A silence fell between us, heavy like a lowered curtain.

I swallowed hard as I looked at Yurina. “Uh, w-what did you say?”

“I-I said I’m done washing.”

I stood up to head toward the shower. “T-then I should also...”

However, Yurina grabbed my arm. Avoiding my gaze, she turned her head away, lips jutting out in a small pout. “D-Dale, you don’t need to wash up. Y-you didn’t even fight much.”

“No, still.”

“I-I said it’s fine! When you were next to me earlier, you didn’t smell at all!” She pulled my hand closer and sniffed it. “Hehe. Smells nice.”

“Obviously, it smells.”

“I-it smells nice, so it’s fine!”

Her grip tightened as if she refused to let me go to the shower. I let out a short sigh and sat back down. Yurina sat right beside me and quietly leaned toward my shoulder. Her damp hair brushed against me, and a faint shampoo scent tickled my nose.

Clutching the towel wrapped around her like a cloak, Yurina spoke in a tiny voice. “Reward. P-please give me my reward now.”

“Why are you suddenly speaking so politely?”

“H-huh? Did I just, uh, talk politely?”

Her face went bright red as she flailed, forgetting even what she had said moments ago.

If a painter could capture her expression right now, her eyes would’ve been drawn in spirals.

Suppressing a laugh, I slowly placed my hand on her head. As soon as my hand touched her crown, she let out a soft sigh. The girl who had been flustered enough to fly off at any second suddenly relaxed, settling down. I gently stroked her head with just enough pressure.

Clutching the soft towel wrapped around her like someone warming themselves beside a stove in winter, Yurina smiled shyly. “Hehehe. Dale, your hand is warm.”

The moment I unconsciously imagined what lay beneath that thin towel, my heart pounded as if it might explode.

“Dale.”

“Yeah?”

“In my previous life, was I ever like this?”

“Well, you never sat by my side begging me to pat your head, if that’s what you mean.”

Yurina glanced down at the sword lying on the table. “N-no! That’s not what I meant! I meant... Was I ever shaken like this? From killing someone.”

“Hmm.”

To be honest, I wasn’t sure.

I explained, “We only became party members ten years after graduation. I don’t know what happened to you before that. But the Yurina... No, when I met Yuren ten years later, he never hesitated to swing his sword. Whether the opponent was a demon or a hero, it didn’t matter.”

Yurina lowered her head with a small nod. “I see. You said that, in your past life, I became the strongest swordsman, right?”

“That’s right.”

Yuren was the last hope of humanity, the Heir of the Sun, and the swordsman closest to reaching the pinnacle since Reynald Helios. Countless titles were attached to him.

Gazing down at her sword, Yurina looked uncertain. “Do you think I can still become that? A hero like that.”

I chuckled softly as I stroked her hair. “No. You won’t become like Yuren.”

“Then what?”

“You’ll surpass him.”

You’d reach a height even Yuren never reached. You’d become a moon shining brighter than the brilliant sun.

“Really?”

“Yeah. I’m sure.”

In a small, subdued voice, she asked, “How can you be so certain?”

She bit her lip, trembling. “I’m acting like such a mess just because I got blood on my sword!”

I shook my head firmly. “You’re not a mess. I may have pushed you forward, but you made the decision.”

I slid my hand down to hold hers. Her hand trembled slightly, the memory of the moment still vivid.

“And if you were the kind of person who could kill without worry or hesitation, honestly, I would’ve changed my mind about you.”

“Changed your mind?”

I looked down at the bloodstained sword. “Yuren once told me something. A sword without hesitation or anguish is too light. It can never reach the pinnacle.”

Yurina’s eyes widened in disbelief. “I said something like that?”

“Well, I never really understood what it meant.”

But one thing was certain.

“Yurina, you’ll reach the place Yuren reached. No, you will go far beyond.”

She closed her eyes for a moment, deep in thought, then softly said, “So, in your past life, I became a man, didn’t I?”

“Yeah.”

“Back then, what was I like?”

“What do you mean?”

She fidgeted with the towel in her hands. “Like, was I sad about it? Or disappointed?”

“Hmm. I didn’t even know Yuren used to be a woman back then, so— Ah, but there was one thing.”

“What?”

“When Iris and I were together, Yuren nagged us a lot. Asked if it was really the time to goof off.”

Yurina let out a soft laugh. “Haha. Sounds exactly like me now... So that’s how it was.”

She slowly rose from the sofa, and her shadow fell over my head as I remained seated.

“That means I’m standing right in front of the dream my past self always wished for, right?”

“Huh? What dream?”

“Dale.”

Yurina opened the towel she had been wearing like a cloak.

I was speechless. The first thing that caught my eye was her skin, pale and luminous under the moonlight. The silvery glow spilling through the window scattered across her, creating an unreal, dreamlike sight.

Wrapped over that pale skin was luxurious lingerie. She had also worn black stockings that reached mid-thigh, connected by straps, along with a garter belt. It was exactly that kind of “sexy lingerie” one would imagine.

“W-what, what do you think?” she asked.

The sight hit me so hard I couldn’t even form a reply. I froze, dazed. I even forgot how to breathe as my eyes traced every line of Yurina’s body.

“S-say something. D-does it... suit me?”

It was neither overly bold nor plain. It was a design that leaned more elegant than sexy. If she asked whether it suited her, the answer was clear.

“To be honest, it doesn’t,” I replied.

Yurina stomped, on the verge of tears. “Ugh! I-I knew it! I told that lady I shouldn’t pick this one!”

I abruptly stood and scooped her into my arms. “But.”

“Huh? Kyaaa!”

Holding her princess-style, I stared down at her with bloodshot eyes. “Whether it suits you or not, if you ask me whether it worked, then this... This is my answer.”

With her in my arms, I strode straight toward her bedroom.

“W-wait, D-Dale? Hold on— Kyaaaa!”

Honestly, the lingerie did feel a bit too early for her. It was like a new graduate hero suddenly equipping top-tier artifacts. But so what? Who cared if it didn’t suit her perfectly?

A garter belt? A garter belt, of all things.

Top-tier artifacts had the power to raise a hero’s level by two, three steps in an instant. And what Yurina was wearing now definitely counted as something close to that.

Yurina shouted, “D-Dale! Your eyes! Your eyes look scary!”

In front of its overwhelming, destructive power, my reason crumbled far too easily.

“Kyaaaah!”

Along with Yurina’s scream, the bedroom door closed shut.

***

The next day, when the sun was already in the middle of the sky, Yurina screamed at me once she woke up. “D-Dale, you pervert!”

The pillow she swung smacked me straight in the philtrum each time.

Her face was bright red, eyes shimmering as if she would burst into tears any second. “I-I was a-a first-timer! And you didn’t even let me rest!”

I hung my head like a criminal, defeated in the tug-of-war between reason and instinct. “S-sorry!”

Yurina pulled the blanket up to hide herself. “Haa! Haa! Seriously.”

She glanced at the lingerie lying discarded at the edge of the bed. “You said it didn’t suit me.”

“I told you. Not suiting you and not being effective are two different things.”

“Hmph. As if you cared about the lingerie at all after a while!”

“Well, you’re not wrong.”

Still wrapped in the blanket like a cocoon, Yurina inched toward me. “Hmph.”

Once close enough, she pursed her lips. I pulled her lightly into my arms and kissed her.

A shy smile blossomed at the corner of her mouth. “Hehehe, I finally got a proper kiss.”

“We did plenty yesterday.”

She pinched my side in embarrassment. “T-that doesn’t count! I was too overwhelmed to even remember!”

“Now, you won’t sulk anymore about being the only one who hasn’t kissed yet, right?”

“Hmph. When did I ever sulk?”

I stared at her in disbelief. “Oh, really? You’re saying that now?”

She made a shameless face, pretending not to understand.

While we bantered back and forth, she called out to me and rested her head on my shoulder. “Dale.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m going to get stronger. Much stronger than my past self.”

“Yeah.”

Her grip on my hand tightened as she solidified her resolve. “And I’m going to be happy. Enough for the version of me who never got that chance before.”

“Why bring up your past life now?”

“Well, didn’t you say it before? That the reason you exist now is that my past self did.”

“Oh. Yeah, I did.”

“That means my past life played a part in changing the course of my present one.”

Ah! That’s why she said that.

“Hmm. Well, then I guess it can’t be helped,” I said.

“Huh? What can’t be helped?”

I sat up, reaching for the blanket covering her. “I was going to stop for today since you seemed exhausted, but if we have to make up for your past life’s share too, well... There’s no helping it.”

“W-wait, Dale! You’re not seriously thinking of continuing?”

“Ehem.”

Flushed bright red, Yurina grabbed a pillow and smacked me repeatedly. “Kyaaaah! D-don’t take the blanket! No! D-Dale, you pervert!”

Under the bright midday sun, a red-tinted moon glowed inside the room.