The Lowest-Ranked Hero Has Returned

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[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 80: The Moon Swallowed by the Sun (2)

“Well then, I’ll go ahead. Make sure to pack your things and come to the mansion tomorrow.”

“I have class tomorrow…”

“Hah, you skipped class in front of me today, and now you're using it as an excuse?”

“…”

At my mother's continued words, I bit my lip tightly.

“…Yes. I'll pack my things and come home tomorrow.”

“I’ll wait for you at the Valhalla City Warp Gate, so come there.”

With that, my mother, as if she had nothing more to say, turned and left the room.

Click.

The door closed, and silence settled.

The ticking of the clock echoed like thunder in the room.

“…”

I slumped onto the carpeted floor, staring blankly out the window.

Beyond the clear glass, the shimmering moonlight poured down.

‘They say the moon can’t shine without the sun.’

I recalled something my basic education teacher once said and let out a soft, bitter laugh.

Not being able to shine without the sun.

It was just like me right now.

“…Becoming a man, huh.”

Even if I became a man, my life wouldn't change much.

After all, except for my mother and a few people in our family, no one knew that I was “Yurina.”

‘Yes.’

Nothing would change.

Just as it has been until now.

Just as it has always been.

I would continue living as “Yuren,” just as I have.

“…Dale.”

Why is it that at this moment, his name is the first thing that comes to mind?

“…Ah.”

Only now did I realize.

Only now could I feel it.

“I… liked Dale.”

I finally understood why it felt so suffocating every time I saw Dale and Iris together, why it was so hard to bear the loneliness and emptiness when I didn’t see him for a few days.

—You did well.

Why did just those simple words make my heart race so much?

Now I know.

Now I understand.

“Hah, haha.”

A dry laugh slipped from between my lips.

“How stupid.”

Dale doesn’t even know that I’m a woman, and here I am acting like a fool.

‘I’ve already decided to live as a man.’

That day, eight years ago.

When “Yuren,” who had promised to pick flowers for me after climbing the cliff, came back as a cold corpse.

The life of “Yurina” ended.

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‘This is the price I must pay.’

Ignorance is a sin.

Innocence is evil.

How could a sinner who killed her brother with her careless words claim that she has the right to pursue happiness?

“…Let’s wash up.”

I staggered to my feet and headed to the shower.

As I took off the pendant, a halo of light enveloped me, and I returned to my form as “Yurina.”

Silver hair that gleamed like it was woven from moonlight, a figure not as extraordinarily endowed as Iris, but with a beautifully shaped bust.

Thanks to constant training, my body was slender, with not an ounce of extra flesh.

It might be awkward to say this about myself, but there wasn't a place I went where people didn’t call me beautiful.

The reflection in the mirror was of a stunning woman.

“Yurina.”

I spoke, staring at my reflection in the mirror.

“This is the last time I’ll see myself like this.”

The woman in the mirror gave a sad smile.

“If… If I hadn’t asked my brother to pick those flowers that day, could I have ended up with Dale?”

The woman in the mirror shook her head.

“I wouldn’t have even met Dale? Ah, right. If I’d entered school at the right age, I wouldn’t have crossed paths with him in his third year.”

When I thought about it that way, I should be grateful that I met Dale like this, even if it wasn’t under ideal circumstances.

Though I couldn’t be his lover, I could still stay by his side as his friend.

“Haha, yeah. Thinking that way makes me feel a bit better.”

I smiled brightly as I raised my head.

But then, I saw the reflection in the mirror.

Tears were streaming down “Yurina’s” face, rolling down her cheeks.

“…Huh? Why am I crying?”

I said I’d made up my mind.

I said I’d resolved to do this.

I said that staying by his side as a friend was enough to give me some comfort.

So why?

Why, why, why?

Why was the reflection in the mirror crying so bitterly?

“Dale…”

I sobbed his name, and at that moment—

—Ding!

A soft chime rang out from my Hero Watch.

“Ah.”

I quickly turned it on to find a message from Dale.

[Hey, did you get home safely?]

“Hehe. He messaged me because he was worried.”

Just seeing his message made me smile, as if I hadn’t been crying at all.

The fear that had gnawed at me like poison, the sadness that had choked me, all seemed to vanish.

“I should reply quickly.”

I typed, “Yeah, I got home safe,” and was about to press send.

“…”

A powerful impulse welled up from deep inside.

Memories of skipping class today and hanging out with Dale in Valhalla City flashed through my mind.

An experience of rebellion, something I’d never done before, something I’d never even thought of doing.

“Tomorrow, I’ll become Yuren, won’t I?”

Which meant…

Today was the last day I could live as “Yurina” in this life.

“…”

I stared at my reflection as “Yurina” in the mirror.

My last day, my last chance.

If so…

“Just for today…”

Even if it’s a momentary escape, even if it’s just a fleeting dream, for today, could it be okay to be 'Yurina'?

“...”

I moved my finger, which had hesitated over the send button, and deleted the message I had prepared. With trembling fingertips, I sent him a new message.

[Dale, can we meet for a moment?]

* * *

Late at night, behind the school.

The moonlight quietly illuminated the eerily silent backyard.

"That guy... Did something really happen?"

I, having arrived at the meeting place first, let out a low sigh and sat down on a nearby bench.

"Ugh."

Regret began to wash over me—perhaps I shouldn't have dragged Yuren out earlier today.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

‘It’s obvious. He must’ve gotten scolded by that woman.’

Otherwise, why would he suddenly ask to meet in the middle of the night?

Especially since we’d been together all day, skipping classes and messing around.

“This is driving me nuts.”

While waiting for Yuren, I sighed, filled with a mix of regret and self-reproach.

That’s when I sensed someone approaching from afar.

“Yuren?”

“…No.”

A trembling voice reached me.

The figure revealed under the distant moonlight was a silver-haired woman.

The sight of her face under the gentle moonlight was so breathtaking that, for a moment, I forgot to breathe.

“Hello, Mr. Dale. It’s nice to meet you.”

The silver-haired woman who approached me bowed her head politely.

“My name is Yurina Helios.”

“…Yurina Helios?”

Yurina Helios?

Isn’t that the name of Yuren’s younger sister who was said to have died in an accident eight years ago?

“I know the world believes I died in an accident, but the truth is, due to certain circumstances, my family deliberately spread that rumor.”

“What kind of circumstances?”

Yurina trailed off.

She continued, her voice filled with a sad smile.

“Because I’m a direct descendant of the Helios family... and I bear the ‘Stigma of the Moon God.’”

“Oh.”

Now that she mentioned it, I had heard stories like that.

In high-ranking noble families, if a child is born with a Stigma different from their parents, they might be cast out of the family to preserve the family’s honor, or considered as though they were dead.

“I came to observe today’s classes with my mother… I never imagined you would skip class and take my brother out while I stepped away for just a moment.”

“Well, that…”

“Oh, don’t worry about my brother. Mother was quite upset, but we talked, and it’s all settled now.”

Yurina shrugged her shoulders as she spoke.

“That difficult woman?”

“Hehe. She may seem that way, but my mother greatly cares for my brother.”

“She sure doesn’t look like it.”

“Haha. Really, she does. My mother… has lived her entire life with only ‘Yuren’ in mind.”

Yurina gave a bittersweet smile as she said that.

“My brother told me a lot about you, Mr. Dale.”

“About me?”

“Yes. He’s always so happy when he talks about his friend that I got curious and nagged him until I could meet you.”

“...”

I stared at Yurina with a complicated expression.

“Oh, do you not believe me? Here, take a look. My Stigma is different from my brother’s, right?”

Yurina gently opened her shirt, revealing the area near her left chest.

Just as she said, there was the 'Stigma of the Moon God,' not the 'Stigma of the Sun God.'

“…So where’s Yuren right now?”

“Oh, he stayed behind with my mother to discuss some things.”

Stayed behind in the room, huh?

“So, what did you want to talk to me about?”

“It’s not that I had something specific to say.”

Yurina shook her head gently, smiling faintly.

“I just wanted to see what kind of person you are, Mr. Dale.”

“And that’s why you called me out at this hour?”

“I’m sorry. I have to return to the estate with my mother tomorrow. Today is the only chance I had to meet you.”

Yurina spoke as she carefully sat down beside me.

“I feel like if I don’t meet you today... there won’t be another chance.”

“…Why?”

I frowned as I asked, and Yurina smiled brightly.

“I’ve always been unwell, you see. The doctors say I won’t live much longer.”

“...”

“Before it’s too late, I wanted to say something to you.”

“What is it?”

“Mr. Dale.”

Yurina turned to me, her face lighting up with a radiant smile.

“Please continue to take care of my brother.”

The moonlight shone down on her.

“As a dear friend... as a reliable companion... please stay by his side.”

Yurina slowly stood up.

“Well, I should go now. If I stay out too long, my brother will scold me.”

She bowed politely once again.

“…It was such a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Dale.”

With those final words, Yurina turned and walked away.

“...”

Alone in the backyard, I thought back to the ‘Yurina Helios’ I had just met.

“Yurina Helios…”

Yuren’s younger sister.

The one who the world believed had died in an accident eight years ago, but in truth, was still alive.

After hearing about me from Yuren, she had been so curious that she pestered him to bring me out here in the middle of the night.

“Sigh.”

I let out a deep sigh and rubbed my forehead.

“Yuren, you bastard.”

You’re a terrible liar.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]