The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 78

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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 78. Observation Class (4)
Valhalla City.
The city built in a ring around the Hero Academy bustled with people from across the Three Kingdoms gathered for the observation class.
Of course, the heroes actually participating in the observation class had already entered the Academy since morning, but many people had come to Valhalla City without directly participating in the class itself.
Attendants serving high-ranking heroes, people coming for the “social gathering” to be held after the observation class, onlookers with gleaming eyes drawn by news that heroes from the Three Kingdoms would gather in one place, and merchants targeting all of them.
More people were wandering the streets of Valhalla City than were actually inside the Academy where the observation class was being held.
“First, I should change out of these clothes.”
“Yeah.”
Walking around the streets in a school uniform on a weekday afternoon drew far too much attention.
“Let’s go to that shop over there.”
I picked a random clothing store from the street and entered with Yuren.
For a place chosen so casually, it was surprisingly successful—the spacious interior was packed with dozens, hundreds of different styles of clothing.
“There are a lot of clothes.”
“Let’s just pick something quick and get out of here.”
While browsing through the men’s section.
“Huh? Where did he go?”
Yuren, whom I thought was following behind me, was nowhere to be seen.
I retraced my steps and found Yuren standing blankly in the middle of the shop.
“….”
His gaze was vacant, fixed on a mannequin in the women’s section.
The mannequin wore a flowing skirt and off-shoulder blouse that had recently become popular among the female Candidates.
“What are you doing over there?”
“Oh, right. Sorry. I was just thinking about something for a moment.”
Yuren offered an awkward smile and moved toward the men’s section.
After changing into clothes we’d picked out in the men’s section, Yuren and I stepped back onto the streets of Valhalla City.
“Man, the weather is absolutely perfect.”
I wondered why.
Even though it was an ordinary day no different from any other, the sky seemed so much clearer after skipping out of Academy classes.
“So, what should we do now?”
“I’m not sure….”
“Is there anything you want to do?”
“This is my first time doing something like this.”
Yuren offered an awkward smile, his eyes anxious like a child separated from his parents as he looked around nervously.
Watching him, I stifled a chuckle.
‘The strongest swordmaster in humanity getting anxious over skipping one Academy class.’
The fresh, innocent side of Yuren that couldn’t be found in my past life somehow brought a smile to my face.
“How about we just walk around the nearby streets for now?”
“Yeah. Let’s do that.”
I led Yuren to “Republic Town,” the area in Valhalla City where people from the Republic gathered most densely.
It was a place I’d visited before when I came to watch a movie with Iris.
Republic Town was packed with various Republic-style restaurants and cultural facilities.
“Wow. So this is Republic Town.”
Yuren’s eyes sparkled as he looked around like someone who had just arrived in the capital from the countryside.
“Is this your first time here?”
“Yeah. I don’t go out much from school anyway… and even when I do, I’ve never come to Republic Town.”
“Well, I suppose that makes sense given your mother.”
“Ah… I, I don’t think of Republic citizens as mongrels or anything like that!”
“I know, man.”
As Yuren and I wandered aimlessly through Republic Town for a while, I gradually felt hunger stirring in my stomach.
“I’m getting hungry. Should we grab some lunch?”
“Yeah. Let’s do that.”
“Is there anything you want to eat?”
“Hmm… something I want to eat.”
Yuren, who had been lost in thought for a moment, answered with sparkling eyes.
“I want to try ramen!”
“…Ramen? You came all the way out here for that?”
“Yeah!”
Yuren nodded enthusiastically.
“Well… sure. If that’s what you want.”
As I was looking around for a snack shop that sold ramen nearby.
“Um… Dale.”
“Huh?”
“Instead of buying it, couldn’t you cook it for me?”
“You want me to cook it?”
What, he wants me to cook ramen while we’re out?
“Let’s just buy some. Store-bought tastes better anyway.”
“….”
At my suggestion to just buy it, Yuren’s expression turned sulky.
“You cooked it for Iris directly though….”
Seeing Yuren’s dejected face as he hung his head, an indescribable sense of guilt washed over me.
“Sigh. Fine… okay. I’ll cook it for you myself.”
“Hehe…. Thanks, Dale.”
Yuren broke into a bright smile, looking utterly delighted.
Watching him, I let out an internal sigh.
“Ugh.”
This Yuren guy really is impossible to read.
There are restaurants everywhere here—why is he so fixated on ramen that I cook myself?
‘Let’s see, where outside could I cook ramen….’
I can’t just walk into any random shop and ask to cook ramen myself after paying them.
‘Oh, that’s right.’
I’d heard through Hero Watch that there was a place near Riverside, close to Republic Town, where you could cook ramen yourself.
“Let’s go, Yuren.”
“Where are we going?”
“Just follow me and you’ll see.”
At the Riverside where I’d taken Yuren, there was indeed a shop where you could cook ramen yourself and eat it at outdoor tables, just as I’d seen on Hero Watch.
“Hold down a table for us first. I’ll go cook the ramen inside and bring it out.”
“Okay!”
I cooked the ramen inside the shop and headed toward the outdoor table where Yuren was waiting.
The young nobleman’s taste assessment, eating ramen for the first time in his life, was simple.
“Wow, it’s incredibly spicy.”
Yuren wore an awkward smile, as if it didn’t suit his palate.
It was a stark contrast to Iris, who had inhaled her ramen with eyes gleaming.
‘Well, that’s the normal reaction.’
If ramen suited everyone’s taste across the Continent, why would it be consumed primarily only within the Republic?
It was true that for people from other nations, who generally ate less spicy food, the flavor was excessively intense.
“It doesn’t suit your taste, does it?”
“Ah, no! It’s delicious!”
“You’re sweating buckets—how is that delicious?”
I chuckled and pulled out a slice of cheese I’d brought along just in case.
“If you put this in, it’ll taste much better.”
“…Cheese? You’re putting cheese in ramen?”
Yuren frowned as if to say this was an absurd combination.
“Just try it and see.”
“Um… okay.”
As I placed the cheese on the ramen, it melted into a gooey mess from the residual heat.
“Huh?”
Yuren’s eyes widened as he carefully put a chopstick-full of cheese ramen into his mouth.
“It’s delicious!”
“Much better than before, right?”
“Yeah!”
Yuren devoured the cheese ramen with a beaming smile, clearly pleased.
I too emptied my ramen bowl clean, following Yuren’s lead.
After quickly finishing our bowls of ramen, Yuren and I sat at the outdoor table, gazing at the river flowing majestically before us.
A peaceful moment that made the events of this morning feel like a dream.
I opened my mouth to speak to Yuren, who was silently watching the river.
“Yuren.”
“Hmm?”
“Was your relationship with your mother always like that?”
“….”
At the mention of his mother, Yuren’s lips pressed firmly shut.
He shook his head with a bitter smile lingering at the corners of his mouth.
“Mother wasn’t always like that. When I was young, she was incredibly kind.”
“…I don’t see her that way at all.”
“Ha. She has to lead the Helios Family alone. Mother must be struggling too.”
Yuren defended his mother with an awkward smile.
I narrowed my eyes and shook my head.
“No matter how difficult things are, she shouldn’t treat you that way. Frankly, you’re practically the hope of the Helios Family, aren’t you?”
“…Hope.”
“Anyway, if you don’t want this, just say so. You don’t need to be trapped by Mother.”
….
Why was this happening?
Yuren’s expression turned cold.
His fists trembled as he clenched them.
“…I can’t.”
His voice came out faint, as if wrung from his throat.
Yuren shook his head with a fragile smile that seemed ready to shatter.
“I don’t have the right to do that.”
“…What do you mean, the right?”
“Let’s head back, Dale. The Dormitory gates will close soon if we’re any later.”
Yuren changed the subject with obvious urgency.
I watched Yuren rise from his seat with the ramen bowl in hand, my eyes narrowing slightly.
His trembling hands and lips.
His pallid, drained cheeks and ragged breathing.
A side of Yuren I hadn’t seen.
A side I hadn’t noticed.
Yuren, consumed by fear.
‘…Why?’
A question surfaced in my mind.
The Yuren I knew was a hero more courageous than anyone else.
Even when everyone else fled in terror, he drew his sword without hesitation and never retreated.
Even before the Demon God itself.
‘Then why?’
What could possibly terrify him so deeply?
“Let’s go.”
“Ah, okay.”
Before I could find answers to the questions swirling in my mind.
I followed Yuren’s footsteps back toward the Academy.
“Oh, and Dale.”
Yuren turned around as he walked ahead.
“Thank you.”
“…What do you mean, thank you?”
“For taking me out.”
Yuren smiled softly as he spoke.
* * *
After parting ways with Dale.
I made my way back to my Dormitory room.
With classes finished for the day, the Academy had settled into an eerie silence.
“Sigh.”
I recalled the memory of spending the afternoon outside the Academy with Dale.
Walking through the streets together, seeing things I’d never witnessed before, tasting things I’d never tried.
‘It was wonderful.’
I had been so happy—I never could have imagined such a day would come for me.
But.
“….”
Standing before the door, I bit my lip firmly.
That blissful escape had come to an end.
Now it was time to return to my ordinary life.
Creak.
With trembling hands, I opened the Dormitory room door.
“You’re back?”
My mother sat in the room with her legs crossed, her eyes cold and piercing as she gazed at me.
“…Yes.”
I didn’t ask why Mother was here when the observation class had already ended.
I already knew she wouldn’t simply leave.
“I apologize.”
I knelt before my mother and bowed my head.
Mother rose silently from her seat and approached me.
Bracing myself for a slap across the cheek, I squeezed my eyes shut.
“Yuren, no… Yurina.”
A gentle hand caressed my cheek.
“…Mother?”
Faced with this completely unexpected turn, the word “mother” barely escaped my lips.
“You must have suffered so much, haven’t you? Associating with such a poorly-behaved child.”
“No, that’s not… it’s not like that.”
“Don’t worry. Mother knows better than anyone how hard you’ve worked all this time.”
“….”
Was I dreaming?
My mind reeled in confusion at this incomprehensible situation.
“You did well, Yurina. You’ve endured so much.”
Mother spoke these words while gently stroking my back.
“…Ah.”
A shudder raced down my spine like lightning.
Tears streamed down my cheeks.
“Mom.”
“Yes, yes.”
“Sob… hiccup. M-mom….”
I didn’t understand why Mother’s attitude had shifted so dramatically, like flipping a palm.
There was only one thing I could comprehend.
In this moment, the longing I had harbored for so long had finally been realized.
“Yurina, Mother has one request. Will you grant it?”
“Hiccup. Y-yes. Anything… just tell me.”
Could there ever be a day more joyful than this?
I nodded, wiping away my flowing tears with the back of my hand.
“Become Yuren.”
“…What?”
Become Yuren?
What had I been doing all this time?
“I’m not speaking of such clumsy imitation.”
“What do you mean…?”
Mother gripped my shoulders firmly, her voice trembling with excitement.
“If you overlay Yuren’s stigma upon yours, you can become the true Yuren… a brilliantly shining sun.”
Mother’s eyes gleamed with a deep, unsettling madness as she spoke.

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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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