Chapter 560 - 560: Heith

Outside the mansion.

A beautiful young woman with pink twin ponytails and a striking figure stood before Bell with a bright smile.

After their conversation ended, Mikoto returned to her room to prepare for the journey.

Bell had been about to head somewhere extremely important, but the moment he stepped outside, he ran into the young Healer he hadn't seen in quite some time.

Mikoto and Lunoire both needed time to prepare for the trip. Chloe's situation was urgent, but not so urgent that they had to rush off immediately. If it had truly been a matter of life and death, the Catgirl wouldn't have indulged her desires and spent the night with Bell.

So Bell stopped in an empty clearing to hear what the pink-haired girl had come to see him about.

"Yoo-hoo~ Good morning, Bell~ I'm Heith Velvet from Freya Familia~"

Heith waved cheerfully.

Her cute ponytails and ample chest swayed with her movements. She looked as though she had finally been released from a cage, overflowing with the youthful energy of a girl her age.

"Good morning, Heith-san. I've always remembered you. You don't need to introduce yourself every time."

Bell returned her greeting politely.

He didn't know what had caused such a change in her mood, but the sheer joy radiating from her seemed to brighten the atmosphere around them, and even Bell found himself affected by it.

"It's so you'll remember me even better. Bell has so many girls around him, you're bound to get us mixed up sooner or later, right?"

Heith explained why she always introduced herself.

Thinking back, she was probably one of the first girls Bell had encountered after arriving in Orario. However, because of certain circumstances, the number of times they had actually met could be counted on one hand.

Heith was simply using the clumsiest method imaginable to make sure the young man remembered her name.

"We went through something that terrible together. How could I possibly forget you, Heith-san?"

Bell answered honestly.

Although their first meeting had lasted only a single day, it had marked the beginning of Bell's life as an Adventurer.

Since Gods could see through the lies of people from Gekai, Hestia must have worried back then that Bell, as an ordinary mortal, would have trouble concealing the existence of [Liaris Freese]. That was probably why she hadn't immediately told him what the rare skill actually did.

Looking back on it now, Bell's ability to find his footing after starting from absolutely nothing was closely connected to Heith's [Admiration].

Although Bell would never forgive Freya Familia's [Vana Freya], the time he had spent with Heith remained an important memory he could never forget.

"Hehe... I won't forget you either, Bell. I still have that bloodstained shirt you gave me back then."

A slightly silly smile appeared on Heith's face.

At the end of the Silver Spear incident, Bell had draped his own shirt over Heith and carried her back to the surface on his back. Even though more than two months had passed, Heith could still remember the flutter in her chest and the warmth she had felt at the time.

"You really didn't need to keep something like that..."

Bell laughed softly.

Heith wore a spotless white Healer's robe, with just the right amount of red decorating the area above her chest. She might not have been as obsessive about cleanliness as an elf, but Bell felt that this human girl was definitely a perfectly normal person worth getting to know better.

"Of course I washed it properly. I even mended it for you. I just never had a chance to return it."

Realizing that what she had said might sound a little strange, Heith hurriedly explained herself.

It was only a plain shirt, shabby enough that even a newly minted Adventurer might have thought little of it. Yet Heith treated it like something precious and kept it carefully stored in her room.

In truth, there was a small lie hidden in her words. If Heith had really wanted to return the shirt, she could easily have asked someone else to deliver it or brought it with her when she visited Bell.

But Heith felt that if she gave even that shirt back, there would be nothing left connecting her to the young man.

Bell saw through the lie.

The corners of his lips lifted, but he chose not to expose her.

"Then I'll leave it in your care for now, Heith-san. That shirt is a memento from when I first became an Adventurer. I'm really glad it was preserved. Thank you."

"It's nothing, really..."

Heith waved her hand shyly.

Perhaps it was because of her mood, or perhaps there was some other reason, but the eyes that had always seemed weighed down by pressure no longer carried their usual exhaustion. In its place was a warmth and vitality that were almost moving to see.

"That nourishing soup Syr gave me this morning was something you stayed up all night making too, wasn't it, Heith-san? Thank you very much."

Bell remembered the rich, restorative soup that must have taken considerable time and effort to prepare, and thanked her again.

"If it's for Bell, I don't mind working overtime at all. More importantly, how did it taste?"

Heith blinked her crimson eyes and looked eagerly at the young man.

She had cooked countless meals for the members of Freya Familia in their dining hall, but this was the first time Heith had ever felt like this.

Simply because the person eating it was different, it felt as though something had swept away all her exhaustion, both physical and mental, leaving behind nothing but a warm sense of anticipation.

What kind of expression would Bell make?

What would he think of her cooking?

Those questions swelled in Heith's heart like cream puffs rising in the oven, forming a sweet little barrier that washed away every trace of bitterness and fatigue.

"It was delicious. You didn't just throw all the ingredients in at once. You timed everything carefully and added them in batches. The ingredients were very fresh, and the spices were balanced perfectly, completely covering the bitterness of the herbs. I could tell from that soup just how much care you put into making it, Heith-san. It really was delicious."

Bell carefully described his impressions.

"Hehe... I'm glad you liked it. I can make it for you again in the future."

Heith raised a finger and shyly twirled the ends of her pink hair around it.

"But... that kind of soup probably isn't something you should drink every day, right? Unless you're doing that sort of thing every single night..."

Before Bell could respond, Heith hurriedly waved her hands.

"I'm not criticizing what you do! It's just that with so many girls around you, it must be really easy to get them mixed up, right?"

"Then would you ever mistake someone else for me, Heith-san?"

Bell asked in return.

"Of course not!"

Heith answered without hesitation.

"Exactly. So I wouldn't mix up the girls I know either."

Bell replied using the same logic.

"I guess..."

Heith was happy that Bell remembered her, but at the same time, she couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.

She had confessed to Bell the very first time they met. Although it had only been a simple test at the time, even that had been enough to make her heart pound.

Now that her affection for him had grown much stronger, Heith found herself unable to confess as directly as she had back then.

She let out a quiet sigh and murmured in disappointment,

"If only Bell would mistake me for Syr-sama and just hug me..."