The bustling street was filled with endless noise.
Unlike the western side, North Main Street did not have many laborers living there. Most of the passersby were Adventurers moving in groups of three or five. The shops here were not mainly taverns or inns, but sold weapons, clothes, specialty foods, and all sorts of other things... In short, North Main Street had a festive atmosphere, making it a place well suited for couples and friends to enjoy together.
Bell and Lefiya set out from the square where they had agreed to meet, walking along the street toward Babel at the center of the city.
As they passed by one shop, a doll in the display window caught Lefiya's eye.
"Lefiya-san, do you like rabbit dolls?"
Noticing the girl's hesitation, Bell asked softly.
"N-no, not really. I just thought it was pretty cute..."
Lefiya gave a shy smile.
The two of them were about to head into the Dungeon, so they had no room to carry a doll around.
Lefiya moved her gaze away from the small white rabbit doll and glanced at the shop's sign, seemingly memorizing the location and name of the shop. Then she quickly turned away.
Bell saw it all. If he took the initiative to offer to buy the doll for her, it would only stir up the golden-yellow-haired elf's embarrassment and make her choose against her true feelings.
"Lefiya-san really is different from the others in Loki Familia."
Bell considerately kept walking and did not dwell on what had just happened.
"You're not insulting me, are you?"
Lefiya did not understand what he meant.
"No. I just think Lefiya-san has a girlish heart, and that's something rare and precious in Loki Familia."
Bell honestly shared his thoughts.
After spending some time with the main force of Loki Familia, he had more or less come to understand the personalities of its women. Ais was a hopeless airhead. Tiona and Tione were extremely unusual Amazoness girls, and their way of thinking was different from ordinary people. Riveria was experienced and rarely revealed what she was truly thinking.
Only Lefiya, whether in her gestures or their conversations, gave Bell the sense of a girl's youthful innocence.
"Ugh..."
Lefiya's cheeks flushed with a touch of shyness.
The boy was right. Lefiya did have a girlish heart. The decorations in her room were all light and airy, like something from a fairy tale, and the story collections Lefiya treasured were different from Tiona's. They were not adventure tales full of fighting and killing, but romantic stories that stirred the imagination.
In the boy's eyes, that was surely something cute that gave her extra points.
But Lefiya felt a hint of sadness. "I won't argue with that. After all, I'm very ordinary..."
No talent, no courage, no special traits.
The elf named Lefiya Viridis was just like countless other girls. She would agonize over little things, smile at cute things, and tremble endlessly in front of monsters.
Lefiya knew herself well. She was simply an ordinary girl. Among Loki Familia, where geniuses and oddballs gathered, that ordinariness stood out even more, making her feel out of place.
"We talked about this when we first met too."
Bell slowed his pace.
He knew why Lefiya felt discouraged. No matter how passionate she was, no matter how firm her resolve, Lefiya had held others back again and again. That was an undeniable fact.
Bell did not intend to deny her worry or guilt. After all, it was precisely proof that Lefiya treasured her relationships, and proof of her noble kindness.
"Lefiya-san, a phrase suddenly came to mind. I don't know who taught it to me, but I want to share it with you."
A sentence suddenly flashed through Bell's mind.
There was no memory and no tone of voice, but the passion left in his heart was incredibly strong.
"What is it?"
Lefiya asked curiously.
Bell looked into those blue eyes and spoke softly.
"If someone keeps taking care of you, then she definitely likes you."
As the one being looked after, it was only natural to feel guilty, but emotions went both ways.
The bonds between people were woven together like fine threads.
The one doing the caring must also be caught in hesitation. Did she have the right to look after someone else? Would she bring that person trouble? How could she lessen the other person's guilt...? Just like Ais's worries, that guilt was a poison that could cut off a relationship. The kinder a person was, the more easily they would fall into that whirlpool of uncertainty.
And so, Bell spoke a very simple truth. She cared for someone because she liked them.
No matter how heavy the guilt in one's heart became, the person receiving help must never forget that what held the relationship together was goodwill without a trace of falsehood.
"..."
Lefiya was speechless for a moment.
If Riveria heard those words from the boy, she would surely think he was being somewhat arrogant. The Amazoness sisters would laugh it off, and the airheaded Ais would never understand the reasoning behind it. Only Lefiya, who had a girlish heart, could fully grasp what he meant.
Riveria's careful teaching came from affection.
Tione and Tiona's concern came from affection.
And Ais's help and care were the same.
Lefiya had seen all that goodwill, but she had been subconsciously avoiding it, sinking into depression on her own and letting guilt drown her on her own. Perhaps that could become the drive to move forward, but the goodwill she ignored was gradually pulling Lefiya farther away from the others.
She did not want to cause them more trouble. She felt she did not deserve to walk beside them. She had even become timid and hesitant in everyday conversations.
Precisely because Lefiya was a sensitive girl, she had been affected so deeply.
"Riveria-sama would definitely say that thinking it's because they like me is much too arrogant."
The corners of Lefiya's lips lifted slightly.
Having the boy see through her thoughts was actually such a happy thing.
Ais and the others were not taking care of her, the one holding them back, simply because the situation forced them to. They were waiting for Lefiya to catch up, waiting to laugh together and move forward together. When she realized that, the guilt in Lefiya's heart turned into the joy of courageously moving ahead.
"Arrogance is the special privilege of boys and girls."
Bell answered.
Because of a single act of care, a single touch, or even a single glance, they might think the other person liked them.
No matter how arrogant others thought it was, to the people involved, that was the youthful stir of the heart that ignited their passion, an important thing they could not simply cast aside.
"You just implied Riveria-sama is old, didn't you? I'm going to tell on you!"
Lefiya changed the subject.
"Eh? I didn't say that. Please show mercy, Lefiya-san."
Bell played along.
"Hmph. I don't care, you idiot."
The curve of Lefiya's lips rose a little higher.
The boy remembered that insignificant matter from when they had first met.
When he saw through her worries, he gently comforted her while thoughtfully slowing his steps.
Those little details piled up one after another, mingling with the life-or-death battles they had faced, until they became a small mountain.
The boy had always been taking care of her.
More purely and more passionately than anyone else.
So... did that also come from affection?
Lefiya pressed her lips together and buried that question deep in her heart.