Chapter 144

Chapter 144. Let’s Go to the Beach (3)

The beach where darkness has settled.

The sound of crashing waves and the cool sea breeze blowing pleasantly on the shore.

Under the moonlight, the figure of a silver-haired woman standing quietly was so unrealistically beautiful.

“……”

I was speechless, staring blankly at Yurina.

“…Dale?”

Perhaps because I was frozen without saying a word.

Yurina, who seemed embarrassed in her swimsuit, covering her chest with her arm and slightly turning her body, turned her head towards me.

“What’s wrong?”

Step, step.

Yurina approached, stepping on the sandy beach with her feet wet from the sea.

Her silver eyes stared straight at me.

“…It’s nothing.”

How could I tell her that I was momentarily speechless because she was so beautiful?

I swallowed hard and turned my head to avoid eye contact with Yurina as much as possible.

“Dale.”

Yurina narrowed her eyes and came closer to me.

She grabbed my cheeks with both hands and turned my head to face her directly, locking eyes with me.

“Why are you avoiding my gaze?”

“Uh… well…”

“Ah, you, you! Were you thinking ‘She’s not as good as Professor Elisha’ while looking at me?!”

Yurina glared at me fiercely with sharp eyes.

Her unexpected words made me let out an involuntary laugh.

“I didn’t think that.”

“…Really?”

Yurina, looking somewhat uneasy, glanced down at the swimsuit she was wearing.

Ugh.

Yurina puffed out her cheeks as she looked down at her own body.

“I thought I wouldn’t lose to anyone… but that’s just unfair.”

Her confidence plummeted as she thought of Professor Elisha.

She had a toned body without an ounce of fat, and her chest size, waist, and hip lines were all perfect, but…

‘Legs… the difference in leg length!’

There was an insurmountable line between her, who was of average height for a woman, and Professor Elisha, who was taller than most men.

Yes, what is often called ‘line’ beauty.

The absolute gap that comes from pure physical differences.

‘And Professor Elisha has something… even as a woman, she’s a bit… sexy.’

It was a mysterious charm that only an adult woman could possess.

Unlike Professor Elisha, whose every action naturally exuded an indescribable allure, Yurina felt like a young lady trying hard to appear mature.

‘That’s why I hesitated until the end about whether to show Dale…’

But it would be such a shame to end this short vacation without wearing the swimsuit I secretly bought, avoiding the eyes of my comrades.

‘…And I’m curious about Dale’s reaction.’

I peeked at Dale’s expression.

“So… uh…”

Ugh.

Dale, who seemed to be searching for words, swallowed hard and opened his mouth.

“…I was stunned.”

“Huh? What?”

“You were so beautiful that I was speechless.”

“……!”

Yurina’s eyes widened at his response, which far exceeded her expectations.

Others might say it was a cheesy line, but…

“Ugh… ughhh!”

She was happy.

The fact that the man she loved was so flustered by her beauty.

The fact that he saw her as ‘Yurina’ and not ‘Yuren.’

She was so happy and joyful that she unconsciously stomped her feet and let out a groan.

“Heh, hehe. Dale, where did you learn such a cheesy line?”

Yurina twisted her body and smiled broadly.

“Well… it was a bit cringy, right?”

Even as I said it, my face felt hot.

I swallowed a bitter smile and shook my head.

“I won’t do it again…”

“No! Dale, keep being cheesy like that!”

“What?”

“Dale is most like Dale when he’s a bit cheesy!”

“No.”

Is that something you say to someone’s face?

“It’s a bit awkward standing like this… shall we sit?”

“Let’s.”

Yurina and I sat on a rock slightly away from the beach.

Swoosh, swoosh.

The sound of the waves echoed pleasantly on the white sandy beach.

Yurina and I sat in silence, looking up at the moonlit sky.

“By the way, isn’t it uncomfortable?”

“Huh? What?”

“Having to keep pretending to be ‘Yuren.'”

Even though it’s something she’s done for half her life, it wasn’t something Yurina chose to do.

Seeing her call me aside to show me her swimsuit, she must also want to live as ‘Yurina’ and not ‘Yuren.’

“Hmm… well.”

Yurina kicked the sand with her toes and shrugged her shoulders.

“Honestly, it would be a lie to say it’s not uncomfortable at all.”

Having lived as Yuren for so long, she was used to it, but being used to it didn’t necessarily mean it was comfortable.

“It’s uncomfortable when I have to use the restroom outside, and when I find pretty clothes I want to wear, I just have to pass by them, and buying underwear is also really awkward… oh, and I also feel sorry for the female candidates.”

“Why the female candidates?”

“Well… I, I get a lot of confessions.”

Yurina scratched her head with an awkward smile.

“Ah, come to think of it, you were the most popular guy in our school.”

“Ugh… even you, Dale? Sigh. Really… rejecting them every time is a job in itself?”

Yurina puffed out her cheeks and poked my side with her elbow.

“It’s also hard to control my magic power to make it look golden when I need to use aura… there are many frustrating things like that.”

Yurina’s expression darkened slightly.

“More than anything, the fact that I have to keep lying to the people I care about the most is the hardest.”

Before meeting Dale, she had no one close enough to call ‘precious.’

But after meeting him, one by one, new connections formed in her life.

“Iris, Berald, Camila… and even Juliet and Professor Elisha are all good people, right?”

The party members who explored ruins together and helped with training.

And Professor Elisha, who gave sincere advice to guide her students, and Juliet, who extended a helping hand without expecting anything in return in difficult situations.

It had only been half a year since she met Dale.

So many new connections had formed in her life, which had been empty before.

“If it were the past, I wouldn’t have even imagined having such connections.”

Thinking back to the memories of being ‘Yuren’ half a year ago, her current state felt like a miracle bestowed by the seven gods.

“…Yurina.”

I looked at Yurina’s face illuminated by the moonlight and hardened my expression.

For someone as sincere and honest as her, having to keep lying to the people around her must have been stressful.

“You don’t have to make that face, Dale.”

Yurina smiled faintly and leaned her head lightly on my shoulder.

“But at least I don’t have to lie to the person I care about the most.”

“……”

Seeing her say ‘the person I care about the most’ without hesitation made my chest ache.

Hoo.

I let out a short sigh and opened my mouth.

“…What about telling them?”

“Huh?”

“Iris, Berald, Camila… well, they’re trustworthy comrades, so it wouldn’t hurt to tell them.”

The reason she was still pretending to be ‘Yuren’ was solely because of the school.

If it became known that ‘Yurina Helios’ was pretending to be her brother ‘Yuren Helios’ and attending Reynaldo Hero School, it would cause a lot of trouble.

“Hmm… I could, but.”

Yurina, who had been pondering my suggestion, soon shook her head quietly.

“But for now, it’s better this way. It feels like… our little secret?”

Hehe.

Yurina hugged my arm and smiled brightly.

Her face, illuminated by the moonlight, was breathtakingly beautiful, and I was once again left speechless, staring at her blankly.

“…What? Are you speechless again because I’m pretty?”

Yurina looked at me with a mischievous gaze.

Yurina turned her head and looked up at the moon in the night sky, continuing her words.

“Being like this reminds me of that time.”

“…When?”

“You know, when I first appeared in front of Dale like this.”

“Ah.”

Come to think of it, that day was also a moonlit night like this.

“If Dale hadn’t noticed my lie that day… I would have become the ‘Sun’ by now.”

A distorted sun illuminating the sky with false light.

“Thank you, Dale. For letting me remain the moon.”

Yurina’s silver eyes turned towards me.

Our gazes crossed.

My heart pounded as if it were broken.

“……”

“……”

There are emotions in the world that don’t need words to be conveyed.

Yurina and I, who had been silently looking at each other, slowly tilted our heads.

When our lips were close enough to feel each other’s breath.

“Oh my, Mr. Dale.”

A low voice chilled the summer sea.

“Who is that b*tch this time?”

The blue moonlight shining down.

The Saintess was smiling brightly, looking at us.