The tension in Riku's tent was a suffocating blanket, thick with jealousy and disbelief. Ichinose stood, a furious sentinel, flanked by the enraged women, when suddenly, the air outside crackled with a different kind of energy. A deep, resonant hum vibrated through the ground, and shadows, impossibly dark even in the night, began to coalesce around the tent opening. Then, with a dramatic flourish, the flap was thrown wide.
Standing there, framed by the chaos of the night, was Levi, not alone, but backed by a group of scouts.
Levi's eyes, sharp and cold, swept over the scene: Riku and Erina still clutching hands, Ichinose glaring furiously, and the mob of women radiating collective fury. He let out a long, theatrical sigh, rubbing his temples as if burdened by unimaginable stupidity.
"Honestly, Dola," Levi drawled, his voice carrying clearly over the hushed murmurs, "I didn't realize you were that much of an idiot."
Riku flinched, but quickly recovered, forcing his 'smitten' expression back on. "Levi!" he declared, loudly enough for the gathered crowd to hear, "What are you talking about? I am in love with Erina! This is... private!" He squeezed Erina's hand tighter, hoping his act was convincing.
Levi's eyes widened in mock surprise, then he let out a booming, incredulous laugh that made some of the women jump. "Love?!" he bellowed, throwing his head back dramatically. "Riku, please! We all know you chose to make Erina your fake lover to fend off your absurd, newfound fan club, but you should've thought about this more deeply!"
The words, delivered with Levi's usual brutal frankness, exploded like a thunderclap in the silent night. Every single person within earshot gasped.
"Fake?!" someone whispered from the crowd, their voice trembling.
"He chose her as a shield?" another cried out, a fresh wave of heartbreak.
"I knew it! He doesn't love any of us!" a third wailed dramatically.
The murmurs swelled into a chorus of confused, angry, and heartbroken exclamations. Levi, however, simply fixed them with a withering glare. The Shadows behind him seemed to deepen, their silent menace palpable. The crowd, suddenly remembering who they were dealing with, fell into a stunned, terrified silence.
Erina, who had been listening to Levi's outburst with a mixture of disbelief and growing horror, finally found her voice. "Levi!" she hissed, her face burning, "You're the one who gave him the idea! Why are you ruining it now?!"
Levi, surprisingly, offered a genuine, if brief, apology. He shrugged, looking utterly bewildered. "My apologies, Erina. I merely suggested a pragmatic solution to a tactical problem. I didn't realize... I didn't realize quite how much the girls liked him. My calculations were... insufficient."
Erina stared at him, aghast. "What does that have to do with anything?!"
Levi sighed again, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It has everything to do with it, Erina. Let me cut to the chase, since subtlety is apparently lost on everyone here tonight." He gestured vaguely at the women gathered outside. "If you pretend to be Riku's lover, you might get assassinated by them. Literally."
The words hung in the air, cold and stark. The reaction was immediate.
Riku felt a jolt of horrifying realization. Assassination. He hadn't considered the sheer, raw, unhinged jealousy his 'handsome' aura might incite.
Erina's eyes, which had been sparking with frustration, widened in genuine alarm. Her face, still flushed from her earlier performance, paled considerably. She looked from Levi's grim face to the silent, trembling women outside, then down at her hand, still clasped in Riku's. The playful defiance drained from her posture, replaced by a sudden, chilling dread.
Ichinose, however, let out a sharp, strangled gasp. Her eyes, fixed on Erina, were a mixture of horror and… something else. Something that looked suspiciously like a fleeting flicker of concern, quickly masked by her usual analytical detachment.
Riku stared at Levi, his eyes wide with disbelief. "That's impossible," he stated, his voice flat. "My people... they wouldn't. They can't." The idea of the villagers, his weary, struggling people, resorting to assassination over romantic jealousy was unfathomable. It struck a deep, raw nerve of betrayal.
Levi scoffed, a humorless sound. "It's a bad habit to have blind faith in anything, Dola, especially human nature when driven by illogical desires." He swept his gaze over the now-silent crowd of women, their faces still a mixture of fear and simmering resentment. "It's not just because you're 'more handsome' now that they're acting like this. That just drew their initial attention, made them notice the potential."
He then looked at Riku, his eyes piercing. "Girls liked you from the start, Riku. They always did. They admired you, looked up to you. But they were terrified of you. Scared of your coldness, your anger, your relentless focus. That fear kept them at a distance. They didn't dare get close, fearing your wrath if they stepped out of line."
Levi gestured towards Ichinose and Erina, who were still standing by the tent flap, looking stunned and increasingly uncomfortable. "But now," he continued, his voice low and cutting, "now that you're suddenly acting all 'friendly' with them—with Ichinose and Erina, the newcomers, the ones who supposedly have no special claim on you—the other village girls and female scouts think, 'If they can get so close to him, then I also have a chance.'"
Riku's blood ran cold as Levi's cold, pragmatic logic laid bare the true nature of the situation. It wasn't just about his charm; it was about accessibility, about perceived opportunity.
"These female scouts, Dola," Levi pressed on, his voice gaining a chilling edge, "they've played with death all their lives. They've faced down monsters, endured unimaginable hardships, and survived solely on their grit and determination. Do you honestly think it would be difficult for them to kill someone for what they perceive as their claim on their 'dear General'?" His eyes bored into Riku's, stripping away any lingering illusions. "Jealousy, Riku, is a far more dangerous weapon than any blade when wielded by someone who has nothing left to lose but a dream."
Riku felt a profound chill seep into his bones. The sheer, terrifying realism of Levi's assessment hit him with the force of a physical blow. He had always seen his people as rational, as driven by survival. But Levi was right. Emotions, particularly primal ones like infatuation and jealousy, could warp even the most pragmatic minds. His attempt to create a superficial shield had inadvertently ignited a powder keg of dangerous desires. He had turned his village into a battlefield of hearts, and Erina was now the unwitting target.