[Divine Script], the language used by the gods, could be deciphered by only a handful of people even within the city's elite Loki Familia.
The elven princess beside him was one of them.
"Riveria-san really is incredibly knowledgeable."
Bell spoke with heartfelt admiration.
Along the way, the phrase Riveria had repeated most often was, "Bell Cranel, while there's no real need to spell this out to you, but..."
And after that turn in her words came explanations about the Dungeon's monster distribution, terrain features, and the details one had to watch for during exploration.
As though she were filling in the gaps in the boy's knowledge, Riveria carefully explained everything up to and including the twenty-fifth floor.
Most of it came from her own personal experience, and it broadened Bell's perspective.
What concerned Bell most was the [Black Wyvern] that had attacked Ais.
According to Riveria, when Ais was still a child, she had once encountered a [subspecies] monster on the Upper Floors.
Wyverns were supposed to appear on the Middle Floors, yet that one had mysteriously appeared before Ais, its entire body pitch-black as it spewed terrifying flames.
The whole incident was extremely similar to the Black Goliath.
Bell guessed there was likely some special law tying the Dungeon to those dark monsters, one that not only strengthened them but also allowed them to ignore the limits of the floors they belonged on.
It was something he would need to ask the gods about properly.
The flames danced, and Riveria's voice pulled Bell's thoughts back to the present.
"I wouldn't call myself knowledgeable. I simply happened to study it."
Riveria replied modestly.
A person's knowledge was closely tied to their experiences, and whenever topics like this came up, a faint trace of nostalgia would always stir in Riveria's heart.
The former elven princess had once been confined within a cage, spending every day learning etiquette and knowledge.
It should have been a dull life, yet to Riveria, it was time that had already slipped away.
"Bell Cranel, what do you think about the age of elves?"
Her exquisite, beautiful voice carried a trace of uncertainty.
At first, Riveria had assumed the boy called her "san" because he did not know who she was.
But as they gradually spoke more, she realized that assumption had been wrong.
Bell had long known that Riveria was the elven princess who had escaped [Alf's Royal Forest] years ago.
If that was the case, then why did he still call her Riveria-san?
And how exactly did he view age across different races?
Before she knew it, the question that had troubled Riveria for so long quietly slipped from her beautiful lips.
"If you don't want to answer, that's fine too..."
Riveria added, her heartbeat unconsciously quickening a little.
It was only natural for women to care about their age, so this was a very ordinary question, with absolutely no special meaning.
That was what Riveria told herself inwardly as she quietly waited for the boy's answer.
"Hmm..."
Bell thought seriously for a moment.
Riveria had once shown dissatisfaction in front of him over how others addressed her, and Bell had realized she genuinely cared about this.
"To be honest, in my eyes, Riveria-san is just an elf girl who looks after everyone and cares about her friends."
Bell answered frankly.
"...Y-you don't need to say that just to please me."
Riveria could not detect even the slightest hint of a lie, yet she still voiced her doubt.
That was how shaken the elven princess was now.
"It's the truth. If you think about it a little, the lifespans of different races are completely different. If you judge everyone from a human perspective, then everything falls apart."
Bell laid out his reasoning from a rational standpoint.
Take the gods, for example. No one could even tell how old they were. By human standards, they would already count as walking fossils.
And yet Bell had become lovers with Artemis without the slightest hesitation. Judging from that alone, there was no falsehood in what he was saying.
"...."
Riveria sat hugging her knees in front of the fire like a little girl, answering only with silence.
"I don't think age can really be measured either by how much time someone has lived or by the proportion of that time compared to their race's lifespan," Bell continued. "On top of that, Falna can increase a person's lifespan. If you really wanted to examine it closely, then in the eyes of elves, Lefiya-san would probably still be just a little child."
Lifespan, Falna, racial culture. There were simply too many factors involved, which made the very idea of age vague and hard to define.
If someone really tried to analyze a person's age rationally, everyone would probably arrive at a different answer.
"So to me, no matter what Riveria-san has gone through, she's still a beautiful and captivating elf girl."
Bell gave his conclusion.
"That really is a ridiculous argument."
There was a faint smile in Riveria's voice.
"Is it? I think it suits a certain unreasonable princess perfectly well, though."
Bell replied softly.
"Bell Cranel, you only think that because you're taken with my beauty, don't you?"
Riveria continued digging for his true thoughts.
"I won't deny that's part of it, because Riveria-san's beauty really can make people forget the passage of time."
Bell paused, then added:
"But even decades from now, if Riveria-san still has the same mindset and personality she does now, I'll still stand before you and call you Riveria-san."
"....."
Riveria fell silent for a moment.
The flames swayed before them, carrying warmth and fervor between the two of them.
"I understand how you see it... but what if I have another side to me?"
Riveria pressed on.
She had told the boy about Ais and the wyvern.
A clever boy like Bell surely understood that Riveria had once cared for the young Ais in the role of a [mother].
No matter how much of a [girl] Riveria might seem in the boy's eyes when they were together, that other side of her was also an undeniable truth.
"Wouldn't that just be even better? As long as you haven't done anything that makes you regret it, then it means Riveria-san has gone through so much and still kept that girlish side of herself."
Bell answered without the slightest hesitation.
"....."
For a moment, Riveria had no rebuttal.
Everyone grows up. Some through pain, some through responsibility.
And when Riveria cared for Ais, the girl within her had not been covered over by that maternal side.
It was more like being tempered by fire. Instead of fading, that girlish side had become even more real.
"That's... quite an unexpected answer......"
Riveria murmured softly.
None of the boy's words had been made up just to please her.
Every one of them was a deeply sincere answer. It was simply how a person named Bell Cranel saw the world.
"If Riveria-san can't accept that answer, then I can always change how I address you and call you Riveria Mama like everyone else."
Sensing that the conversation was coming to an end, Bell joked lightly.
"And who taught you to call me that?"
Riveria's tone instantly turned a little colder.
"Hmm...... Bete Loga of the Loki Familia?"
Bell answered as if giving it some thought.
"Hehe, that's the first time you've lied."
Riveria's smile drifted over to him together with her refreshing fragrance.
"But... let's just say he was the one who told you......"
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