I Came Back from the Dead, Quit Being a Holy Hero, and Just Wanna Shake My Hips in a Harem - Chapter 17: The Sound of Your ○○

Chapter 17: The Sound of Your ○○

The little girl we’d met on the surface of Gosse introduced herself as Merle.

Chasing after us must’ve been rough—her cute little dress was now even muddier, and her chestnut hair had lost its shine, dull with grime.

As the three of us stared at her with a mix of surprise and suspicion, Merle’s face went pale.

“I-I was hiding outside, but then… m-my head suddenly got all fuzzy… a-and the next thing I knew, I was chasing after you guys…”

Maybe… a panic attack?

Lily had cast a protective ward at her hiding spot before we left, but…

Between being separated from her parents and the entire town getting swallowed underground, the fear must’ve finally caught up with her.

…That’s one possibility, at least.

Lily gently examined Merle, clearly concerned she might’ve gotten hurt.

Thankfully, there weren’t any visible injuries.

I leaned in and whispered:

“(Any signs of hypnosis or mental corruption?)”

“(None. And physically… she’s human.)”

Knew it.

Lily had probably started scanning her the second she got close.

She’s always so good at mixing genuine care with clear logic—gotta respect that.

Still, if that’s the case… hmm…

We’ve been clearing out monsters as we go.

The path’s been mostly straightforward, and thanks to Filio’s scouting, we haven’t missed any hidden threats.

Any monster smart enough to sense it was outmatched probably bailed the second it felt our presence.

So yeah…

Technically, it’s not impossible she followed us all the way here.

I guess I’ll drop the suspicion—for now.

The moment I took my hand off my sword’s hilt, I could feel the tension in the room ease like a pressure valve being released.

“M-My dad… my mom… do you think they’re further ahead…?”

Merle looked anxiously down the path leading deeper into the dungeon.

Filio quickly offered her a gentle, reassuring smile.

“I’m sure they’re okay.”

“C-Can I… come with you guys?”

“That’s… a little tricky. I think your parents would be really worried if you went any further.”

Filio kept up that classic princely smile, but it was clear she was a bit torn.

That’s when Merle reached into her collar and pulled out a small pendant.

“U-Um… this… helped me remember something…”

“Ah, this is… a processed Forget-Me-Not, right?”

The charm on the pendant was made of amber, with delicate flower petals sealed inside.

That flower—Forget-Me-Not, or more formally, Falling Grass—was a special plant that bloomed in two matching colors on a single stem.

Each flower was connected to its pair, reacting across distance.

People often used them as charms to help find loved ones.

Parents would give them to their children in case they ever got separated.

Thing is, the charm only worked if you regularly imbued it with your own magic—

And only the person who did that could sense its pair.

Wait—is that how she managed to find us?

“T-This is Dad’s Forget-Me-Not… I-I think I can kinda feel it…”

“…I see. You want to help your parents too, huh, Merle?”

Filio pressed her lips together like she’d made up her mind about something.

Yeah, no doubt—if we didn’t stop her, she’d head in all by herself.

Push forward, or turn back…

Trying to talk Merle out of coming with us was going to be a whole ordeal, too.

We could ask Lily to put her to sleep with magic, sure…

But if she woke up and found out her parents hadn’t made it, that’d scar her.

And honestly, dumping that emotional burden on Lily alone didn’t sit right with me either.

…Guess it’s my turn to step up.

Sometimes, you’ve gotta dive headfirst into danger to clear the way.

And hey—unlike back when I was the Hero, I’m totally allowed to fight dirty now.

So that’s actually a win.

Maybe sensing I’d made up my mind, Lily quietly asked:

“What shall we do?”

“Let’s all sneak ahead together. Nice and quiet.”

Everyone turned to look at me.

Filio especially—her eyes lit up like I’d just handed her a bouquet made of pure sunshine.

“Really!?”

“Filio takes the lead. We’ll handle the monsters together. Lily, save your divine power—your top priority is keeping Merle safe. If things go sideways, we count on your holy arts to pull us out. It might take a while, but hey—maybe we’ll bump into the rescue team on the way. Hopefully.”

“Haruya, you’re really good at giving orders!”

I tried to say it all in my usual sleepy, laid-back tone—

But Filio was glowing like I’d just made her whole week.

Well, yeah.

We did used to fight together, once upon a time.

“T-Thank you… big brother.”

Merle looked up at me with big sparkly eyes.

That look—like she was seeing her Hero—

It hit me right in the nostalgia.

So I did what any mature adult would do.

I wiggled my hips and struck a ridiculous pose.

“Leave it to me~! I’m always on the side of the ladies!”

“Hiii…!?”

Gah!?

She’s seriously creeped out!

C-Compliance!! I’m violating all of it!!

No… no, don’t back down…

The moment I swore to build a harem, I threw those rules straight out the window!

Still… nghhhghghghghgh…

“W-We’ll definitely save your parents. Don’t worry. After all… we’re one of the world’s most legendary adventurer parties!”

I knelt down to meet her eye level and gave her my best Hero smile.

Really leaned into that “legendary” bit—kids love that stuff.

Sure enough, Merle gave me a tiny, relieved smile.

But the one not smiling anymore… was me.

Lily’s eyes glinted with this deadly shine—

Like, “So you could act properly this whole time.”

And Filio?

She was looking at me like—

“Guess I’ll need to bump up his evaluation score again.”

Ughhhhhhh!!!

I refuse to lose! Not to fate, not to sparkly eyes, not to any of you!!

〇〇〇

With that, our dungeon exploration shifted into stealth mode—full-on hide-and-sneak.

We moved in silence, letting Filio take point to scan the surroundings.

Whenever a monster appeared, we’d erase our presence, ambush from the shadows, and drop it in a single strike.

Super efficient. Super safe.

And whenever the path forked, we followed wherever Merle felt drawn—trusting in her pendant’s pull.

Then suddenly, Filio spoke up—sounding surprised:

“…Wow, Haruya. You can hide your presence like a pro.”

“Nah, I still can’t match the real pros.”

“Even so, that’s impressive. Who taught you?”

From behind, Lily casually chimed in, “Was it that village granny again?”

I just shrugged and said, “This one’s from a grandpa.”

…At this rate, my hometown’s gonna sound like some secret mountain village full of hidden masters.

By the way, most of my stealth training actually came from Filio.

She might be giving me that wide-eyed “Wow! So talented!” look right now,

But yeah—she’s the one who taught me.

Fully-grown Filio in our past life was an absolute stealth monster—

She once took out an entire demon beast den without making a single sound.

We kept advancing deeper into the dungeon.

But after a while, Filio’s brow knit in discomfort.

The lingering miasma was clearly dulling her senses.

Plus, she’d been scanning nonstop, which had to be draining her stamina and focus more than expected.

So, we decided to take a breather.

We found a small chamber—probably one of those randomly-formed rooms that appear during dungeon generation.

It was empty, but it made for a perfect little rest spot.

Lily put up a ward against evil, and we all sat down for a short break.

We’d been relaxing for a bit when—

Filio suddenly stood up.

“My energy’s back. I’ll stand guard outside.”

“Hey, no need to rush. Just chill for a bit longer.”

“Resting too long dulls your instincts. Don’t worry—I’ll stay close. If anything happens, I’ll call for help.”

With that, Filio gave a refreshingly polite—but clearly rushed—excuse and slipped out of the small room.

Still looks kinda shaken.

Probably just trying a little too hard to act normal.

…Can’t really blame her.

“I’m gonna, uh… go take care of something real quick.”

“Yes, of course. Please support Lord Filio while you’re at it.”

Lily said that with a gentle smile, calmly stroking Merle’s head as the girl rested in her lap.

I wanted to explain myself—

But let’s be honest, trying to say anything now would just make it sound more suspicious.

So instead, I muttered, “…If anything feels off, call me right away,”

And walked off with the swagger of a no-good adventurer, hips swaying like I had zero shame left in life.

The moment I stepped outside, the air felt… different.

Did the miasma get thicker?

Still, I wasn’t feeling any pain.

It definitely wasn’t the harmful kind that Demon Lord Chronova used to pump out.

Filio said it was just a faint trace anyway—no need to freak out.

…That said, I was feeling it.

During dungeon runs, with all the adrenaline and survival tension, your instincts get seriously messed up.

And yeah—it’s way easier to get turned on.

But if you act on that recklessly? Total death flag.

I’ve heard stories of parties getting wiped out mid-quickie when a monster walked in on them.

So normally, you just suck it up and hold back.

But me? I’m a former Hero.

Quick-release techniques are second nature!

Back in the day, under constant surveillance from teammates—and a literal goddess, no less—

I had no choice but to master the sacred art of Instant Discharge.

I used to worry it might cause, y’know, long-term side effects or whatever—

But here I am. Still kicking. Still functioning.

…Yeah. Probably best to let one out before I run into Filio again.

And as for material? Oh, don’t worry. I’ve got plenty.

Like, for example—

“Lord Haruya… ♥”

In an instant, Lily’s sultry voice started looping in my head.

That was careless of you, Lily.

You tried to set a honeytrap—

And in doing so, handed me prime mental material on a silver platter.

You really should be more aware of your own charm.

With Lily’s voice echoing through my brain, I wasn’t hurting for inspiration anytime soon.

I remembered the agony of my past journey, struggling to find “usable” material out in the wilderness.

Man… being not a Hero is the best.

I wandered a bit farther and found a smaller chamber tucked into a corner.

It was even tinier than the break room from earlier, so I’d ignored it at first—

But for a quick solo cooldown? It was perfect.

I quietly opened the door, just in case.

And someone was already inside.

It was Filio.

She was half-squatting against the wall, body trembling.

Her cheeks were slick with sweat, her breathing ragged and shallow.

“haah… haah… ♥”

She was pressing the hilt of a dagger down between her legs.

Her whole body radiated heat—like steam rising off her skin.

Even from across the room, I could feel it.

Those massive breasts of hers were glistening, lightly bouncing with every breath.

Her face still had that usual innocent charm…

But now, it was twisted into something far more shameless.

She moved the dagger in small, deliberate motions—

Her soft, absurdly heavy-looking chest swaying in sync,

While loud, desperate moans poured from her lips as she lost herself in the moment.

“Ohooohn ♥ Yes, yes, that’s it ♥ Right at the tip, sooo good ♥ I can feel it deep in my bellyyy ♥ That hard little grindy bit feels amazing ♥”

……………………
…OHOHHHHHHHHHHHHHH⁉⁉⁉⁉⁉⁉⁉⁉