The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 198

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 198. Intermission – A Warm Winter (1)
After bringing Lanez back to the Academy.
She was immediately admitted to the Intensive Care Unit.
The wounds created by ice shards embedded throughout her body were severe, but the necrosis that consumed both her arms entirely was the most devastating of all.
Beyond the mana circuits destroyed by her relentless training, the frigid energy that had penetrated her internal organs, and the nerve cells that had withered away in both arms.
Even with Iris using her “Seven Eyes,” these wounds were not easily healed.
“Dale, give this to Lanez.”
Yurina pressed a potion shrouded in pristine white luminescence into my hands.
Divine Grace.
A legendary elixir of the Holy Kingdom, said to restore any wound so long as death had not claimed the body.
“…Are you certain?”
Divine Grace was known as the most precious substance on the Continent—valuable enough to purchase a grand mansion in the heart of Valhalla City itself.
Even as the beloved daughter of the Helios Family, it was a treasure not easily surrendered.
“A comrade has suffered such grievous wounds. If not now, when would I ever use it?”
Yurina shrugged with casual indifference.
“Ah.”
Yurina, who had turned coolly to leave, suddenly stopped in her tracks.
Her eyes sparkled as if a brilliant thought had struck her, and she scurried back toward me.
“Dale, I did a good deed, didn’t I?”
“Huh? Well… I suppose so?”
To willingly offer such a costly elixir for a comrade’s sake.
Even a devout priest long devoted to the Seven Star Church would find such a decision difficult to make.
“Then I… want to receive a ‘reward’….”
Yurina gazed at me with sparkling eyes, her expression asking, “You know what I want, don’t you?”
I stifled a soft chuckle at the sight of her.
There was only one thing that could serve as a “reward” for Yurina.
“Alright.”
I slowly extended my hand and placed it upon her silver hair.
Soft strands of silver slipped between my fingers.
Stroke, stroke.
Not too firm, yet not too gentle either.
I caressed her head with the perfect measure of tenderness.
“Mmm….”
Yurina, who had abandoned her usual brisk demeanor, leaned her forehead against my hand with an expression of pure contentment, nuzzling softly.
I thought that if she had a tail, it would surely be wagging like a puppy’s by now, and I continued stroking her hair until she was satisfied.
“Then I’ll go see Lanez.”
“Yes. Tell her I’ve been worried about her.”
After receiving Divine Grace from Yurina, I made my way to the Intensive Care Unit where Lanez was admitted.
“Ah… ugh….”
Lanez lay upon the bed, her breathing labored and strained.
Both of her arms, necrotic from severe frostbite, were connected to therapeutic magical devices.
“D-Dale?”
Had she noticed my presence?
Despite the pain contorting her features, Lanez managed an awkward smile.
“Drink this.”
“…What… Dale…?”
“Just drink it. You’ll understand.”
I carefully uncorked the elixir and poured it into her mouth.
A pristine white liquid flowing between her cherry-red lips.
Whoooooosh!
The sacred power contained within the elixir erupted forth, flooding the entire room with radiant energy.
“…Ah.”
Color returned to Lanez’s pallid complexion, and her two arms—once blackened with necrosis—were restored to their original state in the blink of an eye.
“This is… surely not…?”
“Yurina bestowed the blessing of the divine upon you.”
“A b-blessing of the divine?!”
Lanez’s eyes flew open as she attempted to rise.
I let out a soft chuckle and gently pressed down on her shoulder.
“Don’t get up yet. Even if the wounds are healed, the exhaustion itself will remain.”
This was something I understood better than anyone, having cycled through death and resurrection countless times.
“B-but…”
“Save your thanks for later. First… can you tell me what happened?”
The place where I found her bore unmistakable signs of combat.
And such a fierce battle that she’d had to draw upon the full power of the Blessing of Harsh Winter until she lost control.
“…”
Lanez’s lips trembled as she scrunched her face in distress before finally speaking.
“…I was attacked.”
“Attacked? By whom?”
“I don’t know.”
Lanez shook her head weakly.
She slowly explained the situation to me.
“Not long after leaving Valhalla City, a masked figure wearing a wolf mask appeared.”
I narrowed my eyes.
‘So they were targeting Lanez from the start.’
If that were true, two questions remained.
‘Who, and why?’
Who was this “person” that Wolf Mask had mentioned?
And what was their reason for targeting Lanez?
“Lanez.”
“Y-yes?”
“You said it was a hero, not a Demon Human, right?”
“…Yes.”
Lanez continued, recalling her battle with Wolf Mask.
“I didn’t sense any demonic energy at all.”
“….”
A hero, not a Demon Human.
Naturally, Jackal’s parting words echoed through my mind.
‘Among the heroes… there’s a traitor conspiring with Mephistopheles.’
And that traitor.
‘There’s more than one.’
A heavy sigh escaped between my lips.
“Ugh….”
Perhaps it was because my expression had grown so dark.
Lanez cowered like a child caught stealing, her form trembling with fear.
I set aside my thoughts of the traitors and placed my hand on her forehead.
“Let me see… At least you don’t have a fever.”
“D-Dale….”
“Do you need anything?”
“Need anything?”
A glimmer of light returned to Lanez’s eyes as she emerged from her fearful state.
She pulled the blanket up to her chin and fidgeted for a moment before averting her gaze, her voice barely a whisper.
“I’m….”
“Hmm?”
“I’m… hungry.”
“Ah.”
Of course.
Since she’d left school without permission and ventured beyond its walls, she likely hadn’t had a proper meal until now.
“Wait here for a moment.”
I requested a warm mushroom soup from the Medical Facility staff—something easy for a patient to consume.
“I brought soup. Here, take the spoon.”
“Y-yes. Thank you.”
“…Why?”
Her expression seemed oddly uncertain.
“Oh, no! It’s nothing!”
Lanez accepted the spoon and hurriedly emptied the mushroom soup.
Then.
“Oh.”
Crash!
Perhaps her body hadn’t fully recovered yet.
The bowl slipped from Lanez’s hands and fell to the floor.
True to its purpose as a Medical Facility bowl, it didn’t shatter even after hitting the floor—but the soup splashed upward, spattering slightly across my clothes.
“I-I-I’m sorry, Dale! I d-didn’t m-mean to…!”
“It’s fine, don’t panic. Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I’m o-okay… but D-Dale…!”
“I’m perfectly fine too.”
It was just a bit of soup on my shirt.
“D-Dale! Give me your shirt! I’ll wash it and return it later!”
“It’s nothing. Just a little soup splash, there’s no need to—”
“N-no! Please… I’m begging you!”
Was she worried about getting scolded?
Watching Lanez cry out with such fearful desperation, I felt a quiet laugh bubble up inside me.
‘After all, Lanez is still Lanez.’
I’d thought her personality might have changed somewhat after learning to control the Glacial Blessing on her own.
But seeing her like this, she was unmistakably herself.
‘Though I suppose that flustered, crumpled expression of hers is rather endearing.’
Like a frightened little creature.
The more I looked at her, the more that peculiar protective instinct stirred within me, and a smile naturally formed on my lips.
“Here, then.”
I removed the soup-stained shirt right there and handed it to her—I was wearing an undershirt beneath it.
“A-ah… th-thank you.”
“I’ll clean up the soup from the floor and bring you a fresh bowl.”
“…Okay.”
After I finished caring for Lanez,
she was discharged from the Intensive Care Unit.
“I’ll walk you back to your room.”
“N-no! That’s okay! I can go by myself!”
Lanez declined my offer to escort her to her Dormitory room and headed off alone.
And so,
her tumultuous unauthorized withdrawal incident came to a close.
‘Though there’s still cleanup to handle.’
I gazed across the Academy’s Main Building, a bittersweet smile settling on my face.
A sigh.
I exhaled deeply and made my way toward Lucas Kane’s Office.
* * *
“It cannot be done.”
In Lucas Kane’s Office.
Lucas Kane, seated in his chair, shook his head with unwavering resolve.
“Lanez committed one of the gravest offenses within the Hero Academy. Disciplinary action is inevitable.”
“But she returned within a single day.”
“By that logic, theft becomes blameless the moment stolen goods are returned?”
“….”
At Lucas Kane’s continued words, I exhaled a deep sigh.
As expected.
It was difficult to simply move past this as if nothing had happened.
“What kind of disciplinary action will I face?”
“Well, the exact punishment will be decided once the disciplinary committee convenes, but in the worst case scenario, you could lose your Candidate status and be expelled from the Academy.”
“….”
Expulsion from Hero Academy meant far more than simply being cast out of school.
For the rest of my life.
I would be forced to enter into a magical oath never to use the power of the Sacred Mark, and would have to live like a criminal while wearing a surveillance artifact.
“Is there no other way?”
“…There isn’t. The report has already been submitted to the higher-ups.”
Lucas Kane continued, gnawing at his lip.
“If you had simply fled the Academy without saying a word, like you did before, I could have reduced the punishment to suspension on my end, but….”
Sigh.
Lucas Kane exhaled a deep sigh as if the earth itself were collapsing.
“Why did you have to write something like a withdrawal letter….”
As Lucas Kane said.
The withdrawal letter that Lanez had left behind when she departed was reported to the Academy, and the situation had spiraled beyond any hope of containment.
If I had previously left the Academy without permission to rescue Yurina, the professors could have managed it by claiming there was “an error in the external leave permit issuance process,” but.
‘Now the evidence is far too concrete.’
It was now certain that Lanez had left the Academy with a clear intention to withdraw without authorization.
Just as the severity of a crime is divided based on whether intent was present or not, even when committing the same offense, the withdrawal letter that Lanez had left behind had become shackles binding her feet.
“At least… since she has returned to the Academy, I’ll do my best to defend her, but….”
Lucas Kane exhaled another sigh and closed his eyes tightly.
“In a situation where most professors already view Candidate Lanez unfavorably, it will be difficult to avoid severe punishment.”
“….”
Lanez was a being who inherited the blood of Demons.
It wasn’t only the Candidates who viewed her as an eyesore.
“I’m sorry. This is unavoidable….”
“I ordered her to do it.”
“…What?”
I leaned back against the chair’s backrest and continued speaking with a composed expression.
“I coerced Lanez into writing the withdrawal letter.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————