The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 159

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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 159. Interlude – Why Don’t You Call Me Older Sister?
Whoosh!
A silver flash reminiscent of moonlight cuts across the empty air.
A flash so swift that the eye struggles to follow it.
What began as a single silver flash continued to split into two, then multiplied into dozens in an instant.
These were no mere illusions meant to deceive the eye.
Each and every one carried enough force to shred steel like paper—a sword strike of devastating power.
‘I’ve never seen this technique before.’
Watching the dazzling silver flashes swirl around me, I let out a low whistle of admiration.
I’m not certain what change of heart had come over Yurina, but ever since she revealed her true identity to her companions last summer break, her swordsmanship had improved dramatically.
So dramatically that even I found it difficult to keep pace.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Ashen flames and silver flashes intertwine in the void.
Blocking dozens of sword strikes simultaneously was no easy feat.
‘But I wasn’t about to stand idle either.’
Ashenblade Form One, Variant Technique.
Ash Severance—Consecutive.
My blade, wreathed in ashen flames, unleashed a ferocious barrage of consecutive strikes, deflecting the dozens of split silver flashes.
The entire Training Hall trembled with the violent impact.
“You’ve improved considerably.”
After deflecting all her strikes, I turned to Yurina with praise.
“It’s not over yet!”
Yurina gripped her sword tighter and swung it again.
“Haaah!”
With a spirited cry, the stigma inscribed on her left chest blazed with light.
A silver aura erupted wildly, wrapping around her blade.
Whoooooosh!
Yurina’s sword carved through the air, releasing a torrent of silver flashes.
What began as a single silver flash continued to split, multiplying into dozens in an instant.
Just as I thought it was the same technique as before and raised my blade to block—
Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash!
“Insane….”
The strikes had multiplied beyond dozens into hundreds.
Even the Training Ground, vast enough that the word “individual” seemed inadequate, was now filled with silver sword energy.
Hundreds of silver flashes danced through the air as if tracing a circle.
Like gazing up at the moon hanging in the night sky.
‘What is this?’
Like the technique I witnessed in the Ruins before, this too was something I never saw from Yuren in my past life.
“Ugh….”
Yurina’s expression twisted in strain—the technique still burdened her greatly.
She clenched her lips firmly and raised her sword high.
“Sun Swordsman Form Eight….”
Form Eight?
Form Eight, you say?
I let out a hollow laugh as I heard the number flowing from Yurina’s lips.
Among the ‘Forms’ of the Sun Swordsman, which extended to Form Nine, Form Eight and beyond were techniques that even Yuren in my previous life had only mastered after joining my Party.
The point in my previous life when Yuren and I became Party members was approximately ten years after graduating from the Academy.
In other words.
Yurina was now attempting to leap over ten years… no, even more time than that.
And what’s more.
“Moon… Light!”
With a technique that bore an entirely different form from the ‘Sun Swordsman Form Eight’ I knew.
Uuuuuuung!
Hundreds of sword auras that had been swimming through the air in circular patterns suddenly shot toward me in unison.
When I say they shot toward me, it wasn’t simply like arrows flying in a straight line.
Each one carried the subtlety and artistry of the Sun Swordsman within it.
For a moment, the illusion of facing hundreds of Yurinas at once sent a chill down my spine.
‘This is….’
I can’t block this.
Kwaaaaaang!
Hundreds of sword auras swept down like a tempest.
I suppose you could call it a blessing in disguise.
Contrary to appearances, the power contained in each individual sword aura wasn’t particularly great.
Of course.
“Ugh… cough!”
‘Contrary to appearances’ was all—in terms of absolute power alone, it was certainly no weak force.
I was swept up in the raging storm of sword auras and sent tumbling roughly backward.
Beep! Beep!
Red emergency lights flashed across the entire Training Ground as alarm bells wailed.
“D-Dale! Are you okay?”
Yurina came rushing toward me in a panic.
“Ugh… I’m fine.”
That’s a lie.
To be honest, for a moment I thought ‘Blessing of Resurrection’ might activate.
“I-I’m sorry. I thought you’d be able to handle it easily, Dale….”
Yurina stood there looking flustered, hopping from foot to foot.
“Wait! I’ll call Iris right away!”
“No, don’t… call her.”
If Iris saw this spectacle, she would surely cry out in alarm and bombard me with complaints.
“A-are you really okay?”
“Ugh, yeah. Just need a little rest.”
I staggered to my feet and collapsed onto a bench in the corner of the Training Hall.
“By the way, when did you learn a technique like that?”
I asked while catching my breath, my back against the wall.
Yurina answered with an awkward smile, looking embarrassed.
“Ah… I’ve been practicing the eighth form of the Sun Swordsman recently.”
“…Really?”
But it was completely different from the eighth form of the Sun Swordsman that I knew.
“The original eighth form of the Sun Swordsman is a technique called ‘Radiant Gaze’, right? I just interpreted it differently and created something new.”
“….”
As I thought.
No wonder it seemed so different from what I knew—Yurina had created a new technique.
“So you changed the name to ‘Moonlight’ as well?”
“Y-yeah. Imagining the moon felt more natural to me, so I changed the name.”
Yurina lowered her head with a hesitant expression.
“Isn’t that a bit… presumptuous?”
“Huh? What is?”
“No, I mean… I arbitrarily changed the swordsmanship that Reynald Helios, the Sun Swordsman, created.”
“That’s….”
Well.
For Yurina, born and raised in the Helios household, Reynald Helios’ swordsmanship was almost like a matter of faith.
Arbitrarily changing and using that swordsmanship was akin to a priest reinterpreting sacred scripture according to his own understanding—a religious analogy.
In other words, it was a taboo that those commonly called ‘heretics’ would commit.
But.
“I don’t really think that’s a problem.”
“R-really?”
Bright moonlight bloomed across Yurina’s face, shadowed by the night sky.
“No matter how great a swordsmanship is, it’s not necessarily the best for everyone.”
Just as I had created the Ash Flame Sword.
She too was simply forging a new path suited to herself.
“But if that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better to change the name entirely? Call it the Moonlight Sword instead of the Sun Swordsman’s technique….”
“No, I’m not going to do that.”
Yurina shook her head quietly.
“My roots are the Sun Swordsman’s swordsmanship, regardless of anything else. I don’t want to deny that.”
Yurina recalled the days when she first learned the Sun Swordsman’s techniques from Yuren, a faint smile crossing her face.
Even if that journey ended in tragedy, she didn’t want to erase the happy moments along the way.
“Anyway, Dale… you weren’t fighting at full strength this time, were you?”
“Hm? No, I was fighting pretty seriously.”
“You’re lying. There was no smoke coming from your body, and your flames didn’t ignite.”
“That’s….”
Are you talking about Ignition and Escalation?
‘It’s true I haven’t used those yet.’
Still, aside from that, I fought her with every ounce of power I could muster right now.
‘And I lost quite decisively.’
I swallowed a bitter laugh and looked at Yurina.
It was true that Ignition and Escalation were my greatest combat strength at present, but considering the years I’d spent wielding a blade, losing in swordsmanship to Yurina was simply absurd.
‘Here I am, having trained with a sword for thousands of years, only to be caught up in half a year.’
Yurina’s recent growth was so remarkable that even I, who knew of the previous Yuren, found myself astonished time and again.
“Do you think… there will ever come a day when I can catch up to Dale?”
Yet Yurina asked with an anxious voice, as if she still felt inadequate.
“You’ve already caught up.”
“But I’m not at the level where I can protect Dale yet.”
Yurina continued, stroking the hilt of her sword.
“I want to become strong enough to protect Dale.”
“That’s… well, there’s no need to rush like this. You’re already doing more than well enough as it is.”
“…Really? Am I doing well?”
“Yes.”
“Then….”
Yurina’s cheeks flushed slightly as she tugged at my collar.
I could tell what she wanted without her having to say it anymore.
I slowly reached out and stroked Yurina’s head.
“Hehe.”
Yurina smiled bashfully.
As I continued with what had now become our daily routine of patting Yurina’s head.
Beep.
[Candidate Program Iris, access authorization confirmed.]
The Training Hall door opened with a clear chime.
“…There you go again. Hmph, Yurina certainly has unique tastes, doesn’t she?”
Iris opened her eyes with a sly expression, watching me stroke Yurina’s head.
“Oh, no! This isn’t…!”
Yurina’s cheeks flushed as she quickly stepped backward.
Iris let out a soft laugh watching her.
“It’s fine. This isn’t something new, after all.”
“…?”
Yurina tilted her head, observing Iris’s remarkably composed demeanor.
“I brought a lunch box. Please eat.”
“Ah, thank you.”
“…You’re injured?”
Iris frowned as she examined my body carefully.
“Well, wounds like this will heal on their own if left alone.”
“Still, you should get it treated. Let me see the wound for a moment.”
Iris placed her hand on the injury I’d sustained during training and recited a brief incantation.
A soft luminescence flowed from her palm, seeping into the wound.
In the blink of an eye, the bleeding stopped and the wound sealed shut.
“Thank you.”
“It’s nothing, really.”
Iris gently caressed the healed scar and offered a subtle smile.
“….”
Yurina, who had been observing the exchange, narrowed her eyes slightly.
“You two… did something happen?”
Call it feminine intuition, perhaps.
I could sense that the atmosphere between us had shifted subtly from before.
“Oh, well, it’s nothing major.”
Iris turned to face Yurina, her lips curving into a grin.
“I’ve decided to date Dale recently.”
“…What?”
“I’ve resolved to accept everything about Dale, you know? Something like that.”
“Wait, hold on!”
Yurina asked with wide eyes.
“Then what about me…?”
“You haven’t given Dale an answer to his confession yet, have you?”
“Ugh! How underhanded…!”
Yurina bit her lip and strode toward me with purpose.
“Dale! You’re not planning to leave me hanging like this, are you?!”
“That’s….”
“You said you liked me too!”
Yurina grabbed my collar, her voice trembling with emotion.
Though this was of my own making, a deep sense of guilt welled up within me, and instead of answering, I simply nodded.
Perhaps that was enough.
Yurina’s expression softened considerably as she released me and brushed her chest.
“So we’re equal now, right?”
“Hmm, I wouldn’t say it’s exactly the same.”
“What?”
“I was slightly faster. And….”
Iris crossed her arms and looked at Yurina.
“You said you’re actually the younger sister of Yuren, didn’t you?”
“…So?”
“Then doesn’t that make you younger than me in actual age?”
“….”
Iris had a point.
Yurina’s actual age was now the same as that of a first-year Candidate in the Hero Academy who had just been admitted.
“W-why are you suddenly bringing up age now?”
“My? Age is such an important factor in human relationships. There’s even an old saying in the Republic: ‘respect the order of age and youth.'”
“Ugh….”
“Hmm. Then, Yurina… no, just Yurina.”
Iris wore a victor’s smile at the corner of her mouth as she gently stroked Yurina’s cheek.
“Why don’t you try calling me older sister?”
“….”
Yurina’s expression crumpled in an instant.

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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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