Chapter 81

Chapter 81. The Moon Swallowed by the Sun (3)

The morning after a brief moonlit encounter with “Yuren.”

I woke up early, lost in thought, even forgetting the usual magic power practice (suicide) I never skipped.

“What on earth is Yuren thinking?”

It wasn’t hard to figure out that Yurina’s true identity was Yuren.

From small gestures to walking style, subtle speech patterns, and habits.

Though he tried hard not to get caught, he couldn’t deceive my eyes, having spent 10 years with him in a past life, overcoming life-and-death situations.

‘Even if that weren’t the case, Yurina being here doesn’t make sense.’

Even if we assume that Yurina Helios’s accidental death eight years ago was a fake rumor concocted by the family.

Why would Rozanna Helios, who went so far as to fake her daughter’s death to hide the existence of the “Holy Mark of the Moon God,” suddenly bring Yurina to school?

And on the day of the observation class, when the most heroes gather.

‘Yuren couldn’t possibly not know that.’

Yet, Yuren awkwardly pretended to be Yurina in front of me.

‘Why?’

Two possibilities immediately came to mind.

Either he didn’t care if he got caught, or…

‘He was in such a hurry that he didn’t have time to worry about it.’

I frowned and sighed.

No matter how hard I thought, I couldn’t figure out why Yuren had to disguise himself as Yurina and appear before me so urgently.

“By the way…”

I recalled Yurina’s appearance from last night.

Beautiful silver hair, as if braided from moonlight.

Snow-white skin and a face so delicate it seemed carved by a skilled sculptor.

Even considering Yuren’s natural good looks, it was an astonishing disguise.

“Where did he learn such a skill?”

It wasn’t a clumsy cross-dressing like Juliet’s.

This was a full-fledged disguise, changing body structure, chest size, hair color, and even voice.

It was something only a professional spy or a high-ranking guild operative could pull off, using specialized magical tools.

‘Forget where he got such a tool.’

What’s most baffling is why Yuren went to such lengths, using professional magical tools, to disguise himself as his dead sister.

“It can’t just be a hobby…”

For a moment, Juliet’s face came to mind, but I shook my head, dismissing the possibility.

‘He never had such a hobby in our past life.’

In the 10 years we spent together in a party, I never once saw Yuren cross-dress.

And who would use such professional magical tools just for a hobby?

“Professional disguise tools… huh?”

Then.

A sudden question popped into my head.

“Wait a minute.”

A shiver ran down my spine.

I pressed my forehead, recalling last night’s memories.

“Where was the magical tool…?”

If it’s a tool that can change body structure, it can’t be something small like a ring or earring.

Right.

Even with expensive magic stones, it would need to be at least the size of a pendant to function properly.

But.

“Yesterday… he wasn’t wearing anything, right?”

At the time, I was too stunned by Yuren’s sudden appearance as a silver-haired beauty to notice.

But as I carefully recalled, Yuren wasn’t wearing any magical tool “anywhere” on his body.

‘But Yuren can’t use polymorphing magic or anything like that.’

Yuren had a natural talent for swords, but his magical abilities were worse than mine, almost hopeless.

Sophia, who taught both of us magic, would confirm that.

“Wait, does that mean… the Yuren I saw last night was really his sister?”

No.

That can’t be.

The Yurina I met last night had all the characteristics of the “Yuren” I knew.

No matter how closely related siblings are, they can’t have identical gestures, speech habits, and mannerisms.

“What the hell is going on…?”

My mind was a tangled mess.

Suddenly, a memory of going to the bathhouse with Yuren flashed through my mind.

-What’s that pendant?

-Huh? Oh, this? It’s… my sister’s keepsake.

Yuren awkwardly smiled and clutched the pendant around his neck.

If that pendant was a disguise tool, then it all makes sense—.

“No, no, no. What makes sense?”

If that’s the case, then Yuren wasn’t a man but a woman, and had been using a disguise tool to pretend to be a man all this time.

“Yuren can’t possibly be a woman.”

10 years.

A full 10 years.

No matter how much Yuren kept his distance, there’s no way I wouldn’t have noticed he wasn’t a man after spending 10 years together.

During battles when clothes tore, when we had to squeeze into tight spaces to sleep, when we had to remove clothes to apply potions for severe injuries, etc.

There were countless times I confirmed Yuren was a “man.”

“…And he wasn’t wearing any disguise tools back then either.”

Right.

The “sister’s keepsake” Yuren wore around his neck was something I never saw during the 10 years we were in a party together.

‘So, Yuren was originally a woman who became a man midway.’

I let out a bitter laugh and shook my head.

A woman becoming a man.

That’s impossible… right?

-I’m a direct descendant of the Helios family and bear the “Holy Mark of the Moon God.”

A memory from last night flashed through my mind.

Yurina… no, Yuren, with his shirt open, had the “Holy Mark of the Moon God” engraved on his chest.

And the Yuren I knew definitely had the “Holy Mark of the Sun God” on his left chest.

“……”

I urgently rushed out of my room and headed to Professor Jade’s lab.

Bam!

I roughly opened the lab door to find Professor Jade dozing off at his desk.

“Huh? What’s going on?”

Professor Jade groggily opened his eyes.

“Holy Mark Replacement Technique.”

“Huh?”

“Do you have any research materials on the Holy Mark Replacement Technique?”

“Well, I do have some…”

“Show me.”

“What’s going on… Hmm. Wait a moment.”

Professor Jade, about to ask why, looked at my eyes and then rummaged through his desk drawer.

He handed me a thick stack of research materials, which I quickly skimmed.

‘Holy Mark Replacement Technique.’

I had briefly looked into it before to remove the “Blessing of Resurrection.”

Of course, it was an almost obsolete technique, and after learning that changing the Holy Mark wouldn’t erase an already awakened “Blessing,” I lost interest.

“The main side effects of the Holy Mark Replacement Technique are memory loss and physical changes…”

I bit my lip as I read the research materials.

“Professor. When it says physical changes… could that include gender?”

“Usually, they die from seizures before that happens… but theoretically, it’s entirely possible.”

Professor Jade stroked his beard and continued.

“Especially if the Holy Mark being transplanted is powerful, the likelihood increases.”

“……”

“But why are you suddenly curious about that?”

Without answering Professor Jade’s question, I gritted my teeth.

Yuren, who kept an oddly distant wall even from his party members, who were like family.

Always insisting on a personal tent, always booking a private room when we stayed somewhere.

Yuren, who turned red and covered himself with a towel when we went to the bathhouse with Berald.

Yuren, who stared blankly at the women’s clothing section when we skipped class and went to Valhalla City.

Yurina Helios’s true identity.

The swapped Holy Mark.

The sun and the moon.

The scattered puzzle pieces clicked into place.

‘It wasn’t Yuren… it was Yurina.’

Now I understood.

Why Yuren was reluctant to talk about his past in our previous life.

Why there was always an inexplicable distance from him.

‘It was changed.’

From the moon to the sun.

Yurina’s Holy Mark was swapped midway.

Born with the blessing of the Moon God engraved on her chest, she was turned into the “sun” by someone’s hand.

‘When did it change?’

At least now, Yurina has the Holy Mark of the Moon God, as I confirmed yesterday.

And about 12 years from now, when she joined my party, she had the Holy Mark of the Sun God.

‘The timeframe is too broad.’

How am I supposed to figure out exactly when Yurina’s Holy Mark was changed within that 12-year gap?

“Sigh.”

A deep sigh escaped my lips.

‘First, I need to talk to Yuren… no, Yurina.’

After thanking Professor Jade for the research materials, I headed to Yurina’s dorm.

I knocked on the door of her luxurious dorm, which was incomparable to my shabby one.

“Yuren! Come out for a second!”

Bang bang bang.

No matter how hard I knocked, there was no answer.

Even when I sent a message or called through the Hero Watch, all I got was an “unavailable” response.

‘It’s not even time for class yet. Where did she go?’

I frowned as I checked the time on my Hero Watch.

“…No way.”

With a stiff expression, I scrolled up the message history on my Hero Watch.

-Dale, can we meet for a moment?

Last night.

Yurina’s sudden message asking to meet.

A foreboding feeling spread through my entire body.

“Damn it!”

I rushed to Professor Lucas’s office.

Crash!

I roughly opened the office door and approached Professor Lucas, who was looking at me in confusion.

“Where is Yuren right now?”

“Yuren? He left this morning, saying there was an urgent matter at home.”

“……”

I bit my lip at Professor Lucas’s answer.

“…Professor.”

“Yes? What is it?”

“Which warp gate gets me to the Helios family the fastest?”