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

The spring water reflects the brilliance of the moon and stars, like a mirror in the sky.

Surrounded by forests and flower fields, this place truly lives up to its name as a fairy garden.

Just as Bell's gaze was drawn to him, Ryu spoke up.

"...Bell, you..."

"I don't regret it."

"!"

Bel, who knew in advance what Ryu was going to say—that he knew Ryu to this extent—preemptively replied in this way.

Ryu, who was looking down at Izumi with a conflicted expression, turned around in surprise.

"Although I used to admire Miss Ais a lot... now I have learned a lot from Miss Ryu and have also noticed a lot of things."

"Many things...?"

"Yes. Time spent with Ms. Ryu feels slow... but it also ends very quickly, it's a kind of strange feeling. So, I'll think about seeing her again tomorrow... I'm always looking forward to it when I notice it."

I think this is what it means to like someone.

Bell said this, then smiled somewhat embarrassedly.

As if realizing that this wasn't something he would normally say, he put his left hand behind his head.

Hearing him say that, Liu was dumbfounded.

"It's alright, I like Miss Ryu."

"!"

"From now on, I want to like Ms. Ryu even more, and I don't want to make you feel uneasy anymore."

Then, seeing the boy smiling to reassure her, Ryu's cheeks flushed.

Noticing the guilt Ryu still harbored deep inside, the boy revealed his true feelings. From the moment he accepted her lips, he said, "I've been devoted to you."

Perhaps this isn't the kind of passionate love.

Perhaps there isn't that kind of foolishness in desperately chasing after a distant figure.

However, just as flowers sway and lean on each other, that kind of stable and cherished feeling does exist.

Bell's feelings were also conveyed to Ryu.

(...You've been getting more and more informal lately...You're usually shy about even touching each other, yet you still say things that make me feel embarrassed, putting me in such a difficult position...)

With his gaze fixed on the ground, Ryu muttered intermittently between his inner monologue and whispers. Even a first-level adventurer couldn't decipher the murmurs swirling in her mind. "Huh, what are you saying?" Bell asked, tilting his head.

"It's nothing," Liu said, clearing his throat before regaining his elder's composure and getting to the point.

Her face turned even redder than before.

"What I'm about to say is about my... no, no, it's about the traditions of my village..."

"Ha ha……"

"The custom of lovers who adore each other making vows of eternal love in a deserted forest at night...!!"

"Ugh!"

Half of it is a lie. It's not a village tradition, but rather the wish of a girl who believes, "If you're going to swear you're in love, you should do this." She accidentally let it slip before, and the warrior Aisha teased her, saying, "You're unexpectedly a dreamer." If Kaguya and Leila were here, they'd probably burst out laughing at Ryu. Shut up! Disappear, Black Star girls…!

Ryu's sense of shame increased dramatically because of her delusions, and so did Bell's.

The red blush stood out vividly against her pale cheeks in the moonlight.　

"W-Is it a marriage proposal...!?"

"A plea...!? No, no, it's a vow from a partner!!"

"The result is still the same...! What I said earlier, if it can be calculated...!?"

"No, no! I want you to say it seriously, with real feeling!"

Just like a lover who rejects a confession or proposal, the dreamer is only exceptionally strict at this moment.

While the boy and the fairy were in a panic, leaving the moon and stars helpless, the two finally made up their minds.

"Ryu, Miss Ryu..."

"..."

"When I first met her, I thought she was a very beautiful and handsome elf..."

“…………”

"There are adorable aspects... and there are also aspects that are hard to let go of... I guess, ever since a long time ago, I haven't been able to turn back from Mr. Ryu."

"There are lovely aspects and things I can't let go of... I guess, it's been a long time since I've been able to turn back from Ms. Ryu."

"…………Hmm"

The burning heat and shame that dominated Bell's face reached the highest level in his short life, and Ryu, who was right in front of him and heard these words, also easily broke his heart rate record.

Bell, who had been keeping his head down and silent, suddenly raised his head and took Ryu's hand.

Ryu's heart was pounding wildly.　

"I...I love you...Maybe I don't know what those words mean yet...but I love Miss Ryu more than anyone else, more than anything else."

Bell said that.

Unable to express himself clearly, the boy poured all his heart and soul into language.

Then, this message also reached Ryu.

The boy's words were not the solemn, sacred, and beautiful things written in the fairy's Bible.

However, his undisguised and naked emotions pierced through Ryu's heart.

Because she was pierced, Ryu slowly fell backward, along with the boy who had been holding her hand, into the spring.

"Wow!?"

The boy's terrible screams broke the surface of the water and turned into bubbles.

Just as Ryu's body was about to sink to the bottom of the water, Bell used his slender but strong arms to support her and pulled her up in one breath.

"Huh!? Ryu-Miss Ryu, are you alright!?"

“…………”

It's better to let it sink.

Despite the burning blush on her cheeks, Ryu didn't say aloud.

On the other hand, in order to repay the price for making him express his feelings, Ryu used the cold spring water to cool down her feverish body and then opened her lips.

"—I like you too."

More than anyone else.

I adore you.

More important than anything else.

"I want to receive your love—I want to love you."

At the top of the bright moon floating on the water, eternal love was declared.

The stars shone brightly overhead.

His confidants, comrades, partners, and formidable adversaries all seemed to be smiling and saying, "Don't let him get away."

So Ryu tiptoed and pressed her lips to the boy's lips.

She pushed the boy, whose face was flushed and eyes were wide, to the ground, and this time sank deeper and longer into the spring.

As for what exactly happened in the spring, and what kind of love they exchanged, no one knows.

Only the bright moon and stars floating above the sky and the spring know.

This is the story of "Chihiro," a tale of a fairy and a boy coming together.

The rest of the story will not be mentioned in "Edge History".

But one thing is certain: they—no, the entire world—will suffer unavoidable hardship in the future.

The newly born "end" ravaged the earth with despair.

Countless families were ruined and people died, and countless gods were sent back to their ancestral temples.

The flames of karma generate warmth, and the screams that ignite the storm of death will echo eternally.

The two may be separated.

Perhaps they will regret sharing their feelings, and regret what happened that day at Cangzhi Qingliu.

Even so, the fairy and the boy will surely meet again.

That might have been in the pale and white garden where the two vowed to love each other.

Or perhaps, in the city where the goddess of justice awaits.

Perhaps, it is in the ancient valley where the seal was broken.

Or perhaps, it is outside the walls of the city of heroes, on the plains bathed in the morning glow.

The "hero" and the "boy who had to become a hero" will meet again in the future.

Side Story: Sword Oratoria 13 Prologue - Sequel of Loss and Resolve

Taiwanese version from Angel Anime Forum

Void Literature Guild × Angel Anime Input Group

Image source: Book Lovers' Club

Bonus scan: Minato & Kate style

Input: kid

As one brave man once said.

The series of hard-fought battles concerning the survival of the labyrinth city are ultimately stories that will not be passed down.

Not to mention the god who calls himself "Urban Destroyer (Ernio)" and his clandestine activities, even the existence of "Demi Spirit" will not be made public.

The guild records only contain the short phrase "suppressing the underground organization".

It took the combined forces of Loki's Familia three days to completely suppress the "artificial labyrinth Knossos".

During this period, everyone was extremely busy.

The first step is urban renovation, as well as explaining the background and context to the citizens.

Countless carnivorous plants, like frenzied apostles of Ogia, appeared on the ground, causing damage to the entire city. Thanks to the efforts of the various factions led by the Blacksmith Goddess (Hephaestus) and the adventurers from the labyrinthine inn town (Rivera), along with the Njord Familia who came to reinforce from the port city (Melen), no casualties were suffered, but many streets and buildings were still damaged. Repair work, led by the guilds, was quickly launched—with the assistance of the Blacksmith Goddess (Guberneus), who also oversees construction, and other Families—Orario is gradually returning to its pre-incident appearance.

The work of calming the public is also being carried out day and night. The reason is that, in addition to the large number of monsters appearing, the earthquake caused by the "Six Rings of Fairy" and the red magical light covering the entire city cannot be concealed. Even the strange phenomena occurring in Orario have been observed in surrounding areas, causing panic among the people. Citizens are demanding an explanation from the guild.

Ultimately, Guild Master Lloyd personally intervened to explain that they had attempted to "manipulate intelligence."

Lloyd said:

"I'm sure you all remember the 'Armed Monster' incident that recently plagued Orario, and the events caused by the banished god Ikelos. We finally managed to locate the god's stronghold and wipe out the underground organization. This series of disturbances, including the monsters entering the city, is all related to this incident."

That's roughly the gist of it.

To put it bluntly, it's a statement that's "half truth and half lie".

Lloyd attributed the cause to the Ikeros Familia, a faction that had disappeared from Orario and was responsible for the heretics (Zenos) entering the city. He insisted that the extra time was spent raiding their base located underground on Daedalus Road and eliminating the large number of monsters still present there.

"Because the [Ikeros Familia] possesses many new types of monsters, the adventurers were unable to respond in time, which led to the current situation. Including the 'Armed Monster' incident, it has caused a lot of anxiety among the people, and I feel deeply guilty. I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to the public."

To attribute everything to unexpected "abnormal situations".

As for the earthquake, it just happened to occur at the same time.

The red glow covering the city was simply the magical residue emitted by the new carnivorous plant (monster).

After seeking assistance from the Loki Familia and the Freya Familia, the unexpectedly difficult situation was successfully resolved. Lloyd, known as "the guild's pig," brazenly lied in front of the crowd of citizens gathered outside the headquarters.

For high-ranking members of management organizations (guilds) like Lloydman, the "truth" must never be revealed to the world, no matter how much they try to hide it.

The fact that the artificial labyrinth (Knossos) has a second entrance to the underground city cannot be made public. Although many Familias suspect that the labyrinth street (Daedalus Road) hides "some kind of secret", the problem is that once it is admitted, it will cause chaos, and there will definitely be people who use it to cause trouble.