The Last-Seat Hero Has Returned

54. Dale Han’s Secret Life (3)

“What, what is this?”

Iris barely suppressed a scream rising in her throat, her body trembling.

She looked at the hologram screen several times, thinking she might have seen it wrong, but the photos were definitely of Juliet Kang.

Dressed as a woman, striking a coquettish pose as if seducing a man.

‘Why, why does Dale have these photos…?’

It felt like a giant spatula was stirring her brain into a mess.

The chain of causality that didn’t connect at all wandered chaotically in her head.

‘Could it be… Dale’s preference…?’

She had always thought that as much as she had feelings for Dale, Dale also had feelings for her.

Wasn’t it obvious?

Considering the kindness and consideration Dale showed her, anyone would think the same.

But.

What if Dale’s kindness wasn’t the kind of feelings one has for the opposite s*x?

No, what if Dale wasn’t interested in the opposite s*x at all?

‘No, no, no, no! That can’t be!’

It wasn’t unheard of for same-s*x couples to form within the school.

That too is another form of love, and it deserves to be respected.

But.

No matter how much that is true.

‘Mr. Dale… likes men?’

The fact that the man she had feelings for had carefully stored a racy photo of another man (even dressed as a woman!) in his Hero Watch album was like a bolt from the blue for her.

‘Think calmly. It’s not just a naked photo of a man, but a photo of him dressed as a woman, right?’

So, doesn’t that mean there is still a desire for the opposite s*x deep in Dale’s heart?

‘Or maybe he thinks it doesn’t matter if it’s a man or a woman as long as it tastes good!’

Iris’s mind, which had lost its function due to extreme shock, was running wild without brakes, conjuring up all sorts of bizarre speculations.

‘If… if I wasn’t the one in Mr. Dale’s heart.’

If Dale had such a relationship with this rich young master named Juliet Kang!

“Oh… seven gods.”

Iris, feeling dizzy, staggered while holding her head.

The shock seemed to have reached her thighs, as Dale groggily opened his eyes.

“Ugh… how long did I sleep?”

“Mr. Dale?!”

Dale squinted and sat up.

Before Dale could fully wake up, Iris hurriedly turned off the hologram window.

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

Her expression was too stiff to say it was nothing.

Could it be….

“Did I do something wrong while I was sleeping?”

“N-no! You didn’t do anything wrong! Not at all!”

They say strong denial is a strong affirmation.

Iris, shaking her head desperately with her ears turning red, was undeniable proof that something had happened while I was asleep.

‘Damn it, what did I do?’

Did I grope her body or rub my cheek against her thigh in my sleep?

Or did I say something embarrassing that couldn’t be told to others?

I desperately tried to recall, but of course, nothing came to mind.

“Oh, shall we call it a day and head back?”

“Ah, uh, yeah.”

An awkward air settled between Iris and me.

We walked to school, keeping a slight distance between us.

“Um… Mr. Dale.”

Then.

Iris called me cautiously.

“Yes?”

“Do you… Mr. Dale, what do you think about… men loving other men?”

“…What?”

Men loving men?

What on earth is she talking about?

“Please, answer honestly!”

“Ah, uh, okay.”

A relationship between men.

‘Honestly, I can’t really understand it from my perspective.’

But, well.

It’s not like they’re harming anyone, and if they like each other, there’s no reason to criticize them, right?

“I think… it could happen.”

“See, I knew it!”

“…Huh?”

What does she mean by “I knew it”?

“Mr. Dale, then, what did you feel when you kissed Professor Elisha the other day?!”

“Ugh.”

She brought that up again.

‘Honestly, it felt good.’

Professor Elisha had a beautiful appearance, to the point where the hideous scar near her left eye seemed like a charm point.

She felt like a rose full of poison.

Kissing such a beauty deeply, how could it not feel good?

‘Of course, I can’t say that.’

I cleared my throat and answered in a firm voice.

“I didn’t feel anything.”

“…Not at all?”

“Yeah.”

“Even though you kissed such a beauty?”

“Of course.”

“Even with the tongue and all?”

No. Saintess, what are you…

That’s a bit much.

‘She must still be bothered by what happened back then.’

At that time, Iris pretended to be calm, saying it was an unfortunate accident and didn’t count.

But the fact that the man she liked had kissed another woman deeply must have weighed on her mind.

‘Well, if I think about it the other way around, it would be horrible.’

Some random male professor stealing Iris’s lips during class?

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‘I would kill him immediately.’

Professor or not, I wouldn’t let it slide.

‘In that sense, Iris is quite the saint.’

Even if something bothers her, she tries her best to forget it.

‘I can’t let Iris’s efforts go to waste!’

I looked into Iris’s eyes and answered seriously.

“I’ll say it again, I felt nothing when I kissed Professor Elisha. In fact, it was rather unpleasant.”

“Oh, my goodness…”

Iris sighed and clasped her hands together as if in prayer.

“Oh, seven gods… Why do you give me such trials…”

“…Huh?”

This reaction is a bit different from what I expected.

‘Why is she acting like this all of a sudden?’

As I looked at Iris in confusion,

“Da-Dale!”

I heard a voice calling me from the school gate.

“Juliet?”

Why is this guy here?

“Oh, well. I sent you a message earlier, but you didn’t reply… So I went to your dorm and they said you went out to Valhalla City today.”

“So you’ve been waiting at the gate all this time? Until I came back?”

“Y-yeah.”

Juliet nodded with a shrunken expression.

It seemed she was quite scared by the message I sent this morning saying, ‘We need to talk about something important.’

“I told you I’d contact you later.”

“Well… I have a gift for you.”

“A gift?”

“Yeah.”

Juliet handed me a luxurious box with a golden grapevine design.

“What’s this?”

“My family sent me some good wine as a gift. You… drink wine, right, Dale?”

“Well, I drink it occasionally.”

I had a few bottles of wine on the shelf in my dorm room that I would sip on when I was bored.

Of course, it wasn’t this high-quality wine, but the cheap stuff from the convenience store.

“Hehe. That’s a relief.”

Juliet’s stiff expression relaxed, and a bright smile spread across her face.

“It’s the finest wine made from Seongguk grapes. I’ve had it a few times, and the aroma is amazing.”

“But why are you giving this to me?”

“No, it’s just! I thought you might like it! It doesn’t mean anything!”

Juliet exclaimed with a flustered expression.

I chuckled at her.

‘It doesn’t mean anything, huh.’

There could only be one reason for giving me a gift out of the blue.

‘It’s probably a bribe to get me to delete those photos.’

I was already thinking it was about time to delete them anyway.

“Um… you’re Juliet, right?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. That’s right.”

Juliet turned to look at Iris and shuddered.

In his eyes, the question “Why is the saintess talking to me?” was vividly apparent.

“Are you perhaps acquainted with Mr. Dale?”

“Ah… with Dale… that.”

Juliet glanced furtively in my direction.

Before he could say anything strange, I quickly spoke up.

“What do you mean, of course, we’re friends.”

“Y-yes! That’s right! We’re friends! Just friends!”

Juliet nodded with a startled expression.

“Really? Just friends?”

Iris narrowed her eyes at Juliet’s reaction, which seemed suspicious to anyone.

‘Damn it.’

It would be troublesome if Iris found out that I was secretly extorting money from Juliet by exploiting her weakness.

I put my arm around Juliet’s shoulder and pulled her closer.

“Right~ We’re friends, aren’t we, Juliet?”

“Y-yes! We’re such good friends!”

“We even had a meal together before.”

“Y-yes! The stir-fried pork was delicious!”

Juliet, desperately playing along with me, with her arm around my shoulder.

Thinking that this should dispel any doubts, I looked at Iris’s face.

‘What the…?’

Why does she look like her world just collapsed?

“…Hic.”

Tears like chicken droppings flowed from Iris’s blue eyes.

“Huh? Huh?”

What? Why is she suddenly crying?

“That’s too much… How… How could you do this to me?”

“W-what?”

“If you were going to do this, you shouldn’t have been kind to me from the start! Do you enjoy playing with people’s hearts?!”

Iris approached me with tears streaming down her face.

“See… I’m not the kind of woman who gives up so easily, you know?”

“What are you talking about… huh?!”

Iris yanked at my collar and suddenly pressed her lips against mine.

A fragrant peach scent tickled my nose.

A tongue invaded my mouth, thrashing wildly.

“Ha!”

Iris gasped for breath, her fist clenched tightly.

“Just you wait. Even if Mr. Dale likes men! I will never give up!”

“No.”

What the hell are you saying?

* * *

“Ah… so, what I mean is, it’s not that Mr. Dale likes men, but actually Ms. Juliet likes men, and that’s why she sent a photo of herself in drag to Mr. Dale, asking him to check if they match?”

“Exactly.”

“So the person Ms. Juliet likes is….”

“Have you heard of Berald Ryu?”

“Ah. If it’s him, could he be from the Ryu family…?”

“That’s right. The black sheep of the Ryu family. He’s a candidate one year below us.”

“Yes, I’ve heard of him.”

“Juliet has this peculiar taste for muscular macho types, and she enjoys being forced into drag by them.”

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“Th-That…!”

Iris’s eyes widened in shock.

“I… Ms. Juliet?”

With an awkward smile on her lips, she approached Juliet.

“I… th-there are all kinds of tastes in this world! I’ll support your love, Ms. Juliet!”

With those words, Iris hurriedly distanced herself from Juliet.

Dale rushed after Iris, his steps frantic.

“…Ugh.”

Left alone, Juliet hung her head low, sobbing quietly.

“No… I’m not… I don’t have that kind of taste….”

Transparent tears streamed down her cheeks.

It was spring.