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

"I hate the ideas you impose on me... Why can't you understand the birdcage you've prepared!"

Then Riveria screamed.

"I hate you all! I hate this village the most!"

"...!"

"I don't need the birdcage you've forced upon me!"

Aina's fingers, which secretly grasped her clothes from behind, gave Riveria the courage to say what she had always wanted to say to her biological father!

"I'm not your 'puppet'!"

This time, the princess's sorrowful voice echoed through the forest.

While the surrounding elves were in an uproar, King Raphael revealed a twisted expression of hatred.

"Precisely because it is in this era of the gods' descent, we should be role models for our fellow beings. Why can't you understand? We elves cannot be assimilated and willingly degenerate into entertainment. Why can't you understand!"

In the end, he glared angrily at the god present there, namely Loki.

The king felt a sense of crisis towards most of the gods who descended to earth to cause trouble in order to satisfy their own desires. But facing the royal elf... hearing her words, which seemed alright, she spoke to the king.

"Well... we gods don't understand much about the politics of the mortal realm... but we just want everyone to live more freely, so, Your Majesty, what I want to say is very simple."

Loki took a step forward... and bowed at a ninety-degree angle, saying this to the king.

"Please give me your daughter! I promise I'll make her happy!"

The forest fell silent.

Most of the elves, or even Riveria and Aina, froze.

Finn, despite knowing he had been poisoned by Loki, still couldn't help but suppress his laughter.

Wang's face turned bright red with anger.

"Arrest the princess! Killing the others is no big deal; even gods cannot forgive such a thing! In the name of Alfred, we declare that these unreasonable bastards will be punished!"

Even with twisted love, no father would willingly entrust his beloved daughter to some random nobody. The king's pent-up resentment towards the gods finally erupted at this moment.

The elven knights drew their swords and staffs and roared as they charged toward Loki and his companions.

"Ugh, why did this happen?!"

"Nonsense! How dare you say such things to a king who hates the gods...!"

"Besides, I don't remember ever becoming your thing! Correct yourself right now!"

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it now. But we can't just give up and surrender... The thought of what will happen next is really frustrating."

Amid Loki's screams and cries, Finn said in a firm voice, "Let's do it!"

"With this number of enemies, open terrain is at our disadvantage. Let's fight in the forest."

Following Finn's instructions, the group proceeded along the forest path. Finn and Riveria fought valiantly, protecting Loki and the others. The elves who launched a mounted attack were swept away by Finn's lance, while the reinforcements, chanting spells, were struck by Riveria's arrows.

"Whoa!?" "Aaaaa!?"

"...Ugh!"

Although he had hunted before, he had never shot at his own kind. Apart from feeling distressed, Riveria's face was contorted as he watched his fellow countrymen's blood flow. But even so, he could not use magic and kept shooting arrows at them.

"Lady Riveria, we're out of arrows!?"

At this point, the quiver was empty of arrows.

Riveria, distracted by Aina's mournful cry, let out a soft "Ah," but it was too late.

The enemy knight, having completed his incantation, is about to unleash his magic.

"Loki, give me the pistol."

But Finn wouldn't allow the other party to do that.

He took the pistol from Lokina, who was carrying luggage, and threw it at a speed invisible to the naked eye.

A beautiful blow pierces the enemy's shoulder, causing them to scream in agony, and then magic explodes—that is, a self-destruction caused by a magic rampage.

"you……"

"Didn't I say? Although I can't use a bow and arrow, I'm very confident in my javelin skills."

Finn flashed a hearty smile at the astonished Riveria.

How childish! Riveria snorted unhappily and turned away, ignoring him.

(...As expected, this guy is different from the little people I know. Besides originally intending to protect the goddess, he also acted faster than anyone else to protect me and Aina, possessing 'courage' to fight the enemy head-on.)

Like a warrior of the Lilliputians, including his exceptional marksmanship, Riveria couldn't help but admire Finn. Even though she felt unwilling, Riveria stubbornly discarded her bow and began to chant.

"[Snowflakes fall heavily, three harsh winters have passed. My name is Alf – [Ecstasy: Fimbulll's Winter]!"

Riveria's magic froze the knights and their horses. Some fell from their horses, others were unable to move, and a scene of hell spread throughout the forest.

(The power of this 'magic'... Although I've heard that outside of Wang Sen, elves have abandoned the 'magic' that was originally passed down... its power is truly undeniable.)

With such power, any elf would abandon their original ordinary magic.

Compared to the magic discovered through "God's grace," it can only be called "a toy for fooling children."

The original magic was too long to chant and lacked power. Moreover, it lacked a decisive attack against its own kind who also possessed "Blessing." There was also the possibility of "magic burst," which no one would want to use.

Conversely, divine grace possesses a unique magic that can only be discovered by the recipient of that grace; it can be considered a "killer move."

Finn was inwardly astonished by Riveria's astonishing "magic".

(This is really troublesome... It's terrifyingly powerful. Is it not the power of 'blessing,' but rather derived from my own inherent qualities?)

Finn had to admit that Riveria Rios Alfre was someone with the potential to become a great mage.

The two members of the same clan, who had not spoken a word, acknowledged each other at this moment.

"What are you doing? There are only four of you on the opposing team! Get the horses moving, circle around them! Surround them!"

King Raphael, watching the ongoing resistance of Riveria and the others, roared in an impatient voice.

Hearing his precise and accurate command, Finn was speechless with astonishment. Although Finn didn't particularly like him, he was certainly not a foolish king. Because of the king's battle command, the situation reversed in an instant, forcing Finn and his men into a desperate situation.

Finn racked his brains for the breakthrough point—that very moment.

"—Roar!!"

The roar that shook the entire forest resounded through the sky.

"...What just happened was..."

Finn and his companions, along with the elves, all stopped moving.

Just as they were still speechless from the commotion caused by the shaking trees, a corner of the forest burst open.

From Finn's perspective, the knights behind the enemy forces who were preparing their "magic" were swept away like a river bursting its banks.

"What!?"

"That's... a dragon!?"

Along with the billowing smoke appeared a dragon with dark green scales, much to Finn and his companions' astonishment.

"Wooden Dragon!? How is that possible? Wasn't he defeated by Father hundreds of years ago...? Could it be that his child is still alive!?"

King Raphael's eyes were also filled with surprise, and he felt a chill run down his spine from his own speculation.

To live in seclusion unnoticed by the elves, the dragon grew over a hundred years. Just as he had predicted, the wooden dragon suddenly used its claws and tail to send the elves flying, displaying its might.

"Retreat, retreat back to the village!? Join up with the troops remaining in the capital, then drive it away! Retreat, retreat!"

The trees fell with a heart-wrenching groan, and in no time, the forest was reduced to rubble. Faced with this horrific sight, King Raphael gave the order to retreat. The elven knights, too, began to scatter in panic.

"Rivilia, you come too! This isn't the time for father and daughter to argue! Hurry up!!"

Riveria trembled at her father's call. The inhuman, rampaging being before her was terrifying and chilling. Her heart had never felt such fear. Aina, her face turning pale, felt the same.

Just as sweat dripped down Riveria's neck, and she hesitated—

"—Rivilia, begin the incantation. I'll stop that dragon."

"!!"

The dwarfs proclaimed to her the 'courage' to never bow down to anything.

"What's there to hesitate about? You want to see the outside world. Is this all the enlightenment you've got?"

"...!"

"I have an ambition: to revive the tragic aspirations of our people. I will not stop here, not in a place like this."

Aren't you the same?

The little dwarf in front of her only turned its face towards her, revealing a smile.　

"I'm entrusting my back to you. You understand what that means, right?"

Faced with that trust, Riveria struggled to her feet—and there was no longer a trace of hesitation.

"Don't underestimate me, Lilliputian!"

He roared, panting heavily. He drew his staff and aimed it at the dragon, his will no less powerful than the dragon's roar.

Unlike a confidante like Aina, this is a "partner," this is a "familia."

Perhaps this isn't so bad. Even though they've become part of the gods' retinue, having 'comrades' to fight alongside them might not be so bad.

"I, I absolutely must go out into the world!!"

Deep within her heart, the 'dream' still shines brightly to this day, and Riveria would never give up on it!

"【The Ferocious Demonic Spear】!"

"[The harbinger of the end, the snow-covered landscape!]"

Faced with an unprecedented enemy, Finn used "magic" to transform into a berserker, while Riveria began to chant.

Smiles played on their lips. Under the watchful eye of the squinting god, and fueled by high morale, the two charged head-on at the powerful monster.

"...Why...why, Riveria..."

"King Raphael, please escape from here immediately! Your Majesty, Your Majesty!?"

King Raphael, despite the shouts of the Royal Guard knights, simply stood there, staring blankly at the scene.

Looking at the daughter who resolutely confronted the dragon, she slapped away the hand that was reaching out to her.

"Why, at such a cost..."

Did he really hate the village that much, and hate me that much? King Raphael couldn't bring himself to ask that question.

Because he knew that the root of his impulse to drive his beloved daughter was not this reason.

Most of the female royal elves planned to abandon "Alfre's Forest" and travel outside the forest.

Incredibly, they all shared a common trait: a longing for the outside world. Thinking back, even the late Riveria's mother was like that. She was the first royal elf to leave this forest, and whether it was the blood of the 'Eternal Saintess Celtia,' who also appeared in the sacred labyrinth, that drove her is unknown.

King Raphael once yearned for the outside world, but he never took that step.

The responsibilities of royalty—it sounds nice, but it's nothing more than being unable to escape the shackles of the clan's habits and order.

"Why do we yearn for the outside world so much? Even with a birdcage, this place is paradise. Why can't we understand?"

King Raphael was cowardly and afraid of being abandoned.

She possessed the blood of a noble saint and, with a lofty will, went to the vast world without any powerful backers.

Deep in the forest, he knew only the way of life of sitting on the throne.

Cursed and bound by the pride of royalty, he was unable to resist.

So he planned to confine Riveria to this forest as well, hoping to grow old and die there with her.

"Why are you also planning to leave this forest?"

King Raphael roared as if crying out.

"...Uncle elf, your name is Raphael, right?"

Loki walked towards him, who was standing there dumbfounded, and answered him in Riveria's place.

"Don't overthink it, I already know why."