Is it wrong to try to meet someone in a dungeon?

As the elves frantically chased after them on horseback, the princess and her entourage, who had been crucial to their success, were making a ruckus as they walked through the forest. Among them were Loki, who had finally achieved his wish, and Finn, who wore a wry smile.

"What an utterly foolish being... I've heard the rumors, but it's unbelievable that this is God!"

"Lady Riveria, you can't say that... although I understand how you feel..."

Beside Loki, the people she would immediately and frequently hug tightly were Riveria and her attendant Aina, who was desperately trying to comfort her.

"Don't say that, Rivera. You're already one of my familia~"

"Enough! Don't come any closer! Don't speak! Don't call my name! Damn it, why did I have to end up with such a god...!"

As Loki approached with a chuckle, Riveria shrank back, her fingers gripping her arm tightly. Her escape plan from the village had been thwarted from the start, and though she had no choice but to follow Loki's lead—to become a prisoner of the gods—the princess, who appeared strong as she glared back, was actually on the verge of tears.

"Anyway, that concludes the introductory ceremony. Now, tell us your reasons and background. Although you joined the clan to escape the pursuers, you have your own difficulties, right? After all, you're still being chased."

After complaining to Loki, who had his hands behind his head, about "what a greeting gift," Riveria reluctantly began to speak. Together with Aina, who was still very nervous, she recounted what had happened to her and why she had run away from the capital.

"I see, that's roughly what I thought... But hehehe, that's perfect! Aina can join our familia too—"

"Don't touch her!"

After saying that, Riveria, with a cold gaze, jabbed Loki's head with the staff she held in one hand.

Riveria's serious gaze caused the goddess to utter a sound like a flattened pig: "Oh, oh pfft...!?"

"You vile god, don't touch my friend with that filthy hand."

"Lady Riveria..."　

"Aina is my only friend. I will never let her become your toy. ... Even if you take away my own freedom, I will absolutely protect Aina."

That was an unwavering resolve. Although Riveria herself had become a member of the gods' kin, she only had the will of her confidante, the proud princess, whom she would protect at all costs.

Facing the God who was sweating profusely and groaning in pain, Finn sighed and said, "That's too much." He then offered a helping hand and subtly changed the subject.

"Based on what you've said, you two seem to have a master-servant relationship, don't you?"

"No! Even if things are like that with the courtiers in the palace, we're not like that! Aina is my friend! Only Aina wouldn't treat me like a princess!"

"Lady Riveria... that was only because I was ignorant and didn't know my place back then..."

"What does it matter! Even so, what you said back then was almost entirely true! That's why I was saved!"　

"Lady Riveria..."　

Although they are both beautiful, the tall Riveria and the curvaceous and even more feminine Aina, if dressed differently, would look like a prince and princess, a picture-perfect scene.

The two holding each other's hands is undoubtedly a touching scene, but—

"Hehehe, it's yuri~ Real yuri~ And it's yuri between beautiful fairies~ I can't take it anymore, I can't take it anymore~ Guhehe."

"I don't know what you're talking about, but shut up, Loki."

If you follow the goddess's lead, you will only become her victim.

Without even glancing at the drooling Loki, Finn put on a wide smile and refused to speak to him.

"Let me start by introducing myself. I think you already know Loki, and my name is—"

Finn had barely finished speaking when—

"ha!"

Riveria gave an exaggerated snort through her nose. It was, to say the least, behavior unbecoming of royalty.

"I know very well what you little people are really like. The merchants hired by the royal family are just like that, always looking at other people's faces, incredibly humble, yet making no attempt to hide the fact that you are a lowly race with desires twice as filthy as humans."

"Lady Riveria..."

Whether it was because she still harbored resentment from being forced into the Familia after only meeting him, Riveria showed disgust towards not only Loki but also Finn. Rather than saying that Riveria was so unfriendly because she was protecting Aina... her contemptuous and mocking attitude revealed the annoying nature of elves.

"Will it really turn out like this?" Finn thought to himself, one eye half-closed.

At the same time, Finn was also too young.

"I really can't stand it... all they do is show off their knowledge, yet their understanding is so narrow. Oh no, it's their hearts that are narrow-minded, isn't it?"

"What did you say!"

"Hey, Finn, don't provoke us," Loki advised, but Riveria and Finn ignored him, glaring at each other. The dwarfs grinned as if they were fools, while the elves were furious.

"Finn, where did your usual pretentious face go? I think you'd be better off looking a little more arrogant and carefree~"

"Um……"

"Lady Riveria, this is not the time to argue. The king's pursuers won't just give up so easily, will they? If we really want to go to the outside world, we'll need their help."

“Ugh…”

Loki, who was bending over and putting his arm around Finn's shoulder, and Aina, who treated Riveria like an older sister, were the two who were trying to persuade each other.

Reflecting on their current situation, Finn and Riveria remained silent before reluctantly nodding.

"...Finn Dimna."

"Rivia Leos Alfre..."

Both of them held back for the time being, looked at each other, and introduced themselves.

In order to escape from their pursuers, Loki and his companions continued to move.

Finn, who had followed the elven guards from the entrance to Wangsen, marked the way he had come. Seeing that the guards at the entrance were now practically useless, he was now retracing his steps.

"I mean, even if we manage to get out of this forest, once they find out we took the princess of the royal elves out of the village, there will definitely be 'international problems'... To be honest, I think this is practically a dead end..."

"There's nothing we can do about it, Finn. What's in your hands is in your hands."

"In short, I don't want to be chased by all the elves in the world, so I'd like to ask you to come up with a solution."

"You're the ones who forced me to join the [Family], aren't you? And now you're still saying what you did."

Once the royal family issues a decree to the world, the elves will immediately transform into assassins to seize Riveria, and they too will not escape unscathed. Running through the forest, Riveria responded with a barbed remark to Finn, who raised his concerns.

"Roar! Ro ...

"Huh, it's a monster! Are there ones in this forest too!?"

"Yes, it's a sad thing. Although the elven warriors regularly drive them away... I've heard that dragons used to live here too."

"It's not just the enemy's pursuers... there are all sorts of unsettling factors at play."

Loki was very surprised to see the pack of werewolves, the wolf monsters, approaching from the front.

"Protecting the gods and the like," Riveria said to Aina as Finn prepared to meet the attack.

"Aina, give me the bow!"

"yes!"

Unable to bring the bow and arrows from the unicorn she had brought with her due to her injury, Riveria took them from Aina and quickly drew the bowstring taut. Soon after the string tightened, she released an arrow.

"Gah!?"

Hit! Then a second shot, then a third.

The fairy princess, with eyes like a hunter's, aimed her arrows at the monster's brow and fired them again and again.

"My dynamic vision has improved, and my motor skills are also significantly better than before... Is this the blessing of the gods? It's infuriating!"

Riveria was furious about the physical abilities she had never possessed before—the latent power she had awakened—but she also felt a real sense of the power of this divine grace. Beside Loki, who was whistling, Finn, poised to fight, shrugged, having no chance to intervene.

"pretty."

"Hmph, you lowly little people. You can't even use a bow and arrow?"

Seeing Riveria picking on her again, Aina covered her face with her hands and sighed helplessly, "Ugh..." But—

"I don't know how, but since you do, I don't necessarily need to. Loki once said that companions complement each other's weaknesses, that's what makes a 'familia'."

Seeing Finn casually brush off her mockery, Riveria lost her composure.

"Moreover, with a first-rate archer like you, it's even more so. As long as Riveria continues to rely on our strength, our [Familia] will be safe."

"...Yeah, yeah, you're right, I'm the best archer in the village. Alright, watch closely. I can handle enemies like that."

With her cheeks flushed, Riveria cleared her throat and continued firing her arrows.

After getting away from her, Finn, with light steps, gave Aina and Loki a big smile.

"So easy to coax."

"Wow, Finn is so cunning."

"Lady Riveria, you've been used as a pawn...!"

Despite his dazzling and handsome smile, Finn is undeniably cunning and ruthless. The cunning little people immediately displayed astonishing adaptability, ceasing their arguments and instead shifting their focus to manipulating Riveria.

Although Finn was more mature than Riveria, he was still a teenager after all. Being constantly treated like a fool was bound to cause him resentment. Just as Loki was wryly smiling at this, the battle on Riveria's side ended a short while later.

"Yay, they're all wiped out! As expected of my Riveria!"

"Don't call me that nasty nickname! Who's your family?!"

"...? Wait a minute, there seems to be a sound..."

"That's the sound of horses' hooves... Oh no!"

Beside the cheering Loki and the enraged Riveria, Aina and Finn noticed the approaching sounds.

Upon realizing the true nature of the sound, Finn immediately shouted.

“Run!”

With the sound of a monster's mournful cry, it was clear that the pursuers were closing in.

To avoid being caught, Riveria and her companions ran swiftly through the dreamlike forest, which shimmered with a bluish-white light. However, among them were Loki and Aina, who appeared to be ordinary humans. Their speed was no match for that of the horses.

Running away was futile; Riveria and her companions were eventually caught.

"Rivia, you idiot..."

"Father……!"

In a corner of the spacious forest, beneath the treetops where branches and leaves intertwined, Riveria and her companions faced off against the elves. Knights and soldiers parted to make way, and King Raphael appeared.

"Did they really make a pact with God? I really hope it was just a mistake... How pathetic and lamentable."

While faint wrinkles hinted at aging, King Raphael still retained a handsome appearance. His emerald green eyes, like Rivellia's, held a burning rage; the fairy king was furious.

"You idiot! I always thought you were stupid, but I never imagined you were this stupid!"

Under this authoritative rebuke, the elves dared not even breathe loudly.

Aina and Riveria were both intimidated and backed down, but she quickly rallied and retorted.

"Father! I want to use these eyes to see the outside world! I want to know about the outside world!"

"Are you planning to abandon your responsibilities as royalty?!"

"Why must royalty be confined to this forest! In this world where gods have descended, in this current state! We should break free from this isolation! The royal family is cursed and bound by this forest!"

Riveria unleashed all the questions and grievances she had harbored since childhood.

But King Raphael remained unmoved and reasoned with him on every point.

"This forest is the sacred land of us elves! If we abandon this holy city and ourselves, we will lose our home! Just like that wretched little human standing beside you now!"

"...!"

"How dare you insult Wang Sen like this? You have no shame!"

With the pride of their race, and precisely because of their high dignity, the elves' decline after losing their home was but a fleeting moment. King Raphael, speaking to his people, pointed out this fact. Riveria was speechless, while Finn beside her stared wide-eyed at the king.

On the other hand, Finn could also understand the king's concern for the prosperity of the clan, so he closed his eyes and said nothing.

"Although our numbers are increasing, it is not easy for us royals to have children. For the sake of the clan's prosperity, the royal bloodline must never be broken... We must never let you go out into the world and be defiled!"

Elves, a long-lived race, have a very low birth rate compared to humans or other demi-humans.

The king only had one daughter, Riveria. Therefore, he provided her with a life of plenty, allowing her to grow up far from corruption. At least, that's what the king believed.

There was the love that a king gave to his daughter, though it was a distorted love in her eyes.

"What is there to complain about! You've been given everything you wanted, and everything unnecessary has been eliminated, allowing you to grow up enjoying pure blessings. All you need to do is wait until you bear children and fulfill your duties as a princess!"

At that moment, silently clenching her fist was Aina, who had always watched the princess grow up.

Sharing the princess's emotions, she looked at Riveria with sorrowful eyes, causing Riveria to tremble.