Chapter 507 - 507: The Embrace

A frost barrier covered the dark, glossy room.

Strangely enough, Bell could not feel the slightest chill.

Time seemed to have stopped. Along with that distinct, refreshing fragrance, the emerald Elf's embrace brought him passion and warmth.

"Riveria-san, you're holding me so tightly I can't move."

Bell reminded her softly.

As a Level 6 Mage, Riveria seemed to be deliberately controlling her strength. She was not hurting him, but her passionate embrace was just firm enough that Bell could neither break free nor move at all.

"Bell... at a time like this, you shouldn't be calling me that, should you?"

Riveria's tears did not seem to have fully stopped, and her voice still carried a faint sob.

They had clearly agreed to call each other by name in private, so she was rather displeased with how the boy had addressed her just now.

"Sorry, Riveria. I really can't move."

Bell changed how he addressed her and stated his situation again.

There was no reproach or complaint in his tone. It sounded more like he was indulging a girl who was acting spoiled.

"Bell, don't you still have two hands that can move?"

Riveria replied meaningfully.

The boy's left hand had been holding another Elf girl's hand earlier. After Ryuu left, that warm palm had nothing left to hold.

The two of them were now sitting on the ground, with Riveria's arms wrapped around Bell. Normally, after hearing such a suggestive remark, the boy should have answered her with an embrace of his own.

But Bell Cranel was not that simple.

"I understand."

Bell raised his left hand and slowly began moving toward a certain forbidden place.

"If you dare take this chance to touch my chest, you'll be in serious trouble."

Riveria felt the boy's arm wandering.

After her soft sobs, her voice was gentle and coy, but the words themselves carried the bearing of a noble princess.

"I didn't expect to be found out so quickly. What a shame."

Bell answered with a light laugh.

His right hand stroked her emerald hair, while his left arm circled around Riveria's back and returned her embrace gently.

"If you'd simply ignored my wishes and attacked me by surprise, you definitely could have touched me. Bell, slowing down on purpose like that is far too cunning."

Riveria saw through the boy's actions.

Bell might truly have wanted to do it, but his actions were mostly meant to consider Riveria's feelings.

With just a few short exchanges, Riveria felt that the Bell Cranel she loved had truly escaped death and returned to her side.

This kind of teasing added a little lightness to their interaction, diluting the lingering sorrow of their parting between life and death.

"Eh, Riveria, when you put it that way, are you saying you want me to stop caring and just go for it?"

Bell picked up the thread of the conversation.

His left hand once again abandoned all proper thoughts and slowly moved down toward her left side.

"That depends on whether you have the courage. Attacking a princess's chest is a sin you would have to spend your whole life atoning for."

Riveria's voice was very soft, reaching only the boy's ears.

Was it a tease, or a threat?

There was no answer in that whisper, sweet as candied fruit.

"Please don't worry about that. Bell Cranel is full of courage."

Bell replied as though boasting.

At last, after moving slowly, his left hand was about to reach that perfect peak where all the beauty of the world gathered.

"Mm... Sorry, sorry. I was wrong. Stop right there, you idiot..."

Riveria chose to back down.

Deep down, she was certain the boy would not take advantage of the moment to do something so improper. Even so, in this tug-of-war, the bashfulness surging like a hot spring, along with her pounding heart, was the first to surrender.

"Hiss... No, Riveria. Some irresistible force is pulling my left hand in. I can't hold it back..."

Bell spoke with solemn conviction.

As if he were fighting against some unknown existence, his voice grew a little heavier.

"Wait...? You idiot?!!"

Riveria hurriedly released her arms and put a little distance between them.

Yet the instant she escaped that crisis of shame and saw Bell's smile, she realized he had been teasing her.

Emerald eyes met crimson ones. From those eyes now free of tears, an invisible thread seemed to stretch out, pouring out the Elf princess's love.

In only a moment, Riveria's cheeks bloomed like spring flowers, spreading with an unprecedented blush.

"Bell..."

Riveria called the boy's name in complaint, then lowered her head and burrowed into his chest.

Unlike the equal embrace from before, their posture this time carried the unbalanced intimacy unique to lovers, like a girl in love acting spoiled with her beloved.

She was trying to hide her embarrassment, yet the warmth of the boy's chest instead dyed even Riveria's ears in delicate shades of captivating red.

"What I said just now was true, you know. It really was dangerous. I almost got pulled in."

Bell wrapped both arms around the Elf princess's back and slowly spoke those joking words.

There was exaggeration in what he said, but his honest passion lived there too.

Riveria's figure, much like her face, was difficult to describe in words. It was as though every part of her from head to toe could be called perfect.

Her beauty was enough to make even goddesses jealous, possessing both dignity and wildness, intellect and youth.

With such a beautiful, captivating woman embracing him, it was only natural that Bell could not help having "bad ideas."

"I know. Stop emphasizing it..."

This was the first time Riveria had ever lost to embarrassment.

Whether it was when she had just escaped the forest and Loki called her an old woman, or when she took care of Ais and was teased as a mother, Riveria would always argue her case and fight her shyness to the very end.

But the boy's passion was simply too pure. It answered Riveria's own love and stirred up waves of passion in her already restless heart.

"Sorry. I said that partly because Riveria is too beautiful, and partly as revenge."

Bell glanced at the Elf princess in his arms.

"Revenge?"

Riveria asked in confusion.

"Yeah. I had the chance to hug a lot of girls, but Riveria ruined my plans."

Bell explained softly.

If Riveria had not "gotten in the way," Bell would surely have used the atmosphere from earlier to reach the paradise of a harem.

"Hehe... Isn't it wrong to seek a harem in the Dungeon? Bell, you really are hopeless. But I like you when you're this honest too..."

Riveria's words carried a calm, gentle smile.

She held the boy's back and tightened her arms around him just a little.