Intelligence washed over Orario like a rising tide. Bell's reputation as the weakest Adventurer flipped completely in an instant.
"Please, Bell Cranel, would you take this quest?"
Standing before a massive merchant shop, Bell received a designated request. The content was simple: put on a specific outfit and stroll around Orario. Besides Adventurers, the city was filled with Magic Stone handlers and ordinary workers of every kind. Even those who ventured into the Dungeon were mostly Level 1. A rookie boy who shattered records and leveled up in an absurdly short time—the star effect he created was beyond imagination. A clothing-selling merchant familia caught wind of this and issued him a personal quest.
"Your information network really is fast..."
Bell couldn't help commenting. Although rumors had already spread through the city, most people were still on the fence. Leveling up in just half a month? It sounded far too unbelievable.
"Information is a merchant's weapon. So, have you decided?"
"Yes. I'll take the quest."
Bell accepted without hesitation. All he had to do was walk around wearing the outfit, and he'd earn a generous reward. He had already checked the clothes they prepared—nothing suspicious at all. And since his equipment and weapon were still being forged, he had nothing else to do anyway. For Bell, there was no reason to refuse.
Following their instructions, he changed into the luxurious outfit bearing the familia's emblem.
"Please wait here. The other person accepting the quest will be here soon."
Bell understood what they were aiming for. This kind of formal attire for men—normally worn at banquets—would look incomplete on its own. They clearly needed to pair him with a female partner. But who would it be? Considering the recent leveling news… could it be Ais-san? The result matched Bell's expectation, though the person was someone else entirely.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. I'll be in your care today."
A girl walked toward him. The moment they saw each other, both spoke at once:
"Lefiya-san?"
"Bell Cranel?!"
Lefiya wore a pale-violet dress accented with a white bow beneath her neck. Most eye-catching was the white veil, almost like a bridal accessory, framing the golden-haired Elf's beauty.
"Why are you here?!" Lefiya demanded first.
"Because I accepted the designated quest." Bell pointed at the outfit he was wearing.
"Wait… don't tell me you were expecting Ais-san to be your partner?!"
Lefiya already knew the Sword Princess had reached Level 6. The quest had originally been assigned to Ais, but since she wasn't interested, it naturally fell to Lefiya instead. As a Mage with remarkable potential, her title as the Thousand Elf was more than enough to qualify her.
"I only thought it was possible," Bell admitted, surprised she had read his mind so easily.
"I knew it! That's exactly why you accepted, isn't it?!"
Lefiya stepped toward him, bristling with energy.
"No, I accepted it for the reward. Isn't that the same for you, Lefiya-san?" Bell replied.
"Hmph… I'm not short on money at all…"
Lefiya also had a separate arrangement with the boy. Regarding that rare Crystal Drop, she had originally planned to help him under the excuse of a safekeeping fee. But when Tiona commissioned her weapon, Lefiya instead offered up her own savings.
Her current situation had become rather strained. Lefiya had planned to brush things off casually—if the person who arrived had been a man, she would've just cut the quest short. She hadn't expected the one waiting for her to be the boy.
Bell saw right through her conflicted attitude and spoke with a light laugh.
"Lefiya-san, would you take this quest for my sake? If they switch someone in now, I probably won't get paid."
Lefiya turned away, flustered. "Since you put it that way… I guess I'll reluctantly go with you…"
"Thank you."
"No need to thank me…"
Under the watchful eyes of the merchant familia members, Lefiya and Bell stepped out onto the street. Their wedding-like outfits, the rumors of Bell's record-breaking level-up, and Lefiya's striking beauty—all of it drew the attention of passersby.
"We're getting so many looks… It kinda feels like we're on a date," Bell murmured.
"A—A date? Don't say weird things like that!"
Lefiya pressed her lips tight. More than the light, floating dress she wore, it was the boy beside her that kept her heart unsteady.
"That thing you mentioned last time… the harem thing… were you serious?"
She'd been worrying about it ever since, but never found the right moment to ask.
"Yeah. You've met Syr-san already."
Bell still had no idea what Syr had told Lefiya that made her run off blushing.
"So when you told me before that you were aiming for Ais-san… that's what you meant?!"
Lefiya absolutely couldn't accept the idea that the person she admired might end up as part of some harem...
Bell gave a small laugh. "No, that's not what I meant. I respect a girl's wishes."
Strictly speaking, what he longed for wasn't simply a harem—it was a future full of smiles.
Lefiya glanced sideways at his open, unguarded profile and muttered under her breath.
"If that's the case… Ais-san can rest easy for now… Tiona isn't interested in that kind of thing, and Riveria-sama shouldn't have to worry either… right?"
Suddenly, several details resurfaced in her mind. The boy calling Riveria "san," and the emerald-eyed elf whose smile had been strangely meaningful.
"You… you're not planning to set your sights on Riveria-sama too, are you?!"
"Lefiya-san, is your imagination getting out of hand again?"
Bell remembered their first meeting—back then she'd also kept assuming things about him and Ais.
"Hmph… Not answering means you admit it. You're sentenced to death!"
"While I do like Riveria-san, it's nothing like what you're imagining."
Feeling the sudden pressure radiating from her, Bell quickened his pace. But his explanation only fueled Lefiya more. She lifted her magic staff and chased after him.
"So you do admit it! Stop right there—!"
"Lefiya-san, please put the staff down first. We can talk this out—calmly!"
"Hmph! You might fool others, but you can't fool me, you hopelessly horny rabbit!"
Under the warm sunlight, the two of them ran down the street, drawing even more attention from the crowd.
...
"Why does Lefiya-san always end up chasing me…"
Bell treated it as practice for handling his upgraded Status, never slowing down.
Lefiya panted heavily behind him. "It's all your fault…"
A fountain sat at the center of the plaza. Without needing to say a word, the two took seats on the steps.
Bell handed her a drink.
Lefiya took it without hesitation, trusting him completely. "You're running faster than before…
You even had time to buy something."
"Yeah. Because I leveled up."
Bell looked toward the sky as he spoke, calm and direct.
"So everything they said… was true…"
Lefiya couldn't put her feelings into words. Sweet, yet bitter—just like the drink Bell had handed her. The rival she vowed to work hard with, the one who always cheered her on, was now sprinting far ahead. She didn't want to lose. Yet she was happy, too—happy he was keeping their promise and continuing forward.
"You actually defeated a Minotaur… I'm already Lv3, yet the last time I saw one, I was trembling… I'm really pathetic…"
Lefiya couldn't be as brave as the boy. Crossing the threshold of adventure and achieving Excelia felt overwhelmingly difficult for her.
"No, I actually envy Lefiya-san."
Bell stretched out his right hand, as if reaching for the distant blue sky. "We all have places we want to reach. But Lefiya-san is different from me. No one would ever laugh at your dreams."
To walk side by side with her comrades—anyone would be moved by the noble resolve of the golden-haired elf. Bell could tell that everyone in Loki Familia protected and supported Lefiya's dream.
"...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have argued with your dream."
Harems or heroes—these were childish ideas people loved to mock. But the boy had always spoken them with honest sincerity. Lefiya knew that as long as other girls supported him unconditionally, like Syr did, she had no real grounds to argue. She was only venting her frustration because of how close the two of them were.
"I'm not asking for an apology, Lefiya-san. I want you to keep going, just like I do."
Through their playful bickering, Bell had relieved his own pressure time and time again. On this difficult road, having an elf like her at his side was a rare stroke of luck. To be honest, Bell didn't want to see Lefiya belittle herself. There had been a time when he was the same—caring too much about what others thought, only to end up bound by it.
"I can't be like you..."
Lefiya lowered her head. There were many things passion alone couldn't accomplish.
"Lefiya-san, do you remember what I told you before?"
Bell took a quiet breath and continued.
"Even though it hasn't been long, your physical strength has improved a lot, and your speed is up by around ten percent."
"Your height hasn't changed much, your bangs have grown about 1.5 centimeters, your hairpin style has gotten a bit more mature, your weight is steady, and your chest… might be developing?"
"..."
Lefiya went completely still at that incantation-like list. It took her a whole ten seconds to process what she'd just heard. He meant that he remembered her condition at the time—and was now pointing out the parts that had changed. But wasn't he remembering things a little too clearly?!
"You—how do you even know that?!" Lefiya immediately covered her chest. "You… you even know that?! You really are a pervert!"
"Lefiya-san, did you forget? I carried you for quite a while."
Bell might actually understand her growth better than she did herself.
"I told you to forget about that! …Wait. Don't tell me you remember what happened before that too?"
Lefiya suddenly recalled what Syr had told her—that when the boy had kissed his lover, the person he thought of was her... The scene beneath the cliff still haunted her. Did he remember it or not?
"Before… you mean when we fell? Back then, the feeling was… a bit strange..."
Bell didn't say it outright. He only had a guess. Saying it carelessly would have been far too cruel to the girl.
"N-nothing! If you've forgotten, then don't remember it again!"
Lefiya hurriedly lifted her drink and took a sip, pressing her lips together as if she were running away from something. She truly had no idea how to deal with this.
Ask the boy whether he remembered the taste of her first kiss? Rather than voicing something like that, she'd rather bury it in her heart and let it quietly ferment. Lefiya felt that their relationship wouldn't progress any further anyway—bringing it up would only make things unbearably awkward.
She already saw the boy as a rival, and she didn't want this incident to disrupt their communication. The cool mist of the fountain drifted between them, giving the air a faintly ambiguous mood.
Bell watched the golden-yellow-haired elf's flushed cheeks and quietly made up his mind. If this adorable elf had really fed him the potion mouth-to-mouth… then he needed to take responsibility for that resolve. Romance aside—if Lefiya ever faced something she couldn't handle, even if it were an impossible or tragic wish, Bell would still stand up for her.
After a long silence, Lefiya downed the sweet drink in one gulp as if it were alcohol.
"In any case, even if the method was a little strange, I understand that you were trying to encourage me, Bell Cranel. I absolutely will not lose!"
If they had started from the same starting line, Lefiya would have already been left far behind by the boy and the Sword Princess. But she refused to accept defeat. The boy really remembered Lefiya's growth. It was embarrassing in some ways, but more than anything, it made her genuinely happy. Even the smallest bit of progress—if someone cheered for it, what could be more uplifting?
"Let's use this opportunity to practice Concurrent Chanting!"
Lefiya suddenly stood up, gripping her wand tightly.
"But we can't go to the Dungeon," Bell objected.
When they accepted the quest, they signed a contract restricting them to wandering Orario only in these outfits.
"No problem. We've got a target right here, don't we?"
Lefiya pointed directly at him.
"Me? No way. Lefiya-san, you're only Lv3, right? That's way too dangerous."
Bell protested immediately.
"Hmm… 'Only Lv3'? So you're not worried about your own safety, but about mine?"
Lefiya understood exactly what he meant.
"If it explodes at close range…"
Bell thought back to Welf's magic, which had taken down the Hellhound with a single blast. Considering that, an accidental detonation of a magic sphere was extremely dangerous.
"I'll control the shape of the magic perfectly—I won't hurt you at all!"
Lefiya grinned mischievously and raised her wand.
Seeing her spirits rise, Bell smiled in relief—before instantly turning to run.
"Then let's start with something simple. Try using magic while running."
"...Isn't that exactly what we were doing earlier?!"
Lefiya raised her wand and gave chase again. She completely forgot about the quest. But guided by the boy, the two ended up wandering through nearly half of Orario, and the reward they received was several times higher.
On the way back, a small child somewhere nearby whispered, "Mama, look, the newlyweds are fighting."
"Wh-what?!"
Lefiya's face burst into a deep red. The dress did resemble wedding attire, but it was purple. For a wedding, it had to be elegant white... No, what was she even thinking?!
Lefiya spun around, ready to argue with the source of the voice.
"Lefiya-san? That's a child. Are you really going to argue with him?"
Bell quickly grabbed the golden-yellow-haired elf's hand.
"Ah... Mama, they're holding hands..."
The little girl watched them with wide-eyed fascination.
"You... What are you doing?!"
This time, Lefiya blushed all the way to the tips of her ears.
"I couldn't help it... This outfit is expensive. I was afraid I'd accidentally tear it..." Bell quickly explained, insisting it was just a reflex.
"Hmm..."
Lefiya let go, wanting nothing more than to finish the quest as soon as possible.
As they walked away, the little girl added, "Mama, will they go home and kiss each other?"
"..."
"..."
Are all kids like this nowadays?
Lefiya and Bell both sped up at the same time—practically fleeing from the child's innocent bluntness.
It took a full thirty minutes before Lefiya managed to calm her embarrassment.
"I didn't expect you two to cover half of Orario in such a short time." The familia representative handed them a generous payment.
"You two make such a perfect pair. Should we consider collaborating more often in the future?"
Lefiya was used to such comments. She didn't respond—just tiredly accepted her share before leaving with Bell.
The outfit they promoted didn't create much profit at first. But unexpectedly, some time later, it sparked a trend among couples.