ais.
In other words, Bell felt that Lefiya was only sulking because she was too embarrassed to reveal what she really felt.
His words just now had been meant to test the golden-yellow elf's thoughts. If Lefiya had been treating this matter seriously, she would definitely have scolded Bell for joking and ended the topic at once.
But this embarrassed back-and-forth proved there was still room to turn things around.
Lefiya simply lacked a strong enough reason to fire artillery magic at Ais-san.
"I didn't say why Ais-san went berserk earlier. Actually, she saw me and Anakitty-san doing something intimate, and now she wants to punish me."
Bell deliberately explained the current predicament in a gentle tone.
"Something intimate...? W-what were you doing in Twilight Manor?!"
Lefiya immediately latched onto the key words.
"At this point, that doesn't matter anymore. Ais-san won't listen to any explanations. If she catches me, I'll definitely be tortured until I forget all about Lefiya-san."
Bell stoked the flames further.
It was only something that might happen, but when it came to that naturally airheaded blonde girl, it carried a certain degree of credibility.
"Ais-san would never do something like that... right? Ugh..."
Lefiya lowered her head, her long ears twitching slightly.
After thinking for a long while, she finally said, "I-I'll go with you. But only this once, okay?"
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