The Lowest-Ranked Hero Has Returned
“Daaaale!!!”
With a loud cry, Lanez came running toward me with quick, heavy footsteps.
Tears welling in her eyes, Lanez barreled into me and pulled me into a tight hug as if she were about to knock me over.
“Sorry. I’m really late, huh?”
“Dale, Dale, Dale, Dale, Dale, Dale, Dale, Dale, Dale!!!”
“Yeah.”
“This... this isn’t a dream, right...?”
“Want me to prove it?”
I gently lifted her chin and pressed my lips to hers in a light kiss.
“Ah...”
Letting out a soft sigh, Lanez touched her lips.
Tears that had been welling in her eyes rolled down her cheeks.
“You really... came back.”
“Yeah. I’m sorry for making you wait so long.”
“Huu... huuuh... huuwaaaah! Dale, Dale, Dale, Dale, Dale, Daaale!”
Lanez sobbed uncontrollably, crying her heart out.
I stroked her back gently and recalled something Iris had told me.
“By the way, I heard you were a huge support to everyone while I was asleep.”
“Sniff... th-that’s...”
When I first heard I’d been unconscious for a year and a half, my first thought was whether Lanez had lost control during that time.
But to my surprise, I heard she had been the most composed one, encouraging the other lovers, and that truly shocked me.
“Iris and Yurina were both having such a hard time... I-I felt like I couldn’t let myself fall apart too.”
She smiled bashfully, her expression shy.
“I-I mean, I am... the oldest one... hehe.”
Seeing her blush and smile awkwardly made me smile without even realizing it.
‘She’s changed.’
It was a remarkable difference compared to how she used to be—always anxious and scared when we first met.
“But still... i-it was really hard....”
“I know.”
“Every day, I was so scared you might never come back.”
“I’m sorry.”
“On the days I missed you the most, I’d strip your sleeping body completely and... comforted myself from the loneliness.”
“Yeah... wait, what?”
Hold on.
What did she just say?
“E-even though you were asleep, Dale, you were still so healthy!”
“No, wait.”
What exactly did you do to a patient?
“Ah...! I-I didn’t just undress you! I also dressed you up as a butler! And in a military uniform!”
“...Uh, okay.”
“Hehe. I took tons of pictures and sent them to everyone—they all said it cheered them up!”
“......”
What... the heck happened while I was unconscious?
“But more than anything...”
Lanez gripped the hem of my clothes tightly.
“B-because I kept telling myself that Dale would come back... I was able to endure it.”
“......”
Hearing her say that with such a bright smile, I instinctively leaned in and kissed her again.
“Thank you—for believing in me.”
“Hehe... Kissing Dale... I love it so much.”
Lanez smiled dreamily, gently touching her lips.
“...Lanez.”
“Dale...”
Just as a tender atmosphere was forming between us—
“Ahem... Now that the reunion kiss has happened not once but twice, isn’t it time to move on to the next in line?”
Click.
The door opened and in walked a tall beauty with long black hair.
It was Elisha, who I hadn’t seen in a year and a half.
Her hair, once shoulder-length, had grown quite a bit.
“Professor Elisha.”
“Hmph. Still calling me ‘professor’ in a moment like this?”
“...Elisha.”
“Fufu. Much better.”
“You grew your hair.”
“I wanted to give you a fresh impression when you woke up, so I let it grow.”
Elisha approached me, running her fingers through her hair.
“How is it? Does it suit me?”
“Yeah. I liked the short hair, but long hair gives you a whole new vibe.”
“Fufu. I’m pleased to hear that.”
With a soft smile, Elisha pressed her lips to mine.
Through the kiss, I could feel how much she was trembling.
“...I missed you.”
“I missed you too.”
“Well then, let me do a little check.”
“Check?—mmph!”
Her tongue slid into my mouth.
Elisha's tongue moved wildly, like a starving beast, exploring every corner inside.
Puhah!
When she finally pulled away, gasping for breath, she studied me with gleaming eyes.
“...Huh.”
A quiet exclamation escaped her lips.
“Your two powers have completely fused. It’s like... seeing a massive tree made of fire.”
“Took a while, but I made sure everything was in order.”
“Hmph. Don’t think you can just gloss over everything like nothing happened.”
Elisha turned her eyes away, looking a bit sulky.
“I was really lonely without you, you know.”
“......”
“From now on, don’t ever leave me alone again. Always stay by my side.”
What’s going on?
Did she get younger while I was asleep?
Why does my professor look so cute right now?
“...Elisha.”
As I looked at her averting her gaze with a slight turn of her head, I swallowed hard.
BOOM!
A loud explosion shook the party house.
“That sound...”
“Fufu. Looks like the next one’s arrived.”
Elisha shrugged and stepped away from me.
CRASH!
The window shattered, and a woman in a dress flew in through it.
“D-Dale...!”
“Long time no see, Camellia.”
“Ah... y-you really... really came back.”
Camellia looked at me with trembling eyes, overwhelmed with emotion, and rushed into my arms.
“To worry me like this... What a wicked vassal you are.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Sigh... I truly couldn’t focus on anything while you were asleep. I locked myself away in my room all day, thinking of you.”
“Then how did you manage the Empire’s affairs?”
“I have many capable ministers, you know.”
“......”
How can she sound so confident while basically saying she’s been slacking off...?
"Hehe, do not worry. Ever since the Order of Eternity and the Demons disappeared, the continent has enjoyed a peace greater than any time in history."
“Oh...”
Now that I think about it, she’s right.
"Of course, there are still occasional beast hordes and a few rogue heroes committing crimes for personal gain, but it is nothing compared to the days when demons roamed freely."
“I see.”
"Hehe."
Camellia gave a soft smile and gently caressed my cheek.
"All of this was possible because of you."
“......”
"How does it feel? To have created the peaceful era you so longed for with your own hands?"
"To be honest, it still doesn’t feel real..."
I looked around at the lovers gathered in the room and shrugged.
"But... it’s not a bad feeling."
"Hehe. To look at the women utterly bound to you and say that—truly, you do possess the qualities of a king, as befits the husband of an empress."
“......”
That really didn’t sound like a compliment.
"By the way... don’t I get one too?"
“Huh? Get what?”
"Th-The kiss of reunion, I mean..."
Camellia fidgeted with her lips, a hesitant look on her face.
Without a word, I stepped closer and kissed her.
"Hoo... how sweet."
Camellia smiled gently, savoring the lingering sensation on her lips.
Though she had tasted the finest delicacies across the continent as the empress of the empire, nothing had ever been this sweet.
"Now then, all that’s left is..."
Click.
Speak of the devil—just as they say.
The door creaked open gently, and Yurina stepped inside.
“...Ah.”
Yurina looked terribly frail, enough to stir pity.
Her silver hair, once radiant like moonlight, was now dull and lifeless.
“...Yurina.”
I had heard from Iris that Yurina was in the worst condition, but...
‘This bad, huh.’
I hurried over to her.
“D-Dale... ugh.”
As I approached, she flinched and took a step back.
“...What’s wrong?”
“......”
Yurina bowed her head deeply, her shoulders trembling.
“...I’m sorry, Dale.”
“What are you sorry for?”
“I... I couldn’t protect you. I promised... that I would...”
“......”
Her words from before I fought Maurice came back to me.
— Dale. I’ll protect you.
Right.
She had definitely said that.
“...Is that why you’ve been suffering so much? Because you thought it was your fault I didn’t wake up?”
“I-It’s not wrong! If I had been stronger, maybe the Primordial Flame inside you wouldn’t have gone berserk...!”
“Sigh. Seriously, you...”
When Iris told me Yurina was in the worst state, I was surprised.
But I never imagined she had been blaming herself for everything.
‘So very Yurina.’
Yurina, always so upright and honest, but that personality had turned against her this time.
“It’s not your fault.”
“B-But...”
“I would’ve had to deal with it eventually, even if it wasn’t Maurice.”
“...Really?”
“Yeah. And thanks to that, I’ve grown stronger.”
Maybe no one else would understand.
But for me, being able to choose the end of my life on my own terms—that was the biggest change of all.
I was almost grateful to Maurice for making it happen.
“So stop blaming yourself.”
“...Dale.”
“Look, I’m perfectly fine now, right?”
I shrugged and spread my arms.
Whump.
Yurina threw herself into my embrace.
“Then from now on... we’ll be together, right?”
“Yeah. I’ll stay with you until you get tired of me.”
“Hehe. Then I guess we’ll be together forever.”
She smiled sweetly and kissed me.
After reuniting with my lovers—
I was planning to meet the rest of my party next.
Bang!
"Brother! I heard you woke—gahk!"
Berald burst through the door in excitement, only to be immediately kicked back out by Yurina.
“Y-Yurina...?”
“Sorry, Berald.”
Yurina smiled as she reached for the door handle.
“Dale and I still have things to take care of. Besides, aren’t you busy with graduation prep?”
“W-Well, not that busy...”
“Oh, you will be. Right?”
She waved her hand slightly—and a silver sword, like solid moonlight, formed in the air.
I don’t know what kind of brutal training she underwent while I was unconscious, but—
The pressure I felt from her now even surpassed Camellia’s.
To put it simply... yeah.
If she were to fight Maurice now, she could probably beat him.
“...O-On second thought, I am pretty busy!”
Pale-faced under Yurina’s overwhelming aura, Berald nodded furiously.
Zoom!
And he ran out like his life depended on it.
“Now then.”
Iris, who had been quietly watching the reunions, approached with a bright smile.
"Shall we truly begin our reunion now?"
Huh?
We’re having a reunion now?
“Wait, then what was all that just now...?”
"Just greetings, of course."
She pulled me gently onto the bed.
At the same time, the other women in the room—Yurina, Lanez, Elisha, and Camellia—all gave off an intense aura.
Like...
Yeah.
Like tossing a bound lamb into a den of starving wolves.
"You all have time, right?"
"Y-Yeah, I’m good!"
"Me too!"
Lanez and Yurina raised their hands enthusiastically.
"Final evaluations are done, so I’m free too."
"As for me, I am unoccupied for about a month."
“...Excuse me?”
Wait a sec.
Did I just hear “a month”?
"Perfect. The wedding is in a month, so you can stay until then."
Iris nodded with a bright smile.
"Now, Dale."
She leaned in and reached for the hospital gown I was wearing.
"Will you undress yourself? Or should I help you?"
“......”
Yeah.
This is definitely...
‘I’m screwed.’
As I watched them slowly approach, I closed my eyes tight.

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