Chapter 108: The Unfortunate Blondie (3)

That evening, the children at the orphanage went to bed earlier than usual, being exhausted after a day of energetic play. Once they were all sound asleep, a muffled sob echoed from the orphanage bathroom.

“Hhic! W-why? Why am I doing this?”

Moments later, the door opened and Jules, now fully dressed in women’s clothing, stepped out. Iris and I couldn’t help but express our admiration as we saw him walk forward.

“Wow!”

“I-I’m honestly impressed.”

He looked good in the pictures, sure, but seeing it in person, no one would be able to guess he was a man. It was almost uncanny. There was a reason newly enrolled female cadets used to follow Jules around like ducklings.

Well, he is handsome after all. Still, if you look closely, you can tell he’s a guy, I thought.

The thicker neck, broader shoulders, and the way his waist connected to his hips—it was subtle, but definitely masculine. However, out here in these dark, shadowy slums, no one would notice that kind of detail. Even if heroes had superhuman physiques compared to regular people, they couldn’t exactly see in the dark like it was daylight.

“It’s a relief Camilla’s clothes fit you.”

“Well, Camilla is pretty tall for a girl.”

The outfit Jules was wearing had originally been a gift that Father Antonio had bought for Camilla. However, Camilla had flat-out refused to wear anything so frilly and airy, so the clothes had been left in storage at the orphanage until now, when Jules put them to use.

Camilla looked Jules up and down, an unreadable expression on her face. “Okay, but what do we do about the chest?”

She pulled out some leftover bread rolls the kids hadn’t eaten. “You could maybe stuff these.”

Jules pressed down on the snug chest area, smoothing it out and shaking his head. “N-no, it’s fine. The top’s about the same length as a guy’s shirt anyway, so there’s no need.”

The bread in Camilla’s hand crumbled miserably. “Tch!”

Father Antonio approached me, his face lined with concern. “Dale. Thank you for stepping up to handle something like this. Really. But…”

He trailed off, clearly hesitant. “This case is too dangerous for a mere cadet to take on.”

He shook his head slowly. “Of course, I saw your skills during the Sealing Festival, and I know how talented you are, but the criminal this time is a powerful hero. Not even Power Man could catch him.”

I couldn’t blame him for being worried. Power Man, whose real name was Rascal Jo, was a Republic-born hero, ranked 86th in the Tri-Nations Hero Rankings. He was a true powerhouse. He was also more famous than his rank suggested. While he was probably not so well known right now, in a few years, the name Power Man Rascal Jo would spread across the entire continent.

He was just a unique kind of hero. Despite having ranker-level strength, he didn’t belong to any official organization. Instead, he roamed from place to place, hunting down the most brutal and vile criminals all on his own. He always insisted he was not a hero, but a Hero with a capital H.

Sure, on paper, hero and Hero meant the same thing. But in the real world, the difference was stark. If anything, the word “hero” had lost its true meaning these days. For the last five hundred years, those blessed with the soul stigmata of the Seven Gods were called heroes. But not all of them were noble protectors of the weak or righteous warriors against evil. Most were just selfish, greedy people, just like normal people in the world.

Rascal was different. He was a true Hero—a man who patrolled the streets at night, expecting nothing in return, simply to protect the vulnerable and stand against evil.

Still, rumors had it that he was a bit unhinged. And just to be clear, it wasn’t the media or gossipers who came up with the cheesy nickname Power Man. Even the most creatively bankrupt tabloid wouldn’t dare slap something that cringey in front of someone’s name. Apparently, he wore a full-body spandex suit and called himself Power Man. Honestly, he was not someone I wanted to meet in person.

In any case, I shrugged confidently. “You really don’t need to worry that much. I’ve grown a lot since the Sealing Festival.”

At this point, I could probably go toe-to-toe with an Archbishop. A twisted pervert with a weird fetish was hardly worth worrying about.

Even with my reassurance, Father Antonio’s concern didn’t fade so easily. “Still…”

It made sense. Even if he had seen me slice down dozens of demonic monsters in seconds, I was still just a cadet, not a certified hero. How could he possibly imagine that I had the strength to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with an Archbishop?

Iris said, “Dale will be fine.”

“Saintess?”

Iris’s eyes sparkled with trust and certainty as she said, “He’s much stronger than you think, Father.”

Finally, Father Antonio nodded and stepped back. “Well, if even the Saintess says so, I suppose I have no choice.”

“Alright, shall we head out?” I looked to Jules and gave him a slight nod. “We’ll be following close behind. If anything happens, signal right away.”

Jules let out a long breath and nodded. “Got it.”

Just as he was about to leave the orphanage, he paused and turned back. “Hey, Dale, do you have any alcohol here?”

I tilted my head at the unexpected question. “Alcohol? Why are you asking about that all of a sudden?”

“There’s a bottle of wine in my room, if that counts,” Father Antonio replied.

“Would you mind giving it to me?” Jules asked.

He accepted the wine bottle from Father Antonio and gargled the wine in his mouth before spitting it out onto the ground. “Ptooey!”

That wasn’t all; he smeared the wine around his neck and wrists as well, letting the strong scent of alcohol quickly permeate the air.

Taking a deep breath, Jules ruffled his hair and undid a few buttons on his shirt. “Hoo!”

Looking like a mess, he walked out of the orphanage and into the darkened streets of the slums.

Whether by accident or on purpose, he let out a nasal moan mid-step, swaying unsteadily. “Haa, haa!”

He walked with heavy breaths, disheveled hair, and clothes, as well as the overwhelming stench of alcohol oozing from his skin. From an outsider’s perspective, he looked exactly like a drunken woman completely out of her senses. And in a lawless slum like this, a beautiful drunk woman was the easiest target imaginable for predators.

Trailing behind him at a safe distance, I couldn’t help but gape in silent amazement. What the hell is with this guy? Why is he so good at acting like a woman?

His performance was so convincing, so full of nuance, that for a brief second, even I began to doubt that Jules was actually a woman. Maybe that Oscar-worthy performance finally paid off. After he had wandered the backstreets for about thirty minutes, footsteps echoed from a shadowy alley ahead.

It was a voice dripping with perverted desire. “Heh, hehehe!”

A black-robed figure emerged from the alley, his bloodshot eyes fixed hungrily on Jules. Drooling from the corners of his mouth, the deranged man let out a crazed laugh. “Heehee! Blonde. A blonde woman!”

Spotting the stranger, Jules screamed and ran, conveniently, in my direction. Without any voice-modulating magic, he managed to flawlessly scream like a terrified woman. “Ah? Kyah! Kyaaah! Help! Someone, please help me!”

The man in the black robe called out with a slurred, creepy voice and sprinted after Jules. “Stop right there. Pretty girl. Ehehehehe! Run, run harder… as hard as you can!”

Like a predator chasing prey, he lunged forward. As I had suspected, he was a fairly capable combatant, and his speed was beastlike.

Lurking in the shadows between buildings, I leaped out at just the right moment and tackled him. “Got you, you bastard.”

Berald Combat Style: Mountain Breaker.

My fist, crackling with embers, shot straight at him.

Caught off guard, the man was sent flying, crashing into a nearby wall. “Wh-who are…?”

With a smirk, I strolled toward him. “Who do you think, dipshit? I’m the guy who catches creeps like you.”

Under the shadow of his hood, I could see the man’s lips curl into a sneer. “If you think you can… catch me, then try it!”

He launched himself at me with a punch. A violent swirl of mana burst around him, and a fierce blue aura ignited around his fist. The force behind his punch sent a chill down my spine. He definitely had some skills. Still, I could handle him.

Dodging easily, I grabbed his wrist, yanked him forward, and drove my knee into his solar plexus. He let out a gasp, like a piece of his guts had just been torn apart.

Still gripping his wrist tightly, I reached for the hood covering his face. “Let’s see who the hell you are.”

Suddenly, the lunatic burst into manic laughter and twisted his wrist violently. “Hehe… hehehehehe!”

With a sickening sound, he dislocated his arm and slipped free from my grasp. Then, he dashed away toward Jules.

“Kyaaah!”

He grabbed Jules by the nape of the neck and turned toward me with a wicked grin. “Don’t move! Hehehe! Move even a step, and I’ll snap her neck like a twig.”

He buried his nose in Jules’s hair and inhaled deeply. “Ssssssshhh! Haaa! Yes, this smell, this is it!”

He trembled all over as he sniffed Jules’s golden locks. “Blondes really are the best, hehehe!”

“You really like blondes that much?” I asked.

“Of course! No other hair color should even exist!”

I chuckled softly and nodded. “Oh, really? Even if it’s a guy’s hair?”

“What?”

“I mean, I wonder if it matters if it’s a guy, as long as he’s blonde?”

He shouted with fierce conviction, “Bullshit! Of course, it has to be a woman! I don’t care about some dude’s hair!”

“Huh. Is that so? That’s odd. Because from where I’m standing, a guy seems just fine to you.”

“What are you talking about—”

He suddenly froze. He slowly looked down at Jules, still gripping the back of the neck. His brows furrowed in confusion as he fumbled at Jules’s nape, then lowered his gaze even further.

A voice of disbelief slipped from between his lips. His eyes trembled violently as he had just seen something that should not exist. “Huh? Why… is that there?”

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