Chapter 532 - 532: Excitement

On the 59th Floor, the green curtain had been burned away by the flames and reduced to ash, revealing the dim phosphorescent glow of the ceiling. Its faint light reflected off Riveria's beautiful emerald-green hair.

Cradled in the young man's arms, Riveria's flawless figure had shed some of its usual royal elegance, taking on a hint of a young girl's softness instead.

The entire squad was retreating at a considerable pace. Bell kept his attention on the uneven, pitted ground, trying to spare the two elven women from any uncomfortable jolting. Because of that, when Riveria suddenly made her move, even Bell, with his extraordinary reflexes, failed to react immediately.

"..."

For a rare moment, Bell froze.

He made no attempt to pull away, and there had never been any real barrier between him and Riveria in the first place, so the Elf princess's kiss landed without obstruction.

It was neither a deep, lingering kiss nor a fleeting peck.

As though she had planned it from the beginning, Riveria deliberately chose the perfect moment and pressed her lips against the right side of Bell's neck.

Her cherry-red lips sealed tightly against his skin. As though savoring something sweet, Riveria gave it a firm suck.

The whole thing lasted only an instant. Once she had carried out her plan, Riveria paid no attention to the faint trace of saliva her damp lips had left behind. She quickly pursed her lips and settled back into the young man's embrace.

Bell was slightly surprised, but he kept the emotion from showing so the others would not notice. He looked down at the Elf princess who had just done something mischievous, only to find a faint blush coloring her normally dignified face.

Riveria met the young man's gaze for a brief moment, affection rippling through her emerald eyes. Like a little girl who had only just discovered a whole new world, she lightly licked her lips and gave him a mischievous smile.

When it came to romance, Bell was rarely teased like this.

Syr's pranks were usually aimed at the other girls, seemingly because she wanted to push Bell and Ryuu closer together.

Riveria's bold behavior, carried out as though no one else were around, was also completely different from Laurier's. Laurier truly did not care who was watching. The Elf princess, on the other hand, deliberately waited for the right opportunity and cleverly hid their intimate exchange so no one else would notice.

Bell recalled what had happened in Lefiya's room, and the suspicion he had long since pushed aside surfaced again.

The two of them had clearly agreed that, aside from a select few people, they had to keep the fact that they were lovers a secret. Yet what Riveria had just done could easily expose their relationship.

Could this spoiled, willful Elf princess actually enjoy situations like this?

Hovering right on the edge of being discovered certainly could be thrilling. The excitement could drown out the embarrassment, but wasn't this a little too reckless?

Could Riveria perhaps have some unusual preference...?

Bell decided not to speculate any further. Although the two of them had gone through many things together, they had never shared much truly intimate contact. It was still far too early to draw any conclusions.

"Riveria-san, are you feeling any better?"

Bell already knew the answer, but asked anyway.

Seeing such an adorable side of the Elf princess had struck straight at his heart as well.

Just as Bell had once told Riveria, although he had encountered many girls, he had never lost the pure heart he had always possessed.

He could still blush. His heart could still race. He could still be moved by the adorable behavior of a beautiful woman.

That was precisely why Bell deliberately spoke up, using the question to conceal his surprise.

"Mm... My head is still a little dizzy. Sorry. Alicia should really be the one doing this, but she can be rather careless, so having her carry someone would be inconvenient. Once we get back, I'll make sure to give her a proper lecture."

Riveria frowned slightly, her voice deliberately weak.

She leaned against the young man as though the excessive drain on her Mind had left her completely without strength.

Yet in complete contrast to her frail appearance, Riveria's heart was pounding wildly.

She could clearly feel that, because of her little prank, the young man's heartbeat had quickened.

Love went both ways.

Even on a terrifying battlefield, Bell could remain calm, yet now his heart had been stirred by her kiss. That convinced Riveria even more that her decision had been the right one.

This kind of behavior allowed her to avoid being overwhelmed by embarrassment while also bringing the two of them closer together, step by step, toward that forbidden line.

Riveria's resolve deepened.

She became convinced that this was the path of love that belonged to her and the young man.

"Um... Riveria-sama, am I really that careless?! That was clearly Lefiya... Fine... I-I'll do my best!!"

Alicia, who was usually regarded by the other members as the dependable big sister of the group, had received the same kind of assessment as Lefiya for the first time.

She had wanted to argue her case, but before she could finish, several chilly gazes landed on her.

Alicia could only reluctantly accept the accusation and swallow her grievances.

Aside from Riveria's stern look, the other women were not giving her particularly friendly looks either.

The reason was simple.

They had only just been discussing body types, and when Alicia shifted in agitation, the generous curves on her chest swayed along with her.

As a result, even Ryuu and Tiona, who had nothing to do with the matter, turned cold gazes toward Alicia.

Among them, the only one who could not say a single word was Lefiya, still clinging to the young man's back.

The usually careless golden-haired elf had been dragged into the discussion as well, but she paid absolutely no attention to it.

Her thoughts were in complete chaos.

Thanks to the careful planning of a Level 6 Adventurer, none of the other women nearby had noticed what Riveria had done.

Lefiya, however, was the exception.

Her view had been blocked by Bell, so she had not seen exactly what happened, but there was one thing Lefiya knew for certain.

Riveria-sama had definitely shifted her position just now and done something she did not want anyone else to see.

And it had almost certainly been some intimate gesture that no one else had noticed.

"Mm...?"

Lefiya's face turned bright red as a puzzled murmur slipped from her lips.

Did Riveria-sama do that on her own?

Or had Bell Cranel signaled her with his eyes, encouraging Riveria-sama to cast aside her embarrassment and deliberately seek out the thrill?

It had to be the latter!

What was that idiot, that permanently horny rabbit, doing in front of so many people?!

No.

Maybe she was falsely accusing him.

What had just happened might really have been an accident.

The ground was covered in pits, after all. Perhaps Riveria-sama had accidentally stumbled into Bell Cranel's neck and, through sheer coincidence, ended up kissing him...

As if!

No amount of jolting could possibly produce such a ridiculous result!

This was all the permanently horny rabbit's fault. He had actually tempted Riveria-sama into doing something so shameless!

Unforgivable!

Absolutely unforgivable!

Lefiya glanced at the right side of the young man's neck, took a deep breath, and brought down the Sword of Judgment (Her teeth).

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