Chapter 53: The Harem-Type Hero Turned Out to Be Gay

A deadly land, overrun by demons.

After being attacked, Lev fled in blind desperation—only to stumble, most unfortunately, into the very place where the main force of the demon army was stationed.

“……”

In the darkness, countless red eyes shimmered. The roars of beasts rumbled all around her.

…Soon enough, Lev gave up on surviving. No matter what she did, she knew she couldn’t be saved.

And so, rather than fleeing pathetically, she sat down in silence and began a small prayer.

──At the very least, may her own death—and that of her beloved family—be peaceful.

Whether that little prayer had any effect at all was unclear.

…Before long, the demons noticed the presence of a human who had wandered into their midst.

They saw the girl sitting on the ground, offering up a prayer, and their hunger flared.

“VOV’VOBBOOHHHH!”

Food. This was a meal, dropped right from the sky.

Licking their lips, the demons began to approach the spot where Lev sat.

Even as she sensed the beasts drawing near, the girl did nothing but pray.

---

And then, something strange happened.

The demons were suddenly wrapped in a soothing singing voice.

To Lev, it sounded like the hymn of an angel who had come to guide her to the next life—and she didn’t doubt it for a moment.

She went on praying like that for several more minutes. Yet the demons showed no sign of attacking her.

(Are they still not done?)

Wondering when they would finally devour her, Lev opened her eyes and looked around.

She had prayed long enough.

All that remained was for her to be eaten. With that thought, the girl slowly opened her eyes—

────Only to realize that there was no one left around her.

“Eh…”

Those terrifying monsters had left the defenseless, seated Lev completely alone.

Without a sound, quietly… they vanished.

“…Eh?”

And thus, Lev survived.

The young girl, still barely more than a child, had been left all alone in a vast, empty wasteland.

This took place several months before she would eventually meet Karl.

---

“……”

The blazing red morning sun signaled the start of a new day to the girl.

The blaring clang of a loud gong rang out, and she could sense the noble girl sleeping beside her suddenly springing up in reaction.

“…Phew.”

Rubbing her eyes with a soft koshi koshi, the girl sat quietly, her chest tightening with an anxious ache as the image of her brother surfaced in her mind.

“…Brother.”

What was he doing right now?

What should she be doing at this moment?

No matter what she tried, she couldn’t focus on anything.

All she could recall was the warmth of her brother’s palm.

Ever since seeing him again, Lev had been dreaming constantly of the moment when he would stroke her head once more.

Yes—just like he used to.

…The noble girl quickly got dressed and left for training.

The others yawned and looked ready to drift back to sleep.

But even when Lev returned to bed, all she could think about was her brother.

Eventually, Lev also changed out of her nightwear and put on her usual clothes before stepping out of the room.

──She had to move her body. She had to show him that she’d kept trying her best even after they parted ways.

She believed—she knew—she would see her brother again someday. The little sister held that hope tightly in her heart.

In truth, Lev didn’t have room in her mind for anything else.

She changed into her usual outfit and walked slowly down the hallway—

---

“Well? Don’t you find my chest attractive!?”

“Wha—wait, Ilyu!?”

“I do think male-male romance has its merits, but it's biologically unproductive! See? Look, women are amazing, aren’t they?”

“You’re pressing them against me! Your chest is—!”

“I am pressing them!”

“What is wrong with you!?”

…And there was Karl, openly drooling over a busty girl.

“Karl. What… are you doing?”

“Ah—wait, Lev! This isn’t what it looks like, Ilyu just—”

“I’m seducing Karl-san!”

“…I see. Hm.”

Ilyu’s chest was huge.

Her voluptuousness might even surpass that of Irine.

“Why, Ilyu!? Why are you doing this all of a sudden!?”

“Because I know what you were doing in the bath, Karl-san! Something lewd!”

“Eh? Karl, what’s that about…?”

“I don’t remember anything like that!!”

Lev quietly fumed. Here she was, deep in serious thoughts about her brother, and this guy was off fooling around in a romcom gag.

With a sigh, the girl pinched her crush’s cheek.

“Ow ow ow ow!? You’ve got it all wrong, Lev! For once, I actually didn’t do anything lewd yesterday—”

“So you’re normally more lewd, then!?”

“You pervert. …Pervert Karl.”

“Totally! A total misunderstanding!!”

She’d thought she could only think about her brother, and yet—

Karl’s party was as noisy as ever.

Before she even realized it, Lev found herself being drawn right back into the usual chaos.

---

“Isn’t this girl just adorable?! Aww, look, she’s puffing up her cheeks!!”

“…Hey—stop touching me.”

“Wow, she’s so squishy! I want to make her my little sister!!”

And so, the heartbroken girl was eventually caught by the nun.

“This is jealousy, isn’t it!? Wow, I see! So that’s what Lev-chan is!! Haaaaaah! So this is what they call ‘moe’!?”

“Annoying… This woman is seriously annoying…”

“Even her deadpan glare is cute~!! Guehehehe!”

Ilyu, the nun, had a weakness for cute things.

She was now gleefully hugging the gloomy-eyed girl.

“Uh, Ilyu?”

“Haa haa, Lev-san is so cute. Lev-san is soooo cute!”

“…I fear for my safety, get off of me!”

Ilyu had a bad habit of getting overly absorbed in her interests and losing sight of her surroundings.

She’d gotten herself into trouble countless times because of it, and showed no signs of changing. No doubt, it was just a fundamental part of her personality.

Even her old best friend had once called her ‘the craziest woman I know.’

“Lev-chan’s so cute, haa haa. I’m having wicked thoughts about just gobbling her up right here.”

“Eek!! Karl, help me! She’s actually serious!!”

Drooling with sparkling eyes, the aroused nun clung to Lev.

It was a criminal-looking scene. If Ilyu were a man, Karl would’ve drop-kicked her on the spot.

“Okay, okay—enough, Ilyu. And hey, didn’t you have a different reason for barging in here to begin with?”

“Ah!! That’s right! I came to give Karl-san a warning! Karl-san, listen! Homosexuality is biologically unproductive! You must stop!”

“Oh please, you of all people can’t be saying that.”

Even Karl had to call her out.

“Homosexuality…? What’s that, Karl?”

“I don’t know. I’m just as confused as you are.”

“Last night, in the bath! You and Master were totally doing pervy things! I saw it!”

“…That’s terrifying.”

Clearly, the nun had misunderstood something.

So Karl, trying to prove his innocence, made a bold declaration.

“Hey Karl, I want to hear the full story.”

“Then ask Master yourself.”

---

Some time later…

“So that’s why I’ve been called in, huh?”

“…Yeah.”

“Can’t say I really care though.”

In the end, everyone but Irine had gathered in the dining hall.

To Sakura, it was the most meaningless drama in the world—but for two people in particular, it was a matter of life and death.

“Well then, go ahead and explain, Master.”

“Sure thing, milady.”

“…Now then. What exactly happened in the bath with Karl last night?”

Sakura rubbed her sleepy eyes and yawned, but the other girls were staring with deadly serious expressions.

“Lemme tell ya what happened. It was dusk yesterday, and I was takin’ a soak alone. Then this fella barges in, eyes all wild, and says, ‘Mind if I join you?’ Well, I had no reason to refuse another man, so I said sure.”

“And then?”

“But y’know, something felt off. Normally, the guy’s pretty composed—but yesterday, he was all worked up. Breathing heavy and starin’ at my manly pride—the ol’ Master Cannon—with this strange fascination. I started thinkin’, ‘what’s this about…?’”

“Master!?”

“I knew it!!”

Apparently even Master had noticed something was off about Karl last night in the bath.

Or rather—there definitely was something weird going on.

“Now that you mention it… huh. This guy…”

“…Oi, Maika. What’s with the serious face?”

“Karl’s always been the type to drunkenly compliment girls, but never actually showed interest in them. He always hung around with his guy friends instead…”

“I knew it…!”

“Waaait a minute!!”

Maika muttered this as her face turned pale.

But this was actually something from back when Karl was still a rookie adventurer—before Maika (sort of?) rejected him.

Back then, Karl had been entirely focused on Maika, so he simply hadn’t tried to get close to any other girls.

“…Sorry, pal. I like women, just so we’re clear.”

“This is all a misunderstanding! A trap! It’s Maika’s trap, I’m telling you!!”

“There’s no need to hide it, you know? I’m very open-minded, Karl.”

“I’m not hiding anything!! And Maika, you’re totally just messing with me!!”

Maika may have looked pale, but Karl could tell—that was her classic face when she was deliberately stirring the pot for fun.

“…Kaaaarl~” sniffle

“See!? Lev’s taking it seriously! Unlike you, the cold-blooded gremlin, Lev is still pure-hearted!!”

“Who are you calling a cold-blooded gremlin!?”

Meanwhile, Lev was taking it very seriously.

Tearing up a bit, she clung to Karl’s shirt.

“So what if Karl’s into guys? Is that a problem?”

“…Huh?”

“Since we’re an all-girl party, wouldn’t it actually be safer if our leader wasn’t into women?”

Sakura genuinely looked like she didn’t care.

There was a time when she considered seducing Karl, thinking that marrying a Hero could help restore her ruined family. But—

“There’s no opening here.”

Once she joined the party, she saw that Karl was already being fought over by Maika and Lev.

Jumping in now would only cause chaos—and her chances of winning were slim. Better to preserve party harmony.

Just like Irine, Sakura chose to observe from the sidelines.

“You’re right. No problem at all. Even if Karl’s into guys, the only one who’s inconvenienced is Master.”

“Well, let’s just drop this talk about Karl’s preferences, okay? Best to leave him be.”

“…Kaaaarl…”

“This is insane. No matter how hard I deny it, the misunderstanding only keeps growing. My words have zero credibility.”

Sakura swept the topic under the rug out of sheer boredom, leaving Karl on the verge of tears.

---

“Damn it…”

That evening, as the sun was setting, Karl was fuming.

It had happened just a few minutes earlier. While he was resting in his room, the earnest young girl Lev had barged in, her face flushed red.

“…It’s embarrassing, but… you can touch me if you want.”

She was trying to seduce him.

Of course, this was a ploy by the nun—who simply wanted to see cute little Lev act all flustered.

“…Ugh.”

Faced with the trembling girl before him, Karl was at a loss.

If he rejected her and sent her away, it might raise even more suspicion. But he couldn’t just lay a hand on a comrade either.

So, completely cornered, Karl did the only thing he could:

“You don’t need to force yourself, Lev.”

“Huh—Ah…”

He hugged her gently, going along with the moment.

“Let’s save the rest for when you’re a little older, okay?”

“T-The rest!?”

He patted her head, tossing out a flirtatious line that felt appropriate enough.

“See you, Lev.”

“Ah… um…”

He didn’t actually have anywhere to be, but staying in that room had become unbearable—so he stepped out.

Left behind was Lev, her head on the verge of boiling over.

---

He’d ended up making poor Lev embarrass herself for no reason. Karl was an adult, after all—he understood that much.

Surely, the kind and earnest Lev had offered herself in an attempt to “correct” his supposed preferences, even if it meant sacrificing her own dignity.

And it was all Maika’s fault.

That girl definitely knew. She knew Karl was properly interested in women.

Truth be told, when Karl was younger, he’d once tried to sneak a peek at the women with some of the village boys.

But Maika—who knew all his tricks from childhood—had seen through it and laid a perfect trap, punishing him accordingly.

A humiliating memory—one Karl would never willingly bring up. But if anything, wasn’t that proof he was interested in women?

“She said around this time she’d be heading to the bath, didn’t she?”

At that moment, Karl found himself drifting toward a darker impulse.

“Maybe I should crash it!”

Sakura and the Master were chatting in the dining hall. Lev, he had just parted with. Ilyu had passed him in the hallway a few minutes ago. Which meant… the only girl possibly in the bath right now was Maika.

It would be wrong to accidentally see any of the other girls naked. But if the target was Maika—his spiteful childhood friend—that was a different story.

And if she tried to make a fuss about it, he’d just say, “Well, I’m not into girls anyway, right?” and shut her up.

“I’ve gotta get her back once in a while, or I’ll never live it down.”

Snorting with anticipation, Karl marched toward the bath where Maika was likely soaking.

Maybe it was the influence of that weird advice Ryoga had given him—“Seek out the lewd on your own, and accept it”—but right now, Karl was feeling uncharacteristically bold.

…Just what kind of reaction would Maika have?

Would she get flustered, for once? Or silently explode with rage? Or maybe… unleash some unimaginable form of horrifying revenge?

Whatever terrifying fate awaited him beyond that door didn’t matter. Karl was a man.

A man has pride. There comes a time in every boy’s life when he must charge into the bath where his beautiful childhood friend is bathing.

That time… was now.

“TANOMŌŌŌ!!” (A traditional samurai-style shout when barging in.)

Karl flung open the bath door.

He could sense someone’s surprise from within the tub. Jackpot—Maika was bathing.

“Oh? Someone was in here? Didn’t even notice.”

“…”

With deliberate nonchalance, Karl stepped toward the tub.

He wasn’t gay. He was very clearly someone with a healthy interest in the opposite sex.

He was going to declare that—loud and proud—to his childhood friend, when—

“Quit making a ruckus. Let a man soak in peace.”

“Ryoga…!?”

From within the bath, the leader of the vigilante corps emerged.

It seemed Karl’s scheming had ended in failure.

“You here for a bath too?”

“Yeah. Mind if I join you?”

“Hm? Do what you want, I don’t care.”

A little disappointed, Karl decided to take advantage of Ryoga’s bath and start washing himself.

Since he’d already taken off his clothes, he figured he might as well make use of the bath while he was at it.

“As the captain, I get special privileges—private bath time. This time slot is all mine.”

“Is that so?”

“I even put up a sign outside. Missed it, did you? Clumsy as ever.”

Ryoga, now soaking in the bath with his hair wet, gave Karl a flat, disapproving stare.

Apparently, in his eagerness to spy on Maika, the brave hero had let his guard down.

“…Hey, Ryōga. You look kind of different with your hair wet.”

“Huh?”

And then Karl noticed something.

Despite his cocky, boyish appearance, Ryoga looked… undeniably attractive in the bath.

“Ryoga, you really are in shape. Those are some solid muscles.”

“Right? For a guy with a small frame like mine, explosive strength is a must.”

A smug grin curled on the boy’s face.

They were in the bath. A dense, steamy air—thick with the scent of men—enveloped them.

Two men. Alone. In a sealed room. High humidity.
Nothing was bound to happen, right?

“Actually, good thing you barged in. I was planning to talk to you later anyway.”

“Talk? To me?”

“Yeah. Preferably just the two of us.”

Ryōga leaned in and spoke softly to Karl, now soaking in the tub.

It seemed he had something to discuss—something he didn’t want anyone else to hear.

“There’s no one else here. Just the two of us. Say it now, Ryōga.”

“Yeah, I’ll do that.”

Their eyes locked—hero and warrior.

Skin close enough to touch. Breath turning to steam, brushing against bare shoulders.

“Hey, Karl.”

“What is it, Ryōga?”

With eyes like a bird of prey, sharp and intense, the hero spoke:

“That girl in your group—Lev, was it?
Is it true she’s connected to the ‘Silent Sword’?”

Silence fell over the bath.