The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 276

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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 276. Interlude – A Wish (2)
Silence descended upon the room.
In that deathly stillness, Berald finally spoke.
“Ah… w-well, what, what is this? I-I’m sorry for the intrusion!”
“W-w-wait just a moment! It’s a misunderstanding, Berald!”
“Not at all! Love takes many forms, after all!”
“It’s a misunderstanding, you idiot!”
Crack.
Iris hurled the whip she’d been holding straight at Berald.
Berald caught the riding whip deftly and turned toward Sophia with a slight cough.
“What are you looking at?”
“Ah, nothing. Nothing at all.”
“Hmph. Give that to me.”
“What exactly do you intend to use this for…?”
“Tsk. Hand it over, won’t you?”
Berald passed the whip over with a crumpled expression.
“Hmm… interesting.”
Sophia examined the whip with curiosity before suddenly swinging it toward Berald.
Snap.
Since she hadn’t put much force behind it, the sound was gentle—like a soft pat against skin.
The only problem was that the source of that sound was Berald’s rear end.
“W-what are you doing…!”
“Ah, so that’s how it feels.”
Sophia’s senior nodded with sparkling eyes.
She elbowed Iris in the ribs and grinned.
“Thanks for teaching me something useful.”
“T-that’s not what this is about, senior!”
“My, then I can keep this?”
“Y-yes, take it! And these handcuffs too!”
Iris unlocked the shackles from my wrists and handed them to Sophia.
Sophia hummed cheerfully as she collected the handcuffs and whip.
“…Ah.”
Berald’s expression darkened.
His resentful gaze turned toward me.
What, why.
This is all because of you, brother!
I was the one tied up, so why am I being blamed?
Weren’t you enjoying it too, brother?
I was not, you fool.
The body doesn’t lie, even if the mouth denies it.
Just take it.
While my deep conversation (?) with Berald continued.
“Berald. Let’s go.”
“B-but….”
“Looking at you, it doesn’t seem like you came back injured or anything, so there’s no reason to stay longer, right?”
“Well, that’s true, but….”
“Stop whining and follow me quickly. I want to ‘experiment’ with something.”
“Gasp! W-wait! Ugh!”
Berald being dragged away by Sophia.
As I watched his retreating figure grow distant, I offered a silent prayer.
“…Dale.”
“What were you two… doing?”
Yurina and Lanez approached with eyes as dark as the Abyss.
“Ahem. I should head back first then.”
Had Camilla sensed the disaster (?) about to unfold?
Camilla cleared her throat and turned away.
“Ah, C-Camilla, wait!”
“My apologies, Saint! Please stay safe!”
Camilla fled without even looking back at Iris’s call.
And so only I, Iris, Yurina, and Lanez remained in the room.
“Well then.”
“Would you explain what happened?”
Iris’s expression crumpled as the two approached with bright smiles.
* * *
“Ah, so it was something Elisha gave you.”
“I-I thought Iris had finally… o-opened her eyes.”
After an explanation accompanied by desperate effort, Yurina and Lanez nodded.
“But Dale… do you really like that sort of thing?”
“No.”
“I-I can d-do it for you, Dale!”
I don’t like it, I said.
“Don’t be shy!”
….
They weren’t listening from the start.
“Okay! Then n-next time… I-I should try too….”
“L-let me show you how I d-do it!”
“Thanks, sis.”
Professor Elisha… is this truly the future you desired?
Sigh.
As I exhaled deeply and tried to rise from the bed where I had been lying.
“Ugh.”
Overwhelming exhaustion crashed over me.
Thanks to the holy water Iris had given me earlier, the pain had vanished, but in its place, the fatigue had grown even more intense.
“It seems the holy water’s effects are beginning to take hold.”
“…That was the holy water doing this?”
“Yes. It reduces pain and enhances your body’s recovery, but in exchange, it causes severe fatigue.”
Iris quickly moved to my side and examined my condition.
“Pain? Dale, are you hurt somewhere?”
“D-Dale is hurt…?”
Yurina and Lanez scurried after Iris toward the bed.
“I’m fine. I’m just a bit tired.”
“Ah… right, Dale went straight into exploring the Demon Realm without resting after fighting that Demon Human.”
“Exploring the Demon Realm… that must have been exhausting.”
That wasn’t exactly the reason, though.
I didn’t want to bring up the “black flames” here and worry them unnecessarily.
“There’s no need to worry so much. Since Iris gave me holy water, I’ll be fine after some rest.”
“O-okay.”
“By the way, how’s the atmosphere at the Academy these days?”
“…Everyone’s in an uproar because of the Demons. There’s even talk of war coming soon.”
…War.
‘It’s not impossible.’
Normally, war with the Demons wouldn’t happen for another ten years.
But by that logic, the Three Nations Alliance wasn’t supposed to be formed for another ten years either.
‘Changes in the future don’t always bring only positive effects.’
Just as the formation of the Three Nations Alliance was accelerated by ten years, there was nothing strange about the war with the Demons being moved up by ten years as well.
‘I don’t know when or how they’ll attack.’
There was no time to be lying here so leisurely-
“Dale.”
Iris’s voice, low and firm.
“I understand your feelings, but treatment comes first right now.”
“But…”
“You’re not thinking of going back to the Demon Realm in that condition, are you?”
“No, well. I’ve already drunk the holy water.”
“Absolutely not.”
Iris shook her head firmly.
I wanted to get up and do something, but the look in Iris’s eyes made it clear she wouldn’t accept any argument.
“Iris is right, Dale. I’ll go to the Demon Realm with Professor Elisha in your place, so focus on your recovery for now.”
“I-I’ll come too!”
“Okay, got it.”
With even Yurina and Lanez saying this, I couldn’t push myself any further.
As Iris said, my priority right now was getting my body into peak condition.
“Iris, I’m counting on you to look after Dale.”
“Sure, I’ve got it.”
“W-well then, we’ll head out first! Get some good rest, Dale!”
Yurina and Lanez left the room.
Now it was just me and Iris alone in the room again.
“Dale, lie down here.”
Iris sat on the bed and patted her thighs invitingly.
“I could just lie on the bed….”
“Shh.”
“Okay.”
I obediently rested my head against Iris’s thighs.
A soft sensation transmitted through the back of my head.
Iris’s hand gently stroked my forehead.
“Merciful Seven Gods, I beseech you to care for your weary child.”
Iris’s eyes shimmered with iridescent light.
Whoooosh!
Seven-colored waves flowed through her hand into me.
The exhaustion that had weighed upon my body transformed into a pleasant drowsiness.
It felt as though I’d soaked in a hot bath before sinking into a plush bed.
Sleep washed over me as if I’d taken a sedative.
“Rest well, Dale.”
My consciousness flickered and faded with her gentle, soothing voice caressing my ears.
* * *
“Mm….”
How many hours had I slept?
I swallowed and opened my eyes.
Darkness filled the room—night had fallen without a trace of light.
“You’re awake?”
Iris’s voice reached me.
From above my head.
“…Don’t tell me you’ve been sitting like this the whole time?”
“Hehe. Watching Dale sleep so peacefully was quite entertaining, you know?”
I hastily sat up.
“How many hours did I sleep?”
“About eight hours—you slept really well.”
“…Are your thighs okay?”
“Well, they’re a bit numb. Would you like to massage them for me, Dale?”
Iris smiled mischievously.
“How are you feeling otherwise?”
“Hmm….”
I stretched lightly.
“Oh.”
My body felt as light as a feather.
“I think I’m all better?”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Actually, I feel better than usual.”
“That’s a relief.”
Iris smiled softly as she watched me do a light jump in place.
“Still, you should rest well until tomorrow. There might still be some fatigue lingering.”
“Got it.”
“Come on, lie back down.”
Tap, tap.
Iris patted my thigh.
“No, there’s no need to keep lying down now….”
“Shh. I told you that you need to rest well until tomorrow, didn’t I?”
“Ugh.”
I swallowed a groan and rested my head against her thigh.
Perhaps the fatigue hadn’t completely faded after all.
Despite having slept all day, the moment I laid my head on Iris’s thigh, drowsiness began creeping over me again.
“See? I was right, wasn’t I?”
“…You were.”
So that’s why she’s called the Saint.
Even though my body had felt light as air when I first woke up, there was clearly still fatigue remaining that even I hadn’t noticed.
“By the way, Dale, do you remember the promise you made before?”
“A promise?”
“You said you’d grant me one wish if I joined your Party.”
“Oh.”
Now that she mentioned it, I had made such a promise.
“What’s your wish?”
“Well… I’ve been thinking about this ever since I heard that Sophia got engaged to Berald.”
…Don’t tell me she wants to get married?
But marriage would be practically impossible in our current situation—
“I want to have a child.”
“Huh?”
Wait, hold on.
Marriage would actually be better than this.
“What, what, what, what, what did you just…?”
“Don’t you want to have a child, Dale?”
Iris gently caressed my cheek as she continued speaking tenderly.
“I don’t ask for much. Modestly speaking, two sons and three daughters would be just about right.”
That’s not modest at all.
“Oh, no, I mean… that is to say….”
My mind went completely blank at her sudden bombshell.
Children?
She wants to have children?
At a time like this?
“Hehe. There’s no need to be so flustered.”
“No.”
How could I possibly not be flustered?!
“I’m aware it’s unrealistic to have children right now. I haven’t even graduated yet, and the Demons’ recent movements have been suspicious.”
“Y-yes. That’s… that’s right.”
“So….”
Iris continued with a gentle smile.
“—instead, would you become my child, just for today, Dale?”
“…Pardon?”
“That’s my wish.”
No.
Wait.
If you suddenly ask me to become a child, I have no idea what I’m supposed to—
“You’ll do it for me, won’t you, Dale?”
“What do you even mean by becoming a child….”
“I believe you can do it, Dale!”
No.
Don’t hit me with dialogue straight out of some heroic epic in a situation like this.
* * *
The next day.
After fully recovering, I headed straight to Elisha’s Professor’s Office.
“Ah, are you feeling better now, Dale?”
“Goo goo.”
“?”
“Goo goo gaa.”
“…?”

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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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