The Magic Stone lamps lit up one after another.
A white curtain of light, like the edge of a picture frame, separated the two groups.
On one side were the blonde girl and the white-haired boy, looking into each other's eyes.
The warm light reflected off them, outlining the sweetness of their date.
Ais looked puzzled at first, but gradually, the corners of her mouth lifted in a barely noticeable curve.
She reached out, and a beautiful strand of golden hair shone beneath the Magic Stone lamps.
On the other side stood two silent girls.
In the darkness, they remained where they were, their beautiful casual clothes taking on a cold hue.
Syr narrowed her eyes as she watched Ais hand her hair to the boy.
Beside her, Ryuu's gaze wandered, unsure whether she should look at the two on their date or tend to her friend's feelings.
Only after Ais finished speaking and turned away with a light step did Syr finally move.
"I seem to have stumbled onto something I shouldn't have seen."
Syr carried her wicker basket and walked forward with a smile.
"..."
Ryuu froze for a moment. She hesitated over whether to flee this romantic minefield, but after thinking for a moment, she quietly followed after her friend.
"Bell, the Sword Princess really is a cute girl. Did I come at a bad time?"
Syr looked at the blonde girl's retreating figure, a friendly smile on her lips.
"I didn't expect to run into you here, Syr. I was just about to go find you."
Bell smiled lightly, making no attempt to gloss over the date just now.
When he had bought fried potato balls for Ais, he had not bought any for himself precisely because, when Syr came to visit him, the two of them had already made plans for the evening.
There was still some time before they were supposed to meet, so Bell had originally planned to wait for Syr at the tavern. Instead, they had run into each other on the street.
Whether that was fortunate or unfortunate was hard to say.
"So you actually remembered our promise. Bell really is good at managing his time."
Syr held a wicker basket in each hand.
As she "scolded" the boy, she coyly offered him one of the baskets.
Bell took it naturally and was just about to defend himself when the other girl cut in.
"Syr, Cranel-san must have had something important to do if he was with the Sword Princess. Saying it like that is a little unfair."
Ryuu had not picked up on Syr's joke.
Worried the two of them might start arguing, she stated her thoughts with a serious face.
"Huh?"
Syr turned around and stared thoughtfully at Ryuu for a while.
"Wh-what is it...?"
Ryuu felt she had not said anything wrong, but she still took a guilty step back.
Syr clapped her hands, then immediately began her fierce assault.
"Bell left his girlfriend aside to go on a date with a cute girl, and even asked for her hair. It must be for some perverted fetish..."
"Wha...?!"
Ryuu's expression wavered at once.
But Syr's attack had only just begun. She tilted her head slightly, putting on an innocent look of confusion.
"Let's set Bell aside for now."
"Ryuu, we're best friends, aren't we?"
"When did you start taking Bell's side?"
"You're actually defending my playboy lover. Ryuu, do you have a fever?"
Syr moved closer with concern, which only made a shameful blush rush across the elf girl's face.
"Th-that's because I didn't want the two of you to argue..."
Ryuu answered in a panic.
"Is that really all? You don't have any other thoughts?"
A glint flashed through Syr's gray eyes, as if she meant to drag out every lie and excuse.
"Ugh..."
A hint of timidity slipped into Ryuu's voice.
Had there been any personal feelings mixed into her defense of the boy just now? There definitely had.
After all, once she saw that scene, Ryuu had wanted to use those same words to convince herself and calm the wavering in her heart.
Ryuu regretted her decision.
She really should have slipped away earlier...
Facing both Syr and the boy at the same time was still too much for her.
The reason Ryuu had not run away the moment she saw Bell was because she had made a promise with Syr.
"Ryuu, you've always been curious about what I'm like outside the tavern, haven't you? I'll make an exception and show you today. But you have to help me carry the baskets. I can't carry too many by myself."
With that, Syr had brought Ryuu out onto the street.
Everyone at the tavern had worked together for a long time, yet Ryuu and the others did not even know where Syr lived.
Whenever they asked about it, Syr would answer that it was a secret and brush the question aside.
Everyone had things they did not want to tell others, so Ryuu had never felt comfortable pressing too deeply.
And today, Syr had actually invited Ryuu along for once.
Ryuu was genuinely curious about what change had taken place in her friend's heart, so she had accepted Syr's request without hesitation.
The result was this situation, with trouble closing in from both sides.
"..."
Ryuu held a wicker basket in her hands, and a somewhat dangerous smell of food drifted out from inside.
She could not very well throw her friend's hard work onto the ground and flee.
"Hmm?"
Syr blinked, hiding a witch-like smile.
Just as Ryuu fell speechless, the boy came to her rescue.
"Syr, don't bully Ryuu-san too much. She takes jokes seriously."
Seeing Ryuu's troubled expression, Bell had already guessed what she was thinking.
What happened in the Dungeon was definitely interfering with Ryuu's thoughts, making her defense less impartial.
"A joke...?"
Ryuu furrowed her brow and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hmph. The two of you are teaming up to bully me. Which two people here are the real lovers?"
Syr pouted and looked at Ryuu with a teasing gaze. "Could it be that, to fool Goddess Hestia, you two ended up making the fake act real?"
Her sweet, coaxing voice fell into Ryuu's ears.
Ryuu instantly forgot the boy's earlier reminder and took it as her friend's question.
"?! Absolutely not!!"
Ryuu denied it at once.
Memories from the past surfaced in her mind.
On the 24th Floor, in order to help her, the boy had pinned Ryuu beneath him and held her tightly.
On the way back to the safe Floor, Bell had cupped clear spring water in his hands to help Ryuu rehydrate. Because of the situation, Ryuu had kissed the boy's palm several times.
Just that one Dungeon trip, not even counting what had happened before, had already made Ryuu break her own restraints.
No matter what others thought, at least to Ryuu, those actions were shameful taboos.
She could not dwell on them. She could not keep them in her heart.
Yet under Syr's questioning, Ryuu still inevitably remembered them.
"I was only joking. Why are you so nervous, Ryuu? Could it be that what you just said was a lie?"
Syr smiled mischievously.
"It really wasn't!"
Ryuu answered again.
Lies were a rather subjective thing.
Even Ryuu herself was not sure whether those intimate actions had influenced her defense.
"Hmm. Let's say that's true, then."
Syr answered thoughtfully.
"Syr, if you keep joking around, Ryuu-san really is going to cry."
"Ugh... I am not..."
Hearing the boy's words made Ryuu even more flustered.
"Sorry. I believe you, Ryuu."
Syr smiled softly and linked arms with both of them.
"Then, let's have a three-person date for the first time in ages~"