The Reward for the World's Strongest Explorer's Perfect Dungeon Conquest is apparently Marriage to me, who is known as an S-rank Fraud - Chapter 19

“I’m home—”

I had already messaged Ayane:
“Found Shia in the dungeon. Ended up completely conquering it. Heading home now.”

“Welcome back, big brother! …Wait, what’s with your hair and those tattoos? Oh no, my brother’s turned into a delinquent!”

Right… about that.

A fiery pattern had appeared across the right side of my body.

I could hide the markings on my arms, legs, and torso with clothes, but the one trailing from my neck to the middle of my cheek was impossible to conceal.

To make matters worse, a single streak of green had appeared in my hair, giving me a rowdy, rebellious look.

Not my choice, I swear.

By the way—Shia had completely ignored my new appearance.

I only noticed after catching a glimpse of myself in the bathroom mirror.

Yeah. That was a shock.

“I’ll explain later.”

But for now, there was something more important—

The girl standing behind me, fidgeting ever so slightly.

I already knew she had something to tell Ayane.

Something from this morning.

What could it be?

“I’m home…”

“Welcome back, Shia! Congratulations on the conquest. You must be exhausted, right? Let’s eat!”

“Ayane… I want to talk about this morning.”

Ayane didn’t seem bothered at all about what had happened earlier.

But Shia clearly did not want to let it go.

Her voice was serious—determined.

“…Okay. Let’s talk.”

Ayane accepted the challenge.

“First, I need to apologize properly.”

“I acted thoughtlessly, without considering your feelings.

I’m truly sorry.”

Shia bowed deeply.

“No, I should be the one—”

“Don’t apologize.”

“Eh—?”

For once, Shia firmly cut her off.

Ayane, caught off guard, froze mid-sentence.

“Please… tell me how you really feel.”

“I spent time in the dungeon thinking.

Thinking about how much Kuma loves and protects you.”

I looked away.

Normally, this would be the perfect time for a joke, but even I knew when to shut up and listen.

Ayane did too—she listened intently.

“And I realized… how much you love Kuma too.”

Ayane let out a small smile.

“Yeah.

Big brother loves me like an idiot.”

“You know, he’s actually really popular?

But he turns everyone down, and then he complains in front of me about wanting a girlfriend.

He’s such an idiot.”

…Until Ayane became an adult, she was always my number one priority.

That hadn’t changed then, and it hadn’t changed now.

“Big brother always puts my happiness before his own.

Even when he’s struggling, even when he’s hurting, he never lets me see it.

He just keeps smiling.”

“The world’s best brother.”

“Yeah. To me, he’s the most amazing person in the world.”

…Ayane, please.

Words that direct are a bit embarrassing.

“And yet, I tried to take that away from you…”

“That’s wrong, Shia.

That’s not it at all.”

Ayane shook her head.

She looked far more mature than her age as she smiled softly.

“More than anyone, I want big brother to be happy.

But all I ever do is rely on him—I can’t support him, help him, or even walk beside him.”

That’s not true.

She’s always supported me.

She’s always helped me.

I’ve always relied on her too.

“That’s why I kept wishing for someone wonderful to walk beside him.”

“And then… someone wonderful actually showed up, and my wish came true.”

“…Ayane, I’m not wonderful at all.

Not even close.

I caused Kuma so much trouble this time.

I’m selfish, childish, and completely hopeless—”

“Stop.”

Ayane cut her off before she could finish.

“Big brother is stubborn, says inappropriate things, causes trouble for people, and has terrible manners toward his elders.

But—I still think he’s amazing.

And I think you’re amazing too, Shia.”

“Even though I say all this—I’m still a total brocon.

I still want to cling to my brother.

And yeah, a part of me doesn’t want to lose him.”

At last.

I finally got to hear Ayane’s true feelings.

As her brother, it was a complicated thing to hear.

But the fact that she was able to say it to Shia—

That was good enough.

“Ayane—”

“No more apologies, Shia!

I was really, really happy when you said you wanted to marry my brother!”

“…Really?”

For all her strength, for all her titles, Shia was just a normal girl at heart.

Uncertain, anxious—

She kept asking, voice barely above a whisper.

“Really, really, REALLY!”

“Geez!”

Ayane snapped.

Shia flinched, immediately sitting up straight.

Yeah.

My little sister might actually be the strongest in the world.

“Okay, Shia—if you’re going to take my brother away, I have one request.”

She had completely regained her composure.

And now—she was negotiating.

“I’ll do anything.”

Before even hearing the request, Shia nodded so fast it looked like her head might fly off.

“Alright. Then—”

“Please make my big brother happy.”

Damn it.

She sounds exactly like a father from a Showa-era drama.

The kind that grumbles about never giving away his daughter—only to break down and give his blessing in the end.

“I promise.

No matter what happens, I’ll support, help, and make Kuma happy.

So please, Ayane—

Give me your brother.”

Shia sat formally, lowering her forehead to the floor.

“Yes. Please take care of my brother.”

They bowed to each other—

Then lifted their heads, both smiling brilliantly.

And with that—

Everything was settled.

“To live in harmony is a beautiful thing.”

As the main subject of this entire conversation, I had been completely sidelined.

So, I decided to strike a smug pose and deliver a dramatic closing line.

…Not that I had anything to say after such an embarrassingly heartfelt exchange.

“Shia, whenever big brother pulls that smug face and says something weird, it’s usually because he’s embarrassed.”

“Stop that!”

“Noted. Please continue teaching me more about Kuma.”

“Of course! I’ll tell you everything—from his favorite foods to his underwear rotation.”

…Wait.

My underwear rotation?

Ayane knew even that?!

I mean, I don’t even have one—I just grab whatever’s clean.

So it must have been unconscious…

“Anyway, now that we’ve settled things, we should probably let in the people waiting outside.”

“Wait, big brother—someone’s here?”

My dear naïve little sister.

She had so casually welcomed us home and congratulated us, but—

A dungeon conquest isn’t some arcade high score update.

“Well, this is the second full conquest in such a short time.”

“As always, Araki-san and Eri-chan are here.”

“And of course, Sasaki-san is handling the hellish aftermath.”

“Hahaha.”

Just thinking about poor Sasaki-san, who was probably drowning in paperwork and government calls, made me let out a dry laugh.

Rest in peace, man.

“…Kuma, you’re forgetting about Grigri.”

“Grigri? Big brother, who’s that? A foreigner?”

“Hmm… well, describing him as a ‘foreigner’ wouldn’t be entirely wrong.

But it wouldn’t be entirely right, either.”

“At least, don’t worry—he won’t bite.”

“…Bite?”

Ayane tilted her head, completely lost.

By the way—Lord Berglims had already revived.

As soon as we returned through the portal, we briefly synchronized using Synchro Assimilation, but the moment we arrived—

He sprinted straight to the bathroom and locked himself in, waiting for Shia to bring him supplies.

In the end—

We stuffed him into a large cardboard box we had picked up from a dumpster, and that’s how we smuggled him out.

Mission accomplished.

“Alright, I’ll go get them.”

And so—

At the front door, Araki-san, Eri-chan… and a cardboard box arrived.