"No matter what others say about you, Ryu, to me you are perfect as you are."
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The words directly dealt a ton of critical damage to Ryu Lion, the elf's emotions were a complete blank.
"I-I-I-I…"
Ryu, awkward and shy, suddenly turned her head away, her gaze wandering nonstop, completely unable to look at the young man in front of her.
The closeness to him made her, pure and completely inexperienced in such matters, have her heart beating wildly, her consciousness falling into blankness and chaos.
Under her green cloak, the girl looked flustered, like a panicked little deer, which made Fron's playful heart stir.
Thinking so, the young man revealed a mischievous smile and directly pressed forward with his lips, a kiss.
And the girl's adorable reaction was completely beyond his expectations.
"Ah!"
Never touched by a man before, her delicate cheeks froze in shock, and the girl, like a frightened little animal, suddenly jerked backward, almost stumbling to the ground. Luckily, Fron quickly caught her, preventing her from falling.
"---- "
But just this sudden contact instantly spread a powerful aftershock.
Dizziness, confusion, weakness all over her body.
The throbbing of her heart crashed against her spirit, her whole mind went blank for a moment, and she had no idea how to respond.
Taking a deep breath, Fron couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
Very pleasant… unlike Ais and Asfi's style, it was like the fresh scent of nature itself. This was Ryu's unique fragrance, something that belonged to her alone.
As body and mind drew close, emotions quietly intertwined in the suppressed silence.
The straightforward and stubborn elves had one common trait, that is… once they set themselves on a path, regardless of right or wrong, they would walk it unwaveringly, even if it meant being broken into pieces.
One could glimpse this from Ryu Lion's own past, the elf of justice turned into an avenger. As long as there was even the slightest connection to her enemies, they were enemies in her eyes.
Even if it meant sending gods back to heaven, destroying entire factions, dragging herself into darkness, it mattered not.
...
The two of them embraced like that, and at that moment, time and space seemed to stop.
At the far east of the 18th floor, a place rarely visited by people, perhaps that was precisely why the companions of [Astraea Familia] had made their sanctuary stand here.
But… they weren't the only clever ones who thought of this.
In the silent forest, the light from the dome's blue crystals filtered through the thick leaves, forming mottled shadows on the ground.
With the sound of rustling, the atmosphere shifted ever so slightly.
At this time, messy noises suddenly mixed into the stillness, shattering this small paradise.
"Keep it light, quick, and clean. According to our scouts, that damned [Loki Familia] is on the 18th floor. If they spot us, it's over."
"Hmph, relax. Rivira's to the west, the 17th-floor passage is north, the 19th-floor passage is south. What's there in the east? Who would bother coming here?"
"Cut the crap. If no one comes here, why do they always manage to hunt adventurers every now and then? Always leaving a mess for us to clean up!"
"That's just occasional. You know about crystal sugar, right? Some adventurers specialize in collecting it here on the 18th floor, so they always come poking around the woods. Heh… but that just means bad luck for them, after all, this is our territory."
"Shut up."
"…" They thought no one could hear their conversation, but…
Unlike her blushing, powerless state just moments ago, now [Gale] Ryu Lion's sky-colored eyes burned with uncontrollable flames of vengeance, spilling outward. Her delicate, pretty face turned ice-cold enough to strike fear.
"Masks, white hooded cloaks, uniform outfits, sneaky figures, and… those trails of blood."
Each clue connected together. Having already slain countless such figures with her own hands, Ryu Lion instantly recognized their affiliation.
"Evi! lus!"
"These bastards, they still dare to appear… they actually dare to appear here in open!"
Biting her lip, her body trembled uncontrollably under the green cloak.
That was rage, that was hatred, that was despair.
"These guys are like ghosts, appearing and vanishing without a trace. To think I'd even see them here on the 18th floor… are they tired of living?"
One hand covering Ryu's lips, the other wrapping around her slender waist, Fron pulled her close, hiding behind a tree, coldly observing the enemy's movements.
"If you can stay calm, I'll let you go. How about it, Ryu?"
The man's breath crashed violently against Ryu's will. Even her revenge-driven mind was nearly torn apart.
"Mmmmmm…!" The girl once again fell into that powerless, blank state.
Her slender body leaned against the man's embrace, the fairy girl nearly suffocated.
"Let's see what they're doing first, then wipe them out all at once." Gently releasing the hand covering her mouth, Fron whispered into her ear.
"…No, don't!"
It was common knowledge, elves had both physical and spiritual cleanliness obsessions. Anyone not acknowledged by them absolutely could not touch them, especially not their ears, the most sensitive part of an elf!
Aside from her goddess Astraea, even Syr had never touched Ryu's ears!
...
"No, not my ears too! Ah… I'm done for!"
"…" Fron was dumbfounded. What does 'I'm done for' mean???
"Wait, what's that they're holding?" Amidst the ambiguous atmosphere, the Evilus made a move.
They carefully and cautiously poured something into a barrier not far away.
Visible to the naked eye, it was some kind of shining powder.
The two of them set aside their moment and narrowed their eyes to observe carefully.
Fron, with some knowledge of alchemy, judged it to be some sort of suppressant. From the iron cages, he deduced that the thing in the water pit was likely a Violas.
"A suppressant mixed with magic stone powder, forcing the monster into sleep…"
"You mean, they're hiding monsters here as reserves?"
"Perhaps."
Fearing her vengeful impulse, especially when he wasn't around, Fron deliberately concealed one of his guesses from her.
Considering the reservoir in the Water City, and the 24th-floor pantry, then perhaps there was another transit hub for transporting things to the surface.
Placing it on the safe 18th floor was the most devious setup. No one would ever suspect that the 18th floor could harbor massive numbers of monsters!
And this guess just so happened to answer… how Revis was able to summon so many Violas to invade Rivira on the 18th floor.
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T/N: Seeing the development between Fron and Ryu, even I doubted if I missed to translate a chapter in between; but after re-checking it I haven't missed any chap. It's just directly the development in this chapter.
Shouldn't they at least talk about their relationship first? Or is this normal? Having read so many 'third rate' & 'brain-rot' novels I am a bit confused.
Anyway, the bonus chap for reaching 100 power stones; next one at 150 power stones~