Airmid couldn't comprehend what was happening.
Perhaps she'd been too well protected by her familia—she had never been this close to a man before. By the time she came to her senses, her arms were already around the boy's neck.
Princess carry.
It was a position she'd only ever seen in books, something she'd never dared to imagine even in her dreams. Yet here, in this desperate moment, the boy had taken her first time like this.
"Wait..."
Airmid's face turned crimson, panic rendering her unable to speak. The pure white magical glow of the Dea Saint flickered with her emotional turmoil.
"This place is too open. We can't fight a defensive battle here," Bell said, explaining his intention.
If the Goblins turned their attention to Airmid, all he needed to do was find a narrow passageway and replicate the previous strategy.
Holding her tightly, Bell sidestepped an incoming attack from a monster.
Airmid felt ashamed of her own panic. The boy was clearly thinking of both of them, so why was her heart pounding so wildly, her mind drifting to foolish thoughts?
"If possible, please head to the alchemy chamber," she said, trying to suppress her embarrassment and offering her suggestion. "My mental energy won't last much longer. That place has plenty of materials and alchemy equipment—it might come in handy."
They were now on the right side of the fifth underground floor. Judging by the Goblins' spawn points and the wails echoing through the corridors, the monsters they faced were likely still the weaker ones.
The truly dangerous mutated creatures hadn't shown up yet.
Trying to push through now would be close to suicide. Rather than figuring out how to get to the fourth floor, they should take the opposite approach.
Use the weaker monsters as a buffer, fortify a position, and wait for rescue.
Bell recalled the layout of the alchemy room. A wide chamber with only one narrow entrance—perfect for the two of them.
"Alright, hold on tight."
Before he even finished speaking, Bell charged straight into the wave of monsters.
"Hold on tight means...?"
Airmid's confusion disappeared the moment she saw the grotesque face of a Goblin.
Weapons of all shapes and sizes whooshed past her.
The Dea Saint could only cling tightly to the boy's neck, pressing her body close to his.
The Goblins' roars were deafening. Airmid's heart pounded harder than ever.
She couldn't bring herself to look at the grotesque creatures, nor could she shut her eyes and leave everything to him. If he got hurt, she needed to cast her Magic immediately.
Airmid fixed her gaze on the boy's face.
She had only meant to check on his condition.
But without realizing it, she found herself completely drawn in.
There wasn't a trace of fear or hesitation in him. Even in this dire moment, his crimson eyes burned with unwavering resolve.
He remained calm, analyzing the battlefield while dodging attacks from every direction.
Considering he was carrying her, evading all those claws and fangs should have been near impossible.
But he pulled it off.
Airmid didn't even have a scratch.
Even in the center of the monster horde, she felt strangely at peace.
That bizarre sense of safety washed her fear away.
But what she didn't expect—what caught her off guard—was that when she looked at his face, her heart began to race uncontrollably.
Everything else around them seemed to fade away.
Strands of her silver hair brushed against his face.
Countless emotions swelled within her violet eyes.
And without even realizing it herself, in the middle of this desperate escape...
The Dea Saint's feelings had already begun to bloom.
…
Inside the Hostess of Fertility, Syr sneezed.
"Nya~ Someone must be thinking about that boy, nya," Chloe teased with a sly grin.
Having finished their midday shift, the group had started chatting idly around the shop.
"Even if that's true, it's probably him thinking about me," Syr shot back.
"Common sense doesn't work on you, Syr, nya." Chloe pointed at the elf girl holding a broom. "Aren't you the least bit curious about what happened between Ryuu and that boy during lunch, nya?"
"They... they just had lunch. Don't say weird things."
Syr chuckled softly as she wiped down the tables. She wasn't worried about her cleanliness-obsessed friend. If anything serious had happened between the two, Bell probably would've ended up getting beaten to a pulp.
"A cat's intuition is always right, nya. If you don't believe me, I'll go ask Ryuu, nya." Chloe swished her tail and sauntered over to the elf.
"Did something happen between you and the boy, nya?" she asked bluntly, skipping any pretense.
Ryuu froze.
Pinning the boy down on the bed—sure, that could be called an accident.
But how was she supposed to explain what Bell said about his ideal type?
She glanced at Chloe, sensing Syr's curious gaze on her as well, and stayed silent.
If her friend found out the boy liked blonde elves, it would surely hurt her. Ryuu didn't want Syr to cry over something like that.
But that reason was just a flimsy excuse.
Her friend already knew her hair was dyed.
If she repeated what Bell had said, how would Syr really feel?
Even the thought made Ryuu uneasy. She stood still like a beautiful statue, offering no reply to Chloe's probing.
"This is definitely suspicious, nya! Syr, help me get it out of her, nya!"
"Ryuu would never do anything out of line. If something did happen, it had to be an accident, right?"
Syr tried to meet Ryuu's eyes, but the elf turned away, sweeping in the opposite direction.
"..."
Ryuu wasn't good at lying, so she chose to avoid the pressure altogether.
"You weren't thinking about Bell, were you?"
Syr pressed on, refusing to let it drop.
"..."
Ryuu kept moving, her broom stirring up clouds of dust. But the girl with the obsessive cleanliness streak walked right through them without hesitation.
Watching the scene unfold, Chloe smirked and threw up a victory sign.
"The cat's intuition was right, nya!"
"Wh-what... what happened? Don't tell me..." Syr flopped dramatically onto the table, pretending to sob.
The sound of her sniffling worked immediately.
"It's not what you think! It's just... something hard to talk about," Ryuu said quickly.
Syr peeked up, blinking.
"Like what, exactly?"
"Sorry, I can't say. But I promise, Cranel-san and I are both completely innocent," Ryuu assured her.
"I knew it! You're not like a certain horny cat. You'd never do something like pin Bell down."
Syr let out a long sigh and stood with a smile.
"Nya? I was just joking, nya!" Chloe protested. "Wait, why's Ryuu gone quiet again, nya?"
"..."
Both girl and cat stared at the elf.
And in that moment of tension...
An unexpected distraction appeared at the door.
A few adventurers and Guild staff walked by, deep in discussion.
"There's a monster wave on the fifth floor too?"
"It's just Goblins. How bad could it be?"
"No, it's serious. The Guild says it's a Dungeon anomaly."
"Newbie adventurers spotted a giant Goblin near the staircase and ran back unharmed. But from the screams, someone's trapped down there."
"What about a rescue party?"
"The Guild's on it, but no one really knows what's going on inside, even if it's just the fifth floor."
Their voices faded as they walked away.
"Cranel-san..." Syr murmured anxiously.
When she turned around...
The elf girl had vanished without a trace.
...
"Ryuu?"