The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 246

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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 246. Bitter Cold (1)
A garden blanketed entirely in pristine white flowers.
A black-haired man wearing a white mask strolled through the chrysanthemum garden—which evoked memories of the Snowy Wasteland—humming contentedly to himself.
“…So, what exactly do you intend to do?”
Mephistopheles fixed a sharp gaze upon the white-masked figure leisurely wandering through the garden and posed the question.
“Hmm? What should I do?”
“Wasn’t it you who spoke of seeds sprouting and such?”
“Ah, yes, that’s right.”
A faint smile played across the lips visible beneath the white half-mask.
He gazed down at the chrysanthemums blooming in the garden and continued.
“Do you know what matters most when cultivating flowers?”
“I couldn’t say. I’ve never actually grown any.”
“Patience.”
The white-masked figure spoke while tenderly caressing a freshly bloomed chrysanthemum.
“Waiting for the seed to grow, for the bud to form, for the flower to bloom in full splendor.”
“…So you mean to simply stand idle and do nothing, then?”
“Ha. That’s one approach, certainly.”
But.
“Still, if we want the flowers to grow healthy and vigorous, it wouldn’t hurt to provide some fertilizer.”
The white-masked figure turned with a subtle smile.
And with that.
“Master. I’ve brought the item you commanded.”
A heavy thud.
A gaunt-framed man entered the garden, effortlessly shouldering an enormous coffin.
The Bear-Masked Man set the coffin down gently upon the ground.
“…What is that?”
“It’s a face you’d recognize, I’m sure.”
The white-masked figure approached the coffin slowly and lifted its lid.
Inside lay the corpse of a woman with deep violet hair.
Mephistopheles’ eyes widened upon recognizing the woman’s face.
“The Witch of Bitter Cold…?”
“Yes. She was an ‘Archbishop’ like you once, wasn’t she?”
“Why do you possess the corpse of the Witch of Bitter Cold?”
Seria Malam, the Witch of Bitter Cold.
A Demon Human who had betrayed the Demons over a decade ago and bound herself to a Hero.
She had borne a daughter and lived out her remaining years in happiness, until one day she suddenly went berserk, indiscriminately slaughtering not only her husband but everyone around her.
Her rampage erased an entire small city from the Holy Kingdom, claiming the lives of thousands of citizens.
Only after the Seven Star Knights arrived belatedly, along with their Unit Commander—Dale Han, the Sword of Holy Nation—and even the Pope Marian herself, were they finally able to kill the Witch of Bitter Cold.
I had heard that the Holy Kingdom’s forces recovered her corpse afterward.
So why was it here now?
“Well, don’t concern yourself with how I obtained the corpse.”
“Surely… you were also behind driving the Frost Witch into a rampage?”
“Haha. Who knows?”
The White Mask Man chuckled softly, shrugging his shoulders.
Though he hadn’t given a direct answer, his brazen demeanor alone made it easy to deduce that he was the mastermind behind the Frost Witch’s rampage incident.
“…Why.”
“Hmm?”
“Why did you drive the Frost Witch into a rampage?”
“Hm. I never said I drove her into a rampage, did I?”
“Just answer the question.”
“My, my, I can’t even joke around without scaring you.”
The White Mask Man continued with a giggling laugh.
“Because I needed to awaken the ‘Blessing of Frost.'”
“Blessing of Frost… you mean Raneez Malam?”
“Right. Humans typically awaken when they experience severe psychological trauma. Of course, contrary to my expectations, Raneez Malam didn’t awaken the Blessing of Frost at that time. Tsk. Don’t you think it’s a shame she didn’t awaken even after watching her mother tear her father to shreds right before her eyes?”
“….”
Mephistopheles’ expression twisted.
“You caused thousands to die… for such a trivial reason?”
“Haha. I never thought I’d hear such words from a Demon Human. Don’t you kill people without even needing a reason?”
“You…!”
Mephistopheles glared fiercely at the White Mask Man, grinding his teeth.
“But you’re not in a position to condemn me, are you?”
In that instant.
The smile vanished from the White Mask Man’s lips.
“You’re the same, aren’t you?”
He approached Mephistopheles, twisting his mouth into a grin.
“You too… can crush thousands, tens of thousands of lives without hesitation for your own purposes, can’t you?”
“….”
“It’s the same. You and me.”
The White Mask Man turned his body toward the coffin, a smile returning to his lips.
Mephistopheles, whose lips had been moving as if to say something, eventually sighed and shook his head.
“So, what do you intend to do with the Frost Witch’s corpse?”
“It seems Dale Han and Raneez Malam have quite a special bond, don’t they? There were even rumors recently that she voluntarily became his exclusive Maid.”
“How did you…?”
“My eyes and ears are everywhere across the Continent.”
“….”
Mephistopheles narrowed his eyes, studying the White Mask Man.
Just as he said, the Eternal Order’s intelligence-gathering capabilities were so superior that even Mephistopheles, who prided himself on being the best in that regard, had to concede.
Especially when it concerned matters related to the Hero Academy.
“So what does Dale Han and Raneez Malam’s good relationship have to do with this matter?”
“I told you.”
The White Mask Man moved forward with a bright smile playing across his face.
“Humans awaken when they experience profound spiritual trauma.”
“…?”
Moving slowly, the White Mask Man plucked a single chrysanthemum from the Garden.
Petals gleaming pure white as fresh snow.
The White Mask Man approached the coffin containing the corpse of the Frost Witch, chrysanthemum in hand.
Tap.
After placing the chrysanthemum upon the corpse.
He placed his hand upon Seria Malam’s forehead.
Uuuuuung!
The White Mask Man’s stigma blazed with an intense emerald light.
And then.
“Haah.”
With a soft exhalation, the Frost Witch’s eyes opened.
“…!”
Mephistopheles stared at the Frost Witch with eyes wide as saucers.
“W-wait. How is this… how is this even possible?”
Resurrecting the dead.
Witnessing a divine miracle before his very eyes, he trembled with awe.
“Where… where am I?”
Rising from the coffin, the Frost Witch—Seria Malam—gazed around with hollow, vacant eyes, as though her soul had been stripped away.
“You’re in my Garden.”
“…And you are?”
“The one who brought you back to life.”
“I… why am I here… ugh!”
Seria furrowed her brow and clutched her head.
“Ah, ahhh… no, no! Lanez… what have I done…!”
Despair flooded into her previously vacant eyes.
“You’re disoriented because you’ve just been resurrected.”
The White Mask Man smiled wickedly and placed his hand on Seria’s shoulder.
“It’s alright. You’ll forget it all soon enough.”
“Forget…?”
“Yes.”
Pat, pat.
The White Mask Man gently tapped Seria’s back and shoulder.
“…Ah.”
The light of despair in Seria’s eyes faded once more into emptiness.
“Oh, right. Now that I think about it.”
The White Mask Man gazed into Seria’s vacant eyes and smiled radiantly.
“Don’t you want to see her?”
“…W-who?”
“Lanez. Your daughter.”
“L-Lanez….”
Seria Malam nodded, her eyes hollow and vacant.
“I… want to see her….”
“Yes, I understand.”
The White Mask Man caressed Seria Malam’s cheek and nodded.
“I’ll arrange for you to meet soon.”
* * *
Winter break had begun, and the Candidate Program students had drained from the Hero Academy like a receding tide.
The Dormitory Corridor, which would normally have been bustling with Candidate Program students rising early for morning classes, now lay silent as if we had stepped into an abandoned, lifeless building.
“Mm.”
Though I had spent my school life entirely unaffected by the break, there was something mysteriously magical about those two words—”winter break”—that stirred the soul.
Rising later than usual, I stretched languidly while still lying in bed.
“Ah, what a good sleep after so long… hm?”
Soft.
A tender sensation against my chest.
The pleasant weight pressing down upon me.
‘Surely not.’
Whoosh.
I pulled back the blanket covering me, and there was Lanez, her head resting on my chest, sleeping peacefully with soft, rhythmic breaths.
“…Lanez.”
“Mmm. You’re awake, Dale?”
Lanez opened her drowsy eyes and smiled brightly.
“…Sigh.”
I exhaled deeply and gave Lanez’s waist a light pat as she straddled me.
“Now that I’m up, you should get up too.”
“Hehe. But first….”
Lanez leaned down and pressed her lips against mine.
“Mm….”
The soft sensation of her tongue dancing inside my mouth.
After kissing for a while, Lanez rose with a radiant smile.
“I’ll have breakfast ready soon, so just wait a moment~♬”
“….”
Perhaps it was the thought that we would have the entire winter break alone together.
Lanez hummed cheerfully as she made her way to the kitchen, her figure practically floating on air.
‘Well, at least she doesn’t stay over completely.’
Honestly, when I realized we would be alone at the Academy, I had worried about how far Lanez might push things.
But she still made a habit of returning to her own room when it grew late, only to come back again early the next morning.
‘I’m not sure whether to call this good or bad.’
In any case.
Contrary to my worries, I was spending a rather peaceful(?) winter break with Lanez.
“Breakfast is ready, Dale!”
“Thanks.”
After a light breakfast of freshly toasted bread and salad, I quickly changed into my training clothes.
“Are you heading straight to the Party House again today?”
“Yeah. I’ve finally found a way to handle the power of the Tree of Creation.”
Recently, I’d been throwing myself into training so intensely that I spent nearly the entire day at the Party Training Facility.
“Oh, um… can I come along too?”
“You too, Lanez?”
“I-if I’d be in the way, I won’t follow!”
In the blink of an eye, Lanez—who had been radiating the aura of a novice nun just moments before—shriveled up like a raisin.
I stifled a chuckle and shook my head.
“Who said you’d be in the way? If anything, having Lanez help with my training would be even better.”
“R-really?”
“Yeah.”
“Hehe. Thank goodness….”
Lanez let out a relieved breath and broke into a radiant smile, apparently having worried that she might hinder my training.
“You’ll be there until evening, right?”
“Yeah. That’s the plan for now.”
“Then wait just a moment! I’ll make a lunch box right away!”
“We can just buy something from the Convenience Store.”
Even during the break, the Academy’s Convenience Store was operating normally.
“No way! You need a lunch box to maintain your stamina… I mean, your nutrition!”
“….”
Lanez.
What exactly are you planning to put in that lunch box?

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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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