Inside a pure white building on Northwest Street.
The petite Airmid stood on tiptoe, counting the potions.
"Twenty doses of Potions. All accounted for......"
Airmid patiently inspected the rainbow-colored liquid inside the glass containers and marked it off on the list.
"Airmid-sama!"
A female member came rushing over.
"These are all precious spirit medicines. Be careful."
Airmid turned and asked, "Is there a seriously injured patient?"
"No, it's the Little Rookie..."
The member clutched her chest, out of breath.
"Did something happen to Bell?!"
Airmid frowned and dashed out in a single step.
"He came to see you..."
By the time the member finished speaking, Airmid was already gone.
...
"Bell! Are you hurt anywhere?!"
Airmid looked at the white-haired boy standing beside the alley, her delicate, beautiful face full of worry.
"I'm fine. I just came back from the Dungeon and stopped by to see you on the way. Then I found out you were still working, so I asked the receptionist to call you for me."
Bell gently pulled Airmid into an embrace.
After a brief exchange, Bell explained that he was collecting hair.
Airmid did not ask why. She simply pulled out one silver strand.
Bell opened the bag he carried with him and carefully placed it into a glass bottle.
"So I wasn't the first....."
Airmid looked at the other emerald-green strand and murmured softly.
"Do you want to know who was first?"
Bell smiled lightly.
When Riveria had learned the whole story, she had said something similar.
"Using encounters to forge a blade. You really are the only one in the world who would do something like this. What surprises me even more is that the first person you came to was actually me..."
Bell had many lovers, so the word "only" felt rather hollow.
But "first" carried an entirely different weight.
Riveria did not know whether Bell had done it on purpose or had simply been carried along by circumstance and ended up choosing her.
"When we fell into the water, you didn't take the chance to pull out my hair. Bell Cranel, since you're being so honest, I'll accept being the first."
With Riveria's gentle smile, Bell obtained the first strand of hair.
And now, as expected, it had become the target of the girls' jealousy.
"Bell, I am curious, but I'm not going to dwell on it. As long as it wasn't Syr or Laurier and the others..."
Airmid sharply voiced her own view.
"Among your lovers, I'm the first. That's enough for me."
Airmid gave him the smug smile of a victor and slowly rose onto her toes, trying to steal a kiss.
But a gust of wind interrupted her.
A blonde girl came running out from an unnoticed side path, dragging a badly battered Werewolf behind her.
"Sorry... did I interrupt you......?"
Ais blinked and stared blankly at the two of them.
"Ais-san, your companion is badly hurt. Hurry and bring him inside."
Airmid switched into healer mode in an instant.
She called to the members inside the building and had several women come over to help.
"These are sword wounds? How cruel......"
"Doesn't look like a monster did this."
"Get lost, you damn hag!"
"Hey, we're trying to check your condition out of kindness. How can you talk like that?!"
A member of Dian Cecht Familia stepped forward, only to be met with Bete's abuse.
Even though Bete no longer had the strength to resist and his whole body was covered in wounds, he still showed no sign of backing down.
"Treat the wounds first."
Airmid paid no attention to Bete's shouting and calmly regarded him as a patient.
But Ais suddenly stepped in front of her.
"Wait....."
"?"
Airmid blinked in confusion.
Only then did she realize that Ais had not brought Bete here by carrying him on her back as a companion would.
She had grabbed him by the clothes and dragged him along the ground like cargo.
The route Ais had taken had also been a winding back path, clearly meant to avoid being seen by passersby.
There was more to this than met the eye.
"......"
Airmid looked toward Bell.
The boy merely stood there in silence, waiting to see how things would unfold.
There was no mockery, no pity, and not even the slightest confusion.
It was as if he had expected this.
"Ais-san, what exactly happened?"
Airmid asked.
"Bete mocked Bell before..... Bell heard it, so....."
Ais slowly explained how it had started.
Golden and silver hair danced together in the wind as the two girls, both as exquisitely beautiful as dolls, turned their eyes toward Bell.
The golden one was full of guilt.
The silver one stood there in a daze, as if she was still trying to process what she had just heard.
"I only gave Riveria-san a hint, and she figured it out just like I expected. Still, even I didn't think you'd take it this far."
Bell sighed softly.
He had only wanted to teach Bete a lesson, since the guy really did have a foul mouth.
Bete's current state, like a soaked stray dog, had to be the result of either Riveria egging things on or Ais hitting much harder out of guilt.
Or both.
Better not make those two angry in the future...
Bell offered a silent prayer for Bete and came to that sensible conclusion.
"Airmid-sama, the Potion is here."
A member of Dian Cecht Familia came running over.
"No, that won't be necessary."
Airmid replied softly.
"Huh? Airmid-sama, are you going to use magic?" the member asked in confusion.
"Looking closely, this gentleman is a Level 5 adventurer. With injuries this minor, he's only in a bit of pain. There's nothing to worry about."
Airmid coldly gave her assessment.
"Huh?!"
The three members who had rushed over cried out in unison.
"If anything, these injuries are still too light. Why didn't you knock out his teeth so he'd never be able to spit out curses again?"
Airmid added calmly.
"Huh. What?!!!!"
Amid cries of shock, the members of Dian Cecht Familia turned away and fell into chaos.
"Where did the Airmid-sama who was like an angel all the time go?"
"I've heard the Gods say a woman in love is the scariest thing there is!"
"So are we treating that Werewolf, or are we just leaving?"
"L-let's just pretend we didn't see anything..."
The group huddled together and whispered among themselves. Then, with awkward smiles, they turned and one after another said, "I just remembered, I still have work to do."
Before long, they had all left the alley without looking back.
"I should get back to work too."
Airmid glanced at the blonde girl, who had her lips pressed tightly together, and realized that staying here would only get in the way of their conversation.
After thinking for a moment, she added,
"I'll have the Werewolf taken into the infirmary and treated slowly. It may hurt a little, and all treatment costs will be charged to [Vanargand]."
"Tch."
With Bete clicking his tongue, Airmid slowly walked away.
A little later, members of Dian Cecht Familia arrived with a stretcher and carried Bete into the building.
Only two figures were left in the alley.
Ais brushed back her long blonde hair and spoke softly.
"Bell... go on a date with me......"