The Last-Seat Hero Has Returned

55. Interlude – Boys Talk

Yuren Helios’ private training hall.

Originally, I planned to borrow money from my dear friend, Juliet, to apply for my own private training hall.

However, due to a minor misunderstanding(?) with Iris, the matter of the private training hall ended up being shelved.

It was difficult to continue personal training in the public training hall, where I would end up looking like a zoo monkey as soon as I entered.

While pondering, I came up with the idea of borrowing and sharing the private training hall of another friend, Yuren Helios.

Yuren readily nodded at my suggestion to share his private training hall and immediately registered my name on the entry permit list.

Since then, I have spent much more time training together in his private training hall, in addition to the twice-weekly swordsmanship lessons I give Yuren.

“Ah! This is the taste!”

After finishing a round of swordsmanship training in the training hall, which boasts top-notch facilities and equipment, I gulped down a cold ion drink.

“Is there something good happening?”

Yuren approached, wiping his sweat with a towel.

“No, not really.”

“Hmm. You seemed to be in a good mood all day today. Actually, not just today, but you’ve been smiling a lot these past few days.”

“Hehe. Really?”

Ha, this is tough.

It’s not easy to hide it completely.

“Well, something good did happen.”

I recalled the outing with Iris a few days ago over the weekend.

We watched a movie, ate, and took a walk together.

Of course, lying on the park bench with my head on her lap and taking a sweet nap was enjoyable.

‘But the most memorable thing was…’

The memory of Iris, who misunderstood my relationship with Juliet, kissing me and declaring she would never give up on me.

The fragrant peach scent that tickled my nose and the soft touch of her lips gave me an indescribable sense of happiness.

‘Well, it wasn’t exactly a romantic kiss, to put it nicely.’

But what does it matter?

The important thing was that we kissed.

That too, with the lover from my past life whom I had longed for hundreds, thousands of years.

‘Well, I had to distort Juliet’s preferences a bit to clear up the misunderstanding, but…’

My soul friend, Juliet, would understand my situation.

“Hmm. What’s the good news?”

Yuren, who had come closer, asked as he took out a can of ion drink from the refrigerator.

“Well, it’s nothing special…”

“Nothing special? You seemed distracted even during training earlier.”

“Ahem.”

Hearing it from someone else made me feel even more embarrassed for some reason.

“So, what happened?”

“Well… should I say that my relationship with someone I have feelings for has progressed a bit? Something like that happened.”

“…What, what did you say?”

Yuren, with his eyes wide open in shock.

“Someone you have feelings for?! You, Dale?!”

“Well… is that really so surprising?”

I tilted my head as I watched him tremble with shock.

‘What’s wrong with this guy?’

It was very common for love to blossom among the cadets at the hero school, where young men and women gathered (although my actual age was hard to call youthful).

There were even cadets who used the rather extreme expression, “If you haven’t had a single romance in the four years at hero school, you’re either an idiot or impotent.”

Oh, and of course, there was a heartwarming follow-up story that the cadet who said that suddenly disappeared one day and was never heard from again.

Anyway.

The news that a friend had someone they liked was definitely not something to be so shocked about.

“Tell me more about what you just said.”

Yuren approached with fierce eyes.

Dilated pupils, roughened breath, and even the golden magic power subtly emanating.

It wasn’t hard to notice that Yuren was extremely excited right now.

“Are you interested in other people’s love lives just because you’re a guy?”

I chuckled as I looked back at Yuren, who had come closer.

“But you can date as much as you want too, right? You’re quite popular.”

“Shut up and tell me your story first. Who is the person you have feelings for?”

Oh dear, how scary.

Well.

Usually, the ones who always say they would never get into a relationship are the first to get curious when their friends get a lover.

“Iris.”

“Iris… You mean, the Saintess of the Holy Kingdom?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“……”

Yuren, as if his throat was parched, gulped down the drink in his hand and then grabbed a new can from the fridge.

“Heh, heh. I knew you were in the same ‘practical combat training’ class as the Saintess of the Holy Kingdom, but I never imagined you two would be that close.”

“Well, how many people could imagine that?”

“So… are you dating the Saintess now?”

Yuren asked in a voice filled with some kind of anxiety.

“No, we’re not dating yet.”

“R-really?”

Yuren’s face suddenly brightened.

With a much more relaxed expression, he continued.

“Anyway, the Saintess of the Holy Kingdom… As a ‘friend’, let me give you some advice: don’t get your hopes up too high.”

“…What do you mean by that?”

“Well, think about it. She’s not just anyone, she’s the Saintess. The daughter blessed by the Seven Gods! How easy do you think it is to be with someone like that?”

Yuren spoke in a calm voice, as if trying to persuade me.

Of course, it was a meaningless persuasion for me, who had already been in a relationship with that ‘daughter of God’ in a previous life.

“There’s no law that says a Saintess can’t have a lover, right? Most of the priests of the Seven Star Church have lovers or spouses.”

“But, but the Saintess is different!”

“There’s no difference, man. Is the Saintess not a person too?”

“That is…”

Yuren bit his lip, struggling to find a rebuttal.

“…Fine. If that’s what you think, I can’t help it.”

Gritting his teeth, Yuren’s fists trembled.

“So, what exactly happened with the Saintess?”

“Well… somehow, we ended up kissing.”

“W-what?! K-k-k-kissing?!”

Yuren jumped up from his seat, showing an even more intense reaction than before.

“Well, it’s not like we’re teenagers. Why are you so shocked over a kiss?”

As I watched Yuren trembling with a hollow laugh, memories of my past life suddenly surfaced.

From noble mtl dot com

“Come to think of it, this guy Yuren never even held a girl’s hand in his past life.”

Despite receiving countless advances from the most beautiful women across the continent—imperial princesses, famous actresses from the republic, nuns from the holy kingdom—he never gave them a second glance.

“No wonder there were rumors that Yuren liked men.”

There was even an amusing anecdote.

The Archbishop of Desire, Lactasia, tried to seduce Yuren with her beauty but ended up being brutally slaughtered.

At the time, the incident caused a huge stir across the continent because there were hundreds of heroes who had betrayed humanity and sided with the demons, all because they were infatuated with Lactasia’s beauty.

“Even as a rookie cadet, he was just as clueless.”

I chuckled as I watched Yuren’s fists tremble.

“Well, it was kind of an accident, an accident.”

“Haha, really? So, it was just a brief touch of the lips?”

“No, there was tongue involved.”

“Tongue…

“Still, considering Iris’s dignity, it’s hard to answer….”

“Speak, quickly.”

A strong grip transmitted a fierce intensity from the hand on my shoulder.

I swallowed a chuckle as I met Yuren’s fiery gaze, as if it could burn me alive.

‘It was the same in my past life.’

Whenever I exchanged even a few words with other women, he would pick up on it like a ghost, prying into what we talked about, wondering if I had shown any interest.

‘You little brat, pretending to be all dignified while secretly being so curious about women, huh?’

Well, it’s true.

They say that when men gather, nine out of ten conversations end up being about women.

Given that Yuren was at an age bursting with vitality, it was only natural for him to be sensitive to such topics.

‘So, what? Should I meet his expectations and unravel a little story for him?’

I recalled the events from that day in the park with Iris and opened my mouth.

“Last weekend, I went to the park with Iris.”

“Uh, yeah.”

“We were sitting on a bench, taking a short break, and Iris offered me her lap as a pillow.”

“…Lap pillow?”

A sigh of relief escaped Yuren’s lips.

“Ah, what was I thinking? You were talking about her lap pillow….”

“So, I was lying on Iris’s lap, resting, when suddenly she asked if I wanted to touch her chest.”

“…….”

Yuren’s face stiffened, becoming rigid.

“S-So… did you touch it?”

“At first, I tried to refuse, but Iris pulled my hand and placed it on her chest.”

“Yeah… I see. You touched it….”

“I knew it was big, but feeling it directly was something else….”

“Stop.”

“Uh?”

Yuren, with his head bowed low, walked steadily toward the wall of the training hall and pulled out one of the swords hanging there.

Not a training wooden sword, but a real blade, its edge gleaming menacingly.

“Deil, I think you’ve rested enough. How about a spar?”

“Not today. I used up all my magic power during training earlier….”

Wooong!

A golden aura fiercely blazed along the blade held in Yuren’s hand.

“Raise your sword, Dale.”

Or else.

“You might die by my hand today.”

Yuren smiled brightly and swung his sword without hesitation.