Chapter 27

Chapter 27. Ant Hill (2)

“Candy for Camila unni!”

“Me too, me too!”

“Hmph! You idiots. I’m betting on the underdog! Three candies for that gray-haired guy!”

“Huh? That’s why you always lose your snacks! You should always bet on the favorite!”

“No! A man always bets on the underdog!”

“Tsk. You don’t even have any hair down there, and you’re talking about being a man…?”

“Huh, huh! Take that back right now!”

The orphanage yard, which had turned into a gambling den amidst the chaos.

The children had already gathered around Camila and me, sitting in a circle, their eyes sparkling as they looked up at us.

“W-what is this…?”

Camila was flustered by the unexpected turn of events.

She turned to Iris for help, but Iris was only stirring up the atmosphere further, sitting among the children.

“I’ll bet ten candies on Dale!”

“T-ten candies?!”

“Kuh! The capital of adults is on a whole different level…!”

The children were shocked by the sudden appearance of a whale(?) in their gambling den.

“……”

“……”

Camila and I locked eyes.

Sigh.

A deep sigh escaped both our lips simultaneously.

“What is this…?”

“I guess there’s no choice.”

Even if the seven gods descended, it would be impossible to back out of this atmosphere.

“Fine. I wanted to face you someday anyway.”

Camila pointed a crude wooden sword she had carved from a branch at me, her fighting spirit burning.

I chuckled and stood up, picking up a wooden sword lying nearby.

“Of course, no magic power, right?”

“Of course.”

“…Alright.”

If it was a non-magic duel, the outcome was already decided.

‘I’ll win.’

It’s not that I’m underestimating Camila’s skills.

Camila was a candidate with exceptional talent, enough to be considered for the next Holy Kingdom’s sword, and in pure swordsmanship without magic, she was among the top ten in the school.

‘But.’

That’s all.

No matter how talented she was, there was no way she could beat me without using magic.

The gap between her and me was vast.

‘It has to be.’

Over the past thousands of years.

I couldn’t run, but I never stopped walking.

Even if the road ahead was dark, I never looked back.

Even if I was lacking, insufficient, and clumsy.

I never let go of the sword in my hand.

“Here I come.”

Camila quietly announced the start of the fight.

Whoosh!

She charged at me with a speed on a completely different level from when she faced the children.

Clack! Clack! Clack!

The wooden swords clashed, making loud noises.

Even though it was a pure clash without magic, the fight between superhumans with Holy Marks was too fast for ordinary people to follow.

“Wow, wow…!”

“This is crazy!”

“I can’t even see the swords!”

The duel continued amidst the children’s cheers.

“Ha!”

The wooden sword cut through the air fiercely.

True to the Holy Kingdom’s swordsmanship, the moves were honest and simple, but that made it a refined swordsmanship with few openings.

‘This is beyond imagination.’

Her skill was so impressive that I couldn’t help but admire it.

‘She’s solid in the basics.’

There couldn’t be a swordsmanship that fit this description better.

There was no flashy deception or soul-stirring elegance.

But the straightforward sword strikes, without any unnecessary movements, clearly conveyed the blood and sweat she had poured into her swordsmanship.

‘But.’

Her sword was still too light to bear the weight of my life.

Clack!

I deflected Camila’s downward strike and closed the distance, hitting her with my shoulder.

“Kuh…!”

Camila was pushed back.

“You…!”

She glared at me fiercely, breathing heavily.

“C-Camila unni is losing!”

“See! I told you the underdog was the right bet!”

The children were in an uproar at the unexpected turn of events.

Camila’s eyes trembled as she looked at them.

Then, one of the girls watching the duel asked with teary eyes.

“Unni… are you losing?”

“……”

Camila steadied her breathing and pointed her sword at me again.

“I’ll win.”

Her voice was firm, her gaze unwavering.

I smirked and provocatively twitched my wooden sword.

“Haaa!”

With a fierce shout, Camila charged at me.

Her strikes were even fiercer than before, like a storm.

And then.

“Kuh!”

Clack!

Camila’s wooden sword knocked mine away.

“…Huh?”

Camila’s eyes widened.

“Waaaaah!”

“Unni won!”

“Nooooooo!”

“How’s that, underdog bettors? Feeling better now?”

“Give us the candies, quick!”

The children cheered as if it were a festival at Camila’s victory.

“……”

But the heroine of the cheers just stood there, her lips tightly shut, holding her sword with a stiff expression.

I clicked my tongue as I looked at her.

‘Did she realize I let her win?’

I had tried to subtly hold back from the start so she wouldn’t notice, but it seems it was all for nothing.

‘But I couldn’t just beat Camila here.’

I was just a stranger visiting for the first time today, but Camila was like a hero from a fairy tale to the children in the orphanage.

A hero who must never be defeated or broken.

I couldn’t defeat her in front of the children.

“Alright~ It’s almost lunchtime, so put the candies down for now~.”

“Ugh.”

“Okay~!”

“Hoho. Today’s lunch is going to be very special, so look forward to it!”

“Special?”

“What did you bring, Iris unni?”

The children’s eyes sparkled like stars at the mention of a special lunch.

Iris puffed up with pride and quickly approached me.

“Dale, Dale. Can you cook the ramen we bought earlier?”

Ah.

So that’s why we bought ramen before coming here.

“We’ll need a pretty big pot to feed everyone here.”

“Don’t worry about that! We have a big pot for stew!”

“Okay.”

Since I’ve already entertained the children with a show, now it’s time to treat their taste buds.

“I’ll cook it perfectly, so go take a break.”

“No, I’ll help you.”

“Really? Then open the packets and put the seasoning in the bowls.”

“Okay!”

Iris eagerly offered to help, but there wasn’t much to do besides opening the packets.

After all, it’s instant food—just boil water, add the seasoning, and the noodles, and you’re done.

“……”

“……”

As we waited for the water to boil, a quiet silence settled in the kitchen.

“…Dale.”

Iris was the first to break the silence.

“You said you were from an orphanage earlier, right?”

“Ah, yeah. Why?”

“……”

Iris hesitated for a moment, then glanced out the window.

Outside, the children were playing, unable to contain their excitement.

“Actually, before I became a ‘Saint,’ I grew up in an orphanage too.”

Iris looked at the children with a distant gaze, as if reminiscing about the past.

“The person who raised me back then was Priest Antonio.”

“Ah.”

So that was the small connection between them.

‘Now that I think about it, the occasional rough language from Iris…’

It was likely because she grew up in an orphanage.

Children who lose their parents often learn rough language as a means to protect themselves.

“And when I turned 10… I realized that I had a special power in my eyes.”

“Is that the ‘Seven Eyes’ you showed me before?”

“Yes.”

The mark of the ‘Saint,’ blessed by the seven gods, more certain than anything else.

“After that, my life changed 180 degrees. Instead of shabby clothes, I could wear priestly robes made of high-quality fabric. Instead of a cold, cramped room, I had a warm, spacious one. Of course… in exchange, I had to give up my ‘surname.'”

“…Give up your surname?”

“I originally had the surname ‘Flora.’ It was a surname Priest Antonio gave me, named after my late mother.”

But.

“There’s a rule that a ‘Saint,’ being a ‘child of the gods,’ cannot have a surname.”

So.

She gave up her mother’s name and became a child of the gods.

“Even now, I sometimes wonder. What kind of life would I be living if I didn’t have these eyes?”

There was a hint of bitterness in Iris’s eyes as she spoke.

“That’s…”

“Huhu. It’s a luxurious thought, isn’t it? Thanks to these eyes, I gained a peaceful life without any effort or hardship.”

Iris smiled self-deprecatingly.

“……”

Another awkward silence.

I turned to Iris and asked quietly.

“…Is it okay to tell me all this?”

The fact that the Saint of the Holy Kingdom was an orphan from an orphanage.

It was obvious that this fact would tarnish the name of ‘Saint.’

“I trust you, Dale.”

Her answer was firm, without a hint of doubt.

“……”

How did she come to have such unwavering trust in me?

I looked at her with a confused expression.

Iris smiled awkwardly and scratched her head.

“Actually… I don’t really know why either. It’s a bit late to say this now, but I’m not usually the type to trust people so easily.”

But.

“For some reason, when I look at you… it feels like we’ve known each other for a long time. How should I put it… using an old-fashioned expression, it feels like we had a connection in a past life?”

“…!”

“Ah. Don’t make that face. I know it sounds ridiculous.”

Iris poked my cheek with a playful smile.

“Anyway, I thought it would be okay to tell you, so don’t go telling anyone, okay?”

“Ah, yeah.”

I nodded like a broken doll.

“Alright, the ramen’s almost done, so I’ll go call the kids!”

With a bright smile, she ran outside.

“……”

Left alone in the kitchen, I clenched my fist as I looked at Iris through the window.

‘It wasn’t gone.’

The time we spent together. The emotions we shared.

I thought all of that had melted away like snowflakes on my skin.

‘It was still there.’

Like water droplets forming where the snowflakes had melted.

Memories had formed where the memories had disappeared.

“Dale~! Bring the pot out!”

Iris’s voice came from outside.

I barely managed to suppress my rising emotions and carried the pot outside.

* * *

“T-this is ramen?”

“This is crazy!”

“It’s so delicious!”

“Kuh… I’m jealous, Republic! We only get to eat grass every day!”

As expected, the ramen was a huge hit among the children.

The children were busily eating the ramen served in bowls from the pot.

“Hoho. What’s so good about such junk food…?”

“Priest Antonio, you should try some too.”

Even Priest Antonio, who had been looking at the children eating ramen with a disapproving expression, picked up a few bites and then quickly served himself a bowl, coughing slightly.

Amidst the lively lunch.

“……”

Only Camila sat with a stiff expression, staring at her empty bowl.

I cautiously approached and sat next to her.

“Is it because of what happened earlier?”

“…You.”

“Sorry. I couldn’t help it in front of the kids.”

For her, a warrior before being a candidate, ‘letting her win’ was more humiliating than anything else.

“…No, it’s not your fault. It’s because of my lack of skill.”

Camila shook her head with a self-deprecating expression.

Telling her ‘No, you’re strong enough’ would only come off as mockery.

‘Then.’

I should go hard on her instead.

“So, are you just going to keep sulking after losing just once?”

“That’s…!”

“Wow, I didn’t know the next Holy Kingdom’s sword could be so pathetic.”

“Shut up!”

Camila stood up abruptly, pointing her chopsticks at me.

“Just wait! Next time, I’ll make sure you can’t even make a sound!”

“Alright. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

I chuckled as I watched Camila fume.

“Ah, right! Earlier, when unni and hyung were dueling, it was so cool!”

“Yeah, yeah!”

“It was like watching real heroes fight!”

The children, noticing Camila and me together, shouted with sparkling eyes.

Among them, a mischievous-looking boy grinned at us.

“By the way… don’t you two look good together?”

“Huh? Really?”

“Didn’t you see them fight earlier? They really match!”

“Now that you mention it, it does seem like that…”

“Unni and hyung are actually dating, right? Right?”

The boy persistently tried to link Camila and me together.

“…Leo.”

“Huh? Iris unni, don’t you think so too?”

“Huhu.”

Iris approached the boy named Leo and gently patted his head.

“Come here for a second.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Quickly.”

Iris led Leo somewhere.

About five minutes later.

“U-uh, on second thought, Camila unni and hyung don’t really match!”

“Earlier, you said they did?”

“N-no! They don’t match at all! If anything, Iris unni matches better!”

Leo shouted with a pale face.

I sighed deeply as I looked at the boy, who was even tearing up.

‘…Iris.’

What on earth did you do to the kid?