Apologies. In the Sword Princess and Supporter cases, Bell's alias was incorrect. "Rabbit Foot" is the correct designation.
Returning from the deep floors, her injuries fully healed, Ryu finally regained her daily life. Apologizing to Mama Mia for her long absence, she returned to work as a tavern waitress starting tonight.
Though work felt tough after spending so much time lying in bed, a small incident occurred.
"Ouch!?"
"This is a place to enjoy alcohol and food. We refuse such behavior."
Using an empty mug as a weapon, she twisted the arm of a male customer who tried to touch her buttocks.
Sexual harassment from drunk, insolent men was a common occurrence. However, the problem was the words the man spat out.
"Dammit! You did it once with that Rabbit Foot bastard, but you say it's impossible with me!?"
"Hah—!?"
"Owwwww!!!"
Inadvertently hearing Bell dragged into this, she put too much strength into the hold she had been restraining, tightening it with force enough to break his arm.
Realizing that was bad, Chloe and Lunor, who were watching, hurriedly intervened. Thanks to them, the man's arm was safely released. The shaken Ryu demanded a detailed explanation with slurred speech.
"Wh... What basis do you have to say such nonsense about me and him doing... such things!!?"
"Ryu, pull yourself together, nya. Being that shaken and incoherent is basically a confession, nya!"
"So, why did this stupid story about our Ryu and Adventurer-kun come up?"
When Chloe soothed Ryu with an exasperated look and Lunor asked the man for details, he smirked and pulled a book from his bag to show them.
The cover depicted Ryu in a wedding dress and Bell in a tuxedo. Guessing the basis for his earlier nonsense was written in this book, Lunor and Chloe forcibly snatched it and began flipping through the pages.
"No way, that Ryu with Adventurer-kun!?"
"Nya~!? The boy's butt is in Ryu's evil clutches!!?"
"Wh-!!? Chloe!! Lunor!!"
They didn't know the content, but judging by the reaction, it was definitely nothing decent.
Reaching out to confiscate the book for Bell's honor—and her own—Syr, who had heard the commotion, snatched the book from the two before Ryu could.
"Hmm, so this is the book in question."
"Ah, Syr!"
" "Gegeh, Syr!!" "
Realizing it was Syr who took the book, Chloe and Lunor turned pale, sweating profusely. Was the content that bad? Slowly but surely, the two distanced themselves from Syr.
"W... Wait, nya, Syr! Place that book on the table right now and turn around, nya!!"
"Yeah! Like Chloe says, you shouldn't look at that book!!"
Ignoring their voices, Syr didn't stop turning the pages, reading thoroughly.
With every page turned, the air around Syr seemed to grow heavier. Seeing this, Ryu's indignation at the obscene content deflated, replaced by worry.
"S-Syr...?"
"Fufu... The person who drew this seems to understand Bell-san and Ryu very well."
(Ah, she's smiling, but she is absolutely furious.)
Though Syr covered her mouth and giggled, to Chloe and Lunor, she appeared to be clad in an aura of rage. Well, considering the content, it couldn't be helped, but as her coworkers, they couldn't laugh.
"Hey! You stupid girls!! Ignoring work right in front of me, you've got some nerve!"
" " "W-We're returning to work immediately!!" " "
Yelled at by Mama Mia, Chloe, Lunor, and Ryu scrambled back to work with their tails between their legs. Only Syr smiled sweetly at the shout, replied "Oka~y!", and turned back to the male customer who owned the book.
"Hey, customer. Can I have this book?"
"Eh? No, that's..."
"Can I?"
"Ah, yes..."
Overwhelmed by an intensity unbecoming of a tavern waitress, the man surrendered the book. Mama Mia didn't say anything either. Syr accepted the book, then glanced only at Ryu.
"Do you want to see it too after the shop closes, Ryu?"
"Eh, hah!? I... I will refrain!!"
Tripping over her own feet, Ryu hurriedly declined. It was clear her refusal came not from discomfort, but from shame and other emotions.
Customers gradually dwindled, last call passed, and by the time closing cleanup was done, Syr had spread the book on a table and was engrossed in reading.
Chloe, Lunor, and Anya, having finished cleaning, gathered around, curious about the content.
"I never dreamed I would hold a wedding ceremony with a human male like this."
The first few pages depicted exactly what was on the cover: a sudden wedding scene between Ryu in a dress and Bell in a tuxedo.
At content packed with a maiden's dreams, Anya screamed, "Ryu got married to White Hair before me, nya!", but Chloe and Lunor, who had already read further, found Anya's reaction amusing.
As the pages turned, the story of Bell and Ryu's night after the wedding unfolded. Though in black and white, the moonlight filtering into the room was conveyed clearly, creating the illusion of audible breathing.
Unlike when they read it while skipping work, reading it calmly while seated made Ryu's meticulously drawn expressions and Bell's blushing reactions feel even more vivid, as if they were truly peeping on the couple.
The wedding dress Ryu wore, illuminated by moonlight, was different from the first page—it left her important parts completely bare.
The Bell in the book was surprised by the outfit. Ryu, though embarrassed, seemed satisfied that Bell's gaze was glued to her. Covering her mouth which was contorted in a smile, she asserted that this was definitely not her hobby.
"The god of marriage said this outfit is absolutely mandatory for the first night..."
"What a lewd outfit, nya! Putting clothes like this on Ryu, who is usually modest and never exposes skin... this author has reached the realm of gods, nya!?"
"Well, putting aside Chloe's comment, this is flashy, or rather, designed for men... Even that dense Adventurer-kun would inadvertently make a move if he saw Ryu in this."
"Unyanyanya!!? Why is Ryu wearing such embarrassing clothes, nya!?"
Amidst the three different reactions, Syr murmured a small, unreadable "Hmm."
Turning the page to the next scene, Ryu forcibly threw the still-flustered Bell onto the bed and mounted him.
"I already swore eternal love to the moon in the forest that night! My preparations are complete, Bell!!"
Leaving aside the fairytale monster remark, the fastidious monster Elf had reached the limit of her patience and was closing in to attack Bell herself. The development was becoming funny in various ways, and the hand turning the pages sped up.
"So this is Bell's butt that Chloe always talked about... I see, this is a texture I want to touch forever ♡"
"Unya—! Kneading the boy's butt like that!!!"
"...Adventurer-kun's butt, huh."
"Nya~! Nya~!?"
Chloe exploded in jealous rage at Ryu's actions, Lunor muttered with interest, and Anya exceeded her processing capacity and escaped reality by turning into a cat. Meanwhile, Syr continued turning pages without moving a single eyebrow.
"Wait, Bell! I'm already—♡"
Bell-kun's Bell-kun went berserk, and the development shifted to Ryu being counter-attacked. Seeing the disheveled Ryu, everyone gulped despite holding the book. And then...
"That is enough!"
Ryu, who had actually been secretly eavesdropping nearby, snatched the book away.
At first, she listened to the pure wedding story blushing, looking not entirely displeased thinking, "Someone like me, putting aside Syr...", but she fell into confusion matching Anya's escape from reality when the night story began. However, she regained her sanity at Bell's counterattack scene and retrieved the book with Level 4 speed.
"Nya~! It was just getting interesting!!"
"That's right! Adventurer-kun finally showed his manliness!!"
"When did Ryu have that kind of relationship with White Hair, nya!? Also, Anya wasn't invited to the wedding, nya!!"
"Shut up, all of you!! And Anya, everything written in this book is a lie!"
"Unya!? Was that it, nya!!"
Scolding Chloe and Lunor's complaints and correcting Anya's misunderstanding, Ryu hugged the book and fled to her room.
Chloe and Lunor looked satisfied at having seen something interesting. But when they looked back at Syr, she was preparing to leave with a smile on her face.
"Um, Syr-san?"
"Hmm~, what is it, Chloe?"
"Are you not angry, nya?"
"Angry? Personally, I think it's a nice story. Though, if I have a complaint, it's that I'm not in it."
At the request for a Threesome, everyone except Syr froze.
Ignoring the surrounding reaction, Syr left the shop and gave instructions to a guard secretly hiding outside.
"Find the person selling books in the Pleasure Quarter. Ah, you don't need to capture them yet. There are other girls modeled in the books, so I'll judge after seeing how they move."
"Ha!"
As the guard—a black shadow—melted silently into the darkness, Syr walked the night road alone. Humming in a good mood and looking up at the night sky, she expanded her imagination on what kind of delusions she would have the author draw once they were caught.