The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 42

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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 42. Consistent as Ever (3)
“Hm?”
Had he heard my voice?
Berald, who had been standing with a crumpled door panel gripped in one hand and a triumphant expression on his face, turned his gaze toward me.
His eyes sparkled like stars the moment he spotted me.
“Wait, isn’t that Dale? Sir!”
Berald called out loudly and approached me.
“Hehe. I’ve been hearing rumors about you all over the place lately… What on earth is going on?”
Berald was the only person who had maintained a connection with me before my regression.
‘Though, even if we were connected, it wasn’t exactly under the best circumstances.’
I first met Berald during last year’s seasonal remedial classes.
We both had the distinction of failing “Principles and Understanding of Mana,” one of the required liberal arts courses.
They say incompetent people recognize each other.
He, bearing the epithet of the Ryu Family’s scoundrel, and I, a perpetually last-ranked Candidate, naturally grew closer.
“I heard you knocked out Professor Lucas Kane with a single punch, made the next Sword of Holy Nation kneel with just a gesture…”
Berald trailed off, seemingly bewildered by his own words.
“And during this recent monster outbreak, there are even rumors that you sliced through dozens of monsters in a single stroke… Is all of that true?”
“Well, to some extent.”
“To some extent? So… you’re saying it’s not completely baseless?”
Berald’s eyes widened in disbelief.
I suppose.
From the perspective of someone who knew me before, I understood better than anyone how absurd these rumors sounded.
“Did you really find some elixir behind the Academy’s mountain or something?”
“That’s not it…”
I considered how to explain it to Berald, but quickly concluded there was no need to overthink it.
“I suppose you could call it an awakening? Something like that happened.”
“Ooh! An awakening!”
Berald’s eyes gleamed as he exclaimed.
An awakening.
When a hero blocked by a wall of limitation suddenly experienced rapid growth, it was common to say they had “achieved an awakening.”
‘Honestly, it’s a ridiculous excuse.’
No matter how much of an awakening one experienced, it defied all logic for a Candidate who had consistently ranked last in the comprehensive rankings since enrollment to suddenly grow strong enough to beat a professor in a single day.
But.
‘Berald won’t doubt my words.’
Not because he was foolish.
And certainly not because he was incapable of suspicion.
There was only one reason I believed he wouldn’t doubt me.
“Of course! I always believed you could do it, sir!”
Berald exhaled sharply and clenched both fists tightly.
“…Really?”
“Of course! Haven’t I told you countless times that from the moment we first met, I felt it—*click*—right away? You have all the makings of the greatest hero anyone could ever become!”
As expected.
This guy has harbored an absurd faith in me since way back.
‘I honestly have no idea what he sees in me to believe in me like that.’
Even in my previous life, when I graduated from the Academy at the bottom of my class, Berald Ryu never wavered in his conviction.
-Don’t worry! You’ll definitely become a great hero!
Pure belief without a shred of evidence or logic to support it.
That was precisely why I believed Berald wouldn’t question my ridiculous excuse about suddenly gaining enlightenment and becoming stronger overnight.
“Hahahaha! This feels absolutely wonderful! You’ve been through so much, my friend!”
“Yeah. Thanks, buddy.”
Berald Ryu patted my shoulder with an expression as excited as if he’d been the one to achieve enlightenment.
After patting my shoulder for a while, his gaze shifted to the person beside me.
“By the way, who’s this person next to you?”
“Ah, this is Juliet Kang. He’s my friend.”
“Oh, a friend of yours! Pleased to meet you. I’m Berald Ryu!”
Berald Ryu flashed a grin and extended a hand the size of a pot lid.
“Uh, y-yeah. I’m Juliet.”
“Hehe. How do you know my friend here?”
“…That’s…”
Juliet Kang’s expression turned rigid.
I curled my lips into a smile and activated my Hero Watch.
“Let’s see… this friend of mine has quite a unique hobby, you know?”
“Eek! No, please!”
The moment the Hero Watch’s screen lit up, Juliet Kang cried out as if seized by a fit.
I turned to look at Juliet Kang’s anguished expression and chuckled.
“What?”
“What?! You promised you’d keep that a secret!”
“Hmm? What kind of hobby could it be that you’re so terrified?”
“N-nothing! Really!”
Juliet Kang hastily changed the subject.
“By the way, you’re Berald Ryu, right? You’re from the same Ryu Family as Principal Raonel, aren’t you?”
Raonel Ryu, the Thunder God.
A hero who currently ranked third in the Three Kingdoms Comprehensive Hero Ranking and served as the principal of the Hero Academy.
“The Ryu Family, you say…”
Berald Ryu’s face stiffened for a moment.
But it was only brief.
Berald Ryu nodded with his characteristic hearty smile.
“That’s right. Though we share the same family name, I’m from the branch family, so I don’t have any special connection with Grandfather Raonel.”
“Ah, I see? Still, the Ryu Family… that’s impressive.”
Juliet Kang gazed at Berald Ryu with admiring eyes.
While Juliet Kang’s family certainly wielded considerable influence within the Republic, they could hardly be mentioned in the same breath as the Ryu Family.
The Ryu Family was a lineage that had produced exceptional mages comparable to the Empire’s ‘Bastian’ family.
Ever since people from Korea crossed over to this world five hundred years ago, the Ryu Family had steadfastly maintained their position as one of the most illustrious houses among the illustrious.
“…Is that so?”
Berald offered a somewhat bitter smile, letting his words trail off.
Juliet seemed oblivious to it, but with my memories from my past life, I could see right through Berald’s true feelings.
‘He can’t possibly be pleased by praise of his family.’
From childhood, Berald had endured vicious contempt within his family for his inability to properly wield magic.
‘Being from a branch family without tradition was one thing, but his magical prowess was utterly pathetic.’
And so he earned the nickname: ‘the Ryu Family’s disgrace.’
It was a derisive title bestowed upon him for spurning the history and traditions of a lineage that had consistently produced brilliant mages, choosing instead to indulge in nothing but fisticuffs.
‘It wasn’t for nothing that we grew close in my past life.’
A lowly-ranked hero and the family’s disgrace.
Quite the fitting pair, wouldn’t you say?
“Anyway.”
This time, Berald changed the subject.
“Did you eat lunch before coming here?”
“Yeah. What about you?”
“Hehe. I just finished a hearty meal myself.”
Berald patted his belly with his thick hands.
“What did you have?”
“Spicy stir-fried pork, of course.”
“Now that’s a man who knows what’s good.”
“Hehe. Did you have the spicy stir-fried pork too, brother?”
I nodded readily toward Berald, who grinned at me.
“Any true citizen of the Republic goes for spicy stir-fried pork.”
“Kahahaha! You really do think alike with me, brother!”
Berald burst into hearty laughter and threw an arm around my shoulder.
With his arm linked through mine, he swayed his body as if dancing.
His muscles were hard as stone, so the sensation wasn’t particularly pleasant.
‘This brings back memories.’
Those days when I wandered the Continent with my comrades to prevent the Demon God’s resurrection.
We would gather around a campfire, link arms like this, and drink ourselves silly.
-Come on, brother! Drink up!
-Alright! Let’s drink tonight and just die!
-Kahahaha! But brother, you just resurrect anyway, don’t you?
-Everyone knows we have to wake up early tomorrow.
-Aw, come on, don’t be so stiff! Brother Yuren, come join us for a drink!
-Berald. You’re disturbing my reading, so be quiet.
-Tsk. Reading books so late at night—no wonder Sister Sophia doesn’t grow any taller, eh?
-Want to fall behind?
-Haha. Everyone, drink in moderation. As Yuren said, we need to wake up early tomorrow.
-Hehe. So you’re not going into your husband’s tent tonight either?
-Oh my, that’s a different matter entirely.
-Hahaha! I bet those without lovers are dying of envy!
Berald and I chattered away boisterously, pouring drink after drink.
Yuren approached quietly to offer a gentle rebuke, while Sophia sat peacefully in the corner reading a book.
And Iris, watching over us all with a warm smile.
A fleeting memory of nothing particularly special.
A page of remembrance both infinitely precious and painfully torn away.
“…Tsk.”
I clicked my tongue softly at the memory surfacing in my mind.
‘I can’t wallow in self-pity forever.’
If that page of memories had been torn away,
Then I would simply create new ones.
‘And I’ve been given the chance to do exactly that.’
I gazed at Berald, who was smiling brightly, my eyes gleaming with sharp resolve.
Watching him laugh so heartily, one might think he lived without a care in the world.
‘But only someone ignorant of Berald would say such a thing.’
I know the truth.
Only I know.
How much he suppresses himself beneath that boisterous laughter.
“Ha. Anyway, enlightenment, you say… Then it seems I won’t be attending supplementary lessons with you anymore.”
Berald spoke with a bitter smile.
“I’m embarrassed to admit it to you, but… I think I’ll fail again this time.”
“We’ve only just started the semester.”
“Haha. True enough.”
A deep sigh escaped from between Berald’s lips.
“I’ve been studying magic for years now, and I still can’t properly form a single mana bullet… Hehe. That’s quite a talent, wouldn’t you say?”
A self-deprecating smile.
“In any case, I’m glad you found your light this time.”
“….”
I clamped my mouth shut, watching Berald’s shoulders slump helplessly.
‘Come to think of it, Berald hasn’t properly started combat training yet at this point.’
He’d thrown punches here and there, certainly.
But that was merely swinging his fists crudely, relying on the natural strength he was born with.
It wasn’t true combat technique.
‘This timing is perfect.’
I’d been planning to visit my comrades anyway, and here I was meeting Berald at just the right moment.
Using Iris’s expression, wasn’t this exactly the kind of situation guided by the ‘Seven Gods’?
‘If things had gone according to plan, I would’ve gently coaxed Juliet Kang into scrounging up enough gold to apply for a private training ground.’
But something far more important had come up.
“Hey, do you have anything scheduled after this?”
“Hm? No, nothing in particular.”
“Yeah? Then….”
I let a sly smile spread across my face.
Suddenly.
A memory from my past life flickered through my mind once more.
The memory of when Berald taught me unarmed combat.
Because I was hopelessly uncoordinated, he repeated the same techniques over and over without complaint.
Always wearing that hearty smile.
He guided me forward with quiet patience.
‘Then.’
Now.
“Want to learn some unarmed combat from me?”
It was my turn to guide him.

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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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