18以下岁禁止1000部x

Chapter 32: The Will (1)

Time passed, and it was finally the day of the sealing ceremony.

From early morning, the school was buzzing with excitement.

‘Are those merchants?’

Peeking out beyond the dormitory window, I saw merchants carrying loads of goods and entering through the school gate.

Indeed, you can’t leave out street vendors and food when it comes to festivals.

The merchants heading into the school had the determined eyes of warriors marching into battle, as if they had eagerly awaited this day.

‘Well, getting a permit to enter the school wouldn’t have been easy.’

Even though it was a day when outsiders were allowed entry, it wasn’t as if just anyone without verified credentials could waltz in.

From thorough identity checks to inspecting the items for sale, every step had to be completed before a vendor could finally obtain a permit to set up a stall inside the school.

‘Well, I hear they make thousands of gold once they get the permit.’

It made sense since on festival days, the prices skyrocketed as if the economy had collapsed in a developing country, so the merchants were bound to profit immensely.

‘Those crazy people sell one chicken skewer for 10 gold.’

In the old Republic\'s currency, that would be about 10,000 won.

No sane person would spend that much money on a chicken skewer, but the cadets on festival day were far from "sane."

"Rich brats."

Well, maybe not all of them were rich, but it was true that most of the cadets, except for unusual cases like mine, came from affluent families.

‘The Stigma are most commonly inherited, after all.’

In other words, many of the cadets admitted to this school likely had parents who were heroes.

Not all heroes lived in wealth, but they generally fared better than ordinary people without the Stigma.

On a day like this, few cadets were afraid to open their wallets because they were overcharged.

"No matter how you look at it, 10 gold for a chicken skewer is too much...."

Of course, that was the story for other cadets.

As someone who attended school on a government scholarship from the Republic, such food was far from affordable.

‘But today is different.’

I wouldn\'t have dared to buy festival food in my past life.

Luckily, in this life, I had a very good "friend," so I didn’t have to worry about money.

‘It’d be a waste to spend my own money, but it’s a different story if it’s someone else’s.’

I smiled contentedly as I looked at the gold I had "borrowed" from a friend last night.

"I’ll need to bring plenty if I’m going to buy enough for everyone."

I stuffed the thick wallet into my pocket and headed toward the meeting place.

* * *

"Oh, Dale, you\'re here?"

I saw Iris and Camilla waiting for me when I arrived at the meeting place.

"Sorry, did you wait long?"

I had come 15 minutes early, thinking I’d be early, but I hadn’t expected them to be here already.

"Oh no, I just got here."

Iris shook her head with a sweet smile.

The graceful movement of her head and the gentle wave of her hand exuded a natural elegance that could rival any noble lady.

‘Who would believe that this Iris came from an orphanage?’

As I admired her with a satisfied smile, Camilla sighed deeply, as if the ground might swallow her whole.

"Just got here... You’ve been waiting for over 20 minutes, haven\'t you?"

"Wh-why would you say that?!"

"Because it\'s infuriating. The Saint woke up at dawn to do her makeup and spent over an hour choosing clothes, and yet, she arrived at the meeting place later than you... Isn’t that infuriating?"

"You’re the infuriating one, Camilla!"

Iris, stomping her feet and shouting, had shed all traces of the elegance and grace she’d shown earlier.

"And even after arriving, she kept fussing over what posture would look most elegant and how to give the best first greeting.... Mm, mmmph!"

"Kyaaa! S-shut up! Shut up already!"

Iris, her face flushed red as if steam was about to burst from her head, hurriedly covered Camilla\'s mouth.

Seeing Iris on the verge of tears from the overwhelming embarrassment, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

‘She must have been thinking about it all along.’

It must have been her way of trying her best not to be flawed as the saint of the Holy Nation.

"I don’t mind the way you are now."

In fact, seeing the real her, something I couldn’t see in my past life, touched me in a way that was hard to describe.

"...Why are you laughing?"

"Ahem. It’s nothing."

"Ugh... Anyway! Now that Dale is here, let’s get going."

"We’re heading straight to see the kids?"

"No, we need to buy gifts first."

Gifts, huh.

"Do you have anything in mind?"

"Not really. I plan to look around the stalls and see what I can find."

"Sounds good."

Iris, Camilla, and I started browsing the stalls, looking for gifts to give to the orphanage kids.

"It’s really crowded."

Even though it was still early in the morning, the streets lined with stalls were already packed with people.

"Please be careful not to get separated, Saint."

Camilla subtly grabbed Iris’s hand as she walked beside her.

Iris looked down at the hand holding hers and chuckled softly.

"Do I look like a child?"

"They say there’s no such thing as being too careful regarding safety."

Camilla said this as she glanced at me, seeking agreement (more precisely, giving a "you’d better agree or else" look).

"Well, since there are a lot of outsiders today, it’s better to be cautious."

Especially when the person in question is the "Saint."

"Ugh... Do you have to agree with her, Dale?"

"What choice do I have?"

I shrugged as I glanced at the stern-looking Camilla, and Iris sighed deeply.

"Fine, let’s just hurry up and buy the gifts."

"Gifts that the kids would like... Food would probably be the safest bet, right?"

Thinking about how the kids at the orphanage went wild when I cooked ramen for them before, nothing beats food as a gift.

"Hmm. Food is good, but wouldn\'t it be better just to buy them snacks while we enjoy the festival together?"

"Ah, that\'s true."

After all, part of the fun of a festival is impulsively buying street food as you walk around.

"Alright, let\'s leave the food for later... What else could we give as a gift?"

"How about this, Dale?"

Iris pointed to a display of headbands with various animal ears attached.

It was a common item you\'d see at festivals.

"Hehe. Wouldn\'t the kids look absolutely adorable wearing these?"

"Not bad."

The image of kids running around with dog or cat ears, smiling brightly, naturally made me smile.

"Oh, I think this would suit Camilla too. Want to try it on?"

Iris picked up a headband with cat ears and asked.

"Y-you\'re asking me to wear that?"

Camilla visibly flinched and stepped back in surprise.

With a sly grin, Iris held the headband in her hand and approached her.

"If we give these to the kids, we should at least test how durable they are, right?"

"B-but..."

"What... Are you planning to go against my word?"

"Tsk."

Camilla bit her lip in frustration and looked at me as if asking for help.

I grinned and nodded.

"I think it\'d suit you well."

"You... You traitor! It\'s easy for you to say that since it’s not you!"

"Come on, Camilla, hold still."

With a chuckle, Iris placed the cat ear headband on Camilla\'s head.

"Ugh... Why do I have to go through this..."

Camilla, her navy-blue hair tied in a ponytail, swished it around like a tail while feeling the cat ears sticking out above her head.

"Wow, wow! Doesn\'t it look perfect on her, Dale?!"

Despite Camilla lowering her head in shame, Iris excitedly bounced around, completely ignoring her distress.

"Yeah, it actually looks good."

Just as Iris said, Camilla with the cat ear headband looked surprisingly charming.

"Tsk... Lady Saint, how about you try one on too?"

"H-huh? Me?"

"Surely, you didn\'t think I\'d be the only one doing this, right?"

Had Camilla\'s embarrassment finally turned into anger?

She picked up a headband with bunny ears, her breath growing heavier.

"B-bunnies are a bit..."

"You\'re not going to say you\'re embarrassed now, are you?"

Camilla, her eyes red with frustration, advanced toward Iris.

"Eek! W-wait!"

"Come on, it’s only fair for you to experience the same humiliation and disgrace!"

And so, Iris was forcibly made to wear the bunny ear headband by Camilla.

"Ugh... Why am I going through this..."

"Hmph. You brought this on yourself."

Iris, now wearing the bunny ears, glanced over at me.

"S-so, how do I look, Dale?"

"How do you look?"

Without hesitation, I activated my Hero Watch and snapped a photo of Iris with the bunny ears.

"W-wait! Why are you taking pictures all of a sudden?!"

"How could I not capture this?"

Iris, with bunny ears, was simply too cute to resist.

"D-delete that right now!"

"Hey, tampering with someone\'s Hero Watch without permission is an invasion of privacy."

"Delete it, you jerk!!!"

* * *

After that brief(?) commotion, it was decided that the kids would receive the animal ear headbands as their gift.

"Sigh. I haven\'t even done much, but I\'m already exhausted."

"By the way, isn\'t it about time for the kids to arrive?"

"Oh, hold on. I\'ll check in with Priest Antonio."

After contacting Priest Antonio through her Hero Watch, Iris turned to Camilla.

"Camilla, the priest and the kids are on their way now. Could you go meet them?"

"But then, what about you, Lady Saint...?"

"I’ll be fine with Dale here."

"Alright. I understand."

Camilla nodded and walked toward the gate.

Once she was completely out of sight, Iris looked back at me with a grin.

"The priest said they\'ll arrive in about an hour."

"Huh? Then isn’t that a bit too early to go meet them?"

"They’re our invited guests, so we can’t let them wait, right?"

It seemed a bit too early to greet them, but before I could voice my thoughts...

"Well... Since we\'ve already bought the gifts, how about we enjoy the festival together for the next hour?"

Iris smirked as she made her proposal.

‘So that’s why she sent Camilla out early.’

I chuckled and nodded.

"Sounds good."

A festival outing with just Iris.

There was no reason to refuse.

"Alright then, hand."

"Hand? Why?"

"Didn’t Camilla mention it earlier?"

Iris softly took my hand and smiled shyly.

"You can never be too safe."