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

Seeing Belle standing there without moving, Winnie asked in confusion.

Bell held her thin, small hand, her whole body sweating profusely.

He let his breathing tremble, enduring the deafening pounding of his heart.

In the back alley, surrounded by stairs and narrow passages, his rubellite eyes stared into the darkness ahead.

Maze Street, Southeast.

The adventurers remained in chaos and clamor, but nothing could be heard in this corner of the back alley; the figure twitched.

The figure shrouded in the dim light moved slightly, pulling his back away from the cracked brick wall, and coughed a few times.

"Five years, really? The gap has widened..."

Three minutes (、、、).

This is the time when that figure is allowed to fight.

Once she regained consciousness, she slowly looked up at the sky.

"I'm very sorry, Mr. Craney..."

Ryu Ryo even forgot to wipe his blood-stained lips, pressing his hand against his abdomen where he had been struck by the back of a knife, muttering to himself.

"────"

Cirrus clouds swept across the sky, and moonlight wiped away the darkness.

The halo around him illuminated long, golden hair that shone like sand gold. His silver and blue armor, and the hilt of his sword sheathed, emitted a ghostly light that burned into Bell's eyes.

When Winnie's time also paused, she watched Belle and the girl.

"Ais, Miss..."

Golden hair and golden eyes.

Facing the female swordsman standing in the center of the back alley, Bell let out a breathy whisper.

"...That dragon girl (Vivel) is still alive."

Ais did indeed utter the words "Dragon Girl (Vivel)," which transformed into an impact that pierced through Bell.

At the same time, Bell also realized that Ais had probably already evaded Ryu's delaying tactics and had started tracking him again.

Bell didn't notice her because she "wasn't looking" at him. She saw through the boy's sensitivity to gazes, so instead of staring directly at him, she tracked his scent, cleverly keeping Bell completely unaware.

Ais lost track of Bell for a moment after Ryu darted in from the side, but she likely caught up with him again when he headed southwest in a straight line from southeast to southwest. Ais witnessed his reunion with Haruhime and his reunion with Winnie.

Bell couldn't shake off Ais's pursuit at all.

"come out……"

Bert arrived before her, perhaps because (、、、、、) she was somewhat confused (、、、、、).

Ais seemed somewhat sad and asked them to take off the "double-sided invisibility cloak".

Bell silently removed his invisibility cloak.

"..."

"..."

Upon seeing Bell appear and then Winnie with her single wing, Ais lowered her gaze.

"I've been wondering... why you asked me that kind of question."

Five days ago, when the mandatory mission was about to be issued to the entire city, Bell asked Ais:

"If monsters had a reason to live... if they had feelings like us, what would you do?"

If you encountered a "monster" who could smile like a human, worry like a human, and cry like a human, would you still be able to wield your sword?

"Oh, I see..."

Ais, whose gaze was fixed on the ground, slowly raised her eyes to look at the monster (Vinnie).

That gaze made Bell feel a sense of danger.

Although Ais usually lacked emotional expression, that gaze was clearly different from the one Bell knew, sending a chill down his spine.

Why, of all times, with that look in your eyes—please don't do that.

Belle desperately suppressed the overwhelming grief in her chest, wanting to protect Winnie from those looks, and pleaded:

"Miss Ais!! This girl...!"

"My answer..."

Ais interrupted him forcefully, not letting Bell finish speaking.

"It won't change."

Then—her hand rested on the hilt of the sword.

"If a monster makes anyone cry—I will kill the monster."

The answer [Sword Girl] gave—the drawn silver sword—froze Bell in place.

Tap! Ais's boots stepped out in response.

"Wait...please wait a minute, Miss Ais!? This girl wouldn't do anything bad, wouldn't hurt anyone! She would never do such a thing!! She...Winnie is different from a monster!!"

Bell was practically crying out.

Winnie was frightened by Ais's fighting spirit, and Bell told her to hide behind him while he shouted excitedly.

"If that dragon girl loses control again, will you still say the same thing?"

"────"

The red stone set on Winnie's forehead trembled and scattered its brilliance.

"I can't do it."

She is widely acknowledged as incredibly silly, and she herself considers herself to be decisively different from the innocent and carefree Amazonian girl.

Ais's expression was cold, her words sharp and unforgiving. What made her so cold-hearted? Bell didn't understand, nor did he want to.

Only one thing is clear—communication failed.

Bell now realizes that he is completely at odds with the person he admires.

"Ugh, ah..."

Finally, the despair and hopelessness swirling in his mind led his hand to the hilt of the dagger.

Just like the female swordsman facing off, the boy had already given an answer that could not be taken back.

Bell swore to protect her to the very end, for the sake of the monster girl.

Facing Ais, whose eyes were narrowed in sadness, Belle drew her black dagger and red sword.

"Bell..."

Winnie murmured in a voice trembling with tears in her eyes.

“!…”

The goddess on the other side of the crystal could not make a sound.

"……Why."

Bell's lips trembled uncontrollably.

"……Why!"

Ais leaned forward and started running.

"—Damn it!!"

Bell also charged forward, and facing the approaching silver sword, swung his black dagger to its fullest extent.

*

The first blow from both sides sparked countless fires.

Of course, Bell's strength was far inferior to his opponent's. It was hard to imagine that Ais's slender arm could unleash such a powerful slash, knocking Bell off his balance; but he had anticipated this and converted the impact of the attack into centrifugal force during the spin.

Bell, while gripping the [Blade of Hestia] in his right hand with a reverse grip, called out to Ais again:

"Winnie, run!!"

Faced with the boy's terrifying expression and tone, which she had never heard before, Winnie hugged the invisibility cloak to her chest, swayed, and did as she was told with teary eyes.

Bell had no time to look back at the girl running away along the same path. The goddess's dagger was blocked, and he attacked again with the red knife in his left hand.

The blond-haired, golden-eyed swordsman easily deflected the continuous attacks of the daggers with just his sword.

“Wu!?”

Seeing his attack so easily neutralized, Bell gritted his teeth, determined to trap Ais here. He attacked the swordsman with both swords, but unexpectedly—

"──"

As soon as the black dagger was deflected, long golden hair (a curtain) instantly filled the field of vision.

Bell's mind went blank for a moment before he understood the situation.

After her defensive maneuver, Ais leaped into the air like a butterfly, soaring over the boy's head.

The red blade's attack ended in a missed attack, and Ais and Bell switched positions, landing on the ground behind him.

「!?」

Bell focused all his senses and immediately turned around, only to see Ais running after Winnie—he clearly saw where the girl's gaze was directed.

—She wasn't looking at me!

The overwhelming sense of sorrow transformed into a burning emotion deep within my abdomen.

Was that anger? No, that's not right. It was the frustration of being completely ignored by the object of one's admiration.

Bell was burning hot all over as he chased after Winnie and Ais.

"Bell, Bell!?"

Hestia screamed, her eyes gleaming. She must have seen the changes on the "magic map" and understood the current situation. Just as she feared, Bell couldn't catch up with Ais. No, rather, Bell wouldn't even have time to catch up before Ais's sword was already at Vinnie's back.

No, it's too late, Winnie will—!

As the Sword Maiden's gaze pierced through the dragon girl's back, Bell clenched his fist with all his might, forcing out a troubled expression.

Then, just as Winnie turned around abruptly, and Ais was about to make her move, Bell, filled with extreme grief, roared out a cannon shot (、、).

"【Flame Lightning】!!"

The crimson flames and lightning hurtled away.

The lightning-fast "Speed ​​Attack Magic" instantly reduced the previously hopeless distance to zero, halting Ais's high-speed run. As the cannonball struck and shattered the alley wall, Winnie's astonished figure vanished into the depths of the sandstorm.

They made their move; they attacked again.

He used to be an adventurer.

This time it's someone I admire.

What was she doing? Bell's mind was a complete mess, to the point of wanting to cry. Only one thing was certain—she could never turn back.

With a distorted expression, Bell charged forward, aiming at Ais, who was speechless after dodging the attack.

"Miss Ais, please listen to me!"

Bell shouted as the dagger was blocked by the sword.

Contrary to his words, the reality of having to resort to force left Bell feeling infinitely empty, but he still clashed swords with Ais, engaging in close combat with a series of squeaking and squeaking sounds.

"...I have nothing to say to you."

Ais, as always, didn't even look at Bell before speaking, which made Bell's cheeks burn bright red.

"I have!!"

It was just like a child throwing a tantrum, completely like a little boy who couldn't win the favor of an unattainable woman. Bell's throat vibrated as he pressed the dagger forward and took a step; the girl's eyes twisted, as if to express her rejection, and she swung her sword.

Ais easily made Bell stagger and continued her pursuit of Winnie.

"!……immortal!"