Episode 32. The Will (1)
Time passes and the day of the sealing ceremony arrives.
The school was filled with a lively atmosphere from early morning.
‘Are they merchants?’
When I peeked my head out the dormitory window, I saw merchants coming in through the school gate with their luggage packed in great quantities.
When it comes to festivals, you can’t leave out street vendors and food, right?
The eyes of the merchants heading into the school, as if they had been waiting for this day, were as solemn as those of warriors heading to the battlefield.
‘Well, it wouldn’t have been easy just to get a permit to enter the school.’
Although it was a day when permission was required for outsiders to enter, that did not mean that unverified people were allowed into the school without any permission.
After going through all the steps, from thorough identification to inspection of the items for sale, I was finally able to obtain a permit to set up a stall inside the school.
‘Well, they say that if you work that hard and just get a permit, you can earn thousands of gold.’
That was understandable, because on the festival day, prices rose abnormally as if it were a poor country with a bankrupt economy, so merchants had no choice but to make a lot of money to spare.
‘Because those crazy guys are selling chicken skewers for 10 gold.’
If you calculate it in the old republican currency, it would be roughly ten thousand won.
No human in their right mind would spend that much money on chicken skewers, but the candidates on the festival day were far from being ‘human in their right mind’.
“Bourgeois bastards.”
Well, not quite the bourgeoisie.
It was true that, except for some unusual cases like mine, most of the candidates came from wealthy families.
‘Because stigmata are most often inherited through heredity.’
in other words.
It is likely that a significant number of the students admitted here have parents who are heroes.
Not all heroes live in wealth, but they are often better off than ordinary people who do not bear the stigmata.
There weren’t many candidates who were afraid to open their wallets to spend a little money on a festival day, let alone any other day.
“No, but even so, 10 gold for one chicken skewer is too much….”
Of course, that’s just the story of another candidate.
It was a food that was completely different from the one I had eaten at school, which was supported by the government of the Republic.
‘But today is different.’
If this was my past life, I wouldn’t have dared think of buying food from a festival stall.
Fortunately, I have some really good ‘friends’ in this life, so I don’t have to worry about gold.
‘It’s a waste to buy it with my own money, but it’s a different story if it’s someone else’s money.’
I looked at the gold I ‘borrowed’ from my friend last night and smiled contentedly.
“I’ll have to pack a lot to buy the kids’ share too.”
I put my thick wallet in my pocket and headed to the meeting place.
* * *
“Oh, Mr. Dale. Are you here?”
When we arrived at the meeting place, Iris and Camilla were there first and waiting for us.
“Sorry. Were you waiting?”
I thought I was early so I came 15 minutes before the appointment time, but who would have thought I’d be here already?
“No. I just got here.”
Iris shook her head with a smile.
Her gentle shaking of her head and waving of her hands naturally exuded a nobility and elegance that was not inferior to those of other noble families.
‘Who would believe that Iris came from an orphanage?’
When I think about that and smile happily.
“ha.”
Camilla let out a deep sigh as the ground gave out.
“You just got here… Haven’t you been waiting for over 20 minutes?”
“Hey, wait a minute! Why are you telling me that?!”
“It’s because it’s annoying, because it’s annoying. The saintess woke up early in the morning and made a fuss for over an hour about putting on makeup and choosing clothes, and now you’re even later than her to arrive at the meeting place… Isn’t it too annoying?”
“It’s you, Camilla, who’s annoying!”
The nobility and elegance that I had felt at first glance had completely disappeared from Iris, who was stamping her feet and screaming.
“And while you were waiting here, you kept worrying about what posture you should have to look elegant and what would be a good first greeting… Ugh, ugh!”
“Gyaaaah! Shut up, everybody! Shut up, you bitch!”
Iris covers Camilla’s mouth with her face flushed as if steam is about to burst out of her head.
I chuckled as I watched Iris shedding tears from the lethal dose of shame.
‘I guess you’ve been paying attention to it all along.’
This must be the result of her efforts to avoid being found fault with as a ‘saint’ of the Holy Land.
‘I don’t care what I look like now.’
Rather, I was able to see her true self, which I had never seen in my past life, and I felt a sense of emotion that no one else could understand.
“…Why are you laughing?”
“Ahem. It’s nothing.”
“Uh… Ha, anyway! Since Mr. Dale is here too, let’s get going.”
“Are you going to meet the kids right away?”
“No. I want to buy a gift first.”
It’s a gift.
“What have you thought about?”
“Well, I’ll just go around the street stalls and look for it.”
“Okay.”
Iris, Camilla, and I walked around the stalls looking for gifts to give to the children at the orphanage.
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“As expected, there are a lot of people.”
Although it was early morning, the street lined with stalls was already crowded with quite a crowd.
“Be careful not to fall, Saint.”
Camilla stands next to Iris, gently holding her hand.
Iris looked down at the hand she was holding and laughed.
“What kind of kid am I?”
“There is a saying that goes, ‘There is no such thing as too much safety.’”
Camilla said that and looked back at me as if asking for my consent (or more accurately, as if she would kill me if I didn’t agree).
“Well, there are a lot of outsiders today, so it’s better to be more careful about safety.”
Especially if the target is a ‘saint’.
“Uh… Even Mr. Dale is like that?”
“There’s nothing I can do.”
Iris let out a deep sigh as she shrugged her shoulders, looking back at the stern Camilla.
“Okay, let’s go buy a gift quickly.”
“If it’s a gift that kids would like… wouldn’t food be the best?”
When I think about the reaction of the children at the daycare center when I boiled ramen for them before and they almost threw a frenzied festival, I don’t think there is a better gift than food.
“Hmm. Food is good, but wouldn’t it be better to buy it and eat it right away while we’re touring the festival together?”
“Oh, that’s right.”
When it comes to festivals, isn’t there that special feeling of walking around street stalls and impulsively buying and eating any snacks you see?
“Then let’s say I buy you food later… What would be a good gift to give you?”
“How about this, Mr. Dale?”
What Iris was pointing at were headbands with various animal ears on them.
It was a common item at festivals.
“Hehehe. Don’t you think it would be so cute if kids wore this?”
“Is it good?”
Just imagining children wearing puppy or cat ears, laughing and running around, brought a smile to my face.
“Oh, I think this would suit Camilla too. Want to try it?”
Iris asked, picking up a cat ear headband from the shelf.
“Excuse me, are you telling me to write that?”
Camilla steps back, looking noticeably embarrassed.
Iris approached her, the corners of her lips raised, holding the headband in her hand.
“If you’re going to give it to a child as a gift, you should at least try it on to see how durable it is.”
“Ha, but….”
“Why… Are you going to go against my words?”
“Ouch.”
Camilla bit her lips and turned to me as if asking for help.
I nodded, raising the corners of my lips.
“I think it would suit me well.”
“You, you punk! How can you say something so easily when it’s someone else’s business…!”
“Now, stay still, Camilla.”
Iris smiled and placed a cat ear headband on Camilla’s head.
“Ugh. Why am I like this… .”
Camilla’s navy blue hair was tied in a ponytail, swaying like a tail, and she stroked the cat ears that stood out on top of her head.
“Wow, wow! Don’t you think it suits you so well, Mr. Dale?!”
Camilla lowers her head in shame, while Iris ignores her and stomps her feet with sparkling eyes.
“It suits you well.”
As Iris said, Camilla wearing a cat ear headband was more attractive than I could have imagined.
“Oh my… How about you try this too, Saint?”
“Huh, huh? Me?”
“You didn’t think I was the only one who would use it, did you?”
Has shame reached a critical point and turned into anger?
Camilla took a deep breath and picked up her bunny ears headband.
“Sat, the rabbit is a little….”
“You’re not trying to say things like you’re embarrassed now, are you?”
Camilla approaches Iris with bloodshot eyes.
“Whoa! Hey, wait a minute!”
“Now, the saintess, please taste the humiliation and shame that I have experienced!”
Iris was forced to wear a rabbit ears headband on her head by Camilla.
“Ugh. Why am I like this… .”
“Huh. You reap what you sow.”
Iris, wearing rabbit ears, glanced at me.
“Um… Uh, how are you, Mr. Dale?”
“How is it?”
I immediately turned on my Hero Watch and took a picture of Iris wearing rabbit ears.
“Hey, wait a minute! Why are you suddenly taking pictures?!”
“How could I not take a picture of this?”
Iris’ appearance with her rabbit ears headband was truly devastating.
“Dude, erase that quickly!”
“Oh, right. Messing with someone else’s Hero Watch is an invasion of privacy.”
“Erase this kid!”
* * *
After a brief(?) commotion, it was decided that the children’s gifts would be animal ear headbands.
“Haa. I’m already tired even though I didn’t do anything.”
“By the way, isn’t it about time for the kids to come home?”
“Oh, just a moment. I’ll try to contact Father Antonio briefly.”
After contacting Priest Antonio through the Hero Watch, Iris looked back at Camilla.
“Camilla. The priest and the children are coming now. Can you meet them first?”
“But then, Your Majesty… .”
“It’s okay because Mr. Dale is with me.”
“Uhm. Okay, I understand.”
Camilla nodded and walked towards the school gate.
Iris turned to me and smiled after confirming that Camilla had completely disappeared.
“The priest will arrive in about an hour.”
“Hmm? Then, isn’t it too early to pick you up?”
“You are our invited guests, so we can’t keep you waiting, right?”
When I was thinking that even so, it seemed too early to pick her up an hour early.
“Then… I’ve already bought you a gift. Would you like to spend the remaining hour watching the festival together?”
Iris asked with the corners of her lips raised in a smirk.
‘I wondered why you sent me to pick you up so quickly, but that was the purpose.’
I nodded and smiled.
“Okay.”
It’s a festival that I can enjoy alone with Iris.
It was an offer that there was absolutely no reason to refuse.
“Okay, then hands.”
“Why the hand?”
“Oh, didn’t Camilla tell you earlier?”
Iris smiled bashfully, taking my hand secretly.
“There is no such thing as too much safety.”
