Looking at the scarf in her hands, Ryu's eyes filled with fierce inner conflict.
No!
I absolutely couldn't give in to temptation again!
Even if I jumped off the city wall, I'd never—
Just one last time! I swear on the Great Sacred Tree, this is absolutely the last time!
In the end, the Elf couldn't hold back. She closed her eyes in self-deception, pressed the scarf to her face, and breathed in deeply.
However, even after making up her mind, Ryu didn't get what she wanted—the scent on the scarf was so faint that she couldn't catch even the slightest trace of it.
That was precisely why she'd been losing sleep over and over these past few days, recalling the silver-haired boy again and again.
But Ryu knew very well that her recent insomnia, irritability, and restlessness weren't withdrawal symptoms from becoming addicted to that faint fragrance.
On the contrary, her calm and comfortable state of a few days ago had been the unusual effect of being soothed by that scent.
Now that she thought about it, she'd been far too quick to celebrate when she thought she'd finally escaped her Useless Elf state. She'd even laughed at the other members for losing sleep after watching a young adventurer!
No!
I absolutely have to forget that human!
With a hint of resentment that she hadn't even been allowed one last time, Ryu crushed the protective scarf woven from precious material, drew her knife, and charged into the Dungeon!
That human's actions back then had definitely shown that he'd touched one Elf before—or even several!
Otherwise, how could he have developed that kind of conditioned reflex?!
So no matter how valiant or captivating he looked while fighting and adventuring, he absolutely wasn't the partner she dreamed of!
Using the heat that surged through her body during fierce battles as a furnace, Ryu hammered that conviction into her heart again and again as she swung her sword and cut down monsters...
When she came to her senses, she realized she'd somehow reached the Seventeenth Floor.
The Wall of Sighs glimmered faintly, illuminating the pale hall, which had already returned to its original state. There was no sign of the fierce battle that had once taken place there.
I should go take a bath. Feeling the sweat and dust coating her, Ryu couldn't help yearning for it, exhausted as she was.
After entering the Eighteenth Floor, Ryu headed straight for a spot in the Eastern Great Forest.
But as she passed through the dense woods and neared her destination, she heard the sound of water rippling.
What was that?
Ryu, her thoughts already sluggish, looked up. Her gaze passed through the leaves—and she froze on the spot.
Because a figure had appeared in the clear pool where she often washed with the members of her Familia.
The silver hair reflecting the Sky Crystal's radiance stole her awareness.
60 Ryu: It's All the World's Fault!
Peeping was wrong to begin with, and peeping on a member of the opposite sex while they bathed was worse still. For an Elf to do such a thing was a sin worthy of being struck by lightning. So she had to leave!
—That was what Ryu had thought, but her body wouldn't obey, and she couldn't tear her eyes away from the sight.
Fine glimmers of light poured down from countless azure crystals in the cavern roof, tinting the silent forest pale blue.
In the clear pool, surrounded by trees and mist, the water was so transparent that the countless crystals on its bed were visible. It reflected the light, forming a shimmering sea of silver.
The breathtaking view reminded Ryu of her homeland: the endless forest swaying beneath the moonlight and evening breeze, and the vast sacred lake reflecting the moonlit sky.
No, it wasn't only the scenery. More important was the figure in the lake—
His soft silver hair was wet and clung to the muscles along his slender neck. Droplets ran down his fair skin, where bluish veins were visible.
From his neck to his shoulders, and across his waist and abdomen, his muscles weren't bulky.
But just as the word "boy" suggested, he had the vitality of someone still growing, without being too rough or overdeveloped.
He looked not only supple and soft, but also a little youthful and tender.
With the excellent eyesight of a Level Two adventurer and an Elf, Ryu could see clearly across the thirty-odd meters, taking in every detail.
Like a breeze ruffling a lake, or the morning sun breaking through the mist, a crack suddenly appeared in the heart that exhaustion and anxiety had filled, and a gentle ripple stirred within her.
So, without thinking, she let down her guard and reacted instinctively, as anyone might when overcome by thirst and fatigue.
She pressed her lips together, and—
"Gulp."
The faint sound of swallowing echoed through the woods, quieter than the roar of a flying monster in the distance.
But—
This is it!
Deep inside, it was as if a young Elf were wielding a wooden sword and beating the Ryu of this moment senseless, furious at her disgraceful, pathetic behavior.
But before Ryu could be consumed by shame, an even more powerful sense of danger swept over her!
"Who's there?"
Hearing a sound that clearly didn't belong in nature, Noah instinctively hurled the weapon he'd been holding at the ready before even looking toward its source.
It was a horn with a keratin pattern, yet it gleamed a dark gray like metal.
Though it hadn't been forged, Noah's wrist strength sent it slicing through the air with a shriek like Wail of Evil Spirits.
Before the combat instincts he'd honed through years of training could kick in, a deeper, more primitive biological instinct boomed a warning in Ryu's mind.
But she couldn't dodge!
Like being struck by the "roar" of an overwhelmingly powerful monster from the deep levels—a roar that could paralyze low-level adventurers—Ryu's entire body froze as if even her blood had turned to ice. She could only watch the attack coming!
Just as Ryu thought she was about to see a montage of her life, and the branches of the Sacred Tree seemed to beckon her, a flash of silver suddenly streaked through her frozen field of vision!
It was almost exactly like the scene from seven days ago on the Seventeenth Floor. The silver-haired figure moved faster than his own attack and reached Ryu a moment before it did.
As Noah shattered the attack with a hand strike, he gathered the Blonde Elf into his arms and tackled her to the ground.
But the flying fragments didn't stop. They scattered in every direction like countless cannonballs.
"Rumble—"
Like a small meteor shower crashing down, dust burst into the air, and the tremors rolled across the vast plains of the Eighteenth Floor.
When the dust settled, the tree trunks, rocks, and ground within a radius of more than ten meters were riddled with holes like a honeycomb.
"That was dangerous!"
Looking at the devastation around him, Noah exclaimed without the slightest self-awareness, as if he hadn't been the one to launch that attack.
Only after confirming the danger had passed did Noah look down at the Blonde Elf in his arms and meet her eyes, which were a similar shade to his own.
"Are you all right?"
—I'm very much not all right! This is a huge problem!!
From the movement of Noah's thin lips, Ryu figured out what he was saying.
She had to read his lips because she couldn't hear anything anymore. A sharp, piercing ringing had filled her ears.
Not only that, but Ryu felt as though her brain had become like the plate of stew Alise had eaten that morning—almost thoroughly cooked!
And the reason was right in front of her, wasn't it?
Whether it was the boy's clear, bright blue eyes, his beautiful collarbones and prominent Adam's apple that she couldn't look away from, or his hot, damp breath washing over her, Ryu wanted to pass out on the spot.
But just like last time, the fresh fragrance of water that clung to Noah meant that no matter how much shame crushed and tormented her, she still couldn't quite faint.
It also let Ryu feel even more clearly the faint movement of Noah's chest as he breathed, and the warmth passing between their touching skin.
Those sensations branded her skin like red-hot iron, then turned into an electric current that coursed through her entire body.
I'll never forget this. I'll never forget this feeling for the rest of my life!
Her hazy awareness only made her more keenly aware of her body's reactions. The strange feeling she'd finally resolved to erase had probably been etched deep inside her, never to fade.
"Hey! What's wrong? Are you all right?!"
Seeing the Blonde Elf staring at him blankly, the sky-blue in her eyes shrouded by gloom and her normally upright pointed ears drooping limply, Noah was startled. He hurriedly patted her face.
How had the Elf turned into a Goblin?
Although Ryu had wanted to pass out, she couldn't faint. Instead, she quickly came to her senses.
Looking at Noah sprawled over her, she wore a complicated expression. She seemed to want to say something, but in the end, all she could do was sigh helplessly.
"Mr. Sifir, thank you for saving me. I'm all right. Could you please get off me?"
At the bottom of Ryu's field of vision were Noah's well-defined chest muscles. Further down...
No. She didn't dare look any farther.
As soon as her gaze brushed his abs, she closed her eyes, driven by an intense sense of danger.
If she looked any farther down, her eyes and blood vessels would probably burst together!
No, actually, she'd probably burst even after she got away from him.
Ryu knew very well that her calm right now was only an illusion.
In reality, her Useless Elf state had merely been stored up, waiting for the restraint to disappear before erupting with world-shattering force!
Should she find someone to prepare in advance to beat her up when she went crazy?
In Kaguya's homeland, would that be called a second?
Though Noah was curious about why the Elf from the neighboring Familia had gone from listless to suddenly back to normal, the chill that swept over him when the breeze hit his body made him refocus.
As a battle-hardened warrior, Noah didn't care much about this sort of privacy anymore. Still, lying naked on top of a little girl was a bit too unsightly.
It looked way too much like a crime!
So he hurriedly got up, dashed back into the woods, and reappeared fully dressed.
Meanwhile, Ryu covered her face with the scarf and stared listlessly at the crystals on the ground. She didn't even look up when she heard Noah approach.
"Mr. Sifir, may I ask why you're here?"
"Uh, I finished training early today. I thought I still had some time, so I came to explore the Eighteenth Floor. Then I saw a pool over here, so I took a bath, and then..."
Who could she blame?
Ryu wanted to pin all the blame on him, but the last vestige of an Elf's dignity made her realize that Noah wasn't at fault at all.
He'd been minding his own business, bathing here. She'd spied on him and seen everything. How could that possibly be his fault?
In a forest this huge, Noah had somehow stumbled upon the very place the Astraea Familia usually used to wash!
If anyone was to blame, perhaps it was the world's fault!!
61 I'll Take Responsibility for You!
There's a Blonde Elf here who seems to have fallen into depression. How about we—
Bathed in the light pouring down from the cavern roof, Noah looked at the silent Elf and gently stroked his sword hilt to calm his irritation.
Why? Why had this happened?
Before you continue