Chapter 33

Chapter 33. Last Words (2)

“Hey… isn’t that the low-ranking candidate next to the Saintess?”

“Huh? Really?”

“Why is that guy with the Saintess?”

“Th-they’re even holding hands!”

The whispers around us.

I swallowed hard and tried to let go of Iris’s hand, but she pulled it back tightly, as if telling me not to run away.

“…Isn’t this going to be a problem if the Holy Kingdom finds out?”

“What’s the problem? It’s just to ensure the Saintess’s ‘safety,’ right?”

Iris winked playfully, grinning.

I forced a smile and shook my head.

‘No wonder Camilla always looks like she’s about to die.’

Thinking about the hardships Camilla must have endured to protect this reckless Saintess made me feel a bit sorry for her.

“Why? Don’t you like holding hands with me?”

“Of course not.”

But we couldn’t just enjoy the festival while drawing all the attention of the surrounding candidates like this.

“Should we go somewhere less crowded?”

“Somewhere less crowded… how about the exhibition hall?”

“Are you sure? There’s not much to do there…”

“Hehe. I’m fine with it.”

The ‘Sealing Festival’ is a celebration of the day, 500 years ago, when the Five Great Heroes sealed the Devil God.

It’s not just about food and games; there’s also an exhibition showcasing the history of how the great heroes fought and defeated the Devil God’s army.

‘Of course, no candidate would go there first thing in the morning.’

We’ve been drilled endlessly about the history of the Devil God War 500 years ago, so who would go to the exhibition hall on the rare festival day?

‘But there’s no better place to avoid people.’

We moved toward the exhibition hall, dodging the piercing gazes from all sides.

Inside the exhibition hall, we were greeted by a massive painting of the Devil God and the Five Great Heroes facing off.

I let out a dry laugh as I looked at the depiction of the ‘Devil God.’

‘There’s no accurate record of what the Devil God looked like.’

Well.

Even I, who was called one of the Last Five Heroes and fought the Devil God in my past life, didn’t know exactly what he looked like.

‘His entire body was covered in black smoke.’

When the Devil God broke free from the seal, his entire body was engulfed in blazing black smoke, so I couldn’t see his true appearance.

All I knew about the Devil God was…

‘He was ridiculously strong.’

During the final battle with the Devil God.

We were utterly defeated without even putting up a decent fight.

And then.

‘The Devil God took his own life.’

When the curse spread and covered the entire continent.

Every living being on the continent, except for me, ceased to exist.

‘…Why did he do that?’

I frowned as I recalled that day.

The Devil God had won against the ‘Last Five Heroes,’ who were called humanity’s last hope.

He didn’t need to take his own life.

If he had taken his time to expand his army, he could have easily ruled the continent.

‘But he didn’t.’

Instead of ruling the continent, the Devil God chose complete annihilation.

Erasing every living being on the continent.

Of course, that ‘annihilation’ included his own army.

‘His goal wasn’t to rule, but to eradicate all life.’

I couldn’t understand why the Devil God had such a goal.

No, I didn’t need to.

‘Because this time, he won’t achieve that goal.’

I glared at the painting of the ‘Devil God’ and gritted my teeth.

“…Dale? Is something wrong?”

“Ah, sorry. The painting was so impressive, I got lost in thought for a moment.”

“Hehe. It is impressive.”

Iris looked at the painting of the five heroes and continued.

“Sun’s Sword Reynaldo, the Great Sage Julius, Iron Fist Ryu Jinseong, Divine Spear Baek Seunghyuk, and Light of Life Grace.”

The Five Great Heroes who sealed the Devil God 500 years ago.

Iris gazed at the painting with sparkling eyes.

“It’s more thrilling to see them in a painting than just reading about them in books.”

“I didn’t know you liked hero stories.”

“Surprised? When I was little, I was obsessed with playing as the Five Heroes.”

The Five Heroes game.

A simple role-playing game where children from all three kingdoms would choose their favorite hero and act out defeating the Devil God.

‘It was an unfair game where the kid who always played the Devil God got ganged up on by the other five.’

I frowned as I recalled my almost forgotten days at the orphanage.

“By the way, which role did you usually play?”

“Iron Fist Ryu Jinseong. It was fun beating up the Devil God with my fists.”

Iris mimed punching the air.

“What about you, Dale?”

“I played the Devil God.”

“Ah…”

Ahem.

Iris quickly changed the subject, pulling on my hand.

“L-let’s go further inside.”

After finishing the tour of the exhibition hall with Iris (for some reason, she still didn’t let go of my hand even when there were no people around), it was almost time to meet the kids.

“Shall we go see the kids now?”

“Let’s. If we’re late, Camilla will throw a fit.”

“Ah. Hearing that makes me want to be late on purpose.”

Iris smiled mischievously and playfully tugged on my hand.

The soft touch felt like wrapping myself in a fluffy blanket after a shower, and for a moment, my reason almost wavered.

“If Camilla reports to the school that the Saintess is missing?”

“…That does sound scary.”

Perhaps imagining that scenario made her drop the idea, as Iris quickly headed toward the meeting spot.

Waiting near the school gate, I saw Priest Antonio, Camilla, and the orphanage kids in the distance.

“Wahhh!”

“It’s the festival! The festival!”

“Is this really the Hero School?!”

The kids’ excitement was already through the roof the moment they passed the gate.

“Y-you brats! Didn’t I tell you to behave?!”

Despite Priest Antonio’s scolding, the kids ran around like wild horses.

“Uh…! C-calm down, everyone!”

Even Camilla was flustered by the overly excited kids.

“Everyone, don’t panic like this.”

Iris clicked her tongue and stepped forward.

“Leo~ come here.”

“Iris noona! There’s so much food here and so many cool things…!”

“Shut it.”

“Huh? Shut what?”

“Shut your mouth, you little brat.”

“…Noona?”

Iris gently patted Leo’s head and smiled.

“Leo. Didn’t you tell me before that you’re the leader of the orphanage?”

“Y-yeah.”

“Then as the leader, you should manage your underlings properly, not let them run wild like this, right?”

“Gasp…!”

Leo’s eyes widened like a monk who’d just had an epiphany.

“O-okay! I’ll take responsibility and teach them!”

With a fiery sense of duty, Leo ran off to scold the kids.

Surprisingly, the wild kids started gathering quietly in front of Leo.

“Wow.”

A low exclamation escaped Priest Antonio’s lips.

“Amazing. To calm those troublemakers so easily…”

“Kids tend to listen to other kids more than adults.”

“Hoho. As expected of the Saintess.”

The old priest smiled contentedly.

“Seeing how well you handle children, you’ll have no worries after marriage.”

“Huh? M-marriage?”

“Hmm. Was it Dale?”

“N-no! What are you talking about?!”

“Hohoho.”

With the old priest’s teasing, the real festival fun began.

“Iris noona, how do I look? Like a real cat, right?”

“Ugh… noona! Why are you making me wear something so embarrassing?”

“Haah. Haah. Camilla noona… I’m wearing dog ears right now. Can you please make me bark like a dog just once?”

Everyone was walking around the stalls wearing animal ear headbands they’d received as gifts.

“Wow! This is really delicious!”

“Dale oppa~ can you buy me one skewer?”

“Hyung! Me too, me too!”

Maybe because I’d cooked ramen for them before, my popularity with the kids had risen.

Not just Iris and Camilla, but a few kids came to me, begging for snacks.

“Hey! Stop it! That skewer costs 10 gold!”

“Don’t worry.”

I pulled out a wallet stuffed with gold (Juliet’s) and grinned.

“I’ve got plenty of money.”

* * *

They say time flies when you’re having fun.

Before I knew it, the sky was growing dark after a hectic day enjoying the festival with Iris, Camilla, and the kids.

“It’s already this late.”

“Yeah.”

The kids, who had been running around like wild horses earlier, were now nodding off, their energy drained.

“It’s getting late, so we should head back.”

Priest Antonio smiled warmly at the staggering kids.

“Saintess, Camilla, Dale. Thank you all for playing with the kids.”

“No trouble at all. We had fun too.”

“I’ll walk you to the gate.”

“Hoho, thank you, Camilla.”

Camilla and Priest Antonio headed toward the gate with the kids.

As I watched their retreating figures, savoring the afterglow of the festival.

“…Sorry, Dale.”

Iris cautiously spoke up, watching my expression.

“Huh? For what?”

“I feel like I dragged you around all day.”

“Dragged me around? I had fun too.”

It wasn’t a lie.

Of course, it would’ve been nice to enjoy the festival alone with Iris.

But having fun with the kids was more enjoyable than I’d expected.

Perhaps sensing my sincerity, Iris smiled in relief.

“Then can I ask for one last favor?”

“What is it?”

“Can you buy me the skewers you got for the kids earlier?”

Iris’s eyes sparkled as she clenched her fists.

‘Come to think of it, she didn’t get to eat any earlier because she was busy taking care of the kids.’

I chuckled and nodded.

“Of course.”

“Ah~ you said ‘of course,’ right? Then I’ll get two, one spicy and one salted!”

“Sure, sure. Go ahead.”

Giggling, we approached the skewer stall.

Perhaps exhausted from the day’s work.

The vendor didn’t react even as we got closer, his head hanging low.

“One skewer, please.”

“……”

“Hello?”

Thinking he might be asleep, I lightly tapped his shoulder.

“Gah, ugh.”

A strange groan escaped the vendor’s lips.

“O-one… skewer… order.”

Foamy blood dripped from his lips.

Veins, like tree roots, grotesquely covered his entire face.

His wide eyes glowed with an ominous purple light.

“O-order… received… ah, ah.”

As the vendor raised his head, his mouth twisted grotesquely, and his body began to swell.

I cautiously spoke up.

“Ah, sorry. Make that two skewers, two.”

One salted, one spicy.