The Lowest-Ranked Hero Has Returned-Chapter 266

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 266: Interlude – Reunion

The day before the new semester began.

At the party house, the members, who had been scattered throughout the winter break, were finally gathered in one place again.

The reunion after more than a month apart should have been a warm and joyful occasion—

"Alright then. Shall we hear it? What exactly happened during winter break?"

—but instead, the atmosphere was so tense it felt like a sword fight could break out at any moment.

"Uh… well."

I began recalling the events of the winter break, one by one.

The first thing that came to mind was—

"I met Lanez's mother."

"Lanez's mother…?"

"W-wait a second. If you mean Lanez's mother… you’re talking about the Archbishop of the Frost, right?"

Iris and Yurina widened their eyes in shock.

"That… did I forget something? If it's Lanez's mother, then wasn't she…."

"Yes."

The Archbishop of the Frost had already passed away a long time ago.

"…Are you saying that a dead person has come back to life?"

Senior Sophia frowned, unable to understand.

"Exactly."

"What do you mean…."

"It was the work of the Order of Eternity."

Calmly, I explained what had happened that day.

As the story unfolded, my party members’ expressions shifted between shock, anger, and sorrow.

"Lanez… if something like that happened, you should have contacted us."

"Y-yeah! If we had known, we would have dropped everything and rushed over!"

"Why didn’t you say anything? From what I hear, this happened not long after winter break started."

Iris, Yurina, and Senior Sophia surrounded Lanez, pressing her for answers.

"U-ugh."

Lanez, who had been nibbling on yokan (which Berald had bought), suddenly shrank under their gaze, her shoulders trembling.

She looked like a small animal caught in a storm.

"I-I didn’t want to be a burden… Everyone was training so hard… so I just… didn’t say anything."

"A burden? What do you think we are? We would never consider something like this a burden!"

Iris frowned in frustration.

Feeling the sincerity in her scolding, a faint smile appeared on Lanez’s lips.

"I-it's okay. Besides, Dale… comforted me a lot."

Lanez turned toward me, her gaze filled with love.

"…Comforted?"

Iris’s expression hardened.

"Hmmm. Dale, how exactly did you comfort her?"

"T-that’s…."

Lanez hesitated, pressing her lips together before clenching her fists and shouting—

"I-I can't say!"

She covered her face with both hands and shook her head.

"……."

Even without words, the meaning was clear.

A heavy silence fell over the room.

"Dale."

"Y-yeah?"

"So… you're telling me that when Lanez was devastated from losing her mother again, you took advantage of the situation under the guise of comforting her?"

"No, that's not…."

To be precise, the one who made the first move was Lanez, not me.

"…Disgusting."

A gaze filled with contempt bore into me.

‘Wait.’

I’m being falsely accused here.

"Haa. Well, whatever. Lanez was the only one who hadn't made any progress with Dale anyway."

Iris sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"So then."

Her eyes gleamed sharply as she glared at me.

"What about the Empress?"

"Uh…."

"From what I heard, the same Empress who once proposed to make you her consort actually came to visit the academy. Is that true?"

"W-well, yes, but…."

"Hmmm."

Iris crossed her legs, placing her hands on her thigh as she narrowed her eyes.

"So, what exactly happened with the Empress?"

"N-nothing much…."

"I’ll explain that part!"

Lanez suddenly jumped to her feet.

With one hand confidently placed on her hip, she proudly declared—

"Dale dressed up reaaally handsomely under the Empress’s orders and received a reward!"

"What."

Hold on, Lanez.

You’re skipping a lot of important details.

"Here, look at this! A picture of Dale all dressed up!"

Lanez turned on her Hero Watch and displayed a photo of me in disguise.

Thanks to Juliet’s magic (?), I looked like some high-class young noble from a republic.

‘Wait.’

Why does Lanez even have this picture?

"Hmph! I tracked down Juliet and persuaded—I mean, convinced him to give it to me!"

"……."

Iris and Yurina stared at the image, their expressions frozen in shock.

"Dale… what exactly…."

"Wait. You're misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding? What’s there to misunderstand? Are you saying the Empress didn't order you to do it?"

"No, that part’s true, but…."

"Then are you saying that the usually plain Dale, who never puts effort into his appearance even on dates, suddenly dressed up for the Empress?"

"W-well, that’s also true, but…."

"And that you received a reward from her?"

"That too…."

"Then what exactly is the misunderstanding?"

"……."

I have no words.

"And then… I heard you also visited Professor Elisha at her secluded training ground?"

"Ah, w-well, yeah. I just got back from there, actually."

"Hmmm. From what my sister told me, you went there a few days ago. What exactly were you doing all that time?"

"……."

"You can be honest with us."

Iris smiled sweetly while making a certain gesture with her fingers.

"You did, didn’t you?"

T-that’s a bit too vulgar for a saintess, you know.

"So, to summarize Dale’s winter break…"

Iris’s gaze grew colder.

"He comforted Lanez, received a reward from the Empress, and spent several days in seclusion with Professor Elisha."

"W-wait."

That’s an extreme oversimplification.

But… when you put it that way…

"Hohoho."

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Iris's dry laughter sent a chill down my spine.

"Let's save the joyful reunion party for later... Could you all step aside for a moment?"

She flashed a charming smile as she glanced around at the party members gathered in the break room.

The deadly intensity in her gaze made them nod silently and rise from their seats.

All except one.

"A-Ah, Iris! I have something to talk about with Dale too!"

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Yurina suddenly stood up and shouted.

"Yurina, you can talk to him tomorrow—"

"But tomorrow is the start of the new school term!"

"Ah."

Iris let out a quiet sigh, as if she had no other choice.

"Fine then. Yurina, you can stay here too. Since... "

She narrowed her eyes and looked at me.

"It seems like Dale and I have a lot to 'talk' about."

"......"

Scary.

The saintess is scary.

"A-Actually, then I’ll stay too!"

Lanez's eyes sparkled as she raised her hand, but—

"You already spent the entire break with Dale, didn't you?"

"Ugh."

"Just the two of you."

"T-That was..."

"You know exactly what I mean, don't you, sister?"

"Hi-Hiiing."

Lanez stomped her feet in frustration, glanced at me, then sighed deeply and nodded.

"Alright. Th-Then... See you tomorrow, Dale."

If you make it until then—she left that ominous remark hanging before turning to leave.

Thud.

The sound of the door closing left only me, Iris, and Yurina in the break room.

A heavy silence settled in, but Iris was the first to break it.

"So, it’s been a month… No, more than a month now."

She smiled faintly as she got up.

"Do you have any idea how much I’ve wanted to see you?"

"I... I wanted to see you too."

"Hmm. Funny, coming from someone who’s been fooling around with other girls."

"Ugh."

"Well, whatever. I was the one who decided to spend a month training away from you."

"I'm sorry."

"Hehe. So, you do feel guilty?"

Iris flashed her beautiful eye smile before turning to Yurina.

"By the way, Yurina, did you bring what I asked for?"

"U-Uh, yeah. I brought it... But you’re not going to wear it now, are you?"

"If not now, then when?"

"But..."

Yurina glanced at both me and Iris, her cheeks flushing red.

"...Haah. A-Alright."

"Dale, wait here for a moment. We’ll go change and come back."

With that, Iris and Yurina left the break room.

I sat there, half-expecting and half-dreading what kind of outfit they were about to change into.

Five minutes passed.

Click.

The door carefully creaked open.

And stepping through it...

“…Ah.”

Iris was dressed in white stockings and a garter belt, while Yurina wore the same, but in black.

I had seen Yurina in this outfit once before, but seeing them both dressed like this together—

The impact wasn’t just doubled.

It was squared.

"What do you think? Yurina said you liked it a lot before, so I prepared this just for you."

"I-I tried to stop her, really…"

Iris approached with a seductive smile, while Yurina, her face flushed, turned her gaze away.

They say that in cooking, the combination of sweet and salty flavors is the best.

With the contrast between their reactions, my heart pounded so violently it felt like it might explode.

"Originally, I wanted to show you in a more romantic setting, just the two of us..."

Iris leaned in, exhaling a heated breath.

Haa.

The warmth in her breath betrayed her excitement.

"But now that I finally see you again… I just can’t hold back."

"I... I feel the same."

Hesitantly, Yurina snuggled up against me from the other side, wrapping her arms around mine.

"I've been holding back… all this time."

Her moist, shimmering eyes met mine.

"......"

Two women pressing close against me.

The soft touch of their skin through thin fabric.

Their warm, breathy voices tickling my ears.

Hah.

How many men could possibly keep their sanity in this situation?

‘Judging by their expressions… this isn’t going to be over in just one night.’

Tomorrow was the first day of the new school term.

‘If I skip the first day of school…’

For a brief moment, I saw the image of a failing grade flashing in my mind.

‘Ah, whatever.’

Skipping one day wouldn’t be the end of the world, right?

[PR/N: TRASH!!!!!]

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]