Firelight flickered, and the shadows of the two of them swayed faintly across the wall.
The silence lasted only a moment, but to Riveria, it felt unbearably long.
"Bell Cranel, well? What is your answer?"
Her lovely, delicate voice brushed against the boy's ears, and there was not a trace of shyness in it.
"Riveria-san, before I answer, I need to confirm something. Which part do you want to see?"
Bell asked in return.
This was absolutely not some suggestive invitation. It was a deadly trap.
Bell could practically see a wand flying at him, followed by countless elves surrounding Orario in a full-scale assault.
"Obviously your back. What exactly were you thinking that I wanted to see...?"
Riveria's voice trailed off like a kite with its string cut, caught helplessly on the tree of belated embarrassment as all its momentum drained away.
"W, what were you thinking?!"
Riveria's beautiful ankles drew inward slightly, and for once there was clear panic in her voice.
"You cannot blame me for that. You were the one who phrased it too vaguely, Riveria-san."
Bell neatly shifted the blame onto her.
Perhaps because they had been joking back and forth the whole time, Riveria's guard had slipped for a moment.
Or perhaps this noble and pure elf princess had never even imagined that her words could be taken that way.
"All right, enough. We are not discussing that any further..."
Riveria hurriedly changed the subject. "Bell Cranel, I want to see the status of your Falna on your back. Is that all right?"
This time, she stated her request precisely.
"My Falna?"
Bell frowned.
After receiving a Falna from a God or Goddess, each person's status was recorded on their back in sacred text.
Besides ability values, it also included magic and skills. The kind of things that were essentially an adventurer's vital core. Unless it was someone they trusted completely, no adventurer would ever reveal that to another person.
By all logic, Riveria should have known that as well, and should not have made such an intrusive request.
"Yes. I have no intention of prying into your privacy. It is just that when I saw you taking your clothes off earlier, I noticed something unusual on your back."
Riveria explained, "Bell Cranel, you can cover the parts where your magic and skills are written. Just let me see the upper half."
Her tone was dignified and composed, and all the embarrassment from moments ago had vanished completely.
"If that is all, then of course."
Bell agreed without hesitation.
Riveria was not the sort of person who made trouble for no reason. If she asked this, then there had to be a reason behind it.
She had also saved Bell's life during the Viola incident.
If it was only his ability values, Bell did not really mind letting her see them. His absurd growth rate was already common knowledge by now anyway.
"But there is one strange thing here, Riveria-san. You told me not to look at you, and yet you were watching me take my clothes off?"
Bell immediately seized on the flaw in her words.
"I, I only happened to glance over by accident. Just like when you looked at my feet. That makes us even."
Riveria answered haltingly.
"That sounds a little suspicious."
Bell caught the faint scent of a lie.
"Bell Cranel, turn around already, or I really am going to use force."
Riveria put an unreasonably firm end to the topic.
"All right, all right, I understand, Princess."
Part of his clothes had already dried, so Bell wrapped them around himself to cover the lower half of his status, then turned around where he sat.
The dancing fire silently watched their exchange.
Riveria's emerald hair fell loosely around her, still a little damp.
She wore only a thin layer of underclothes, and her beautiful body slowly drew closer to the boy, almost like a cat creeping forward.
"......."
Her green gaze seemed to brush against something forbidden as she cautiously glanced at the boy's body.
When the kitten realized he showed no reaction, she tasted a little success and began to study his back without restraint.
Grueling training. Countless hardships. Every bit of that life was carved into his well-tempered body.
So this is Bell Cranel...
For a moment, Riveria was overcome with emotion, and before she realized it, her right hand reached out and lightly touched that resolute back.
"Riveria-san?"
The boy's voice came from in front of her, and Riveria quickly pulled back her right hand.
"S, sorry. I will be done in a moment."
A flush of heat instantly spread across Riveria's cheeks.
It had to be the fire's fault.
Riveria blamed the warmth on the flames at her side.
She took a deep breath, drove away her distracting thoughts, and looked at the boy's back again.
"......"
The moment she saw the astonishing numbers in front of her, Riveria could not help lifting the corners of her mouth.
Only three days had passed since the boy leveled up. And after just one trip into the Dungeon, the combined increase across all his abilities had already exceeded 2500.
This [Unknown] existence tugged at Riveria's heart like some dazzling treasure.
The boy was the embodiment of the unknown.
She should already understand that better than anyone. So why was she still this shaken even now?
Relying on her long experience, Riveria suppressed the excitement in her heart.
She turned back around, hugged her knees beside the fire once more, and said,
"Bell Cranel, thank you for cooperating. That is enough."
"Riveria-san, is there a problem with my status?"
Bell returned to his previous spot and asked softly.
"There is. And it is a serious one."
Riveria gathered her thoughts and explained, "Bell Cranel, the lock on your back is still somewhat immature."
[Locking] was a technique that only Gods and Goddesses could use.
It concealed the [sacred text] on a Familia member's back so outsiders could not peek at their ability values.
Normally, for the safety of their children, the Gods and Goddesses would always put that safeguard in place.
But the lock on Bell's back was still too inexperienced, and it could not fully serve its purpose.
The fact that Riveria had been able to read the growth in his values was proof enough.
"So it was that."
Bell smiled helplessly. "Goddess-sama has not been in the Lower World for very long, so she is not familiar with this kind of knowledge yet. She is already trying very hard. Give her another day or two, and it should be fine."
At first, Hestia had not even known that locking existed. She asked Hephaestus for advice, then studied tirelessly without rest until she gradually learned the technique.
Bell had always been protective of his Familia Goddess. He had stayed cautious the whole time and never exposed the values on his back to outsiders.
"It seems I was worrying too much. I am sorry for making such an overstepping request."
Riveria apologized softly.
"It is all right. You were only thinking of me, Riveria-san. Though speaking of that, I am surprised you can read sacred text."
Bell brightly shifted the subject.
Aside from Riveria, there were a few others who had seen the boy's back before.
It was the sort of bare honesty that could not be avoided when sharing intimacy with a lover.
Syr, Laurier, Airmid.
They were all lovers Bell could trust completely, and most likely none of them could read sacred text anyway, so he had never thought much of it.
In the flickering firelight, the two of them continued their "date."
Back at the tavern, Syr suddenly sneezed for no reason at all.
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