The Lowest-Ranked Hero Has Returned

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 139: Interlude - Heir of the Iron Fist (2)

“……”

Gilbert silently reached out his hand toward Berald, who was sobbing.

Gilbert’s hand patted Berald’s bowed head.

“Father…”

When Berald, his face covered in tears, raised his head.

Smack!

Gilbert’s hand sharply smacked the back of Berald’s head.

“Ugh!”

Berald clutched the back of his head, screaming in pain.

Gilbert clicked his tongue and gave Berald a sideways glance.

“What kind of man starts bawling right away?”

“H-Hey! The first thing you say after waking up in years is that?!”

“I got annoyed seeing my son crying right in front of me after all this time.”

“You grumpy old man!”

“What, you brat?! Is that how you talk to your father, huh?”

The two of them began yelling at each other.

‘What is this?’

I, along with Iris (Yuren and Camilla didn’t come, afraid they might interfere with the treatment), looked at each other blankly, watching their fight.

“Father, that’s been your problem from the start! You need to have some tact!”

“And you think you’re one to talk about tact, huh?”

“Ha, are you saying I’m tactless?”

“No, to be precise, it’s not about tact. It’s because you’re dumb.”

“Ugh! Is that something you say to your own son?”

“If it weren’t me, others would’ve left you out of frustration!”

“You lousy old man!”

“You disrespectful brat! What kind of upbringing did you have to turn out like this?”

“Is that something you should be saying?!”

Now they were grabbing each other by the collar, shouting at the top of their lungs.

As I quietly watched the scene, the door suddenly opened, and a middle-aged woman with a gentle look entered the room.

“Oh, my…! Sir! You’ve come to your senses!”

Anna, upon seeing Gilbert, covered her mouth and began crying tears of joy.

But only for a moment.

“Anna! Look at this disrespectful brat! He’s yelling ‘you lousy old man’ at his father!”

“That’s because you slapped me out of nowhere!”

“……”

Anna’s expression gradually hardened.

Gone was the gentle look, and her face twisted ferociously like a demon’s.

“Sir, young master.”

Her icy voice cooled the heated atmosphere in the room.

“Uh, yes. What’s the matter?”

“Ahem! Is something wrong…?”

Gilbert and Berald, both now wary, avoided Anna’s gaze.

Anna looked at the two and smiled sweetly.

“Behave yourselves.”

“……”

“……”

It was a moment when the hierarchy within the 'Ryu' family became crystal clear.

* * *

After the brief commotion was settled, Berald explained everything that had happened to Gilbert.

The battle with the Demon Cult five years ago, where Gilbert was severely injured.

The ensuing delirium that followed.

How Berald had entered the Hero Academy and formed a party with me, Yuren, Iris, and Camilla.

“Five years… Five years have passed?”

Gilbert let out a hollow laugh, rubbing his forehead.

“…You don’t remember anything?”

“No. I vaguely remember things. Not clearly though…”

Gilbert slowly recalled memories of the past five years.

With a bitter smile, he looked at Berald.

“You’ve had a tough time because of your terrible father, haven’t you?”

He gently placed a hand on Berald’s shoulder.

Berald bit his lip and turned his head away, avoiding Gilbert’s gaze.

“…What are you doing? This doesn’t suit you.”

“Heh, yeah… it doesn’t suit me.”

Still, Gilbert softly stroked Berald’s head with a faint smile.

“You’ve grown a lot, my son. You’ve become quite strong while I wasn’t watching.”

“……”

Berald kept his head bowed, lips tightly shut.

“Are you crying again?”

“W-Who’s crying?!”

Gilbert chuckled.

“Heh. Who did you inherit all these tears from?”

“Hmph, obviously from you, Father.”

“You little brat. I’ve never shed a tear in my life!”

“Just from what I remember, it’s been more than five times…”

“Ahem. Silence.”

Gilbert coughed and turned his head.

He then looked at Iris and me.

“Are these the ones who helped you?”

“There are two more.”

“Bring them in.”

Berald nodded and walked out of the room.

Soon, Yuren and Camilla entered the room with Berald.

“Ah… Hello.”

“It’s an honor to meet the esteemed elder of the Ryu family.”

Yuren and Camilla greeted Gilbert.

Gilbert looked them over and slowly stood up from the bed.

Swaying.

As he stumbled, Berald hurried to approach him, but—

“No need.”

Gilbert shook his head, firmly standing on both feet.

His massive frame, comparable to Berald’s.

Though his body had aged, his aura was still that of a fierce beast.

“Thank you for staying by my foolish son’s side.”

Gilbert bowed respectfully.

My party and I bowed back to him.

"By the way, you said you got into the Hero Academy, right?"

"Hehe, that's right. I'm in my second year now."

"Did you meet all your party members there?"

"That's right."

Berald nodded and began introducing us one by one.

"This handsome man here is Yuren! He's the young master of the famous Helios family!"

"Helios? You don't mean that Helios family...?"

"Hehe, yes! Yuren is a descendant of the 'Sword of the Sun'!"

"...Wow."

Gilbert let out a disbelieving chuckle, looking back and forth between Berald and Yuren.

"...If this is fate, I guess it really is fate."

"Hm? What are you talking about?"

"It's nothing. Who are the others?"

Berald, excited, continued with the introductions.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

"This is Camilla!"

"Senior."

"Ahem! Anyway, Senior Camilla is an outstanding Holy Knight, even being considered as the next 'Sword of the Holy Kingdom'!"

"The next Sword of the Holy Kingdom...?"

"And here we have the beautiful Iris! She's none other than the Saintess of the Holy Kingdom! She was the one who healed my father!"

"And the Saintess of the Holy Kingdom?"

Gilbert looked at Berald in shock.

"What in the world have you been doing at school to have such connections with all these important people?"

"Hehe, it's all thanks to Dale!"

Berald turned to me and laughed heartily.

"Dale is the leader of our party and like a mentor to me!"

"Hoo."

Gilbert looked at me with curiosity.

"You're the leader of this party?"

"Yes."

"Haha, with the descendant of the Sword of the Sun, the Saintess of the Holy Kingdom, and the next Sword of the Holy Kingdom all in the same party, and you're still the leader..."

Gilbert shook his head as if he couldn't even begin to imagine how extraordinary this 'Dale' must be.

"How did you end up meeting this guy?"

"We met during the supplementary classes last year!"

"Ah, I see. Supplementary classes... wait, what?"

Supplementary classes?

"...Berald."

Gilbert's eyes suddenly sharpened.

"Um? What's wrong?"

"You’re not telling me you had to take supplementary classes because your grades were bad, are you?"

"Uh, well, that is..."

Berald averted his gaze, trailing off nervously.

Gilbert roughly grabbed Berald by the ear.

"Ow! Wh-what are you doing?!"

"What do you think, you idiot?! What kind of mess did you make to get bad enough grades to need supplementary classes?!"

Though Gilbert had raised Berald quite freely since he was young, he was still a father.

And what parent doesn't worry about their child's grades?

"Geez! You're driving me crazy, boy! Supplementary classes...!"

Supplementary classes were for those ranked in the bottom 30 of the candidates' comprehensive evaluations.

Back when he was a candidate, he always wondered what kind of idiots ended up in those classes.

Little did he know that one of those idiots would turn out to be his son.

"Sigh. I knew you weren’t the brightest, but still..."

Gilbert sighed deeply and turned to me.

"You must've had a tough time dealing with my son."

"Haha, it wasn’t that bad."

"Right. You said you met him during supplementary classes? Haha, who would've thought that even in this day and age, there'd be such a fine young man willing to mentor juniors during the precious holiday season..."

"...Sorry?"

Mentoring?

Fine young man?

What is he talking about?

"Now that I think about it, I got some advice from seniors during my candidate days as well. It was certainly different wisdom from what the professors taught."

"......"

Ah, I see.

So, he thinks I willingly spent my holiday helping out juniors struggling with supplementary classes, out of the kindness of my heart?

"Haha, Dale, was it? The fact that you’ve become close enough with a junior you met during supplementary classes to form a party together shows how great of a character you must have."

"......"

"Lending a hand to those who fall behind is a true hero's virtue. Please continue guiding Berald well."

"Ah... yes. Of course."

I awkwardly smiled as I shook the hand Gilbert offered.

"By the way, Dale, how are your grades at school?"

He looked at me with sparkling eyes, clearly curious about the academic performance of the leader who commands a party with such prestigious members.

"......"

"Hm? What’s wrong?"

As I remained silent, Gilbert tilted his head in confusion.

After thinking for a moment, he let out a quiet "Ah" as if something had clicked.

"Hahaha! Don’t worry, I’m not going to scold my son by comparing him to you. Just tell me freely."

"......"

"So, what’s your comprehensive evaluation ranking?"

A cold sweat ran down my spine.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]