The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 242

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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 242. Divine Descent (2)
[Mother-in-law…? Pfft! Yes, I suppose that’s how you’d see it.]
Grace burst into delighted laughter, nodding her head.
“Mother-in-law? Grace, what do you mean by—?!”
Unlike Grace, who laughed and nodded, Iris floundered in bewilderment.
Well, of course.
From her perspective, a legendary Saint—the kind who belonged only in fairy tales—had somehow seen through the entirety of her romantic life. She couldn’t help but be flustered.
[Well, you can call me that if you like. But… your name is Iris, yes?]
“Ah, yes….”
[Come closer.]
Grace gestured toward Iris.
[Hehe. Is it because she’s my daughter? You’re beautiful.]
Grace smiled softly as she caressed Iris’s cheek.
Though she existed as a semi-transparent spirit, no physical sensation reached her.
“…Thank you, Grace.”
Yet somehow.
It felt as though a gentle warmth traced down her cheek.
[Come now, don’t be so stiff. Don’t call me Grace—call me Mother. Mother.]
“Eh? Ah, I’m not sure I can….”
[I told you already. Though our blood doesn’t run the same, we’re bound by something far deeper than that.]
“….”
Iris’s eyes trembled.
A bond deeper than blood itself.
Those simple words struck her heart like a miracle.
“M… Mother.”
[Hehe. Yes, my daughter.]
Grace smiled gently and nodded.
She placed her hand on Iris’s head with the tenderness of a mother stroking her true child.
[Looking at you reminds me of how I looked when I was young….]
Grace’s gaze, slowly lowering, suddenly froze at Iris’s chest.
[Wh-what is this…!]
Her eyes widened in shock.
“Mother?”
[…Ah, u-um! Yes, my daughter! You really do look just like me when I was young, yes!]
Your voice is trembling quite a bit, Mother-in-law.
[Gulp…!]
Grace swallowed hard and quickly averted her gaze from Iris, turning to face me.
[S-son-in-law!]
“Yes, Mother-in-law.”
[…Why have you been using formal speech this whole time? You used to just call me by my name.]
“No, I mean…”
It felt awkward to speak casually when I was actually thinking of her as my mother-in-law.
[Hmph, fine. Just speak comfortably. After all, I was able to complete my ‘mission’ thanks to you.]
…Mission, she said.
Now that she mentioned it, there was one thing I’d been wanting to ask her.
“Grace. What did you mean by what you said before?”
[Hm? What do you mean?]
“You told me to be careful of the sixth hero.”
The number of Great Heroes was five.
Of course, even back then there were many superhuman beings bearing the stigmata of the Seven Gods on their chests, but they weren’t called ‘heroes’ at that time.
‘It was only after the Five Great Heroes were created that superhumans bearing stigmata came to be called heroes.’
Five hundred years ago, the only ones called heroes were the Five Great Heroes.
In other words.
‘The sixth hero’ didn’t exist back then.
[Did I say something like that?]
“…You don’t remember?”
Grace nodded slowly and continued speaking.
[As you already know, I’m not Grace herself, but merely a remnant of her soul. Even though I was summoned again through the power of the Seven Eyes, not all of my memories remain intact.]
“….”
So there was no way to learn about the sixth hero.
[Anyway.]
Grace’s gaze turned toward Yurina, Elisha, and Lanez.
[Who are those people? Are they our daughter’s party members?]
“Oh, yes. That’s right.”
[I see, is that so?]
Grace floated through the air toward the three women.
[Pleased to meet you. I’m the Light of Life, Grace… or more precisely, the remnant of Grace’s soul.]
“P-pleased to meet you! I’m Yurina Helios!”
[…Helios? D-don’t tell me you’re a descendant of Reynald?]
“Yes. That’s correct.”
Yurina nodded with a visibly tense expression.
Grace stared at Yurina and suppressed a bitter laugh.
[Ha. To think the descendant of that philandering fool would turn out to be such an upright child….]
“…Philandering?”
[My goodness, you didn’t know? That Reynald didn’t leave a single woman untouched. What did he call it? Oh yes, he spouted nonsense about making everyone happy, and that scoundrel got married three times! Three times!]
Grace shook her head with an exasperated expression.
“….”
Yurina froze in place upon hearing family secrets she’d never known before.
[Then the remaining two are….]
“I’m Elisha Baldwin. I hold the position of professor at the Hero Academy.”
[Huh? The Hero Academy? Ah, that school Reynald created? It’s still around?]
Grace swept her gaze across Elisha, a satisfied smile playing at her lips.
[Good. Your skills are respectable, and your situational awareness seems sharp.]
“You’re too kind.”
Even the renowned Professor Elisha couldn’t help but feel nervous before a legendary hero, nodding with a slightly trembling voice.
“I-I’m Raneez Malam!”
[You….]
Grace’s expression stiffened slightly as she examined Raneez.
[…I sense the aura of a Demon Human?]
“That is….”
Raneez’s face drained of color.
Just as Raneez’s expression crumpled as though tears might spill at any moment, Iris approached Grace.
“Raneez is a half-breed of Demon Human and human. Though Demon Human blood flows through her, she’s a kinder and more pure-hearted hero than anyone.”
[Hmm. If my daughter speaks so highly of her, I’ll trust her.]
Grace nodded and surveyed the three women before her.
[Still, with five of you forming a party like this… it’s rather unfortunate, isn’t it?]
“Unfortunate?”
[Well, isn’t it common for young people gathered in a party to develop romantic relationships with one another?]
Her words rang true.
The primary reason heroes became lovers was precisely this—developing romantic bonds within the same party.
[But our son-in-law is already dating you, after all.]
Grace clicked her tongue regretfully, gazing at Yurina, Professor Elisha, and Raneez.
[All of you are so beautiful and virtuous, yet you can’t find partners within your own party—isn’t that a shame?]
“Well….”
Iris forced an awkward smile and avoided Grace’s gaze.
“Y-yes, it is.”
[Hehe. Isn’t it?]
Grace turned toward me with a smug expression, raising her chin proudly.
[To have such a dependable and magnificent man in your party and only be able to watch and suck your fingers, it’s truly a pity~]
“…I sucked more than just fingers.”
[Huh? What did you say?]
“N-nothing at all!”
Yurina trembled and shook her head hastily.
“M-more importantly, Mother! There’s something I wanted to ask!”
Iris hurriedly changed the subject.
[What is it?]
“Did you… also possess the Seven Eyes?”
[Yes. Though I no longer have them.]
Grace nodded.
“I wanted to ask… how one might learn to wield the power of the Seven Eyes.”
Iris’s pupils shimmered with iridescent light.
The Seven Eyes.
A Saint’s power that dramatically elevated the wielder’s divine strength and allowed them to perform miracles of the gods without requiring ‘sacrifices’.
Or more precisely, only those who possessed these Seven Eyes could be recognized as a ‘Saint’ of the Holy Kingdom.
[Judging by the fact that you can summon me in a ‘fragmented soul’ state using my sacred artifact, you’re already handling the Seven Eyes quite skillfully, aren’t you?]
“That is….”
Iris trailed off, lowering her iridescent gaze.
Even reviewing the records of past Saints, there had been none at her age who could wield the Seven Eyes as proficiently as she did.
But.
“Still, I want to be able to handle them even better.”
My dearest friends Camilla and Yurina, along with the other party members, were all growing at an astonishing pace with each passing day.
Yet my own growth had stagnated for months now.
To keep pace with the others, I needed the help of Grace—the first Saint and the origin of the Seven Eyes themselves.
[Hmm. Is that so?]
Grace nodded with a faint smile, as if to say ‘truly our daughter’.
[Have you ever attempted ‘Divine Descent’?]
“…Divine Descent?”
[It’s achieving spiritual communion with the Seven Gods through the Seven Eyes. By communing with the gods, you can draw out the true power of the Seven Eyes.]
“I… I didn’t even know such a thing existed.”
Iris’s eyes widened in astonishment.
[…You didn’t know?]
Grace’s eyes narrowed slightly as she continued.
[It seems many records about the Seven Eyes have been lost.]
“Well, to be honest, there hasn’t been a Saint who could perfectly wield the Seven Eyes since you, Grace.”
[Sigh. I suppose that’s inevitable. It’s not a power just anyone can handle.]
The Seven Eyes were a divine power that only those chosen by the Seven Gods could use.
It was impossible for a mere human to master them completely.
“Then… I can’t perform this ‘Divine Descent’ either?”
[No, you’re more than capable. Of course, communing with all Seven Gods at once is still impossible for you… but communing with one should be within your reach.]
“Ah….”
Spiritual communion with a god.
For a believer of the Seven Star Church, these words were nothing short of thrilling.
“Then which of the Seven Gods should I commune with?”
[It doesn’t matter. What’s important is the act of communing with a god itself.]
“Then… hmm. I think communing with the Sky God would be best.”
The Sky God’s stigma was the most commonly held by support-class heroes, and I too bore the Sky God’s stigma.
If any of the Seven Gods would suffice, it was only natural to wish to commune with the god who had granted me their stigma.
[I’ll teach you the method, so just follow my instructions carefully and use the Seven Eyes.]
“Yes, Grace.”
[Tsk. I told you to call me Mother.]
“Ah, I-I’m sorry, Mother.”
Iris offered an awkward smile, still unaccustomed to using that title.
Just as she began to draw forth the power of the Seven Gods’ eyes in accordance with Grace’s instructions—
“Wait.”
I stepped toward Iris.
“Hm? What is it, Dale?”
“…It doesn’t matter which of the Seven Gods you commune with, right?”
“Ah, yes. According to Grace… Mother, that’s correct.”
“Then I have a favor to ask.”
I placed my hand on Iris’s shoulder and continued.
“Commune with the Forest God.”
“…The Forest God?”
“Yes. I have something I need to ask that being… no, that god.”
Crunch.
I bit down on my lip, my fists clenching until they trembled.
That’s right.
There was something I needed to ask—no, something I *had* to ask.
‘Why, exactly.’
Why had the Forest God bestowed the blessing of resurrection upon me?
Among thousands, tens of thousands of humans—why only me?
Why only me alone.
Why had I been forced to wander the Snowy Wasteland in solitude for over thousands of years, unable even to die?

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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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