When had this yearning first appeared?
Bell searched through his memories with calm reason.
This wish definitely had not come from his unreliable grandfather.
Was it his grandfather's friends?
No, that was not right either. By the time they came to visit, Bell had already started combat training.
Then had he seen a tale of heroes, been deeply moved by it, and developed that yearning?
No. It had definitely been before that.
Bell was certain. The reason he had cheered and cried over hero stories was because he had already dreamed of becoming a hero.
In that case...
Someone he had forgotten must have planted the roots of that resolve.
But who?
His parents?
A lover?
A friend?
A relative?
Or even a stranger he had only met once?
He could not remember.
Bell's memory was like a grand palace. Though he could not remember absolutely everything at a glance, every important thing was preserved within it without the slightest error.
Only one door from his past remained locked, and he could not even find the faintest trace of where the key might be.
As he recalled all this, Bell felt another stab of pain.
His brows drew together, and a shadow fell over his face.
"Cranel-san!"
Ryuu called out loudly.
She thought the boy had been poisoned by Syr's cooking, and worry instantly seized her.
Without thinking, Ryuu rushed forward, trying to support Bell.
Whether because she was too anxious or because luck was playing tricks on her, Ryuu accidentally tripped and fell onto the boy.
"Ryuu-san?"
Bell had not expected the elf girl to suddenly "throw herself into his arms."
With his headache affecting him as well, Bell failed to dodge Ryuu's sudden attack, and they both fell to the floor together.
Unlike the embrace during Evilus's self-destruction, this time it was just an ordinary moment in daily life.
Bell could clearly smell the faint floral scent coming from Ryuu.
It was like a beautiful sea of flowers hidden deep within an ancient forest, never seen by anyone, falling softly and delicately into the boy's arms.
Before that breathtaking sight, both the pain from moments ago and the impact of hitting the floor seemed insignificant.
"Ugh..."
Ryuu felt a sense of déjà vu.
Back when she had only just met Bell, the same kind of accident had happened in the church of the Hestia Familia.
Ryuu had meditated many times to forget that scene, but it had never worked.
And now, that familiar memory had only been carved even deeper.
Warm breath, a handsome face, pure white hair, firm crimson eyes...
Ryuu had pinned the boy beneath her, their eyes meeting.
Unlike the first accident, Ryuu had completely lost her former composure, and her cheeks turned bright red in an instant.
"I-I-I'm sorry!"
Ryuu spoke in a panic.
However, before she could get up, before her words had even finished leaving her mouth, someone opened the door.
"Bell?"
Syr had heard the commotion inside and pushed the door open.
With her were several children who had finished their bento and come over to play.
Under everyone's gaze, Ryuu was straddling the boy as if demanding something from him.
"Wow, big brother and big sister are doing this, and they had Syr-oneechan guard the door for them?!"
The human boy Rye poked his head in, his eyes shining as he stared at the scene inside.
He did not understand what the two of them were doing. He simply thought Bell, who could openly run a harem, was far too dazzling.
Rye kept shouting, "So cool! When I grow up, I'm going to have my harem guard the door too!"
The Chienthrope girl Fina, meanwhile, showed a meaningful smile.
"The elf sister said earlier that it was a misunderstanding and that they definitely weren't in that kind of relationship, but she still couldn't hold back and started doing naughty things on the floor."
"Wh-what?!"
Ryuu hurriedly tried to get up.
But because the two of them had fallen, the cup on the table had smashed onto the floor, and the spilled tea made Ryuu's feet slip.
She had only just raised herself when she lost her balance again and fell back into the boy's arms.
That movement drew a wave of jeers from the children.
Some even covered the younger children's eyes and said, "This is something you absolutely must not look at."
"Ugh?!!"
Ryuu faced her greatest crisis of the day.
Things were absolutely not what they imagined!
Lewd and vulgar?
Shameless?
No!
Ryuu wanted to loudly refute them, but she realized that during this intimate contact, she did not actually feel disgusted.
By all rights, as a pure elf girl, she should have loathed such an indecent posture.
What about her fastidiousness?
What about her guilt toward Syr?
Ryuu noticed that her state of mind was gradually changing, and her already pounding heart beat even faster.
Her sapphire-blue eyes swirled with shame and endless emotion, as if asking Bell to help her.
"...."
Unfortunately, Bell had also fallen into a crisis.
A beautiful, captivating elf girl was sitting on top of him, her face flushed, their eyes locked.
And because of the tea, she had even moved up and down once.
Bell was burning through his willpower, fighting against some irresistible force.
Not causing trouble for the elf girl was already the limit of what Bell could do.
"I see. So this is the smell of adults. It really is a little unpleasant, just like the Gods said..."
Unlike the other children, Fina walked into the room with a smile, mistaking the lingering smell of Syr's cooking for something else.
Along with the Chienthrope girl's innocent remark came Syr's punishment.
"So this is why you specifically asked me to watch the door and keep other people from coming in."
Syr smiled softly and handed down her judgment.
"Ryuu usually looks so proper, but in private, she's actually quite naughty. Still, I'll support you."
With those words, Ryuu's world collapsed.
...
Faint moonlight spilled over the abandoned fountain outside the church.
Syr was saying goodbye to the children one by one, while Ryuu and Bell stood beneath the moonlight, silently waiting.
"The elf sister looks cool, but she's surprisingly hopeless."
"That's right. So you're not allowed to bully her next time."
The conversation between the Chienthrope girl and Syr drifted over from nearby.
"Ugh..."
Ryuu pressed her lips together again.
She glanced at the boy beside her and complained, "Cranel-san, why didn't you help me just now?"
"I did my best. Thanks to me, things didn't get any worse."
Bell smiled helplessly, unable to explain the specific details to Ryuu.
"You still have the nerve to smile. Cranel-san, you... bad person."
Ryuu hesitated for a moment, seemingly unable to come up with a better insult.
"Sorry, I wasn't laughing at you, Ryuu-san. I just remembered that something like this happened before too, and it even made Goddess-sama complain."
Bell recalled the time when he had first come to Orario, feeling a little nostalgic.
"....."
Ryuu blinked and looked up at the brilliant starry sky.
Back then, the boy had also said that the person he liked was a blonde elf.
"Yes... I miss those days too..."
Ryuu murmured softly.
Her clear voice, along with her thoughts, melted into the deep night.