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Chapter 52: Dale Han's Secret Personal Life (1)
After the meaningful (?) reunion with Yuren, my daily life became so incredibly busy that it felt like the expression "busy" was an understatement.
‘With school lectures, assignments…’
Every evening, I met with Berald and Yuren to teach them martial arts and swordsmanship, and I squeezed in some personal training whenever I could.
‘I'm really going to die.’
Well, in my case, even if I died, I'd quickly come back to life.
However, the mental exhaustion wasn’t something even the divine blessing of revival could recover.
‘Ah, I want to rest.’
I felt like lying in bed all day long, just relaxing.
‘How blissful it would be.’
Imagining taking a leisurely nap under the warm spring sunlight filtering through the window made me gulp.
Thirst for rest that scorched my throat.
I barely managed to drag myself out of bed, gripping my sanity.
“Phew… I still have to do what needs to be done.”
Today was Saturday.
There were no lectures, and no meetings with Berald and Yuren, but that didn’t mean there was nothing to do.
“First, I should visit Professor Jade.”
I looked down at the square box containing the pill.
The pill was a mana-enhancing elixir given to me by Yuren.
Although people with a high amount of mana wouldn’t see much benefit, for someone like me, who had a pitiful amount of mana (although it has increased a bit recently), it was quite a valuable elixir.
‘It would be fine to take it as it is, but…’
Since I had the elixir, it would be good to ask Professor Jade, the authority in alchemy, if there was a way to amplify its effects.
“And then… I should meet Juliet.”
After visiting Yuren’s private training ground, my desire for a private training ground grew even stronger.
‘The attraction was too much after the match with Instructor Vincent.’
Honestly, it was a hindrance to training.
‘Yuren and other top students don’t train in private training grounds for nothing.’
When entering a public training ground, spectators gathered like monkeys in a zoo, making it impossible to focus on training.
“Maybe I should send a message first.”
I clicked on Juliet’s contact and sent a message.
[We need to talk about something important. Are you free today?]
[Huh, what do you want to talk about?]
I got an immediate reply.
[I'll tell you when we meet, so contact me again later.]
[Okay. I'll be in touch.]
The fee for applying for a private training ground wasn’t a small amount, but with Juliet’s ‘weakness’ in my hands, he would have no choice but to comply.
‘Let’s check if the photos are still there.’
I clicked on the album file in my Hero Watch.
“Ugh, my eyes!”
The first thing that appeared was a photo of Juliet dressed as a woman, striking a flirtatious pose.
Even though I was blackmailing him for a good reason, the fact that such photos were saved in my Hero Watch was unbearable.
‘If I get money from him this time… no, I’ll definitely delete these photos once I get money.’
I felt like I had sufficiently vented my frustration from being bullied by Juliet in a past life, so I was planning to let go of Juliet.
“Alright, time to get moving.”
Just as I was preparing to leave with my tired body.
Knock, knock.
I heard a knock on the door.
“Huh?”
Was there someone visiting at this hour?
Creeeak.
As I tilted my head in confusion and opened the door, I saw Iris with a fierce expression.
“What’s going on… Ugh!”
“You bad bastard!”
Iris, gripping my collar angrily, burst out with fury.
“Why… what’s going on?”
“Why are you asking me that? Don’t you know?”
Iris gritted her teeth and continued.
“Why haven’t you contacted me for the past few days?”
“Well, you asked me not to contact you for a while…”
“Does that mean you really didn’t? Huh, you really have no sense!”
Iris stretched both sides of my face and stomped her foot in frustration.
“Ugh. Fine, it was my mistake to expect anything from you.”
Hmph.
Iris gave me a sidelong glance while dressed for an outing.
“It’s the weekend. Where are you going?”
“Oh, I’m just going to Professor Jade’s laboratory for a bit…”
“Is that work again?”
Iris glared at me as if interrogating me.
“Not exactly work, but I have a favor to ask.”
“So, it’s not for rest?”
“Well… not really.”
Squeeze.
A thick vein appeared on Iris’s forehead.
She grabbed my hand and said.
“Come with me to Valhalla City today.”
“Huh? Out of the blue?”
“You’re not thinking of refusing, are you?”
Iris smiled brightly and winked.
“…I’ll get ready quickly.”
It seemed that visiting Professor Jade’s laboratory would have to be postponed until tomorrow.
* * *
Iris and I headed towards Valhalla City, a massive city surrounding the Hero Academy.
“By the way, what about Camilla?”
“I left without telling Camilla and sneaked out.”
“…Is that okay?”
“Since you’re with me, there’s no need for a separate escort, right?”
Well, that’s true.
“Will you tell Camilla later?”
Iris gave me a sweet smile and winked.
“Got it.”
I couldn’t help but stifle a smile at her natural demeanor.
“By the way, if we’re going to Valhalla City… are we going to the orphanage?”
“No. Today, we’re going somewhere else.”
“Where?”
“Ta-da! Look at this!”
Iris held up two tickets with a large fist mark on them.
“They made a movie in the Republic based on the story of Iron Fist Ryujin Seong!”
“Oh, I see.”
I remembered Iris saying she liked Iron Fist Ryujin Seong, one of the ‘Five Great Heroes.’
“It’s been out for a while, but… I wanted to go see it with you.”
“I’d be happy to.”
“The theater isn’t too far away either.”
“Where is it?”
“It’s just a bit further into the city, not far.”
A movie theater, huh.
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“I’ve only heard about movie theaters; I’ve never actually been to one.”
“Really? You’re from the Republic and you’ve never been to a theater?”
“There just wasn’t any opportunity.”
To be precise, it wasn’t so much a lack of opportunity as it was a matter of not being able to afford it.
During my cadet days, I had no spare money, living on the meager support provided by the Republic.
After graduation, I was deployed as a mercenary on the southern frontlines, where no cultural facilities existed.
“Have you ever been to a theater, Iris?”
“I’ve taken the children from the orphanage a few times.”
“Really? Then I’ll leave the guiding to you.”
“Hehe, just leave it to me!”
Iris confidently patted her chest and strode forward.
We arrived at the movie theater.
The movie Iris had mentioned was titled "Iron Fist: The Dawn of a Legend," which felt like a somewhat lackluster title.
The poster in the theater featured a bald, heavily-bearded, muscular man (for the record, there’s no record of Ryujin Seong being bald) clenching his fists and roaring.
‘Why did they make a perfectly normal person bald?’
As I smirked at the poster hanging in the corner, Iris grabbed my hand and pulled me along.
“This way, Dale.”
“Huh? Isn’t the entrance the other way?”
“Yes, but first, we buy snacks here before going in.”
“Oh wow, we can eat while watching the movie?”
“Of course! You absolutely have to eat popcorn when you’re at the movies.”
Iris deftly approached the concession counter.
Without hesitation, Iris ordered a couple’s set (she immediately picked it when she saw the word “couple”) and walked into the theater with a bright smile.
“How is it? Delicious, right?”
“It’s good, but… we’ve already eaten more than half before the movie even started. Is that okay?”
“Popcorn’s meant to be eaten before the movie starts.”
Iris said this as she picked up another piece of popcorn.
“Here, say ah~.”
“I can eat by myself….”
“Say ah~.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Like a baby bird being fed by its mother, I accepted the popcorn Iris fed me.
Then, the lights dimmed, and the movie began.
The movie itself didn’t have much artistic merit; it was a light action film.
It was about Ryujin Seong, who had come from another world, training hard to earn the title of “Iron Fist.”
Except for the fact that Ryujin Seong mysteriously became bald after three years of training, the movie mostly followed the story of Ryujin Seong I had learned from textbooks.
While the action wasn’t bad, the movie didn’t have many redeeming qualities.
But Iris seemed to enjoy it immensely, clenching her fist and fully immersed in the film.
“Please…! Get up!”
Haha.
Iris is quite emotional, isn’t she?
“Yeah, that’s it! Smash those bastards’ heads!”
“….”
Maybe she’s too emotional.
“Well, there aren’t many people here, so it should be fine.”
Just like Iris said, probably because the movie had been out for a while, the theater was nearly empty, save for the two of us.
“At least it’s comfortable to watch.”
I spent a peaceful time watching Iris, who was murmuring things like “Bend them in half!” and “Yeah, tear their limbs apart!” in a low voice (she was more entertaining than the movie itself).
After the movie, we had a light meal at a nearby restaurant, chatted at a café, and took a stroll through a park under the warm spring sunlight.
‘I can’t even remember the last time I relaxed like this.’
Sitting on a bench in the park, I stretched my arms out as I basked in the sunlight.
Ever since I came back, I’d been so caught up in my hectic schedule that I hadn’t even thought about taking a break like this.
“Dale.”
“Yeah?”
“Lie down here.”
Iris tapped her thigh as she sat next to me on the bench.
“L-Lie down there?”
“Yeah. No one’s around to see.”
“But….”
“Come on. Hurry up and lie down.”
Iris pulled me down, and I rested my head on her lap.
A soft, gentle sensation cradled the back of my head.
Iris tenderly stroked my forehead as we looked up at the sky.
“The weather is really nice today, isn’t it?”
“The weather?”
“Yeah. The wind’s just right, and the sky’s so clear without a single cloud.”
I turned my head and looked up at the sky as she spoke.
What filled my vision was a great curtain of blessings.
Not only could I not see the sky, but I couldn’t even glimpse her face.
As I took in the overwhelming sight before me, I couldn’t help but let out a small exclamation.
“Wow, it’s really big… I mean, nice.”
“…….”
Ahem.
“…What’s big?”
Iris narrowed her eyes at me, pressing for an answer.
“Uh, well, that… you see….”
As I started sweating, trying to devise an excuse, Iris lightly pinched my cheek.
“You perv.”
She teasingly pinched my cheek before grabbing my hand and pulling it toward her chest.
“If you’re that curious… want to touch it?”
“Excuse me?”
Oh, holy saint.
If you say things like that, I might just "oh yeah."
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