The stars above and the glow of the Magic Stone lamps reflected each other, while the cheerful noise of adventurers drifted through the streets.
"We're finally back... and it's already this late..."
Lefiya looked at the familiar bustling scene and murmured softly.
Inside the Dungeon, with its lighting and monsters, it was always hard to tell the ti.
Judging by the position of the moon, it was already deep into the night, yet the streets near Babel were still as lively as ever.
"Lefiya-san, you really do keep up with your training. Even carrying , you never fell behind once."
Bell praised her with a smile.
"I'm Level 3, you know. If I got left behind, that would be seriously embarrassing."
Lefiya headed toward the plaza beneath Babel.
With Ais and the others escorting them, the trip back had been fairly easy.
"I can't believe we went through so much, and only a single day has passed..."
Lefiya recalled the succession of battles and still felt shaken by it all.
"That's because we never stopped to explore. We always took the shortest route."
Bell explained.
Most of the ti spent in the Dungeon was taken up just traveling.
The incident in the Pantry on the twenty-fourth floor and the battle against the Black Goliath had looked incredibly dangerous, but in reality, each fight had ended very quickly.
"That's not what I ant... It just feels like after spending so much ti with you, all the common sense I used to have doesn't work anymore..."
Lefiya muttered under her breath.
Normally, even subjugating an ordinary Goliath would take more than two hours.
But Bell Cranel was simply too absurd.
Not only had he dealt with swarms of monsters all by himself, he had even defeated the mutated Goliath in a very short ti.
Lefiya sank into those mories and found herself full of emotion.
"Lefiya-san, we're already at the plaza. If we go any farther, everyone else will see us."
Bell reminded her.
The two of them were still in the sa piggyback position, and passing adventurers were already casting curious glances their way.
"Mm...? How long are you planning to stay like this? Hurry up and get down!"
Lefiya finally snapped back to herself and hurriedly loosened her hands.
"Sorry. It was just too comfortable on Lefiya-san."
Bell obediently stepped back onto the ground.
"?!"
"You permanently horny rabbit! There was definitely another aning behind what you just said, wasn't there?!"
Lefiya turned around, pulled out the wand at her waist, and demanded an explanation.
"Hmm? What aning?"
Bell tilted his head in confusion.
"..."
Silence spread between them.
A mont later, the beautiful face of the golden-haired elf reflected in those crimson eyes suddenly flushed bright red.
"Mm… let's put that aside for now. We're already here, so why didn't you say sothing sooner?"
Lefiya puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.
"You looked so deep in thought just now that I thought you were going to carry all the way ho."
Bell explained.
"Th, that's impossible?!"
Lefiya gripped her wand tightly. To keep herself from drawing attention, she could only lower her voice.
"Our relationship is just pretend! Don't get the wrong idea!"
Lefiya stepped closer, but that whispering sort of gesture only made her ears turn red.
She had closed the distance on her own, then only afterward realized what she had done and beca embarrassed.
Seeing such a clumsy move from Lefiya, Bell could not help laughing softly.
In return, he received a resentful glare.
Lefiya shot the boy a fierce look.
"Hmph, I'm going back. You'd better reflect on yourself properly, or next ti we et, I'm definitely going to smack you on the head with my wand."
"I'm already Level 3 now, so I don't think that'll be easy."
Bell said with a smile.
The two who had once played chase with each other had now closed the gap between them. When it ca to [Agility], Lefiya could not even hope to compare.
"Mm... so annoying, so annoying! Dummy, idiot, permanently horny rabbit!"
Lefiya raised her wand.
But the mont she saw Bell's injuries and rembered everything that had happened on this journey, all desire to fool around disappeared.
In the end, Lefiya could only lower her wand and vent the tangled sweetness, bitterness, and frustration in her heart through words alone.
Just then, a figure slowly approached.
"I'm sorry for interrupting your flirting."
Under the moonlight, the elf girl's snow-white skin looked especially beautiful.
"Filvis? It's absolutely not like that. I was just the only one yelling at him!"
Lefiya hurriedly explained.
"Is that so? Viridis looked very happy to ."
Filvis blinked in puzzlent.
"Not at all..."
Lefiya frowned.
"Forget that for now. What did you want with us, Filvis?"
Most of the adventurers who had returned from the eighteenth floor had already left on their own, just like Ryuu.
Ais, for so reason, was standing silently in a corner of the plaza waiting for Lefiya, like a little girl who had done sothing wrong but did not dare admit it.
Cassandra and the others were waiting so distance away for Lili, who was still at the rear of the group.
Far from the crowd, the cool moonlight fell like a pale layer of frost, setting Lefiya and the others apart from everyone else.
"As Cranel's lover, I thought it was only proper to co say goodbye before we parted."
There was no emotion in Filvis's voice.
"Viridis, I'd like to speak with you for a mont."
"...?"
Lefiya looked startled.
She glanced at Bell, and after he gave her a nod, she walked with Filvis toward an empty corner.
"Viridis, I heard that you can summon the magic of your own kind. Is that true?"
Filvis asked directly.
"Mm..."
Lefiya nodded.
Quite a few people in the city had already heard about that.
Her title, [Thousand Elf], ca from exactly that ability.
"I want to entrust this magic to you. Can you tell the exact conditions?"
Filvis stated her purpose.
"Th, this suddenly?"
Lefiya frowned.
Though surprised, she still explained the activation conditions for that summoned magic.
As long as Lefiya fully mastered the magic's effects and chant, [Elf Ring] allowed her to cast another elf's magic by spending twice the chanting ti and Mind.
"I see..."
Filvis nodded thoughtfully.
She stepped back a few paces and drew the short staff at her waist.
"Viridis, please accept my shield."
"Beco a shield, holy grail of crushing evil!"
"Dio Grail!"
With the chant, a pure white shield of light appeared between them.
Lefiya stared blankly at the light before her, unable to stop herself from feeling that it was as noble as Filvis's soul.
Filvis dispelled the magic and said,
"This is an ultra-short chant barrier spell. It can block both physical and magical attacks."
"I understand."
Lefiya engraved the protective magic into her mory.
This was trust, and also proof of friendship between elves.
It should have been a happy mont, yet Lefiya instead felt a sadness so strong it made her want to cry.
"Viridis, please do not forget this shield. I'm entrusting Cranel to you."
Filvis said no more. She looked once toward the boy in the distance, then turned and walked away.
"Um... Filvis, aren't you going to say goodbye to him?"
Rembering what Bell had said before, Lefiya's eyes imdiately grew wet.
"Please tell him this for ."
Filvis's back disappeared into the darkness.
"Goodbye."
That farewell was as cold as moonlight.
The night had already grown deep, and tears began to slip from Lefiya's eyes before she even realized it.
...
...
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow on p-@-treon.
[email protected]/PinkSnake (70 Chapters Ahead).
You can also follow as a free mber to read a few advanced chapters.
User Comments
0 comments from readers