The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 21

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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 21. So It Was You? (2)
“You’re asking me to retrieve it myself?”
I looked at Jade Bastian with questioning eyes, and he nodded calmly.
“Indeed. Since I know where mana-infused Seven-Star Grass primarily grows, obtaining it shouldn’t be particularly difficult.”
“Where does it primarily grow?”
“Here.”
Jade Bastian’s finger pointed toward a pile of dust rolling across the Laboratory floor.
Well, he certainly couldn’t mean that this garbage heap of a Laboratory was where it naturally grew.
“…You mean the Academy?”
“Yes. Even if you searched the entire Continent, you wouldn’t find another place where mana-infused Seven-Star Grass could be obtained so easily.”
Not a single place on the entire Continent could rival this location for acquiring mana-infused Seven-Star Grass with such ease.
I had a vague inkling as to why.
“Because of the seal?”
“Ah-ha.”
Jade Bastian’s eyes gleamed with intrigue.
“For someone who scored the lowest in first-year history electives, you certainly know your material.”
“Why did you look up my first-year grades?”
“Shouldn’t I know the academic standing of a Candidate who might become my assistant after graduation?”
“No.”
I’m not working in your Laboratory.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Well, regardless. I’d give that answer about eighty points out of a hundred. To be precise, it’s not the seal itself but the ley lines connected to it.”
“…Ley lines?”
Now that he mentioned it, I recalled hearing something about this from Sophia before.
Beneath the Hero Academy flowed an enormous ley line saturated with mana.
“Since we’re already here, let me explain it simply and move on.”
Jade Bastian continued with evident enthusiasm.
“Five hundred years ago, the great Five Great Heroes succeeded in sealing the Demon God after a fierce battle.”
“Is this suddenly a history lesson?”
“No idle chatter. Just listen.”
Jade Bastian continued his impromptu lecture with firm resolve.
“After sealing the Demon God, Reynald Helios immediately established this ‘Hero Academy’ directly above it.”
It was content I’d learned in first-year history electives.
“Do you know why Reynald Helios established a school on such perilous ground?”
“Wasn’t it to create a kind of fortress? To guard the Demon God’s seal?”
Historians held divided opinions on why Reynald Helios had established the Academy on this land where the Demon God was sealed, despite fierce opposition at the time.
The currently accepted theory was that he built the school to prevent Demon Humans from approaching the seal, thereby drawing heroes from across the entire Continent.
‘And that’s exactly what happened.’
Initially, many nations opposed sending promising Hero Candidates to land where a Demon God was sealed.
But when Reynald Helios declared that one could not operate as a “hero” without graduating from this Academy and obtaining official credentials, nations reluctantly had no choice but to send their Candidates here.
‘Now, five hundred years later, hardly anyone concerns themselves with it anymore.’
By now, there were even Heroes who didn’t know that a Demon God was sealed beneath the Hero Academy unless they took history electives.
Of course.
‘…Soon enough, they won’t be able to remain ignorant even if they wanted to.’
Only a handful of people knew that the Demon God’s seal was gradually weakening.
Apart from me, who had experienced the future that was to come, there were precious few.
“A fortress, you say… There was certainly that reason as well.”
“There are other reasons?”
“Remember the ley line I mentioned earlier? Reynald—or more precisely, my ancestor, the Great Sage Julius Bastian—connected this very ley line to the seal to make the Demon God’s imprisonment even more formidable.”
“Connected the seal to the ley line?”
“Indeed.”
Jade Bastian stroked his white beard and continued.
“To use an analogy, it’s as though he linked a chain of ley lines to the lock of the seal, binding the Demon God tight and fast.”
“Hmm… I’ve never heard of that before.”
“Of course you haven’t. This is knowledge passed down only within the Bastian Family.”
Ah.
So that’s why I’d never heard of it in my previous life either.
“In any case, this Academy was constructed as a sort of massive sealing apparatus designed to gather the power of these ley lines effectively.”
The Academy itself was a colossal sealing device.
‘If that’s the case, then the reason the Demon God’s seal weakened in my previous life must be….’
It was quite likely connected to this Academy.
‘I have one more reason to remain at the Academy now.’
In any case, I had no intention of leaving before graduation, if only to reunite with my old comrades.
But now I had an additional task: discovering why the Demon God’s seal had weakened.
‘For now, this isn’t something I can uncover immediately just by investigating.’
For the present, it would be wise to prioritize what I could accomplish.
“So it’s because of the ley line’s influence that mana-infused Seven-Star Grass grows abundantly in this area, correct?”
“Precisely.”
Jade Bastian nodded with what seemed like a satisfied smile.
He lifted the coffee cup resting on the table and took a sip, chuckling softly.
“Being here like this brings back memories of teaching in the old days.”
Jade Bastian gazed up at the laboratory ceiling with a distant look in his eyes.
He had once been a dedicated instructor for the Candidate Program, but for the past two years, following some incident, he had ceased teaching the Candidates directly.
‘Disciple Slayer, they call him.’
Yet having spent several days conducting research alongside Jade Bastian, I found it difficult to understand why such an ominous epithet had been attached to him.
‘He’s eccentric in temperament, certainly, but he’s absolutely not the sort to kill his students.’
I felt curiosity stirring about what past he harbored.
‘But that’s not what matters right now.’
For the moment, I had far too much to do.
“Well, in any case. If you can bring me mana-infused Seven-Star Grass, I’ll be able to complete the Mark Amplification Elixir.”
“But if you already know where it grows, wouldn’t it be possible for you to go yourself, Professor….”
“Heh. You’re asking this old man to gather the herbs himself?”
“….”
Old man, he says.
‘If we’re counting by years lived, I’ve been around dozens of times longer than you, you impudent fool.’
Of course, I couldn’t voice that thought aloud.
The audacity of pocketing a million Gold in research funds and then demanding I procure the materials myself was enough to make the back of my neck burn with indignation.
“Tsk tsk. And if I were to gather the Seven-Star Grass myself, it could create complications with the Holy Kingdom.”
“What kind of complications… ah.”
Jade Bastian was an authority on stigma research—a field forbidden by the Holy Kingdom.
‘If such a professor were seen collecting the Holy Kingdom’s national flower…’
Trouble would inevitably follow.
“Ugh. Understood.”
It was a waste of time, but there seemed to be no alternative.
“Tsk tsk. I’ll transmit the location via Hero Watch, so you just need to search around that area.”
The location I received was the Outdoor Training Grounds where I’d recently completed the Demonic Beast Tracking lesson.
“…Isn’t the Outdoor Training Grounds off-limits except during classes?”
“That can be waived with a research permit.”
“Understood. I’ll depart immediately.”
There were mountains of other tasks waiting for me.
‘What choice do I have.’
A young(?) thing barely dry behind the ears complains about being unable to move, so I have no choice but to act myself.
* * *
“According to the map, it should be somewhere around here….”
After hours of following the map displayed on the Hero Watch.
As befitted a forest, the sun began setting faster than usual, and darkness gradually descended.
‘If I don’t find it soon, I’ll have to camp here for the night.’
Camping was something I’d grown accustomed to over countless lifetimes, but without Iris around, I had no desire to sleep on bare earth.
“I need to find it quickly… hm?”
Then.
A crevice between split stones appeared through the dense undergrowth.
A gap just large enough for a single person to squeeze through.
I could sense a faint trace of magical power seeping from within.
‘Is it here?’
Tilting my head curiously, I squeezed my body through the stone gap, and a surprisingly spacious cave came into view.
“Let me see.”
As I heightened my senses and surveyed the surroundings.
Between the sharply pointed stalactites, I spotted several white flowers growing.
‘Seven-Star Grass.’
Plucking one of the Seven-Star Grass specimens growing between the stalactites and examining it, I could feel magical power dwelling within.
“Well, at least I managed to avoid camping.”
I smirked and tucked the Seven-Star Flowers growing between the stalactites into my bag.
After hastily plucking every Seven-Star Flower in sight and sweeping them into my bag, I managed to gather roughly two handfuls of blooms.
With this much Seven-Star Flower, there shouldn’t be any issues in manufacturing the Stigma Amplifier.
‘Just to be safe, let me search a bit more.’
Though the entrance was cramped, the interior of the Cave was quite spacious, so I hadn’t yet explored all the way to the back.
Following the winding path deeper into the Cave.
“…?”
A faint light seeping through from far ahead.
‘Light?’
Why would there be light here?
“….”
I moved slowly toward the source of the light, my footsteps muffled.
‘…That’s.’
The source of the light emanating from deep within the Cave was a portable lantern—the kind commonly used for exploration.
And the presence of a portable lantern here meant one thing.
‘Someone else is here.’
Someone other than me was in the Outdoor Training Grounds at this hour?
‘I’m certain there were no scheduled outdoor training sessions today.’
That was information I had confirmed in advance when receiving the permit from Jade Bastian.
‘Without a permit, entry is restricted, so it can’t be a Candidate.’
And it was equally unlikely that a professor would be out here alone at this hour.
‘If it’s neither a professor nor a Candidate.’
Then who on earth would venture into such an inconspicuous Cave at this late hour?
“….”
As I held my breath and concealed myself behind a stalactite.
“Damn it… why do I always get stuck with these menial tasks, always me.”
A voice grumbled from within the Cave.
A man with black hair wearing a tattered robe.
Judging by his appearance, he looked well into his thirties, so he was certainly not a Candidate.
“Sigh. If I could just become a Priest, I wouldn’t have to do these demeaning chores….”
The man continued muttering complaints as he drove a black nail resembling a stake into the Cave wall.
And then.
-Uuuuuuung!
Black luminescence flowing from the man’s left chest traveled along the black nail driven into the wall, seeping into the Cave wall itself.
An ominous, viscous black luminescence that radiated profound unease.
It wasn’t difficult to discern what it was.
‘Demonic Energy.’
The power of Demon—wielded only by those blessed by the Demon God and bearing his Stigma.
The fact that this nameless man possessed Demonic Energy proved only one thing.
A Demon Human.
A being that poses the greatest threat to humanity alongside magical beasts, and the foremost target for extermination by heroes.
An enemy that cannot be compromised with, nor should ever be compromised with.
Humanity’s adversary.
‘Why is a Demon Human here?’
I couldn’t begin to fathom the reason.
‘Well, I can just ask directly.’
I concentrated mana into my legs and lowered my stance.
And then.
I leaped.
“Damn it… why is this taking so long today… Hgh!”
In an instant, I closed the distance behind the Demon Human and gathered mana into my fingertips, striking the back of his neck.
The Demon Human’s body went rigid as his neck was struck, then he collapsed like a scarecrow.
Pressure point strike.
A technique I had learned from Berald in my past life—piercing the vital meridians through which mana flowed to paralyze the body.
“What…! W-who are you!”
“You don’t need to know who I am. Just answer my questions. What’s your purpose for sneaking into the Academy?”
“Ugh! Why can’t I move….”
“Well, I figured you wouldn’t talk willingly.”
From my past life, I knew all too well how stubborn Demon Humans could be.
“Let’s start with one.”
I grabbed the fallen Demon Human by the hair and yanked him upright, then struck his cheek without mercy.
Crack!
With a sound like a whip lashing leather, the Demon Human’s face snapped to the side.
“Cough! Gah! W-wait!”
“I know, I know, you bastard. You won’t open your mouth at this level.”
“No! Please….”
“Two more.”
Crack! Crack! Crack!
With each sharp sound, the Demon Human’s face swelled further until it was barely recognizable.
After roughly thirty blows had landed.
“Ugh… hgh.”
“Impressive, truly stubborn. Still won’t talk?”
“Hggh… ugh… ahhh…!”
The Demon Human shook his head desperately, broken teeth dribbling from between his lips.
“I have no choice then.”
If my fists wouldn’t work, I’d have to use a blade.
Shing.
I drew my sword and brought it close to the man’s face.
“Two eyes, two ears, one nose, one mouth. Of these, I only need one ear and a mouth for what I want….”
I pulled his head back and smiled brightly.
“What do you need from me?”

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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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