The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 130

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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 130. Summer Break (2)
A wide road.
Gray buildings lined up at regular intervals as if measured by a ruler.
“So this is… the Republic.”
Iris gazed around with sparkling eyes, her expression alight with curiosity.
True to its reputation as a nation of technology, the Republic’s buildings towered taller and stood more precisely aligned than those of the Holy Kingdom.
‘Though everything does look rather similar, giving it a somewhat bleak atmosphere.’
I swallowed that observation silently and followed Dale’s footsteps with quick, eager strides.
“Did you live in a place like this when you were young, Dale?”
“No.”
I shook my head softly toward Iris, who had drawn close enough that our shoulders nearly touched.
Though truthfully, so much time had passed that I barely remembered my days at the Orphanage.
“The place I was in was far more rural.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. There weren’t even any Warp Gates, so it would take several days to get here from there.”
“Oh, what a shame.”
“A shame about what?”
“Hehe. I was just thinking that if we visited the Orphanage where you grew up, we might be able to find photos of you as a child.”
Iris smiled with a hint of mischief, her eyes twinkling.
“What would you do with photos of me as a kid?”
“Well… oh my, how could I say something so embarrassing out loud?”
“No.”
What was she trying to do?
As I regarded her with an uneasy expression, she broke into a knowing smile.
I sighed and turned my gaze toward Berald.
“Is your house nearby?”
“No. We’ll need to take a train and head out to the outskirts of the city.”
“Then we should head to the station first.”
“Hehe. Follow me.”
Berald strode ahead purposefully toward the train station.
As the train carried us out to the city’s outskirts, the landscape gradually transformed from a forest of gray buildings into open fields.
After riding for about an hour, we arrived.
“We get off at this station.”
Following Berald outside, I found myself in a quiet rural landscape so different from the Republic we’d first seen that it was hard to believe we were in the same country.
“There’s quite a difference, even though we’ve only come a little way out from the city.”
“Hehe. Isn’t it the same in the Holy Kingdom and the Empire?”
“That’s true enough.”
“Come, it’s just a little further this way. Follow me.”
As I followed Berald down the quiet country road, a grand mansion soon came into view.
“This is our home.”
Even though it was a branch family estate, the Ryu Family Helios Mansion still possessed a scale that far surpassed the other residences in the surrounding area.
“I’m here!”
As Berald called out in a resonant voice, a warm-faced middle-aged woman hurried out from inside.
“Oh my! Young Master Berald, you’ve arrived?”
“Ahem. Didn’t I tell you not to call me ‘Young Master’?”
“Hehe. I couldn’t possibly do that. Are the people behind you your friends, Young Master?”
“That’s right.”
The middle-aged woman turned toward us and bowed respectfully at the waist.
“It’s wonderful to meet you, Heroes. I’m Anna, and I manage the affairs of this estate.”
“I’m Dale.”
“I’m Iris.”
After exchanging brief greetings, we followed Anna to the reception room.
The vast estate felt desolate and silent, as if there were no other servants besides Anna.
“Please wait here for a moment, and I’ll bring you something to drink.”
“Ah, before that, I’ll go see my father first.”
“…Your father?”
Anna’s expression darkened.
Berald nodded with a bitter smile.
“…Your father is currently in the master bedroom on the second floor.”
Anna lowered her head and carefully retreated backward.
“Follow me.”
Berald climbed the stairs to the second floor with heavy steps.
After passing through a long corridor and arriving at the innermost room, Berald stopped before the door and closed his eyes tightly.
“Sigh.”
After composing himself for a moment, Berald slowly knocked on the door as if steeling his resolve.
“Hmm~? Is it already mealtime?”
A childlike voice came from inside.
Yet that voice belonged not to a child, but to an adult with a deep, resonant tone.
“I’m coming in.”
“Huh? Wow! A big brother!”
The moment the door opened, I saw a middle-aged man with a build nearly as massive as Berald’s.
Lying on the bed, he flashed a bright smile the instant he saw Berald’s face, then sprang up and rushed toward him.
“Hehe! It’s been so long! Have you been well?”
The middle-aged man gazed at Berald with a radiant smile.
Berald bit his lip and clenched his fists so hard they trembled.
“…Father.”
“Huh? I’m not your father. My name is Gilbert.”
Gilbert tilted his head with a finger in his mouth, looking puzzled.
“….”
Berald shook his head as he looked at his father.
I opened my mouth with a trembling voice, as if suppressing the thorns of surging passion.
“…Yes, Gilbert.”
“Yep! I’m Gilbert! Nice to meet you! Uh… what was your name again, big brother?”
“I am….”
I recited my introduction, one I had already repeated countless times.
“…Berald. Berald Ryu.”
“Oh, that’s right! Berald! It was Berald! Hehe. You told me before, but I forgot.”
“…It’s fine.”
Berald carefully placed his hand on Gilbert’s shoulder.
The hand resting on his shoulder trembled slightly.
“I’ll teach you again… as many times as it takes.”
“Hehe! You really are kind, big brother with the big build!”
Gilbert nodded with a bright smile on his face.
“But how is your body? Are you in any pain?”
“Ugh… sometimes it hurts here.”
Gilbert pointed to the crown of his head with a dejected expression.
“It feels like something sharp is poking me repeatedly.”
“…Is it like that now?”
“No, not right now.”
Gilbert smiled brightly at Berald.
“I guess it’s because I met you, big brother.”
“….”
Berald’s eyes trembled faintly.
“But big brother… who are those people behind you?”
Gilbert’s gaze turned toward us, waiting outside the door.
“….”
“….”
As we stood there unable to find words for how to respond, exchanging glances with one another.
“You said your head hurts sometimes, didn’t you? These are the doctors who came to treat it.”
“D-doctors?”
Gilbert startled at the word “doctors” and took a step backward.
“I-I don’t like doctors… they always make me take medicine that tastes awful!”
“There’s no need to worry this time.”
“…Really?”
“I stake my name on that promise.”
Berald smiled reassuringly.
Gilbert, who had been backing away, hesitantly approached.
“Okay… oh, but what was your name again, big brother?”
“Berald.”
“Oh, that’s right. Hehe. I forgot again already.”
Gilbert approached me while saying so.
“So, Doctor. What should I do?”
“…For now, just lie down on the bed, please.”
“Okay!”
Gilbert rushed over to the bed, pulled the blanket over himself, and lay down.
“Ah… now that I’m lying down, I’m suddenly sleepy.”
Less than ten seconds after lying down, Gilbert, who had been murmuring in a drowsy voice, was already snoring softly in sleep.
“Sigh.”
After confirming that Gilbert had fallen asleep, Berald exhaled a deep sigh and turned his head toward us.
“This is the current state of our father.”
“…Berald.”
Iris looked at Berald with sorrowful eyes.
“I heard about it, but… I didn’t realize it was this serious.”
“…It must have been difficult for you all this time.”
Yuren and Camilla also gazed at Gilbert, who lay on the bed in deep sleep, their expressions heavy.
“Let me examine his condition first.”
Iris crouched beside the bed and placed her hand on Gilbert’s forehead.
A low hum resonated.
A pure white aura flowed from her hand and seeped into Gilbert’s forehead.
Her blue irises transformed into a rainbow of colors.
“Hah, hah.”
After a moment.
Iris wiped the sweat flowing down her forehead and breathed heavily.
“So, how is it? What’s Father’s condition?”
Berald asked with a tense expression.
“The Sacred Mark itself has suffered direct damage.”
“Sacred Mark?”
“Yes. The Sacred Mark bestowed by the Seven Gods contains not just simple mana, but also fragments of the soul and spirit. Gilbert’s Sacred Mark is currently damaged.”
“Then, is there no way to fix it?”
Berald’s expression hardened.
Iris removed her hand from above Gilbert’s forehead and opened her mouth.
“With my power alone, it’s not enough.”
“Ah….”
Berald let out a quiet sigh.
“But.”
“…But?”
“If we have an offering, treatment might be possible.”
“An offering?”
“She means mana stones or magical artifacts.”
Before Iris could answer, I opened my mouth.
“Holy magic can amplify its effects by offering sacrifices.”
“That’s right. If we have a sacrifice, we can use stronger healing magic, just as you said.”
“Then… does that mean Father can be healed if we just obtain magic stones?”
“It means we can attempt it, but I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to cure him completely. And…”
Iris continued with a darkened expression.
“We’ll likely need at least high-grade magic stones or higher.”
“Ah…”
Berald exhaled a quiet sigh.
Unlike mid and low-grade magic stones that could be mass-produced, high-grade magic stones could only be obtained by hunting magical beasts purely through combat.
And only those of rank eight or higher.
“High-grade magic stones…”
Berald pressed his forehead and released a deep breath.
Hunting rank-eight magical beasts was already difficult, and even if we succeeded, there was no guarantee they would drop stones.
Buying them with money was out of the question—a single high-grade magic stone cost millions of gold.
The support from the main house was woefully insufficient.
“Ha.”
Then.
A faint chuckle escaped from between my lips.
“…Brother?”
“I never expected things to connect like this.”
“What do you mean by that?”
I grinned at Berald, who tilted his head in confusion.
“Didn’t I suggest we go on a ruins expedition this summer break?”
“Well, yes, but…”
“We can obtain them there. High-grade magic stones.”
“…!”
Berald’s eyes widened dramatically.
* * *
After the ruins expedition to obtain high-grade magic stones was decided, one problem arose.
“Hmm. You said we’re going to Iron Canyon?”
“Yeah.”
“There’s obviously no warp gate to get there, and without separate transportation, we’d need a magic vehicle or something.”
Yuren wore an troubled expression.
“I don’t have a magic vehicle license… Do you, Dale?”
“No.”
I could drive a magic vehicle, but I didn’t possess a license.
“What about Iris and Camilla?”
“I don’t have a magic vehicle license yet either…”
“I don’t have one either.”
“Ugh. You don’t have one either, Berald?”
“That’s right.”
A sigh escaped Yuren’s lips.
A sigh escaped Yuren’s lips.
No one with a license, and not even a single magical vehicle to be found.
“Then we have no choice but to walk…? It seems like quite a distance.”
“I’ve already thought of something for that.”
“Something you’ve thought of?”
I powered on my Hero Watch and flashed a sly grin.
“Just wait. You’ll understand by tomorrow.”
And the next day.
Vrroooom!
Early morning.
The heavy rumble of an engine echoed in front of the mansion.
The door of a sleek black magical vehicle opened, and a blonde, handsome man wearing sunglasses stepped out.
“Ah, Dale! I brought the magical vehicle just like you asked!”
Juliet Kang, spotting me, waved her hand with a radiant smile.

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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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