The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 158

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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 158. Be Young (3)
BOOM!
“KYAAAAH!?”
“What, what is it? What’s happening?”
“Did a bomb go off!?”
The thunderous explosion echoing through the cafe sent the Candidates enjoying their leisurely post-meal tea time into screams of panic.
And then.
“Mmmph! Gah! Ugh!”
Berald thrashed about, his mouth clamped shut by my hand.
“…What are you doing?”
Sophia’s eyes narrowed as she observed my hand covering Berald’s mouth.
Perhaps she thought our date—which had been going so well—was being ruined.
The gaze Sophia fixed upon me was glacial.
“Well… I, that is…”
Our eyes met.
The air turned frigid.
I opened my mouth, forcing an awkward smile to my lips.
“Would it be alright if I joined you for a moment?”
“No.”
“Haha. Thank you, senior.”
I ignored Sophia’s icy refusal and sat down in a chair.
“Phew! B-brother, what’s going on here? You said you weren’t coming earlier?”
“Shut up.”
I glared at Berald fiercely before turning back to Sophia.
“So… what were you discussing?”
“We were debating microscale magic.”
“Ah, I see. However, unfortunately Berald knows very little about microscale magic. In fact, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he knows nothing at all.”
“Hey, brother. I like micro so much that… Ugh!”
I stomped hard on Berald’s foot as he tried to butt in thoughtlessly.
‘Please, just stay quiet.’
All of this is for your sake, you fool.
“Ugh…”
Whether he understood my intention or was simply intimidated by my fierce expression, Berald shrank back and closed his mouth.
Sophia glanced at Berald briefly before continuing.
“But you said you had a great interest in it?”
“Having interest and having knowledge are two different matters.”
“Hmm.”
Sophia crossed her arms, her eyes narrowing.
“But how do you know Berald doesn’t know much about microscale magic?”
“Because I’m the one who taught Berald magic in the first place.”
“…You taught him that?”
Sophia turned to look at Berald with a surprised expression.
Berald nodded and answered.
“That’s right. My brother is the one who taught me magic. And the ‘Berald Combat Technique’ I mentioned earlier—I learned that from him too.”
“So you took a combat technique you learned from him and slapped your own name on it?”
Sophia let out a hollow laugh.
“W-well, my brother told me to do it! It’s not my fault!”
“Hmm. Now I understand.”
Sophia nodded slightly, then shot me a sharp look.
“You were worried your secret magic would leak out, weren’t you?”
“Huh?”
“Don’t worry. I know your magical skills are impressive, but I have no intention of stealing someone else’s secret magic without permission.”
“….”
She’d completely misread the situation.
Well, whatever.
Let’s just go with that explanation.
Anything was better than Berald’s preferences being exposed here.
“Anyway, showing up with such perfect timing—should I assume you’ve been secretly following us?”
“Huh? Is that what happened, brother?”
Just as I was about to answer Sophia’s sharp observation.
“No. I invited Dale for coffee, and I happened to overhear your conversation.”
Iris appeared at precisely the right moment.
“…The Saint of the Holy Kingdom.”
“Please just call me Iris.”
Iris offered a gentle smile and bowed her head lightly.
Sophia rested her chin on her hand, her eyes narrowing.
“Is it really okay for a Saint to walk around alone with a man like that?”
“The Seven Gods have said that those who do not love cannot know God.”
“Hmm. Is that so?”
Sophia’s gaze, which had been scanning Iris up and down, suddenly stopped at one point.
The distinct curves visible even through the Candidate Program uniform.
A short, sharp sound escaped from Sophia’s lips.
Sophia glanced at Berald with an uneasy look, then spoke bluntly.
“Indeed, you certainly have a body that makes it easy to understand ‘love.’ Is that a blessing from God too?”
Though her tone was openly provocative, Iris simply smiled brightly and sat down beside Sophia.
“Well, I actually think Senior Sophia is even better suited to understanding love.”
“What?”
“Those ruby-like eyes, and your skin is incredibly clear, and your face is so beautiful.”
“W-why are you suddenly saying things like that? It’s not like….”
“Don’t you agree, Berald?”
Iris turned to look at Berald and asked.
“I agree. Sophia is quite beautiful.”
“Ugh…!”
Sophia’s shoulders trembled as she gripped the hem of her uniform skirt tightly.
With her head bowed, her ears had flushed as red as her crimson hair.
“See? Even Berald says you’re pretty~”
“You….”
Sophia shot a sharp glare at Iris, who was grinning as if thoroughly enjoying the moment.
“I-I should get going!”
Sophia spun around and bolted from the cafe as if fleeing.
“Hm? Already leaving?”
Even as Berald watched Sophia’s retreating figure, he merely sipped his coffee, making no move to follow.
“What are you doing?”
“Surely you’re not thinking of not chasing after her?”
“…Was I supposed to chase after her?”
Berald turned to look at me and Iris with a bewildered expression.
Iris shot up from her chair with an exasperated look.
“What nonsense are you spouting, you dolt? Before I crush what’s between your legs, shouldn’t you be scrambling after her?!”
“Ah, understood! Please calm down!”
Berald dashed out of the cafe in a panic at Iris’s fierce expression, twisted like a demon’s.
Once I confirmed that Berald had chased after Sophia, Iris let out a deep sigh and sat back down.
“Phew, everyone involved is so frustrating to watch. Hm? Why are you sitting like that, Dale?”
“…It’s nothing.”
I uncrossed my legs and shifted my gaze toward the window.
In the distance, I could see Berald’s figure running after Sophia.
‘The future has changed, but…’
It would still take more time before those two experienced their ‘youth’.
“Still… there’s something nice about this, isn’t there?”
Iris gazed at the coffee cups Sophia and Berald had left behind, a faint smile crossing her face.
“Nice about what?”
“Don’t you feel a flutter just watching them together?”
“More like my insides are about to burst.”
Mostly because of that idiot Berald.
“Everyone’s like that at first.”
Iris laughed softly, her hand covering her mouth.
“Unfamiliar, clumsy, anxious… and yet still wanting to convey your feelings….”
Her gaze turned toward me.
“Just as you were, Dale.”
“Ugh.”
I never expected her to turn the arrow toward me like this.
I swallowed hard and turned my head away, avoiding her gaze.
“You asked me something at the Beach before, and I never gave you an answer, did I?”
“….”
Iris and Yurina.
Several weeks had passed since my confession that I didn’t want to lose either of them.
In that time, neither Iris nor Yurina had brought up what happened that day again.
As if nothing had occurred, our daily lives continued unchanged—only the memory of that day had been carefully excised.
“I’ve been thinking about it ever since that day.”
Iris was the first to broach the subject again.
“I don’t know what’s in Yurina’s heart, so let me share my thoughts first.”
Iris gazed at me steadily, her eyes holding the depths of a clear blue sky.
“To be honest, when I first heard it, I was a little angry.”
“….”
“I even wondered how you would have answered if the situation were reversed.”
Reversed situation.
I pictured the scene in my mind—Iris confessing that she had come to harbor feelings for two men.
My breath caught, and a chill ran down my spine.
“….”
A guilt I couldn’t put into words pressed down on my chest.
“Ah, don’t make that face. I was only angry for a moment. Now, I’m actually thinking it might be a blessing in disguise.”
“A blessing?”
“Well… at least I won’t be rejected by you, right?”
Iris smiled softly as she said this.
“If I had to choose between staying by your side with someone else or being left alone, I would choose to stay by your side.”
Even if that love weren’t directed wholly at me.
Simply being able to remain at his side felt like a blessing from the gods themselves.
I had fallen so deeply for him that I could harbor such an absurd thought.
“I think Yurina feels the same way.”
“…Iris.”
“Oh, and there’s another possibility too. If you had chosen me and coldly rejected Yurina… hmm.”
Iris trailed off, lost in thought.
I recalled the story Yurina had told me that day.
The story of a woman who had lived her entire life crushed beneath the light of the sun.
“Mm, yes.”
After a long pause, Iris shook her head with a faint smile.
“I don’t like that either.”
“….”
“Call it cheap sympathy if you will. But… to me, Yurina is like family. No one wants to see family suffer, do they?”
Now that I thought about it, Iris had mentioned she came from the Orphanage too.
Having grown up without the concept of family, she had no choice but to cherish the bonds of companionship all the more deeply.
Just as I had.
“Well, regardless. After much deliberation, this is the answer I’ve arrived at.”
Iris slowly reached out and took my hand.
“Even if you’re selfish, irresponsible, and only think of yourself, Dale.”
A gentle warmth transmitted through our joined hands.
“I love you.”
Deeply. Irrevocably.
“….”
I gazed at Iris with trembling eyes.
My mind was tangled in confusion, and I couldn’t find the words.
“But you mustn’t forget that I’m your ‘first’, alright?”
Iris gently caressed our intertwined hands as she continued.
“If you ever neglect me, or cast your eyes on another woman….”
Iris offered a bright smile, punctuating it with a playful wink.
“I’ll crush 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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