The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 239

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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 239. Closing Ceremony (1)
The Classroom felt unfamiliar now.
After my lengthy suspension finally ended, what greeted me upon my return was—
“Well then, everyone has worked hard this semester.”
…
That’s right.
It was the closing ceremony marking the end of the semester.
‘Wait, isn’t this situation more serious than my past life?’
In my previous life, at least I attended classes.
This semester, aside from attending a few classes at the beginning, I’d practically missed classes the entire term.
No, it wasn’t just classes—I’d skipped both the midterm and final evaluations.
“Hmm? Who’s that over there? A second-year Candidate who wandered into the wrong Classroom?”
Ugh.
Despite knowing my situation all too well—no, precisely because he knew it better than anyone—Lucas Kane smirked and began teasing me.
“Well, it’s not bad to familiarize yourself with the third-year Classroom in advance. After all, it might be the Classroom you’ll be seeing for the next year.”
…
This can’t happen.
Being in the back row was already shameful enough, but retention…!
“R, retention at least…!”
“Hey, you should have some conscience. What? You’re trying to avoid retention after skipping more than half the semester’s classes?”
Ugh.
What a despicable bastard.
How dare he attack with facts…!
“Hahahaha! Now I won’t have to see your tiresome face anymore!”
Lucas Kane burst into raucous laughter, hands on his hips.
Just as he was getting heated with his teasing—
Knock, knock.
A soft knocking sound echoed through the Classroom.
Lucas Kane’s expression darkened as he strode briskly toward the door.
“What audacious fool dares interrupt the sacred closing ceremony by being late…?”
“It’s me.”
“Ack! S-Senior?”
Click, click.
Elisha entered the Classroom.
She glanced briefly in my direction and sent me a subtle wink, then gestured to Lucas Kane with a beckoning motion.
“Come with me.”
“C-Come with you…?”
“It’s a message from the Headmaster.”
Elisha turned sharply and walked out of the Classroom.
Lucas Kane followed her out with a bewildered expression.
About five minutes passed like that.
Click.
The classroom door opened, and Lucas Kane stepped out with a dazed expression.
“…Dale.”
“Yes.”
“Come talk with me for a moment.”
I tilted my head in confusion and followed Lucas Kane out of the classroom.
“What exactly have you been up to?”
“What do you mean, what have I been up to?”
“What did you do to make the Empress submit a petition demanding your advancement?!”
“….”
No.
I hadn’t expected the petition to reach the school so quickly.
“And on top of that, Headmaster Raonel is ignoring all procedures and insisting you advance unconditionally….”
Lucas Kane stared at me with an expression of utter disbelief.
Two of the mere five ‘Masters’ had joined forces for a single candidate’s advancement—his reaction was entirely justified.
“Well, I suppose it’s thanks to my exemplary classroom conduct and diligence.”
“Stop spouting such bullshit.”
“No.”
Even so, that language was too harsh, you bastard.
“Sigh. Anyway, so the final decision has been made for your advancement.”
Lucas Kane clicked his tongue with a sour expression.
“Why do you look so displeased, Professor? This should be good news for you too.”
“Good news? How is it good news when I have to deal with a troublemaker like you for another year?”
“Hmm. That’s strange.”
“What’s strange?”
I crossed my arms and shrugged my shoulders.
“Wasn’t it you, Professor Lucas Kane, who strongly advocated for my advancement at the faculty meeting?”
“You, how did you—!”
“I wonder who told me?”
Well, naturally.
I’d heard it from Elisha.
“Tch! Senior! How could you leak confidential faculty meeting information to outsiders…!”
Lucas Kane seemed to have guessed that Elisha was the culprit, as he clutched his forehead and sighed.
“I, I never did such a thing! The senior made it all up!”
“Yes, yes.”
Of course you did.
“Damn it!”
Lucas Kane huffed indignantly and returned into the classroom.
‘Honestly, what a character.’
I chuckled softly as I followed Lucas Kane.
* * *
We returned to the Classroom once more.
Lucas Kane unfolded the paper in his hand and continued speaking.
“Now then, before the closing ceremony, I shall announce the comprehensive evaluation rankings for the third-year Candidates.”
“Ugh.”
“Please…!”
“If I drop outside the top hundred this time, I can’t go home to the main house!”
The Classroom stirred at the mention of comprehensive evaluation rankings.
“First, the Candidate from our Class C with the highest marks is… Morris Jin.”
“Ah, Morris as expected.”
“But isn’t Yuren first overall?”
“Yeah, that’s what I heard.”
“Tsk. So Morris is second again?”
The Candidates’ gazes concentrated on the black-haired Candidate sitting in the front seat.
Morris Jin.
A Candidate perpetually overshadowed by Yuren, bearing the ignominious nickname of “eternal second place.”
Thud!
Morris sprang to his feet and turned to address all the Candidates in the Classroom, shouting.
“Second place is still an achievement!!!”
“Ooh!”
“Say it again!”
“Second place is still an achievement, I tell you!”
“Haha! That’s right!”
The Candidates burst into laughter watching Morris’s frenzied declaration.
Though we hadn’t had the chance to converse much, it seemed we maintained decent camaraderie—most Candidates roared with laughter, teasing the red-faced Morris.
“Ugh….”
Morris squinted at the laughing Candidates.
With black hair and black eyes—a rarity even among those of the Republic—he exhaled a deep sigh and sat back down.
‘Morris Jin, then.’
In my previous life, Morris Jin had maintained second place, right below Yuren, until graduation.
‘But… how did he manage second place this time?’
I furrowed my brow and glanced toward Camilla and Iris.
Yuren—or rather, not just Yurina—but Camilla and Iris had achieved growth incomparable to their previous incarnations.
‘In terms of pure ability, Camilla now might actually surpass Yuren from my previous life.’
Yet Morris Jin had claimed second place in the comprehensive evaluation rankings, exactly as in my previous life.
‘Did party members troll during the final evaluation?’
Well, since final evaluations were fundamentally party-based assessments, it was certainly plausible.
‘Come to think of it, I never heard Morris’s name once after graduation in my previous life.’
Despite graduating from the Hero Academy as an excellent student in second place, I had no recollection of hearing his name afterward.
‘Well… it’s not uncommon for Candidates who flew around inside the Academy to plummet after graduation.’
I averted my gaze from Morris and released a deep sigh.
The comprehensive evaluation rankings announced one by one, starting from the highest positions.
It was only natural, but my name never came up.
“Ugh.”
Well, of course.
How could someone who skipped more than half of second semester classes avoid dead last?
‘At least I avoided academic probation.’
Honestly, at this point, I don’t see why school grades matter anymore.
‘Still, I hate being dead last in my final year.’
Perhaps lingering regrets from my past life were clinging to me.
I desperately wanted to escape this wretched dead last position.
“Candidate Delton is ranked 418th. Please strive for better grades next year.”
“…Yes.”
Delton lowered his head listlessly.
A ranking of 418th out of 472 total students was a pathetic score that couldn’t be boasted about anywhere after graduation.
Delton was probably already racking his brain over what to tell his family when he returned home for winter break, which was fast approaching.
‘Hey, cheer up, you bastard. You got 418th place and you look like you’re dying?’
I glared at the sighing Delton and cursed inwardly.
For some, a ranking of 418th might be something to agonize over, but for me, it was an unreachable score—like a single flower blooming atop a towering cliff.
“Next is Candidate Dale.”
“….”
Finally, my name was called.
I sighed and lowered my head.
‘Well… I made up my mind when I agreed to accept punishment in Lanez’s place.’
Honestly, just avoiding expulsion was a blessing.
“Candidate Dale’s ranking is….”
Lucas Kane’s voice continued.
“471st.”
“…What?”
What?
Not 472nd… but 471st?
“Wait, just a moment! 471st?”
“That’s right.”
Lucas Kane nodded and continued speaking.
“You ran errands for the Headmaster several times during your suspension period, didn’t you? So bonus points were added.”
“B-bonus points…!”
Right! That was a thing!
“…Wait, but with three disciplinary marks, shouldn’t that automatically be zero points?”
Last semester too, my actual grades were decent, but due to disciplinary action, they were zeroed out and I ended up dead last.
“Normally that would be the case, but the bonus points granted by the Headmaster are reflected in the overall rankings regardless of disciplinary action.”
“Ooh!”
I had no idea such a school regulation existed!
In my previous life, I’d never received bonus points from the Headmaster—in fact, I’d never received any bonus points at all, so this was my first time learning about it.
“And finally… ranked 472nd is Lloyd, a Candidate who suffered severe injuries during the recent monster attack incident and was hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit for three months.”
“…Yes.”
At Lucas Kane’s call, Lloyd nodded weakly, his voice barely audible as if he were on death’s door.
Even after three months of hospitalization, his wounds hadn’t fully healed?
Lloyd was wrapped in bandages all over his body.
“….”
Lloyd looked like a walking corpse.
I deliberately averted my gaze from Lloyd, who was coughing weakly, and clenched my fists.
‘S-still, at least I’ve escaped being dead last!’
That’s right.
471st out of 472 total Candidates.
Some might thoughtlessly say “what’s the difference between 471st and 472nd anyway?” but for someone like me who’d lived my entire life at the bottom, this single rank difference meant everything.
‘Now… there’s finally someone below me!’
Even if that someone below me was an unfortunate Candidate who’d suffered severe injuries fighting monsters and couldn’t participate in school classes!
“I’m… no longer dead last…!”
My body trembled with the joy welling up from deep within my chest.
“Oh, and by the way, Lloyd has decided to repeat the year at his own request.”
“…What?”

What did he just say?
“Since he still needs further treatment and missed most of the second semester’s classes, the Academy has accepted his request to repeat the year on the condition that we provide full scholarship support for all remaining semesters.”
“….”
Wait.
That means….
“With Lloyd repeating the year, the total number of third-year Candidates has changed from 472 to 471.”
In other words.
“Damn it.”
Dead last again?

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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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