After leaving the tavern, Laurier prepared to hand the strands of hair she had collected over to the young man.
She and Bell had agreed to meet outside a certain flower shop, then sneak into a brothel in the Pleasure District together.
Laurier did not ask the young man for details, nor did she ask why they were going to that sort of place. Since Bell had come to her, it meant he needed her [Invisibility] Magic.
For Laurier, being able to help the young man again after so long was already happiness enough.
There was still some time before their meeting, so Laurier walked along the street, thinking about whether she could help the young man obtain more strands of hair.
She was close to Asfi, so obtaining her hair had been easy. As for Eina and Chloe, there were no complicated ties behind them, which made them easier targets.
The others, however, would probably not be so simple...
As Laurier recalled the names in her notebook, she accidentally walked straight into a certain girl.
"I'm sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going."
Laurier quickly apologized.
"I'm sorry too. I was so happy that I didn't notice the corner."
The pink-haired girl reached out and helped Laurier up from the ground.
"You're... Heith-san from Freya Familia?"
Laurier blinked in surprise.
She had only just been thinking about her and never expected to run into her by chance.
"Mm, you're Bell Cranel's lover, aren't you? No wonder you know me..."
Heith noticed that the bag in her hand had fallen to the ground and hurriedly bent down to pick it up.
The two of them had met once before during the [Holy War]. As one of the participants, Laurier had left a deep impression on Heith.
"Heith-san, are these Drop Items?"
Laurier looked at the contents of the bag and could not help frowning.
A faint stench of monster entrails drifted from the black bag.
Logically speaking, with Freya Familia's scale, there was no way they would make the city's strongest Healer do this kind of errand. Besides, these Drop Items came from the middle and upper floors and were not worth much.
"Mm... Since you're Bell's lover, I'll make an exception and tell only you."
Heith glanced around, then mysteriously headed toward an empty corner.
"..."
Laurier noticed the change in how Heith addressed him. At first, she had called him Bell Cranel, but now she was using only the young man's first name.
It seemed her information was correct. Heith did indeed have special feelings for Bell.
Laurier did not dwell on it and silently followed.
"If I only tell you the result, you probably won't understand, so I'll explain how it all started."
Heith seemed unable to wait any longer to share her happiness with someone.
According to her, it all began with her own moment of curiosity.
Heith had learned from someone that Goddess Freya's state of mind had changed. An uncontrollable desire had been steadily building inside her, and the target of that desire was Bell Cranel.
So Heith seized the opportunity, disguised herself, and went to test the young man.
But as a result, she had brought Bell a nightmare that could not be erased.
Heith and the one responsible had both received punishments of differing severity.
"In short, because of a certain bastard, Bell was put through inhuman torture..."
Heith left out the part about the goddess and briefly recounted what she and the young man had experienced.
"Who was it? I'll go assassinate him right now!"
Flames of hatred burned in Laurier's eyes.
She had never heard Bell mention this. The young man must have buried it deep in his heart so his lover would not worry.
"I'd like to do that too, but in the end, he didn't try to kill us. Otherwise, with that person's strength, Bell and I never would have had a chance to escape."
Heith clenched her fists and added, "After doing something that cruel, there's no way Bell would forgive him."
Although Heith had not known the young man for long, she could still understand that Bell's way of looking at the world was extremely unusual.
Many heroes treated kindness as everything and forgave the violence once aimed at them, never realizing that doing so only brought danger and suffering to the people around them.
But the young man was different.
Bell always put the girls' smiles first. The anger now residing in Heith and Laurier's hearts would surely find the right moment to erupt.
All Heith needed to do was wait.
That said, she would not let any chance for revenge slip away.
"Now, this is what I wanted to share with you."
Heith smiled as she spoke. "Actually, the person I just mentioned has been beaten half to death every day for the past two months. On top of that, he's being forced to eat these ingredients."
"You're calling these... ingredients?"
Laurier's brows, which had just relaxed slightly after hearing the culprit's fate, furrowed again at the word "ingredients."
Even if one searched the entire world, there would probably be only a handful of people who treated monsters' Drop Items as ingredients.
"That's right. But you absolutely can't tell anyone else. Dishes made from these things are strong enough to poison an elephant."
Heith's words were rather terrifying, but her face carried a deeply satisfied smile.
"I see. Now I understand why Heith-san is so happy. If you need it, Hermes Familia would be willing to help you gather ingredients."
Laurier felt not the slightest sympathy for the victim.
"Really? That's wonderful! These Drop Items from the middle and upper floors are hard to collect, and I can't exactly explain to other people that I'm using them as ingredients. I'll pay you well."
The anger born from the young man did not lie. Heith placed full trust in this unexpected ally.
"We can discuss payment later. Please increase the dosage."
Laurier calmly made a cruel request.
After Chloe, another strange duo was born here.
The two discussed in detail what ingredients were needed and how that person reacted when eating those dishes.
Only after they were fully satisfied did Laurier change the subject. "Heith-san, weren't you punished and forbidden from going outside?"
"It didn't go that far. It's just that I indirectly caused trouble for Bell, so the goddess won't allow me to meet Bell alone. She actually let me move around freely a while ago."
When Heith said this, she could not help sighing.
"This is clearly a matter involving Hestia Familia, yet Goddess Freya is paying so much attention to it."
Laurier murmured softly.
"There's a reason for that. I'll tell you the details another time. I need to go back and prepare the ingredients first."
Heith avoided the topic of the goddess.
"Wait, Heith-san. Could you give me a strand of your hair? It has to do with Bell, so I can't say much."
Laurier made her request.
"It has to do with Bell? Then of course."
Heith handed over a strand of her pink hair without hesitation.
Both of them were hiding certain things, but the young man connecting them brought the two girls a brand-new friendship.
"Then I'll see you next time~"
Heith waved happily and turned to leave.
"Mm, see you next time."
Laurier watched her light footsteps and suddenly had a feeling.
Perhaps from now on, this pink-haired girl would be seen at the young man's side.