Danmachi: My Adventure With a High Fairy Queen

Prologue - Is It Wrong for a High Elf to fall in love in a Dungeon?

Disclaimer: Based on the characters created by Fujino Omori. This is NOT Omori's vision, nor is it canon in the Light Novels. This is a story built on the world developed by Omori, expanding it with my own ideas. I do NOT own the rights to Danmachi: I simply saw a perfect fit with this universe and my own ideas.

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Bell Cranel.

His name has certainly captured my attention and piqued my curiosity.

Mysterious, heroic, kind. He's inspired so many, particularly a certain girl.

But his flame could never quite light my heart encased in ice.

That is, until I got close enough to him to thaw it.

My fellow executives Finn and Gareth once gave me the moniker "Ice Queen." I did not take kindly to it, but it stuck.

My lofty temperament estranged others. My romantic life was non-existent. Secluded in my youth, I was bound to royal duty and was denied a childhood. During those extended, solitary years, the only individual I truly considered a friend was the Chamberlain, Aina.

I never had time for romance. My head was always buried in books and a longing to see the world outside.

I was always the kind of elf who would rather study.

Ever since I arrived in this city, I diligently studied as many books as I could collect. I yearned to ascend as the most powerful mage in Orario, and ultimately, no rival endured.

For many years, I resisted changed.

Then a certain boy changed me forever.

It all begun with one executive of my own familia making a scene at the tavern.

The purpose of our gathering was to celebrate our safe return from a dangerous expedition into the Dungeon's deep floors. Inebriated and belligerent, Bete Loga, a junior member of our familia's core group, ridiculed a young fledgling adventurer he had crossed paths with during the journey back to the surface world. His mockery was met with laughter from many of his peers. Never before had I felt so ashamed of this familia.

And then, he caught my eye.

The aforementioned fledgling adventurer, having hear every word of Bete's cruel jeer, stormed out of the establishment, the hurt evident in his pure face. His hair was stunning, as white as freshly fallen snow, and his eyes were a warm rubellite hue. His remarkably striking features could make any woman fall for him. But I couldn't help but pity him.

My motherly nature stirred. I yearned to hold him in my arms, to comfort him, to assure him that all would be well.

Aiz raced after him, leaving me to sort out the mess and take care of an inebriated Bete Loga.

My heart was desperate to find the snowy-furred rabbit, to know if I would ever see him again.

Aiz was troubled by what happened that night. I did my best to reassure her, but my interest in the boy also began to grow.

The next time I crossed paths with the youth, he lay unconscious in the Dungeon from Mind Down. The first thought that came to my mind was to give him a lap pillow. Aiz sought my guidance on how to make amends with him, and I proposed the idea of a lap pillow.

Only for him to run away from her in a panic, his rabbit ears twitching nervously as he fled. I found it absolutely hilarious watching the flustered boy try to escape from Aiz's innocent attempt to make amends.