Chapter 55: Interlude – Boys’ Talk

Originally, I was planning to borrow money from my dear friend Jules and rent a private training room of my own. But thanks to a little misunderstanding with Iris, that whole idea just fizzled out. That left me in a bit of a bind. The public training grounds were always too crowded. Step in there, and I could very well become a zoo exhibit.

While trying to figure out a solution, I came up with a better idea—asking my other friend, Yuren Helios, if I could share his private training space. Thankfully, Yuren agreed without hesitation. He immediately added my name to the list of authorized users for his facility. Ever since, I had been spending a lot more time there, not just during our twice-weekly swordsmanship lessons, but also training together more regularly.

After a solid training session in the state-of-the-art facility, I gulped down a chilled isotonic drink in one go. “Ahh, that’s refreshing!”

Yuren walked over, wiping sweat from his face with a towel. “What’s got you in such a good mood?”

“

Hmm

? Oh, it’s nothing special.”

“Really? Doesn’t seem like that. You’ve been all smiles today. Actually, not just today, pretty much the past few days.”

I was impressed. Although I was trying not to let it show, I was probably not as subtle as I thought. “

Heh!

You noticed?”

“Well, I guess something good did happen,” Yuren said.

My mind drifted back to the weekend outing I had with Iris. We had gone to the movies, shared a meal, and strolled through the city. Lying on her lap on a park bench and napping in the warm afternoon sun was a pleasant memory, but if I had to pick the moment that stood out the most, it was that kiss.

It was the moment when Iris, having misunderstood my relationship with Jules, suddenly kissed me while insisting she would never give up on me. The sweet scent of peaches at the tip of my nose and the softness of her lips was pure bliss.

Calling it “romantic” was probably a stretch, but who cared about that? What mattered was that we kissed. I kissed her, the woman I had longed for across lifetimes. I did have to slightly “adjust” Jules’s preferences to clear up the misunderstanding, but I believed in Jules. My soul friend would understand.

Cracking open a can of isotonic drink from the fridge, Yuren asked, “So, what was that good thing?”

“

Nah

, it’s nothing. Not a big deal,” I replied.

“Not a big deal? Please. You were spaced out during training all day today.”

I coughed. Hearing it out loud made it feel even more embarrassing.

Yuren didn’t let go of it. “So? Spill it. What happened?”

“Well, let’s just say things progressed a little with someone I’ve had feelings for.”

Yuren’s eyes widened in shock. “What? Y-you? You have someone you like?”

“Is that so shocking?” I asked.

Yuren was actually trembling. I couldn’t help but tilt my head in confusion, wondering what his deal was. Cadets falling in love at a hero academy was not unusual. We were a bunch of young men and women, after all.

Okay, maybe I’m not exactly young, technically speaking

, I thought.

In fact, someone had once said, “If you go four years at this academy without dating at least once, you’re either brain-dead or just plain impotent.”

However, rumors had it that this cadet later disappeared without a trace, and no one saw or heard from him ever since. Anyway, having a crush wasn’t that big of a deal.

Yuren stormed up to me, eyes gleaming with intense curiosity, pupils dilated, breathing shallow, and even golden mana radiating off him. “Come on, tell me more.”

It was pretty obvious that this guy was emotionally invested in this conversation.

I chuckled as he closed the distance. “What, since when did you care so much about my love life? If you want a girlfriend so badly, why not just go get one? You’re insanely popular.”

“Shut up and just tell me, who is it?”

Yikes. He’s serious

, I realized.

Then again, guys who always claimed they were not interested in dating were usually the first ones to get nosy when their friends started seeing someone.

“Iris,” I answered.

He was shocked. “Iris? As in the Saintess of the Holy Empire?”

“Yep, that’s the one.”

Yuren drained his drink like it was water, then reached into the fridge for another. “

Heh

,

Wow!

I knew you and the Saintess were in the same Practical Combat Training class, but I never imagined you’d be that close.”

“Yeah, I mean, who would?”

Then, with a strange mix of hope and dread in his voice, he asked, “So, are you two, like, dating now?”

“No, not yet.”

His face lit up in relief, as if a huge weight had been lifted off his chest. “R-really?”

With a noticeably more relaxed expression, he continued, “Well then. As your friend, allow me to offer some advice. You probably shouldn’t get your hopes up too high.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Come on, think about it. She’s not just anyone. She’s the Saintess. The blessed daughter of the Seven Gods! It’s not exactly easy to start dating someone like that,” Yuren said, in a calm, reasoning tone, as though he was trying to talk me down from a fantasy.

Of course, for someone like me, who was literally Iris’s lover in a past life, those words didn’t carry much weight.

“There’s no rule saying a Saintess can’t date someone. Most of the priests in the Seven Star Church have partners or spouses, you know,” I replied.

“Y-yeah, but the Saintess is different!”

“She’s not a robot, man. She’s still human.”

“That’s...” Yuren bit his lip, unable to come up with a solid counterargument. “Fine! If that’s how you feel, there’s no helping it.”

He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. “So, what exactly happened with the Saintess?”

“Well, somehow or another, we ended up kissing.”

Yuren nearly leaped into the air, reacting even more dramatically than before. “WH-WHAT? KISS? You kissed?”

Seriously, are you twelve? Why are you freaking out over a kiss?

I shouted at him in my mind.

Watching him tremble like that gave me a sudden flash of memory from my past life. I realized that this guy had never even held a girl’s hand back then. Princesses of the Empire, famous actresses from the Republic, and nuns from the Holy Empire—countless beauties tried to woo him, but he didn’t spare them a glance. The rumors about him being into guys weren’t totally baseless.

One time, the Archbishop of Desire, Laxasia, had tried seducing him with a honey-trap and ended up getting obliterated. That incident had shaken the entire continent, especially since hundreds of heroes had already fallen for her and switched sides.

Yup, even back then, he was clueless about romance

, I thought.

I looked at Yuren, whose fists were trembling again, and laughed. “It was kind of an accident, really.”

He seemed pretty interested in the story. “

Ha! Ha ha!

Then, I guess... it was just a quick peck, right?”

“Nah, there was tongue.”

The can in his hand crumpled violently. “T-tongue? T-TONGUE?

Ha! Ha Ha!

So you even used... tongue.”

For some reason, the golden aura around Yuren flared like it was about to explode.

He quickly said, “Y-you know, these days, a kiss isn’t a big deal. In the Empire, nobles even kiss as a greeting at parties, right?”

“

Uh!

Sure,” I replied.

I mean, no one’s greeting with tongue, but okay

.

He then asked, “So, nothing happened besides the kiss, right? Right?”

“Well, if you want to get technical, there was one other thing,” I answered.

“What is it?”

After a moment’s hesitation, I shook my head. “You know what, never mind. It’s a bit hard to talk about.”

Yuren stepped forward and placed a suspiciously pleasant smile on his face as he grabbed my shoulder. “Dale, we’re friends, right? There shouldn’t be secrets between us.”

“Yeah, but I don’t want to embarrass Iris by...”

His grip tightened. “Tell me. Now.”

I looked into his burning eyes and chuckled inwardly. It was just like how he acted in the past, always pretending to be above it all, but deep down, totally into this stuff. He could sniff out every time I so much as exchanged words with another girl. Then he would interrogate me on what we talked about and if the girl showed any interest.

Well, it was a universal truth: get a bunch of guys together, and the conversation would turn to girls nine out of ten times. Yuren was a young man in his prime, so he was bound to be interested in this sort of topic.

So, I thought I would meet his expectations and throw him a bone. I recounted that day in the park with Iris. “We were at the park last weekend.”

“O-okay.”

“We were sitting on a bench taking a break, and she offered to let me use her lap as a pillow.”

Yuren let out a small sigh of relief. “Lap pillow? That’s it? Just a lap pill—”

“Then, while I was lying there, she suddenly asked if I wanted to touch her chest.”

Yuren’s expression froze. “S-so, did you?”

“I was going to decline, but then she grabbed my hand and placed it there herself.”

“I... see. So you did.”

“I mean, I knew they were big, but actually feeling them was—”

He didn’t let me finish. “Enough.”

“

Huh

?”

Yuren silently walked over to the wall, grabbed a sword, not a wooden practice one, but a real blade with a sharp edge. “Dale, I think you’ve rested enough. Want to spar?”

“

Uh,

maybe not today. I already used up most of my mana earlier.”

Golden aura surged violently up the sword in his hand, and he said, “Pick up your sword, Dale. Or else, you might die today.”

Yuren smiled sweetly and swung without hesitation.