The Lowest-Ranked Hero Has Returned
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A garden brimming with fresh, fragrant flowers.
A man wearing a white mask hummed a tune as he watered the flowers in the flowerbed.
Drip, drip.
A butterfly landed delicately on a petal, glistening with transparent droplets.
The chirping of birds, the croaking of frogs, the fully bloomed flowers, and the tall, sturdy trees—all came together to create a scene so beautiful one might think it was paradise itself.
“Whew. There’s really nothing like this for healing.”
The masked man looked at the garden he had personally cultivated and smiled contentedly.
He walked toward an old rocking chair in the center of the garden.
“Alright, I’ve watered everything, so now I can relax and read my book...”
Knock, knock.
Just then.
A hard knock echoed—unfitting for the tranquil garden.
“Come in.”
The garden door opened, and a slim figure wearing a bear mask stepped inside.
The man in the white mask turned to the bear mask and asked,
“What is it?”
“The wolf is dead.”
“...”
A moment of silence descended.
The man in the white mask leisurely sat in the rocking chair.
“By whom?”
“Well...”
The bear-masked man trailed off.
“You couldn’t even confirm who killed him?”
“...Apologies. All we know for sure is that it’s someone associated with Hero Academy.”
“Hero Academy, huh.”
Tsk.
The white-masked man clicked his tongue.
He picked up a book from the table beside his chair and opened it.
“What should we do? With the Seven Stars Festival at Hero Academy coming up, should we infiltrate...”
“No, it’s fine.”
The man in the white mask slowly shook his head.
His sharp black eyes gleamed through the slits of the mask.
“What’s important right now is the ‘Empress.’”
“Yes.”
“Contact Mephisto.”
The white-masked man flipped a page in his old book and continued,
“Tell him the ‘embers’ have started to rise beneath the Imperial Palace.”
The three-story combat arena.
Rather than calling it a “combat arena,” “party house” would be a more fitting description given its size and grandeur. The sound of gasps filled the space.
“Wow... Is this entire building reserved just for our party?”
“That’s right.”
Iris widened her eyes in disbelief, looking around the place.
Even as a saintess of the Holy Kingdom, accustomed to top-tier treatment at school, she couldn’t close her gaping mouth at such overwhelming extravagance.
She wasn’t the only one stunned by the sheer scale of the combat arena.
Both Berald and Sophia, who had only recently come to the capital from the countryside, looked around the building like awestruck villagers.
“To think we got this as a reward... What on earth did you do out there, Brother?”
“Did you hypnotize the headmaster or something?”
“Hypnosis? What hypnosis?”
Even if I had such a power, why would I use it on a 150-year-old geezer?
“Hypnosis...?”
“Hm?”
“Hypnosis... Hypnosis. That’s an idea... I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Lanez?”
“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing!”
No, it’s definitely not nothing.
“Ehehe. This building is amazing~ Dale!”
You didn’t seem interested at all until just now.
“Well, this way leads to the entrance of the combat arena...”
“Oh, Dale! You said the second floor is a lounge, right? Can we check that out first?”
“Wasn’t the third floor empty? We could use it as a magic lab.”
“Brother! How about we throw a celebration party today to commemorate getting our base?!”
Maybe they were excited to have a place exclusively for their party.
Although it was officially a “combat arena,” they seemed more interested in other features than the training aspect.
“Dale... W-where’s the changing room?”
“...”
Lanez, what are you planning to do that you’re asking about the changing room first?
Sigh.
Everyone here is diligent when it comes to training, but I guess it’s only natural to be more interested in the “party’s own space” than in the training.
Groan.
What’s the point of working so hard to set up a state-of-the-art combat arena if no one even cares?
“Dale! The combat arena! Where’s the combat arena?!”
As I was sulking, an excited voice reached my ears.
“You want to check out the combat arena first?”
“Of course! It’s such a fantastic arena! Didn’t you say it uses the latest Republic technology for training modes? How do you use it? Did you try it yourself? Professor Elisha said there’s even a ridiculous ‘challenge mode’ in it!”
Yurina’s starry-eyed excitement led her to fire off a barrage of questions.
She always loved training, so it was no surprise that she was most intrigued by the arena’s advanced facilities.
“This is amazing! Dale, can I use it right now?”
“Yurina.”
“Yeah?”
“You’re the best.”
“Huh? What’s with you?”
I pulled Yurina (in her full Yurina mode) into a tight hug.
You’re the only one who understands the fruits of my labor.
“Yurina’s right. Everyone, hurry up and change into your training clothes so we can start party training immediately.”
Ah, maybe there’s one more person.
“Let’s start training tomorrow.”
“What did you say?”
Camilla frowned at the suggestion to postpone training.
With a stern expression, she put her hands on her hips.
“Start training tomorrow? Weren’t we supposed to begin today?”
“We haven’t even finished unpacking, and it’s the first day. Let’s just tour the arena today and follow Berald’s suggestion to celebrate with a party in the lounge on the second floor.”
Although I was a bit upset that no one seemed interested in the arena itself, I had no intention of starting training today.
Besides, on the first day of school, lectures are usually just about going over the semester plan while taking it easy, right?
‘Though there were times when I skipped the first week of lectures, only to get blindsided when they started actual lessons.’
Anyway.
Since it’s the first day of having our combat arena, it seemed best to toast with the party members and plan for the future.
“Hmph! Pathetic!”
Camilla snorted in disdain and firmly shook her head.
With her arms crossed, she scowled fiercely.
"How can you expect to become the strongest party, surpassing the 'Five Great Heroes,' with such a rotten attitude?!"
Since when did our party’s goal become so ambitious?
Well, I guess she’s not wrong since our ultimate objective is to defeat the Demon God’s army.
"If you skip a single day of training, you’ll struggle for three days! We don’t have the luxury to relax and throw celebratory parties!"
"Oh, right. Speaking of which, Principal Lionel sent us a rare bottle of liquor to commemorate the opening of the party house."
"...What."
One thing I’ve learned after spending over six months in a party with Camilla: this girl has a subtle fondness for alcohol.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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"It’s said to be the finest whiskey from the Holy Kingdom, personally gifted by Pope Marianne."
"..."
Especially the notoriously potent whiskey from the Holy Kingdom.
"As a devout follower of the Seven Stars Church, I can’t possibly refuse liquor gifted by the Pope."
Ahem.
Camilla gulped as she glanced sideways at the bottle.
‘Look at her practically drooling.’
Personally, I prefer wine or beer with lower alcohol content over the overly strong Holy Kingdom whiskey.
Anyway.
Now that I’ve lured Camilla in, there’s only one thing left to do.
"Alright then. While Berald and I go get some snacks and more drinks, you all stay here and keep looking around."
"Haha! We’ll be back in no time!"
Thus began the commemorative party held in the second-floor lounge.
At Berald’s suggestion to "throw a proper party if we’re going to do it," we stocked up on crates of beer and wine from the campus store, which now piled up like a mountain in the lounge corner.
"Alright then, let’s raise a toast to Dale and Principal Lionel for providing us with this amazing party house!"
“"Cheers!"”
The sound of glasses clinking marked the start of the real festivities.
"It feels nice having a place that’s just ours."
"You like it?"
"Yes."
Iris beamed as she nodded.
"By the way, why isn’t Professor Elisha here? It would’ve been nice to invite her too."
"Ah... well."
Something happened recently, you see.
"Did you get into a fight with Professor Elisha or something?"
"No, it’s not that."
I couldn’t bring myself to tell Iris about what happened that day.
‘Honestly, I’d rather keep that moment to myself.’
Thinking about the teary-eyed, embarrassed Professor Elisha made the corners of my lips curl up involuntarily.
"...You’re acting suspicious."
I quickly turned my head to avoid Iris’s piercing gaze.
Then I spotted Yurina taking a drink from Berald.
"Yurina, don’t drink too much tonight."
"Hm? Why?"
"...Why do you think?"
Had she already forgotten the incident during our last field trip?
"Haha, don’t worry, Dale. That time, I just barely overdid it a little. I’m great at handling my alcohol!"
"..."
"Dale, have you forgotten whose descendant I am?"
I distinctly remember her saying the exact same thing before passing out within an hour last time.
"...Berald, don’t give her too much."
"Hehe. Don’t worry, I’ll pace her properly, brother."
Berald grinned as he shrugged.
"By the way, brother, next week is the Seven Stars Festival. Got any plans?"
"Oh, is it that time already?"
Because of my recent suspension, I hadn’t attended classes much and completely forgot about the festival.
"Well... it’s not like it’s anything special, right?"
Since this isn’t a typical educational institution but a training school for heroes, the festival is notoriously modest.
The event lasts only a single day.
There are no fancy performances or guest singers.
At best, a few outside merchants set up stalls, like during the Seal Festival.
‘It’s less of a festival and more like a day off to drink and goof around.’
They do hold things like a poetry contest under the pretense that heroes need literary refinement (Professor Lucas won last year), but participation rates are extremely low.
"Still, don’t they shoot off fireworks in the evening?"
"Yeah, I guess they do."
Whether it’s fireworks or cannonballs, I couldn’t care less.
"Speaking of, have you heard this rumor?"
"What rumor?"
"You know, about the fireworks in the evening? They say there’s a single heart-shaped firework out of the hundreds launched, and if a couple kisses when it goes off, they’ll be together forever."
"...There’s a rumor like that?"
I’d never heard anything like that, even in my previous life.
"It’s been spreading rapidly among the trainees lately."
"Sounds like exactly the kind of rumor you’d expect in a school like this."
I chuckled, ready to dismiss it.
"Could you tell us more about that rumor?"
"You mean the one about the heart-shaped firework?"
"When does it usually go off?"
Before I realized it, Iris, Yurina, and Lanez had gathered in front of Berald, their eyes sparkling like stars.
"..."
Why did it feel like this year’s festival was going to be different from all the ones I’d experienced before?
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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