"Nya? Syr and the others are back, nya!" Anya jumped down from her seat.
"They really brought the boy back, nya…" Chloe stared out the window in disbelief.
Syr and Ryuu stepped into the tavern one after the other, both wearing anxious expressions.
The white-haired boy lay unconscious on Ryuu's back.
"What happened, nya?" Chloe carefully took the boy from Ryuu and laid him down on a bed.
"We found him in an alley," Ryuu explained honestly before beginning to chant a healing spell.
The spell was called Noah Heal—she had already used it once when they first found Bell.
Compared to a healer's magic, this one worked much slower.
Gradually, the boy's injuries began to mend, and the pain on his face softened.
"He… should be all right, right?" Syr turned to her elven friend with concern.
"Yes. His physical wounds are healed. He should wake up soon," Ryuu replied.
Syr stared blankly at the boy's face.
Outside, the rain fell harder, as if crying in her place.
"This is the perfect time to make him a bento, nya!" Anya suggested excitedly upon hearing that the boy would soon wake.
"Sounds good, nya. I can help you, nya," Chloe added.
Determined to protect the boy's life, she volunteered without hesitation.
"He's hurt so badly... I don't have the heart to cook right now," Syr admitted honestly.
"That's exactly why you should, nya," Anya whispered into her ear. "Think about it—a lost boy, rescued and brought home, then waking up to see... you doing this, nya, and that, nya…"
Her voice trailed off as Syr's cheeks turned redder and redder.
"I… I'll do my best!"
"That's the spirit, nya! I'll help too, nya," Chloe encouraged.
"Let's go! you'll handle the taste testing, nya!"
"No… no way. Something this important should be left to Ryuu, nya."
Remembering Syr's notorious cooking, Chloe felt her tongue go numb just at the thought.
Before long, the heavy atmosphere in the room had lifted completely under Anya's energy.
The friends chatted and laughed as they left the room eagerly, leaving only Ryuu to stay behind.
With cooking skills on par with Syr's, she was better suited to watch over the boy instead.
The sound of rain filled the room, wrapping it in a strange sense of quiet calm.
After some time, Bell slowly opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was a beautiful elf girl with a cool, elegant expression.
Though he had met her once before, he couldn't help but be drawn again to those eyes—deep blue, shimmering faintly with green, as gentle and clear as the wind.
"You're awake, Cranel-san. This is the Hostess of Fertility, the tavern's second floor. Syr found you at the alley entrance and brought you back," Ryuu stated plainly, making sure to emphasize her friend's kindness.
"Syr's always been like that, always picking up lost kids, nya," Anya said as she entered the room.
"I still can't believe it. Could Syr really have sensed the boy, nya?" Chloe peeked her head out from beside the bed.
Ignoring their teasing, Syr shyly looked at Bell and held out a lunchbox. "Um… if you don't mind… please try this."
"Wait, nya! Ryuu hasn't done the taste test yet, nya!"
"I don't care anymore. Boy, I'll pray to the gods for you, nya."
Syr set down the lunchbox and, flustered, tugged on the two cats' cheeks as if to hide her embarrassment.
"Thank you." Bell sat up, watching the warm, chaotic scene before him, then began eating heartily.
Though his wounds were healed, his strength still needed to be replenished.
"Thank you for saving me—and for the food. It's delicious." Bell finished every last bite, expressing his gratitude earnestly.
"What?! He actually ate it all, nya!" Chloe stared in disbelief at the empty box.
"Syr, is there any left, nya? Let me try some too, nya!" Anya watched Bell's bright expression and swallowed hard.
"There is…" Syr hurried downstairs and returned with two bowls of thick soup.
"Great! I want to try some too, nya." Chloe eagerly took a bowl and began lapping up the dish.
...
Moments later, both of their faces turned pale.
"Nya can't go on anymore… I think someone's waving at me from across the river, nya," Anya groaned, collapsing onto the table.
"Same here… Sorry, Syr. I shouldn't have teased the boy, nya. I didn't think Orario had poison this strong… I just—" Chloe didn't finish her sentence before toppling into Bell's arms.
Feeling the sharp stares from both the elf and the human girl, Bell chuckled softly. "I didn't know your idea of a joke was this unique."
He gently lifted the black cat, stood from the bed, and laid her back down carefully.
"I like…" Chloe mumbled faintly, her drooping cat ears twitching back upright.
Watching the group of girls, each with such distinct personalities, Bell felt a warmth spread through his once-broken heart.
He owed them his life, but there were more pressing matters at hand.
Something was changing in the Dungeon. Bell's instincts told him that if he couldn't overcome this trial and grow stronger from it, he wouldn't be able to continue exploring without Hestia.
"I'm sorry, but I have something I must take care of. Please allow me to leave for now. I'll repay you all one day."
Bell didn't linger in the safety of that comforting haven.
The staff understood—someone that badly wounded must have been caught up in something dangerous.
They had neither the authority nor the right to stop him.
"Be careful out there," Syr said softly, her voice full of concern.
Even the two cats stopped their usual squabbling, watching Bell with worried eyes.
As Bell's figure disappeared into the distance, the elf girl suddenly spoke up.
"Cranel-san, would you tell me what happened? I want to help you."
After closely examining his injuries earlier, Ryuu had been both confused and disturbed.
Those wounds were not something a beginner Adventurer should have sustained.
His opponent, she suspected, hadn't been a monster from the Dungeon—but a human driven by malice.
His ribs were twisted and deformed.
Such an injury couldn't occur naturally—only if he had been struck hard, then forced himself to move while pressing down on the wound.
Even imagining it made Ryuu feel that gut-wrenching pain.
What kind of resolve must a young Adventurer have to endure so much?
She wanted to understand the source of that determination.
The boy hesitated for a moment, then turned around and began to recount his story.
Not far away, Syr watched them and suddenly noticed something subtle.
Her elven friend, who was known for her cleanliness and would never allow anyone to touch her, had carried Bell without a word of complaint.
Her clothes and hair were stained with blood—yet from beginning to end, Ryuu Lion didn't seem to mind at all.