The Last-Seat Hero Has Returned

33. Will (2)

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

“Huh? It really is!”

“Why is that guy with the Saintess?”

“They’re even holding hands!”

Whispers from the surroundings.

I tried to swallow my discomfort and let go of Iris’s hand, but she firmly held onto it as if asking where I thought I was going.

“…Wouldn’t it be troublesome if the people of the Holy Kingdom found out about this?”

“What’s there to be troubled about? Holding hands is merely to ensure the Saintess’s ‘safety’. Right?”

Iris winked playfully with a mischievous smile.

I swallowed a hollow laugh and shook my head.

‘No wonder Camilla always has a stern look on her face.’

Thinking about the hardships Camilla must have endured to protect such a reckless Saintess made me feel a pang of sympathy.

“Why? Do you dislike walking around holding hands with me?”

“Of course not.”

But enjoying the festival while attracting so much attention from the other candidates was not an option.

“Shall we go somewhere less crowded?”

“If it’s somewhere less crowded… how about the exhibition hall?”

“Are you sure? There’s not much to do there…”

“Hehe. I’m fine with it.”

The ‘Sealing Festival’ commemorates the day 500 years ago when the five great heroes sealed the Demon King.

It’s not just about food and entertainment; there’s also a place that exhibits the history of the great heroes’ victory over the Demon King’s army 500 years ago.

‘Of course, no candidate would go to such a place early in the morning.’

Every time, we learn about the history of the Demon War from 500 years ago until our ears hurt, but who would go to the exhibition hall on one of the few festival days?

‘For now, there’s no better place to avoid people’s eyes.’

Avoiding the stinging gazes pouring in from all directions, I moved towards the exhibition hall with her.

As we entered the inner part of the exhibition hall, what we saw was the scene of a gigantic demon confronting five heroes.

I stifled a bitter laugh as I looked at the depiction of the ‘Demon God’ in the painting.

‘There’s no accurate depiction of the Demon God’s appearance.’

Indeed.

Even I, who fought against the Demon God as one of the so-called last five heroes in my previous life, did not know exactly what the Demon God looked like.

‘Because his entire body was shrouded in black smoke.’

The Demon God, released from his seal, was enveloped in blazing black smoke, so I couldn’t see his exact appearance either.

What I knew about the Demon God was.

‘That he was absurdly strong.’

During the final battle with the Demon God.

We were utterly defeated without even putting up a decent resistance against him.

And then.

‘The Demon God took his own life.’

When the curse spread across the continent as a result.

There were no living beings left on the continent except for me.

‘…Why did he do that?’

Recalling the memories of that day, I frowned.

The Demon God had won against the ‘last five heroes,’ who were called the last hope of humanity.

There was no need for him to take his own life.

If he had taken his time to slowly increase his army, he could have easily dominated the continent.

‘But he didn’t do that.’

Instead of dominating the continent, the Demon God chose complete annihilation.

Erasing all living beings on the continent.

Of course, the target of that ‘annihilation’ included his own army.

‘From the beginning, his goal was not domination but the annihilation of all living beings.’

I couldn’t understand why the Demon God had such a goal.

No, there was no need to understand.

‘This time, you won’t be able to achieve that goal.’

I gritted my teeth as I glared at the ‘Demon God’ depicted in the painting.

“…Mr. Dale? Is something wrong?”

“Oh, sorry. The painting is so magnificent that I got lost in it for a moment.”

“Hehe. It is indeed magnificent.”

Iris continued as she looked back at the five heroes depicted in the painting.

“Reynald, the Sword of the Sun, Julius, the Great Sage, Ryujinseong, the Iron Fist, Baek Seunghyuk, the Divine Spear, and Grace, the Light of Life.”

The five great heroes who sealed the Demon God 500 years ago.

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

“Seeing it in a painting after only reading about it in books makes my heart race even more.”

“I didn’t know you liked hero tales.”

“Oh my, even though I may not look like it, I was once obsessed with playing the Five Heroes game as a child.”

The Five Heroes game.

A simple role-playing game enjoyed by children across the three kingdoms, where each child chooses a role from the five heroes and acts out defeating the Demon God.

‘It was an absurdly unfair game where the child who always played the Demon God would get ganged up on by the other five.’

I frowned as I recalled my almost forgotten days at the orphanage.

“By the way, what role did you usually play?”

“Ryujinseong, the Iron Fist. It was quite satisfying to beat up the Demon God with my fists.”

Iris swung her clenched fist through the air.

“What role did you usually play, Mr. Dale?”

“The Demon God.”

“Oh….”

Ahem.

Iris quickly changed the subject, pulling me by the hand she was holding.

“Let’s, let’s go further inside.”

After finishing our tour of the exhibition hall together (for some reason, she didn’t let go of my hand even when there was no one around), it was almost time to meet the children.

“Shall we go see the kids now?”

“Let’s do that. If we’re late, Camilla will make a fuss again.”

“Oh. Hearing that makes me want to be late just once.”

Iris playfully tugged at my hand with a mischievous smile.

The soft sensation, like covering oneself with a fluffy blanket after a shower, almost made her lose her reason for a moment.

“But what if Camilla reports to the school that the saintess is missing?”

“…I really think she might do that. It’s a bit scary.”

Iris, who had lost all thoughts of playing pranks just by imagining it, headed straight to the promised location.

While waiting near the school gate, she saw Antony, the priest, Camilla, and the orphanage children in the distance.

“Wow!”

“Festival! It’s a festival!”

“Is this really the hero school?!”

The children’s excitement had already reached uncontrollable levels the moment they crossed the school gate.

“You rascals! Didn’t I tell you to behave and just watch?!”

The children, ignoring Father Antonio’s scolding, ran around like wild horses with their reins cut.

“Oh…! E-everyone, calm down!”

Even Camilla, seeing the children more excited than she had expected, was at a loss and flustered.

“How can you all be so flustered over something like this?”

Iris clicked her tongue and stepped forward.

“Leo~ Come here?”

“Iris, sis! There’s so much food here and so many amazing things to see….”

“Bite.”

“Huh? Bite what?”

“Shut your mouth, you little brat.”

“…S-sis?”

Iris gently patted Leo’s head and smiled sweetly.

“Leo. Didn’t you say you were the leader of the orphanage before?”

“Y-yeah.”

“If you’re the leader, you should manage your subordinates properly. Can you just let them run wild like this?”

“Gasp…!”

Leo, with eyes wide open like a monk who had attained enlightenment.

“O-okay! I’ll take responsibility and educate the kids!”

With eyes burning with a sense of mission, Leo ran to the children and scolded them.

Surprisingly, the children who had been running wild like untamed horses began to gather quietly in front of Leo.

“oooh.”

A low exclamation escaped from Father Antonio’s lips.

“Amazing. To calm those troublemakers so easily….”

“Kids usually follow other kids more than adults.”

“Haha. As expected of the Saint.”

The old priest continued with a satisfied smile.

“Seeing how well you handle children, it seems you won’t have any worries after you get married.”

“What? M-married?”

“Hmm. Wasn’t it Mr. Dale?”

“N-no! What are you talking about all of a sudden?!”

“Hahaha.”

With the old priest’s mischievous joke, the real festival fun began.

“Iris, how do I look? Don’t I look just like a real cat?”

“Ugh… Sis! Why are you making me wear this embarrassing thing?”

“Huff. Huff. Camilla, I’m wearing dog ears right now. Could you please ask me to bark like a dog just once?”

Everyone was walking around the stalls wearing the animal ear headbands they received as gifts.

“Wow! This is really delicious!”

“Dale, could you buy me just one chicken skewer?”

“Bro! Me too, me too!”

Maybe it was because I cooked ramen for them before, but my popularity among the kids seemed to have risen.

Not only Iris and Camilla, but a few other kids came up to me, begging for snacks.

“Hey! Stop it! One chicken skewer costs 10 gold!”

“Don’t worry.”

I pulled out Juliet’s wallet, which was stuffed with gold, and grinned.

“Big brother has lots of money.”

* * *

They say time flies when you’re having fun.

As Iris, Camilla, and the kids and I enjoyed the festival, the sky gradually darkened.

“It’s already this late.”

“Indeed.”

At first, the children, who had been running around like wild horses, were now showing signs of exhaustion, nodding off as they walked.

“It’s getting late, we should head back now.”

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

“Lady Saint, Lady Camilla, Sir Dale. Thank you all for playing with the children.”

“It was no trouble. We had fun too.”

“I’ll escort you to the main gate.”

“Hoho, thank you, Lady Camilla.”

With that, Camilla and Father Antonio led the children towards the main gate.

As I was enjoying the lingering atmosphere of the festival, watching their receding figures.

“…I’m sorry, Mr. Dale.”

Iris cautiously opened her mouth, watching my reaction.

“Hmm? What for?”

“I feel like I’ve been dragging you around all day.”

“Dragging me around? I had fun too.”

It wasn’t just an empty phrase.

Of course, it would have been nice to explore the festival alone with Iris.

But enjoying the festival, chatting noisily with the children, was more fun than I had expected.

Did she sense my sincerity?

Iris smiled with relief and spoke.

“Then, can I make one last selfish request?”

“What is it?”

“The chicken skewers we bought for the kids earlier, can you buy me some too?”

Iris clenched her fists, her eyes sparkling.

‘Come to think of it, she didn’t get to eat any because she was taking care of the kids.’

I chuckled and nodded.

“As much as you want.”

“Ah~ You said as much as I want, right? Then I’ll get both the seasoned and the salted ones!”

“Yes, yes. Eat to your heart’s content.”

Laughing, we approached the stall selling chicken skewers.

Had today been a hard day of work?

Even as I approached, the vendor selling chicken skewers kept his head down without any reaction.

“One chicken skewer, please.”

“…….”

“Excuse me?”

Thinking he might have fallen asleep from exhaustion, I lightly tapped the vendor’s shoulder.

“Ka, huk.”

A bizarre groan escaped from the vendor’s mouth, still bowed.

“Ch, chicken… chicken skewer… one… order.”

Blood foam trickled from between his lips.

Veins, grotesquely covering his entire face like tree roots.

An ominous purple glow in his wide-open eyes.

“O, order, order, received, ah, ah.”

As I watched the vendor’s mouth tear into a grotesque grin and his entire body swell up, I cautiously spoke.

“Ah, sorry. Make that two, please. Two.”

One with salt and one with seasoning.