The Last Place Hero's Return

The party house located within the Hero Academy was a three-story building larger than the mansions of most high-ranking nobles. It had originally been designed to accommodate multiple cadet parties. But now, the entire facility was occupied by just a single party.

Normally, one would expect complaints that it was unfair for just one party to monopolize such a vast place. Yet, neither the faculty nor any of the cadets voiced a single objection. After all, the party currently residing there consisted of the very heroes who had made the greatest contribution in saving the academy during the “Church of Eternity Incident” a year and a half ago.

On the third floor of the party house, Iris gently placed her hand on the door. The room, once used as Berald and Senior Sophia’s magic laboratory, no longer carried the damp, acrid scent of magical reagents. Instead, a faint aroma of herbs, good for recovery and calming the mind, drifted through the air.

“Dale, did you sleep well?” Iris said, her voice laced with the faintest thread of hope.

But no answer came from Dale, who lay asleep on the bed. A dry sigh slipped past her lips. She knew that she should have grown used to it by now, yet it still hurt deeply.

With a bitter smile, she approached the bedside where Dale lay in deep slumber. “Dale...”

Slowly, she reached out and brushed back his ash-gray hair. Memories naturally surfaced of the conversation they had shared just after the battle with the Prophet of Eternity a year and a half ago.

Clutching his chest as if he were in pain, Dale had said, “The power of the Primordial Flame has grown too strong. To restore balance, I’ll need time. I’ll be asleep for a few weeks... No, maybe a few months at most.”

The Ashen Flames surrounding his body had begun to take on streaks of red. Even while being engulfed in fiercely burning flames, he had smiled brightly at her tearful expression and said, “Don’t make that face. I’ll come back. I promise.”

And then, time passed, endlessly and relentlessly.

A single, clear tear slipped down Iris’s cheek. “Liar! You said... You’d come back.”

At first, it was okay. Dale had said he would return, and she believed, without a doubt, that he would. She helped rebuild the academy alongside her party members after it had been reduced to near ruins. When that was done, she attended her classes diligently. Autumn passed, and winter came. Finally, they graduated safely. But even by the end of the graduation ceremony, Dale had not opened his eyes.

“You said... even at the longest... just a few months,” she muttered.

Once a year had passed since he fell asleep, an ominous feeling refused to leave her mind. What if Dale never woke up again? That seed of anxiety had taken root in everyone’s hearts.

The one who reacted most strongly was Yurina. Insisting that they had to wake Dale up by force if necessary, she caused a scene, only to be restrained by Elisha and sent away from the academy. After that, she returned to her family home and shut herself away in her room, refusing to come out. They hadn’t been in contact for the past few months, so no one knew how she was doing now.

Laneige, Elisha, Camellia, and Iris herself were also affected. As more and more time passed beyond what Dale had promised, they began to crumble.

With sorrowful eyes, Iris caressed Dale’s cheek. “Did you know, Dale? Just how big the hole you left behind is for us? Hah! But at least we still have Laneige.

Just his absence alone was enough to turn her once joy-filled life into a terrible nightmare. But strangely enough, Laneige remained the most composed among them.

Stroking his chest, Laneige had said with firm conviction, “D-Dale will come back. He will. I can still feel it... His warmth.”

Even though her face had been filled with sorrow and anxiety that could not be washed away, Laneige never once lost control.

With a faint smile, Iris continued her quiet monologue, as if she were speaking directly to Dale. “Surprising, right? If it were the old Laneige, you’d never have imagined it. By the way, Jules opened a branch of Heaven’s Door after graduation. I heard he’s working there as the manager... I’d love to go there with you someday.

“Albert became the head of the Hoover Guild branch in Valhalla City. Hehe! I visited him recently, and he looked so dependable... I haven’t seen Camilla in a while either. Oh right, she was officially recognized as a successor of the Sword of the Holy Empire. She’s traveling with Sir Johan now. Heh! We’ve always been together since we were young. So, it feels strange.

“Did you know Berald graduated top of the class this time? He was capable of using only Mana Bullets, but Sophia really put him through intense training, so now he can use other types of magic too.”

Her soft voice echoed quietly through the room. The lonely monologue gradually began to tremble with emotion. Tears slid down her cheeks, dampening the back of Dale’s hand. “So, please wake up soon. I want to talk to you.”

No answer came.

“I want to eat delicious food together, go out and have fun... and kiss you as much as I want.”

No answer came.

“You remember the promise we made, right? That we’d get married after graduation.”

No answer came.

“We said we’d have a beautiful wedding with everyone’s blessings, find a home to live in together, and even have children.”

No answer came.

A hollow laugh escaped her lips. Feeling a dull ache in her chest, she gently placed a hand over her heart. Even through her priestess robes, the fullness of her figure was unmistakable. A memory suddenly came to mind, and a faint smile touched her lips.

She muttered, “Hehe. Come to think of it, you really liked my chest, didn’t you? If you wake up right now, I’ll give you the privilege to touch them anytime, for the rest of your life!”

As expected, there was still no answer, or so she thought. Unexpectedly, she heard a voice at that moment. It said, “Really?”

She was stunned. “Huh?”

That familiar, long-missed voice whispered in her ear, “You’re not going to take it back later, right?”

Iris’s eyes flew wide open as she snapped her bowed head up. Dale stood before her, wearing a faint smile. “Ah! D-Dale...”

“I told you, didn’t I?” Grinning, Dale reached out and gently wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes. “That I’d definitely come back.”

Iris’s lips trembled. “Y-you...”

“Hm?”

Her fist slammed straight into Dale’s face. “You made me wait way too long, you bastard!”

“Gah!”

“Do you have any idea how worried I was? Huh? Y-you!” Even as she wiped her tears, more kept streaming down. Throwing herself into his arms, she burst into loud, childlike sobs.

Dale gently stroked her hair as she clung to him. “I’m sorry!”

“B-but more importantly, y-you’re okay now, right? You’re not going to suddenly fall asleep for months again, right?” she asked, sniffling.

“Yeah. That won’t happen anymore.”

After entering his mindscape, Dale had desperately struggled to control the violently rampaging Primordial Flame. As a result, he hadn’t just restored balance between the Primordial Flame and the Tree of Creation; he had taken it a step further.

“I’ve completely fused the power of the Tree of Creation and the Primordial Flame into one,” he explained.

Iris was surprised. “You... fused them?”

“Yeah.”

Dale ignited a small flame in his palm, a small ember of Ashen Flame. Since he was still holding Iris close, her skin brushed against the burning embers.

“It’s not hot at all?” Iris said, dumbfounded.

“That’s because I can control it completely now,” he explained.

Fusing both powers had brought many changes. Among them, two were the most important. First, no matter how much he drew upon the Primordial Flame, he no longer had to fear losing control. Second, he could now control his Blessing.

“I can stop the Blessing of Resurrection whenever I want,” Dale said.

Iris’s eyes widened. “T-then that means... You’re no longer immortal?”

“Well, it’s still active right now. But someday, after a very, very long time, I can turn it off.”

When the day came that he wished to end his long journey, he would finally be able to bring it to a close.

She threw her arms around him, overcome with emotion. “Dale!”

Truthfully, she had always been worried. That one day, after many long years, when she, Yurina, and the others were gone, Dale would be left behind alone. But if he could turn his Blessing of Resurrection on and off at will, then she no longer had to fear leaving him behind in an endless life.

“I’m so glad... really,” she said.

“Yeah!” Dale nodded with a soft smile. “Ugh.”

She looked at him. “Don’t push yourself. Lie down a bit longer.”

“No, I’m fine. I feel stiff. I want to move a little.”

Dale got out of bed and walked over to the window. He looked at the sunlight shining through, something he hadn’t seen in a long time. As he opened it, cool air brushed against his face.

Hearing some commotion, he asked, “It sounds kind of noisy near the school plaza. What’s going on?”

“Oh, that’s because the graduation ceremony is tomorrow.”

“Graduation?” Dale was surprised that tomorrow was the graduation ceremony. “Wait, does that mean I’ve been asleep for almost six months?”

“What?” Iris asked.

Dale continued, “Well, I guess it’s a good thing I woke up before graduation. Oh, right, I didn’t attend any classes at all, but they’ll still let me graduate, right?”

After all, he had saved the academy, no, humanity itself. They wouldn’t hold him back just because of attendance.

Iris hesitantly said, “Um, Dale.”

“Yeah? What is it?”

“You weren’t asleep for six months. It’s been about a year and a half.”

“What?” Dale’s eyes widened. “A year and a half?”

“You didn’t even realize how much time had passed, did you?”

“I thought... At most, it had been a few months.”

* * *

I had spent too long in my mindscape, so my sense of time had completely fallen apart. When I realized I had made them wait for a year and a half, just imagining how much worry and anxiety they had endured made my chest tighten.

“I’m sorry... I made you wait far too long,” I said.

Iris stepped closer and gently kissed me. “As long as you know.”

“Wait! Then you and Yurina...”

“Yes. We both graduated a year ago,” Iris replied.

“Huh!”

Wait a second.

I asked, “Then what about me?”

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