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

"...Sh ...

"!"

The moment a killer ant swarmed out, Bear Grylls braced his right arm in front of him.

"Fire and Lightning—!"

In the instant the flames and lightning exploded, the killer ant was blasted into pieces and blown away.

The monsters, acting in unison, roared at Bell in succession.

Fire and Thunder's rapid-fire cannon.

With each shout, fierce and violent flames shot out, illuminating the dungeon.

Crimson lightning sends a killer ant to its grave, sometimes even piercing two at once.

The killer ants were unable to get close to Bell due to the aftershocks of the explosion.

The overwhelming difference in numbers was overturned by the grace of magic.

"Aa ...

Faced with a significantly reduced number of killer ant swarms, Bell equipped himself with weapons.

He gripped Hestia's Blade and the Dagger in both hands, charging towards the enemy with his battered body.

Every time the blue-purple light emitted by the dagger flashes, the heads or bodies of killer ants fly into the air.

"..."

Lily stared at the scene in a daze.

Whenever the white figure rushed past, the monsters were ravaged, instantly spitting out bodily fluids and becoming victims of the blade.

It is fast, efficient, and powerful.

Once upon a time, the massive swarm of killer ants had ceased to move, leaving only the boy standing alone in the cave.

Bell, having sheathed both daggers, turned around with a relieved expression and jogged over to Lily.

"...How did you get here?"

"No, later I was surrounded by a huge group of monsters, but I guess other adventurers probably came. The fog made it hard to see, I just saw the monsters getting fewer and fewer..."

That's why I was able to catch up with Lily so quickly; Belle revealed the secret of arriving at such a seemingly impossible time.

Seeing Bell put his hand on his head and give a nonchalant, wry smile, a thread snapped in Lily's heart.

"……Why."

"Huh? What did you say, Lily?"

Why did you do that?

By the time I noticed, Lily's mouth had already started moving on its own.

She should have said something else, but what came out of her mouth were completely different words.

"Why did you save Lily? Why wouldn't Lord Bell want to abandon Lily?"

"...Huh?"

"Haven't you realized you've been tricked? Lord Bell, you wouldn't be so foolish as to think Lily took the dagger to scare you, would you?!"

Lily became more and more excited as she spoke to Bell, who had a blank expression on her face.

Feelings that have been lost to self-control are blurted out.

"What's wrong with Lord Bell?! Is he an idiot?! A moron?! A hopeless, cunning brat?!"

"Idiot...! Wait, Lily, calm down...!"

"Impossible! Lord Bell didn't find anything out, did he? Lily cheated you when exchanging money! Lord Bell and Lily's profit split wasn't 50/50, it was 40/60! Later, she even went so far as to split it 30/70! When Lord Bell asked me to buy items, I also cheated you out of more than double the price! A total of twelve! When I saw worthless equipment or items, I was too lazy to even steal them, and I don't know how many times I was disappointed!"

The repeated revelations caused Bell's lips to twitch involuntarily.

Lily's voice hadn't stopped. A corner of her mind was desperately telling herself, "Stop talking," but she just couldn't stop confessing.

"Do you understand now?! Lily is a bad person! A thief! A scoundrel among the supporters, a complete liar to Lord Bell, a Palum rotten to the core!"

"Uh, this..."

"So... so, Lord Bell still wants to save Lily?!"

"Uh, um."

"Why!"

Lily stared at Belle, breathless.

Lily herself didn't know; she was waiting to see what the boy would say next.

Only my heart was pounding like a fool.

Belle, who had been completely overwhelmed by Lily's imposing presence, panicked slightly and blurted out those words almost as a reflex.

"Because...because you're a girl?"

—His whole body felt like it was on fire.

His eyebrows were raised, showing an angry angle.

Although I don't know why, my body felt boiling hot.

Although I don't know why, an indescribable feeling keeps rising.

An unspoken sense of discontent erupted.

"Idiot! Lord Bell is such an idiot! Saying the same thing again, just like before! Does Lord Bell save every woman?! I can't believe it, he's awful! Lord Bell, that playboy, deceives women's feelings, a lecher, a heartbreaker—!"

As I was cursing, I somehow almost burst into tears.

She clearly had no right to say such things, yet she vented all her dissatisfaction on the boy in front of her.

Dissatisfaction. What's there to be dissatisfied about?

They saved you, what's there to be dissatisfied about?

What was this flutter in my chest hoping he would say?

I don't understand anything anymore.

Bell cowered under the storm of insults until Lily finally became breathless.

He lowered his eyebrows and smiled, placing his hand on Lily's head where the animal ears had disappeared.

"Okay, because you're Lily."

"————"

His chestnut-colored eyes were wide open to their limit.

"I wanted to save her because she was Lily. I didn't want her to disappear."

"Ugh, ah...!"

"I can't think of a good reason. You don't need a reason to save Lily..."

The tear ducts are ruptured.

Large tears welled up from her tear-streaked eyes.

Lily could no longer bear it and began to wail.

"Wa ...

"Lily, if you're having any trouble, just talk to me. I'm a bit slow on the uptake; I won't understand unless you tell me."

"Eee...! Waa ...

"I will definitely help you."

She hugged the boy's stomach.

The steel-colored armor prevented the embrace, but that didn't matter. The hands that reached behind their backs held each other tightly.

The warm palms placed on the back of Lily's head and back made her sob several times.

She knew. She noticed.

Bell was worried about himself, so he rushed over as quickly as possible.

His light clothing was covered in dents and scars.

There are many abrasions on the lighter-colored skin.

She knew that Bell had barely managed to defeat the monsters and push aside a large number of them to get here.

She longed to hear him call her name. She longed to hear him speak. She longed for his approval.

Hopefully, he can accept the Lily that Lily hates the most.

"I'm so sorry... I'm really, really sorry...!"

"……Um."

The crying continued for a long time.

In a corner of the dungeon, where the corpses of giant ants were scattered, spoiling the scenery, a piece of magic stone on the verge of destruction cracked open, then another, and some of the monsters gradually turned to dust, which was then burned by the remaining flames and flew into the air.

Ashes slowly fell on the head of the weeping girl.

The human, who was holding little Palum tightly, smiled bitterly, but his face remained smiling.

●

Clear skies.

Just like that day when someone suddenly called out to me, the sky was clear and cloudless.

With the sunlight shining on his white hair, Bell is walking toward the Tower of Babel.

Two days have passed since then.

Since breaking up with Lily, I haven't heard from her.

She removed all her belongings from the inn where she had been staying and completely disappeared. Bell even went to the Soma Familia, but found nothing; Lily had vanished from Bell's sight.

There is worry and unease.

I've thought about aimlessly searching the entire city several times.

But at the same time, Bell also had a vague premonition.

He thought that they would surely meet again soon.

He only vaguely felt that way, so he continued his usual routine.

So that she can find herself.

"!"

Bell stopped in his tracks. Then he immediately continued walking.

Facing west, the gates of the Tower of Babel. There, a small, cream-colored figure stood reservedly.

He gripped the straps of his backpack, his head slightly bowed.

Her bangs were gone, and her cute big eyes were exposed to the sunlight.

Bell controlled his pace, slowly approaching the girl, so as not to frighten or upset her.

Soon, the girl from Palum also noticed his presence.

Her shoulders rose and fell pitifully, and her body turned slightly several times.

"..."

"..."

He had reached a distance where they could touch each other if they stretched out their hands.

Lily raised her head, wanting to speak several times, but immediately lowered her head again.

She seemed unable to find an opportunity to speak. This was unlike her usual self.

Bell waited patiently for Lily to speak, but in the end he gave a wry smile and spoke up himself.