It was almost as if time stopped.
Lilly and Bert, who were rushing to help Roan, looked like a pair of statues with their hands stretched toward him. The leaves that were falling from the trees, the dust that was flying in the air, and the wings of the tiny insects that scattered spa.r.s.ely—they were all frozen.
In this world, only Riley and Aerith moved. Even Roan, who had been struggling to get away from Riley's grip, ceased to wriggle.
Riley and Aerith were the only ones that could move, and yet neither of them refused to. Riley just waited; waiting for Aerith to make a choice—they both had the eternity to do so.
Will she once again shed her wings and become a hero?
But alas, it would seem eternity wasn't needed as Aerith already made her choice. Her eyes, just closing as she turned around; stepping away from the window, leaving only her sighs to travel through the eternity they created.
"..." And as Riley saw that, the only thing he could really do was sigh… before just letting go of Roan. Riley then turned to glance at the advancing Bert and Lilly, only to block their path and give them the same treatment as Roan.
But instead of lifting them in the air, he slammed their heads back straight into the ground.
"Kh!"
"F…!"
"Too slow," Riley then let out a small sigh as the world around him finally moved, "I would have already killed Roan in a thousand different ways by the time you reached me."
"This…" Lilly and Bert could really only cradle their heads as they rolled on the ground. They knew Riley was strong—but to the point that they couldn't even see him? What… sort of monster did they actually let into their party?
"Well then…" Riley then patted his palms as he returned to where he was originally standing on, "...The three of you should really all attack me at the same time, so…
…shall we try again?"
***
"Ack…"
"Demonic t.i.tties… my… my arms can't move anymore."
"I'd honestly… rather fight the orcs again. I thought this was supposed to be sparring. Why… did it feel like a training session instead?"
An entire hour later, the Leville party all just sprawled on the ground. Their sweat, almost beating the well near them from how much water they produced. As for Riley, he didn't even break a sweat as he just continued to glance at the window from time to time.
And of course, throughout their skirmish, these minute gazes did not manage to escape the Leville party's eyes. How could it? The three were fighting for their lives, and yet Riley was just casually glancing at the window every other second.
"That woman from earlier… who is it?" Bert was the first to ask Riley as he sat up from the ground—leaving a mark of his sweat on there.
"Aerith. She's the woman I love," Riley answered without any hesitation.
"Oh…?" Not only Bert, but Roan and Lilly almost flinched from Riley's unwavering answer, "I didn't realize you were married."
"I'm not," Riley shook his head, "I am her lover, but the same could not be said the other way around. She loathes me."
"...What?"
"Our relationship is not healthy," Riley let out a small sigh as he once again looked at the mirror, "We are poison to each other."
"That's…"
"Haha!" Roan immediately sat up from the floor, clapping his hands while looking at Riley, "It's good to know that even someone like you fails in relationships, ah… finally something I am better at."
"...The f.u.c.k are you talking about?" Lilly suddenly burst out in laughter as soon as she heard Roan's words, "You haven't even had a single romantic partner in your life."
"Pft," Bert tried to stop himself from laughing, but it just made him look even more condescending as he looked at Roan while doing so.
"...f.u.c.k you, guys. For real," Roan once again let his back fall to the ground, "I thought you guys were my frien—wow, my face still hurts."
The three then remained like this for a while—letting out fetter fits of laughter while shaking their heads for no reason.
"..." It sort of reminds Riley of the Baby Crew. Riley could never really understand it, the way they just seem to laugh at nothing, but still very much understand what they were laughing at. He… never had this connection, and probably never will.
And probably, just like the Baby Crew… Riley will manage to destroy this for Lilly and the others as well.
"Right, Riley… We're actually planning on joining the Expedition next month," Lilly wiped the sweat on her cheek as she looked at Riley, "We're a 3-Star party now, so we were able to apply—and since you're now a member of the party… maybe you want to come with us?"
"Expedition…?"
"Yeah," Lilly nodded, "There's going to be a lot of other parties there, we'll be traveling to different regions and actively hunting loose dungeons in the wild. People could actually bring their families there, since it usually takes months—I'm bringing my husband."
"Hm," Bert nodded, "I'm bringing my son since no one will take care of him if I leave. I'll introduce him to you if you come."
"...Wait, am I seriously the only one that's not bringing someone!?" Roan widened his eyes as he looked back and forth between Bert and Lilly, "You guys should introduce me to someone, like right now!"
"...You want to bring someone you've just met to an Expedition?" Lilly raised an eyebrow, "Are you crazy?"
"What about you, Riley? Are you bringing a companion?" Bert asked.
"He hasn't even told us if he is going, Bert," Lilly sighed and shook her head.
"I'll go. I am part of the Leville party now, after all," Riley also shook his head as he looked at Lilly, "As for whether I am bringing Aerith, I would need to ask her."
Riley and Aerith have been in Arlusia for a year, but it wasn't until Riley had completely learned the language and some basic things about the world that they were able to live amongst them.
They have only stayed in Arunafelt for a week, and he wanted Aerith to at least rest more. But perhaps it would be good for her to see some activity?
She and Lilly also seemed to have something in common. They…
…are both women.