The Last-Seat Hero Has Returned

53. The Secret Life of Dale Han (2)

“Ah, no, um… what do you mean?”

“What do you mean, what? It’s my chest that you look at with those naughty eyes every time, Mr. Dale.”

Iris poked my cheek playfully, her smile mischievous.

“Every time, you say.”

That’s unfair.

I only glance occasionally.

“That’s a lie. Do you think I wouldn’t notice where your gaze goes every time we meet?”

“Well, that’s…”

Is it just an unavoidable instinct of a man? That… what do you call it.

“Hehe. If it’s you, Mr. Dale, it’s perfectly fine. Look as much as you want.”

Iris beamed at me, her hand gently stroking my cheek.

“……”

Indeed.

Ever since I saved Iris from Ashtaroth last time, her behavior had become much bolder.

‘She must have feelings for me, I guess.’

I had noticed long ago that she had feelings for me, not unlike the protagonist of some outdated romantic comedy.

‘Of course, I felt the same way.’

She was a woman I had been in love with in a past life.

Naturally, I also had the desire to be with her again.

‘But.’

Not right now.

‘Because I don’t have the luxury to leisurely fall in love.’

Even though I defeated Ashtaroth and changed the future.

No, precisely because I changed the future.

There were too many things I had to do to prepare for the dangers ahead.

‘It won’t be too late to become lovers once things have settled down.’

I’ve waited hundreds, thousands of years, so what’s a few more?

“Ahem.”

I exercised superhuman patience and withdrew my hand that was reaching for Iris’s chest.

‘Yes, I must endure.’

Blessings come to those who endure….

“Ah!”

Squish.

The blessing of the seven gods transmitted through my palm.

The soft sensation, as if it were not of this world, numbed my mind.

“Iris?!”

When I looked back at Iris with startled eyes, she, blushing to the tips of her ears, cautiously opened her mouth.

“You don’t have to… hold back so much.”

“What do you mean….”

“Mr. Dale, you always hold back in everything, don’t you?”

Iris looked at me with sad eyes.

“Even today, you just wanted to rest, didn’t you?”

“No, I didn’t particularly….”

“Liar. You wanted to rest.”

“……”

How did you know?

“Anyone could tell just by looking at your face right now, Dale.”

“…What does my face look like right now?”

“You look exhausted. Really exhausted.”

“……”

I thought I was hiding it well.

But it seemed my expression gave it away.

“Sorry.”

I tried to lift my head from her lap, thinking I had made her worry for no reason.

“Just lie still.”

Iris gently pressed my forehead and laid me back on her lap.

Vroom!

A soft white light emanated from her body.

Her blue eyes, which seemed to hold the sky, turned into the colors of a seven-colored rainbow.

“O Seven Gods, please look after your child who has fallen from exhaustion.”

A softly spoken prayer.

The white light that had been enveloping Iris flowed into me through her hands.

“Ah.”

A comfort as if soaking in a hot bath.

The fatigue that had been weighing down my body melted away, spreading a pleasant drowsiness throughout my entire body.

“How do you feel? Do you think some of your fatigue has been relieved?”

“…Yeah.”

I felt dazed, as if I had been hypnotized.

Barely holding onto my consciousness as I was about to fall asleep, I asked,

“Is this why you suggested we go out today?”

“Yes. Because if I didn’t do this, you wouldn’t rest at all, Dale.”

Iris pinched my cheek as if she couldn’t help it.

“…Thank you.”

“Hmph. If you’re grateful, then get some rest.”

Was that the trigger?

Barely holding onto consciousness, an irresistible drowsiness washed over me.

“Sweet dreams.”

The gentle touch of the saint’s hand on my forehead was the last thing I felt.

My consciousness sank beyond the realm of dreams.

* * *

A park bench bathed in warm sunlight.

“Ugh….”

Iris let out a low groan, clutching her head.

‘I must be crazy!’

No matter how much she wanted to relieve Dale’s fatigue, it was too bold a move.

‘What if he thinks I’m a shameless woman…?’

Countless thoughts swirled in her mind, but regret always comes too late.

All she could hope for now was that the soundly sleeping Dale would forget about today’s events.

“Sigh.”

She let out a deep sigh and looked down at Dale’s face, resting on her thigh.

To be precise, she tried to look down.

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“Ugh. I can’t see well.”

Dale’s face was obscured by a certain part of her body, which had received too much of the seven gods’ blessings.

‘Why do men like these inconvenient things so much?’

Her shoulders ached, her back hurt, it was hard to find clothes that fit, and she couldn’t even see her feet. It was just a lump of flesh full of disadvantages.

She had never once in her life thought it was good to have a large chest.

‘But if Dale likes it, well…’

A smile naturally formed on her lips as she recalled how he would hurriedly avert his gaze whenever his eyes drifted to her chest.

“If I support my head with my hand and lower it a bit… there we go.”

As she adjusted her position, Dale’s sleeping face finally came into view.

“Haah.”

The moment she saw Dale’s sleeping face, a hot flush spread from the nape of her neck throughout her body.

‘Isn’t he just too cute?!’

No matter how generously one looked at it, Dale’s face was hard to describe as ‘cute’.

In the eyes of a woman blinded by love, even a mole can look like a hamster.

‘Ugh. I think I’m going crazy because I love everything about him! His ashen hair, his slightly sharp eyes, his firm jawline!’

She knew that the longer she spent time with him, the more the presence of ‘Dale Han’ was growing inside her.

‘But… it wasn’t this bad before.’

The decisive moment was the recent monster incident.

After seeing Dale risk his life to protect her that day, the presence of Dale, which had already been growing inside her, exploded and filled her mind completely.

‘These days, whenever I have a moment, I keep thinking about Mr. Dale.’

At first, she tried to shake off the feelings that had started to take root in her heart, thinking they were emotions she shouldn’t have as a saint of the Holy Kingdom. But now, she had long since changed her mind to, ‘But come to think of it, there’s no law that says a saint can’t fall in love, right?’

No.

Recently, she had even gone further to think, ‘The Seven Gods said, [Love one another as I have loved you], so this is following the words of the gods.’

‘Mr. Dale… seems to have feelings for me too.’

After all, there’s no reason to risk your life to protect someone you don’t have feelings for.

“Hehehe.”

As she was drawing a rosy future with Dale in her mind.

“Ugh.”

Suddenly.

She remembered the ‘unfortunate accident’ from a few days ago.

‘Elisha Baldwin.’

The special professor who had been appointed after being invited by the school following the monster incident had suddenly stolen Dale’s lips under the pretext of an investigation during class.

Grit.

Remembering that day, a shiver of sorrow and anger surged through her.

“…Hmm?”

At that moment, she suddenly noticed Dale’s lips.

“Ahem, ahem.”

She gave a meaningless cough and lightly poked Dale’s lips with her finger as he slept.

The soft sensation spread through her fingertips.

An irresistible impulse boiled up inside her heart.

“Hmm, hmm.”

Iris’s gaze, which had been wandering around, landed on the cookies she had left at the coffee shop earlier.

Carefully opening the wrapper, Iris picked up some cookie crumbs and sprinkled them around Dale’s mouth.

“Ah, Dale, you’re so careless. You have cookie crumbs on your mouth.”

Iris, looking around nervously, put on an exaggerated performance, pretending no one was watching.

Gulping, Iris slowly lowered her head, trying to press her lips against Dale’s.

Ding!

“Ahh?!”

The alarm from Dale’s Hero Watch startled Iris, making her jump like a fish out of water.

“Huh…?”

“D-Dale, are you awake?”

Dale, still half-asleep, glanced at his Hero Watch and then collapsed back onto Iris’s lap.

“Just a little more sleep…”

“Y-Yes, please, rest well.”

Iris, frozen in place, worried that her pounding heart might be heard by Dale.

‘Did he see?’

She looked down at Dale, anxious that her secret might have been discovered, but he was sound asleep.

“Phew.”

Iris let out a sigh of relief, her heart finally calming down.

“Hmm?”

Then, she noticed Dale’s Hero Watch, still on, displaying a message.

The name ‘Juliet Kang’ floated on the hologram screen.

[When shall we meet today?]

Iris’s brows furrowed slightly as she read the message.

‘She’s a third-year candidate, right?’

Though they never had classes together, Iris had seen her a few times in the main building’s cafeteria.

She remembered Juliet as a handsome blond guy who gave off an unpleasant vibe.

‘She doesn’t seem like someone who would get along with Dale.’

All Iris knew about Juliet Kang was that she was from a wealthy family in the Republic and had a bad reputation.

Even trying to think of a connection between Juliet and Dale, nothing came to mind.

[You said you had something important to talk about… Can you tell me in advance? I need to prepare myself.]

Something important to talk about?

Prepared for this?

‘What kind of relationship do they have to exchange such messages?’

Iris tilted her head and looked down at the sleeping Dale, but there was no sign of him waking up.

“Well… I’ll ask later.”

She said, manipulating the hologram floating in the air with the power still on.

She was trying to turn off the Hero Watch.

Beep.

“Oh.”

She accidentally pressed another button.

The hologram screen changed, and a folder labeled ‘Photos’ appeared.

The photos stored inside were…

“What?”

Photos of Juliet Kang, dressed as a woman, striking a coquettish pose.