Chapter 534 - 534: The Bite

The girls' chatter continued.

Lefiya's rebuttal had plenty of force behind it, but not a single person took her side.

"Even if what you're saying is true, an accident is completely different from doing something on purpose. Riveria-sama must have accidentally brushed against Cranel-san because the ground was uneven and she was mentally exhausted! Stop slandering Riveria-sama, you lewd Elf!"

Ryuu responded sternly.

Looking at Lefiya's bright red face, she couldn't help wondering whether all blonde Elves were like this.

Openly kissing and embracing him, completely captivated by the boy's pure warmth...

Laurier was like that, and so was Lefiya. According to Elfy, even Alicia beside her had once told the boy in front of everyone, "If you like blonde girls, forget about everyone else and just be with me!"

Ryuu recalled the preferences the boy had mentioned before and became increasingly convinced that, no matter how noble and dignified a blonde Elf had been beforehand, meeting the boy would cause some strange change in her...

Unfortunately, Ryuu herself was one of them.

She had no idea how to deal with her own feelings of love, so she planned to find an opportunity to ask the self-proclaimed love expert for advice.

"Exactly! Gale is right. Lefiya, you let your own desires get the better of you and then tried to smear Riveria-sama's name. You need to reflect on what you've done!"

Alicia hurriedly chimed in.

Even if the Elf princess had fallen in love with the boy, and even if the two of them had formed an extremely unusual romantic relationship, Alicia firmly believed that Riveria-sama could never have changed so quickly that she would deliberately do something so indecent.

Whatever happened in private was another matter, but this had taken place right in front of everyone. A moment's thought made it obvious that the dignified Elf princess could never have done such a thing intentionally.

"Um... sorry. I was just saying it without thinking..."

Lefiya was starting to miss the boy's back.

As long as she was clinging to him there, whether she was facing upsetting accusations or a dangerous battle, his warmth seemed capable of drowning everything else out.

The boy was like a magic bag that could solve any problem. Lefiya only had to shift against him a little, and he would understand what she wanted and help make her troubles disappear.

If only she could stay with Bell Cranel forever...

While Lefiya's thoughts wandered, the blonde girl added another accusation.

"Lefiya... are you really that lewd...?"

Ais tilted her head in confusion.

Kissing the boy, hugging him, then secretly rubbing her own chest after Bell brought her home...

That was definitely something embarrassing, wasn't it?

The little Ais inside the blonde girl's heart had already covered her eyes, unwilling to face the images her imagination was producing.

"I'm not?! Ais-san, it's all a misunderstanding!"

Lefiya had no way to properly explain herself and could only fall back on the feeble excuse that it was all a misunderstanding.

As for the kiss, Riveria-sama had done it first, but no one believed her. Everyone thought Riveria's side of it could only have been an accident and that Lefiya was making an unreasonable fuss.

Explaining the part about rubbing her own chest was even more impossible.

Should she tell them that the front half of her clothes had dissolved, forcing the boy to carry her home on his back, which was what led to everything afterward?

Lefiya had already sworn long ago that she would never tell anyone about that.

Just as the golden-haired Elf sank into the depths of embarrassment, Riveria finally spoke.

"The matter is clear now. Everything happened because the ground was uneven. Lefiya is right. She truly didn't have any improper intentions."

Riveria watched the golden-haired Elf breathe a sigh of relief, then abruptly changed course.

"However, the fact remains that you bit Bell Cranel. For the sake of harmony within the expedition party, Lefiya, you should let the boy bite you back."

"Huh?"

Lefiya's brow immediately furrowed.

For a moment, she wondered whether she had heard correctly. Only after looking at the boy sitting on the stairs did she finally accept that Riveria was serious.

"..."

As the person dragged into the situation, Bell had originally been sitting quietly a short distance away, with no intention of getting involved in the girls' antics.

He hadn't expected Riveria to suggest such a solution either.

Bell looked at the streak of emerald-green hair among all the blonde heads and couldn't help thinking to himself.

It seemed a troublesome woman had found her way into the harem...

"Riveria-sama, I just got carried away for a moment. I'll apologize to Bell Cranel, so having him bite me back is really a little too much..."

Lefiya avoided the boy's gaze and stared instead at the broad staircase.

"Is that so? Lefiya, I'm sure I've told you before that many things in this world can't be settled with a simple apology. If saying sorry solved everything, why would Orario need guards?"

Riveria showed no intention of backing down.

She gently patted Lefiya on the shoulder and urged her forward.

"Hurry up. Our break is almost over. You don't want the boy to start disliking you, do you?"

"Um... I understand..."

Lefiya slowly walked over to Bell.

As she pulled open her collar, she said, "I'm sorry for biting you earlier. I'll let you bite me back... But don't look where you shouldn't, and p-please be gentle. I'm afraid of pain..."

"..."

Bell was speechless.

He badly wanted to point out that he hadn't even responded yet, so why had the conversation somehow moved forward without him?

What about his rights as a human being?

What about his dignity as a man?

Normally, this was the sort of situation where a guy should wave it off generously and say it was no big deal, so there was no need to make such a fuss over it.

That was exactly what Bell had intended to say.

But the moment that snow-white neck was exposed before him, his thoughts changed.

The golden-haired Elf was showing this much sincerity. How could he possibly refuse?

Turning her down outright would almost feel disrespectful to the breathtaking sight in front of him.

"H-hurry up... This is really embarrassing..."

Lefiya's pointed ears were tinged faintly red.

Although Bell could only see the side of her face, he knew the golden-haired Elf had to be blushing furiously.

"Lefiya-san, please excuse me."

Following the impulse in his heart, Bell opened his mouth and leaned toward the smooth, pale neck before him.

"Ah..."

The instant his teeth touched her tender skin, Lefiya couldn't help letting out a shy little sound.

Her pointed ears trembled slightly, and her long, rich golden hair swayed instinctively.

Lefiya blinked her blue eyes. One hand clutched tightly at her collar, while the other unconsciously grabbed hold of the boy's clothes.

Their interaction lasted only a few moments, but to Lefiya, it felt incredibly long.

The boy bit her very gently, without causing her the slightest discomfort.

"O-okay, that's enough! Please don't keep thinking about this!"

Lefiya hurriedly straightened her collar and quickly turned around.

To her surprise, Riveria was standing directly behind her.

The Elf princess reached her right hand toward her pale green outer garment, seemingly preparing to do something.