The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 266

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 266. Intermission – Reunion
The day before the new semester began.
The Party House had gathered all its members who had scattered during the winter break.
A heartwarming reunion with Party members I hadn’t seen in over a month was supposed to be-
“Well then. Why don’t you tell us? What exactly happened during winter break?”
-instead unfolding in a tense atmosphere where violence could erupt at any moment.
“Well… you see…”
I recalled the events from winter break one by one.
The first thing that happened was definitely…
“I met Lanez’s mother.”
“Lanez’s mother…?”
“Wait. If that’s Lanez’s mother… isn’t she the Archbishop of the Frozen Wastes?”
Iris and Yurina widened their eyes in surprise.
“That… I, I must have forgotten… if she’s Lanez’s mother… back then she…”
“Yes.”
The Archbishop of the Frozen Wastes had passed away long ago.
“…Don’t tell me you’re saying a dead person came back to life?”
Sophia furrowed her brow as if unable to comprehend.
“Precisely.”
“But how is that even…?”
“It was the work of the Eternal Cult Leader.”
I calmly recounted what happened that day.
As the story unfolded, the Party members’ expressions cycled through shock, anger, and sorrow.
“Lanez should have contacted us if something like that happened.”
“Right! We would have dropped everything and rushed over!”
“Why didn’t you contact us this whole time? From what you’re saying, it sounds like this happened not long after winter break started.”
Iris, Yurina, and Sophia pressed Lanez for answers.
“U, uh…”
Lanez, who had been sitting on the sofa munching on the yokan that Berald had brought, suddenly flinched as all eyes turned toward her.
She trembled like a small rodent caught in a downpour.
“If I contacted you… you were all training so hard, I didn’t want to be a burden… so, I didn’t.”
“A burden? What do you think we are? We don’t think this is a burden at all!”
Iris furrowed her brow in frustration.
At her sincere rebuke, a faint smile appeared on Lanez’s lips.
“It’s okay. Besides, Dale comforted me plenty.”
Lanez’s eyes, turning toward me, were brimming with affection.
“…Comforted?”
In contrast, Iris’s expression grew noticeably rigid.
“Hmm. How exactly did you comfort her, Dale?”
“Well, that was…”
Lanez, who had been hesitantly moving her lips, clenched both fists tightly and cried out.
“…I, I can’t say it.”
Lanez covered her face with both hands and shook her head vigorously.
“….”
Without her needing to speak, her reaction was painfully obvious, and a heavy silence descended over the Party members.
“Dale….”
“Uh, yeah?”
“So you’re saying you took advantage of Lanez being in shock from losing Mother again, using the excuse of comforting her?”
“That’s not….”
To be precise, it wasn’t I who initiated contact—it was Lanez.
“…How despicable.”
A contemptuous gaze fixed upon me.
“‘No.'”
I’m innocent.
“Sigh. Well, it’s fine. After all, Lanez has been the only one unable to connect with Dale until now.”
Iris exhaled deeply, brushing her hair back.
“So then.”
Iris glared at me with fierce, gleaming eyes.
“What about the Empress?”
“That’s….”
“From what I heard from my sister, the Empress who previously proposed to welcome Dale as her ‘consort’ came to the Academy. Is that right?”
“W-well, yes, but….”
“Hmm.”
Iris sat beside me and crossed her legs.
She kept her hand on her thigh, her eyes narrowing slightly.
“So, what happened between you and that Empress?”
“Nothing really….”
“I’ll explain that!”
Lanez jumped to her feet and shouted.
Lanez placed her hand on her hip and boldly revealed everything that had transpired between me and Camelia.
“Dale dressed up incredibly beautifully following the Empress’s orders and went out to receive a reward!”
“What.”
Wait, Lanez.
It seems like a lot was omitted in the middle there.
“Look, look at this! It’s a photo of Dale dressed up!”
Lanez activated her Hero Watch and showed me a photograph from when I was disguised.
A photo of me with the appearance of some Republic conglomerate heir thanks to Juliet’s magic(?)
“‘No.'”
Why does Lanez have this photo?
“Hmm! I went to find Juliet and threatened… I mean, persuaded her to get this photo!”
“….”
Iris and Yurina stared at the photograph of me with expressions of utter shock.
“Dale… What on earth….”
“Wait. It’s a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding? What misunderstanding? You received orders from Camelia, didn’t you?”
“Well, that part is true….”
“So when you never bothered to dress up even on our dates, you suddenly got all dolled up?”
“That… that’s not exactly false either.”
“Then you did receive a reward from Camelia?”
“That too….”
“Then what exactly is the misunderstanding?”
“….”
No.
I’m genuinely being wronged here.
“And I heard you also visited where Professor Elisha was doing her secluded training?”
“Ah, u-um. Yeah. I just got back after parting ways with Professor Elisha.”
“Hmm. Your sister mentioned you visited Professor Elisha’s location a few days ago… What were you doing there for several days?”
“….”
“You can be honest with me.”
Iris flashed a bright smile while tucking her thumb between her index and middle fingers.
“You did it, didn’t you?”
That… well, that hand gesture is rather crude, Saint.
“So if we summarize everything Dale did over winter break….”
Iris’s eyes grew progressively colder.
“You comforted Lanez, received a reward from Camelia, and then enjoyed secret meetings with Professor Elisha?”
“That… what?”
A lot of details were definitely left out.
But hearing it like that, she’s not entirely wrong.
“Hohoho.”
The dry laughter spilling from Iris’s lips sent chills down my spine.
“Everyone, let’s save the joyful reunion party for later… Would you mind stepping out for a moment?”
Iris turned to regard the other party members gathered in the Rest Room, her beautiful eyes radiating a smile.
At the murderous aura emanating from her gaze, the party members silently nodded and rose from their seats.
All except one.
“Ah, Iris! I have things to talk about with Dale too!”
Yurina jumped up from her seat and cried out.
“Yurina, tomorrow….”
“Tomorrow is when the new semester starts!”
“Ah.”
Iris let out a resigned sigh.
“Understood then. Yurina will stay here with us. Perhaps….”
Iris turned to look at me with her eyes narrowed to slits.
“You and Dale have quite a lot of ‘conversation’ to catch up on.”
“….”
I’m frightened, Saint.
“Ah, well then, I should too!”
Lanez raised her hand with sparkling eyes, but—
“You spent the entire break with Dale, didn’t you?”
“Ugh.”
“And just the two of you.”
“That, well….”
“You know what I’m getting at, don’t you?”
“H-hehe.”
Lanez, who had been shuffling her feet and turning toward me, soon let out a deep sigh and nodded her head.
“Fine, fine. I… see you tomorrow, Dale.”
Lanez turned away, leaving behind an ominous parting: if we can meet again.
Thud.
With the sound of the door closing, only Iris, Yurina, and I remained in the Rest Room.
It was Iris who broke the awkward silence that had settled over the Rest Room.
“Well then. A month… no, it’s already been more than a month.”
Iris rose to her feet with a faint smile.
“Do you know how much I’ve wanted to see you, Dale?”
“I… wanted to see you too.”
“Hmm. Yet you seemed quite adept at touching this woman and that woman.”
“Ugh.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter. I was the one who decided to train apart from you for a month.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Hehe. Still apologetic, I see?”
Iris turned toward Yurina with a beautiful smile in her eyes.
“By the way, Yurina, did you bring what I asked for earlier?”
“Y-yes. I did bring it, but… surely you’re not planning to put it on now?”
“When else would I put it on?”
“But….”
Yurina’s cheeks flushed as she glanced between me and Iris.
“Sigh. Fine, I understand.”
“Dale, please wait here for a moment. We’ll change and be right back.”
Iris and Yurina left the Rest Room.
I waited for the two of them with half anticipation and half anxiety, wondering what kind of outfit they would return in—for five minutes.
Click.
The door to the Rest Room opened carefully.
The door swung open, and what entered was….
“…Ah.”
Iris in white stockings and a garter belt, contrasted against Yurina in black stockings and a garter belt.
I’d seen Yurina dressed like that before, but witnessing both of them together like this—the impact wasn’t doubled, it was squared.
“How is it? Yurina mentioned before that you really enjoyed it, so I prepared this.”
“I… I… well… I tried to stop her.”
Iris approached with a seductive smile playing at her lips, while Yurina averted her gaze, her face flushed crimson.
They say in cooking that the combination of sweetness and saltiness is unparalleled.
My heart thundered violently at their contrasting reactions.
“Ideally, I wanted to show you this when we were alone somewhere with a better atmosphere….”
Iris leaned her body close and exhaled an excited breath.
Haah.
Her breath tickling my cheek carried an unmistakable thrill.
“It’s been so long since I’ve seen you, Dale… I can’t hold back.”
“I… I too.”
Yurina, who had been hesitating as she gauged the moment, quickly leaned against the other side and wrapped her arms around me.
“While you were gone… I held back so much.”
Her eyes, glistening with moisture, fixed on me.
“….”
Two lovers leaning against me from both sides.
Soft skin felt through the thin fabric of their lingerie.
Heated breaths mingled with whispers that tickled my ears.
‘Hah.’
How many men in this world could maintain their composure in such a situation?
‘Looking at their expressions… this won’t be over in just one night.’
Tomorrow was the first day of the new semester.
‘If I skip the first day of the new semester….’
For a moment, my dismal grades flashed before my eyes.
‘Ah, forget it.’
What’s the harm in missing just one day?

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————