The Lowest-Ranked Hero Has Returned

Chapter 157: Oh, Youth (2)

“So, so what happened? What happened next?”

Iris leaned in, eyes twinkling with excitement.

I flinched as her pretty face came close enough that I could feel her breath.

They say that no matter how beautiful a face, after three years you’d get tired of it.

But after seeing her face for over ten years, counting my past life, I still found my heart skipping a beat every time.

“Dale?”

“Oh, sorry. What were we talking about?”

“We were talking about Sophia and Berald!”

Iris stomped her feet impatiently, exhaling with excitement.

“So, did you give her his contact information?”

“Yeah.”

“And? Are they still talking to each other?”

“I’m not sure beyond that.”

All I did was pass on Berald’s contact information to senior Sophia.

I didn’t know if they’d been exchanging messages since then.

“What?! That’s the most important part! How could you not know?!”

Iris slapped her chest in frustration, and I stifled a laugh as I watched her fidget with impatience.

‘Who knew Iris would be so invested in someone else’s love life?’

Well, it wasn’t exactly unusual for candidates at this age to be excited by stories of romance.

Even if they were heroes or superhumans with stigmas, they were still young people, naturally curious about relationships.

‘Not that I’m in any position to talk.’

After confessing my feelings to both Iris and Yurina not too long ago, waiting for their answers put me in the middle of my own romantic turmoil.

“Ugh! Dale, you’re such a dummy! I was so curious about how it was going between them!”

Iris pouted and lightly pinched the back of my hand.

I shrugged with an apologetic smile.

“But… do you think they’ll be okay?”

“Why?”

“Well, they’re not exactly a match that looks natural together, don’t you think?”

Berald, with his towering frame of over two meters, and senior Sophia, whose head barely reached his waist.

It was like a story of Beauty and the Beast… or more accurately, a little girl and a beast.

“Hmph, you just don’t get it, Dale! Opposites attract, you know!”

“Really?”

From what I remembered from my past life, most tall girls liked tall guys, and even short girls preferred tall men.

‘Wait.’

So who on earth likes short guys?

What?

Who’s going to love someone like me?

‘Ah, no. Right. I shouldn’t compare myself to Berald.’

Honestly, considering I hadn’t had proper nutrition growing up, I wasn’t that short myself.

“Anyway! I can’t agree with you saying Sophia and Berald don’t match!”

“Haha, alright.”

“But it does seem like Sophia is interested in Berald… What about him?”

“Berald?”

“Yes, you see him often, so you must know what kind of girls he likes.”

“Well… about that.”

How should I put this?

That…

“Haha, actually, I heard that guys with big builds like Berald tend to like small, cute girls.”

“…….”

“Am I right?”

“Uh, uh… yeah, that’s right.”

“Knew it! I thought so!”

“…….”

There was no way I could tell Iris about Berald’s actual preferences.

“Oh… Haha. Sorry, I got too excited. Lately, I’ve been really interested in… romance, you know.”

She glanced at me as she spoke, and memories from the last vacation came flooding back, making the atmosphere awkward.

“Ah, well, should I just ask Berald directly?”

I hurriedly changed the subject to break the awkwardness.

“Could you really do that?”

“It’s not hard.”

I turned on my Hero Watch and sent Berald a message.

[Hey.]

[Hm? What’s up, brother?]

He replied right away.

[Have you been in touch with senior Sophia lately?]

[Yeah. We’ve been talking more since we started, and it turns out we get along pretty well.]

“Oooh.”

Good.

They’re staying in touch.

[Actually, we’re having lunch together today.]

“What?”

Wait, not only were they in contact, but they even had a lunch date?

‘This guy isn’t usually like this.’

I tilted my head as I stared at the message, and another one came in.

[Would you like to join us, brother?]

[No, I’m good.]

[Really? That’s a shame. I thought it’d be more fun if you joined.]

You idiot.

Why would I go and risk making things awkward for myself?

‘But from his response, it doesn’t seem like he’s noticed Sophia’s feelings yet.’

Even though Berald wasn’t the brightest, if he’d picked up on Sophia’s interest, he wouldn’t have asked me to come along.

“Hmm.”

I sent Berald another message.

[Where are you meeting?]

[We’re meeting at the annex cafeteria at 1 p.m.]

1 p.m. at the annex cafeteria.

[Alright. Enjoy your meal.]

[Next time, you must come too, brother!]

[Sure.]

I turned off my Hero Watch and met Iris’s eager gaze.

“What did he say? What did he say?”

Iris, like a child begging for a bag of presents, asked with sparkling eyes.

“…Iris.”

“Yes?”

“Shall we have lunch at the annex cafeteria today?”

Well, there was no need to use Iris as an excuse.

To be honest, I might as well admit it.

‘I’m dying of curiosity here myself.’

Including my past life, I’ve lived for thousands of years.

But surprisingly, there still seems to be a spark of ‘youth’ left in my heart.

* * *

“Ah, over there! There, Dale!”

“Shh.”

Iris and I stealthily snuck into the annex cafeteria where Berald and Senior Sophia were supposed to meet.

Though I might be hard to notice, Iris was strikingly noticeable in her appearance, so she donned a light disguise and cast a spell to hide her presence.

However, no matter how thorough our preparations, both Berald and Senior Sophia were skilled individuals who wouldn’t be easily deceived.

We found seats far enough away to avoid being noticed by them.

“For now... it seems like the atmosphere isn’t bad.”

Berald and Senior Sophia were sharing today’s special and chatting casually.

“What are they talking about, Dale?”

“Hold on.”

I concentrated my magic to enhance my hearing.

The conversation between Berald and Senior Sophia, over twenty meters away, faintly reached my ears.

-Do you often come to the annex cafeteria, Senior Sophia?

-Now and then.

-Do you have a favorite cuisine?

-I like the cuisine of the Holy Kingdom.

-...Really?

-Why? It’s clean, not too heavy, and nice to eat.

-Hah. I think you’re the first person I’ve met who likes food from the Holy Kingdom.

It was a light small talk, neither overly warm nor awkward.

The kind of conversation that two people who just started taking an interest in each other would have.

“It looks like they’re talking comfortably.”

“Really?”

Iris watched Berald and Sophia with eyes full of interest.

“Ah, they really look good together.”

“Do they?”

“Yes. Don’t their eyes look like they’re dripping with honey?”

“……”

Not quite to that extent, I think.

“Seeing them reminds me of the first time Dale and I had a meal together.”

“…Wasn’t that when we cooked ramen in the mountain?”

“Tsk! Don’t ruin the mood.”

“……”

It seemed that, in her mind, even the memory of cooking ramen in the mountains had turned into something romantic.

Leaving Iris, who was reminiscing with a soft smile, I turned back to Berald and Sophia.

‘To think the future would change like this.’

It was a combination that would have been hard to imagine considering their past relationship.

‘But... it’s not so bad.’

Leading my former comrades to greater heights to prepare for the war against the demon army was, of course, important.

But seeing them find simple ‘happiness’ also made my heart feel warm.

‘None of us truly experienced a youthful life.’

Neither Iris, Yuren, Berald, nor Senior Sophia, and not even me.

We never felt the excitement or the fluttering that we should have in our youth.

We had just struggled to survive each day, burdened by the weight of life.

‘But.’

Things are different now.

Now we could enjoy that glittering happiness we never dared to dream of in our past lives.

I made it so.

“……”

The realization filled my heart with an indescribable warmth.

I silently watched the two for a while.

“Ah, Dale. They’re moving seats.”

“Let’s follow.”

Berald and Senior Sophia finished their meal and moved to a café within the school, continuing their conversation over coffee.

While I was feeling secretly pleased at how smoothly things were progressing, their conversation reached my ears.

-Oh, now that I think about it, you use a very unique way of handling magic. Catching and throwing mana bullets or using them as stepping stones…

-Oh, that? Berald’s martial magic?

-...Was that what it was called?

-Haha, there’s a story behind that name.

Berald scratched his head with an awkward smile.

-That magic... or rather, that martial magic…?

-Call it whatever you like.

-Really? Then how exactly do you use it?

-Hmm. It’s hard to explain with words.

-Oh, is it related to micro-cosm magic by any chance?

-Micro-cosm?

Wait, hold on.

-Hahaha! I didn’t expect Senior Sophia to know about the micro-cosm!

No, no, no.

Hold on, you idiot.

-I’m quite interested in micro-cosm magic too.

-Me too! I’m very passionate about it!

-Really? What made you interested in it?

“…Stop him.”

-Oh, nothing beats the delicacy of the micro-cosm’s allure...

“Shut up!!!!!!”

Boom!

I yelled desperately as I leaped forward.