The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 101

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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 101. The Ryu Family’s Reckless Fool (2)
“D-Damn these bastards…!”
Crack, crackle!
Blue sparks erupted around Laios’s body as his furious cry tore through the air.
‘This is….’
Sensing the savage mana contained within those blue sparks, I urgently grabbed Berald by the nape of his neck and yanked him backward.
Rumble!
A blue bolt of lightning flashed where Berald had been standing, accompanied by a deafening crack.
“Ugh…!”
It seemed he hadn’t managed to dodge the lightning completely.
Berald curled inward, swallowing a pained groan.
A wound from the lightning strike was carved into his forearm—thick as another man’s thigh.
“Are you alright?”
“Y-Yes, I’m fine.”
As Berald pressed his lightning-scorched skin with his hand and pushed himself upright.
“Ha, ha. How dare this lowborn fool strike at me…!”
Grind.
Laios gnashed his teeth savagely, extending his hand.
His stigma blazed with light as an enormous concentration of lightning gathered.
“Thunder Spear!”
A spear of blue lightning materialized with the brief incantation and shot toward Berald.
And then.
‘Berald’s martial technique.’
Parting the Sea.
Whoosh!
Ash-white flames burning at my palm’s edge savagely split the incoming blue lightning spear in two.
The halved lightning spear vanished, consumed by the ash-white flames.
“What…?”
Laios’s eyes widened as he stared at the lightning spear that had simply vanished in midair as if ‘devoured’.
He looked at me with trembling eyes, as though unable to believe what he’d witnessed.
“You, you bastard… what did you just do?”
I shrugged at Laios, who wore an expression of bewilderment.
“That’s something I’m capable of, senior. You’re not unaware that violence within the Academy is a clear violation of school rules, are you?”
“Ha. If we’re talking about violence, that bastard used it first, didn’t he?”
Laios gestured toward Berald with a flick of his chin.
I smiled wickedly and tilted my head as if confused by his words.
“Hmm? Violence, you say? From where I was standing, Berald merely caused you harm through an ‘accident’—there was no intention to attack whatsoever.”
“…Are you joking right now? How is that any kind of excuse…!”
“It’s not an excuse, senior.”
I continued speaking leisurely, my arms crossed.
“Or do you have any evidence to back up your claims, senior?”
“Evidence, you say…!”
“Ah, well. I suppose that ruined face of yours could serve as evidence of violence, technically.”
Snicker.
I let mockery seep into my expression.
“Beaten black and blue by a second-year Candidate from some lowborn branch family—a reckless brute, no less… Pfft! Well, I understand. If that’s what you want, then use that as your evidence.”
“You…!”
Grit.
Laios glared at me with bared teeth, grinding them savagely.
But it was short-lived.
The luminous aura radiating from Laios’s stigma faded, and the fierce blue sparks that had been erupting gradually dispersed.
“Ha, fine. A mistake? Sure, let’s call it a mistake then.”
Laios continued, his eyes narrowed to slits as he fixed me with a glare.
“But mistakes always come with a price.”
Laios’s lips curled into a sinister smile.
“The branch family receives no more funding.”
“…!”
Berald’s eyes widened dramatically.
“W-what does this have to do with funding at all?!”
“Who knows? That’s not my concern.”
Laios shrugged with a bitter smirk.
“Either way, not a single gold coin will reach the branch family from now on. Remember that.”
“P-please wait a moment, brother… no, senior! If the funding is cut off…!”
“What? Don’t have money to care for your senile father?”
“Father was injured fighting for the Ryu Family! That funding is a right we deserve!”
“Who gave you the right to demand anything?”
Laios flicked his ear dismissively, his expression cold.
“Isn’t it natural for members of the Ryu Family to fight for the family? Or what—the branch family isn’t part of the Ryu Family anymore?”
“…Senior!”
“Ugh, how annoying. Anyway, I’ll formally propose cutting the funding at the next family meeting, so keep that in mind.”
“Grrr…!”
Berald trembled, his fists clenched tight.
I placed a hand on his shoulder and spoke.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll cover it for you.”
“…Brother?”
Berald blinked, as if confused by my words.
“How can you give me money when you don’t have any…?”
Berald was well aware that I attended the Academy on state funding.
As he said, the money in my possession wasn’t much.
“That’s what friends are for, isn’t it?”
I had a reliable source of funds—no, a friend—so there was no need to worry about money.
‘If Juliet refuses, I can always squeeze it out of Rosanna.’
Even though the Helios Family’s fortunes had declined considerably in recent years, the vast wealth accumulated over generations as a high-ranking Empire noble family hadn’t vanished overnight.
“Anyway, there’s no need to worry about money.”
“….”
Berald clenched his jaw, his lips pressed firmly together.
After continuing to deliberate, Berald shook his head slightly.
“No, this is my matter. I cannot ask for your help, senior.”
With those words, Berald stepped forward toward Laios.
Thud.
Berald dropped to his knees before Laios.
“If I’ve offended your sensibilities, I sincerely apologize. I lost control and threw that punch without thinking.”
Berald remained on his knees, bowing so deeply that his forehead nearly touched the ground.
“I will accept any punishment for the violence. Please, I beg your forgiveness.”
“…Ha.”
Laios looked down at the kneeling Berald and stifled a bitter laugh.
“Where did that confident attitude from before go?”
“I apologize.”
“What? Awakening? You incompetent fool who can’t even conjure a single mana bullet—what magic are you talking about?”
“I apologize.”
“Sigh. All you had to do was quietly bring some bread, but why did you make such a mess of things? Huh?”
“I apologize.”
Berald repeated his apologies like a broken machine, head still bowed.
Part of me wanted to turn Laios into pulp, Ryu Family or not.
-No, this is my matter.
“….”
I had a feeling that if I stepped in now, my relationship with Berald would be irreparably damaged.
“Well then, let’s do it this way.”
Laios crossed his arms and looked down at the bowing Berald.
“If you can beat me in a sparring match, I’ll withdraw the funding demand.”
“…A sparring match, you say?”
Berald lifted his head and looked up at Laios.
Laios grinned and nodded.
“That’s right. But only using ‘magic.'”
“That’s….”
Berald’s expression turned troubled.
“You haven’t forgotten what family we are, have you? Huh?”
The Ryu Family—the greatest magical house in the Republic.
There were few who didn’t know their reputation, even in the Empire and Holy Kingdom.
‘Look at this bastard thinking ahead.’
I narrowed my eyes, glaring at Laios with his sinister smile.
The fact that he would make such a proposal despite knowing full well that Berald couldn’t use magic could only mean one thing—he intended to inflict legal violence on Berald under the guise of a sparring match.
“Understood.”
At Berald’s response, a bitter sneer played across Laios’s lips.
“Good. So, three days should be enough time to practice magic, right?”
“….”
How could he possibly master magic in merely three days when he’d spent his entire life unable to properly cast a single mana bolt?
Though he likely knew better than anyone how absurdly insufficient the timeframe was.
“Understood.”
Berald nodded with an impassive expression.
Laios turned away with a bright laugh.
“Then I’ll see you in three days, ‘little brother.'”
Laios drifted away, his laughter echoing behind him.
“Sigh.”
Berald rose to his feet with a deep exhale.
“…Berald.”
“Hm? Hahaha! Why do you have such a frightening expression, brother?”
Berald burst into hearty laughter, his face radiant.
“After all, it’s just a sparring match, isn’t it? Even if I get hurt, as long as we have Iris, everything will be fine!”
Berald patted his chest reassuringly.
As if his defeat were already a foregone conclusion.
“….”
I stared at Berald, my eyes narrowing.
‘No.’
The Berald I knew would never give up so easily.
“Stop spouting nonsense.”
I seized him by the collar.
A memory from my past life suddenly flashed through my mind.
The memory of when I first learned the Berald Martial Arts from him.
-Huff, huff! I… I can’t anymore. I can’t do this!
-Are you giving up already, brother?
-What do you mean giving up? Do you know how many days I’ve been training without rest? Not days—weeks, you madman!
-I know.
-I can’t go on anymore. This is my limit. You’ve taught me enough to know how talentless I am at martial arts. No matter how hard I try, I can’t do it.
-….
-What? Are you going to lecture me again?
-No.
Berald sat down beside me, who had collapsed from exhaustion, a faint smile on his face.
-I was exactly the same as you, brother.
-…Same how?
-My limits, they said. No point in trying. I’ve spent my life doing nothing but giving up on things.
-You?
Giving up.
It was the word that least suited Berald.
-As you know, I had no talent for magic. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t even create a single mana bullet properly.
-….
-So, I gave up.
-But now….
-Have you ever seen me use magic?
-…No.
-Heh. I still can’t use magic.
But.
The ‘Berald Combat Art’ he had created was, paradoxically, a martial technique that could not be perfected without learning magic.
-I’m filled with regret.
-…About what?
-If only I hadn’t given up on magic back then and had learned it instead… if I could have at least created a single mana bullet properly.
Berald clenched his bandaged fist roughly.
-At the end of the combat art I poured everything into creating… I wouldn’t have to feel this despair of knowing I myself can never reach it.
His voice was filled with deep regret.
I tilted my head and asked him.
-Then why not learn magic now? I’m currently learning magic from Sophia, so you could join me too….
-No, it’s useless.
Berald shook his head quietly and continued.
-Among the various combat arts I learned to perfect my own martial technique, there was one that had a side effect preventing the manifestation of magic itself. The moment I learned it, using magic became eternally impossible.
Now that I thought about it, Berald could only expel mana outward, but couldn’t actually use magic through it.
To use an analogy, it was as if he had fuel but the very tool to ignite it was broken.
Because of this.
Berald could never reach the ‘ultimate’ of the combat art he had perfected throughout his lifetime.
Even until that final moment he faced.
-Don’t worry. The combat art I taught you has no such side effects. You won’t ever be unable to use magic.
Berald smiled faintly and continued.
-So, please don’t give up, even you.
As if it were nothing.
As if it meant nothing at all.
He said it like that.
-You are the person with the most ‘perseverance’ of anyone, aren’t you?
No.
No, that’s wrong.
Contrary to his words, I was not a person with perseverance at all.
It was Berald, and no one else, who taught me the perseverance to never give up.
‘Berald.’
Because you existed.
I was able to exist.
So.
“Hey.”
“Hm? Why are you doing that, brother?”
I grabbed Berald by the collar and spoke.
“You’re going to learn magic from me.”
This time, I won’t give up on you.

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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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