The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 63

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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 63. Interlude – The Moon Trapped in the Mirror
[Warrior Department Midterm Evaluation Test Results Announcement]
[1st Place: Yuren Helios]
[2nd Place: Morris Jin]
[3rd Place: Camilla Bediche]
A hologram materialized across the Hero Watch display.
Staring at the name “Yuren Helios” boldly inscribed beside first place, I exhaled a breath tinged with relief.
“First place… I actually did it.”
Did I really shatter that Unicorn’s bell?
What if I was mistaken?
I’d collapsed immediately and remained unconscious throughout the exam, never accumulating any additional points—what if I’d finished with a zero score?
The moment I opened my eyes after the test ended, such troubling thoughts flooded my mind, but only after reviewing my score report through the Hero Watch could I finally set my worries aside.
“And Dale…?”
I scrolled through the score report searching for Dale’s name.
It appeared neither in the top ten nor the top twenty.
“Surely not…”
As I anxiously continued scrolling, I spotted “253rd Place: Dale Han” listed at the very bottom of the rankings.
“…Dale.”
A chilling sensation rippled down my spine.
I stared at Dale’s name at the bottom of the score report, anxiously gnawing at my lip.
‘It’s because of me.’
In my final excitement, I’d lost control of my mana and unleashed an overly powerful technique—Dale must have been caught in the blast.
“What… what do I do?”
Of course, candidates checking each other during the exam wasn’t against regulations, but my attack had far exceeded the bounds of mere “checking.”
“…I’ll have to apologize to Dale later.”
Anxiety washed over me at the thought that this incident might damage my relationship with Dale.
“Sigh.”
I released a heavy sigh and paced restlessly through my Dormitory room, which was excessively spacious for a single occupant.
“For now… I’ll contact Dale tomorrow.”
Right now, there was someone I needed to reach out to before Dale.
…
Silence settled over the room.
I swallowed dryly and powered on my Hero Watch.
When I tapped the contacts button on the holographic window that appeared before me, a short list of saved names displayed.
At the very top.
I slowly brought my fingertip to the name saved as “Mother.”
…
My hand hesitated before the name.
After a moment of silent deliberation, I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed the button.
Beep beep beep beep.
A clear chiming sound echoed through the air.
My heart felt ready to burst from the suffocating tension.
[What is it?]
My mother’s face appeared on the holographic screen floating in the empty space.
Rosanna Helios.
The current head of the Helios Family and a hero once called the “Flash of Rosanna” in ages past.
I gazed at my mother’s face displayed on the screen and carefully opened my mouth.
“Well… there was a midterm evaluation exam this time.”
[Was there?]
“Yes. So… um, the grades came out today, and I wanted to contact you.”
My mouth felt parched and dry.
The sound of my heart pounding echoed loudly in my head.
“It was close, but… I came in first place again this time.”
[Close, you say?]
“Ah… well, this time there was an incredibly strong competitor!”
[A competitor? Are you perhaps referring to that Morris Jin, the Republic mongrel? Or could it be Camilla Bediche?]
“Oh, no! It’s someone else!”
I shook my head urgently and continued speaking.
“There’s this friend of mine named Dale, and he’s incredibly talented! He even beat an instructor in a sparring match, and during that monster incident a while back, he single-handedly defeated dozens of monsters!”
[Hmm. I’ve never heard that name before.]
“Apparently he was hiding his true abilities due to circumstances until recently. These days, everyone at the Academy talks about nothing but Dale—he’s become incredibly famous!”
[And?]
“So… um….”
My voice trembled.
I struggled to breathe, as if my throat were constricted.
“But… I still won.”
It was close.
Precarious.
But in the end, I shattered the Unicorn’s bell before Dale did.
Living up to the name ‘Yuren Helios’.
I came in first place.
‘So.’
I don’t ask for much.
I don’t desire anything grandiose.
Just once, even just once, I wanted to be acknowledged by you….
[Ha.]
A cold, scornful laugh.
[Are you bragging about that?]
“….”
[Barely scraping first place in a Candidate Program evaluation, and against some unknown candidate at that? What victory are you even talking about?]
Mother clicked her tongue and continued speaking.
[If it had been Yuren, there wouldn’t have been such a close call.]
“….”
Again.
That name again.
Yuren, Yuren, Yuren.
How much longer would I have to struggle to earn a name that shines as brilliantly as the sun?
[Sigh. It’s truly pathetic.]
The weight of her deep sigh pressed down upon my heart.
[So. Your ‘stigma’ didn’t get exposed during the exam, did it?]
“Ah… Yes. I hid it as usual.”
[Good. Be careful never to show it to anyone. If it were discovered that the heir of the Helios Family bears the stigma of the ‘Moon God’, it would bring shame upon the entire family.]
“….”
It hurt.
Each word that fell from Mother’s lips became a blade honed sharper than any legendary sword, tearing through my chest.
[Is that all you have to say?]
“Ah… Yes.”
[Don’t contact me about such trivial matters again.]
Click.
The communication cut off.
A silence deeper than death descended upon the room.
Why was it?
The Dormitory room I’d lived in for the past three years suddenly felt unfamiliar.
Excessively vast and suffocatingly desolate.
“….”
I wandered through the room where the wall clock’s ticking echoed like thunder, heading toward the bathroom.
A large mirror mounted above the sink.
I carefully removed the pendant hanging around my neck.
Whoooooosh.
A blue aura enveloped my body, and my golden hair that had shone brilliantly like the sun transformed into silver.
My limbs became slender, and my chest rose in a graceful, feminine curve.
Upon that gently curved chest, the stigma of the ‘Moon God’ was branded like a mark.
“…Yurina.”
I reached out and touched my face reflected in the mirror.
I speak a name that no one calls anymore—a name now foreign to me.
“You placed first in the midterm evaluation?”
My reflection in the mirror smiles brightly and nods.
“I heard the exams get much harder starting third year. How was it?”
My reflection answers.
Yeah, it was definitely a lot different from first and second year. They actually released magical beasts into a designated zone and made us hunt them directly, just like real combat!
“Were you scared?”
Absolutely terrified! Especially when that unicorn suddenly charged at me with fire in its eyes—I thought my heart would stop!
“Is that so? Yet you didn’t run away. You fought instead.”
Well… I really wanted to win.
“Against Dale Han?”
…Yes.
“How was it fighting against Dale Han?”
He was truly incredible. I can’t fathom how he fights so well with barely half the mana I possess.
“It must have been difficult.”
Yes, it was difficult.
Very… very difficult.
“But you won, didn’t you?”
Ha. I’m not sure if you can call it winning when I just brutally overpowered him with the mana difference….
“Don’t say that, Yurina. Your mana is your strength too, isn’t it? Regardless of the method, this victory is something you earned through your own effort.”
…Is that… really so?
“It is. Of course, you were wrong to injure Dale Han due to your failure in controlling your power.”
I-I’ll definitely apologize to him tomorrow!
“Good. Dale Han will understand, so don’t worry too much.”
…Yes, thank you.
“Yurina.”
I speak to my reflection in the mirror.
Since that day five years ago, when I returned home after placing second in the sword tournament.
The words I’d longed to hear most.
The phrase I’d yearned for more desperately than anything.
“You did well.”
It was difficult, wasn’t it?
You’ve worked so hard.
I’m proud of you.
Even though Yuren is gone now, I’m grateful you’re here.
So now….
You don’t have to be afraid.
You don’t have to be scared.
You.
You don’t have to shine like the sun.
“….”
A heavy silence descends.
My reflection in the mirror sheds tears, streaming down my face.
With a contorted expression, I claw at my hair and weep silently.
* * *
“I’m sorry, Dale Han!”
The day after the midterm evaluation results were announced.
The moment I arrived at Yuren’s Private Training Ground after class ended, he approached me with his head bowed.
“Huh? What are you apologizing for?”
“Well… the test results were posted yesterday.”
“Oh, right. They were.”
Even now, thinking back on it made my head throb.
‘I thought I’d finally escape this wretched last place.’
Whether it was fate’s cruel joke or something else, I couldn’t say.
After collapsing from exhaustion following my battle with the crocodile beast, I’d passed out cold, and as a result, I’d proudly claimed dead last among the 253 Warrior Department Candidate Program recruits.
‘If I’d known this would happen, I should’ve caught another beast before finding the unicorn, just to hedge my bets.’
But how could I have predicted such an outcome?
As I exhaled deeply and pressed my throbbing forehead with my hand, Yuren opened his mouth with the dejected expression of a scolded puppy.
“…It’s because of me, isn’t it?”
“Huh? What’s because of you?”
“At the end, I dragged you into my attack, so you couldn’t catch another beast.”
“…Ah.”
So that’s what he’d been going on about.
‘He thought I ended up in last place because of him.’
Well.
From Yuren’s perspective, he had no way of knowing that an eight-star beast had appeared after he’d collapsed, so his misunderstanding was understandable.
“You don’t need to apologize. I didn’t fail to catch another beast because I got caught up in your attack.”
“…You’re lying.”
Yuren squinted his eyes, unconvinced.
‘I can’t exactly tell him everything honestly.’
The fact that an external beast had invaded the Test Site was a secret I’d agreed to keep buried between myself and Elisha.
‘There’s no helping it.’
I clicked my tongue and added more.
“Even if I had failed to catch another beast because I got caught up in your attack, that wouldn’t be something you’d need to apologize for.”
After all, I’d been the one checking Yuren to secure the unicorn’s bell for myself.
“B-but I lost control of my mana because I got excited.”
“Whether you lost control of your mana or not, it was still a fair match.”
There was no reason to blame Yuren.
“Actually, I was impressed.”
“…Impressed?”
“That technique you used at the end—that was the first time you’ve used it, right?”
“Ah….”
A soft exclamation escaped Yuren’s lips.
Just as I’d said.
The “White Light Wave” I’d used at the end was a technique I’d created by applying the insight I’d gained from him not long ago.
“Y-yeah. That’s right.”
“Wow! That technique looked incredibly difficult, yet you managed to practice it enough to use it in actual combat?”
No matter how much of a sword genius Yuren was, creating a variation of White Light would have required grueling, relentless effort.
“You did well.”
I said, lightly patting Yuren’s shoulder.
“…Huh?”
Yuren’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Just now… what did you…?”
“Hm? No, I mean. You worked hard. That must have been incredibly difficult to practice, right?”
“Ah… yeah. That’s… right.”
“Well, I haven’t seen it firsthand, but I doubt Reynald could wield the Solar Blade this well at your age.”
I chuckled softly and tried to remove my hand from Yuren’s shoulder.
That’s when.
Yuren grabbed my hand and placed it back on his shoulder, then spoke.
“…Dale.”
“Hm?”
“Could you… say that again?”
“Say what again?”
“Why… that… you know, that you did well.”
Yuren’s face flushed as he averted his gaze.
“It’s not that hard to say.”
I couldn’t understand why someone who heard endless praise and accolades as naturally as breathing would specifically want to hear my approval.
I patted Yuren’s shoulder again and spoke once more.
“You did well.”
“….”
A brief silence.
Yuren’s expression melted like softened butter.
“Just once more! Just one more time!”
“…You did well.”
“Hehehehe.”
Had I ever seen Yuren wear such a vacant, blissful expression in all my life?
I searched through my memories from my past life, but nothing came to mind.
And yet.
Why was it?
“He… hehe. He said I did well.”
With both hands clasped before his chest, Yuren’s radiant smile shone more brilliantly than any sun.

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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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