A few seconds earlier, Bell and the golden-yellow elf were running through the corridors of Twilight Manor.
Feeling the raging wind around them, he said, "Lefiya-san, could I ask you to chant your magic once first?"
The expedition was almost here, and most of the Loki Familia members had already gone out to prepare. Loki herself was not in Twilight Manor either, so Bell could not count on anyone else to stop Ais's rampage.
Against such fierce winds, the moment Bell and Lefiya fired artillery magic, Ais would definitely react. That meant they only had one chance.
"Now? Where am I supposed to aim it?"
Lefiya did not question the boy's decision. Instead, she asked for the details in confusion.
At this distance, she had no way of hitting Ais behind Twilight Manor.
"Just release it into the sky. Your light arrow magic can change its power after the chant, right?"
Bell recalled the battle against the mutated Viola and confirmed the details with the golden-yellow elf.
During the War Game, Lefiya had also poured Magic Power into the light arrows she fired to increase their power.
"Um... yes..."
Lefiya nodded lightly, and another swelling wave of embarrassment rose inside her.
In front of this boy, it was as if she had no secrets at all. No matter how small the detail was, he remembered it clearly.
Could he have even noticed the skill that had just appeared?
The moment that thought crossed Lefiya's mind, it felt as if an electric current ran through her entire body, and her cheeks burned fiercely.
She hurriedly cut off her own speculation and forced her thoughts back to the matter at hand. "So I should chant magic here, then cancel it?"
"Yeah. Lefiya-san really is smart."
Bell praised her softly.
He had used [Argo's Ship] in front of Lefiya before, so she probably knew the magic had its own limitations.
Because it was tied to the emotion of [Longing], Bell had not told Lefiya the details of the magic. If she knew, she would definitely get embarrassed and run away.
"I'm not an idiot, you know..."
Lefiya pouted and shot the boy a reproachful look.
She had seen Bell's magic many times and understood that it was extremely similar to the enchantment magic used by the werewolf Bete.
Lefiya was quite curious about how it worked, and she could faintly sense that while the two looked similar on the surface, their cores were completely different.
As a highly curious elf, Lefiya still suppressed the feeling in her heart. Since the boy did not intend to explain the details, there was no need for her to dwell on it. If she kept pestering him, it would only cause him trouble.
Hiss...
Lefiya realized that, without noticing it, she had already forgotten the gap between their familias. Even the way she thought about problems had shifted completely to the boy's side.
To hide her shyness, Lefiya gave a light cough, raised her wand, and began chanting her artillery magic.
"Unleashed streak of light, bow limbs of the holy tree.."
The golden-yellow elf wove the magic song in a clear voice.
"..."
Bell looked at Lefiya's flowing deep-golden hair and did not interrupt.
When their eyes met, the boy caught an ambiguous look from her, as if Lefiya were saying, "Don't stare at me, idiot..."
It lasted only an instant before Lefiya poured all of her focus into chanting.
But even in that brief moment, Bell caught it.
The boy was not dense. He could feel Lefiya's affection for him, and that was why he intended to use [Argo's Ship].
The reason Bell had not confessed his feelings to Lefiya the way he had to Riveria was because these two beautiful elves had completely opposite personalities. What he wanted was the girls' sincere smiles, so every romance and every girl had to be treated with all his effort and all his sincerity.
The same was true for Ais.
With Bell's intelligence, he could have tricked that naturally airheaded girl long ago and closed the distance between them, but he had not done that. Even if the road ahead was full of hardship, even if their fate had not yet arrived and they could not be together, Bell would never do anything that made the girls cry.
This time, Bell had to take responsibility for Ais's rampage and bring it to an end.
As Bell thought about how to comfort the blonde girl, Lefiya's magic chant reached its end.
The gale swept through, and Magic Power gathered.
Lefiya raised her wand high and fired the light arrow magic into the air.
The instant the arrow of light flew out, she shouted, "Light, scatter!" and recovered part of her Magic Power.
"..."
Bell narrowed his eyes and watched the dazzling light gradually fade away.
The flash rose like fireworks, shooting straight into the clouds.
"Lefiya-san, has your magic gotten stronger?"
Bell asked.
If the earlier increase in [Strength] had only felt a little strange, like adding a stream to a lake, then the golden-yellow elf's current [Magic Power] was like pouring in a torrential rain.
Although it had not reached the point of a qualitative change, that unimaginable rate of growth was already astonishing enough.
"Um... how should I put it... haha... you probably understand, right?"
Lefiya answered haltingly.
There was no way she could tell him that simply staying by the boy's side gave her ability values a correction.
What was more, the skill [Requited Love Bond] still had its later effects. Whether it was [Intimate Contact] or [Affection Level ????], for Lefiya, whose sense of shame was already overflowing, they were all extremely severe trials.
"Yeah, I more or less understand..."
Bell looked at the blush on the girl's face and considerately ended the topic.
Just as he had guessed, Lefiya had most likely developed a new skill.
With the wind crying around them, the two kept a tacit silence and continued forward.
Just before they reached the clearing, Bell said, "Lefiya-san, you can start chanting your magic now."
"Mm..."
Lefiya originally wanted to ask why the boy was not starting his chant with her, but after thinking for a moment, she decided Bell must have his reasons.
"You are an expert of the bow."
Lefiya said nothing more and focused her energy on Concurrent Chanting.
Running while chanting was a technique she had only learned yesterday. With the boy who had taught her running right beside her, Lefiya's heart filled with warmth.
This magic was the fruit born between the two of them.
After they advanced a little farther, Bell also began chanting his magic.
"Advance."
The two ran side by side across the grass, their chants intertwining.
Sunlight poured down, and the wind grew stronger.
Yet Lefiya's song was bright and passionate.
At last, at the far end of their vision, the figure of the blonde girl appeared.
Riveria-sama...?
Lefiya frowned, but she did not voice her confusion. She simply wove the final syllables of her magic.
"Arcs Ray!"
"Divine Light • Voyage (Argo's Ship)."
Their voices fell at the same time. Looking toward the blonde girl, the two fired a cannon blast of light.
The two pillars of light merged together, bursting into a brilliant radiance.
It was so fast that even Lefiya's apology could not catch up.
"Ais-san, I'm sorry!!!"