Filthy beyond belief.
The elf girl dressed in white described herself that way.
"Filvis, if what you meant earlier was about the alias Banshee, then I don't mind," Bell said softly.
Information was one of an Adventurer's weapons.
Filvis's nickname was infamous. Bell had already known about it the moment he heard her name.
Some said she was a harbinger of misfortune.
Others claimed that after the Nightmare of the Twenty-Seventh, she had been cursed.
Her body riddled with wounds, her face drained of color, survival nothing more than a lie. Filvis had long since become a walking corpse.
These rumors were widely known around the Eighteenth Floor, and all Adventurers kept their distance.
"...Why do you know? No, if you know, then how can you still say something like that…?"
Filvis replied in shock.
This cursed body was, without a doubt, the embodiment of ugliness and sin.
Yet the boy praised her without the slightest hesitation.
"Because you have a beautiful face and a lovely figure, so I complimented you. Men really are that simple. Is there something wrong with that?"
Bell gave an almost bluntly honest answer.
A fateful encounter that set the heart racing, the pursuit of beautiful girls.
That was humanity's most primal impulse and truth.
"Of course there's something wrong! From the day I abandoned my companions and struggled on alone, this body has been steeped in filth… The word 'beautiful' has nothing to do with me at all…"
Filvis's emotions began to spiral out of control.
Her cold words turned into sharp thorns, stabbing straight into her own heart.
"Filvis, look me in the eyes."
Bell stepped closer, his gaze firm and steady.
"If your companions were in danger, would you run away on your own?"
"...."
"If innocent people were brutally killed, would you feel happy about it?"
"....."
"If I were trapped in a desperate situation, would you turn your blade on me?"
"...."
Crimson eyes met crimson eyes.
Filvis's answers were obvious.
The proud elf would never abandon her companions. The kind-hearted girl could not bear to witness death.
As for betraying the boy, just imagining it felt like being carved apart by countless blades. Her eyes filled with pain and resistance.
No matter what hidden circumstances Filvis carried, the purity of her heart had never changed.
"Looks like we have our answer. That's enough. I'm a pretty lucky guy. Even if you teamed up with me hundreds or thousands of times, there wouldn't be any problem."
Bell didn't want his relationship with Filvis to end here.
On one hand, she might become an extremely important lead.
On the other, Filvis had saved his life. Bell wanted to help her step out of that unbearably tragic past.
"But I—ugh…"
Filvis tried to keep arguing.
Before she could finish, she pressed a hand to her forehead, her face twisting in pain.
Bell frowned slightly and spoke to her gently.
"Filvis, you don't have to think about the past. If you believe you're filthy beyond redemption, then wouldn't it be the same if I agreed to a lover's relationship just because I was attracted to your appearance?"
"T-that's not true at all!"
Filvis immediately shot back.
She despised her own body, yet was willing to offer everything and speak words of confession.
From a certain perspective, Filvis's inner world had already fallen into chaos.
"I understand what you're worried about. You must think that Lefiya-san and Ais-san will die because of you, which is why you chose the clumsiest possible way to ask me for help."
Bell didn't know what kind of presence he truly was in her heart.
But judging from her attitude, Filvis clearly hoped that the boy would become, just like in the rumors surrounding the Goddess Incident, a [Miracle-Creating Hero].
She wanted Bell to go with her to the Twenty-Fourth Floor, yet because she believed her own body to be filthy, she didn't know how to say it.
So in her confusion, Filvis chose to offer everything she had and confessed.
At first, it had only been a tentative attempt. She likely never imagined that the boy would agree so decisively.
"But you've gotten one thing wrong. Lefiya-san is my girlfriend. Even if you were only explaining the situation, I would still be willing to go with you."
Recalling Filvis's misunderstanding, Bell decided to use it to persuade her.
"W-what…?!"
Filvis wavered at once.
Why didn't I think of something so obvious?
What was I even thinking before?
Why did I choose to confess on my own?!
Was it a desire to be saved?
Or envy toward those girls?
No.
It was because of some special feeling…
Filvis couldn't uncover the source of that emotion.
Only at this very moment did she gain even the faintest awareness of herself as a [lover].
Originally, she had planned to let this incident end and then disappear completely from the boy's sight.
But now, that fluttering sensation spread through her heart, throwing her thoughts into disarray.
"S-sorry?!"
Filvis wanted to ask whether there was still time to take it back…
But it felt as though a lively little deer was leaping wildly inside her chest.
Reckless and unreasonable, it crashed about, leaving a burning blush on her cheeks.
In the end, Filvis couldn't bring herself to say any words of regret.
"It's okay. I told you before. No matter how you see yourself, Filvis, to me you're someone truly beautiful and captivating."
Bell smiled gently and extended his right hand again.
"I won't do anything else. So tell me, will this beautiful lover stand and fight alongside me?"
"..."
Filvis hesitated for a moment, then answered softly.
"Um… I will…"
An unconscious smile appeared on her face, a small crimson dimple forming beside her cherry-colored lips.
Filvis could no longer insist on calling herself impure.
An unnamed feeling lay between them, stopping her from rejecting the boy's sincerity.
Slowly, Filvis reached out with her left hand.
She glanced at the ominous black glove she wore, then shrank back timidly.
Before she could react—
Bell had already stepped forward, taking her slender left hand in his right.
Even through the glove, warmth and passion spread from their joined palms.
The blue crystal reflected the backs of their hands.
Filvis was too shy to speak.
The little deer in her heart was pounding furiously.
Though it was only an instant, to Filvis it felt like thousands upon thousands of years had passed.
The crystal sky shimmered in silence.
Both of them knew that this so-called [lover] relationship could not withstand scrutiny.
It would not develop.
It could not go any further.
Perhaps after this journey to the Twenty-Fourth Floor, they would part ways for good.
Even this faintly ambiguous handholding was separated by the black glove she could never remove.
Like the [filth] the elf girl spoke of, it stood between them.
Even so.
Filvis's heart continued to tremble.
She stopped pulling away, took a small step closer to the boy, and tightened her grip just a little more.