The Lowest-Ranked Hero Has Returned
Inside the dorm room, enveloped in darkness.
Lanez stretched out her pale hand like a curtain drawn over the night and hugged me from behind.
“...Lanez?”
“......”
I called her name with a voice full of unease, but there was no response.
'No.'
Please say something.
This is too scary.
“...Dale.”
“Huh? Y-Yeah?”
“Sniff.”
“...Huh?”
I heard the sound of sniffles from behind me.
Lanez tightened her arms around me.
“Please... d-don’t abandon me.”
“...Huh?”
What is she talking about all of a sudden?
“I-I’ll do better. Sniff... I’ll do whatever you say. I won’t bother you, Dale. S-So... please don’t abandon me.”
“No, no, no.”
What is she saying?
“What did Lanez do wrong?”
Even though there were unavoidable circumstances, I was the one at fault.
“Huh...? Isn’t it because of me that you stopped contacting me?”
“I couldn’t contact you for other reasons.”
“Oh... I-I thought it was because I messaged too much.”
“......”
Now that I think about it, I hadn’t turned on the Hero Watch since I got it back.
How many messages did she send for her to act like this?
Beep.
I subtly turned my head and powered on the Hero Watch.
A red notification screen popped up, showing the number of unread messages.
[Sender: Lanez Malam.]
[Unconfirmed messages: 7,731.]
[Missed calls: 487.]
“......”
Well.
Those numbers definitely explain why Lanez was so worried.
Sigh.
“Eek...”
Lanez flinched and trembled at the sound of my sigh, then sniffled again.
With a voice full of fear, she hastily spoke.
“S-Sorry, Dale! So, it really was because I annoyed you, right? I-I won’t ever do it again! I-I’m sor—”
“It’s not that.”
The reason I sighed just now was out of regret for not contacting her and letting this situation escalate.
“Sorry. For not being able to reach out.”
I turned around to face Lanez, who had been holding me from behind.
I gently wiped away the tears from her eyes and stroked her hair.
“...Dale?”
“There were some circumstances.”
“C-Circumstances?”
Lanez flinched and briefly glanced down at my lower body.
“......”
Why are you looking there, girl?
“The reason I couldn’t contact you was...”
I slowly explained to Lanez everything that had happened in the empire.
Her face brightened more and more as my explanation continued.
“Oh... s-so that’s what happened.”
Lanez let out a deep sigh of relief upon realizing that the lack of contact wasn’t because of her.
“I thought... Dale didn’t like me anymore and... I didn’t know what to do...”
“So that’s why you were in my room?”
“Y-Yeah. I thought that if I stayed here... eventually, Dale would come back.”
Sigh.
So that’s what it was.
“You don’t have to worry about that anymore.”
I hugged Lanez, who trembled like an abandoned puppy, and gently patted her back.
“There’s no way I could ever dislike you, Lanez.”
“...Really?”
“Yeah.”
At first, I stayed by her side to stop Lanez’s blessing from going out of control.
But as time passed, she transformed from a ticking time bomb to a beloved girlfriend.
Looking back, it was inevitable.
How could I not love such a beautiful woman who always thought of me and tried her best in everything?
“B-But I’m... gloomy... a bother... and too jealous...”
“I love all those things about you.”
Iris’s kindness, Yurina’s diligence, and Elisha’s reliability were all great.
But Lanez’s gloominess had its own charm.
‘Wait, am I the weird one?’
To be honest, if I had to pick the “cutest” among my girlfriends, I’d say Lanez is number one.
When she trembles like that, I can’t help but want to hold her and comfort her.
‘Though she can be scary sometimes.’
Still.
Lanez being lovable hasn’t changed.
“Aww... aaahhh.”
Lanez stomped her feet, her face bright red.
Swoosh.
I lifted Lanez’s bangs, which hung like a curtain over her eyes.
In the dim light, her lovely face was revealed.
I bent down and gave her forehead a short kiss.
“Eek!”
Lanez let out a strange sound(?).
Plop.
Her body went limp, like a doll with its strings cut.
“Huh?”
Wait.
“Lanez?”
There was no response.
“...Hah.”
I let out a dry laugh and laid the unconscious Lanez on my bed.
A few minutes passed.
With a rustling sound, Lanez sat up.
“Huh? Where is this...”
“You’re awake?”
“Oh... D-Dale.”
Lanez mumbled, “It wasn’t a dream, huh,” when she saw me.
“Here, water.”
“Y-Yeah. Thank you.”
As I watched Lanez gulp down the water, I narrowed my eyes.
“By the way, Lanez... how many days has it been since you last slept?”
I hadn’t noticed in the dark earlier, but now she looked as haggard as an office worker suffering from 30 consecutive days of overtime.
“About... one, no, a week?”
“....”
Could it be that she hadn’t slept at all since we lost contact?
No matter how superhuman a hero’s body might be, going without sleep for over a week would make it hard to even stand.
“Sigh. Just go back to your room and rest today.”
“N-no!”
Lanez shook her head firmly at the suggestion to go back.
“T-today... I’m staying here....”
She clutched the blanket tightly, as if declaring she wouldn’t leave the bed no matter what.
“...Geez.”
Judging by her expression, there was no point in trying to send her back.
“Fine. Then I’ll just sleep on the floor....”
“N-no.”
Lanez lifted the blanket slightly.
“L-lie here.”
“.......”
...Is she asking me to sleep together?
“U-ugh.”
As I froze in place, Lanez bit her lip nervously.
“...D-Dale.”
Lying on the bed, she gave what she probably thought was a seductive look and patted the spot beside her.
“C-come lie down here~.”
“Pfft!”
Ah.
I can’t hold it in.
“W-why are you laughing?!”
“N-no... haha. Pffft.”
Seeing Lanez, who had looked like a dried anchovy earlier, attempt this kind of “seduction” was too funny to hold back my laughter.
“Sniff.”
“Alright, don’t cry.”
As soon as I lay down, Lanez quickly used my arm as a pillow and rested her head on it.
“Hehehe. So warm.”
Lanez smiled bashfully.
I chuckled and patted her head.
“...Dale.”
“Yeah?”
Lanez hesitated and tugged at my collar.
She leaned towards me, puckering her lips.
“N-not on the forehead... h-here. Kiss me.”
“.......”
Yup.
This was more like Lanez’s style of seduction.
“Mm... hah.”
While lying on the bed, I stole a kiss from Lanez.
Her excited breaths tickled my nose.
Her shy, tentative tongue gently brushed against mine.
“Phew.”
When the long kiss ended, Lanez looked at me with a dazed expression, as if she were intoxicated.
“Dale... I love you.”
She snuggled into my arms.
“I love you, love you, love you, love you, love you, love you. I love you so much.”
She rubbed her cheek against my chest, whispering words of love over and over.
“Dale... I’ll do anything you want.”
I’ll breathe for you.
I’ll dream for you.
I’ll live for you.
So.
“Stay by my side....”
Forever.
“...Okay.”
I nodded softly.
A bright smile spread across Lanez’s lips.
“Hmm... chu.”
She kissed me again.
This time, Lanez initiated the kiss, eagerly seeking my lips as if she’d found an oasis in a desert.
“Hah.”
Her body trembled slightly.
“...Ah!”
Lanez, who had been squirming, quickly sat up.
“What’s wrong?”
“N-nothing, it’s just....”
“Huh? Something feels damp....”
“Eek!”
Smack.
Lanez screamed and swung a pillow at me.
“I-I’m going to wash up real quick!”
She dashed into the bathroom.
The sound of running water filled the room.
I lay on the bed, waiting for her to come back.
Soon, the door clicked open, and Lanez emerged, wrapped in a towel.
“...Dale.”
Snap.
Lanez snapped her fingers, and the remaining water droplets on her body and hair crystallized into ice and fell away.
“Make me... w-warm.”
She slipped under the covers.
It wasn’t hard to understand what she wanted.
“...Okay.”
I nodded and embraced Lanez.
Her hair, now dry and soft, brushed against my hand as I held her.
And then—
“Yaaaawn.”
Plop.
With a big yawn, Lanez collapsed onto the pillow as if she had passed out.
“...Lanez?”
I gently touched her cheek, but she didn’t respond.
All I could hear was the sound of soft breathing.
“.......”
Wait a minute.
Did she really fall asleep in this situation?
“...Sigh.”
It wasn’t hard to understand.
She hadn’t slept for a week, took a hot shower, and was now lying on a soft bed.
Falling asleep was only natural.
The problem was—
‘What am I supposed to do now?’
I glanced down at my already-prepared-for-battle lower half and sighed deeply.
I couldn’t exactly wake Lanez up when she was sleeping so soundly.
In the end, I lay down beside her.
Lanez clung to me like a koala, wrapping herself around me tightly.
Her soft body pressed against mine, with only a towel as a barrier.
‘Wait a second.’
Did this mean I had to stay like this until Lanez woke up?
“.......”
Mayday, mayday.

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