The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 303

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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 303. Epilogue – Graduation (1)
The Party House located within Hero Academy.
The three-story Party House, which was larger than the mansions of most high-ranking nobles, had originally been built for multiple Candidate Program parties to use simultaneously, but now only a single party occupied the entire facility.
One might have expected complaints about how unfair it was for just one party to monopolize such vast space.
Yet neither the faculty within the Academy nor any of the Candidates voiced a single objection.
And for good reason—the party currently using the Party House was where the heroes who had made the greatest contribution to saving the Academy during the ‘Eternal Order Incident’ approximately a year and a half ago now resided.
The third floor of the Party House.
Iris placed her hand cautiously on the door.
Click.
The room that had once served as Berald and Sophia’s magical research laboratory no longer carried the stale scent of alchemical reagents, but instead emanated a subtle fragrance of herbs known to aid in fatigue recovery and mental stability.
“Did you sleep well, Dale?”
A greeting tinged with fragile hope.
But.
“….”
No answer came from Dale, who lay sleeping upon the bed.
“Ah….”
A dry sigh escaped between her lips.
By now she should have grown accustomed to it, yet why did her heart ache so unbearably?
Iris approached the bedside with a bitter smile, drawing near to Dale’s sleeping form.
“…Dale.”
Slowly, she reached out and brushed aside his ash-gray hair.
Memories surfaced naturally.
A year and a half ago.
The conversations I had shared with Dale just as the battle with the Eternal Cult Leader had concluded.
-The power of the Primordial Flame has grown far too strong. To restore balance… I need time.
After the battle ended, Dale spoke with evident anguish, clutching at his chest.
-I will sleep for the coming weeks… or perhaps months if it takes that long.
Around his body, ash-gray flames began to tint crimson in places.
-Don’t make that face. I will surely return.
Even as he was engulfed in fiercely burning flames, Dale gazed at her trembling form and smiled brightly.
And.
Time passed.
Continuously, endlessly.
“…Liar.”
Drop.
A single transparent tear rolled down Iris’s cheek.
“You said you would return.”
At first, it had been bearable.
Because Dale had promised to return.
Because I believed he would surely come back.
I helped my party members rebuild the Academy, which had been reduced to half-ruins, and after the work was complete, I attended classes diligently.
Autumn passed into winter, and I graduated from the Academy safely, but.
He never opened his eyes until the graduation ceremony ended.
“You said it would be fine even if it took a few months at most.”
After more than a year had passed since he fell asleep, an ominous premonition never left my mind.
What if Dale never woke up at all?
Seeds of such anxiety grew in everyone’s hearts.
Yurina showed the most severe reaction among them.
Yurina insisted on waking Dale by force, but was stopped by Elisha and driven out of the Academy.
After that, I heard she returned to her family home and secluded herself in her room, refusing to go outside, and because we hadn’t been in contact for several months, I had no idea how she was doing.
It wasn’t just Yurina.
Lanez, Elisha, and Camelia too.
And Iris herself.
As the time Dale had mentioned gradually passed, we all began to crumble rapidly.
“Did you know, Dale?”
Iris caressed Dale’s cheek with sorrowful eyes, though he could not answer.
“How much of a void your absence has left in our lives?”
The mere fact that Dale was gone.
Her life, which had been filled with happiness, transformed into a terrible nightmare.
“Ha ha, but I’m grateful that Lanez is here.”
It was truly unexpected.
Among the lovers, it was Lanez who displayed the most composed demeanor.
—Dale will come back, he will. I’m certain of it.
Lanez spoke with unwavering conviction as she caressed the sleeping Dale’s chest.
—Because even now, I can feel this warmth radiating from him.
Though Lanez’s face bore an indelible sadness and anxiety as she spoke, she never succumbed to “losing control.”
“It’s unexpected, isn’t it? The old Lanez could never have imagined doing something like this.”
Iris offered a faint smile and continued her quiet murmuring to herself.
As if she were having a conversation with Dale.
“I heard Juliet opened a branch of Heaven’s Door after graduation and is working there as manager… I wish I could visit it with you, Dale.”
“Albert took on the position of branch director of the Hoover Guild within Valhalla City. Hehe. When I visited him recently, he looked so dignified.”
“It’s been quite a while since I last met with Camilla. Oh right, Camilla was officially recognized as a successor of the Sword of Holy Nation and is now traveling with Johan. Hehe. We were always together since childhood, but… it feels strange somehow.”
“Did you know that Berald became the top graduate this year? He originally couldn’t use any magic besides magic bullets, but Sophia trained him so harshly that he can now use other spells to some degree, or so I heard.”
A soft voice echoed through the room.
Moisture gradually began to mix into the lonely murmuring.
“So please… wake up soon.”
Drip, drip.
Tears rolled down her cheeks and dampened Dale’s hand.
“I want to talk with you, Dale.”
No answer came in return.
“I want to eat delicious food together, go out and have fun, and kiss you so much.”
There was no response.
“You remember the promise we made before, right? We said we’d get married after graduation.”
There was no response.
“We’d have a beautiful wedding with everyone’s blessings, find a house to live in together, and have children… you said we’d do all that.”
There was no response.
“Ha, haha.”
A dry laugh escaped between my lips.
Iris felt her chest throbbing and gently touched it.
The overwhelming fullness was palpable even through the priestess robes.
Suddenly remembering something from the past, a faint smile bloomed on Iris’s lips.
“Hehe. Now that I think about it, Dale really did love my chest, didn’t he? If you wake up right now, I’ll give you the privilege of being able to touch it whenever and wherever you want for the rest of your life!”
As expected.
There was no response….
“Really?”
“…Huh?”
“You won’t take it back or anything later?”
A longed-for voice reached my ears.
Iris’s eyes widened as she suddenly lifted her lowered head.
What appeared before her was….
“-Ah.”
Dale wearing a faint smile.
“Dale….”
“I told you.”
Dale grinned widely and wiped away the tears from Iris’s eyes with his hand.
“I’d definitely come back.”
“….”
Iris’s lips trembled.
“You, what….”
“Huh?”
“You made me wait so long, you bastard!!!”
Thwack!
Iris’s fist struck Dale’s face roughly.
“Ugh!”
“Do you know how much I worried?! Huh?! This, this…! Sob….”
Her eyes grew wet again, rendering her earlier tears meaningless.
“Waaahhhhh…!”
Cradled against Dale’s chest, Iris wept like a child, her sobs uncontrollable.
“…I’m sorry.”
Dale gently stroked the head of Iris nestled against his chest.
“Sigh… Anyway, your body is fully recovered now, right? You won’t need to sleep for months again, will you?”
“No. That won’t happen anymore.”
After entering the Mental Realm.
I had desperately struggled to control the raging Primordial Flame.
As a result, I didn’t merely achieve ‘balance’ between the Primordial Flame and the Tree of Creation—I advanced one step further.
“I’ve now completely fused the power of the Tree of Creation and the power of the Primordial Flame into one.”
“You… fused the two powers?”
“Yes.”
With those words, I summoned ashen flames above my palm.
Whoosh.
Ashen flames blazed across my open hand.
Since I was holding Iris close, her skin touched the burning ashen fire.
“…It’s not hot at all?”
“I can now completely control the power.”
Fusing the two powers into one brought about several changes.
But the most important changes were two in number.
One was that no matter how much I drew upon the Primordial Flame’s power, I no longer had to fear ‘runaway’.
And the other was.
“I can now stop the blessing of Resurrection if I wish.”
“…!”
Iris’s eyes widened.
“Then… does that mean Dale is no longer immortal?”
“Ah, of course I have it activated now. I can turn it off someday in the distant future… after a very, very long time has passed.”
If the day ever comes when I wish to end this long journey of life and place a period at its end.
Then I can finally turn off the blessing of Resurrection.
“…Dale!”
Whoosh!
Iris embraced Dale with tears of joy streaming down her face.
She had been deeply worried about this all along.
What would become of Dale, left alone after so much time passed and she, Yurina, and all the others he loved eventually died.
If he could turn the blessing of Resurrection on and off as he wished, there would be no need to fear leaving him trapped in eternal life.
“I’m so relieved, truly.”
“…Yes.”
Dale nodded with a faint smile.
“Mm.”
“Don’t overexert yourself. Rest a bit longer.”
“No, I’m fine. My body feels stiff, so I want to move around.”
I rose from the bed and approached the window.
Sunlight I hadn’t seen in so long.
As I opened the window, cold air brushed against my cheek.
“By the way, it seems like the School Plaza is getting quite noisy. Is something happening?”
“Ah, the graduation ceremony is tomorrow.”
“Graduation ceremony?”
Huh.
So the graduation ceremony was tomorrow.
“Wow, so I’ve been asleep for almost six months?”
“…Pardon?”
“Well, at least I woke up before the graduation ceremony. Oh, come to think of it, I didn’t attend any classes, but they’ll still let me graduate, right?”
I wasn’t just any student—I was a hero who saved the Academy, no, all of humanity.
They wouldn’t hold me back for insufficient attendance.
“Um… Dale.”
“Hm? What is it?”
“You weren’t asleep for six months… you were asleep for about a year and a half.”
“What?”
Dale’s eyes widened in shock.
“A year and a half? I was asleep for a year and a half?”
“Sigh. You had no sense of how much time had passed.”
“…I thought only a few months had gone by at most.”
Having spent so long in the Mental Realm, my sense of time had become distorted.
‘So I made them wait for a year and a half?’
Thinking of how much worry and anxiety they must have endured during that time, my heart grew heavy.
“I’m sorry for making you wait so long.”
“That’s all that matters.”
Iris approached Dale and kissed him lightly.
“Wait, then what about Iris and Yurina now…?”
“Yes, they already graduated a year ago.”
“…I see.”
Wait, hold on.
“Then what about me…?”

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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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