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

The atmosphere between the two was so tense that they didn't seem to belong to the same faction, and they even refused to look at each other while talking.

Allen, holding a silver spear, walked to Hedin's side, who was looking down at Bell and the others.

"The others are getting impatient. You're in charge, so hurry up and figure out a way to handle this. Stop slacking off here."

Faced with these unrestrained and seemingly contemptuous words, Hedin let out a sigh.

From a positional standpoint, Eren should have been the vice-commander. Although it happened several years ago, it was actually because Hedin, who was recommended, insisted on not taking the position of vice-commander, and Eren, who rejected all important positions, was forced to accept it.

Hedin, who admitted his dereliction of duty, remained silent instead of answering, but he suddenly turned his gaze to Allen.

"And what about you?"

—Don't you dislike the boy that the girl is particularly interested in?

Hedin's implied meaning was this.

"Stop asking me such nonsense."

Allen answered without interest.

"I am loyal to only the goddess."

As if to indicate that he had finished his business, Allen quietly jumped off the spot.

They followed the boy and girl who continued walking without anyone noticing.

Hedin silently watched the figure disappear from sight in the blink of an eye before leaving the scene to give instructions.

After leaving Daedalus Road, the first thing we did was take Miss Seele to buy a change of clothes.

"It's so beautiful, Miss Seele!"

Since the dress wasn't soiled much, it was left as is, and in the end, only a short-sleeved cardigan that wasn't too different from the previous outfit was bought.

I insisted that I was doing this to show my manhood by paying for it, and then I laughed and expressed my most straightforward feelings.

"Thank you for the compliment..."

Miss Seele thanked me with a blush on her face.

"There's a flower petal stuck in your hair, Miss Seele!"

Halfway there, I reached my hand towards Miss Seele's head.

The buildings on either side continuously showered down a large amount of flower petals prepared for the festival. I gently removed the pale peach-colored petals clinging to Miss Seele's bangs, as if I were combing her hair.

"Thank you for your trouble..."

Miss Seele's cheeks flushed, and her gaze kept darting left and right, making her look quite suspicious.

"Let's walk together hand in hand, Miss Seele!"

I sensed Miss Seele's gaze lingering near my palm, so I made this suggestion to her.

When I noticed Miss Seele glance at my free right hand, I switched places and took her left hand. I also smiled at her, apologizing for forgetting to hold her hand earlier.

"Hmm..."

Miss Seele's cheeks flushed even more, and she let out a low growl like a puppy.

Huh……?

after a while.

As we approached the main road on the east side, Miss Seele finally erupted.

"This is so strange!! Something's definitely wrong with Mr. Bell!!"

She screamed in the street, and I and the passersby were all stunned.

"How could that number one innocent, clueless straight man possibly use such frivolous words as 'beautiful' or 'cute' to women so casually!"

Even if you say that…

"For example, the moment I thought, 'I'm a little tired from walking,' you suggested we take a break! And when I thought, 'I really want to hold your hand,' you actually noticed! Mr. Bell, who's usually so childish and clueless about girlish feelings, could never be this thoughtful!"

"Wait, there's no need to criticize me like this..."

Feeling quite hurt by realizing what kind of person I was in Miss Seele's eyes, I cautiously asked:

"Does doing this make you unhappy?"

"No, that's not true. I'm happy! Extremely happy! But it shouldn't have been like this!!"

Just as she couldn't control the blush on her face, Miss Seele unconsciously began to lash out at me.

It felt like she might stomp her feet in anger at any moment.

Although it's inappropriate to say this, I think she looks like a little child, which is very cute.

"Besides, there were several other times when it should have been like this! I should have taken your hand first, and then, as always, given myself the chance to tease your shyness...!"

Ah, to be honest, this situation isn't hard to imagine...

Without my master's training, I would definitely be completely at Miss Seele's mercy right now.

To be honest, I'm not sure if this is good or bad, but Miss Seele doesn't seem to be happy with the current situation.

This put me in a bit of a dilemma.

"Hmm...? Oh~ they sell grape syrup."

I noticed that nearby vendors were selling desserts made with grapes coated in syrup.

Looking at the crystal-clear syrup that resembled gemstones, I immediately bought a string of them.

"Would Miss Seele like some too?"

When Miss Seele saw me handing her a string of candied fruit, she raised her eyebrows in protest:

"Look, here we go again! You just want to feed me, don't you!"

"That's not what I intended...! I just wanted to hand it over to you!"

"Ugh~ Ugh~" Miss Seele continued to make sounds similar to a puppy threatening someone.

Forced to back down, I responded with a wry smile.

"So you don't want to eat it?"

Face this problem.

Miss Seele blushed again, lowered her head slightly, and whispered:

"...I want to eat."

A response as faint as a mosquito's buzz drifted into the crowd.

I originally intended to hand the candy to Miss Seele, but she stared at it like an unpredictable kitten, so I gave up and brought the candy to her lips.

Her cherry-like lips bit down on the candy.

The maltose coating on the surface shattered with a crack, revealing the tender and juicy grapes inside.

It tasted sweeter and more sour than any food I've ever tasted.

That's what was written on that blushing face.

"--Pfft!?"

"Koro~!?"

Krooi coughed up blood on the spot.

The location was also at the corner of a narrow alley. The black cat, which had been hiding in the shadows watching Seele and Belle's date, suddenly collapsed, startling Anya and Lunova into screaming.

"The cats are dying... Come to think of it, why would the cats be so bored as to peek at this silly couple who keep showing off their love... 'I really don't want to see Seele like that, in the autumn of my life'... This is Chloe's haiku when she passed away... Hmm."

"We promised to come and observe Seele and the others' date together! Hurry up and come back to life!"

"Koro~! You can't die, meow~!"

After witnessing the two constantly showing affection, the single Chloe and her friends have lost a significant amount of health.

While Anya and her two companions were making a ruckus without caring whether they were bothering others, Ryu was—

"Xi'er is so proactive... she even did that kind of thing...!"

She covered her already flushed face with her hands and continued to peek at the girl and boy through her fingers.

Bell and the others' behavior could at most fall into the category of "more than friends but less than lovers," but it was far too exciting for the morally fastidious and pure-hearted elf. Despite her repeated exclamations of "Ah~!" and "No, no way!", she never looked away.

Ryu and the others were thus completely manipulated by Seele and Bell's every move.

""""spit!""""

As for the surrounding Freya Familia.

The adventurers responsible for protecting the girl clicked their tongues in anger at the boy.

"Go to hell, you little brat!"

Finally, there were the curses uttered in the minds of passersby.

The rude adventurers who happened to be passing by all glared at their companions, who were accompanied by beautiful girls, with eyes full of resentment and murderous intent.

(...I feel like there are hundreds of eyes staring at me...)

The boy, who was very sensitive to the gazes of others, vaguely sensed that the number and hostility of these gazes were increasing as Seele showed a shy expression, and he secretly broke out in a cold sweat.

The date between the boy and girl at the harvest festival was only just beginning.

Monologue III (Volume XVI)

I always feel like something is not quite right.

This is my most direct feeling.

I never expected this to happen.

──The point is why did it become like this!?

—Isn't this just too weird?! Doesn't anyone find this strange?!

Why have you become such a gentleman?!

I really want to shout these words out loud.

Because this is really too strange! Mr. Bell usually blushes and gets shy whenever he's around women, but today he's acting unusually masculine and even taking the lead on this date!

Whose conspiracy is this?! I won't fall for it! And I won't let my heart race because of this! I silently chanted this in my mind like a fool, while feeling utterly dumbfounded at myself for almost fainting from being so easily swayed.

Despite having things I absolutely had to do, and "wishes" I wanted to fulfill, I tragically became almost a prisoner of the intense emotions within me. But I have no intention of forgetting everything or remaining forever immersed in such times.

Oh dear, I feel so hot all over.

Hateful, can feel the same on the cheek.

I was terrified that someone would see through my thoughts, so I tried my best to appear nonchalant, but I wasn't sure how effective that was. Ah, I could hear elegantly dressed women around me saying things like, "Her face is so red!", "Does she have a fever?", "That's terrible!" No way!! Absolutely not! Please, please don't look at my face for now…! Ugh, I've had enough!

My wavering emotions are preventing me from calming down.

This infuriating boy still smiled at me.

I desperately tried to ignore the boy, frantically trying to figure out why this was happening, what had made him seem so transformed? In my plan, I hadn't anticipated this unusual situation at all.

Whom should I ask for help?

Besides Mr. Otto, I actually have other helpers.

Slightly better than Mr. Allen and other "radicals"—but if truly angered, second only to Mr. Allen in trouble—Mr. Hedin, the elf.

If the brilliant Mr. Hedin were willing to help, I would feel much more at ease, so I decided to try to contact him in advance.

Although Mr. Otto cannot act rashly, I just need to find an opportunity to explain the situation to Mr. Hedin—wait, what?

...Mr. Hedin?

...Could it be the incredibly intelligent and actually very caring Mr. Hedin?

No way……

No, no, how could this be...

—In short, I need to calm down first.

It was almost noon.