The wind howled, mingling with the clash of weapons.
Lefiya glanced at the boy running beside her and made up her mind.
Ever since they had returned from the Dungeon a few days ago, the blonde swordswoman she admired had been acting rather strange. Every time Lefiya spoke with Ais, the girl would look away, as if she were hiding something.
Lefiya had thought it was because Ais liked the boy and, being naturally airheaded, found it hard to accept Lefiya's "lover" status with Bell Cranel. But thinking about it now, it had to be possessiveness beyond imagination.
She did not want to see the boy interact with anyone else. She wanted to keep that warmth all to herself.
Ais's current rampage had fully proven that.
Because of this, Lefiya, who had originally intended to punish the boy, changed her mind. She gripped her wand tightly and chose to stand beside Bell.
"Riveria-sama...?"
Lefiya looked toward the fierce battle unfolding in the clearing and could not help frowning.
Riveria's staff techniques were certainly impressive, but in the end, she was still a mage. Compared to Ais, who was a swordswoman, she was far inferior in both [Agility] and [Strength]. Under the effects of [Ariel], not only could Riveria not subdue the rampaging Ais, she was being suppressed instead.
Fortunately, Ais had not used the full force of her wind, and there was another girl helping Riveria.
"So, why are we fighting again? Can't you just tell me?"
Tiona swung her enormous double-bladed sword, helping Riveria withstand the gale.
Unlike the other two, who remained silent, Tiona knew Ais was holding back just as she did during training, so she kept a bright smile on her face.
"Come on, tell me~"
Tiona's optimism did not rub off on Ais or Riveria. The only answer she received was the sharp clang of weapons striking one another.
On her beautiful wheat-colored skin, her smile was gradually dampened by sweat.
Tiona and Riveria were being pushed back.
Ais seemed intent on defeating the two of them. Carefully and cautiously, she strengthened the wind and increased the force behind her strikes.
"Riveria... why aren't you using magic?"
Ais asked in confusion.
As the strongest mage in the city, Riveria only needed to use her skilled Concurrent Chanting and summon countless shards of frost to end this battle. Of course, that was assuming she had the chance to cast.
Ais could not understand why Riveria did not even seem to consider using magic.
"It's simple. Just as you believe Bell Cranel will definitely come back, I trust him too."
Riveria's emerald hair was swept up by the wind, seeming to lose its usual elegance.
This was a problem between the three of them.
Riveria did not intend to use her position as an elder to order Ais to stop. She held to her identity as the Elf Princess and stood on the same level as Ais.
Both of them trusted the boy. Both of them liked the boy. Every swing of Riveria's wand carried her hopes for the future.
Although it was already late, she still hoped Ais could set aside the knot in her heart and support her love as a friend.
"Riveria... when that happens, what am I supposed to call Bell...?"
Ais voiced the question that had been troubling her.
The little Ais in her heart was teary-eyed, holding up a wooden sign engraved with a certain word. A huge X appeared over it.
She had once seen other little girls playing with their parents.
Ais had briefly imagined that it might be nice, but a taut string in her heart was screaming that things absolutely could not be allowed to reach that point. Otherwise, the warmth she had gathered from the boy would turn into something else entirely.
"..."
Riveria froze for an instant.
A trace of confusion passed over her breathtaking face, then turned into a gentle smile.
She had thought Ais could not accept the boy's harem behavior, and that seeing Bell fooling around with other girls had made her connect it to matters between men and women, causing her to go berserk.
Likewise, because Riveria had said she liked the boy and hoped to develop a romantic relationship with him, Ais could not accept her long-time "mother" joining that harem and had chosen to oppose her head-on.
But looking at it now, that had only been Riveria's one-sided misunderstanding.
The blonde girl before her still had not realized the feelings in her heart, but her possessiveness was surprisingly strong.
"Hehe."
Riveria could not help laughing.
Ais had simply been caught in a spiderweb of titles. When she heard Riveria's resolve toward love, she had already unconsciously accepted the relationship between Riveria and the boy.
Once Riveria realized that, the worries in her heart vanished at once.
"Riveria... why are you laughing...?"
Ais thrust the Desperate Sword forward in dissatisfaction.
Her heart was troubled by tangled thoughts, full of contradictions.
Ais often had a dream. In that dream, a beautiful woman would say, "I hope that someday, you will meet someone wonderful too." She had always remembered those words and knew that every girl carried a warm longing in her heart.
Ais wished Riveria happiness. She had once asked Riveria why she had no partner or children, and that had also come from this kind thought.
But when that moment truly arrived, Ais panicked because the person involved was the boy. Her "no" was only a refusal to accept reality, a rejection of that forbidden title, not an attempt to stop Riveria's love.
"I'm just a little happy."
Riveria's lips curved upward. As she danced through the wind, she added, "Ais, about your earlier question, you can call people whatever you like. There is no relationship like that between us. We are simply friends as close as family, aren't we?"
Because Tiona was present, Riveria did not spell out the details.
"..."
The silver sword in Ais's hand paused for a moment.
Riveria was right. She was not Ais's mother. Even if Riveria and the boy became intimate lovers, Ais did not need to change how she addressed him.
But after the spiderweb wrapped around her was cleared away, Ais felt unexpectedly lonely.
Bell...
I want to see him...
That thought would not leave Ais's mind. She did not know whether she should punish the boy. She simply followed the current surging in her heart and swung the rapier in her hand.
"What are you two even talking about? Why can't I understand any of this?"
Tiona moved around the silver rapier and shouted her question at them.
She was completely lost about the current situation. She had only taken Riveria's side because Ais wanted to give the boy trouble.
Still, Tiona sensed the heavy atmosphere around them easing a little, and the smile on her face grew brighter.
The gale surged, and staff and sword danced wildly.
Feeling the Magic Power gathering behind her, Riveria spoke.
"I'll apologize in advance, Ais."
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