The warm sunlight fell across her shoulders, yet Ryuu's heart was a tangle of conflicting emotions. Justice and her promise drove her onward, but every new scene only added to her mounting embarrassment. Whether it was Syr holding the boy's hand, hugging him, or showing him tender affection, Ryuu saw it all from behind.
A strange feeling stirred within her. Syr had never acted like this before. In Ryuu's eyes, the kind and adorable friend she once knew now seemed like someone captured by love, walking step by step into a pit of shame.
They had only known each other for a few days. To Ryuu, this kind of forward intimacy already bordered on corruption. What made it worse was that Syr's feelings were sincere, and the boy wasn't just playing along.
Ryuu had no right to condemn her friend. But the frustration trapped between shame and duty rippled through her chest.
"Ryuu, are you feeling unwell?"
Syr looked at her blank expression with concern.
"...I'm fine."
Ryuu averted her eyes, almost as if running away.
The three of them were now sitting together at a square table in a dessert shop on North Main Street.
"The desserts here are really good," Syr said.
She scooped up fruit and cream with a spoon and held it up to the boy's mouth. Ryuu watched the scene, her expression complicated.
"..."
At this point, calling their behavior affectionate wasn't enough. It felt like they were openly flaunting their relationship. Syr was being shockingly bold.
All along the way, many adventurers had thrown the boy looks filled with envy, jealousy, and resentment. There were whispers too, and whenever someone got too nosy, Ryuu would shoot them a cold glare. She wondered how those people would see the three of them out on a date together...
That thought only deepened her gloom as she watched them feed each other.
Syr blinked, as if struck by a mischievous idea, and smiled softly.
"Ryuu really is unhappy..."
"No... I'm just... not used to it..." Ryuu quickly replied.
"I knew it. Saying you can't eat sweets was just an excuse, wasn't it?" Syr scooped another spoonful of dessert and held it up to Ryuu's lips. "Come on, try it."
"I... I really can't..." Ryuu panicked, her words breaking apart.
Syr raised her free hand, wiped under her eyes, and pretended to sob. "It's my fault... I made you upset..."
"This has nothing to do with Syr!" Ryuu frowned and hurriedly leaned forward to take the dessert into her mouth. "I ate it. Mmm... it tastes good. So stop crying."
In the next second, Syr's tears turned into a grin. "Now we're the same, aren't we?"
"..."
She'd been tricked.
Ryuu finally realized it. She could never win against her friend.
Feeling helpless, Ryuu glanced at the spoon she had just eaten from.
The same... Could she mean...
From start to finish, Syr had been using the same iron spoon.
This… this… isn't this basically… an indirect… k–k–kiss?!
Boom.
Ryuu could hear the collapse of her own rationality echoing through her mind.
What replaced it was a crashing wave of pure, overwhelming shame.
Ryuu couldn't bring herself to blame Syr.
For the friend who had saved her and given her a warm place to return to, she had no words of reproach.
"Cranel-san, how could you do something so improper…"
Ryuu knew perfectly well that accusing this innocent, upright boy made no sense.
But her reason had already been swallowed by shame and confusion.
Even now, that spoon was still passing between Syr's and the boy's lips.
"Eh—is this my fault?" Bell gave a strained smile. "Ryuu-san is the one who ate it herself, right?"
"Um…"
"If you cared that much, you should've just refused."
"Guh…"
Ryuu had no counter to the boy's argument.
"Don't worry, I'm on Ryuu-san's side too. Syr's the one with no shame."
"What?!"
Completely unconcerned with the looks from others, Syr stretched her mischievous claws toward the boy.
"I… I'm going outside for some air!"
Watching the two of them fool around, Ryuu quickly fled the scene.
For some reason, after that little episode, much of the gloom in her heart had lifted.
Realizing that the boy, just like her, had been suffering through embarrassment made Ryuu feel a faint sense of relief.
If Syr is just too strange… then there's nothing to be done...
Her frustration and irritation faded away, leaving only shame and a lingering sense of joy.
Ryuu stood in the breeze outside, as if letting the wind blow away her shyness.
To think she'd feel happy just because she shared the same thoughts as the boy… even though they were lovers…
Once the thought registered, her cheeks only grew hotter despite the passing wind.
...
Inside the dessert shop.
Syr puffed out her cheeks in complaint. "Why didn't you help me just now…"
Bell looked into her gray eyes, trying to read her true intentions. "Because Syr was in the wrong first. What you did earlier was a bit much for Ryuu-san."
"Eh—" Syr had absolutely no remorse. "So you said all that on purpose?"
"Of course. I was telling the truth. Do you want Ryuu-san to stay upset?"
Bell had long noticed the elf girl's unusual state.
Letting her vent now was better than letting it stew inside her.
Hearing his answer, Syr let out a soft laugh.
"How do you understand girls so well?"
"If I can't even manage that, how am I supposed to achieve my dreams?" Bell replied quietly, his expression turning serious. "So, why did you do that just now?"
To Bell, Syr was cunning, but she never overstepped. Her little stunt earlier had clearly crossed Ryuu's emotional boundary.
"Why, huh…"
Syr looked out the window, her eyes tinged with melancholy.
Where her gaze fell, Ryuu's green hair was swaying gently in the wind.
"I really like Ryuu."
She spoke her thoughts aloud.
It wasn't romantic love—just simple, sincere affection. She wanted to see Ryuu stand tall again. She wanted to see her find happiness.
But Syr alone couldn't make that happen. All she could do was soothe Ryuu's wounds and fill the gaps left by pain and sorrow.
"Ryuu often drifted off into thought, standing alone outside the shop while everyone else laughed and played…"
What had she been thinking about in those moments? What memories lay hidden beneath that beautiful yet sorrowful, distant expression?
Syr understood. The tavern was only a temporary refuge. It could never become the elf girl's true home. Ryuu's heart had long since been shattered by the past.
"Why did I end up teasing her..." Syr couldn't bring herself to explain the reason to the boy. Her hopes were simply too far-reaching.
Whether by playing matchmaker or teasing her, Syr wanted the boy and Ryuu to grow closer. It was an unrealistic fantasy. Yet even so, Syr still wished the boy could save her friend. This reason was something she could only bury deep within her heart.
Following Syr's gaze, Bell looked toward the steadfast Ryuu and spoke quietly.
"Even if you don't say anything, I can guess a little. Ryuu-san has helped me so much, and I've never been able to repay her."
Bell had always suspected that Ryuu's past was tragic, and Syr's reaction now confirmed his guess.
"I don't know what I can do, but I promise you—no matter what happens, I will fight for her."
It was an unreasonable declaration. Yet in the boy's crimson eyes, Syr saw unwavering resolve.
Even without being told a thing, he had reached that conclusion and made such a distant promise. Perhaps one day, he really could… No, more accurately—she hoped that day would come sooner.
The boy was still only at Level 1, and the tragedies of the past had already taken place. But even so, Syr felt an inexplicable certainty.
One day, Ryuu would smile before them.
Syr could almost see it: Ryuu's golden hair shining, the cold glacier of her heart melting in warmth. Behind her stood the long-lost past, smiling as they offered blessings to everyone—telling tales of adventure, handing out gifts of all kinds. Then everyone would welcome a new dawn together.
Why was she so convinced of such an impossible scene?
People always said that girls in love were blind. But Syr knew Bell would not become a tragic hero. His gaze was fixed far ahead, on something distant and unreachable. If that was the case… then hoping a little was allowed, wasn't it?
Syr tucked that sudden intuition deep into her heart and spoke softly.
"The first promise you make to a girlfriend you've only been dating for a few days… is to fight for another girl."
She pressed her lips together and smiled.
"Looks like I'll have to punish you tonight."