The Last-Seat Hero Has Returned

32. Will (1)

Time passed, and the day of the Sealing Festival arrived.

The school was filled with a bustling atmosphere from early morning.

‘Are those merchants?’

Peeking out the dormitory window, what he saw were merchants entering the school gate with their bags packed.

When it comes to festivals, stalls and food are indispensable.

The merchants heading into the school looked as solemn as warriors heading to a battlefield, as if they had been eagerly waiting for this day.

‘Well, getting a permit to enter the school couldn’t have been easy.’

Although it was a day when outsiders were allowed to enter, it didn’t mean that people whose identities hadn’t been verified could just enter the school.

It was only after going through thorough identity verification and inspection of the goods for sale that one could finally obtain a permit to set up a stall inside the school.

‘Well, they say you can earn thousands of gold once you get the permit, even if you go through all that trouble.’

That was because, on festival days, prices soared abnormally high, as if the economy of a bankrupt country had collapsed, so merchants had no choice but to make a lot of profit.

‘Crazy people are selling a single chicken skewer for 10 gold.’

In terms of the old Republic currency, it would be roughly ten thousand won.

No sane person would buy a chicken skewer for that price, but on festival days, the cadets were far from being ‘sane people.’

“Bourgeois b*stards.”

Well, maybe not bourgeois, but still.

Except for unusual cases like mine, most of the cadets came from wealthy families.

‘The most common way to inherit the stigma is through genetics.’

In other words.

A significant number of the cadets enrolled here were likely to have parents who were heroes.

Not all heroes lived in wealth, but they were generally better off than ordinary people without the stigma.

There weren’t many cadets who were afraid to open their wallets just because they were being ripped off on festival days.

“No, but still, 10 gold for a single chicken skewer is too much….”

Of course, that was the story of other cadets.

It was a food far from my reach, as I attended the school with the Republic’s national support.

‘But today is different.’

In my previous life, I wouldn’t have dared to think of buying festival stall food.

Fortunately, in this life, I had a very good ‘friend’ who helped me worry less about gold.

‘It’s a waste to spend my own money, but it’s a different story if it’s someone else’s.’

I looked at the gold I ‘borrowed’ from my friend last night with a satisfied smile.

“I guess I should bring enough to buy for the kids too.”

I put the thick wallet in my pocket and headed to the meeting place.

* * *

“Ah, Mr. Dale. You’re here?”

When I arrived at the meeting place, I saw Iris and Camilla, who had arrived first and were waiting.

“Sorry. Did you wait long?”

I thought I was early, arriving 15 minutes before the appointed time, but I didn’t expect them to be here already.

“No. I just got here too.”

Iris smiled softly and shook her head.

The gentle motion of her head and the way she waved her hand gracefully exuded a natural nobility and elegance that rivaled any noble lady.

‘Who would believe that this Iris came from an orphanage?’

As I was thinking that with a satisfied smile.

“Sigh.”

Camilla let out a deep sigh as if the ground would sink.

“We just arrived… but haven’t you been waiting for more than 20 minutes?”

“Wait, why are you bringing that up?!”

“Because it’s infuriating, infuriating. The Saintess woke up at dawn, spent over an hour putting on makeup and choosing clothes, and yet she arrived later than the appointed time… Isn’t that infuriating?”

“The infuriating one is you, Camilla!”

The nobility and elegance that Iris initially exuded vanished as she stomped her feet and shouted.

“And while waiting here, she kept worrying about how to look elegant and what would be the best first impression… mmph, mmph!”

“Ahhh! Shut up! Shut up, you wretch!”

Iris, her face flushed as if steam would come out of her head, covered Camilla’s mouth.

Seeing Iris on the verge of tears from the overwhelming shame, I chuckled.

‘She must have always been conscious of it.’

It was the result of her efforts to avoid any flaws as the ‘Saintess’ of the Holy Kingdom.

‘Not that I mind her current appearance.’

Rather, I felt a secret sense of emotion, being able to see her true self that I couldn’t see in my previous life.

“…Why are you laughing?”

“Ahem. It’s nothing.”

“Ugh… Anyway! Since Mr. Dale is here, let’s get going.”

“Are we going to meet the kids right away?”

“No. I want to buy gifts first.”

Gifts, huh.

“Do you have anything in mind?”

“Well, I plan to look around the stalls first.”

“Sounds good.”

Iris, Camilla, and I wandered around the stalls looking for gifts for the orphanage children.

“There are so many people here.”

It was early in the morning, but the street lined with stalls was already crowded with people.

“Please be careful not to fall, Saintess.”

Camilla, who was next to Iris, gently held her hand.

Iris looked down at the hand holding hers and let out a small laugh.

“What, am I a child?”

“They say there’s no such thing as being too careful when it comes to safety.”

Camilla said this, looking back at me as if seeking agreement (or more precisely, as if she would kill me if I didn’t agree).

“Well, since there are many outsiders today, it’s better to be more cautious.”

Especially if the person in question is a ‘Saintess.’

“Ugh… even you, Dale?”

“We can’t help it.”

I shrugged as I looked back at the stern-faced Camilla, and Iris let out a deep sigh.

“Alright, let’s just go buy the gifts quickly.”

“Gifts that the kids would like… food is probably the safest bet, right?”

Considering the kids’ reaction when I cooked ramen at the orphanage before, there’s no better gift than food.

“Hmm. Food is good, but wouldn’t it be better to buy it and eat it while walking around the festival?”

“Ah, that’s true.”

After all, part of the fun of a festival is impulsively buying and eating snacks from the stalls.

“Then let’s say we’ll buy food later… what else could we give as a gift?”

“How about this, Dale?”

Iris pointed to a variety of headbands with animal ears.

It was a common item seen at festivals.

“Hehe. Wouldn’t the kids look so cute wearing these?”

“Sounds good.”

Just imagining the kids running around with dog or cat ears made me smile.

“Ah, I think this would suit Camilla too. Want to try it on?”

Iris picked up a cat ear headband from the display and asked.

“Y-you want me to wear that?”

Camilla took a noticeable step back, visibly flustered.

Iris approached her with a sly smile, holding the headband in her hand.

“If you’re going to give it to the kids as a gift, shouldn’t you at least try it on to see how sturdy it is?”

“B-but….”

“What… Are you defying my words?”

“Ugh.”

Camilla bit her lip and looked at me as if asking for help.

I smirked and nodded.

“I think it would suit you well.”

“You, you jerk! How can you say that so easily when it’s not your problem…!”

“Come on, stay still, Camilla.”

Iris smiled and placed the cat ear headband on Camilla’s head.

“Ugh. Why am I….”

Camilla, with her navy blue hair tied in a ponytail, shook it like a tail and fumbled with the cat ears that suddenly appeared on her head.

“Wow, wow! Doesn’t it look great, Mr. Dale?!”

Camilla hung her head in shame, while Iris, ignoring her, sparkled with excitement and stomped her feet.

“It does look good.”

Just as Iris said, Camilla with the cat ear headband was more charming than I had imagined.

“Ugh… How about you try this on, Saintess?”

“Huh, me?”

“Did you really think I would be the only one to wear it?”

Had her shame reached its limit and turned into anger?

Camilla, breathing heavily, picked up the rabbit ear headband.

“R-rabbits are a bit….”

“Surely you’re not going to say you’re embarrassed now, are you?”

Camilla approached Iris with bloodshot eyes.

“Eek! W-wait!”

“Come on, you must also taste the humiliation and disgrace I experienced!”

Iris was forcibly made to wear the rabbit ear headband by Camilla.

“Ugh. Why am I….”

“Hmph. You reap what you sow.”

Iris, wearing the rabbit ears, glanced at me.

“Uh… How do I look, Dale?”

“How do you think?”

I immediately activated the Hero Watch and took a picture of Iris wearing bunny ears.

“Wait, wait! Why are you suddenly taking a picture?!”

“How could I not take a picture of this?”

Iris with the bunny ear headband was truly destructive.

“Delete it, delete it now!”

“Hey. Messing with someone else’s Hero Watch is an invasion of privacy.”

“Delete it, you b*stard!”

* * *

After a brief(?) commotion, the children’s gift was decided to be animal ear headbands.

“Haah. I haven’t done anything, but I’m already tired.”

“By the way, isn’t it about time for the kids to arrive?”

“Ah, wait a moment. I’ll contact Father Antonio for a bit.”

After contacting Father Antonio through the Hero Watch, Iris looked back at Camilla.

“Camilla. Father and the kids are on their way now, can you go meet them?”

“But then, what about you, Saintess…?”

“It’s okay, Dale is with me.”

“Hmm. Understood.”

Camilla nodded and walked towards the school gate.

After confirming that Camilla had completely disappeared, Iris turned to me and smiled.

“Father will arrive in about an hour.”

“Hmm? Isn’t it too early to go meet them then?”

“They are our invited guests, we can’t keep them waiting, can we?”

Even so, I thought going to meet them an hour early was too much.

“Then… since we’ve already bought the gifts, shall we enjoy the festival together for the remaining hour?”

Iris asked with a sly smile.

‘So that’s why she sent them off so early.’

I chuckled and nodded.

“Sounds good.”

A festival outing with Iris alone.

There was no reason to refuse such an offer.

“Alright, then hand.”

“Why the hand?”

“Oh my, didn’t Camilla say it earlier?”

Iris gently took my hand and smiled bashfully.

“There is no such thing as too much safety.”