The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 143

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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 143. Let’s Go to the Beach (2)
“Professor Elisha…?”
I rose from the beach chair, squinting at the dark-haired beauty approaching with an unhurried gait.
“What are you doing here, Professor?”
“Hmm. Did I intrude?”
“No, it’s not that…”
The Celestial Resort provided each guest group with a private uninhabited island connected by warp gate.
In other words, unless you were part of the same group, you couldn’t use another guest’s warp gate…
-This time, the foundation cooperating with my father’s company sent us a wonderful gift.
Suddenly, Juliet’s words from earlier echoed in my mind.
“Don’t tell me that foundation is…”
“Hehe. It’s a foundation operating under my name. I received a substantial investment from Juliet Kang’s father this time, so I sent him a little gift.”
Now I understood why Professor Elisha was here.
I stifled a hollow laugh and asked.
“How did you know that Juliet would invite us?”
“Well, who knows?”
Watching Professor Elisha wear a mischievous smile, I shook my head as if I couldn’t handle her.
“Well, anyway. It’s nice to see you here, Professor.”
“Would it be alright if I asked specifically what’s nice about it?”
Professor Elisha, leaning back in the beach chair with her legs crossed, sent a provocative gaze my way.
At the end of her slender legs, beautifully painted black nails caught my eye.
“That is…”
Perhaps because I’d only ever seen her in formal attire before.
Seeing Professor Elisha in a swimsuit like this, I didn’t know where to look.
“Hehe. Just from that reaction of yours, I can tell what’s nice about it.”
Professor Elisha smiled with satisfaction as she watched me avert my gaze.
“By the way, what have you been doing during the break?”
“Well… I trained, explored some ruins, things like that.”
“Ruins exploration?”
Professor Elisha tilted her head with interest, so I told her about what happened during the last ruins exploration.
“A, an Archbishop? You said you fought the Archbishop of Desire just now?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm… Did you deliberately fight him because you knew the ‘future’?”
“No. This time, fighting the Archbishop was purely coincidental.”
I hadn’t expected the Archbishop of Desire to be using the Blessing of Exploitation to drain mana from the Legacy of Iron Fist (though it was fake).
“…”
Professor Elisha looked at me with a worried expression.
She slowly reached out and stroked my face.
“This time… how many ‘deaths’ did you experience?”
“Ah, I didn’t die even once this time.”
Of course, I’d experienced death several times while using Escalation, converting my life force into magical power, but at least I’d never died by Lactasia’s hand.
“Is that so?”
Elisha’s expression, which had been filled with worry, brightened considerably.
She playfully pinched my cheek with the hand that had been stroking it.
“That’s a relief.”
Elisha smiled faintly as she spoke.
As if she were genuinely concerned about my ‘death’, her smile was brimming with relief.
“….”
Watching her smile like that, a tremor rippled through my heart.
“Hmm?”
Perhaps she noticed my agitation.
Elisha’s smile deepened as she slowly wrapped her hand around my nape, the one that had been pinching my cheek.
As our gazes drew closer and closer like this.
“…Dale?”
“What are you doing right now?”
A cold voice cut through from behind.
When I turned my head, I saw Iris and Yuren staring at me with icy gazes.
Before I could hastily offer excuses, Elisha spoke first.
“Ah, Candidate Iris and Candidate Yuren. Are you all enjoying your break?”
“Professor Elisha, why are you here…?”
“You should ask Candidate Juliet about that.”
At Elisha’s words, everyone’s attention shifted to Juliet.
Juliet, dressed in trunk-style swim shorts and an aloha shirt (thankfully not in a women’s swimsuit), opened her mouth with a flustered expression.
“Um… w-well, I did know that the tickets we received this time were from the Foundation that Professor Elisha runs….”
Apparently not expecting Professor Elisha to show up in person, Juliet stammered and trailed off.
“So… the candidates gathered to have fun, and you deliberately~ followed us here, Professor?”
“Your bluntness wounds me.”
Elisha sighed softly, her expression turning sad.
“I simply wanted to see if my beloved students were enjoying their break… I’m sorry. I’ll head back to the resort then.”
“What? No, that’s not what I meant….”
Iris’s expression showed surprise at Elisha’s unexpected response.
Everyone’s gaze converged on her, applying silent pressure that screamed ‘ugh, trash~.’
“Wait, just a moment!”
Iris hurriedly grabbed Elisha’s retreating shoulder.
She continued speaking with an awkward smile on her lips.
“W-we know you were just joking, Professor, right?”
“Is that so?”
“Of course! After all, you’re the one who arranged the accommodations here, so we should definitely have fun together!”
“Hehe. If Candidate Iris insists so much, I suppose I have no choice.”
Elisha placed a friendly hand on Iris’s shoulder.
“Let’s go with Iris’s wishes then.”
“….”
Watching Professor Elisha’s lips curl into a smirk as if she’d never worn a sad expression at all, Iris realized she’d been played. A belated sigh escaped her as her face crumpled.
“…You’re not a spider—you’re a cunning fox.”
“Huh. I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“It’s not a compliment!”
“Now, now, don’t get so worked up. I know it’s not much, but I brought plenty of food.”
Professor Elisha shrugged her shoulders while pointing to the appetizing meat inside the cooler.
“Premium Empire beef.”
There was a saying across the Continent.
If you wanted the finest seafood, you went to the Republic; for the best vegetables, the Holy Kingdom; for the finest meat, the Empire.
Empire beef had earned its reputation for superior quality and exquisite taste.
“Well… I suppose if you insist that much, I can’t refuse.”
“Oh? I didn’t expect you to fall for Holy Kingdom meat.”
“Do you think saints only eat vegetables?”
“Ha. Just joking.”
Professor Elisha crossed her arms and looked Iris up and down.
Iris was bundled up in baggy clothes that hardly suggested she’d come to the beach for leisure.
“Didn’t you bring a swimsuit?”
“Well… I did bring one….”
Iris glanced back at Berald, Yuren, and Juliet.
She let out a soft, muffled cough while covering her mouth.
“…I’m planning to put it on later.”
“Hmm? If not now, when exactly are you planning to wear it?”
“I’ll… I’ll put it on when I’m ready! Besides, Professor, isn’t the swimsuit you chose a bit too revealing?”
Iris’s eyes narrowed as she looked at the black bikini Professor Elisha was wearing.
A scrap of fabric no larger than a palm, wrapped around a flawlessly slender body without a trace of excess.
She wanted to say, “Isn’t that a bit too much?” but—
“…Wow.”
Even as a woman, she couldn’t help but let out an admiring gasp at such a perfect figure.
“I’d say this is quite modest, actually.”
“It’s not modest at all! Now please, put on a shirt!”
“Huh. Fine, fine, stop pestering me.”
As Professor Elisha and Iris bickered back and forth.
“….”
Yuren stared intently at the black bikini Professor Elisha was wearing.
Perhaps noticing his blatant gaze.
Professor Elisha put on the shirt Iris handed her and let a slight smile play at her lips.
“So Yuren is a man after all, it seems.”
“Ah… I-I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s just… try not to stare so openly.”
After all, I’m already spoken for.
Elisha muttered to herself, then glanced back at me with a subtle smile.
“Now that I think about it, I haven’t heard Dale’s impressions yet.”
“What impressions, ma’am?”
“Well? Do I look good in it?”
Elisha lifted the front of her shirt slightly, her expression mischievous.
“….”
Of course, there was no need for such a question—she looked absolutely stunning.
But with Iris glaring at me fiercely and Yuren’s cold gaze bearing down, I couldn’t bring myself to speak the honest truth.
“…It’s not bad.”
Elisha let out a soft hum and opened her eyes slightly wider upon hearing my carefully considered assessment.
“Well, I’ll let that slide for today.”
She shrugged and walked back toward the beach chair.
Beneath the blazing sun.
Our brief summer vacation had officially begun.
* * *
After spending several hours at the beach, carefree and unburdened by worries.
The sky painted itself in shades of sunset as evening descended.
“Should we head back soon?”
We’d enjoyed swimming to our hearts’ content and grilled meat with enthusiasm.
It was time to return to the resort and wind down the day.
“Hahahaha! What a blast! It feels like I’ve returned to childhood after all these years!”
Berald nodded enthusiastically, his laughter booming.
Behind him stood an enormous sandcastle, as massive as an ox, standing in majestic splendor.
I stifled a laugh at the sandcastle Berald had created.
“What kind of grown man builds something like this?”
“Hmm? Didn’t you seem quite pleased when we were building it together earlier?”
“I was just pretending so you wouldn’t feel embarrassed.”
To be honest.
It was actually kind of fun.
‘In my past life, I never could have imagined enjoying youth like this by the seaside.’
For me, summer break had always been nothing more than a period spent toiling away at odd jobs to earn living expenses.
‘Well… this isn’t so bad. Playing like this.’
Building sandcastles with Berald.
Splitting into teams and competing in volleyball.
Grilling meat on a hot plate while chatting boisterously.
This picturesque page of youth felt slightly embarrassing in retrospect.
Yet it was a cherished memory I wanted to experience again someday.
‘Still, starting tomorrow, I need to refocus and intensify my training.’
Just as I was thinking one day of rest was enough and heading back to the resort.
“I… Dale.”
Yuren approached quietly and tugged at my collar.
“What is it?”
“Could you stay here a bit longer with me? I… I have something to show you.”
Yuren hesitated, avoiding my gaze.
“Sure.”
I approached my colleagues who were packing their things and told them I’d finish organizing, sending them ahead first.
After pushing Iris, who insisted on staying with me to the end, back toward the resort.
I returned to the meeting place I’d arranged with Yuren.
Whoooosh.
The darkened night sky.
The sound of waves echoing across the beach.
Beneath the clear moonlight streaming down.
“…You came?”
Yuren… no, Yurina was waiting for me in a silver swimsuit.
* * *
On the way back to the resort room.
“What’s the matter, Holy Maiden?”
Camilla Bediche turned her head toward the stopped Iris.
“….”
Iris kept her mouth firmly shut, lost in thought, then seemed to make a decision and turned around.
“I don’t think I should leave Dale alone after all.”
“Holy Maiden?”
“I’m going to meet Dale for a moment! Go to the room first!”
With those words, Iris dashed toward the warp gate.

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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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