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Chapter 39: Interlude – Thank Goodness

Inside the infirmary located on the Hero Academy grounds.

The infirmary was mainly used by candidates who were injured during training or fell ill. Inside, there was a private recovery room that could only be used by paying a specific \'donation\'.

Although it was called a donation, it was practically a usage fee, so not many candidates used the private recovery room.

And right now, I was lying in that very \'private recovery room\' wearing a patient\'s gown.

\'Never in my life did I imagine I would end up using a private recovery room.\'

An immortal monster who revives even after dying and a private recovery room—there couldn’t be a more mismatched combination.

“Sigh.”

I sighed deeply and turned my head toward the woman sitting on a chair by the bed, humming a tune while peeling fruit.

With light pink hair, a high nose, a slender jawline, and gentle eyes, she had all the appearances of a saint, blessed by the Seven Gods.

And more than anything, she had a pair of ‘blessed pouches’ that took up nearly half of my field of vision.

Noticing my gaze, the saintess paused in her fruit peeling.

“Where are you looking so intently?”

“At the blessed pouches.”

“…Pardon?”

“Oh, sorry. I was staring at your chest, Iris.”

“W-What did you say?”

Startled, Iris hurriedly covered her chest with her arms, glaring at me with narrowed eyes.

“…You pervert.”

“Well, I mean, it’s hard not to notice when it’s covering half my view. Unless I talk to you with my back turned, I can’t help but see it.”

“Hehe, so you were pretending all this time, but you’re just a man after all, huh?”

She only covered her chest for a moment before she smirked and puffed out her chest again, letting her arms drop.

Once again, my vision was darkened by her overwhelming bosom.

I averted my eyes from the overflowing blessings held within Iris’s chest and sat up in bed.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“I’m leaving. My body’s all healed.”

To be precise, my body was fine from the moment Iris forced me into the recovery room.

“Didn\'t I tell you that you need to rest?”

“And I’ve been resting here for the past few days.”

“That won’t do. You need to stay a bit longer.”

Iris shook her head firmly. I sighed deeply before speaking.

“You know what kind of blessing I have, right?”

“Well….”

She had seen it herself several times during my fight with Astaroth—the \'Blessing of Revival\' that allows me to come back to life even after dying.

“But you were in so much pain back then!”

“That’s because I died too many times in such a short period.”

Even if the blessing revived my body, the lost magic and mental energy did not return.

No matter how many deaths I had experienced, going through over a hundred deaths in less than ten minutes would leave me collapsed, just like that time.

“That’s why you need to rest even more!”

“I’ve rested enough.”

“But still….”

Iris trailed off, tugging at the collar of my patient gown as she spoke again.

“Just one more day. Can’t you rest just one more day?”

“Hmm….”

Honestly, there wasn’t anything left for me to recover from.

But seeing Iris on the verge of tears, I couldn’t bring myself to reject her and walk out of the recovery room.

“Sigh. Fine. I’ll rest until tomorrow.”

“Thank you.”

“Nothing to thank me for. By the way, how much was the recovery room fee… I mean, the donation?”

“I took care of it, so don’t worry about it.”

“But…”

“Nope. You just focus on recovering like a good patient.”

“Ugh.”

I keep telling her there’s nothing left to recover from.

“By the way… is it really okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“To hide Professor Morpheus’s true identity.”

After killing Astaroth, I asked her not to tell anyone about what had happened there.

Not about Professor Morpheus’s true identity as the Archbishop of Illusions, nor about me killing Astaroth.

‘So the school was informed that Professor Morpheus fled the academy after the incident.’

There were no other witnesses thanks to the Veil of Illusions that Astaroth had cast.

The people who had been inside the shroud—Camilla, Priest Antonio, and the orphanage children—had mostly lost their memories due to Astaroth’s illusion magic, so it was possible to keep it a secret.

“I told you. If this gets out, we’ll be the ones in trouble.”

Astaroth would become the focus of attention across the continent if it were revealed that she targeted Iris’s ‘Seven Eyes’ in this incident.

Moreover, \'Astaroth said that Iris’s eyes were an obstacle to unsealing the Demon God.\'

In other words, if it became known that Iris’s ‘Seven Eyes’ could hinder the resurrection of the Demon God—the dream of the demons—then she would be in grave danger.

‘For her safety, it’s best to keep this a secret.’

The same goes for the fact that I killed Astaroth.

‘If it were known that a mere candidate had killed one of the six demons who ruled over thousands or tens of thousands of demons, the entire continent would be turned upside down.’

This wasn’t just a matter of hiding my strength.

The moment this got out, it would be impossible for me to live a normal school life, with all eyes on me.

‘From others’ perspectives, it would be like a baby who had just learned to walk killed a fully grown adult with their bare hands.’

No.

Considering how much fear the title of ‘Archbishop’ strikes into the hearts of the people on the continent, it would have an even greater impact.

‘In any case.’

For Iris’s sake, and for mine, it was best to keep this whole matter under wraps.

“Sigh. Okay. I’ll do as you say.”

“Thank you.”

“There’s nothing to thank me for. You risked your life to protect me, Dale.”

“It’s a cheap life that comes back even after I die.”

“No.”

Iris shook her head sternly.

“Even if you have a blessing that brings you back to life, that doesn’t make your life cheap.”

“…….”

“Don’t ever say your life is cheap again.”

Iris gently reached out and stroked my cheek.

“To me… your life is more precious than any other.”

“…….”

Precious life.

I had never heard those words before.

My life had never once been ‘precious.’

Of course not.

No matter how many times I died and came back, the word ‘precious’ didn’t suit my life.

‘So then, why?’

Why could she say that my life was ‘precious’?

“You asked me why I didn’t just stay put when you were fighting Astaroth, right?”

“…I did.”

“Well, honestly, I thought the same. I didn’t know exactly what kind of blessing you had, but seeing you come back to life after dying so many times, I thought, at least he won’t die.”

Right.

As she said, I wouldn’t have died.

“Then why did you step in?”

“Well, when I saw you in pain, my body moved on its own.”

“…….”

It wasn’t a wise choice.

It wasn’t a smart decision.

It wasn’t a logical action.

But.

“If the same situation happened again, I would step in to protect you just the same.”

“…Even knowing that I wouldn’t die?”

“Yes.”

"...Why?"

Questions tangled like a twisted thread filled my mind.

Why, why, why, why.

Why did she sacrifice her life to save mine?

"When Astaroth stopped attacking you and turned toward me... do you know what I was thinking?"

"...No."

Iris lowered the hand that was caressing my cheek and tightly held my hand.

"Thank goodness."

She wrapped my hand with both of hers and continued in a trembling voice.

"Thank goodness you\'re alive, Dale. That\'s what I thought."

"....."

"Hehe. Doesn\'t that sound familiar?"

"What do you mean, familiar?"

I tilted my head in confusion as I asked.

"Oh my, why are you pretending like it\'s the first time you\'ve heard it?"

Iris poked my nose playfully with a mischievous smile.

"It\'s what you said to me when you first talked to me, Dale, remember?"

"...Ah."

I let out an awkward cough at the embarrassing memory from the first day I returned.

\'Now that I think about it, I did run up and say I was glad without thinking.\'

It\'s a rather embarrassing memory in hindsight.

"Alright, alright, enough chit-chat. I\'ll peel some fruit for you, so lie down."

"Mm."

I swallowed my words and lay back down on the bed.

Suddenly.

The memory of that day flashed through my mind again.

The day when the sky turned red.

The day I heard her final words.

\'Did Iris think the same thing back then as she does now?\'

I don’t know.

And I probably never will.

But.

What does it matter if I never know?

"Say ah, Dale."

I looked at Iris, who was holding out a fork with a piece of fruit, and smiled faintly.

\'Thank goodness.\'

Thank goodness you\'re still alive.

* * *

"...You\'re going back?"

"Yes."

Under the red-stained sky.

Golden eyes gleamed fiercely.

"Iris. Do you understand what you\'re saying?"

"I do."

"You understand, and yet you\'re saying you\'ll go back?"

Yuren ground his teeth and glared at Iris.

"Dale sacrificed his life to give us this chance. If we don\'t escape now, we\'ll all die."

"Yes, that\'s why I\'ll go back alone."

"But if you go back now, you\'ll die too!"

"....."

Iris adjusted her black eyepatch and quietly spoke.

"Then... what about Dale?"

"Dale is...."

A brief silence.

Yuren clenched his fists so tightly they could break as he struggled to speak.

"Dale... won\'t die."

"Of course. He has the Blessing of Revival."

"Then..."

"But if the demons capture him, he\'ll suffer unimaginable torment. To the point where death would seem like a mercy."

"That\'s..."

"I can\'t leave Dale behind."

"You...!"

Yuren roughly grabbed Iris by the collar.

"Do you think I don\'t know that? Huh? Do you think I want to run away and leave Dale behind?"

He shouted in anguish.

"But you know as well as I do! If we die here..."

"The hope of humanity will be gone, right?"

"...Yes."

Yuren bit his lip so hard that it bled.

"If you don\'t come, I\'ll drag you with me, no matter what."

"Hah."

A cold laugh escaped Iris\'s lips.

"Do you know something?"

"...What?"

"Until now, I\'ve never once cast a healing spell on Dale."

"....."

"No matter how badly he was hurt, he\'d heal anyway. No matter how much pain he was in, he wouldn’t die anyway."

Using healing magic for someone else was more \'practical\' than using it to heal Dale.

"Even if he died! He\'d just come back to life!!!"

Not even once.

Had she used healing magic for him.

"While he died hundreds, thousands of times, I... just stood by and watched."

That\'s why.

She couldn\'t tell Dale that his life was valuable.

His life wasn\'t allowed to be valuable.

If his death could save even one more life, that was the right thing to do.

"You know what, right? Every time Dale saved someone, there\'s always something he says."

"....."

"Huh? You know it, right? Dale has saved your life more than once."

"He says, \'Thank goodness you\'re alive.\'"

"Haha, yeah. He always says that, doesn\'t he?"

Even though he\'d died dozens, hundreds of times.

Even though he\'d screamed in unimaginable pain countless times.

He always says, "Thank goodness you\'re alive."

Words he himself could never hear.

He says them with a bright smile.

"I\'m going to die in a month."

"...Wait. What do you mean you\'re going to die in a month? What are you talking about?"

"Without the \'Seven Eyes,\' I’ve overused the gods\' blessing. It’s a miracle I’ve lasted this long."

"....."

"I was hiding it because I didn\'t want Dale to worry, but there\'s no need to hide it anymore."

Iris spoke with a sad smile.

"Even if I die in a month, if I escape now and heal people, I can save many lives. Many must have been injured in this war."

"....."

"Hundreds... no, thousands of lives could be saved."

But.

"I want to go back to where Dale is."

"....."

"I\'ve done my best up until now... right? Haven\'t I? I saved many people, even while I watched him die over and over again... I became one of humanity\'s last five heroes."

So.

"Just this once... before I die... I want to save him. I want to tell him."

That his life is valuable.

More than anything.

That it’s precious beyond compare.

"....."

Without a word, Yuren released his grip on Iris\'s collar.

"...Yuren?"

"Go."

Yuren turned his back on Iris with just that one word.

Clutching the hilt of the sword at his waist so tightly it could break, Yuren walked away with a forlorn expression.

"....."

Iris nodded silently and turned her body.

Toward the place where the Demon God\'s army was gathering like a black cloud.

And then.

"Why... Why did you do it? Why did you come back!"

She gently stroked his tear-streaked cheek.

"Heh, hehe."

Why was it?

Even though she knew he wouldn\'t die, why did she feel so relieved?

"Thank goodness."

Thank goodness you\'re alive.

"Really... thank goodness."