The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 106

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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 106. The Blonde is Too Much (1)
A week had passed since Berald and Laios’s duel.
As the Academy began buzzing with final evaluation preparations, I found myself frequenting the Training Ground daily to internalize the new insights I’d gained.
Of course, I wasn’t pushing myself to the brink like last time.
‘If I did that, I might collapse again.’
Since the side effects of Ash Flame couldn’t be treated even with the blessing of Resurrection, I needed to exercise caution.
In any case.
Today, after finishing training with Yuren and Berald, I was heading back to my Dormitory room when—
“Ah, Dale!”
A familiar voice calling out to me.
I turned to see the saintess with her pale pink hair waiting for me, cradling a thick paper envelope in her arms.
Iris came running over with a bright smile.
“You just got back from the Training Ground?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re not overexerting yourself again, are you?”
Iris regarded me with a suspicious gaze.
“I’m keeping it moderate. I came back early today too, didn’t I?”
“Hmm. You always say you’re fine, so I can’t trust you at all.”
Iris didn’t lower her suspicious eyes as she activated her Hero Watch.
“Just a moment. I’ll ask Yuren to send me your recent Training Ground access records.”
“What?”
Since when did those two start sharing information like that?
“Your usage has noticeably decreased over the past week… but at this rate, you’re still getting enough sleep. And you’re not skipping meals either, are you?”
Iris nodded as she carefully reviewed the access records Yuren had sent.
Watching her check my every move like some kind of caretaker, I stifled a laugh.
‘I feel like a precious treasure being guarded.’
While I wondered if her concern was perhaps excessive, there was something nostalgic about it that didn’t feel entirely unpleasant.
“Anyway, what brings you here?”
“Hmm. Do I need a reason to come see you?”
Iris pouted her cheeks with a sulky expression.
“No, that’s not what I meant…”
“Hehe. I was joking.”
Iris smiled brightly as if she’d never pouted at all.
“I came because I had something to tell you. And also…”
She trailed off, glancing around to see if anyone was nearby.
“Should we go inside?”
“Yes.”
I opened the door and stepped inside.
Compared to Iris’s room, my quarters were so shabby and cramped I doubted they were even in the same Dormitory, though I did have the essentials.
“Tea? Or coffee?”
“Make me some ramen!”
“No.”
Ramen the moment she arrives—what is this?
“You’ll gain weight if you eat at this hour, Saint.”
“It’s fine. I have a constitution where all the weight goes straight to my chest anyway.”
“….”
I felt like I’d just heard something that would turn half of humanity into enemies.
“Fine. Wait a moment.”
Yielding to Iris’s insistent request, I boiled the ramen and brought it to her.
“Mmm~! This is so delicious, really!”
A Saint visiting the male Dormitory late at night to eat ramen—what a sight.
‘Thinking about it this way, it feels surreal.’
I watched Iris empty her ramen bowl with a bitter smile on my face.
“By the way, didn’t you say you had something to tell me earlier?”
“Oh, right. Dale, are you free this weekend?”
This weekend, she says.
“I’ll probably be at the Training Ground all day, but why?”
“We went to volunteer at the Orphanage together before, remember?”
“Ah, right. We did.”
I nodded, recalling memories from a few months ago.
“Since I’ll be busy with the final evaluation soon, I wanted to visit once more before that.”
“I see.”
“Would it be possible for you to come with me this time as well, if you’re available?”
I swallowed a bitter smile as I gazed into her eyes, sparkling like stars.
‘How could I possibly refuse this?’
I’d been preoccupied with mastering new insights recently, but I wasn’t so busy that I couldn’t spare a single day.
“Sure, I’ll go.”
“Really? You’ll come with me?”
Iris bloomed into a radiant smile, like flowers in full bloom.
“Hehe. The children will definitely be thrilled!”
“But you waited outside my room until late just to ask me that?”
Couldn’t she have simply messaged me through Hero Watch about visiting the Orphanage together on the weekend?
“That… well, there’s actually something else too.”
Iris’s cheeks flushed slightly as she hugged the thick paper bag she’d been holding.
“Could you step outside your room for a moment?”
“Why?”
“It’ll only take a moment!”
Instead of answering, Iris pushed me out of the room.
I tilted my head in confusion and stepped into the Dormitory Corridor as she requested.
After waiting about five minutes like that.
“Y-you can come in.”
Iris’s voice drifted through the door.
Click.
As I opened the door and stepped inside, what greeted me was….
“Ahem. Welcome back, Master.”
Iris stood before me in a pristine maid’s uniform.
With her hands folded demurely before her white apron, she bowed her head with a posture so perfectly measured it seemed drawn by a ruler.
“…Iris?”
“Yes, Master.”
Iris approached me with a mischievous smile playing at her lips.
“What is this supposed to be….”
“You mentioned before that Dale likes maid uniforms, didn’t you? So I thought I’d try wearing one.”
“Ah.”
Now that she mentioned it, there had indeed been some ridiculous misunderstanding (?) that led to such a situation before.
Since nothing more came of it afterward, I’d dismissed it as merely a passing incident. Yet here Iris was, suddenly appearing in a maid uniform.
“It took some time to alter the chest area. How does it look? Does it suit me?”
Iris lifted the hem of her skirt slightly and spun once in place.
Her soft pink hair swayed, and a sweet fragrance tickled my senses.
The sight of a saint blessed by the Seven Gods standing in my room dressed as a maid transcended unreality—it felt like I was dreaming.
‘I don’t think we ever had an event like this, even when we were lovers.’
Back then, the war with the Demons was intensifying, so we rarely had the leisure to enjoy the sweet moments that lovers typically share (setting aside whether maid roleplay was even among those moments).
‘I’m truly grateful I regressed.’
As I trembled with this overwhelming emotion (?), something happened.
“…Does it not suit me?”
Receiving no response, Iris gazed at me with anxious eyes.
I answered by giving her a thumbs up.
Iris’s expression brightened considerably as she pointed to a chair and spoke.
“Come, sit here, Master. I’ll give you a shoulder massage.”
“No, there’s really no need to go that far….”
“Tsk. Come along now.”
Iris tapped the chair with a stern expression.
‘Who exactly is the master here?’
Suppressing a wry smile, I obeyed her command and sat down.
“Hehe. Tell me if it hurts, okay?”
Iris moved behind me and placed her hands on my shoulders.
Soft.
A sensation beyond words—impossibly plush and tender—registered against the back of my head.
“How is it? Does it feel good?”
“….”
Good doesn’t even begin to cover it—I can’t even focus on my shoulders anymore.
“Hmm… Perhaps my strength isn’t quite sufficient?”
“No, that’s not it….”
“Not it?”
“….”
How could I possibly explain this?
The sensation of that blessed(?) touch against the back of my head felt far too sacred for me to spare even a thought to whether my shoulders felt relieved or not.
“Let me apply a bit more pressure and knead it properly.”
With those words, Iris let out a spirited “Hup!” and applied more force with both hands.
Knead, knead.
As she applied pressure, her body naturally leaned forward, intensifying the stimulation against the back of my head.
‘No.’
She knows exactly what she’s doing, doesn’t she?
Even as such thoughts crossed my mind, I desperately clung to the fraying threads of my composure.
“Tsk. Strange… by now he should’ve… Is this bastard made of stone?”
A faint murmur reached my ears.
It was a voice so quiet that I wouldn’t have heard it if my physical abilities hadn’t skyrocketed after becoming a ‘Furnace’.
“What did you just say….”
“Huh? I didn’t say anything?”
When I turned my head, Iris tilted hers with wide, innocent eyes.
“Well then, let’s call it a day.”
She withdrew her hands from my shoulders, covered her mouth with one hand, and gave me a playful wink.
“Next time, if the opportunity arises, I’ll do it again for you, Master?”
“….”
It seemed
that being a former saint didn’t necessarily mean one’s heart was pure.
* * *
Saturday.
I headed toward the meeting place where I’d arranged to see Iris.
Camilla had arrived at the meeting spot first.
“It’s been a while.”
As I waved and approached her, Camilla Bediche shot me a sharp glare with her arms crossed.
“Hmph. I haven’t seen your face in class lately—so you got suspended? Just as I thought, you’re a troublemaker through and through.”
“What, you were worried about me since you couldn’t see me?”
“W-Who said I was worried about you!”
Camilla Bediche burst out indignantly.
I chuckled and glanced around.
“Where’s Iris?”
“The saint is taking longer with her preparations, so it’ll be a while.”
“Hm? What kind of preparations?”
“Sigh. Don’t ask. Since the crack of dawn, she’s been agonizing over what outfit to wear, whether her hair is messy, how to apply makeup naturally—I don’t even know how many hours she’s spent on it… Ugh.”
Camilla pressed her forehead with her palm, exhaling a deep sigh as if her head ached.
‘She’s been through so much.’
I offered a bitter smile and turned my head away from Camilla’s piercing gaze.
“Well. It seems it’ll take a bit longer before the Saint arrives, so I should stop by the Academy Convenience Store in the meantime.”
“The Convenience Store? Why?”
“Antonio Priest asked if I could buy some limited-edition bread from the Hero Academy Convenience Store for the children at the Orphanage—they’re apparently desperate for it.”
“I see.”
The Convenience Store within the Hero Academy certainly stocked many limited-edition breads that were rarely sold outside.
‘It’s where Candidates from the Three Nations gather, after all.’
Since the culinary traditions of the Three Nations converged in one place, there were inevitably many products difficult to find elsewhere.
“How many should I buy?”
“Hmm… considering the number of children, around fifty? Though I might need to get more, given their appetites.”
It was quite a substantial quantity.
“Let’s head out before it gets any later. Competition for limited-edition bread is fierce.”
“Ah, well, you don’t need to go yourself for that.”
“Hm? What do you mean?”
I raised my arm, displaying the Hero Watch fastened to my wrist, toward the tilting Camilla.
“I have a friend who’s remarkably skilled at procuring bread—my personal bread courier, if you will.”
“…?”
As I spoke, I grinned wickedly.
Click.
I activated the Hero Watch and sent a message to my ‘friend’.
“See, with just one simple click like this….”
I passed the time exchanging idle chatter with Camilla.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
A golden-haired handsome man came sprinting from the distance.
On his back was a massive backpack like those peddlers carried.
“Huff, huff, huff! D-Dale! I b-brought the bread!”
Juliet Kang set down the backpack brimming with bread, breathing heavily.
Drenched in sweat, Juliet approached me cautiously and extended her hand.
“A-and here’s your change….”
“Ah, come on. What’s this about change between friends? Keep it.”
Of course, I had never given Juliet any money for the bread in the first place.
“See? I got it done quick, didn’t I?”
I draped my arm around Juliet’s shoulder affectionately and grinned widely.

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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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