The Last-Seat Hero Has Returned - Chapter 87



87. The Maid Outfit Rides on a Person (1)

Yurina’s personal training hall.

The vastness of the space was almost embarrassing to label as ‘personal’ as Yurina and I changed into our training clothes and finished a light warm-up.

“Dale, want to spar for the first time in a while?”

“Sounds good.”

I had been wanting to move my body a bit anyway.

‘I’m curious to see how much Yurina has grown this time.’

She was already powerful enough to be counted among the top five strongest heroes of humanity, even without a divine blessing. I wondered just how far she could grow now that she had awakened her blessing.

Even I, who had watched over her through both her past life and this one, couldn’t fathom the limits of her potential.

“Are you going to use the black training sword?”

“No, let’s use the real one.”

At our current levels, whether we wielded a training sword or a true blade, the lethality would be similar.

In fact, using a training sword with its poor durability posed a greater risk; it could shatter mid-fight, unable to withstand the magical energy.

“Okay, got it.”

Yurina seemed to understand this well, drawing forth the true sword.

It was a blade crafted from the horn of a unicorn, awarded for placing first in the midterm evaluation.

A silver aura flared up along the razor-sharp edge.

“Then, I’ll begin!”

The sword, wrapped in silver light, shot towards me like a streak of lightning.

I raised my sword, deflecting the terrifyingly fast silver flash.

Krrrrrung!

The training ground shook as if an earthquake had struck.

A dizzying rebound coursed through my palm.

“Ugh!”

Yurina had always boasted an absurd amount of magical power, but ever since awakening her ‘Blessing,’ that power had surged even more.

‘It’s not just her magic that has increased.’

I narrowed my eyes, bracing against the fierce onslaught of Yurina’s strikes.

The level of the Sun Sword had changed entirely since our first duel.

‘Did I master up to the seventh form last time?’

The difference between the sixth and seventh forms was merely a number, but in terms of difficulty, it was worlds apart.

‘Even Rozanna, who has trained in the Sun Sword her whole life, never reached the seventh form.’

It wasn’t that Rozanna lacked talent.

In fact, she was among the more gifted heads of the Helios family throughout history.

‘That’s how absurdly difficult the seventh form is.’

In my past life, it took me nearly 300 years to properly wield the seventh form of the Sun Sword, having received direct instruction from Yurina.

When I faced the Demon God in our final battle, I had clumsily managed to use the sixth form; it had taken me 300 years just to climb one step.

Of course, my own talent had been abysmal, but even accounting for that, the seventh form of the Sun Sword was a realm that even considerable geniuses struggled to reach.

Kaaang! Kaggagagahng! Kank!

The silver flashes raged on fiercely.

I too had recently experienced a rapid rise in my own abilities, but facing Yurina, who had awakened her guardian and ascended to a new level of swordsmanship, it was difficult to hold my ground.

“Ugh!”

Boom!

Unable to withstand the onslaught of her strikes, my body was violently flung back, crashing against the wall of the training hall.

“Are you okay, Dale?”

Yurina approached with a worried expression.

I staggered to my feet, waving my hand as if to say I was fine.

“Sorry. I’m still not used to controlling my strength.”

Yurina scratched her head, a sheepish smile creeping onto her face.

“Then, let’s call it a day….”

“No.”

I shook my head, tightening my grip on the sword.

“Let’s do a bit more.”

“But….”

“Scared?”

“…….”

Yurina’s gaze sharpened slightly.

Once more, a silver aura ignited around her sword.

“You’ll regret this.”

“Heh.”

I let out a cracked laugh as I gripped my weapon.

It was clear that Yurina had achieved something significant this time.

She had awakened a guardian that she couldn’t in her past life, breaking through the ‘wall’ to reach a new realm.

Contrary to my worries.

She had grown even more rapidly than in her previous life.

‘But.’

She wasn’t the only one growing at such a pace.

“Bloom.”

Szzzzzz!

With the sound of flesh sizzling, gray smoke began to rise.

“Uh…?”

With her eyes wide open in surprise, she stepped back.

Boom!

A fierce strike enveloped in gray mist charged at her relentlessly.

“Ugh…!”

Just moments ago, Yurina had been pressing me without a breath, but now she swallowed her fear and retreated.

Flames danced along the blade.

The fire, mingled with the gray aura, began to gnaw at the silver light.

“Ahhh!”

Boom!

Yurina, her aura consumed by the ‘Primordial Fire,’ could no longer withstand the force and was flung back.

“Haah, haah. Dale… what on earth is that fire?”

Yurina gasped, looking at me as if she couldn’t believe it.

“Well, it’s like my own special move.”

I shrugged, leaning my back against the wall of the training hall.

I barely held on against the thick resilience that followed the ‘Ignition,’ waiting for my body to recover.

Once I felt somewhat restored, I approached Yurina, who was slumped down with a weary expression.

“Ugh… if it weren’t for you, Dale, my ‘Blessing’ would have been much stronger.”

Yurina, still sulking over her defeat in the spar, took my hand and pulled herself up.

“Oh, by the way! What’s the name of the Blessing you awakened this time?”

“It’s called the Blessing of Moonlight.”

“Oh.”

It would have been different back in the days when she was ‘Yuren,’ but now it was a name that suited Yurina perfectly.

“What kind of ability does it have?”

“…Well, that’s…”

Suddenly, Yurina’s face flushed, and she averted her gaze.

“I-I’ll tell you later.”

“……?”

I tilted my head, looking at her, but no answer came back.

“Ah… more importantly! That swordsmanship you use, Dale. I’ve felt it for a while now, but it seems really similar to… the ‘Solar Blade,’ doesn’t it?”

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“…Really?”

At the mention of “similar to the Sun Blade,” I involuntarily flinched, my shoulders trembling.

“Yeah. Well… even if I say it’s similar, if you look closely, it’s quite different in many ways.”

Yurina seemed to be recalling our sparring session, her lips brushing against her index finger as she continued.

“Oh, but… I don’t know if I should say this, but…”

“What is it?”

“The swordsmanship that Dale uses. It feels somehow… mismatched with him, you know?”

“What?”

The swordsmanship I was currently employing was one I had painstakingly perfected over thousands of years, based on the ‘Sun Blade.’

Aside from the basic structure, it was a style I had tailored from the ground up to fit me, so how could it be mismatched?

“Ah, to be precise, it’s not so much that it doesn’t match, but rather… it feels inefficient? Something like that.”

“…Inefficient?”

“Yeah.”

Yurina nodded, continuing her thoughts.

“Um… to put it metaphorically, it’s like a millionaire with a million gold deciding to save a bit by traveling by cart instead of using a warp gate? It’s not like Dale is lacking in magical power, but it feels like he’s trying too hard to save it.”

“……!”

It felt as if I had been struck hard on the back of the head with a hammer.

“Not lacking in magical power,” she said.

It was a phrase I had never heard in my life.

“Now that I think about it, my magical power has increased tremendously recently.”

And it wasn’t the forced, inflated power from elixirs or divine artifacts like in my past life; it was pure magical energy accumulated through the primordial fire.

“Ha.”

It was an obvious truth, but…

Using magical power sparingly at all times was far less effective than unleashing it decisively when it was truly needed.

“I had enough magical power, yet I was hoarding it out of habit.”

Honestly, if Yurina hadn’t pointed it out, I might never have realized the oddity of my own behavior.

For someone who had always struggled with a lack of magical power, conserving it had felt as natural as breathing.

“Could it be that my experiences from my past life have become a hindrance?”

The unexpected words left my mind in a haze.

“Um… was that too presumptuous to say in front of my master?”

Gazing at the rigid day, Yurina wore an awkward smile.

“That’s a cheeky thing to say. But it really helped me a lot.”

It wasn’t just empty words.

Yurina’s advice had delivered quite a shock to me, who had been steeped in the inertia of ‘past lives’ until now.

‘Who would have thought I’d learn again like this?’

A hollow laugh escaped me at my own arrogance, believing I had learned all there was to learn in my previous life.

“Hehe. I’m glad it helped.”

Yurina nodded, her face beaming with joy, as if she had just received the best news.

“Well, shall we take a break?”

“Yeah. Let’s do that.”

Still feeling the aftereffects of the ‘Ignition,’ I leaned against the wall of the training room and sat on the floor.

“Um, Dale…”

“Yeah?”

“Wait, I have something to show you.”

“What is it?”

“Well….”

Yurina swallowed hard, her expression tense.

“J-just wait here!”

With that, she dashed into the changing room inside the private training area.

About five minutes passed.

Click.

The door to the changing room opened cautiously.

“…Yurina?”

Emerging from the door, Yurina wore the maid outfit of the Helios family.

The same attire she had donned to humiliate Rozanna.

Her face flushed bright red, she twirled her silver hair around her fingers.

“Um, you made me wear this maid outfit for your mother, right?”

Wait a second.

“How do you know about that…?”

“I fainted, but I was a little conscious, you know.”

“……!”

So, consciousness remained.

Does that mean she remembers everything that happened between Rozanna and me?

“Dayle, do you like maid outfits?”

“Ah, no, it’s not that… I don’t really like maid outfits….”

“Lie. Then why did you make our mother wear one?”

“That’s….”

How could I possibly explain it?

I forced your mother into a maid outfit just to see that high-nosed lady in a state of humiliation, treating her like a slave.

“Uh, anyway! I don’t like maid outfits, so hurry up and change back!”

“Mm.”

Yurina lifted the hem of her skirt slightly with narrowed eyes.

Between the lifted fabric, her white ankles and pristine socks peeked through.

Without realizing it, my gaze drifted downward.

“For someone who doesn’t like it, your eyes seem quite honest, don’t they?”

Yurina approached me with a mischievous smile.

“No need to hesitate. Dayle is my benefactor who has protected my mark, right? If it’s what Dayle wants… I can do anything.”

She gently took my hand and declared with a bold voice.

“Come on! Quickly give me any command, Dayle! Just like you did with our mother, you can treat me like a slave too!”

“No.”

To make the daughter a slave just like her mother.

‘Saying it like that makes me feel like a terrible person.’