Chapter 80: The Moon Swallowed by the Sun (2)

“Alright then. I’ll head back first, so pack your things and come to the estate tomorrow,” Mother said.

“I have classes tomorrow…”

“Ha! You skipped class right in front of me today, and now you’re using it as an excuse?”

I bit my lower lip at her cutting words. “Okay. I’ll pack up and go home tomorrow.”

“I’ll be waiting by the Valhalla City warp portal. Meet me there.”

With that, as if she had nothing more to say, my mother turned on her heels and left the room.

The door shut, and silence settled in. The ticking of the clock’s second hand echoed like thunder in the still room. I dropped to my knees on the carpet, dazed, staring blankly up at the window. Beyond the clear glass, the moonlight shimmered gently.

A faint chuckle escaped my lips as a lesson from my early education drifted into memory: the moon can’t shine without the sun.

To think the moon is unable to shine on its own, isn’t that just like me? I wondered.

“So I’ll become a man, huh…”

Honestly, not much would change even if I did become one. After all, no one besides my mother and a few people from the family even knew I was Yurina. My life would remain the same as it had been until now. Without deviation, as always, I would keep living as Yuren.

“Dale…”

Yet, why was it that his name was the first that came to mind at a time like this?

“Ah!”

Only now did I realize it, and only now could I feel it.

“I… I like Dale.”

That tight feeling in my chest every time I saw him with Iris, and that unbearable loneliness when I couldn’t see him for even a few days.

“You did well.”

Why did such a simple phrase make my heart flutter so intensely? Now I knew, now I understood.

A dry laugh slipped from my lips. “God! I’m an idiot.”

He didn’t even know I was a girl, and here I was, feeling all pathetic over this. Moreover, I had decided to live as a man. Yurina’s life had ended eight years ago, the day Yuren had smiled and said, “I’ll get it real quick, just wait here,” the day he had climbed that cliff to pick a flower, only to return as a corpse.

This was the price I had to pay. Ignorance was a sin, and innocence was cruelty. How shameless would it be for the girl who sent her brother to his death with a few careless words to now demand the right to chase her happiness?

I stumbled to my feet and headed to the shower. “Time to wash up…”

When I removed the pendant, a gentle glow enveloped me, returning me to my actual form—hair like moonlight cascading down; a modest but well-shaped chest, not as dramatic as Iris’s, but just enough; a slender, well-toned figure with not an ounce of excess. It felt odd to admit, but I knew that anyone who looked at me would say I was beautiful.

I said to the girl in the mirror, “Yurina, this is the last time I’ll see you.”

The Yurina in the mirror smiled sadly.

“If… If I hadn’t asked my brother to pick that flower, would I have ended up with Dale?”

The reflection shook her head.

“Oh, right. If that hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t have even met Dale. Given our ages, I would’ve only just entered school this year. He’s a third-year. We wouldn’t have crossed paths.”

Then maybe, I should be grateful we even met like this. Even if I couldn’t be his lover, at least I could remain his friend.

“Yeah, thinking that way makes it a bit easier.”

I lifted my chin with a smile, only to see tears streaming silently down Yurina’s face in the mirror. “Huh? Why am I crying?”

I had said I was resolved and that I was prepared, that staying beside him, even just as a friend, brought me peace. So why? Why was the girl in the mirror crying like her heart was breaking?

“Dale…”

As his name spilled from my lips in a tearful whisper, a gentle chime rang from my Hero Watch. I rushed to turn it on, and it was a message from Dale.

Dale: Did you get back safely?

“Ah!Hehe! He messaged because he was worried about me.”

Just seeing his message was enough to bring a smile to my face, as if I hadn’t been crying at all. The fear eating at me like poison, the sorrow choking my throat, it all vanished in an instant.

“I need to reply,” I said to myself.

My hands moved on the watch, typing “Yeah, I got back safe.”

Just as I was about to hit send, a sudden, overwhelming impulse surged from deep within. I remembered how Dale and I had skipped class today, wandered around Valhalla City, laughed, explored, and tried things we had never done before. It was something reckless, something I had never even considered.

“Tomorrow, I become Yuren, don’t I?”

Today was the last day I would ever live as Yurina. I stared at the girl in the mirror. It was the last time I would see my true self. It was the final chance and the final night. Then, just for today, even if it was only a fleeting escape, even if it was nothing more than a passing dream, just for tonight, would it be so wrong to exist as Yurina?

My finger, which had hesitated over the send button, now moved with purpose. I erased the message I had written earlier and, with trembling hands, typed a new one.

Yuren: Dale, can we meet for a bit right now?

***

Late at night, behind the academy grounds, the moonlight gently illuminated the eerily quiet courtyard.

Having arrived at the meeting spot first, I let out a sigh as I sat on a nearby bench. “That idiot. Something did happen, didn’t it? Ugh!”

A wave of guilt hit me. I felt like I shouldn’t have dragged Yuren out today. That old hag had probably given him an earful. Otherwise, why would he have suddenly asked to meet this late at night? Especially when we had spent the entire day ditching class and goofing off together.

“This is nuts,” I said to myself.

As I waited, caught between regret and anxiety, I sensed someone approaching. “Yuren?”

A soft, trembling voice replied, “No…”

In the distance emerged a silver-haired woman. Her face, illuminated by moonlight, was so stunning that I instinctively forgot how to breathe.

The silver-haired woman approached and bowed politely. “Good evening, Dale. It’s nice to meet you. My name is Yurina Helios.”

“Yurina Helios?”

That was the name of Yuren’s little sister, the one rumored to have died in an accident eight years ago.

“Everyone thinks I died in an accident, but the truth is… the family spread that rumor intentionally.”

“For what reason?”

“Well…” Yurina hesitated for a moment before continuing, her smile tinged with sadness. “Because I’m a direct descendant of House Helios, but I bear the soul stigmata of the Moon God.”

“Ah!”

Now that she mentioned it, I had heard of similar cases. Among noble families, if a child was born with a soul stigmata different from the parents’, they were often disowned or declared dead to preserve the family’s pride.

“I came today with my mother to observe classes, but while I stepped out for a moment, I didn’t expect you to skip class with my brother.”

“That’s…”

Yurina shrugged with a small smile. “Oh, don’t worry about him. Mother was angry, but they talked it out. Things are fine now.”

“That cranky woman?”

“Hehe! She might seem that way, but she treasures my brother.”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

A bitter smile tugged at her lips. “No, really. Our mother… she devoted her whole life to Yuren. My brother talks about you a lot, you know.”

“About me?”

“Yes. He always seems so happy whenever he speaks about his friend, so I just had to meet you. I begged him to bring you here.”

I looked at her with a mix of confusion and curiosity.

“Oh? Do you not believe me?” She gently parted the collar of her shirt, revealing her chest. “Look, my soul stigmata is different from his.”

Just as she said, there was no sign of the Sun God’s soul stigmata on her. Instead, the unmistakable mark of the Moon God was etched into her skin.

“Then where’s Yuren now?”

“Oh, he stayed behind to finish talking with Mother,” Yurina replied.

Stayed behind, huh.

“So, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?” I asked.

Yurina shook her head with a faint smile. “It’s not like I had anything special to say. I just… wanted to see for myself what kind of person you are.”

“And that couldn’t wait until morning?”

“I’m sorry. I’ll be returning to the estate with my mother tomorrow, so this was my only chance.” She slowly sat beside me and added, “I feel like… if not today, I’d never get to see you again.”

I frowned slightly. “Why’s that?”

Yurina gently smiled. “I’ve been in poor health for a long time. The doctors say I probably won’t live much longer. That’s why, before it’s too late, there’s one thing I really wanted to say.”

“What is it?”

Yurina turned to me and smiled brightly. “Please… Keep looking after my brother.”

The moonlight poured down on her.

“As a dear friend… as someone he can trust. Stay by his side,” she said while slowly rising to her feet. “Well then, I should go. If I stay out too long, my brother will scold me.”

With a graceful bow, she turned away. “I’m so happy I got to meet you, Dale.”

With those parting words, Yurina walked off into the night. Left alone in the courtyard, I could only stare after her.

“Yurina Helios…”

Yuren’s younger sister was presumed dead in a fall eight years ago, yet she had just appeared before me. She had heard about me through Yuren and, too curious to resist, begged him to bring me out here tonight.

I sighed deeply, pressing a hand to my forehead. “Yuren, you bastard.”

You really suck at lying.

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