I, Who Was Criticized as the World's Weakest S-Rank Explorer, Am Actually the World's Strongest Explorer - Episode 25

Episode 25

The next day.

Yuna went to school as usual and entered her classroom. 

After casually greeting her friends and sitting at her desk, her friend Mao came over. She was holding a magazine. 

“Look, look! This magazine has Kiryu-sama on the cover! Isn’t he super cool?” 

The cover featured a handsome man with blonde hair. Seeing this, Yuna remembered her father’s remarriage and let out a small sigh. 

“What’s up? Sighing because he’s too cool for words?” 

“…..No, it’s just… a lot on my mind, you know?” 

“What is it? Got something to worry about?” 

Mao Fujita, her friend, teased her with a grin. Yuna hesitated for a moment but then sighed and started talking. 

“…..…Well, it’s about my dad’s remarriage.” 

“Wait, remarriage? You never told me about that! That’s so sudden. Who’s the lucky one?” 

Mao leaned in with obvious curiosity. 

“Um, well, I’m fine with my dad’s new partner..… but it’s her son. He’s actually an S-Rank Explorer…” 

“Wait, what? For real!? Hey, everyone! Yuna’s dad’s new stepson is an S-Rank Explorer!” 

“Hey! Keep it down!” 

Mao’s loud announcement drew the attention of the entire class. And soon, everyone was focused on Yuna, asking, “Who is it? Who is it?” 

Yuna muttered quietly, 

“……It’s, uh, Haruto Amakusa.” 

As soon as she said his name, her classmates fell silent for a moment before grimacing one by one. 

“Haruto Amakusa!? No way, you should totally stay away from him!” 

“Yeah, isn’t he the so-called weakest S-Rank Explorer? He’s all over the internet for failing to clear dungeons and getting trashed online.” 

“Not to mention, people mock him on TV all the time. He’s just a useless jerk!” 

“There’s no way a guy like that is popular. Yuna, you’re cute—you definitely don’t want to get involved! He might be an S-rank explorer, but you can’t beat him in strength. So it’s dangerous!” 

Hearing the concerned voices of her classmates, Yuna nodded along. 

Looking online, there were plenty of articles accusing Haruto of problematic behavior. They even claimed he’d acted inappropriately toward female models backstage. Those rumors made Yuna understandably wary of him. 

“Having a guy like that in your family would be a nightmare. Shouldn’t you talk to your dad about this?” 

“……But my dad seemed so excited about it…” 

“Isn’t his parent supposed to be shady too? There’s a good chance your dad’s being tricked!” 

“……Maybe.” 

From what Yuna had seen online and on TV, that did seem likely. 

“Yeah! Your dad might’ve been brainwashed or something. You really need to talk him out of this!” 

“…For now, I’ll have a chance to meet his family soon. So I’ll see for myself then.” 

With that, Yuna gave a wry smile and reassured her friends. 

For the moment, the discussion about Yuna’s concerns ended. But the conversation quickly shifted to Haruto. 

“Having an S-Rank Explorer as a stepsibling could’ve been such a dream. But it’s so disappointing. It would’ve been perfect if it were Kiryu-sama!” 

“Totally, right?” 

Her friends chuckled, and Yuna couldn’t help but share the sentiment. 

“Kiryu would’ve been fine, but… not *him*.” 

“Seriously, Haruto should take lessons from Kiryu-sama. What a pathetic explorer that guy is.” 

“Even a quick search shows mountains of bad press about that Amakusa guy…” 

“Seriously, be careful, Yuna.” 

Yuna returned a faint smile to her worried classmates. 

“I know, I will.” 

The class stayed abuzz with discussions about explorers for a while. 

In the days that followed, Yuna had a few opportunities to meet Misaki, Haruto’s mother. 

Yuna had been on her guard the entire time. But after meeting Misaki several times, she couldn’t help but form a positive impression of her. Misaki was not only pleasant but also genuinely likable. 

At the same time, a question arose in Yuna’s mind: 

How could someone so kind have a son like Haruto Amakusa? 

In the end, respecting her father’s feelings, Yuna accepted the remarriage. They began living together. And since Yuna had already established her boundaries with Haruto, nothing untoward happened. 

However, Yuna absolutely despised Haruto Amakusa. 

He always had this carefree grin plastered on his face—a goofy, clueless smile like the kind she’d seen him wear on TV. It repelled her. 

On top of that, on their very first day living together, Haruto showed up late even though they had planned to leave the house together. His casual attitude only solidified her disdain. 

But as time passed, Yuna’s opinion began to shift. 

At school, even when Haruto was late, no one mocked him. On the contrary, classmates treated him kindly. And even the teachers observed him warmly. 

Haruto frequently left school mid-lesson to stop dungeons from activating. Seeing this, Yuna realized he didn’t give off the lazy, slacker vibe she had initially thought. 

Her curiosity piqued. Yuna decided to ask Akira Miyoshi, a male student Haruto had been talking to earlier. 

“…..That guy earlier. He’s the S-Rank Explorer, right?” 

“Yeah, that’s him,” 

Akira replied, his expression slightly conflicted. 

“……He seems to be going through a lot. Is it always like this?” 

“Pretty much. He works ridiculously hard. I guess people from outside the town might have a bad impression of him, but… could you judge Haruto after seeing him for yourself?” 

Akira seemed like he had more to say but stopped there. 

Yuna nodded silently. She understood that Akira clearly held a high opinion of Haruto, but she still didn’t fully trust his words. 

Out of curiosity, Yuna began researching Haruto Amakusa again. 

Yet, all she found online were negative descriptions: “incompetent,” “weakest.” Still, none of these matched the person she was living with. 

One evening, after finishing her nightly livestream. Yuna went to step out of her room for the bathroom. At that moment, she spotted Haruto leaving through the front door, sword in hand. 

Whether it was late at night or early in the morning, Haruto was always heading toward dungeons. 

Watching him, Yuna felt something inside her begin to shift. 

And one night, after finishing her usual stream. Yuna approached her father, Takashi. He was sitting in the living room. 

“Dad, um… there’s something I want to talk about.” 

It was a topic she didn’t want Misaki, Haruto’s mother, to overhear. So the timing was convenient. 

“Hmm? What is it?” 

“……..It’s about Haruto. Did he go to a dungeon again?” 

“Looks like it. He’s amazing, isn’t he? Going to dungeons late into the night, every single day…” 

“…Yeah.” 

Yuna couldn’t find the words to disagree. Watching him day after day, she couldn’t deny the effort he was putting in. 

“I was worried too, so I asked Misaki-san about it. She said she’s just as concerned.” 

“…She’s worried?” 

“Of course. If she could, she’d stop him. But if he quits being an explorer, he’ll face criticism. And it might cause trouble for those around him. That’s probably why Haruto won’t stop.” 

“………” 

Takashi smiled wryly and continued. 

“When you brought it up before, I got worried too. So I looked into Haruto myself. If he was really as bad as the internet says, I was prepared to call off the wedding. I wouldn’t want anything bad happening to you.” 

“………I see.” 

“But when I talked to Haruto, he looked me straight in the eye… so I thought, ‘he’ll be okay.’ And from what I can see, he’s doing fine, right?” 

Though Takashi could be absent-minded at times, there were moments when he showed surprising decisiveness. 

Yuna slowly nodded at his words. 

“…..Yeah… He’s fine.” 

“Then that’s great. It’s late, so why don’t you get some rest?” 

“…..Okay. Goodnight.” 

“Goodnight.” 

Yuna lowered her head, her voice a soft murmur. 

(…I need to apologize.) 

With that thought lingering in her mind, Yuna returned to her room.