The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 32

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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 32. Last Words (1)
Time flowed onward until the day of the Seal Festival arrived.
The Academy was filled with bustling energy from the early morning hours.
‘Merchants, then.’
Peering through the window of my Dormitory room, I caught sight of merchants laden with goods streaming through the School Gate.
What festival would be complete without street vendors and food stalls?
The merchants heading into the Academy moved with the grim determination of warriors marching toward battle, as if they had been counting down the days to this very moment.
‘Then again, obtaining a permit just to enter the Academy grounds was no trivial matter.’
While it was true that outsiders were permitted entry on this day, that didn’t mean the Academy carelessly admitted anyone without verified credentials.
Only after passing through rigorous identity verification and inspection of merchandise could merchants receive a permit to operate a stall within the Academy.
‘Still, once they secured that permit, they’d rake in thousands of gold coins.’
Indeed, on festival days the prices skyrocketed to absurd levels—as if the entire economy had collapsed into that of an impoverished nation—leaving merchants with substantial profits.
‘These lunatics are charging 10 gold coins for a single chicken skewer.’
In old Republic currency, that would be roughly ten thousand won.
No sane person would pay that much for a chicken skewer, but the Candidate Program students on festival day were far from what one might call ‘sane.’
“Bourgeois bastards.”
Well, perhaps not quite bourgeois.
But it was undeniable that most Candidate Program students came from wealthy backgrounds—with the exception of unusual cases like myself.
‘Stigmata are most commonly inherited through bloodlines, after all.’
In other words.
A significant portion of the Candidate Program students likely had parents who were heroes.
Not all heroes lived in wealth, but most were better off than ordinary people without stigmata.
Few Candidate Program students hesitated to open their wallets over a little price gouging on festival day.
“Still, 10 gold coins for a single chicken skewer is just too much….”
Of course, that was only true for other Candidate Program students.
I, who attended the Academy on the Republic’s state scholarship, found such indulgences far out of reach.
‘But today is different.’
In my previous life, I would never have dared to buy festival food.
Fortunately, in this life I had a very good ‘friend’ to thank for easing my gold concerns.
‘It would be a shame to spend my own money, but someone else’s? That’s another story entirely.’
I gazed at the gold I had ‘borrowed’ from my friend last night, unable to suppress a satisfied smile.
“I’ll need to bring plenty if I’m buying for everyone too.”
I tucked the thick wallet into my pocket and headed toward our meeting place.
* * *
“Ah, Dale. You’ve arrived?”
When I reached the meeting spot, I found Iris and Camilla Bediche already waiting.
“Sorry. Did you wait long?”
I had made a point of arriving fifteen minutes early, yet they were already here.
“No. I just arrived myself.”
Iris shook her head with a bright smile.
The graceful tilt of her head and the elegant sweep of her hand naturally exuded a nobility and refinement that rivaled any aristocratic lady.
‘Who would ever believe that Iris came from an orphanage?’
I was smiling contentedly at such thoughts when—
“Sigh.”
Camilla Bediche exhaled a sigh so deep it seemed the earth itself might collapse.
“I only just arrived… yet you’ve been waiting for over twenty minutes, haven’t you?”
“Wait, wait! Why are you bringing that up?!”
“Because it’s infuriating, that’s why. The Saint woke before dawn, spent over an hour fussing with makeup and selecting clothes, yet she arrives late to the meeting place compared to the Saint herself… isn’t that utterly infuriating?”
“You’re the infuriating one, Camilla!”
Iris stomped her feet and shouted indignantly, and all the nobility and elegance I’d sensed from her moments before had vanished without a trace.
“And while waiting here, you kept worrying about what posture would look graceful, what would be a good first impression, and—mmph, mmmph!”
“Kyaaaa! Stop, stop it, you wench!”
Iris, her face flushed as if steam were pouring from her head, clamped her hand over Camilla Bediche’s mouth.
Watching Iris with tears glistening in her eyes from mortification so severe it was nearly lethal, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
‘So she’s been constantly concerned about this all along.’
It was the result of her own efforts to ensure that as the ‘Saint’ of the Holy Kingdom, she remained beyond reproach.
‘As for me, my current appearance doesn’t matter.’
Rather, being able to see her true self—something I could never have witnessed in my past life—filled me with an indescribable sense of emotion.
“…Why are you smiling?”
“Ahem. It’s nothing.”
“Well… anyway! Since Dale is here too, shall we get going?”
“Are we heading straight to meet the children?”
“No. We need to buy gifts first.”
Gifts, then.
“Do you have anything in mind?”
“Not really. I thought we’d browse the street vendors and see what we find.”
“Sounds good.”
Iris, Camilla Bediche, and I made our way through the street vendors, searching for gifts for the orphanage children.
“There certainly are a lot of people.”
Though it was early morning, the street lined with vendors had drawn quite a crowd.
“Please be careful not to get separated, Saint.”
Camilla Bediche positioned herself beside Iris and gently took her hand.
Iris glanced down at the hand holding hers and let out a soft laugh.
“What, am I a child?”
“There’s a saying that one can never be too careful about safety.”
Camilla Bediche said this while turning to me as if seeking agreement—or rather, as if she’d kill me if I disagreed.
“Well, there are more outsiders around today, so it’s better to be extra cautious.”
Especially when the person in question is the ‘Saint’.
“Even you, Dale?”
“Can’t be helped.”
I shrugged at Camilla’s stern attitude, and Iris let out a deep sigh.
“Fine, fine. Let’s hurry up and go buy some gifts then.”
“Gifts the children would enjoy… food is probably the safest choice, isn’t it?”
Remembering how the children at the Orphanage had practically thrown a festival when I made them ramen before, I couldn’t think of a better gift than food.
“Hmm. Food is nice, but wouldn’t it be better to buy snacks as we walk around the festival itself?”
“Ah, that’s true.”
There was something special about wandering through festival stalls and impulsively buying whatever snacks caught your eye.
“So we’ll save the food for later… what else could we give them as gifts?”
“How about something like this, Dale?”
Iris pointed to animal ear headbands in various colors.
It was a common sight at festivals.
“Hehe. Don’t you think the children would look absolutely adorable wearing these?”
“That’s a good idea.”
Imagining the children wearing puppy or cat ears, laughing brightly as they ran around, I found myself smiling.
“Oh, I think this would suit Camilla too. Want to try it on?”
Iris picked up a cat ear headband from the display and asked.
“You… you’re asking me to wear that?”
Camilla visibly flustered, taking a step backward.
Iris grinned mischievously, holding the headband as she approached her.
“If we’re giving these as gifts to the children, we should at least try one on to see how durable they are, right?”
“B-but…”
“Why… surely you’re not going to disobey me?”
“Tch.”
Camilla bit her lip anxiously and turned to me as if asking for help.
I grinned and nodded.
“I think it would look good on you too.”
“You, you bastard! How can you be so casual about someone else’s—!”
“Now, now, stay still, Camilla.”
Iris smiled sweetly and placed the cat ear headband on Camilla’s head.
“Ugh. Why must I endure this…”
Camilla’s navy blue hair, tied in a ponytail, swayed like a tail as she touched the cat ears that suddenly sprouted from her head.
“Wow, wow! It suits you so well, Dale!”
Camilla hung her head in shame while Iris, undeterred, bounced excitedly with sparkling eyes.
“It does suit her, actually.”
Just as Iris said, Camilla wearing the cat ear headband was far more charming than I’d imagined.
“Tch… How about you try one on too, Sister?”
“Eh? Me?”
“Surely you didn’t think only I would wear one, did you?”
Had her shame reached its breaking point and transformed into anger?
Camilla picked up a rabbit ear headband with heavy, ragged breaths.
“R-rabbits are a bit….”
“Surely you’re not about to tell me you’re embarrassed now, are you?”
Camilla Bediche approached Iris, her eyes bloodshot and flushed.
“Kyaaah! W-wait!”
“Now then, let’s have you experience the same humiliation and shame I’ve endured, Saint!”
Iris found herself forced to wear a pair of rabbit ear headbands atop her head by Camilla Bediche.
“Ugh. Why did this have to happen to me….”
“Hmph. You brought this upon yourself.”
Iris, now sporting the rabbit ears, glanced sideways in my direction.
“Um… h-how do I look, Dale?”
“How do you look?”
I immediately activated my Hero Watch and captured a photograph of Iris in her rabbit ear headbands.
“W-wait! Why are you suddenly taking pictures?!”
“How could I possibly not?”
The sight of Iris adorned with those rabbit ear headbands was absolutely devastating.
“D-delete that right now!”
“Ah, but tampering with someone else’s Hero Watch is a violation of privacy.”
“Delete it, you bastard!”
* * *
After a brief(?) commotion, the children’s gift was ultimately decided to be animal ear headbands.
“Sigh. We haven’t even done anything yet and I’m already exhausted.”
“By the way, shouldn’t the children be arriving soon?”
“Oh, just a moment. Let me contact Antonio Priest quickly.”
After finishing her communication with Antonio Priest through her Hero Watch, Iris turned to face Camilla Bediche.
“Camilla. The Priest and the children are on their way now—could you go greet them?”
“But then you would be….”
“Dale will be with me, so it’s fine.”
“I see. Understood.”
Camilla Bediche nodded and walked toward the School Gate.
Once Iris confirmed that Camilla Bediche had completely disappeared from view, she turned to me with a sly smile.
“The Priest said he’ll arrive in about an hour.”
“Hm? Then isn’t sending her to greet them way too early?”
“They’re our invited guests—we can’t keep them waiting, can we?”
I was thinking that going to greet them an hour early still seemed a bit much, when—
“So… since we’ve already bought the gifts, would you like to enjoy the festival together for the next hour?”
Iris asked with a playful grin spreading across her face.
‘Ah, so that’s why she sent her ahead so quickly.’
I chuckled and nodded.
“Sounds good.”
A festival outing with Iris, just the two of us.
There was absolutely no reason to refuse the proposal.
“Come now, your hand.”
“My hand? Why?”
“Oh, didn’t Camilla Bediche just say so?”
Iris gently took my hand, her smile radiant and warm.
“There’s no such thing as being too careful.”

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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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