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 5

“Ahaha! I’m home!”

“………………”

No good, huh?

I thought I could smooth things over by laughing it off, but my little sister was not that naive.

“Tch! A pressure skill?! My own sister is exerting dominance over an S-Class Seeker?! This one’s… strong!”

Standing in the doorway, arms crossed and radiating hostility, my sister looked like an S-rank+ monster.

Her puffed-up cheeks—was that a preparatory stance for a special move?!

“Enough! Big brother, you’re getting a lecture!”

“…Yes, ma’am. Well, that aside—Shia?”

I accepted my inevitable punishment without resistance.

But for some reason, standing beside my sister, Shia was calmly observing the situation.

“Welcome home. Do you want dinner? A bath? Or maybe… me?”

“Yeah, Shia. From now on, let’s never say ‘s3x’ or anything remotely explicit in front of my sister. Also, why are you here?”

Exploring dungeons in bed with the world’s strongest Seeker, Valkyrie Shia Kusakabe, was certainly appealing, but… not in front of my little sister.

“I’m your wife, so of course I’m here.”

“Ah… well, we haven’t officially done the paperwork yet, but—whatever. It works out. I actually wanted to talk about everything leading up to this and where we go from here.”

I still wasn’t sure why Shia suddenly decided she wanted to marry me.

I needed to hear it from her directly so I could at least try to understand.

“Pardon the intrusion. Ayane-san, I sincerely apologize for how the press conference turned out.

Oh, Shia-san is here as well. Good evening.”

Eri-chan (32).

She followed me home after the press conference.

Yes, I brought her back. Takeout style.

“I’ll be joining as well.”

Araki-san (55) also got carried home.

And the reason was obvious—I wanted him to get scolded by Ayane (14), too.

For context, Araki-san completely dumped all the post-press-conference cleanup on Director Sasaki.

Despite knowing he was in for hell, Sasaki-san had put on a strained smile and waved him off.

Respect.

Good luck, Sasaki-san.

“Oh, both of you! Thank you for always looking after my brother. Please, come in.”

A moment ago, Ayane had been pouting in frustration.

But the instant she saw them, she switched to full hostess mode and guided them to the dining room.

With five people, the dining table felt a bit cramped.

No, actually—it felt cramped because Shia was clinging to me.

Haah… she’s so warm and soft.

“…………”

Oops.

I nearly blacked out for a moment, but my sister’s ice-cold glare brought me back to reality.

“First off, Ayane-kun, I deeply apologize.”

“Ah! Araki Minister, please! You don’t need to bow to me!

It’s my brother who couldn’t keep his mouth shut!”

“Hey, that journalist was 90% at fault.”

Well… maybe Ayane had a point.

I’ll admit 10% of it was my fault for losing my patience.

“No, it was 100% the journalist’s fault. Kuma didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Shia…! See?! Shia agrees with me! I take it back—I’m completely innocent!”

The moment Shia hugged my arm and defended me, my self-esteem went up by one level.

Hehe. Hehehehe. I did nothing wrong.

“Big brother? Please act serious when we have guests.”

What a remarkably mature sister.

Ever since our parents died, Ayane had basically been my mom.

Ayane-mom, thank you for always taking care of me.

…Wait.

Did I just say something super pathetic?

“Big brother? Are you listening? Should I switch seats with Shia?”

“Ah—! I’m sorry!”

Yeah, no way I was letting this become a wife vs. sister situation.

I needed to get my act together.

“Alright, let’s get to the point. Kuma, your statement about solo-clearing a dungeon at today’s press conference is all over the internet.

There’s no deadline, so no one expects you to do it tomorrow.

But… the longer you delay, and the more scandals arise, the worse the backlash will get.”

Could we not talk about future scandals as if they were guaranteed?

Then again… I couldn’t really argue.

“…Yeah, fair enough. By the way, the world level—has it already hit 2?”

“Yes. The moment Shia-san’s full dungeon clear was recorded, the world level officially increased.

The new max floor count is now 150.”

The Oracle Stone—a giant, tablet-like monolith in every dungeon.

It updates automatically, displaying rules, records, and world changes.

And every dungeon in the world updates simultaneously.

So far, its predictions have never been wrong.

“…Kuma, sorry for clearing it before you.”

“Idiot. Shia, you did nothing wrong.

Dungeon clears are essential for humanity’s survival.”

The stone’s warnings—world levels, endgame timers…

Humanity had caught the attention of something very, very bad.

“Yes, exactly.

Shia-san’s achievement is a victory for all of humanity.

…However, Kuma-kun, your highest reached floor is…”

“70.

I still don’t have the firepower to beat that floor boss.

Hell, even S-Class Rank 2—Gold Wolf Wolfen—has only reached 80.

Yet Shia completely cleared it…”

The best of the best in every major nation have been stuck between floors 70 and 80.

Most people thought a full clear wouldn’t happen for another 10 to 20 years.

But Shia did it.

For reference—clearing floor 50 qualifies you as an S-Class candidate.

Only a handful of A-Class Seekers ever make it past 50.

In short—

S-Class Seekers are insane.

Shia is ultra-insane.

And I…

…I just announced I’d solo a 150-floor dungeon.

“It was just luck.”

“No, Shia. That’s not something you chalk up to luck.

But if my wife could do it, then as her husband—”

I flashed a confident smile.

“Kuma… you’re so cool…”

Shia was completely smitten.

But honestly—why does she even like me?

Even I don’t get it.

“……”

Oh.

Ayane’s glare.

Right.

We had guests and a serious discussion to finish.

My bad.

“Well, if people are going to keep talking, and I can’t be diplomatic, then there’s only one option.

I’ll just obliterate the competition until no one can complain.”

I’m still a punk-ass 17-year-old.

And I’m going to prove myself my way.

“Haha, Araki-san, you already know this—I’m The Undying Nosferatu.

The man who doesn’t die even when he’s killed.”

“…Kuma, you’re so cool… I’m dying.”

“Ah! Shia-oneechan!”

Since I wouldn’t die, Shia apparently took my place—

No, wait.

She just collapsed, toppling off her chair onto the floor.

Ayane rushed to her side, but Shia simply lay there, smiling blissfully in her unconscious state.

Well, I couldn’t just leave her on the floor, so I princess-carried her and placed her on the guest room bed.

Ahem.

“Well, anyway…

With Shia Kusakabe, the full dungeon conqueror, by my side, I’ll probably survive a few tight spots.

And as for the Dungeon Bureau, Kuma—

We’ll be providing our full support for you.

No, for both of you—as a couple.

If anything comes up, don’t hesitate to reach out.”

“Appreciate it, Araki-san.”

“Naturally, I’ll be doing my best to support you as well.”

Eri-chan said this with a serious expression.

Just this afternoon, she was whining about wanting a boyfriend and quitting her job…

She’s so awkwardly sincere sometimes.

“Well then, I guess it’s time for this big brother and husband to get to work.”