The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 208

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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 208. Intermission – The Crimson Moon (1)
“Cough… Hack….”
With a final death rattle.
The light rapidly faded from Wolf Mask’s eyes visible between the slits of his mask.
“Hah, hah!”
Yurina gasped for breath, withdrawing the blade that had pierced Wolf Mask’s heart.
“…Ah.”
Upon seeing Wolf Mask’s fallen corpse, I let out a final exclamation before my shoulders trembled slightly.
“I’m… I’m sorry, Dale.”
“Huh? Sorry about what?”
“I should have interrogated him first about what he was doing in Valhalla City… but instead….”
“Ah, that’s fine.”
I swallowed a bitter laugh and shook my head.
Initially, I had planned to capture them for interrogation, but my thoughts changed while observing the battle.
‘Even if we interrogated them, there probably wouldn’t be much to learn.’
Fox Mask and Rabbit Mask were clearly several tiers below Wolf Mask, so even if captured and questioned, the information we could extract would be meager at best.
Wolf Mask, the only one who might have yielded something useful, was not the type to break under interrogation.
“But….”
“And information doesn’t have to come from words alone, does it?”
I approached the fallen Wolf Mask and removed his mask.
The face revealed beneath was that of a middle-aged man with a sharp, angular jaw and thick eyebrows.
Countless scars crisscrossed his entire face—so many that it was difficult to find any unmarked skin, testament to the countless battlefields he had witnessed.
‘At this point, it’s like someone stitched a person back together.’
An astounding number of scars, so severe it was a wonder he remained alive at all.
I examined the fallen Wolf Mask’s face carefully, my eyes narrowing.
‘I’ve never seen this face in my past life.’
Of course, my memories from my previous life weren’t perfect—I didn’t remember everything from beginning to end with absolute clarity.
But at least this face had not remained in my memory.
“Who could he be? His skill was easily among the upper ranks of the rankers….”
“I’m not sure… there’s no similar face among the current top rankers.”
After all, “rankers” weren’t determined by any precise measurement—they were created by the tastes of enthusiasts scattered across the Three Nations—so it wasn’t uncommon for unexpected powerhouses among heroes to emerge without their names appearing on the rankings.
‘Let me take a photo first.’
I photographed the faces of Wolf Mask and Fox Mask using my Hero Watch (Rabbit Mask’s face couldn’t be confirmed as the corpse had been burned).
“Hmm… So we really can’t find out who this person was?”
“The Academy might still be able to tell us something if we ask.”
“The Academy?”
“These aren’t Demons—they’re ‘heroes.'”
“Ah.”
If they were heroes bearing stigmata, there was a high probability they were graduates of Hero Academy.
“What if they were heroes operating without official credentials?”
“Well… that’s difficult to find out.”
Unfortunately, if that were the case, further tracking would be impossible.
“Should we head back to the Academy?”
After that, I thoroughly searched the corpses of Wolf Mask and Fox Mask, but couldn’t find any clues that would hint at their true identities.
“I really shouldn’t have killed them…”
“But they were the ones who deliberately hid their identities by wearing masks in the first place.”
It was something I’d already anticipated—there wouldn’t be much to salvage.
“Still…”
Yurina gazed down at the fallen corpses with a dejected expression.
Suddenly, the realization that she herself had created these bodies seemed to wash over her again, and a dark shadow settled across her face.
Watching Yurina like that, I swallowed a bitter laugh.
‘Well, at least Yurina was able to grow one step further through this incident.’
Staining one’s blade with blood.
That was something absolutely necessary for her to live on as a hero from this point forward.
“Let’s go, Yurina. We’ll report these corpses to the Academy and have them collect them.”
“Y-yes.”
Yurina nodded and followed behind me.
* * *
After returning to the Academy.
Yurina and I headed straight to Elisha’s Professor’s Office to make our report.
“Both of you did well.”
Elisha smiled with satisfaction as she looked at the photos of Wolf Mask and Fox Mask that I’d sent to Hero Watch.
“I never expected you’d find them in just one day of investigation…”
“We received some help from the locals.”
“The locals?”
“Yes. A child living in the Slums. I brought them along on the way back, so I’d appreciate it if the Academy could protect them for a while.”
Luka and Ren were temporarily brought to the Academy since they could become targets if any remnants of the Masked Group remained.
“Understood. I’ll take responsibility for their protection.”
“Thank you for your help.”
“But it will be difficult to keep them at the Academy indefinitely… What are you planning to do with them later?”
“I’m planning to ask Iris to place them in an Orphanage she knows.”
“Hmm. If it’s an Orphanage managed by the Holy Kingdom, it should be trustworthy.”
Elisha nodded.
“Then, I’ll conduct an investigation based on the photos you took.”
“Yes. Please contact me if you discover anything later.”
“Hehe. Of course. Oh, and separately from that, the Rector mentioned he’d like to have a meal with you.”
“Rector Raonel?”
A meal between a last-ranked Candidate and the Academy’s Rector.
It was a combination that seemed mismatched just imagining it.
“Yes. Since this matter was directly ordered by the Rector, there will likely be discussion about compensation at the meal.”
“Ah….”
True enough.
Raonel wasn’t the type to assign dangerous tasks to Candidates and then wash his hands of it as if nothing had happened.
“Perhaps your disciplinary action might even be rescinded.”
“Ha ha.”
Disciplinary action….
I needed more time to think about the compensation aspect.
“By the way….”
Elisha turned to glance at Yurina, who stood quietly beside me, tilting her head curiously.
“Is something troubling you, Yurina? Your expression doesn’t look good.”
“Well… yes, something did happen.”
“Did Dale perhaps make some mistake during the date?”
Elisha regarded me with a suspicious gaze.
Yurina shook her head with a weak smile.
“No, it’s not that.”
“Then what?”
“….”
Yurina hesitated for a moment before continuing, her trembling hands hidden behind her back.
“Those people… they weren’t Demons.”
“Ah….”
Elisha let out a quiet sigh, as if understanding what had transpired.
“Sigh. The shock is always great at first. Especially for a Candidate with a kind heart like you, Yurina.”
Elisha gazed at Yurina with a bittersweet smile.
Observing Yurina’s dejected expression, Elisha turned her gaze toward me.
“Perfect timing then. Dale, you’ll spend the night in Yurina’s room.”
“What?”
Wait, suddenly sleep in Yurina’s room?
“I was already wondering where to put the two children you brought, so having them use your room while you share Yurina’s should work out nicely.”
“I’m not sure that’s entirely….”
“Hmm. Are you saying you’d leave Yurina alone in such a downcast state?”
“….”
Elisha shrugged and continued.
“At times like these, one needs the most dependable person at their side.”
“Ugh.”
I swallowed hard and turned to look at Yurina.
“Will you be alright?”
“Y-yes! We’ve slept in the same room plenty of times before!”
Yurina nodded her head vigorously.
And so.
I left the Professor’s Office with Yurina and headed toward her room.
Click.
As I opened the door and stepped inside, the familiar sight of my room greeted me.
A spacious interior befitting the A Building Dormitory.
“….”
“….”
An awkward silence settled between us.
I scratched my head and broke the quiet.
“Well… should we at least have dinner?”
“U-uh, yes.”
Yurina nodded and started toward the kitchen.
I caught her shoulder and pulled her back gently, shaking my head.
“You rest.”
“But….”
“You’re not in the mood to cook anyway, are you?”
“….”
Yurina nodded silently and obediently settled onto the sofa.
She unfastened her sword from her waist and placed it on the table, her vacant gaze fixed upon the blood-stained blade.
In the meantime, I prepared something simple and brought it to her.
“….”
Yurina sat motionless before the steaming dish, unable to move.
I swallowed a bitter smile and put the food away.
“You’re not in the mood to eat either, it seems.”
“…I-I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine.”
I gently squeezed Yurina’s hand.
A faint tremor transmitted through our touching skin.
“…Dale.”
“Yes?”
“I… I killed someone.”
“I know.”
“Was it… the right thing to do?”
Yurina asked, tightening her grip on my hand.
“I’m not sure.”
Whether it was right or wrong, I couldn’t say for certain.
“It was necessary. Absolutely necessary.”
“…Really?”
“Yes.”
A faint smile bloomed at the corners of Yurina’s lips.
“If it was absolutely necessary… then I did the right thing, didn’t I?”
“Well… if you put it that way, then yes, you did the right thing.”
“So… there’s no separate reward?”
Yurina gazed at me with eyes brimming with anticipation.
Watching her animated expression—so different from her earlier dejection—I barely suppressed a smile.
“Of course I have to give you a reward.”
Though I’ll admit I half-forced her into this.
In the end, it was Yurina’s own resolve that led her to blood her blade.
“Come on, bow your head this way then….”
“Wait, hold on.”
Yurina scrambled to her feet urgently.
“Before that… could I wash up first?”
“Ah.”
Right.
I hadn’t bathed since the battle, so the sweat clinging to me would certainly bother her.
“Fine.”
“I’ll be quick! You won’t go anywhere, right?!”
Yurina rushed into the Shower Room.
Soon, the sound of water cascaded through the door.
‘I’m glad I came with her, just as Professor Elisha suggested.’
Remembering how Yurina had trembled without eating even a single spoonful, I realized I would have deeply regretted leaving her alone in her room.
‘If my presence alone can bring her comfort, then I should stay by her side.’
It was my role to guide those precious to me and offer them solace.
Thud.
“Hm?”
Something fell to the floor from where Yurina had left her belongings.
Tilting my head curiously, I picked up what had dropped.
“This is….”
An empty shopping bag.
What had been inside it was certainly….
Click.
The door opened carefully.
“D-Dale.”
Yurina stepped out from between the door’s opening, a large bath towel draped around her like a cloak.
“I’m… I’m all… washed up.”
Her face, illuminated by moonlight streaming through the window,
was flushed so deeply it seemed ready to burst.

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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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