Magic erupted, and the tremendous surge of power whipped up a fierce gale.
Riveria gripped her wand, letting her long jade-colored hair dance freely within the magic circle.
This was a single strike infused with all of her magical power.
The young man had willingly made himself the bait, and Riveria answered his resolve in kind.
Emerald light wound around the silver staff, bearing witness to the mightiest Mage's love song.
"Burn them through, Sword of Surtr - my name is Alf!"
As the solemn melody rang out, Riveria slowly opened her eyes.
Before her lay a battlefield in utter chaos.
Bell raced onward with the golden-haired elf on his back. The two were like pebbles tumbling ahead of an avalanche, with a raging tide of monsters surging after them.
Ryuu and Alicia guarded Riveria's sides, fending off the scattered monsters that approached.
Farther ahead, Ais and the others swung their weapons, cutting down the endless Viola flowers and Virga. They had already put considerable distance between themselves and the center of the Floor, but they had yet to completely shake off the monster horde.
At the center of the Floor, the Female Body Type monster shrieked. Its eerie golden eyes remained locked on the young man, its piercing cries seemingly filled with boundless hatred.
The scene unfolding before Riveria should have held her full attention, yet her gaze was inevitably drawn to the flushed face of the golden-haired elf.
At that moment, time seemed to stop for Riveria.
Amid the jumble of thoughts in her mind, jealousy welled up once more.
Riveria knew that Lefiya and Bell's relationship was false.
Yet this illusory relationship, one with no true romance behind it, had already left Riveria far behind.
Perhaps it was because of the monster's influence. Perhaps there was some other special reason. Even so, to Riveria, it was every bit as irritating to look at as their embrace during the War Games.
Their relationship might have been fake, but they had held hands, embraced, and now Bell was carrying Lefiya on his back as they ran. They had missed nothing. For all Riveria knew, even more embarrassing things might have happened where she couldn't see them.
What would happen if those two actually entered a romantic relationship, just as she had?
Surely, their love would surge forward in ways no one could predict.
By contrast, Riveria's genuine romance, if she continued according to her original plans, would make no progress whatsoever.
The false had surpassed the real. The one receiving guidance had surpassed the one giving it.
Her jealousy flared, becoming the final straw that overwhelmed Riveria.
It was an extremely contradictory, dark thought.
On one hand, Riveria intended to help the elf girls grow closer to Bell, laying the groundwork for her own position as his primary partner. On the other, she did not want to watch girls she herself had taught move ahead of her on the path of love.
And farther down that path were several rivals who carried feelings of their own, had overcome their embarrassment, and had already offered themselves to the young man.
Love was not supposed to be a competition, but this was the reality Riveria faced.
She looked into her own heart. Could she truly stand by and watch the lover who belonged to her become physically and emotionally intimate with other girls without feeling anything?
Of course not.
To secure her position as his primary partner, helping Bell's relationships with Lefiya and the others progress was essential. Besides, Lefiya and the others held pure feelings for the young man. Helping their romances along from the sidelines was, in itself, something positive and beautiful.
If there was nothing wrong with that, then the ones in the wrong could only be the others.
The girls who had overcome their shyness and done lewd things with the young man were the ones at fault.
But Riveria could not stop them.
Her own love for the young man would never allow her to place herself between them and obstruct love's most primal impulses.
Doing so would hurt more than just those girls. It would hurt the young man as well, inflicting pain that could never be undone.
For the noble Elf Princess, this was a mistake that could no longer be corrected. The only thing she could do was turn the mistake itself into something right.
She would take on the young man's colors and join the ranks of those in the wrong.
Then every problem would resolve itself.
The magic circle spread outward, bathing the entire Floor in emerald light.
Riveria heard the sound of flames.
They were flames burning within her own heart, fierce enough to consume everything.
[Nine Hell] knew the name of that fire.
It was desire, and it was love.
The corners of her lips rose as she willingly stepped into the raging inferno.
The heat of the flames was just like the young man himself. Warm, passionate, and so comforting that Riveria felt as though she had been reborn.
The instant the young man's magic intertwined with the jade-colored light and gave her an entirely new experience, the seed of that flame had been planted in her heart.
Lefiya's interactions with Bell had merely added a spark, making the fire burn faster.
Riveria knew she could not blame Lefiya. This time, it happened to be the golden-haired elf. Next time, it might be one of the tavern girls.
Who provided the trigger did not matter.
If anything, Riveria was grateful to Lefiya. It was precisely because of what Lefiya had done that Riveria had noticed the fire of love within herself before it was too late.
Otherwise, if the Elf Princess had continued with her original plan, preserving her chastity until she and the young man entered the halls of marriage together, she would undoubtedly have regretted it.
By then, how many girls would Bell Cranel have entered romantic relationships with? How many would he have already consummated those relationships with?
Riveria could never accept such a future.
She was glad that, in such a short span of time, she had realized just how naive she had once been.
The flames continued to burn.
For now, all of this existed only in Riveria's imagination.
But she was certain that before long, it would become reality for her and the young man.
Jealousy, contradictions, none of it mattered anymore. The flames swept everything clean.
The fire of love rose higher and spread across the Elf Princess's body.
The clothes that concealed her modesty melted away, while the royal attire symbolizing her responsibilities was swallowed by the flames.
Yet her delicate, tender skin remained completely unharmed.
The flames seeped into every part of the Elf Princess's body.
The one bathing in the fire of love was both the Elf Princess and Nine Hell.
Her girlish side had finally grown, reaching an understanding with the older, mature side of herself.
Royal responsibilities? Restraint before marriage?
She couldn't care less.
Unlike other elven women, Riveria was intelligent enough to clearly recognize the changes taking place within her own heart.
She wanted to take the young man's hand.
She wanted to embrace that warmth.
She wanted to do the things lovers did.
She wanted to explore with Bell all the unknown parts of love she had never experienced before.
Just as their magic had intertwined, she wanted those flames to embrace every part of her.
How would she make it happen?
How would she overcome her shyness?
Those were not things Riveria needed to worry about.
She had already made her decision. Everything that remained was merely a door beyond a towering wall. For the headstrong Elf Princess, pushing that door open would be simple.
Just like the emerald light spreading before her now.
Riveria was the strongest Mage in Orario. Once she decided to do something, nothing could stand in her way.
Emerald light appeared beneath the feet of every being on the Floor. Her beloved lover, the comrades fighting beside her, the surging horde of monsters, and the enormous Female Body Type monster.
Riveria took aim at every monster and sang the name of her love song to the young man.
"Rea Laevateinn!!!"
The next instant, a pillar of flame erupted.
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