The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 26

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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 26. The Ant Nest (1)
Saturday morning.
I woke earlier than usual and, after completing my now-routine mana cultivation—though no one would ever mistake it for such—I stood before the mirror.
“Hmm.”
A thought that arose unbidden each time I gazed upon my reflection.
“I’m not so bad, am I?”
I tilted my face at various angles, a satisfied smile playing at the corners of my lips.
Of course, some lingering voice of conscience whispered the impertinent question, “What about compared to Yuren?” but I chose to dismiss it lightly.
“My hair looks sharp too, after yesterday’s trim.”
I’d managed to borrow a presentable outfit for the outing through my dear ‘friend’—at no cost, naturally.
‘A date with Iris.’
In my past life, I’d dated her before, but never as a Candidate like I was now.
“Time to head out.”
Brimming with anticipation, I made my way to our meeting place.
Waiting there ahead of me was Iris, dressed elegantly in the priestess robes of the Holy Kingdom, and….
“What’s with that look?”
“….”
Camilla Bediche, fully armored as though marching off to war itself.
“Why are you here?”
“Why am I here? To escort the Saint, obviously.”
“…Sigh.”
Right.
It made perfect sense—there was no way Iris would be allowed to venture outside the Academy alone.
Especially not to the Ant Nest, infamous throughout Valhalla City as the district with the worst security.
“Hmph. You weren’t actually foolish enough to think you’d get to go out alone with the Saint, were you?”
Camilla Bediche fixed me with a fierce glare, arms crossed.
“Ugh… why did you have to show up this morning of all times….”
Beside her stood Iris, her shoulders slumped in dejection.
From the look of it, she’d been caught red-handed trying to sneak out without Camilla Bediche’s knowledge.
“Why, you ask? I’ve already told you, Saint, that you absolutely cannot venture outside the Academy without an escort!”
“But Dale is here.”
“Ha! How could some lowly Candidate possibly protect the Saint….”
Camilla Bediche’s expression hardened as she glanced back at me with a scoff.
She seemed to recall that time she’d failed to even draw her blade against me before being sent packing.
Camilla Bediche cleared her throat awkwardly and turned her head away from my gaze.
“Ahem. In any case, if word got out that the Saint had ventured outside alone, it would cause me considerable trouble.”
“Fine. Come along with us, Camilla.”
“By the way, if you’re heading to the Ant Nest… are you going to ‘that place’?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Sigh. Saint, you really are incorrigible.”
Camilla exhaled a long sigh and shook her head in disapproval, yet her expression seemed far more relaxed than her gesture suggested.
“Come on~ you like going there too, don’t you?”
“Hmph. Who said I like it?”
“Oh please, you get all excited the moment we arrive.”
“That’s, that’s never happened!”
“Hmm~ is that so?”
The two women exchanged banter as if they’d visited this place many times before.
“Where exactly are we going?”
“Hmm? The Saint didn’t tell you?”
“No.”
“I see.”
Camilla glanced at Iris as if asking permission to speak.
Iris shook her head lightly with a playful expression.
“Let’s keep it as a surprise for when we get there.”
A surprise, she said.
‘Where on earth could it be?’
Even with my memories from my past life, I couldn’t begin to guess where she intended to take me.
‘Well, I’ll find out once we get there.’
Surely she wasn’t planning to seek out the Demon God Church Hideout like I had and venture into the Ant Nest.
“Oh, before we go, there’s something we need to buy.”
“What is it?”
I tilted my head in curiosity, and Iris smiled brightly.
“Instant noodles.”
“…?”
And so.
My first date (?) with my former lover after my rebirth had begun.
* * *
The Ant Nest—the largest slum on the Continent, located within Valhalla City.
Being the largest slum on the Continent, the Ant Nest was divided into areas ranging from worst to second-worst.
The place Iris wanted to go was in the outer regions of the Ant Nest, which fell into the ‘second-worst’ category.
It was where an orphanage operated with support from the Holy Kingdom was located.
“Kyaaaaaaah!”
“Sister Iris!”
“Everyone! Come quick! The sisters are here!”
“Huff, huff… Sister Camilla… could you maybe just grab my hair and give my bottom one smack?”
“We thought you’d forgotten about us!”
The moment we stepped through the orphanage entrance, children came rushing toward us like hyenas spotting prey.
Their eyes sparkled with undisguised excitement and joy.
“You brats! Didn’t I tell you to stay quiet in your rooms?!”
From behind the rushing children, an elderly priest barked harshly.
“Gasp, the priest is here!”
“Everyone run!”
The children who had swarmed around scattered like ants caught in a downpour.
“Sigh. Really….”
An elderly man dressed in the robes of the Seven Star Church approached Iris and made the sign of the cross.
“My apologies, Holy Maiden. My instruction has been lacking, and this situation….”
“Hehe. No, no, Priest Antonio. The children look so healthy and lively—it’s actually wonderful to see!”
Iris shook her head with a gentle smile.
“How have you been all this time?”
“Haha, of course well. Despite my appearance, I’m still brimming with vigor like a young man.”
Priest Antonio rolled up the loose sleeves of his robes and grinned widely.
His boast about overflowing vigor was no exaggeration—between the rolled-up sleeves, Antonio’s arms were corded with lean, disciplined muscle like those of a seasoned warrior.
“I apologize for not visiting more often.”
“Not at all, Camilla. The fact that you two visit occasionally means the world to this old man. But… who might this person be?”
Antonio’s gaze turned toward me.
“I’m Dale Han, taking the same classes as these two.”
“As you know, Priest Antonio, third-year students have far more party training. Dale here will be forming a ‘permanent’ party with us going forward.”
What?
Since when was I permanent?
“Ah, I see.”
Antonio’s eyes gleamed with interest as he regarded me.
“In all my years, the Holy Maiden has never brought another person here before… How remarkable.”
“Dale is someone trustworthy.”
“Hmm?”
Antonio tilted his head slightly at Iris’s unhesitating response.
A knowing smile crossed Antonio’s lips as he gazed at Iris with an amused expression.
“Well now… living this long, I suppose even I get to see such days.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
“The little girl I’ve watched since childhood has grown so splendidly, and now she’s bringing a man along….”
“Wait, wait! If you say it like that, it sounds like I’ve brought a marriage prospect!”
Iris let out a sharp cry, her face flushed crimson.
“Since childhood…?”
“Ah, I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Antonio, and I had a small connection with the Holy Maiden before she became the ‘Holy Maiden.'”
The elderly priest made the sign of the cross with dignified grace, and an air of profound wisdom and experience emanated from him.
‘Priest Antonio, then.’
This was another name I had never heard in my previous life.
‘Iris rarely spoke about her past.’
Even when I probed gently, she would only offer a bittersweet smile and change the subject.
She deliberately avoided speaking of those matters altogether.
‘Here I am, supposedly regressed, yet I know nothing but what’s foreign to me.’
I shook my head with a self-deprecating smile, but truthfully, I wasn’t in a bad mood at all.
Things my past self never knew.
Sights I’d never witnessed.
Stories I’d never heard.
Each time I learned something new, I felt the vivid reality of living a new life.
“Please, all three of you, come inside the orphanage. Even though it’s spring, the weather is still quite chilly.”
Antonio entered the orphanage with a benevolent smile.
I turned to Iris and asked.
“So this is where you wanted to come?”
“Yes, that’s right. I’ve been coming here occasionally with Camilla Bediche to help care for the children. I thought it would be nice if you came along this time, Dale.”
Iris watched me cautiously.
“Did you… perhaps feel disappointed?”
“Huh? About what?”
“It’s not really the kind of place you’d take time out of your weekend to visit.”
“Well…”
She had a point.
When she first asked me to go out, I’d imagined somewhere quite different from this place.
“I think it’s nice though.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah. Actually, it’s a somewhat familiar place for me too.”
“A familiar place?”
“I grew up in the Public Republic Orphanage.”
“…Oh.”
Though it wasn’t as cheerful and joyful as this place.
I too was a natural orphan who grew up in an orphanage.
‘Though I barely remember those days now.’
My memories of Hero Academy were already fading, so there was no way I’d remember anything from before that.
“So you were from an orphanage too, Dale.”
“…Too?”
“Oh, no. It’s nothing. Never mind. Anyway, let’s hurry inside. The children must be waiting, right?”
“Got it.”
Following Iris inside, I heard the cheerful chatter of children.
“Camilla! Let’s practice sword fighting! Sword fighting!”
“I want to do it too!”
“Ahh… Sister Camilla… Please punish me with your magnificent blade…!”
“This time I’m definitely going to win!”
“Now, wait. Everyone calm down…!”
Camilla Bediche stood surrounded by children, her expression troubled.
Looking bewildered, she glanced around before picking up a wooden stick from the corner of the orphanage and opened her mouth.
“Sigh. I suppose there’s no helping it. Everyone, come outside.”
“Woohoo!”
The children rushed outside after Camilla Bediche in a clamor.
I watched with interest as the children followed in Camilla Bediche’s wake.
“The kids follow Camilla Bediche better than I expected.”
“Hehe. She acts stern on the surface, but she absolutely loves playing with the children.”
“I can see that.”
I chuckled softly, observing Camilla Bediche as she sparred with the children in swordplay.
“Ugh!”
“You’re too fast!”
“Kyaaah!”
The children rushed at her with what looked like a decent encirclement formation, as if they’d learned it somewhere, but there was no way they could actually fight against Camilla Bediche.
In the blink of an eye, Camilla Bediche subdued all the children and opened her mouth with a smug grin.
“Hehe. Go drink more of your mother’s milk, you little brats!”
Wait.
Hold on.
If she says something like that here….
“But we don’t have a mother!”
“Sniff… Can we drink big sister’s milk instead?”
“What would mother’s milk taste like?”
“…Gasp!”
Only then did Camilla Bediche realize her catastrophic slip of the tongue, cold sweat pouring down her face as she frantically shook her head.
“N-No! That’s not what I meant! I-It’s just that…!”
“Ehehehe!”
“Big sister is so cute!”
The children burst into giggles watching Camilla Bediche’s flustered state.
Just from seeing their bright smiles, it wasn’t difficult to imagine how much effort and love had gone into creating this orphanage.
“By the way… Is that older brother a swordsman too?”
One child pointed at the sword at my waist and asked.
I approached the child and nodded.
“Yeah, that’s right.”
Well, there’s more I can do than just swordplay, but I’ll call myself a swordsman for now.
Let’s just say I’m a swordsman here.
“Then… who would win if big sister and the older brother fought?”
A question brimming with innocent curiosity.
From the child’s perspective, it was a thoughtless question thrown out casually, but its impact was considerable.
“Of course big sister Camilla Bediche would win!”
“That’s a question?”
“Big sister is going to be a hero and become the Sword of Holy Nation later!”
“But still, that older brother looks really strong too?”
“Yeah, yeah! Besides, this is the first time Iris has ever brought someone here, right? There’s no way he’s just an ordinary person!”
The orphanage courtyard descended into chaos in an instant.
“….”
“….”
Watching the children divided into opposing factions engaged in fierce argument, Camilla Bediche and I sensed it immediately.
‘This.’
There was no way out.

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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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