Chapter 158: Youth, Indeed (3)

A deafening crash shook the cafe, and the cadets enjoying their post-meal tea time screamed in panic.

“Kyaaaah?”

“W-what was that?”

“Did a bomb just go off?”

The next instant, Berald flailed desperately, his mouth clamped shut by my hand. “Mmgh! Mmph! Mmmphhh!”

Senior Sophia narrowed her eyes at me. “What do you think you’re doing?”

She probably thought I was rudely interrupting what had been a perfectly pleasant date. Her gaze was ice-cold.

“Uh, well, I…”

Our eyes met, and the air froze. Forcing a crooked smile, I said, “Mind if I join you for a bit?”

“No.”

Ignoring her frosty rejection, I sat myself down. “Haha. Thank you, Senior.”

“Pwah! W-what are you doing here, Brother? Didn’t you say you weren’t coming?” Berald asked.

I shot him a glare sharp enough to cut. “Shut it.”

Turning back to Senior Sophia, I asked, “So, what were you two talking about?”

“We were discussing microscopic world magic.”

“Ah, I see. Unfortunately, Berald knows next to nothing about that. In fact, it’s safe to say he doesn’t know a single thing.”

“Hey, that’s not true. I’ve always loved— Ghhk!”

I stomped on his foot before he could finish. For the love of god, just shut up.This is all for your own good, you idiot.

Whether he finally understood my intent or simply recoiled from the feral look on my face, Berald went quiet.

Senior Sophia gave him a side glance, then said, “But he said he was very interested.”

“There’s a difference between having interest and actually having knowledge.”

She crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes. “Then how do you know Berald doesn’t know anything about microscopic world magic?”

“Because I was the one who taught him magic in the first place.”

“You taught him?”

She turned to Berald, surprised.

Berald nodded. “That’s right. Brother was the one who taught me magic. Even the Berald Combat Style that I mentioned earlier, I learned it from him.”

She let out a dry chuckle. “You just slapped your name onto something you learned from him?”

“I-I did that only because he told me to! I swear, I’m innocent!”

Senior Sophia gave a small nod. “I see. That explains it.”

She pierced me with her stare. “So, that’s why. You were worried about your secret arts being leaked, weren’t you?”

“Excuse me?”

“Don’t worry. I know your skills are exceptional, but I’m not the kind of person who would steal someone’s techniques without permission.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. That was quite a leap, but it was fine. It was better for her to think that than find out about Berald’s actual interests.

Suddenly, she asked, “Anyway, since you appeared at just the right moment, I take it you were secretly tailing us?”

“Huh? Were you, Brother?”

I was scrambling for a response when Iris appeared right on cue, explaining, “No, not at all. I invited Dale out for coffee. We just happened to overhear the two of you.”

“The Saintess of the Holy Empire.”

“Please, just call me Iris.” With a warm smile, Iris bowed her head.

Senior Sophia leaned her chin on one hand, her eyes narrowing. “Is it really proper for a Saintess to wander around alone with a man like this?”

“The Seven Gods have said that those who do not love, do not know God,” Iris replied.

“Is that so?”

Senior Sophia’s gaze slid over Iris, up and down, then stopped dead. Iris’s curves were impossible to miss, even beneath the cadet’s uniform. Senior Sophia let out a short, strangled sound.

Her eyes flicked nervously toward Berald before she muttered, her tone brusque, “Well, no doubt you’ve got a body well-suited for learning about love. Must be a divine blessing, huh

?”

Her words were openly aggressive, but Iris only smiled sweetly as she slipped into the seat beside her. “I don’t know about that. Honestly, I think you might be even better suited for love, Senior Sophia.”

“What?”

“Your ruby-like eyes, your flawless skin, your beautiful face.”

“W-why are you suddenly saying this? Even if you flatter me like that—”

Iris turned to Berald with a bright look. “Don’t you agree, Berald?”

“I do. Sister Sophia is truly beautiful.”

Senior Sophia flinched. Her hands clenched tight around the hem of her uniform skirt, and she ducked her head. Her ears, peeking out from her red hair, burned crimson.

“See? Even Berald says you’re beautiful.”

Senior Sophia glared daggers at Iris. “You…”

Iris beamed back at her with the happiest smile.

Suddenly, Senior Sophia sprang to her feet. “I-I should get going!”

She bolted, rushing out of the cafe like she was fleeing for her life.

Berald just sipped his coffee, unbothered, watching her disappear into the distance. “Hm? She’s leaving already?”

We were dumbfounded at his lack of reaction.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“You’re not seriously thinking of not chasing after her, are you?”

He blinked blankly at me and Iris, looking completely clueless. “Was I supposed to chase her?”

Iris slammed her hands on the table and shot to her feet, bristling with outrage. Her face twisted like that of a raging demon. “What nonsense are you spewing, you blockheaded bastard? You planning to stand there until I crush what’s dangling between your legs? Get moving!”

“A-alright! Calm down!” Berald stumbled over himself to bolt out of the cafe.

Only after confirming that Berald had rushed after Senior Sophia did Iris let out a long sigh and sink back into her seat. “Whew! Just watching them makes me feel exhausted. Hm? Why are you sitting so stiffly, Dale?”

“It’s nothing…”

I slowly relaxed the legs I had drawn in and turned my eyes to the window. Far in the distance, I could see Berald’s back as he ran after Senior Sophia.

The future had certainly shifted, but it seemed there was still some time before those two would find their youthful romance.

Iris’s lips curved into a faint smile as she looked at the coffee cups the pair had left behind. “Still, it feels kind of nice, doesn’t it?”

“What feels nice?”

“Just seeing them together makes your heart flutter a little, doesn’t it?”

“Flutter? More like it makes my blood boil.”

Mostly thanks to that idiot Berald, though, I added in my mind.

“Well, that’s how it always is in the beginning.” Iris covered her mouth with her hand and let out a light laugh. “Awkward, clumsy, anxious. And yet, you still want to convey your feelings somehow.”

Her gaze shifted to me. “Just like you once did, Dale.”

“Urk.”

Of course, she would suddenly turn the arrow my way. I swallowed hard and turned my head, avoiding her eyes.

“I never got to answer you about what you said back at the beach, did I?” Iris said.

It had already been weeks since my confession, that I didn’t want to give up either Iris or Yurina. Neither of them had brought it up since. As though cutting that memory clean out of our lives, we had all gone on living like nothing had happened.

For the first time, Iris herself was bringing it back up. “But I’ve been thinking about it ever since. I don’t know Yurina’s feelings, so I’ll just start with mine.”

Her eyes, blue as the sky, fixed gently on me. “Honestly, when I first heard it, I was a little angry.”

I kept quiet.

“I wondered what you would have said if the situation were reversed.”

Reversed, huh.

I pictured Iris confessing to me that she had feelings for two men at once. A suffocating tightness seized my chest, and a shiver of dread ran down my spine. A crushing mix of guilt and shame pressed down on me.

“Ah, don’t make that face. I was only upset for a moment. Now, I almost think it’s a blessing.”

“A blessing?”

With a mischievous smile, she explained, “Well, at the very least, it means you won’t ever reject me, right? If I had to choose between staying by your side even while you’re with someone else, or being left alone, I would rather stay by you, Dale.”

***

Even if that love wasn’t directed solely at her, even if it was just the chance to remain at his side, she thought of it as a blessing from the gods. That was how hopelessly deep she had fallen for him.

“And I think Yurina probably feels the same way.”

“Iris…”

“Oh, and here’s another thought. If you had chosen me and rejected Yurina coldly, hmm...” Iris trailed off, lost in thought.

Dale’s mind drifted to the story he had once heard from Yurina, that of a woman forced to live her whole life crushed under the sunlight.

After a long pause, Iris shook her head with a faint smile. “Yeah, no. I wouldn’t like that either. Even if it’s just cheap sympathy, it doesn’t matter. Yurina feels like family to me. And nobody wants to see their own family in pain, right?”

Dale understood her feelings. Iris had once told him that she was from an orphanage. Since she had grown up without family, it made sense she would cherish the bonds of her companions all the more, just like Dale did.

“Well, in any case, after all that thinking, here’s my answer.” Iris slowly reached out and took his hand. “Dale, even if you are selfish, irresponsible, and only think about yourself.”

A gentle warmth flowed into Dale from her hand, and she continued, “I still love you.”

She was in love so deeply that there was no turning back. Dale looked at her with trembling eyes, his thoughts too tangled to form words.

She stroked the hand she held, her voice soft. “But even so, don’t forget, I’m still your first, alright? And if you ever neglect me, or let your eyes wander to another girl…”

She flashed a playful wink, her smile bright as sunlight. “I’ll crush you.”

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