"Why him!?"
Lefiya couldn't hold it in anymore and shot to her feet.
As far as she remembered, Ais had only interacted with Bell a handful of times. So why would his name be the first that came to her mind when asked about marriage?
But Ais's reasoning was surprisingly blunt.
"If we're married, he'll probably agree to my request."
It was a simple, straightforward answer. No emotion—just practicality. A marriage for the sake of a request.
"A request?"
Lefiya was still processing, her brain half-frozen.
"Yeah. I need his help. I talked to him about it before, but he refused." A hint of disappointment flickered across Ais's face. But almost immediately, determination lit up her expression again. "If we were married, I think he'd agree."
"Uhhh..."
It was obvious to everyone that Ais was being completely honest—no hidden meaning, no extra emotions. Just her plain, sincere thoughts.
"That's so Ais. And here I was, thinking something dirty was going on in her head."
"I think it'd be normal if Ais had those kinds of thoughts. Think about Lefiya. Honestly, Ais being this pure is a little dangerous in its own way."
"Yeah, true."
Everyone knew Lefiya was a bit of a daydreamer. Behind her back, it was common knowledge that this 'pure elf girl' spent half her time fantasizing about getting close to Ais. They just never said it out loud.
After all, in a place like Orario, girls liking girls wasn't all that rare.
When it came to preferences, the gods were often shameless. Some didn't even care about gender—if they liked someone, they'd try to "eat" them anyway.
Loki, for instance.
Though to be fair, Loki mostly just ran her mouth and got handsy—there were no real stories of her ever succeeding.
Probably thanks to Riveria's constant vigilance.
'Why does everyone know I have a crush on Ais!?'
'And what's with them saying I'm "dirty inside"—that's not true! Ugh, ugh, ugh! I'm an elf! Elves can't have impure hearts!'
Lefiya twitched as every word reached her sensitive ears.
Right now, all she wanted was to unleash her fury and scream at all these people spouting nonsense without consequence.
Sure, she had some special feelings for Ais. But it was all in her head! She'd never acted on them, never even said anything! That made her completely different from Loki. Her heart was not filthy!
Still, after her internal outburst, Lefiya began to reflect on Ais's words.
A request... Was it something to do with Ais's parents?
The rest exchanged glances—and sighed in unison.
"Oh... I figured as much."
"Well, it's Ais. She's never really had any concept of marriage."
"I thought she'd finally figured things out—but no, same as always."
Everyone wore the same look of mild disappointment, while Ais tilted her head, clearly puzzled by their reactions.
Finn, on the other hand, was used to rolling with whatever Ais did.
Marrying Bell just to get him to agree to a request? To Ais, that was probably nothing more than a practical solution.
'I should've taught her more about relationships when I had the chance.'
He had tried bringing it up with Riveria once, but Loki had immediately shut it down.
[Ais-tan must never be corrupted by such filthy knowledge. What if she starts eyeing other men?]
Finn didn't believe Ais would be swayed by romance anyway. She was too goal-driven to get sidetracked like that.
But now, it seemed she had changed her approach.
Not because she was suddenly interested in the opposite sex, but because she saw marriage as a tool—a way to get what she wanted.
And honestly, that was even worse than having a basic understanding of relationships.
'Still... Bell-kun probably won't go along with it.'
Thankfully, Ais had set her sights on Bell. If it had been anyone else, Finn might've worried she'd get tricked by someone with bad intentions.
But with Bell, Finn was certain Ais's request would just come off as a burden.
Based on everything he knew about Bell, staying under the radar was his top priority.
So when Ais made her proposal, Bell would almost certainly say no.
"Whew..."
Haruhime finally relaxed.
She'd seriously thought Ais had feelings for Bell.
And if that had been the case, she wouldn't have known what to do.
Just as Haruhime let out a breath, Finn turned his attention to her.
"Haruhime, you'll be joining us this time. You've met Bell-kun already, right?"
"Yes."
"Good."
Finn trusted Bell's caution completely.
And since Bell had already met Haruhime, it meant her "Straw Doll" had been prepared and positioned.
"Aisha, I'm leaving things here to you."
"Understood."
Aisha had originally been eligible to join the expedition, but considering the high risk of failure, they needed someone capable to escort the remnants of the Loki Familia back to Orario if it came to that. That's why she'd been held back from the unknown journey ahead.
...
There weren't many who could guarantee Haruhime's safety—but Aisha definitely could. She had both the strength and the will to get the job done, and Finn trusted her completely.
Aisha understood that too—and had already steeled herself for the worst.
Meanwhile, Bell, listening from his temporary hideout, let out a quiet sigh.
"For that reason, huh...?"
Of course he knew what the "Sword Princess" had asked of him. He just hadn't made up his mind yet.
It wasn't a bad request. With two Lv. 8s far beyond the norm backing it, they had every right to help him seek out rare "Excelia."
But there was no point in telling Ais anything now.
If he wasn't strong enough, his words were meaningless.
Even if the time came to seek "Excelia" from the strongest pair alive—it definitely wasn't now.
He could deal with that later.
'She's willing to go as far as marriage just for a goal. Yep... that's the Sword Princess for you. Probably the easiest woman in the world to "handle."'
Of course, he was joking.
Helping the Sword Princess wasn't easy. Not by a long shot.
First, he'd have to prove he was worthy of reaching Lv. 8. Without that, he didn't even qualify to stand beside her—let alone help her.
For now, Bell just laughed it off.
...
(100 Chapters Ahead)
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