The Lowest-Ranked Hero Has Returned

Chapter 33: The Will (2)

“Hey… isn\'t that the lowest-ranking candidate next to the Saintess?”

“Huh? It really is!”

“What’s he doing with the Saintess?”

“They’re even holding hands?”

Whispers echoed around us.

I tried to let go of Iris\'s hand quietly, but she tightened her grip as if to stop me from escaping.

"Isn\'t it problematic if the people of the Holy Kingdom find out?"

"What\'s the problem? You’re only holding my hand to ensure the Saintess\'s \'safety,\' right?"

Iris winked playfully and smiled mischievously.

I shook my head with a chuckle.

‘Now I see why Camilla always wears that stern expression.’

Thinking about the trouble Camilla must go through to protect such a wild Saintess made me feel a bit sorry for her.

"Why? Do you not like holding hands with me?"

"Not at all."

But enjoying the festival while drawing this much attention from the other candidates was not ideal.

"How about we go somewhere less crowded?"

"If you want somewhere less crowded... how about the exhibition hall?"

"Are you sure? There won\'t be much to do there..."

"Hehe, that\'s fine with me."

The "Sealing Festival" celebrates the day, 500 years ago, when the five great heroes sealed the Demon God.

It’s not just about food and games; there’s also an exhibition about the history of the heroes\' battle against the Demon God’s army.

‘Of course, there won’t be many candidates visiting such a place this early in the morning.’

After all, candidates are constantly bombarded with the history of the Demon God War from 500 years ago.

Who would visit an exhibition on one of the few festive days?

‘At least it\'s a good place to avoid prying eyes.’

I led her towards the exhibition hall, away from the piercing gazes from all around us.

As we stepped inside, we were greeted by a large painting depicting a confrontation between a massive demon and the five heroes.

I couldn\'t help but let out a small laugh as I looked at the image of the "Demon God."

‘They didn’t capture the Demon God’s appearance correctly.’

Well, no wonder.

Even as one of the five last heroes who fought against the Demon God in my past life, I didn\'t know exactly what he looked like.

‘His entire body was shrouded in black smoke.’

When the Demon God was released from his seal, he was engulfed in black smoke, so even I never saw his true appearance.

The only thing I knew for sure about him was:

‘He was absurdly powerful.’

In our final battle against the Demon God, we couldn’t even put up a proper fight before being utterly defeated.

And then...

‘The Demon God took his own life.’

When the curse from his death spread across the continent, I was left as the only living being on the land.

‘...Why did he do that?’

Frowning, I recalled that day.

The Demon God had defeated the "Five Last Heroes," who were hailed as humanity’s last hope.

He didn’t need to take his own life.

He could have easily conquered the continent if he had slowly built up his army.

‘But he didn’t.’

Instead of conquering the continent, he chose complete annihilation.

He wiped out every living being on the continent.

Even his own army wasn’t spared from the purge.

‘His goal wasn’t conquest; it was the total eradication of all life.’

I didn’t know why the Demon God had such a goal.

And honestly, I didn’t need to know.

‘Because this time, he won’t achieve that goal.’

I clenched my teeth as I glared at the image of the "Demon God."

"...Dale? Is something wrong?"

"Oh, sorry. The painting just captivated me for a moment."

"Hehe. It is impressive, isn’t it?"

Iris gazed at the painting of the five heroes with bright eyes.

"Reynald, the Sword of the Sun. Julius, the Great Sage. Ryujin Seong, the Iron Fist. Baek Seunghyuk, the Divine Spear. And Grace, the Light of Life."

These five great heroes sealed the Demon God 500 years ago.

Iris continued to stare at the painting, her eyes twinkling with admiration.

"Seeing them in a painting after only reading about them in books is really thrilling."

"I didn\'t know you liked stories about heroes."

"Oh, you wouldn’t believe it, but I used to be obsessed with the ‘Five Heroes’ game when I was a kid."

The Five Heroes game.

A simple role-playing game where children from all three kingdoms would pick one of the five heroes and act out defeating the Demon God.

‘It was an unfair game, though, since whoever played the Demon God would always get ganged up on by the other five.’

I frowned as I recalled my faint memories of playing that game back in the orphanage.

"Which role did you usually play?"

"I was usually Ryujin Seong, the Iron Fist. There was something satisfying about punching the Demon God."

Iris clenched her fists and playfully swung them through the air.

"What role did you usually take, Dale?"

"The Demon God."

"Oh..."

Ahem.

Iris quickly changed the subject as she tugged on my hand.

"Let’s go further inside."

After finishing our tour of the exhibition hall (for some reason, Iris still didn\'t let go of my hand even when no one was around), it was almost time to meet the kids.

"Shall we go see the kids now?"

"Yeah. If we\'re late, Camilla will probably throw a fit."

"Hearing that makes me want to be late just to see what happens."

Iris flashed a mischievous smile and tugged on my hand teasingly.

The soft warmth of her touch made me almost lose my composure for a moment.

"But what if Camilla panics and reports to the school that the Saintess is missing?"

"...She would actually do that, wouldn\'t she? That\'s scary."

Just imagining it seemed to drain all the playful thoughts from Iris as she hurried toward the meeting place.

As we waited near the school gate, I spotted Antonio, the priest, Camilla, and the orphanage kids approaching from a distance.

“Wow!”

“A festival! A festival!”

“Is this really the Hero Academy?!”

The kids\' excitement was palpable the moment they stepped through the gate, and they began running around wildly.

“You little rascals! Didn’t I tell you to behave?”

Antonio’s stern voice didn’t stop the kids, who were already like wild horses let loose.

“Oh... Everyone, please calm down!”

Even Camilla was flustered, struggling to manage the overly excited children.

"How can you be so overwhelmed by something like this?"

Iris clicked her tongue and stepped forward.

"Leo~ Come here for a moment?"

"Iris! There’s so much food, and there’s so much cool stuff to see..."

"Bite."

"Huh? Bite what?"

"Shut your mouth, you little brat."

"…Sis?"

Iris smiled sweetly as she gently patted Leo\'s head.

"Leo, didn’t you say you were the leader of the orphanage before?"

"Y-yeah."

"If you\'re the leader, you need to manage your subordinates properly. You can’t just let them run wild like this."

"Uh…!"

Leo’s eyes widened as if he had just experienced a monk-like enlightenment.

"I got it! I\'ll take responsibility and train the kids!"

With a look of fierce determination, Leo rushed toward the children and began to scold them.

Surprisingly, the wild kids started to gather quietly in front of Leo.

"Oh, wow."

A low exclamation escaped from Father Antonio\'s lips.

"Impressive. To calm those little troublemakers so easily..."

"Well, kids usually listen to other kids more than to adults."

"Haha. As expected, you are a true saint."

The old priest smiled contentedly and continued.

"Seeing how well you handle children, I don’t think you’ll have any worries when you get married in the future."

"Huh? M-married?"

"Hmm. Wasn\'t there someone named Dale?"

"W-wait! What are you talking about all of a sudden?!"

"Hahaha."

With the old priest’s playful teasing, the real festivities began.

"Iris, how do I look? I really look like a cat, don’t I?"

"Ugh… Sis! Why did you make me wear this embarrassing thing?"

"Huff, huff. Camilla, I’m wearing dog ears right now. Could you please tell me to bark just once?"

[PR/N: BRO ]

Everyone wandered around the festival stalls wearing the animal ear headbands they had received as gifts.

"Wow! This is really delicious!"

"Dale, can you buy me one of those chicken skewers?"

"Hey! Me too, me too!"

Maybe it was because I had cooked them ramen before, but it seemed like I had gained some recognition among the kids.

Not only Iris and Camilla, but a few other kids also came up to me, pestering me to buy them snacks.

"Hey! Stop it! That chicken skewer costs 10 gold each!"

"Don’t worry about it."

I pulled out a (Juliet’s) wallet, packed with gold, and grinned.

"Big brother has plenty of money."

* * *

They say time flies when you’re having fun.

Before I knew it, after enjoying the festival with Iris, Camilla, and the kids, the sky had grown dark.

"It’s already this late."

"Yeah, it is."

The kids, who had been running around like wild horses at first, were now starting to nod off as they walked, their energy nearly drained.

"It’s getting late. We should head back now."

Father Antonio looked at the staggering children with a warm smile.

"Thank you, Saint, Camilla, and Dale, for spending time with the kids. You must all be exhausted."

"Exhausted? Not at all. We had fun too."

"I’ll escort you to the front gate."

"Hoho, thank you, Camilla."

With that, Camilla and Father Antonio led the children toward the front gate.

As I watched them disappear into the distance, enjoying the lingering atmosphere of the festival...

"...I\'m sorry, Dale."

Iris spoke cautiously, watching me closely.

"Hmm? What for?"

"I feel like I dragged you around all day."

"Dragged around? I had fun too."

It wasn’t just empty words.

Sure, it would have been nice to enjoy the festival alone with Iris.

But it was also more fun than I expected to experience the festival with the kids, laughing and talking together.

Maybe she sensed my sincerity.

Iris smiled in relief and spoke up.

"Then… can I make one last selfish request?"

"What is it?"

"Can you buy me one of those chicken skewers you bought for the kids earlier?"

Iris clenched her fists tightly, her eyes sparkling.

\'Come to think of it, I was busy looking after the kids, and Iris didn’t get to eat any.\'

I chuckled and nodded.

"As many as you want."

"Ah~ You said as many as I want? Then I’ll get one with sauce and one with salt!"

"Alright, alright. Eat as much as you want."

Laughing, I approached the stall selling chicken skewers.

Perhaps the vendor was worn out from the busy day.

Even as I got closer, the vendor had his head down, showing no reaction.

"Excuse me, I’d like to buy one chicken skewer."

"……."

"Hello?"

I gently tapped the vendor\'s shoulder, thinking he might have fallen asleep from exhaustion.

"Khh, sob."

A bizarre groan escaped from the vendor’s bowed head.

"Ch-chicken… chicken skewer… o-order."

Blood-tinged foam dripped from between his lips.

Veins, grotesque like tree roots, covered his entire face.

His bulging eyes shone with a sinister purple light.

"O-order received… argh."

The vendor’s mouth twisted into a grotesque grin as his head jerked up, his whole body swelling unnaturally.

I cautiously spoke up.

"Oh, sorry. Not one, but two skewers, please. One with salt and one with sauce."