A warm breeze brushed past, and the distant clamor seemed to fall away, leaving only a quiet sense of peace.
Ais had only slept for a few minutes.
In her hazy dream, she and a white rabbit played around a curved arc.
Whether it was the young Ais chasing the white rabbit, or the rabbit running toward her, even Ais could not tell.
All she knew was that it had been a brief but warm dream.
"Bell... are you awake?"
Ais looked up at the sky and asked softly.
"I stayed awake so no one could come over and cause trouble. It was only a few minutes anyway."
Bell answered honestly.
"Thank you... and for what happened in the Dungeon too. Thank you..."
Ais's voice was light, gentle as cotton.
She should have apologized to Bell. It was her own recklessness that had put the boy and the others in danger.
If Ais had waited for support, the battle at the Pantry might have taken a completely different turn.
But she remembered what the mercenary's wife had said.
For the sake of the sorrowful wish in her heart, Ais would become a blade no matter what, and thrust herself at the red-haired woman and the others who knew [Aria].
So Ais gave up on apologizing.
"I still don't understand what I should do... At the very least, g-giving birth is out of the question..."
When Ais brought up those words, she lost her earlier composure and accidentally bit her tongue.
She quickly stood up to hide her embarrassment.
There was no need to rush.
No need to overthink it.
When the boy needed her, she would simply offer him all of her strength.
For now, she would follow this warmth in her heart and enjoy this fleeting peace...
"Bell, let's continue our date..."
Ais held out her left hand, intending to pull the boy up.
"Mm."
Bell smiled brightly, placed his right hand in her palm, and used it to rise.
"..."
Ais's hand reacted as if she had been shocked.
After wavering for an instant, she pulled away from the boy's palm once their hands had touched for a moment, her fingers rubbing lightly together.
"Ais-san?"
Bell had thought she would be like a child, with no particular resistance to holding hands.
Instead, her slender, soft left hand was like an exotic sensitive plant, closing its bud in a panic after only a few seconds of contact.
"It's nothing..."
Ais lied again.
Her slightly burning cheeks would surely give away whether her words were true.
But Ais could no longer worry about that.
Strange.
Whenever she was with Bell, she became very strange.
She had never been like this before.
Whether during daily training or the occasional physical contact, she had never paid much attention to it.
The little Ais inside her heart seemed to have opened the door to a new world. While covering her eyes and crying, "Waa, waa," she left a small gap between her fingers and curiously peeked at what lay beyond the door.
Neither the Sword Princess nor the young girl understood the source of this sweet feeling.
"Ais-san, what do you think about the harem situation?"
Bell wanted to use this time alone together to understand how she felt.
The blonde girl's reaction just now seemed shy to Bell, but from another perspective, perhaps she had become aware of the harem situation and had grown sensitive to physical contact because of it.
"I hate it... but if it's you, Bell, it's okay..."
Ais blinked and answered softly.
She did not know much about these things and had always treated them as something that did not really matter either way.
But Ais had experienced two Dungeon disasters, and she had witnessed the girls' heroic figures during the War Game.
She could also understand that the relationship between the girls and the boy was much like the relationship between herself and Riveria, precious bonds that had to be cherished.
After thinking for a moment, Ais continued.
"I asked Riveria. She said relationships like that are common in some countries..."
"And Lefiya, ever since she got together with Bell, she seems happy every day..."
"Tiona and Tione also said Bell is a man with guts...?"
Ais faithfully repeated what everyone else thought.
At the very least, no one around Ais had complained about the boy pursuing a harem, and that had subtly influenced Ais's own thinking.
She secretly glanced at the white-haired boy beside her and gave her conclusion.
"Since it's Bell, it's okay... But I just imagined that if the other girls disappeared, then Bell and I could keep going on dates together forever..."
Her clear voice faded into the evening breeze.
For once, Bell froze for a moment.
His grandfather's words echoed beside his ear. "Having beautiful girls by your side is a man's romance. But listen carefully, Bell. Never get involved with a yandere."
"I see. I understand what you think now, Ais-san. Let's continue our date."
Bell smiled softly and stepped into the night again.
Ais was very natural, so that was why she had such extreme thoughts.
Yes, exactly.
Bell reached that conclusion in his heart. A blonde girl this beautiful and natural could not possibly be the yandere his grandfather had warned him about.
"Bell, the road ahead is one you can never return from!"
The boy and girl walked side by side.
From far up in the sky, his grandfather's warning seemed to ring out.
...
Evening quietly slipped away during the date.
"Thank you, big brother, big sister!"
The two of them helped a lost child, taking the hand of the cute little girl who had been bawling her eyes out, and found her parents together.
Under their grateful smiles, Ais remembered the way those parents took care of their child, and her face flushed red before she realized it.
"Meow~"
Ais rescued a cat stuck in a tree.
The boy's praise felt exactly like the warmth of stroking the cat's fur, and it warmed Ais's heart.
For a Level 6, it was nothing worth mentioning, but the little Ais in her heart bounced around happily because of his praise.
"You're the Little Rookie! We're truly grateful you saved Astraea-sama. Please take these fried potato balls."
Bell received an unexpected gift of thanks.
As Ais tasted the freshly made food, she realized once again that the boy had left many beautiful traces throughout Orario.
"That's the big brother from the Divine Mirror! Does that mean there's another girl in his harem?"
Amid the children's laughter, Bell and Ais slipped into the night, despite having done nothing wrong.
The two looked at each other and shared a faint smile.
The evening passed in the blink of an eye.
The moon rose near the city wall. Only two days had passed since the last full moon, and the beautiful disk had not yet fully waned.
"Going on a date with Bell... makes me happy..."
Joy rippled in Ais's eyes.
"Mm, me too."
Bell looked at the blonde girl and smiled gently.
A familiar night, familiar streets, familiar scenery.
Everything that had once seemed so ordinary was dyed in fairy-tale colors before the blonde girl's beautiful smile.
"Ais-san, could I have a strand of your hair?"
Going along with the mood, Bell voiced his request.
Unfortunately, that scene was seen by two tavern girls.