Even though they'd finished training early because Ais hadn't come along, and found such a beautiful view; even though they'd unexpectedly discovered this clear pool and felt delighted...
Shouldn't those two things together have brought him the joy of returning to the surface early and joining the festival?
Then why had things turned out like this?
Sitting on the ground, Noah occasionally glanced from the corner of his eye at the dazed elf not far away, wondering whether he could just leave her here and go.
But the consequences would be disastrous. If nothing happened, he'd be fine. But if anything happened to her, Riveria would hang him up and beat him for three days and three nights!
So he'd better just wait patiently.
Noah could guess why she seemed so drained, as if she'd burned down to gray ash. After all, he wasn't some dense blockhead.
Girls, well, they definitely cared about the difference between men and women. How could she pretend nothing had happened after being pinned beneath a member of the opposite sex like that?
Girls matured earlier than boys, too. Plenty of seven- or eight-year-old girls were already getting lost in fairy tales about princes and princesses. By fourteen or fifteen, some weren't just in love—they were even getting married and having children.
Elves lived longer than humans, but Noah figured they understood the important things, too.
Unless they were the kind of ancient, fossil-level pure elves who existed only in fairy tales, the sort who'd beat someone to a pulp just for touching their hand.
...Right! At the very least, she'd have to be at the level of a certain member of Elf Royalty!
He'd only picked her up, hadn't he?
Did she really need to pound him on the head?
Don't let Riveria's surprisingly small hands fool you. Getting hit by them still hurt!
But this elf named Ryu Lion hadn't screamed or thrown a fit the last time he'd hugged her. And just now, when he'd tackled her, she hadn't shrieked, rolled around on the ground, or started swinging a knife at everyone. She'd kept her composure, so she was probably a fairly open-minded elf.
Surely she'd come around soon, right?
The Eighteenth Floor was a circular level surrounded by rocky cliffs, with a vast dome overhead. It was one of the few safe floors in the Dungeon.
Monsters still appeared, but unlike on other floors, they didn't attack adventurers frequently or of their own accord.
They lived in various corners of the Eighteenth Floor like huge, fearsome beasts. As long as no one provoked them, they generally didn't attack adventurers.
The floor's terrain was roughly divided into the Northern Wetlands, the Western Lake, and the Eastern and Southern Forests.
On the Central Meadow, dotted with countless crystals, stood the towering Central Great Tree. A hollow beneath its roots served as the entrance to the Nineteenth Floor.
The huge crystal above the Central Great Tree illuminated the beautiful landscape below, bringing day and night to the Dungeon with light similar to the surface's, though on a different schedule.
Now, Noah was watching the crystal's light change, marking the passage of time.
The Dungeon was completely enclosed, and yet its vast spaces and varied terrain stirred a breeze through the air.
It lacked the warmth of sunlight in the surface air, but the cool, moist, fresh breeze brushed against Noah after his training and cold shower. He couldn't help feeling comfortable, and his eyes gradually narrowed.
He didn't know how long had passed when Noah began to feel a little tired.
"Hm?"
As Ryu, who'd been brooding, glanced at Noah for the thirtieth time, she noticed he was lying on the grass. Her eyes widened.
Had he fallen asleep?
At his age—oh, no, given the situation and where they were, how could he sleep?
He looked so relaxed. Didn't that make her, sitting here worrying all by herself, look like a clown?
For a moment, she even forgot her embarrassment and confusion. Ryu leapt to her feet, light as a bird.
With a hint of resentment, she hurried toward Noah.
But before she reached him, when she was still about ten meters away, she caught sight of the boy's sleeping face and unconsciously slowed down.
Beneath his soft silver hair, swaying gently in the breeze, were long lashes that would make most women jealous, trembling ever so slightly.
His softly flaring nostrils, thin lips pressed together, and skin—pale and flushed after being washed with clear water—all drew the elf's gaze without her realizing it.
To Ryu, the person before her wasn't a young swordsman capable of taking on a floor boss alone. He was a wildcat dozing in a pile of hay beneath the warm winter sun.
She couldn't see any trace of the calm, collected boy he was when awake. Instead, a feeling of tenderness welled up inside her.
Without thinking, she moved closer, crouched down, and gazed quietly at him, chin in hand.
Then—
His eyes suddenly opened. His sky-blue irises, reflecting the Sky Crystal, fixed directly on her.
"May I ask what you're looking at?"
After more than ten seconds of silence, broken only by the wind—
"Ah! You! Don't come any closer!"
Noah couldn't help feeling speechless as Ryu leapt five meters away like a startled rabbit, crossed her arms over her chest, and eyed him warily.
Was there any point in covering that chest?
Was he going to make a move on someone so flat?
She could question his character, but she absolutely couldn't question his taste!
"Hey! That look! Are you thinking something really rude?!"
Seeing that the elf had quickly recovered, Noah blinked.
He knew that looking away now would be as good as confessing. The right move was to go on the offensive!
"Miss Elf, should I remind you? The person who peeked at me, saw me naked, and just secretly watched me sleep was you, wasn't it?"
Just as he expected, Ryu froze as if hit by an icy blast. Her cheeks stiffened, and she lowered her head awkwardly, trying to bury her face in her chest... Oh, sorry. There wasn't one to bury it in.
He couldn't see her expression through her mask, but Noah clearly saw the rosy color spread from her pale cheek all the way to her pointed ears.
"I-It was just an accident."
Her expression made it seem like she was about to melt right there and turn into elf sauce. Bubbles began to rise in Noah's heart.
Oh, you're blushing this much? I might just have to keep teasing you!
"An accident? You think you can fix this by calling it an accident? I've lost my innocence! I never thought you were the kind of elf who'd shirk responsibility!"
For a proud and noble elf, this was practically the worst accusation imaginable!
"I-I!"
Ryu clenched both fists and gritted her teeth, but she still couldn't break free from the whirlpool inside her.
"What do you mean, 'I'? If you think you can settle this by calling it an accident, then go on and leave. Just act like nothing happened. You're a member of the famous Justice Familia in Orario, while I'm just an obscure Level One adventurer. Everyone will believe you!"
"That's enough!"
Ryu finally snapped. She raised her head and stopped Noah from going on with a loud shout and reddened eyes.
"I'll take responsibility for you!"
62 Ryu Decides to Step Up!
I'll take responsibility for you!
Without a doubt, that was a bold declaration that sounded like a confession!
Normally, Ryu was certain that the moment she said something like that, she'd immediately collapse unconscious or run around in a useless panic.
But right now, she felt not the slightest hesitation or doubt. All she felt was resolve!
That resolve didn't come from the fragrant scent clinging to him. It came from the deepest part of her heart—from a sense of duty!
That's right, a sense of duty!
The duty to protect the women of Orario, and all pure-hearted women in the world, from being defiled by poisonous fangs!
She'd only met Noah Cipher a handful of times, but Ryu had already realized that he was far too dangerous to women!
Noah might have no ill intentions, but his very existence was a threat to women's chastity!
His soft hair, like a moon of molten silver; his sky-blue eyes, reminiscent of a profound glacial river; his valiant figure in battle; his endearing sleeping face at rest; and, in particular, that soothing, comforting fragrance...
Good heavens! How could someone exist with so many qualities, from the inside out, as if he'd been designed specifically to capture women's hearts?
He was too dangerous!
If he were left out in the world, countless women would fall for him... No, he was already a danger in the Loki Familia, with its many female members!
Perhaps even the esteemed Lady Riveria would be captured by him and defiled!
Even if Noah wasn't making a move on women now, how could anyone guarantee he wouldn't in the future? Human nature could change!
So, for the sake of protecting the women of this world, I, Ryu Lion, must risk everything and step forward!
That was part of being an elf, and a responsibility bestowed upon me by the Astraea Familia. I must not run away!
Noah was still stunned that the Blonde Elf had suddenly said something so provocative. He barely had time to feel confused before he saw Ryu's resolute, fearless expression, as though holy light shone down upon her.
Hm? What happened?
Why did you suddenly look like you were about to sacrifice yourself for world peace?
He felt that even when he'd fought the Demon King, his resolve hadn't been this grand.
"Take responsibility? How are you going to do that? Are you going to marry me once we're back on the surface?"
Noah thought that if the elf answered yes, he'd just reply, "I save you, you see me naked, and now you want to marry me? Why do you get to have all the good things?"
As if! Noah had plenty of confidence in himself!
Sure, he'd once been undernourished and pale, but after receiving Falna, getting treated by Amid, and training over the past few days, he was now practically flawless from head to toe, in both face and figure!
Noah believed that some women might not be into his type because of their tastes, but no woman could say he wasn't good-looking!
Even without considering his talent, his looks and cooking skills alone made him a handsome young man who was both easy on the eyes and good to eat—very good to eat!
But at the mention of marriage, the elf who'd been so fearless just moments ago instantly flushed bright red.
Not only did her eyes turn into spirals, but steam hissed from her head, and white mist literally rose around her.
"M-M-Marriage? How could we? O-Of course, we'd have to go back to my hometown of Lumiria together, wash away the impurities from our bodies beneath the moon, and make our vows before the Sacred Tree before we could get married. Before then, we shouldn't even hold hands..."
Noah couldn't be bothered to comment on how Ryu had gone from righteous and stern to completely flustered in the blink of an eye.
He had something else to comment on—
"Are you some kind of fossilized antique with a view of romance straight out of a fairy tale?"
All right, Noah admitted he'd been wrong earlier!
This wasn't an open-minded elf. She was an extreme conservative, even by elf standards—a real piece of work!
And almost immediately, Noah decided to stop teasing her.
The purer a girl was, the scarier she often became if she ever thought she'd been deceived and abandoned in love!
That was right! Just like last time, when she somehow guessed without reason that he'd touched another elf, and her eyes had gone dark!
He couldn't risk it. This kind of woman was way out of his league.
"Huh?!"
Ryu almost looked around to see if some of her Familia members were hiding nearby, laughing at her.
A conspiracy!
Kaguya and Noah must have teamed up to tease her!
Otherwise, how could Noah know what her companions had called her back then?
But Ryu couldn't find any of the other girls from the Astraea Familia. Even she had to admit that made sense.
After all, today was the first time she'd seen Noah since they'd parted in the Dungeon. It should be the same for the other girls in the Astraea Familia.
No matter how thoughtless Alise could be, she wouldn't team up with someone she barely knew to play a prank on her.
So Ryu could only look at Noah again.
And then she noticed the hint of evasion and guilt in his eyes.
Before you continue