The Lowest-Ranked Hero Has Returned
After bidding farewell to Empress Camellia, I immediately returned to the Hero Academy with Elisha.
Had I unconsciously come to think of the Hero Academy as my "home"?
As the school gates came into view, a sense of relief washed over me, as if I were returning from a long journey.
A wave of exhaustion spread through my body.
"I'll go report the incident's progress to the Principal."
"Shall I go with you?"
"No, it's fine. You should get some rest, Dale."
With those words, Elisha began walking toward the school gates—only to suddenly stop in her tracks.
"...Once I step past this gate, I’m no longer Elisha. I have to return to being 'Professor.'"
"I know... I mean, I understand."
"Heh. Didn’t you just say 'once I step past the gate'?"
Elisha approached with a faint smile.
She gently caressed my cheek, then lightly grasped my chin and placed a soft kiss on my lips.
Compared to our usual kisses, this one was nothing more than a fleeting touch of our lips.
But that alone seemed to be enough for her.
With a satisfied expression, Elisha turned away.
"Let’s go, Cadet Dale."
"Yes, Professor."
And so, what could be considered either a short or a long journey to the Empire came to an end.
Beyond the gates, everyday life awaited.
After parting ways with Professor Elisha, I headed to the party house before returning to the dormitory.
It had been a week... no, nearly ten days since I last set foot inside.
Click.
As soon as I opened the door, I was greeted by the sight of Berald, shirtless, wiping his body with a towel.
"Arghhh!"
Bulging muscles that looked ready to spring to life, glistening bronze skin drenched in sweat, and those nipples that stood defiantly on his chest.
The horrifying visual assault struck my eyes directly, making me scream involuntarily.
"Ah! Brother! Where on earth have you been?!"
Upon seeing me, Berald stomped over with heavy steps.
"D-Don’t come near me! Stay back, you bastard!"
"Hey now! You disappeared without a word and reappear after ten days—why so cold?! Come, into the embrace of Berald!"
"Ugh!"
He’s heavy!
He’s sweaty!
He stinks!
"I was really worried since you didn’t send any messages!"
"Ugh... grk... s-save... me..."
"Wait! Why is your face turning purple?! Were you injured somewhere?!"
"...No, you’re the one injuring me right now."
Had the commotion downstairs been heard?
Senior Sophia descended the stairs, frowning.
"Berald. Didn’t I tell you not to walk around half-naked?"
"Ah, sorry. My clothes tore during training, so I had no choice."
Berald scratched his head with an awkward smile.
"Come to think of it, my clothes have been tearing a lot recently. Last time, you even made me a new one...."
"It’s fine. I’ll make another one."
"Ah, no. You’ve already made me more than five! I can’t trouble you any further—"
"It’s not difficult, so don’t worry. Besides, where else would you find training clothes that fit your body size?"
"Well, that’s true...."
Berald trailed off, tilting his head in confusion.
"By the way, senior... can I ask what you use to make my training clothes?"
"Why?"
"Well... I don’t mean to be ungrateful, but they seem to tear way too easily...."
Berald muttered awkwardly.
"They’re just made from cheap fabric so they can be thrown away when they rip."
"Hmm. But didn’t you also enchant them?"
"M-Magic? W-What magic? What are you talking about?"
The moment he mentioned magic, Sophia visibly flinched.
Berald blinked in surprise, tilting his head.
"Huh? I could feel traces of your magic in the fabric...."
"You’re imagining things! I definitely didn’t cast any corrosion magic to make the fabric rip more easily!"
"...I never said anything about corrosion magic, though."
"A-Anyway! Instead of nitpicking, just wear what I give you!"
"A-Alright."
Sophia let out a relieved sigh, clutching her chest—not that there was much to clutch.
"......"
So she did enchant them with corrosion magic.
‘No wonder they tore so quickly.’
Sophia usually stayed in her magical research lab on the third floor of the party house.
Even if she’d heard the commotion, she had come downstairs far too quickly—clearly, she had another motive.
"Ahem. Well, anyway."
Sophia quickly changed the topic, shifting her gaze to me.
"I heard you went to the Empire with Professor Elisha for some business... but why didn’t you contact us at all?"
"There were... circumstances."
While being questioned over the attempted assassination of Empress Camellia, all my communication magic tools had been confiscated.
From the party’s perspective, it must have seemed like I suddenly vanished with Professor Elisha and cut off contact for over a week.
It was only natural that they were worried.
"Well, once the Principal assured me that you and Professor Elisha were safe, I stopped worrying too much...."
Sophia let out a small sigh and shook her head.
"But the others had a rough time."
"That’s..."
I had anticipated that much, but hearing it from Sophia made my heart sink.
"Where are the other party members?"
"Lanez hasn’t been to the party house in days, and as for Iris and Yurina..."
Click.
Before Sophia could finish speaking, the door to the party house opened.
The ones who entered were Iris, Camilla, and Yurina—currently in her disguise as Yuren.
"Huh?"
"...Dale?"
“D-Dale?”
The eyes of the three women widened in shock.
As if time had stopped, silence filled the room, but the first to greet me was Iris.
...Though I wasn’t entirely sure if I should call that a "greeting."
“You, you damned bastard!!! Where the hell have you been running around in the Empire without a single message?!”
...Damned bastard, huh.
I guess being a saint makes her choice of words rather refined.
“Do you have any idea how worried I was?! You son of a—! I’ll smash your—! You little—!!!”
“L-Lady Saint! Please calm yourself!”
For some reason, a loud beeping sound kept ringing in my head.
Camilla hurriedly covered Iris’s mouth.
“Mmmpf! Mmmphhh!!!”
Iris flailed her legs wildly while being restrained by Camilla.
Judging by her furious glare, she still hadn’t calmed down, but thankfully(?) Camilla held her tightly enough to prevent further commotion.
“Are you okay? You’re not hurt anywhere?”
Yuren... No, Yurina approached me with a much calmer expression than Iris.
“Yeah. I had some circumstances, so I couldn’t contact you, but I didn’t get hurt or anything.”
Well, honestly, even if I were pulverized down to a cellular level, I’d still regenerate just fine, so injuries didn’t really matter to me.
‘Though I seem to be the only one who thinks that way.’
Yurina, Iris, and even my other lovers...
Despite knowing I had an immortal body, they always worried about my well-being first.
‘...Not that I dislike it.’
On the contrary, I was grateful.
It was proof that they saw me not as some undying monster, but as a human being.
“What about Professor Elisha? I heard she went with you...”
“She’s fine too. She went to report to the Principal just now.”
“Phew. That’s a relief.”
Hearing that, Yurina let out a sigh of relief, placing a hand over her chest.
“We were really worried when we suddenly lost contact with you.”
“...Sorry.”
If I had known they’d be this worried, I would have at least asked Empress Camellia to let me send a letter.
Regret hit me belatedly.
“It’s okay. I’m sure you had your reasons.”
Yurina shook her head as she continued.
“So... can you tell us what happened?”
“Of course.”
I was planning to explain everything to my party members anyway.
“By the way, what about Lanez...?”
“We can call Lanez later. For now, just tell us what happened.”
“Hmm... Got it.”
I’d have to repeat the story later, but considering how much I had worried them, that much effort was nothing.
“Alright, everyone, gather in the lounge.”
The second-floor lounge of our party house.
With Lanez absent, I explained everything that had happened to the rest of my party.
“The Archbishop of Corruption... was actually trying to prevent the resurrection of the Demon God?”
“And what did he mean when he called you the ‘Heir of Destruction’?”
Yurina and Iris (who had thankfully calmed down) frowned as they asked.
“That... I don’t know yet.”
I still didn’t have enough information.
“But at least this means you stopped a war between the Empire and the Republic, right?”
“Yes. Though the future could change again... for now, that’s how it is.”
“That’s a relief. If a war had broken out...”
Sophia trailed off as she glanced at Berald.
Sophia was from the Empire, while Berald was from the Republic.
If their nations had gone to war, their relationship would have become complicated.
“But didn’t you stop the assassination plan pretty quickly? Why did you stay in the Empire for so long?”
“Oh, that...”
I continued explaining what had happened with Empress Camellia.
“Heh...”
Iris narrowed her eyes.
She suddenly stood up and sat down next to me—on my right.
“So... Empress Camellia asked you to become her consort?”
“A-Ah, yeah.”
“......”
Again?
The look in Iris and Yurina’s eyes said exactly that as they glared at me.
“N-No! I told you, I turned her down!”
“Hmph. Is that so?”
Yurina got up and sat on my left.
“But Dale.”
“Y-Yeah?”
“When you rejected the Empress’s proposal... you said Professor Elisha was there, right?”
“...Yeah? Why?”
“Well, if I were Professor Elisha, I wouldn’t have just sat there quietly.”
“......”
Gulp.
I swallowed dryly.
“Come to think of it, did you and Professor Elisha share the same room while you were under investigation?”
“Oh... uh... w-well, technically, yes.”
“Heh. I see. So that’s how it was.”
Iris flashed a beautiful yet dangerous smile.
“In that case...”
“...While we were losing sleep worrying about you, you and Professor Elisha were off enjoying a sweet, romantic time together?”
“......”
Mayday, mayday.

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