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 6

Chirp, chirp, chirp.

A new morning had arrived.

The streets bathed in the morning sun were the same as yesterday, and yet…

Why did everything feel so much brighter?

“So… it’s not that the world has changed—I have.”

I opened the window, and a refreshing breeze cooled my heated body.

As I gazed at the peaceful cityscape, I felt a wave of gentle warmth in my chest.

Ah… may today bring happiness to all.

“Oh, big brother, you’re finally up. Breakfast is ready!

Shia-oneechan’s already awake, so go wash your face and put on some proper clothes, okay?”

“Ah, Ayane.

Hey, do you notice anything different about me today?

Do I seem more mature?

Like I leveled up overnight?”

“? …Nope.

Your hair’s messy as usual, and as long as you’re standing in front of your teenage sister in just your underwear, there’s no way you’ll ever seem mature.

What’s up with you?”

She tilted her head, looking genuinely confused.

“No, it’s just—I had a woman stay over under the same roof!

Achievement unlocked! Trophy get!”

“…Uh, yeah. Congrats?”

It’s a big deal…

Damn it.

“…………”

Noticing her subtle look of judgment, I quickly dropped the weird energy and got ready for the day.

Regardless of our engagement, greeting Shia with bed hair and just boxers would be disrespectful.

“Good morning, Shia.”

“Good morning, Kuma.”

The dining table was already set for breakfast.

Today’s menu was Western-style:
Bread, soup, bacon omelet, and salad.

Every morning, every single day—I’m grateful.

“Ayane, thanks as always.”

“You’re welcome. Now, let’s eat!”

And so, the three of us put our hands together and said:

“Itadakimasu.”

“Hehe, starting today, it’s the three of us.”

Ayane beamed with a bright, innocent smile.

What is this adorable creature?!

She’s usually so mature and responsible, but seeing this childlike side…

Damn it—!

My heart—my big brother heart is exploding!!

“…Wait, hold on.

Starting today?”

No time for heart explosions.

I felt like Ayane had just dropped a major bombshell.

“…Munch munch.

I may be inexperienced, but… gulp I look forward to being part of the family.”

“In that case, as an unworthy brother, I’ll be relying on you.

And as for my inadequate little sister, I leave her in your hands.”

“Mm. From now on, I’m Ayane’s big sister.

I’ll protect that smile.”

“Oneechan…!”

“Mm, there, there.”

…What?

What’s happening?

Why does this feel like some cheap family drama?!

“Wait—so Shia is moving in starting today?”

“Yeah.”

Apparently, this was already decided.

Well, if Ayane was okay with it, then I had no complaints.

“I see.

What about your stuff?”

“I already packed everything yesterday and sent it with the moving company.

They’re bringing it today.”

“Huh.

I guess… that works.”

Alright, moving arrangements handled.

Now—it was finally time to ask what I’d been dying to know.

“Hey, Shia?

I’ve been wondering about this for a while, but…

When exactly did I do something that made you fall for me?

Like, was there some big event?

Did we ever fight a tough boss together?

Did I ever save you at the last second?

Even outside dungeons, I don’t remember us ever having some romantic moment.”

“Ah! I wanna know too!

Big brother is actually really kind and cool, but he always acts like a jerk in public and makes people misunderstand him.

That’s why he’s not popular!”

Ayane.

You could’ve just stopped at “kind and cool.”

“…Cells.”

“…Huh?”

“…What?”

What did she just say?

Did she just mention biology class terminology?

“Shia-oneechan, what do you mean?”

“The moment I saw you…

Every cell in my body told me why it existed.

Until then, my sense of self had been unclear, but you…

You made me feel complete.”

Hmmmmmm.

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.

…That’s, uh.

Unique.

“Wait, so… basically love at first sight?

When exactly did this happen?

Last year?”

“Seven years ago.”

“SEVEN?!”

WHAT?!

Hold up.

Seven years?!

How does that even—?!

“My parents were Seekers too.

Seven years ago, I met you and Ayane while you were with Araki.”

Araki-san?

Seven years ago…

Oh.

Ohh.

That time.

“Ayane, do you remember meeting Shia back then?”

“Yeah!

I just remember thinking, ‘Wow, she’s so pretty.’

But seven years…?

That’s… amazing!”

Ayane’s eyes sparkled like a girl reading a romance manga.

She kept repeating, “That’s so cute, so amazing!” over and over.

“At the time, I was torn between becoming a Seeker for Japan or France.

But because Kuma was in Japan, I chose this side.

I figured if I fully cleared the dungeon, I could use my reward to marry you.”

…So let me get this straight.

I always thought love at first sight was a fleeting, shallow thing.

But this girl—

At 15, she decided she wanted to marry me.

And then she pushed herself to her absolute limit and conquered the entire dungeon…

For that goal?!

I mean, it’s amazing, but isn’t that kind of… heavy?!

“Big brother, aside from me, the only person who loves you this much is Shia-oneechan.

You’re really lucky, you know?”

Ayane beamed at me, eyes brimming with happy tears, looking at me like a mother gazing at her precious child.

…Am I your son now?

“Then let me ask you, Kuma.

Since when did you start liking me?”

She tilted her head slightly, eyes expectant, her voice soft.

Wait.

Wait, wait, wait, wait—

You’re really asking that right after telling me you’ve been in love with me for seven years?!

I can’t just say, “Actually, the government ordered me to say I love you,” can I?

Not to the woman who has been secretly in love with me for seven years,

Who pushed herself to be the first human to conquer a dungeon,

Who endured everything just to marry me.

Even I’m not that heartless.

Ayane, probably sensing the awkwardness, looked down at her plate, avoiding eye contact.

No reinforcements, huh?

I don’t like lying, but…

Fine.

“Since when, huh…?

Probably around the time the world started shining for me.”

I replied in my best melancholic tone, looking into Shia’s eyes.

…For reference, the world started shining this morning.

So technically, I fell in love today.

Gahahaha!

“? When exactly was th—”

“Big brother and Shia-oneechan look so good together!

Oh, I know!

Since you two finally admitted your feelings, why don’t you go on a date?”

…Huh.

I thought I couldn’t expect reinforcements, but—

Nice save, little sis.

“But what about the moving stuff—”

“Don’t worry!

I’ll handle everything!

It’s summer vacation, so I have plenty of time!”

“I see.

Thank you.

Then… Kuma, will you take me on a date?”

“Yeah, of course.

Where do you wanna go?”

Considering it’s Shia, I fully expected her idea of a date to be something completely insane.

From a Go club to a casino in Monaco, I was prepared for anything.

“Dungeon.”

…Oh.

That’s actually somewhere I can give a proper tour of.

“…You’re serious?”

“Yeah.

I want to go to a dungeon with Kuma.”

“Well… sure, I guess.

Let’s go then.

The closest one is Shibuya Dungeon—is that okay?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

“Alright then!

Let’s breeze through 100 floors together, just the two of us!”

“Mm. I’m looking forward to it.”

Shia smiled—just a tiny bit.

And somehow, in that moment, the world felt just a little bit brighter.