The Last-Seat Hero Has Returned

Chapter 52

52. Dale Han’s Secret Life (1)

After that meaningful reunion(?) with Yuren.

My daily life became so busy that the expression “busy as a bee” felt insufficient.

‘With school lectures, assignments.’

Every evening, I met with Berald and Yuren to teach them martial arts and swordsmanship, squeezing in personal training whenever I could.

‘I’m really going to die.’

Well, in my case, even if I died, I’d come back to life quickly.

But the mental exhaustion couldn’t be recovered even with the blessing of resurrection.

‘Ah, I want to rest.’

I felt like lying in bed all day, rolling around lazily.

‘How happy would that be.’

Imagining a lazy nap in the warm spring sunlight streaming through the window, I swallowed dryly.

A thirst for rest that burned my throat.

Barely holding onto my screaming mind, I struggled to get out of bed.

“Phew… But I still have things to do.”

Today was Saturday.

There were no lectures, no meetings with Berald and Yuren, but that didn’t mean there was nothing to do.

“First, I should visit Professor Jade.”

I looked down at the pill in the square box.

The pill was a magic enhancement elixir I received from Yuren.

For someone with a lot of magic, it wouldn’t have much effect, but for someone like me with magic as small as an ant’s… no, a mouse’s (it had increased a bit recently) droppings, it was quite a useful elixir.

‘It wouldn’t be bad to take it as it is, but…’

Since I had the elixir, wouldn’t it be good to ask Professor Jade, an authority in alchemy, how to amplify its effects?

“Next… I guess I should meet that Juliet.”

After visiting Yuren’s private training hall, my desire for a private training hall grew even stronger.

‘After sparring with Instructor Vincent, I got too much attention.’

Honestly, it was to the point where it interfered with my training.

‘It’s not for nothing that Yuren and other top candidates train in private training halls.’

As soon as I entered the public training hall, spectators swarmed in like monkeys in a zoo. How could I concentrate on my training?

“Should I send a message in advance?”

I clicked on Juliet’s contact and sent a message.

[We need to talk about something important today. Do you have time?]

[Huh, what’s it about?]

The reply came immediately.

[I’ll tell you when we meet, so I’ll contact you again in a bit.]

[Uh, okay. I’ll contact you.]

The application fee for a private training hall wasn’t a small amount, but since I had Juliet’s ‘weakness’ in my hands, he wouldn’t have a choice.

‘Let’s check if the photos are still there.’

I clicked on the album file in my Hero Watch.

“Oh, my eyes!”

As soon as I opened the album file, I saw a photo of Juliet dressed as a woman, striking a coquettish pose.

No matter how much I needed leverage, the fact that I had these photos stored in my Hero Watch was hard to bear.

‘Once I get the money… no, borrow it, I’ll delete all the photos.’

I felt that I had repaid enough of the resentment from my past life when Juliet bullied me, so I planned to cut ties with Juliet.

“Alright, let’s get moving.”

Just as I was about to drag my tired body out.

Knock, knock.

I heard a knock on the door.

“Huh?”

Who would come at this hour?

Creak.

As I opened the door with a puzzled look, I saw Iris with a fierce expression.

“What brings you here… Ugh!”

“Hey, you b*stard!”

Iris, who had roughly grabbed me by the collar, shouted in anger.

“Why… why are you doing this?”

“Ha, why? Are you seriously asking because you don’t know?”

Iris ground her teeth and continued.

“Why haven’t you contacted me for the past few days?”

“Well, you told me not to contact you for a while…”

“And you really didn’t? Huh? You really have no sense, do you!”

Iris pulled my cheeks apart and stomped her feet in frustration.

“Sigh. Forget it, forget it. It’s my fault for expecting anything from you, Dale.”

Hmph.

Iris snorted and looked at me intently, dressed in my outdoor clothes.

“It’s the weekend, where are you going?”

“Oh, um. I have some business at Professor Jade’s lab…”

“You’re going to work again, aren’t you?”

Iris glared at me as if interrogating me.

“It’s more of a favor than work.”

“Either way, you’re not resting, are you?”

“Well… yeah, I guess.”

Snap.

A thick vein popped out on Iris’s forehead.

She grabbed my hand and said,

“Today, you’re coming with me to Valhalla City.”

“Huh? All of a sudden?”

“You’re not thinking of refusing, are you?”

Iris smiled brightly.

“…I’ll get ready right away.”

It seemed I would have to postpone my visit to Professor Jade’s lab until tomorrow.

* * *

Iris and I headed towards the massive city surrounding the Hero School, Valhalla City.

“Come to think of it, what about Camilla?”

“I snuck out without telling her.”

“…Is that okay?”

“With Mr. Dale here, we don’t need any extra protection, right?”

Well… that’s true.

“Promise you won’t tell Camilla later?”

Iris gave a cute smile and winked.

“Got it.”

From noble mtl dot com

I stifled a chuckle at her nonchalant demeanor.

“By the way, if it’s Valhalla City… are we going to the orphanage?”

“No. Today, there’s somewhere else I want to go with Mr. Dale.”

“Where?”

“Ta-da! Look at this!”

In Iris’s hand were two tickets with a bold fist mark on them.

“They made a movie in the Republic based on the story of Iron Fist Ryujinseong!”

“Aha.”

Come to think of it, Iris did say she liked Iron Fist Ryujinseong among the ‘Great Five Heroes.’

“It’s been a while since it was released, but… I wanted to watch it with Mr. Dale.”

“Fine by me.”

“The theater isn’t that far either.”

“Where is it?”

“It’s just a bit further into the city.”

A movie theater, huh.

“I’ve only heard about them, never been to one.”

“Really? You’re from the Republic and you’ve never been to a theater?”

“I never really had the chance.”

To be precise, it wasn’t so much that I didn’t have the chance as it was that I couldn’t afford it.

During my cadet days, I lived off the meager Republic stipend, and after graduation, I was too busy working as a mercenary on the southern frontlines, where there were no cultural facilities to speak of.

“Have you been to one, Iris?”

“I’ve taken the kids from the orphanage a few times.”

“Really? Then can I ask you to guide me?”

“Hehe. Just trust me and follow!”

Iris confidently pounded her chest and walked ahead.

Thus, we arrived at the cinema.

The movie Iris mentioned was titled ‘Tekken: The Dawn of Legend,’ a rather uninspired title.

The poster inside the cinema showed a muscular man with a bald head and a thick beard (for the record, there is no record of Tekken’s Ryujin being bald) roaring with clenched fists.

‘Why did they make a perfectly fine person bald?’

As I chuckled at the poster hanging in the corner, Iris pulled my hand.

“This way, Mr. Dale.”

“Huh? Isn’t this the opposite side of the entrance?”

“Yes. We buy snacks here first and then go in.”

“Oh, wow, really? We can eat while watching the movie?”

“Of course. You must eat popcorn when you come to the cinema.”

Iris skillfully headed to the snack counter.

Iris, who ordered a couple’s set (she ordered without hesitation as soon as she saw the word ‘couple’), entered the cinema with a beaming smile.

“How is it? Tasty, right?”

“It’s tasty, but… I’ve already eaten more than half before the movie even started. Is that okay?”

“Popcorn is meant to be eaten before the movie starts.”

Iris said this as she picked up a piece of popcorn.

“Here, say ah~.”

“I can eat by myself…”

“Say ah~.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

As I ate the popcorn Iris fed me like a baby bird receiving food from its mother, the lights dimmed, and the movie began.

The movie itself was a light action film with no particular artistic value.

It depicted the story of Ryujin, who came from a strange world and, after intense training, became known as ‘Tekken.’

Except for the fact that Ryujin, who had shaggy hair before training, became bald after three years of training, it was the same story of Ryujin we learned from textbooks.

Aside from the decent action, it was hard to find any other merits in the movie, but Iris seemed to like it quite a bit, clenching her fists and fully immersing herself in the film.

“Please…! Get up!”

Haha.

Iris is really sensitive.

“Yeah, that’s right! Let’s smash those b*stards’ heads in!”

“……”

Maybe a bit too sensitive.

‘Well, there aren’t many people around, so it should be fine.’

Maybe it’s because the movie has been out for a while, as Iris said.

The large theater was almost empty, except for me and Iris.

‘Thanks to that, we can watch comfortably.’

I spent a leisurely time watching Iris, who was muttering things like ‘Break their spine in half!’ or ‘Yeah, tear their limbs apart!’ in a small voice (more entertaining than the movie).

After leaving the theater, we had a light meal nearby, chatted about various things at a coffee shop, and then took a walk in the park under the warm spring sunshine.

‘I can’t even remember the last time I relaxed like this.’

I stretched out on a park bench, basking in the sunlight.

Since my return, I’ve been living a hectic schedule, not even thinking about taking a break like this.

“Mr. Dale.”

“Yes?”

“Lie down here.”

Iris, sitting next to me on the bench, patted her thigh.

“Lie down there?”

“Yes. There’s no one watching anyway.”

“But…”

“Come on, lie down quickly.”

Iris pulled me down onto her thigh as I hesitated.