The Lowest-Ranked Hero Has Returned

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Chapter 76: Observation Class (2)

The day of the classroom observation had arrived.

I stared out at the bustling school through the dormitory window and let myself fall onto the bed.

“Sigh.”

A lazy sigh escaped from my lips.

“There's really nothing to do around this time.”

As the name "Parent Observation Day" suggests, most activities centre around the cadets and their parents.

For cadets like me, whose parents won’t be attending, it often means having a lot of free time with nothing to do.

Some cadets actually welcomed this free day, as it meant an unexpected break from classes without their parents visiting.

‘I used to really hate observation days.’

Now, I feel nothing about the absence of my parents, but in my previous life, I carried a heavy inferiority complex because I was an orphan without parents.

I even secretly wished for the happiness of those laughing with their parents to turn into misery.

“Ugh, thinking about it now is so embarrassing.”

I shook my head, cringing at the awkward memories of my past life.

‘Maybe I should at least check out the observation classes.’

In the past, I’d deliberately avoid areas where the observation classes were being held, but now, I had no reason to.

Others had long filled the empty space left by my parents.

“Alright.”

Lying in bed doing nothing wouldn’t change the fact that there was nothing to do.

I might as well check out something I wouldn’t have even considered in my previous life: the “classroom observation.”

“Hup.”

I got up from the bed, changed into my uniform, and stepped outside.

The school was already bustling with people, as parents had begun arriving.

“My son! How have you been? How’s school life treating you? Are the classes manageable?”

“Ah, mom. Please don’t hug me in front of everyone. I’m not a little kid anymore!”

“Oh, listen to this kid talk! Feels like just yesterday I was changing your diapers.”

“I’m twenty years old now. What do you mean ‘yesterday’?”

From families bickering playfully—

“What’s up with your midterm results? Huh? Are you planning on becoming a hero or not?”

“Well, I was just nervous because it was my first real battle…”

“Hmph. Then what have you been learning for the past two years? Do you think we sent you here to slack off?”

“…Sorry.”

“If you keep up with those grades, don’t expect me to write a recommendation letter to your dad’s guild.”

“No! I have to get in there!”

—to parents scolding their kids as soon as they saw them, it was a peaceful scene.

‘How long will such peace last?’

I wasn’t sure, not even with my past life’s experiences.

The future had already begun to change in ways I couldn’t predict.

“Now then…”

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I wandered through the crowded school plaza, looking around.

I was curious if I might spot any familiar faces, but no one stood out.

‘Come to think of it, Iris mentioned she was from an orphanage, too.’

I wasn’t sure if Camilla was also from an orphanage, but as a Holy Knight serving as the Saint’s guard, her parents probably wouldn’t be visiting either.

‘Berald also said his parents weren’t coming.’

Berald, who was often called “the disgrace of the Ryu family,” had apparently asked his parents not to come.

After all, the Ryu family’s main branch members were likely here today.

‘Where’s Yuren?’

I looked around the plaza for Yuren, but he was nowhere to be seen.

“Phew.”

After wandering aimlessly for quite some time, thirst hit me.

‘It’s not even June yet, but it’s boiling.’

I headed to the back of the school building, planning to grab a drink from the vending machine.

“…Was your journey here uncomfortable in any way?”

Yuren’s voice echoed from somewhere.

“Huh?”

I tilted my head and walked in the direction of the voice.

There, I saw a woman in an elegant, old-fashioned dress, who immediately made me think of the word “noblewoman.”

Behind her stood a man with sharp eyes, watching the surroundings like a shadow.

‘Is that Yuren’s mother?’

I’d heard that Yuren’s father passed away when he was young, so the man must be her escort or something.

‘Yuren’s mother’s name was… Rosanna Helios, right?’

Rosanna of the Flash.

I’d never met her or spoken to her in my previous life, but I had heard her name before.

‘She was the hero who breathed life back into the declining Helios family.’

She had made quite a name for herself during her prime years.

As I recalled those memories, Rosanna’s voice continued.

“Yes, I’ve come.”

“Why did you come all of a sudden?”

“Am I not allowed to visit to see my son’s face?”

Rosanna looked at Yuren with cold eyes.

He hurriedly shook his head, flustered.

“N-no, it’s not that… It’s just… You’re always busy with the family affairs.”

“I had something to discuss.”

“Discuss…?”

Yuren, clearly nervous, looked at her anxiously.

“Before that.”

Rosanna’s gaze turned toward me.

“And who might that person be?”

“…”

I hadn’t been trying to hide my presence, but I didn’t expect to be noticed this quickly.

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I shrugged and walked toward Yuren.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Dale Han, a friend of Yuren’s.”

“D-Dale? Why are you here…?”

Yuren looked at me with a startled expression.

“…A friend?”

Rosanna looked me up and down with sharp eyes, then scoffed as if it were absurd.

“Yuren, are you telling me you’ve been hanging around with a Republican mutt?”

“…”

Republican mutt.

It was a derogatory term used by imperial nobles to demean people from the Republic. About 300 years ago, the Republic officially abandoned its old currency and name conventions and began adopting the continent's culture, which is when the term gained popularity.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve heard that.’

At the time when the Republic first opened its doors and changed the name order from “surname + given name” to “given name + surname” to align with continental customs, the term “mutt” was common.

But after 300 years, it had long since become an outdated term, used only by a few stubborn imperial nobles.

‘Now I understand why Yuren never talked much about his mother.’

Rosanna Helios was the perfect example of the type of "old-fashioned Imperial noble" that Yuren had hated the most in his previous life.

“Mother! What kind of outrageous statement is that to my friend?!”

Of course.

Yuren, who had been showing a constantly timid demeanor, now contorted his face with anger and stepped forward.

“…What?”

Rosanna looked at Yuren with a bewildered expression as he stood in front of me, blocking her path.

“What are you doing?”

“Ugh…”

Yuren flinched at his mother’s cold voice, his shoulders trembling.

He froze, like a frog staring down a snake.

Even his legs, which hadn’t trembled in front of demons, now shook pitifully like leaves in the wind.

“So… what I mean is…”

“This is why I argued that the dormitory system should be abolished…”

Rosanna sighed deeply, glaring sharply at Yuren.

“Where did you pick up that disrespectful manner of speaking?”

“…”

“Was it that half-breed from the Republic that taught you?”

“Ugh…!”

Gritting his teeth, Yuren, who had been trembling pitifully, glared at Rosanna.

“At the Hero Academy, any speech discriminating against another nation is prohibited! You know that, don’t you, Mother?!”

“Ha, are you lecturing me right now?”

“It’s not a lecture! I’m merely informing you of the " neutral zone" rules!”

Even though he was afraid, Yuren spoke firmly, not backing down.

“If you break the rules, it will disgrace the Helios family name!”

“Honor? Did you just say honor?”

Rosanna's face twisted with rage.

The Stigma on her body began to glow, and golden mana enveloped her.

“How dare you…! How dare you speak of the honor of the Helios family in front of me?!”

Whoosh!

Her arm swung fiercely, cutting through the air.

Just before Rosanna’s hand could slap Yuren’s cheek—

Smack!

I grabbed Rosanna's arm as it lashed out wildly.

“I intended on watching this quietly, but you’re really losing it.”

I had no intention of intervening in Yuren’s personal family matters, but I couldn’t stand by and watch this any longer.

Pulling her arm, I stepped in front of Rosanna.

“Enough already, lady.”

“…What?”

Rosanna stared at me with wide eyes and a gaping mouth.

“Did you… just call me ‘lady’?”

“I mean, what else would I call you? You’re not a young woman, right?”

People should be honest.

If you have a 20-year-old son, expecting to be called young is a bit much.

“How dare you…!”

Perhaps being called “lady” so blatantly had hit a nerve.

Rosanna’s face turned red with anger as she struggled to free her arm from my grip.

“Ugh?!”

Her arm didn’t budge despite her efforts, and Rosanna’s face twisted with frustration.

She might have been confident in her skills, considering she was once known as “Rosanna the Flash,” a hero of great renown, even if she was retired now.

But—

‘Not even close.’

If she was a hero who had made a name for herself in the past, I was one of the “Last Five Heroes” in my previous life.

And now, I had achieved a level of skill far beyond what I had back then.

Compared to the heights I had reached, her abilities were no more than a firefly's glow beneath the sun.

“Urgh!”

Rosanna's expression became more contorted as she intensified her mana.

She had far more raw mana than I did, not surprising considering she was Yuren’s mother.

But power wasn’t everything—how one used it also mattered.

By skillfully shifting my center of gravity, I kept her arm tightly restrained.

Rosanna’s face grew increasingly furious.

“Robert!”

At Rosanna’s sharp command, a man who had been standing in the shadows reached for the sword at his waist.

Just as the sword was halfway out of its sheath—

“Hey.”

Swish—Clunk!

With a flick of my palm, I slammed the sword back into its scabbard.

The man, who had been called Robert, took a startled step back, his face pale.

“Don’t draw that.”

If you do, you’ll die.

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