The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 81

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 81. The Moon Swallowed by the Sun (3)
The morning after my brief encounter with Yuren on that short autumn night.
Waking early as always, I found myself lost in thought, having neglected even the mana cultivation I never skipped—a practice as essential as breathing.
“What in the world is that bastard Yuren thinking?”
It wasn’t difficult to see through Yurina’s true identity as Yuren.
From the smallest gestures to the way he walked, from subtle speech patterns to habitual mannerisms.
Though I could see he’d made efforts to avoid detection, there was no way to deceive eyes that had weathered ten years with him in my past life, crossing countless thresholds between life and death.
‘Even setting that aside, the very fact that Yurina is here makes no sense.’
Even being extraordinarily generous, suppose Yurina Helios’s accidental death eight years ago was merely a fabricated rumor created by the family.
There was no way Rosanna Helios, who had gone so far as to fabricate her daughter’s death to conceal the existence of the “Stigma of the Moon Goddess,” would suddenly bring Yurina to the Academy.
And especially not on the observation class day when the most heroes gathered throughout the year.
‘Yuren couldn’t possibly be unaware of that fact.’
Yet despite this, Yuren had performed an awkward act of being Yurina right before me.
‘Why?’
Two possibilities immediately came to mind.
Either he thought it didn’t matter if he was exposed, or alternatively—
‘The situation was urgent enough that he couldn’t afford to worry about such things.’
I furrowed my brow and exhaled deeply.
No matter how hard I racked my brain, I couldn’t fathom why Yuren would have needed to disguise himself as “Yurina” and appear before me in such haste.
“Speaking of which…”
I recalled the appearance of Yurina from last night.
Beautiful silver hair that seemed woven from moonlight itself.
Skin as pristine white as snow crystals and features carved with the meticulous care of a master sculptor.
Though Yuren’s original form was already exceptional, even accounting for that, it was a remarkable disguise.
“Where in the world did that bastard learn such a technique?”
It wasn’t the clumsy cross-dressing that Juliet had attempted.
A comprehensive disguise that altered skeletal structure, chest size, hair color, and even voice.
It was impossible without professional magical artifacts for disguise—the kind used by state agents or major guild spies.
‘Setting aside where he obtained such magical artifacts—’
What I found most incomprehensible was precisely why Yuren would use such professional magical artifacts to disguise himself as his dead sister.
“It can’t be mere hobby…”
For a moment, Juliet’s face flashed through my mind, but I shook my head and dismissed that possibility.
‘He never had such a hobby in my past life.’
During ten years together as a Party, I never once saw Yuren in female disguise.
And who would use such professional magical artifacts merely for a hobby?
“Professional disguise magical artifacts… wait?”
Then.
A question bloomed in my mind.
“Hold on a moment.”
A shock like lightning coursed down my spine.
I pressed my forehead, retracing my memories from last night.
“The magical artifact… where was it equipped?”
A magical artifact capable of altering even the skeletal structure of one’s body couldn’t possibly be something as small as a ring or earring.
That’s right.
Even if it used the most expensive mana stones, it needed to be at least the size of a ‘pendant’ to function properly.
But.
“Yesterday, I’m certain… Yuren wasn’t wearing anything at all?”
At the time, I hadn’t even had a chance to examine properly because Yuren had suddenly appeared in the form of a silver-haired beauty.
Carefully retracing my memories, Yuren hadn’t been wearing any magical artifact ‘anywhere on his body’.
‘But it’s not like Yuren can use transformation magic like Polymorph either.’
Yuren possessed natural talent when it came to swordsmanship, but when it came to magic, his talent was hopelessly inferior to mine.
It had to be true—after all, it was testimony from Sophia, the senior who had directly taught both Yuren and me magic.
“Wait, what does that mean then… was the girl I saw last night actually Yuren’s sister?”
No.
That couldn’t be right.
Yurina, whom I met last night, possessed all the characteristics of ‘Yuren’ that I knew.
Even if they were siblings bound by blood, there’s no way their gestures, speech patterns, and habits could be completely identical down to the smallest detail.
“What on earth is going on…?”
My mind churned in confusion.
Suddenly, a memory flashed through my head—when I had gone to the Bathhouse with Yuren.
-What’s that pendant?
-Huh? This, this? That… it’s, it’s my sister’s keepsake.
Yuren had smiled awkwardly and clutched the pendant hanging around his neck as if hiding it.
If the pendant Yuren was wearing around his neck back then was a disguise artifact, everything would add up—
“No, no, no. Add up? What would add up?”
If that were the case, it would mean Yuren wasn’t actually male but female, and had been using a disguise artifact all this time to pretend to be male.
“There’s no way Yuren could be female.”
Ten years.
A full ten years.
No matter how much of a wall Yuren put up around himself, there’s no way I couldn’t have confirmed whether he was male or female after spending ten years together.
When clothes tore during combat, when circumstances forced us to squeeze into tight spaces together, when severe wounds required removing clothes and applying potions—and so on.
I had confirmed Yuren’s ‘maleness’ far too many times to count on both hands.
“…And he wasn’t wearing any disguise artifact back then either.”
That’s right.
The ‘sister’s keepsake’ that Yuren wore around his neck was something I couldn’t see when we formed our Party ten years later.
‘So Yuren was originally female and became male somewhere in between?’
I let out a hollow laugh and shook my head.
Female becoming male.
There’s no way that could—
-Because I’m a direct descendant of the Helios Family, yet I bear the ‘Stigma of the Moon God’.
A sudden memory from last night flashed through my mind.
Yurina’s shirt unbuttoned, revealing… no, Yuren’s chest bore the ‘Stigma of the Moon Goddess’ etched upon it.
And the Yuren I knew for certain
had the ‘Stigma of the Sun God’ inscribed on his left chest.
“….”
I rushed out of my room and headed straight for Jade’s Research Laboratory.
Crash!
I burst through the laboratory door to find Jade Bastian asleep with his head resting on his desk.
“Hmm? What’s the matter?”
Jade Bastian rubbed his eyes awake.
“Stigma Transference Technique.”
“Huh?”
“Do you have research materials on the Stigma Transference Technique?”
“Well, I do have some….”
“Show me.”
“What’s this about… hmm. Wait a moment.”
Jade Bastian started to ask why, but upon seeing my eyes, he immediately began rummaging through his desk drawers.
I quickly scanned through the thick research materials he handed me.
‘Stigma Transference Technique.’
It was a technique I’d briefly researched before to rid myself of the ‘Blessing of Resurrection’.
Of course, since it was nearly obsolete technology, there wasn’t much information remaining, and I’d lost interest after learning that changing one’s stigma wouldn’t erase a ‘blessing’ once awakened.
“The typical side effects of Stigma Transference Technique are memory loss and physical transformation….”
Reading the contents in the research materials, I bit my lip.
“Professor, this physical transformation… could it possibly change one’s gender?”
“Usually they’d have seizures and die before that happens… but theoretically, it’s entirely possible.”
Jade Bastian stroked his beard as he continued.
“Especially if the stigma being transplanted is powerful, the likelihood increases significantly.”
“….”
“But why are you suddenly curious about that?”
Without answering Jade Bastian’s question, I ground my teeth.
Yuren from my past life, who had subtly erected ‘walls’ even with Party members who were like family.
Yuren, who always insisted on a personal Tent and booked a private room when lodging.
Yuren, whose face flushed crimson in the Bathhouse with Berald, covering his body with a towel.
Yuren, staring blankly at the women’s clothing section when we skipped class and went to Valhalla City.
The identity of Yurina Helios.
The switched stigmata.
The sun and the moon.
The scattered puzzle pieces clicked into place as one.
‘It wasn’t Yuren… it was Yurina all along.’
Now I could finally understand.
Now I understood why Yuren had been reluctant to speak of his past in my previous life.
Why I’d sensed that inexplicable distance emanating from him.
‘It had changed.’
From moon to sun.
Yurina’s stigma had been replaced midway through her life.
She, born with the blessing of the Moon God etched upon her heart, had been transformed into the ‘Sun’ by someone’s hand.
‘When did it change?’
I had confirmed with my own eyes yesterday that Yurina currently bore the stigma of the Moon God.
And approximately twelve years from now, when she would form a Party with me, she bore the stigma of the Sun God.
‘The window is too wide.’
How was I supposed to pinpoint exactly when Yurina’s stigma changed during those twelve years of uncertainty?
“Haa.”
A deep sigh escaped between my lips.
‘I need to have a conversation with Yuren… no, Yurina about this.’
After thanking Jade for lending me the research materials, I headed toward Yurina’s Dormitory.
I knocked on the door of her room—a gleaming Dormitory that bore no comparison to the shabby one where I lived.
“Yuren! Come out for a moment!”
Knock, knock, knock.
Despite my rough knocking, no answer came.
Messages sent through Hero Watch went unanswered, and calls only returned the automated response of unavailability.
‘Where could she have gone when classes haven’t even started yet?’
I frowned while checking the time on my Hero Watch.
“…Could it be?”
My face hardened as I scrolled up through my Hero Watch’s message history.
-Dale, can you meet me for a moment right now?
Last night.
Yurina’s sudden message asking to meet me.
An ominous premonition crawled down my spine and spread throughout my entire body.
“Damn it!”
I rushed and arrived at Lucas Kane’s Professor’s Office.
Crash!
I burst through the office door roughly and approached Lucas Kane, who stared at me with a bewildered expression.
“Where is Yuren right now?”
“Yuren? If it’s Yuren, she left this morning after getting a pass for urgent family business.”
“…”
At Lucas Kane’s answer, I bit my lip.
“…Professor.”
“Hm? What is it?”
“Which warp gate from here can get me to the Helios Family the fastest?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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