The crackle of burning fire echoed through the cavern.
Amid the wavering firelight, an unusual silence settled over the two of them.
"Bell Cranel, let me warn you in advance. If you dare look at me, I will hit you with my wand until you forget this entire memory."
Riveria's tone was extremely gentle, yet the words she spoke carried a violence that allowed no room for negotiation.
Their current situation was the result of pure coincidence, something neither of them had wanted.
Riveria knew very well that the boy would never take advantage of her vulnerability or do anything improper.
And yet, unable to suppress the strange feelings in her heart, she still gave that warning.
"You were the one who forced me in here, Riveria-san. What a tyrannical princess you are."
Bell said it with a laugh.
"As the one who caused all this, you do not get to argue."
Staring into the flames, Riveria gave her order in the tone of a princess.
"Hurry up and take your clothes off."
"......"
"......"
Bell had argued earlier that, as a man, it would not matter much even if he stayed soaked through.
But Riveria had made it clear that Bell's appearance would affect her reputation too.
If an elf saw him in that state, they might start thinking Riveria had done something to him.
So under the spoiled demands of the elf princess, Bell had no choice but to remove his clothes and sit by the fire with her.
The cavern was lit by the flames. Their clothes were neatly spread out and hung over sticks they had picked up.
Bell kept his eyes fixed on the fire, though from the corner of his scarlet gaze he could still glimpse Riveria's slender, toned, jade-like ankles.
After a stretch of silence, Riveria was the first to speak.
"Bell Cranel, you were just looking at my feet, were you not?"
"....."
Was this the terrifying perception of a Level 6?
Bell smiled helplessly and explained,
"That was beyond my control. If I am not supposed to look at anything at all, then I would have to close my eyes."
The cavern was not very spacious.
Bell was already doing his best to keep his gaze on the fire and ignore the temptation beside him.
"That is not a bad suggestion. Why not tear off a strip of cloth and blindfold yourself?"
Riveria replied in a teasing tone.
"Riveria-san, you have that backwards. When a man is blindfolded, his imagination only runs wilder."
Bell added in an oddly righteous tone, "If anything, the flickering firelight and the hazy, half-seen feeling only stir up endless fantasies even more."
"...."
Riveria fell silent for a moment.
Even though the topic had clearly crossed the line a little, she felt no disgust at all.
Was it because the boy was simply too sincere?
Riveria did not dwell on it and answered softly,
"Even if you say it with such straight-faced conviction, I now fully understand that you are an utterly hopeless man."
On the surface, she sounded as though she were scolding him.
But Riveria never pulled away, nor did she unreasonably raise her wand and pass judgment on him.
Elves were drawn to purity, while humans had instinctive physical desires.
Every race had its own nature.
For a boy pursuing a harem, the fact that he had not simply followed his desires and resorted to peeking already made him enough of a gentleman.
"Is that so? Then it seems I am just as awful as a certain spoiled princess."
Bell laughed softly.
The firelight gave off a warm glow.
Their quiet voices mingled within the small cavern, as if they were sharing in that warmth together.
Looking into the wavering flames, Bell asked, "Riveria-san, elves are usually rather strict about these things, are they not? So why do you not mind my dream of having a harem?"
Compared to other races, elves were generally very conservative when it came to love.
Ryuu and Lefiya had gone through many things with Bell before they stopped minding the matter of the harem.
Filvis clearly had her own reasons, which was why she had chosen such a forceful confession.
As for Laurier, she had been influenced by both her tastes and her feelings.
Bell was genuinely curious. Considering her status as royalty, Riveria should logically have drawn a clear line between herself and him.
"I am an unreasonable princess, remember? Why would I care about something like that? If one day the elves come marching in with an army, I will leave it all to you."
Riveria replied with a smile.
"Eh. Just because you and I traveled together, Riveria-san, they would really go that far?"
Bell pressed on with feigned alarm.
"Who knows. Even if you tried to run away now, it would already be too late. After all, the current situation has already become [leverage]."
Even without seeing Riveria's face, Bell knew that when she said that, she had to be smiling gently.
The Gods could distinguish lies, so baseless slander would be useless.
But the fact that the two of them had taken off their clothes and sat by the fire together was undeniable.
"You already made a promise, and now you are being this underhanded, Riveria-san. That is far too unfair."
Bell knew she was only joking, so he played along and voiced his complaint.
"Women have thorns, Bell Cranel. You should remember that."
The smile on Riveria's face slowly faded.
After a brief pause, she said softly, "To be honest, I envy the relationship you have with the girls. Simply because of the love in your hearts, you all embrace freedom without caring about the eyes of others."
In Riveria's view, everyone carried a cage within themselves.
Some lacked the courage to break everything apart.
Some lacked the strength to witness a new world.
And some never even had the thought of freedom, or the chance to reach for it.
But Bell Cranel had given the girls all of that.
Like a great ship sailing toward freedom and the unknown, setting out on the strength of love.
No one knew where it would end.
No one could predict the storms and rain ahead.
And yet every girl aboard that ship wore a happy smile.
"When I traveled the world in the past, I used to look down on the idea of a harem. But if it is a bond as radiant as yours... Bell Cranel, then I will support you."
Riveria stretched out her hand, and in the firelight it almost seemed as though the girls' smiles were reflected there.
The boy's resolve was gradually influencing the people around him.
Leaving the others aside, Lefiya had become even more hardworking, going for morning runs every day, and her physical strength was steadily improving.
Inspired by the boy, Ais had also crossed the great wall of Level 5 and reached the realm of Level 6.
Riveria had no reason to oppose the boy's dream of a harem.
"However..."
Riveria suddenly changed tone. "Ais and Lefiya are still too immature. I have to weigh things carefully for those adorable girls. I cannot let them be deceived by some bad man."
"......"
Bell listened quietly to her answer.
And just as he was thinking about how he should respond to that final teasing remark, Riveria's smooth and captivating voice sounded once more.
"Bell Cranel, may I take a look at your body?"