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Chapter 28: Isn't That Cheating!!?
The atmospheric tension in Orario had shifted. It was no longer just the heavy, soot-stained air of the Dark Faction's uprising; it was a feverish, electric buzz that hummed in every tavern and dark alleyway. The "Bell Cranel Scandal" had reached its zenith. The latest volume of the infamous doujinshi was no longer a mere pamphlet—it was a tome of such unprecedented thickness that it practically required two hands to hold. Gods and mortals alike gathered in the flickering candlelight of the city, their whispers a mixture of reverence and degenerate curiosity as they cracked the spine of the newest release.
For the heroines of the city, the experience was less of a leisure activity and more of a psychological assault.
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The story begins in the stifling, damp heat of the Dungeon's mid-levels. Laurier, cast in the role of a "Princess Knight," finds herself separated from a makeshift party during a sudden monster frenzy. Her armor is scorched and shredded, her breath coming in ragged, desperate gasps as she backs into a dead-end wall, clutching a broken blade.
『Is this... the end?』
She speaks the lines of a doomed martyr, resigning herself to the darkness—until a blur of white tears through the shadows.
『Don't move! I've got you!!!』
A white rabbit stands before her, his silhouette framed by the glowing moss of the walls. He doesn't look like a rookie; he looks like a prince from a forgotten age of heroes. He moves with a lethal, celestial elegance, a streak of starlight that mows down the horde with meteor-like speed. With a final, decisive flash of his blade, the last Hellhound is silenced.
The boy sheathes his weapon, the chime of steel on scabbard echoing through the chamber. He turns back slowly, his clear, crimson eyes softening as they land on the battered Elf.
『A-Ah... thank you. Who... who are you?』
『...Beautiful.』
The word falls from his lips like a prayer. It is a sincere, unvarnished whisper that catches Laurier—and the reader—completely off guard.
『Fueh!? W-What are you saying all of a sudden?!』
『Ah! I-I'm sorry! It's just... you're exactly the ideal Elf I imagined when I was a child... I couldn't help myself...』
『I-I see. Well... your help comes first. Thank you, boy... you saved me.』
The "Hero" aura evaporates, replaced by the awkward, endearing charm of a boy his age. As he reaches out to help her up, their hands touch, and a rhythmic thump-thump—the sound of a heart skipping a beat—is rendered in bold, shimmering calligraphy across the page.
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"Gaaaaah!! What is this 'thump-thump' nonsense?!" Lili roared in the Hearth Mansion, her face a vibrant shade of scarlet. "This is too sweet! It's cloying! It's like being force-fed a five-tier Honey-Cloud cake topped with extra-sweet syrup and unripened raspberries! Is she trying to give us all divine cavities?!"
"But Lili-sama! This is the peak of the 'Royal Road' romance!!" Haruhime countered, her eyes sparkling with a frantic, starry light. "A hero arriving at the brink of death, the instant soul-connection, the overlapping hands! Every maiden—no, every soul in Orario—dreams of this level of purity!!"
The two unlikely allies continued to bicker, though neither could bring themselves to put the book down.
—————
The fated pair gradually closes the distance. Laurier invites Bell on a "thank you" shopping trip that is, for all intents and purposes, a high-stakes date. The artist captures a single, breathtaking panel of Bell gifting Laurier an accessory—a delicate pendant—against the golden sunset of Babel's lower levels.
『I didn't know there was a Hephaestus branch down here,』 Bell remarks, looking around with wide-eyed wonder.
『Of course,』 Laurier replies, a soft, predatory smile on her face. 『Babel's upper levels are for the kings, but down here, new adventurers find the gear that fits their hearts. I suppose I'll have to be the one to teach you all the things you missed while you were busy becoming a legend. Consider it my way of paying you back, Bell-kun♪』
She playfully boops his nose, her humming filling the air as she takes his hand, leading him deeper into a world he never knew existed.
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"Wait a minute—!?" Eina Tulle's voice cracked in the Guild office, a sound like glass breaking. "I taught him about those shops! I was the one who showed him how to navigate the lower levels of Babel!! My memories... she's overwriting my memories!!"
"Easy, Eina, easy..." Misha tried to soothe her, though she was also leaning in to catch a glimpse of the art.
Eina's aura was practically radioactive. It felt as if her most precious, quiet moments with Bell were being systematically colonized by this grey-haired Elf. Her hands trembled, threatening to tear the page, yet she was already turning to the next scene: The Moonlit Spring.
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The setting is a hidden forest spring, far from the war-torn streets. Bell and Laurier sit side-by-side on a mossy bank, their shoulders barely ten centimeters apart. The water reflects the silver moon, casting a dreamlike glow over the clearing.
『...It's beautiful,』 Bell whispers.
『I found this place on a quest once,』 Laurier replies, her heart hammering as she looks at him. 『I thought it was a place only an Elf could appreciate. But now... I feel like this clearing exists just to frame you.』
Bell turns to her, his usual boyish hesitation replaced by a gaze so fierce and dignified it feels like a physical weight.
『Haha... was that too much? Was I trying too hard to look like a hero?』
『Y-You were, you idiot! Are you trying to kill me with heart palpitations?!』
『Palpitations—!? No, I... Laurier-san, you're like a spirit out of a legend. You're so much more beautiful than someone like me. I just wanted to act like a hero, even just for a moment, so I could feel worthy of standing next to you...』
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"...Hero," Aiz Wallenstein muttered, her golden eyes fixed on the text.
Deep in the Twilight Manor, she felt a sharp, unidentifiable sting. Jealousy? Longing? Perhaps it was a profound sense of "unfairness"—that Bell would save a "Princess Knight" in a book when she was the one who had to save him in reality. Why won't Bell be my hero? she wondered, her feelings for the boy swelling into something far more dangerous than simple curiosity.
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The story takes a dark, visceral turn. During an expedition to the Great Tree Labyrinth, Laurier is separated and captured by a sinister researcher named Muller. Bell, guided by a mysterious, burning connection to the "Blessing" on his back, tears through the labyrinth with a primal, unnatural precision.
He finds her in a hidden, unmapped laboratory.
『I knew the trap tripped, but you're far too fast,』 Muller sneers, standing over the bound Laurier. 『You must be the Little Rookie. I'm Muller, and this Elf is my new mana tank. I'll use her until she begs for death, and then I'll use her some more.』
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"Wait... how does she know about him?" Finn Deimne's voice was a low, dangerous rumble.
In the executive office of the Loki Familia, Finn, Gareth, and Riveria stood huddled around the book. The "Muller Incident" was a top-secret Guild investigation that had been buried deep in the archives.
"This artist..." Riveria whispered, her face pale. "She has information that shouldn't exist. She's not just drawing smut; she's leaking state secrets".
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Bell unleashes a power that defies his Level 3 status. He shatters the experimental monsters with a single strike, his voice a cold, terrifying monotone as he approaches the researcher.
『Give. Her. Back.』
Muller, sensing a threat that isn't just power but "Will," uses Laurier as a shield. 『She's mine! I'll do whatever I want with my test subject!』
『—Enough. Don't speak her name again.』
In a blur that turns the surrounding air to ash, Bell closes the distance. He punches Muller with enough force to send him through the masonry, then gently cuts Laurier free from her bindings, pulling her into a protective, masculine embrace that radiates warmth.
『I've got you, Laurier. I won't let anyone hurt you ever again.』
—————
"Now that is the gaze of a predator," Aisha Belka remarked, her voice husky as she stared at the two-page spread of Bell's protective rage. "Even in a drawing, a look like that makes a woman's blood boil. I think I'll have to find the 'Rabbit-Foot' later and see if I can't make him make that face for me."
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The volume concludes with the "Xenos Incident" in the city. Bell, having protected a monster, is mocked and spat upon by the masses. But Laurier stays by his side, her arm locked firmly in his.
『If you stay with me, they'll hate you too!』
『Let them! I'm not breaking my promise. You're my hero, and a hero never walks alone!』
She gifts him a sword—a "Leus" blade to match her "Leia"—crafted from the drops of a deep-floor dragon. Bell sheathes his knife and takes the twin blades, stepping forward to face the Black Minotaur once more.
The duel is cinematic. It's not just a fight; it's a high-speed dance of steel and horns. When Bell is nearly defeated, Laurier's cry for him to "not lose" triggers a new evolution of his [Liaris Freese]—one where he doesn't look to a distant idol, but to the "Hero" Laurier sees in him. He unleashes a final, devastating 16-hit combo.
『STAR BURST... STREAM!!!!』
The Minotaur is carved into ash, dying with a satisfied, almost envious smile as it looks upon the boy who surpassed it.
—————
"He used the power of love to defeat his fated rival... with a weapon I supposedly gave him," Hermes chuckled, pulling his hat down to hide his eyes. "Laurier... you really went all out on this 'future blueprint,' didn't you? You're a more dangerous schemer than I am."
But the fallout was only beginning.
A few days later, a poll was posted at the Guild headquarters: 'Which female adventurer is the most compatible partner for the Rabbit-Foot?' The winner, by a landslide: Laurier Sual.
The announcement was short-lived. Reports say the parchment was shredded into a thousand pieces by a flurry of knives and magic blasts within minutes of being posted.
Deep in the Freya Familia's headquarters, Hedin Sellers adjusted his glasses and looked at the book one last time before setting it on his desk.
"If that fool rabbit even thinks about looking at that Elf with anything but professional distance..." he whispered, his mana crackling in the air like static. "I won't just roast him. I'll make sure there isn't enough ash left to draw a sequel."
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