The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 157

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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 157. Be Young (2)
“S-so? What happened after that?”
Iris leaned in close, her eyes sparkling with eager curiosity.
My shoulders tensed as her beautiful face drew near enough that I could feel her breath.
Someone once said that even the most beautiful face grows tiresome after three years of looking at it.
Though I’d been seeing hers for over a decade—including my previous life—I found myself captivated anew each time, my heart quickening with an inexplicable flutter.
“Dale?”
“Oh, sorry. What were we talking about?”
“About Sophia and Berald, of course!”
Iris huffed excitedly and bounced on her feet.
“So did you give Berald’s contact information to her?”
“Yeah.”
“And then? Are they staying in contact?”
“I’m not sure about that part.”
All I’d done was provide Sophia’s senior with Berald’s contact details.
Whether they were exchanging messages afterward was beyond my knowledge.
“No! That’s the most important part! How can you not know?!”
Iris struck her chest in frustration.
I suppressed a smile as I watched her pout and shuffle her feet in disappointment.
‘I never thought Iris would take such interest in someone else’s love life.’
Though in fairness, Candidate Program members her age weren’t unusual in getting excited about romance.
Heroes or superhuman stigma-bearers or not, they were still young people with natural curiosity about the opposite sex.
‘Though I’m hardly one to talk.’
After confessing my feelings to both Iris and Yurina just recently and waiting for their answers, I had no business standing here with my hands behind my back pontificating about youth.
“Ugh! You’re such an idiot, Dale! I was so curious about how they’re doing!”
Iris puffed out her cheeks and gave my hand a light pinch.
I let out a wry laugh and shrugged.
“But do you think they’ll work out?”
“Why?”
“Well, honestly, they don’t seem like a natural match at first glance.”
Berald with his towering frame over two meters tall, and Senior Sophia barely reaching his waist.
It was like beauty and the beast—or rather, maiden and beast.
“Hmm, that’s just because you don’t understand! People who are opposites actually tend to be more attracted to each other!”
“Is that so?”
From what I remembered of my previous life, most tall women preferred tall men, and shorter women also tended to favor taller men.
‘Wait.’
Then who exactly did shorter men end up with?
What about guys like me—who would ever love someone like that?
‘No, wait. Right. I shouldn’t compare myself to Berald.’
Honestly, despite my stunted growth from childhood malnutrition, I wasn’t particularly short.
“Anyway! I can’t agree that Sophia and Berald don’t suit each other!”
“Haha. Understood.”
“But Sophia certainly seems interested in Berald… What about Berald himself?”
“Berald?”
“Yes. Since you meet with Dale often, you must know his taste in women, right?”
“Ah… that’s the thing.”
That’s the problem….
How do I even explain this… well….
“Hehe. Now that I think about it, I’ve heard before that men with large builds like Berald often prefer small, cute women?”
“….”
“Am I right?”
“Huh? Y-yes… that’s, that’s right.”
“I knew it! I had a feeling!”
“….”
I couldn’t possibly reveal Berald’s actual preferences in front of Iris.
“Oh… haha. Sorry. I got a bit too excited, didn’t I? Lately I’ve been… well, quite interested in romance.”
Iris glanced at me as she spoke those words.
Memories from the break naturally surfaced, and an awkward atmosphere settled between us.
“Ah, w-well, maybe I should just ask Berald directly instead?”
I hastily changed the subject to dispel the awkwardness.
“Could you do that?”
“Well, it’s not difficult.”
I activated Hero Watch and sent Berald a message.
[Hey.]
[Hm? What’s the matter, hyung?]
A reply came immediately after I sent the message.
[Are you in contact with Sophia lately?]
[Yes, I am. Turns out we get along surprisingly well, so we’ve been messaging often.]
“Hmm.”
At least they were staying in touch.
[In fact, I’m having lunch with Sophia today.]
“What?”
Wait, beyond just exchanging messages—they had plans to meet alone?
‘This bastard isn’t the type to do something like this.’
As I tilted my head, staring at the message window, another message arrived.
[Would you like to join us, hyung?]
[No, I’ll pass.]
[Is that so? That’s unfortunate. It would’ve been better if you came along too.]
You crazy bastard.
Why would I go there just to get cursed out?
‘But judging by his reaction, it doesn’t seem like he’s caught on to Sophia’s feelings yet.’
No matter how dim-witted Berald might be, if he’d truly sensed Sophia’s heart, he wouldn’t have suggested going together like that.
“Hmm.”
I sent Berald a message.
[Where did you agree to meet?]
[We’re meeting at 1 o’clock in front of the Annex Cafeteria.]
1 o’clock. The Annex Cafeteria, then.
[Got it. Enjoy your meal.]
[Next time, please come with us too, brother!]
[Sure.]
After turning off the Hero Watch entirely.
I locked eyes with Iris.
“What? What is it?”
Iris sparkled with curiosity like a child begging for a gift, asking eagerly.
“…Iris.”
“Yes?”
“Should we have lunch at the Annex Cafeteria today?”
Right, there was no need to make excuses about Iris.
To be honest.
‘I’m dying of curiosity myself.’
Counting my previous life, thousands of years have passed.
Yet remarkably, the word ‘youth’ still lives on in my heart.
* * *
“Ah, there! There he is, Dale!”
“Shh.”
Iris and I had secretly infiltrated the Annex Cafeteria where Berald and Sophia had arranged to meet.
While I could blend in easily enough, Iris possessed such striking beauty that I’d cast light disguises and even concealment magic to hide our presence.
Yet no matter how thorough our preparations, both Berald and Sophia were skilled enough to hold their own anywhere.
Iris and I took seats far enough away to avoid detection.
“Well… at least the atmosphere doesn’t seem bad.”
Berald and Sophia were sharing the day’s special menu while conversing in hushed, intimate tones.
“What are they saying, Dale?”
“Just a moment.”
I channeled my mana to enhance my hearing.
Their conversation drifted faintly across the distance of several dozen meters.
-Do you come to the Annex Cafeteria often?
-Fairly regularly.
-Is there a particular cuisine you prefer?
-Holy Kingdom food.
-…Truly?
-Why? It’s clean and easy to eat without being burdensome.
-Heh. In all my years, I think you’re the first person I’ve met who actually enjoys Holy Kingdom cuisine.
A light, casual conversation that was neither particularly warm nor awkward.
It was the kind of dialogue two people would share when they’d just begun taking interest in each other.
“It seems like you two are having a pretty natural conversation, doesn’t it?”
“You think so?”
Iris watched Berald and Sophia with fascinated eyes.
“Sigh. They really do look good together.”
“They do?”
“Of course. Just looking at their eyes, doesn’t it seem like honey is dripping everywhere?”
….
I don’t think it’s quite that intense.
“Seeing them like this reminds me of when Dale and I had our first meal together.”
“…Wasn’t that when we boiled ramen on the mountain?”
“Tsk! Don’t be like that.”
….
It seemed that in her mind, even the memory of boiling ramen on that mountain had transformed into something romantic.
I left Iris to her nostalgic reverie and continued observing Berald and Sophia.
‘I never imagined the future could change in this way.’
Considering their relationship in my previous life, this pairing was difficult to imagine.
‘But… this isn’t so bad.’
Of course, it was important to guide my former comrades to greater heights and prepare for war against the Demon God’s forces.
Yet watching them discover pure ‘happiness’ like this warmed my heart.
‘None of us ever truly experienced youth as it should be lived.’
Not Iris, not Yuren, not Berald, not Sophia, and not me.
We never felt the excitement or flutter that should have come with our age.
Our ‘youth’ was merely surviving day after day, crushed beneath the weight of existence.
‘But now.’
Things are different.
We can now experience a youth we never dared dream of in our previous lives—a happiness that sparkles like jewels.
I made it so.
….
That realization filled my chest with overwhelming emotion.
For a while, I watched them in silence.
“Ah, it looks like Dale and Sophia are moving.”
“Let’s follow them.”
After finishing their meal, Berald and Sophia moved to the Cafe within the Academy, continuing their conversation over coffee.
I found myself smiling with quiet satisfaction as their meeting progressed far better than I had worried it would.
Then their conversation drifted to my ears.
-Oh, that reminds me—you use magic in a really unique way, don’t you? Catching mana bullets directly and throwing them, or using them as footholds….
-Ah, yes. Berald’s Martial Arts Technique?
-…That was its name?
-Hehe. There’s quite a story behind that name.
Berald scratched his head with an awkward smile.
-That magic… or rather, you called it a martial arts technique…?
-Feel free to call it whatever you’re comfortable with.
-Is that so? Then how exactly does that magic work?
-Hmm. It’s difficult to explain in words.
-Ah, could it be related to microscopic world magic?
-Hm? Microscopic world?
Wait, hold on.
-Hahaha! I never expected that even Senior Sophia would know about the microscopic world!
No, no, no.
Hold up, you bastard.
-Microscopic world magic is actually a field I’m quite interested in.
-I too have a tremendous interest in it!
-Really? What specifically sparked your interest?
“…Stop him.”
-Krgh! Nothing beats that unique pathos of the microscopic—
“Shut that bastard’s mouth!!!!!”
Boom!
I cried out in anguish, pushing off the ground as I launched myself into the air.

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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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