I Came Back from the Dead, Quit Being a Holy Hero, and Just Wanna Shake My Hips in a Harem - Chapter 08: The Hero’s Other Title

Chapter 08: The Hero’s Other Title

Lily was lying on the bed.

Her pale skin had flushed a deep red, like she was burning with fever.

And just as she let out a sweet little gasp, her body gave the tiniest twitch—

“Lord Herooooo…♥”

That sugar-sweet voice echoed through the room, and even from across the doorway, I swear I could feel the heat coming off her.

This was… a lot to process.

Seeing the ever-stoic Lily like that?

Yeah. I full-on choked on my own spit.

There was no playing this off.

No way to pretend I hadn’t just seen what I saw.

This wasn’t “oops” level—it was scorched soul level.

And just as I stood there, completely rooted in place, our eyes locked.

Oh crap oh crap oh crap—

“Since when… were you watching?”

Lily slowly sat up, adjusting her clothes with practiced calm—or at least, she tried to.

Her shoulders were shaking just a bit.

“Uhh… right when you were… y’know. Crossing the finish line.”

“A proper gentleman knocks before entering a lady’s room, does he not?”

“I thought maybe you were praying…”

“Pick one—your eyes or your ears.”

She reached for her holy staff beside the bed, face tight with shame and righteous fury.

“You’re gonna blast off whichever one I choose, aren’t you!?”

“Rest assured. After I destroy your eyes or ears, I’ll do the same to mine. That way, it’s even.”

“That’s not even, that’s mutually assured destruction!”

Tears were pooling in Lily’s eyes now, and her staff began glowing with actual holy power—

Like she was really about to launch something.

Gahhh!?

If I don’t share this embarrassment right now, I might actually die here‼

“Everyone does that kind of me-time, y’know!”

“P-Please don’t say it so clearly!”

“You just got way too worked up, right?! I totally get it! When you’re all pent up, the release hits way harder! Happens to me all the time—I try to hold back, but I always end up caving!”

“Don’t lump me in with you!”

“I’m telling you, it’s not just me! Everybody does it! Even the Hero does it!”

“The Hero would never do something so indecent!”

“He totally does!! The guy’s a solo-mission pro, okay?! A true self-service champion!!”

Yes—

I was also… the Handy Hero.

But seriously, it was a nightmare trying to get alone time back then.

With the goddess, the party, and all those divine eyes on me, the pressure was brutal.

I had to pre-plan my imaginary scenario, fake a bathroom break, and go full speed during those few stolen minutes.

Honestly? That might’ve been one of the biggest reasons I quit being a Hero.

It was supposed to be a private, peaceful ritual of solitude…

Not a high-stakes stealth mission!

Lily now looked at me like I’d just committed spiritual blasphemy.

Eyes sharp enough to excommunicate me on the spot.

Even though I was just speaking facts‼

“And hey—why were you using the Hero as your fantasy fuel, huh?! Were you secretly thirsting for him this whole time?!”

“T-That’s not it! I have a perfectly good explanation!”

Bingo.

That flustered look?

I definitely hit the mark.

For once, Lily was actually rattled.

That rare reaction—combined with… earlier events—honestly made her feel kind of endearing.

But if I teased her now, she might actually vaporize my ears and eyes with holy magic.

Possibly both at once.

“…And? What’s this reason of yours?”

“………I’m still inexperienced as a priestess. When I use holy magic, I don’t just draw from faith… I also tap into my own life force.”

“Uhh, okay? And that means…?”

“When my life force gets stirred up… it kind of… makes me really worked up…”

Her tone stayed perfectly composed, but her face was turning bright red—like a tomato left in a sauna.

Seriously?

This ultra-stiff, no-nonsense ex-mentor from my past life, blushing and fumbling like that?

Yeah.

It hit me a little harder than I wanted to admit.

But no—no giving in to full-on perv-mode.

…Mental screenshot saved for later, though.

“Huh. I see… Makes sense.”

“…You’re… just going to believe me?”

“Well, why wouldn’t I? Doesn’t exactly sound like the kind of thing someone makes up.”

Now that I thought about it…

Back in our previous life, Lily did sneak off by herself every now and then.

I always figured she was just out praying or communing with the goddess.

Guess not.

Even Lily… was still human.

“Still, uh… You sure it’s okay for a priestess of the Grand Goddess Church to, y’know… use the Hero as, um… fantasy fuel?”

“I-I wasn’t using the Hero that way…!”

“…Kinda defeats the purpose if you lie now, doesn’t it?”

“I-It’s not a lie! I serve the goddess, and I was also the Hero’s tutor! I’m supposed to be purer than any regular priestess! It’s just…”

“Just?”

Lily looked away, flustered, and began mumbling under her breath.

“If the Hero truly desired me… then I’d rather be used as a mere attachment than be cast aside…”

“…So basically, as long as it’s wrapped up in a fantasy where the Hero wants you, the Church’s cool with you, uh… helping yourself to that image?”

“B-Barely… acceptable, maybe…”

Yeah, that “barely” definitely sounded more like “almost certainly not.”

Better not push that one any further. Poor girl.

I mean, this is the same girl who once lived off cabbage and water for an entire month.

If she couldn’t hold it in, she must’ve been seriously, dangerously pent-up.

Still, that part about “if the Hero truly desired me,” huh…?

If I’d known that back in my past life…

No.

Even then, I wouldn’t have taken advantage of a teammate’s vulnerability.

Besides, Lily’s the type who would absolutely demand full responsibility if I laid a hand on her.

(And let’s be honest—that part’s the real landmine.)

But even so…

Something about her words stuck with me.

I dragged out a chair by the round table and plopped into it with a sigh.

“The Hero’s attachment, huh…? You seriously believe that?”

“…”

“No answer, huh. Figures. Still, that’s kinda terrifying, you know?”

Thanks (?) to this whole lucky perv moment—

…Okay, if I’d lost an eye or an ear, I wouldn’t exactly call it “lucky.”

But still, it made it easier to ask the thing I’d always kept buried.

Something I never had the guts to bring up before.

But I wasn’t the Hero anymore.

Didn’t have to tiptoe around.

Lily looked like she wanted to dodge the question, but when she realized I wasn’t backing off…

She finally muttered, quiet as a whisper—

“You were an orphan, right, Lord Haruya?”

“Yeah. They say I was dumped in the woods with nothing but a blanket.”

“…I’m an orphan too. But I wasn’t abandoned. I had parents. A simple, warm, normal family.”

Ah…

If she remembers a warm family and still ended up alone… then yeah, it was probably a monster attack.

One of those too-common tragedies in this world.

Lily started speaking again, slowly—like she was pressing down on something fragile.

“It’s a common tale, Lord Haruya.”

“Yeah.”

“A ferocious evil dragon attacked the village… Happens all the time.”

“…Yeah.”

“But the one difference was that… the little girl was told by her father to hide in the church. And while dark flames engulfed the village, she kept praying in front of a painting—one of the goddess who grants divine messages to the Hero.”

Her lips trembled slightly, maybe from remembering the incident.

But then she steadied herself, brushing the memory aside.

Her voice was stronger now. Clearer.

“The village, the church, the people—everything was reduced to ash. And the only things left in that empty, hollow place… were the Hero, the goddess in the painting, and a girl who clung to hope and kept praying.”

There was no visible emotion in Lily’s eyes.

She was the type who could erase herself when needed—

Who traded tears for unwavering resolve.

And behind that quiet strength…

Was unshakable faith.

“This world… still needs light. And Heroes, Lord Haruya.”

Lily looked at me with the same eyes she used to have when she’d say, “Be the Hero.”

Even now, those eyes were silently urging me—

“Be the Hero again.”

It was the kind of story she never told me in our previous lives.

Back then, I was always the Hero, and she was always the devoted priestess.

There was no space for this kind of honest, vulnerable conversation.

But this…

This was probably the real Lily.

And unlike my shameless dream of building a harem, her wish wasn’t selfish or silly.

She’d stared death in the face, laid her heart bare, and still clung to her iron resolve.

“I’m glad I got to hear that, Lily.”

I meant it.

And for a brief moment, Lily blinked—surprised. Maybe even a little amused.

“Oh? Most people don’t really appreciate stories like that.”

“Well, most folks keep their distance. Nobody wants to get too involved.”

“…I see. That makes our current relationship… the perfect distance, doesn’t it?”

Looks like she was back to her usual self.

I thought about saying something else—maybe a kind word, maybe comfort.

But nah.

She’d just brush it off like always. She didn’t want pity.

…Anyway.

“For now though—”

CRASH! 

The window exploded with a loud shatter-crack!

And a spear came flying straight at me like it had a personal vendetta.

Lily reacted on instinct—raising her sacred staff in defense—

But she was still green when it came to real-time combat.

Not fast enough.

Meanwhile, I just stayed seated, caught the spear mid-air like it was nothing,

And casually slapped it to the floor.

“Welp—looks like it’s time to deal with the next round of trouble.”