The Last-Seat Hero Has Returned

27. Ant Nest (2)

“Two candies for Camilla!”

“Me too, me too!”

“Hmph! You fools. I’m betting on the underdog! Three candies on that gray-haired guy!”

“Huh? That’s why you always lose your snacks! You have to go with the favorite here!”

“No! A man always bets on the underdog!”

“Tsk. What do you know about being a man, you haven’t even grown any hair down there…”

“Huh, huh! Take that back right now!”

The orphanage yard had turned into a gambling den beyond chaos.

The children had formed a circle around Camilla and me, looking up at us with sparkling eyes.

“Wh-what is this…”

Camilla was flustered by the unexpected turn of events.

She looked towards Iris for help, but Iris was only stirring up the atmosphere among the children.

“I’m betting ten candies on Mr. Dale!”

“T-ten candies!”

“Ugh! Adults’ financial power is on a different level…”

The children were shocked by the whale that had entered the gambling den.

“……”

“……”

Camilla and I exchanged glances.

Sigh.

A deep sigh escaped both of our lips simultaneously.

“This is just…”

“We have no choice, do we?”

Even if the seven gods descended, it would be impossible to back out of this situation.

“Well, fine. I’ve always wanted to have a match with you anyway.”

Camilla pointed a crude wooden sword, carved from a branch, at me with determination.

I chuckled and stood up, grabbing a wooden sword lying nearby.

“Of course, no magic allowed, right?”

“Of course.”

“…Alright.”

If it was a non-magic duel, there was no need to even measure the outcome of this match.

‘I will win.’

It’s not that I underestimate Camilla’s skills.

Camilla was a candidate with exceptional talent, enough to be considered for the next Holy Kingdom’s sword, and in terms of pure swordsmanship without using magic, she was one of the top ten in the school.

‘But.’

That’s all.

No matter how much talent she had, there was no way she could beat me without using magic.

Such an arrogant certainty.

The gap between her and me was vast.

‘It has to be.’

Over the past thousands of years.

I haven’t been able to run, but I’ve never stopped walking.

Even if the road ahead was daunting, I’ve never looked back.

Even if I was lacking, insufficient, or clumsy.

I’ve never let go of the sword in my hand.

“Here I come.”

Camilla quietly announced the start of the fight.

Boom!

She charged at a speed that was on a different level from when she faced the children.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

The wooden swords clashed with a loud noise.

Even though it was a pure clash without using magic, the fight between the superhumans with stigmata was so fast that ordinary people could hardly follow it with their eyes.

“Wow, wow…!”

“That’s insane!”

“I can’t even see the swords!”

The duel continued amidst the children’s cheers.

“Haa!”

The wooden sword cut through the wind fiercely.

As expected of the Holy Kingdom’s swordsmanship, the sword path itself was honest and simple, but it was a sophisticated swordsmanship that made it difficult to find any gaps.

‘This is beyond imagination?’

A skill that naturally elicits admiration.

Could there be a better expression of “faithful to the basics” than this swordsmanship?

There was no dazzling display to deceive the eyes, no graceful elegance to captivate the soul.

But in the straightforward sword strikes, devoid of any superfluity, the blood, sweat, and tears she had poured into her sword were vividly conveyed.

‘However.’

To withstand the weight of life imbued in my sword, her sword is still too light.

Thwack!

After deflecting Camilla’s downward strike with my wooden sword, I closed the distance and rammed her with my shoulder.

“Ugh…!”

Camilla staggered back.

“You…”

She glared at me fiercely, panting heavily.

“Ka, Camilla is being pushed back!”

“See! I told you the underdog would win!”

The unexpected turn of events stirred the children.

Camilla’s eyes trembled as she glanced back at them.

At that moment, a little girl who had been watching the sparring match asked, her eyes brimming with tears.

“Sister… are you losing?”

“……”

Camilla steadied her rough breathing and pointed her sword at me again.

“Win.”

A resolute voice and unwavering eyes.

I smirked and provocatively tilted my wooden sword.

“Haaah!”

With a fierce shout, Camilla charged.

Her sword strikes, fiercer than before, swept over me like a storm.

And then.

“Ugh!”

Thwack!

Camilla’s wooden sword knocked mine out of my hand.

“…Huh?”

Camilla’s eyes widened.

“Wowwwww!”

“Big sister won!”

“Nooo!”

“How does it feel, underdogs? Are you awake now?”

“Hand over the candy, quick!”

The children cheered for Camilla’s victory as if a festival had begun.

“…….”

However, the protagonist of those cheers stood there with her lips tightly sealed, gripping her sword with a stiff face.

I clicked my tongue as I watched her freeze.

‘Did she realize I let her win on purpose?’

I had tried to make it seem like I wasn’t holding back from the start, but it seemed my efforts were in vain.

‘But I can’t just knock Camilla down here.’

I was just a stranger who had come here for the first time today, but to the children at the orphanage, Camilla was like a hero from a fairy tale.

A hero who must never be defeated or broken.

I couldn’t beat her in front of the children.

“Alright, everyone~ It’s almost lunchtime, so put the candy down for a moment~.”

“Ugh.”

“Yes~!”

“Hehe. Today’s lunch will be very special, so look forward to it!”

“Special? What did you bring, Iris?”

The children’s eyes sparkled like stars at the mention of a special lunch.

With a triumphant expression, Iris strutted over to me.

“Mr. Dale, Mr. Dale. Could you cook the ramen we bought earlier?”

Ah.

So that’s why we bought ramen before coming here.

“We’ll need a pretty big pot to feed everyone here.”

“Don’t worry about that! We have a big pot for stew!”

“Okay.”

Having given the children something to watch and delight their eyes, now it was time to please their tongues.

“I’ll cook it up perfectly, so go and rest.”

“No, I’ll help you.”

“Really? Then can you open those packets and put just the soup into this bowl?”

“Yes!”

Iris stepped forward with a confident expression to help, but in reality, there wasn’t much to do other than opening the packets in advance.

After all, it was an instant food that would be done once the water boiled, the soup was added, and the noodles were put in.

“……”

“……”

While waiting for the water in the pot to boil.

A quiet silence settled in the kitchen.

“…Mr. Dale.”

It was Iris who broke the silence first.

“You said earlier that you were from an orphanage, right?”

“Ah, yes. Why?”

“……”

Iris hesitated for a moment, her lips moving slightly as if she was unsure, then she turned her head slightly to look out the window.

Outside the window, the children who couldn’t wait were already playing and running around joyfully.

“In fact, before I became a ‘saintess’, I also grew up in an orphanage.”

Iris looked at the children with a distant gaze, as if recalling her past.

“The person who raised me back then was Father Antonio.”

“Ah.”

So that was the small connection between them.

‘Come to think of it, the occasional rough words from Iris’s mouth…’

It was likely because she grew up in an orphanage.

Children who lose their parents often learn to use harsh words as a means of self-defense.

“And when I turned ten… I realized that my eyes had a special power.”

“Is that the ‘seven eyes’ you showed me before?”

“Yes.”

The most certain sign of a ‘Saintess’ blessed by the seven gods.

“Since then, my life has changed 180 degrees. Instead of shabby clothes, I could wear priestly robes made of high-quality fabric, and instead of a cold, narrow room, I could have a warm, spacious one. Of course… I had to give up my ‘surname’ in return.”

“…Give up your surname?”

“I originally had the surname ‘Flora’. It was a name given to me by Priest Antonio, after my late mother.”

However.

“There is a rule that a Saintess, being a ‘child of God’, should not have a separate surname.”

Therefore.

She abandoned her deceased mother’s name and became a child of God.

“I still think about it. If it weren’t for these eyes, what kind of life would I be living now?”

In Iris’s eyes, as she said this, there was a hint of bitterness that she couldn’t hide.

“That is…”

“Haha. It’s a very luxurious thought, isn’t it? Thanks to these eyes, I was able to obtain a peaceful life without any effort or hardship.”

Iris smiled self-deprecatingly.

“……”

Once again, an awkward silence.

I looked back at Iris and asked quietly.

“…Is it okay to tell me something like that?”

The fact that the Saintess of the Holy Kingdom was an orphan from an orphanage.

If this fact were to be known, it would surely tarnish the name of the ‘Saintess’.

“Because I trust you, Dale.”

A firm answer without a hint of doubt.

“……”

How did she come to have such unwavering faith in me?

I looked at her with confused eyes.

Iris scratched her head with an awkward smile.

“Actually… I don’t really know the reason myself. It’s a bit strange to say this now, but I’m not the type to trust others so easily.”

However.

“For some reason, when I see you, Dale… I feel like we’ve known each other for a very long time. How should I put it… If I were to use a somewhat old-fashioned expression, it feels like we had a connection in a past life.”

“……!”

“Oh. You don’t have to make that face, I know it’s nonsense.”

Iris playfully poked my cheek with a mischievous smile.

“Anyway, I thought it would be okay to tell you, Mr. Dale, so I’m telling you. But you must never tell anyone, okay?”

“Ah, okay.”

I nodded like a broken doll.

“Well, the ramen is almost ready, so I’ll go call the kids!”

With a bright smile, she ran outside.

“……”

Left alone in the kitchen, I clenched my fist as I watched Iris through the window.

‘She didn’t disappear.’

The time I spent with her. The emotions we shared.

I thought all of it had melted away like snowflakes touching my skin.

‘It remained.’

Like water droplets forming where the snowflakes had melted.

In the place where memories had disappeared, nostalgia had formed.

“Mr. Dale~! Please bring the pot out!”

Iris’s voice echoed from outside.

Barely managing to control my rising emotions, I grabbed the pot and went outside.

* * *

“This, this is ramen?”

“Crazy!”

“It’s so delicious!”

“Ugh… I’m jealous, Republic! We always eat just greens!”

As expected, the ramen was a huge hit among the kids.

The kids were devouring the ramen from the pot without a moment’s rest.

“Haha. What’s so good about such junk food…”

“Father Antonio, you should try some too.”

Father Antonio, who had been watching the kids eat the ramen with a disapproving expression, took a few bites and then quickly filled his own bowl with ramen, clearing his throat.

While everyone was noisily enjoying their lunch.

“……”

Only Camilla was staring at her empty bowl with a hardened expression.

I carefully approached and sat next to Camilla.

“Is it because of what happened earlier?”

“…You.”

“Sorry. I had no choice in front of the kids.”

For her, a warrior before a cadet, ‘losing on purpose’ was more humiliating than anything else.

“…No, it’s not your fault. It’s my lack of skill.”

Camilla shook her head with a look of self-reproach.

To her, saying ‘No, you’re strong enough’ would only be taken as mockery.

‘In that case.’

I should go strong here.

“So, are you going to keep sulking just because you lost once?”

“That…!”

“Wow, I didn’t know the future sword of the Holy Kingdom could be this pathetic.”

“Ugh! Shut up!”

Camilla stood up abruptly and pointed at me with the tip of her chopsticks.

“Just wait! Next time, I’ll make sure you can’t even squeak!”

“Sure. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

I chuckled as I watched Camilla fume.

“Oh, right! The sparring between you and sis earlier was so cool!”

“Yeah, yeah!”

“It was like watching real heroes fight!”

The kids, their eyes shining, shouted as they noticed me and Camilla together.

One mischievous-looking boy grinned at us.

“By the way… don’t you two look good together?”

“Huh? Do we?”

“You saw it earlier! You two are a perfect match!”

“Now that you mention it, it does seem like it…”

“You and sis are actually dating, right? Right?”

The boy persistently questioned, trying to link me and Camilla together.

“…Leo.”

“Huh? Iris, don’t you think so too?”

“Hehe.”

Iris approached the boy called Leo and gently patted his head.

“Can you come over here for a moment?”

“Huh? Why?”

“Quickly.”

She led Leo somewhere.

About five minutes passed.

“Now that I think about it again, I don’t think Camilla and my brother suit each other!”

“But you said they did earlier?”

“N-no! They don’t suit each other at all! If anything, Iris, you suit him better!”

Leo shouted with a pale face.

I sighed deeply as I watched the boy, who was even shedding tears.

‘…Iris.’

What on earth did you do to the kid?