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

That inimitable noble belief and dedication to one's people deeply moved her.

(ah--)

Then Lily's heart was touched by Finn's attitude towards life.

No, I just remembered.

I thought of my feelings for the boy.

(Oh right…)

Neither the national hero Finn Demna nor the gods saved him.

It's Bell.

It was that boy who saved himself from the abyss, when no one cared about him.

(Yes, Lily...)

Although it is impossible, even if one day the goddess Hestia abandons Bell.

Only Lily would never abandon him.

Even if the world labels the boy as a sinner and forces him into loneliness, only Lily will always stay by his side and support him forever.

Although the boy's progress was astonishingly fast, Lily would still follow him for life.

The day he forgave and accepted everything about himself, hugged himself, and smiled at himself—Lily had already made her decision.

"..."

what the hell.

Lily smiled.

After all that talk, it turns out I'm not much different from Finn; he's like a mirror image of myself.

Lily possesses an existence that is sufficient for her to sacrifice and dedicate herself.

Lily may not find happiness there, just as she is suffering to this day and will likely continue to be troubled by various emotions in the future.

However, she has already made up her mind.

No matter what happens, I will stay by that boy's side.

This is not just about atonement, but also about expressing one's own feelings.

Lily will always support him.

Just like the man before me who sacrificed himself for his clan.

"It turns out the two things were completely unrelated..."

"?"

The murmur that slipped out made Finn tilt his head.

To put it bluntly, it's blind devotion; to outsiders, it might seem like loyalty; or to put it more dramatically, it's selfless love.

Despite her flaws, she still possesses this small but significant sentiment, which is enough to compare with that of goddesses like Hestia.

Forget about Ais Wallenstein, forget about whether the boy had a sweetheart or not—it was all irrelevant from the start.

"...I'm sorry, Lord Finn."

Lily straightened her posture and stared directly at Finn.

"I regret to inform you that I refuse this marriage proposal."

Then she smiled and bowed her head to apologize to Finn.

"May I ask you why?"

Finn smiled and asked her the question.

"Just as Lord Finn devoted himself to the cause of his people, Lily has also given everything for him... for Lord Bell. Lily has made this decision."

Lily said, "You're just like me."

Although the things they carry may be incomparable in size, the root cause is the same.

With gratitude for reminding her of something important, Lily explained to Finn, "I see." He nodded.

"Phew... It really didn't work."

Soon Finn closed his eyes, sighing and giving a bitter smile.

"I had a vague feeling that things were going wrong a long time ago, and my thumb... a kind of intuition-like part of me also told me that this was definitely a waste of time."

"If that's the case, why even discuss this marriage?"

Lily asked incredulously, and Finn smiled, the kind of smile a child his appearance should have.

"Didn't I tell you? I'm fascinated by your 'courage'."

"what……"

"My heart, as a dwarf, has been moved by your 'courage'."

"It makes me want to propose to you," he said.

Finn placed his right hand on his chest and smiled genuinely.

His standards as a "Hero".

Just as he inspired the little people, he was also searching for a partner who could deeply move him.

"This is a headache; we have to start all over again."

Finn leaned back in his chair, feigning a worried expression.

Seeing his true self, stripped of his faction leader persona, Lily couldn't help but chuckle and smile.

"If Lily sees a good potential partner, would you like me to introduce them to you?"

"I'm sorry to trouble you, but I seem to have no luck with these kinds of things, or rather, I'm helpless with them."

As for Finn, he responded with a wry smile.

Although the marriage fell through, he felt happy and warm upon seeing fellow countrymen similar to himself.

A stable atmosphere began to develop between the two.

"Please, please wait a moment, sir/madam!"

““?”

at this time.

The store immediately became noisy as the door was pushed open forcefully.

Lily and Finn turned around at the same time and saw the white-haired boy rushing into the store, panting heavily.

"Lord Bel!?"

Lily was so surprised by their late arrival that she suddenly stood up.

Belle responded to her calls, her eyes widening as she shook off the clerk's attempts to stop her and rushed to her table.

The boy seemed to remember the map on the parchment note—though he got lost for a while before finally arriving—and went alone to the "Secret House of the Little People," ignoring Lily's surprise and going straight to Finn.

"Mr. Finn! Please! Don't take Lily away!!"

"Huh!" Lily froze, while Finn sat there, stunned.

Finn blinked for a moment, but his clever mind seemed to grasp the situation immediately, and he quickly glanced at Lily.

Then, as if he had thought of a prank, he smiled.

"Unfortunately—she has already agreed to be with me, Bell Craney."

"What..." Lily was speechless for a moment, then wanted to yell at him for talking nonsense.

But Finn stopped her with a look that said "wait," causing her to miss her chance to lash out.

As for Bell, he turned pale, but undeterred, he continued his story:

"I still want to be with Lily! I don't want to leave her!!"

Bell's loud shout startled Lily, and her cheeks immediately flushed red.

Finn squinted his eyes with amusement, as if he wanted to continue his mischievous joke, and went on to say:

"They both agreed, but you're here to throw cold water on their enthusiasm?"

"right!"

"You seem very reluctant to part with her. So, what does she mean to you?"

"They are my family, my clan!"

"That's it? Not enough."

"...She's the first person willing to team up with me, an indispensable...indispensable teammate!!"

As if guided by Finn, Bell shouted out his whole heart to Lily.

Every word he said made Lily feel hot all over, her heart pounding wildly. Touching Bell's sincerity made her chest ache with a painful bitterness.

At the same time, Lily also realized Finn's intentions. He wanted to get the boy to reveal his feelings for Lily and tell her how much he cherished her.

How cunning! How despicable!

How can she stop it?

Seeing the "Hero" arguing with the humans who barged into the shop, and all the little people around him focusing their attention on him, Lily could only blush and panic.

"She's a bride candidate I finally found, I can't just give her away like that... Or are you going to try and steal her from me based on your own merits?"

Finn jumped off the chair and looked up at Bell defiantly.

The sight of a Level 6, Level 1 adventurer whose strength surpassed that of the giantess Frini of the Ishtar Familia caused Bell to grunt, but he did not back down.

Determined to continue his willful ways, he confronted Finn directly.

"Not bad resolve, interesting... Let's wager her and have a duel!"

The brave warrior was simply having fun and enjoying himself immensely.

He seemed to have forgotten his age, and with childlike innocence, he gestured with one hand towards the girl, gazing into the boy's deep red bellite eyes.

The shop assistant, Lu An, was completely stunned, and the other little people also stood up from their seats, curiously gathering around to watch the spectacle.

As for Lily, her face had already turned bright red.

(What... what's going on here?!?)

Bell and Finn are actually going to fight each other over their own sake.

Although one of them was half-joking, the boy with the tense expression was definitely serious.

It was like a scene from a fairy tale—knights were fighting over the bride, and she was in a position like a princess, making her so ashamed that she almost breathed fire from her face.

"I'm not suited for this role! I'm only fit to be a maid in a castle!" she really wanted to shout.

When Lily's face turned as red as a ripe apple, Finn smiled and squinted at Bell, who had mustered up the courage to strike a pose.

Surrounded by a wall of people egged on by the dwarves, Finn told the boy:

"If you can hit me just once, you win. But if I win, I'm going to marry her."

Whoosh! The entire Dwarf race whistled and cheered triumphantly. Bell nodded slowly in a corner of the shop, facing Finn at a distance of only three steps.

Lily felt this had gone too far and, overcoming her shame, was about to stop the two of them—

"—Commander?"

A chilling, resentful voice echoed throughout the shop.

“““!?””””

The terrifying murderous aura made Lily, Finn, and Bell turn their heads at supersonic speed.

An Amazonian, shrouded in dark miasma, stood behind a wall of people that had split apart in fear.

"Tione... when did you arrive?"

"Commander, what were you talking about just now? A wedding? A bride?"