"Arcs Ray!"
The Magic incantation was already complete. Canceling it in a hurry would only cause the magic to backfire.
Lefiya raised her wand and fired the bombardment Magic into the air.
She quickly recited a chant to draw back the magic, causing the arrows of light to burst into a brilliant display in midair like fireworks.
"Bell Cranel, how did you know what I was thinking just now?"
Lefiya asked, her face flushed red.
Because she had been focused on controlling her magic, she hadn't said anything. Instead, she had rubbed herself against the boy's back in an extremely indecent manner.
The moment Lefiya remembered what she had done, embarrassment flooded through her. She hurriedly spoke up, deliberately steering the conversation away from anything involving her chest.
"Based on the timing, Lefiya-san's Magic incantation had just finished, so of course I knew what you were thinking."
Bell answered honestly.
"Hmm... So you even worked out exactly how long it would take both me and the Demi Spirit to finish our incantations?"
Lefiya rested against the boy's shoulder.
Whenever the tips of her pointed ears brushed his neck, she felt a faint, ticklish sensation.
She had been a little embarrassed at first, but as the joy of victory washed over her, Lefiya found herself thinking that since they had already won, she might as well consider this a reward for all her hard work.
She had been far too tense during the battle to properly enjoy that warm, ticklish feeling.
"Only roughly. After all, the enemy could have used a different Magic."
Bell only revealed part of his reasoning.
Command was about eliminating as much risk as possible. To calculate everything precisely down to the second, [Luck] was indispensable.
When the Female Body Type realized its final trap had been seen through, it seemed to lose its mind completely. It ignored the blonde girl directly in front of it and instead shrieked as it glared at Bell.
Bell had already realized that the Female Body Type wasn't particularly intelligent and had deliberately provoked it into a rage, but even he hadn't expected it to work quite so well.
"Just as I'd expect from you..."
Lefiya pursed her lips, feeling the gentle rise and fall of the boy's breathing.
She looked toward the smoke and dust that had yet to fully disperse, then asked, "Bell Cranel, you said earlier that monster was a Demi Spirit. It kept glaring at you right until the end. That isn't going to cause any problems, is it?"
Remembering those golden eyes overflowing with rage, Lefiya couldn't help worrying about him.
"Hmm... Unless they share memories, it shouldn't matter."
Bell thought for a moment before adding, "When Riveria-san used her annihilation Magic, the green wall summoned by the Demi Spirit pierced up from a floor below. Its main body is probably on the sixtieth floor or even deeper."
The entire 59th floor had been altered by the Corrupted Spirit and turned into a breeding ground for Female Body Type monsters. The strength of the main body was likely beyond imagination.
The expedition party was already completely exhausted. They had no strength left to continue fighting, which left retreat as their only option.
Bell therefore chose not to explain the rest of his speculation to Lefiya and simply headed toward the others.
As the dust cleared, the blonde girl unsteadily rose to her feet.
"Bell..."
Ais put away the Desperate Sword, opened her arms, and moved toward the boy.
With the faint, shy smile on her face, she looked like a little girl waiting to receive her reward.
"Ais-san, are you all right...?"
Bell had just stepped forward and was about to reach out to steady her when a crisp thud sounded beside him.
"Ugh..."
"Ow..."
Lefiya and Ais groaned at the same time.
Since Bell was still carrying the golden-haired elf on his back, the two girls' foreheads had unsurprisingly collided.
Ais covered her forehead and puffed out her cheeks.
The little Ais inside her seemed very unhappy with the situation. She had finally been about to share a warm embrace with the boy, so why did Lefiya have to be so inconsiderate?
More importantly, the battle was already over. Why was she still clinging to Bell's back?
Lefiya was no less indignant than the blonde girl.
Ais-san had definitely been trying to hug Bell Cranel just now!
Even she had never done something like that...
Taking advantage of this exact moment to make her move was simply unfair!
For one brief instant, invisible sparks seemed to fly between golden eyes and blue ones.
"Argonaut-kun~! Are you guys okay?!"
Tiona, completely oblivious to the atmosphere, barged straight into the middle of them.
A bright smile covered her face, and its innocent cheerfulness effortlessly dissolved the tension in the air.
"Bell Cranel, it was thanks to you that we managed to escape danger this time. We truly owe you our thanks."
Tione held her halberd and expressed her gratitude in a gentle voice.
Her ladylike demeanor was completely different from the way she acted in battle, giving her an unexpectedly calm and graceful air.
"We've gathered all the weapons that were easy to recover. Let's get out of here."
Tsubaki had a huge backpack strapped to her back as she glanced at the boy.
She seemed rather interested in the sight of Bell surrounded by women and gave him a knowing look.
As Finn, Gareth, and the others approached, the group at the front began withdrawing toward Riveria and the rest.
"Is everyone all right?"
Alicia hurriedly asked while supporting the elf princess who had exhausted all her Mind.
"Yes. Thanks to Bell Cranel, no one was seriously injured in this battle. We'll return to the entrance passage on the 59th floor first and rest there for a while, then make our way back through the Dragon's Vase."
Finn had regained his senses after leaving his frenzied state, and his eyes had returned to their original blue.
His judgment matched Bell's. They had to avoid any unnecessary fighting and retreat as quickly as possible.
The enemy's true body was a Corrupted Spirit, and the [Jewel Fetus] could produce clones. It could ignore the normal restrictions between floors and summon monsters elsewhere that were powerful enough to threaten the entire city of Orario.
Simply learning all of this was already an enormous gain.
"Cranel-san, monsters may still ambush us on the way back, so please stay close to me."
Ryuu gripped her wooden sword and quickly took her place beside Bell.
Compared to the others, she was still in relatively good condition. Ignoring Lefiya clinging to the boy's back, Ryuu solemnly assumed the role of Bell's guard.
"..."
Riveria, whose Mind had been completely drained, had no such luxury.
Even with the [Spirit Healing] Development Ability, she was still dizzy and unsteady, unable to keep pace with the group's hurried retreat.
Finn glanced at Lefiya before saying, "Elves can be troublesome about cleanliness, and Ais and the others have already exhausted too much strength. Bell Cranel, could you carry Riveria for a while?"
"Hmm..."
For the briefest moment, Lefiya was tempted to lie and claim that she couldn't walk either.
But reason ultimately managed to suppress that devilish thought.
Unexpectedly, before Lefiya could even climb down from Bell's back, Finn changed his mind first.
"Lefiya's Mind is depleted too? That makes things difficult. We still need to rely on Gale and the others to deal with the Viola monsters pouring in from the 59th floor..."
Finn frowned, then added, "There's no helping it. Bell Cranel, carry Riveria in your arms on the way back."
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