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[Proofreader - Gun]
Chapter 294: The Gates of Heaven (1)
"Han Daesu, huh..."
After parting ways with Khalid Han.
Left alone in the room, I was sorting through the information I’d gotten from him.
“…Co to think of it, he’s a Han too.”
While organizing my thoughts, I realized that the first outsider and I shared the sa surna, but I didn’t pay it much mind.
'It’s not like there are only a handful of people nad Han in the Republic.'
And besides, I was an orphan with no parents to begin with.
Just having the sa surna wasn’t enough to draw a connection between and the leader of Eternity.
Still, there was one thing that nagged at .
‘My na… I was told it was given to by one of the orphanage’s benefactors.’
Right.
I definitely heard as a child that a benefactor of the orphanage gave the na “Dale Han.”
“……”
Lost in thought, I turned on my Hero Watch and contacted Albert.
[Ah, D-Dale. What’s up? Did sothing go wrong with those videos we spread around before?]
A familiar voice ca through the Hero Watch.
“No, it’s not that. I just wanted to find the contact info for an orphanage.”
[Orphanage contact info?]
“Yeah. It’s a governnt-run orphanage… The na was… wait a sec.”
I rummaged through the hazy drawers of my mory, trying to recall the orphanage's na.
“…Sprout.”
[Huh?]
“It was called ‘Sprout Orphanage.’ Can you look up the contact info for that place?”
[Ah, yeah. Of course. Sothing like that shouldn’t take long.]
With a promise to wait a mont, I heard rustling on the other end.
[Uh… Dale.]
“Yeah?”
[Looks like it’s no longer operating?]
“…No longer operating?”
[Yeah. According to the records, it shut down about four years ago.]
“……”
Four years ago would’ve been right around when I first entered the Hero Academy.
‘It didn’t seem like a place that would’ve shut down.’
The orphanage I stayed at had decent facilities for a governnt-run institution.
Usually, orphanages struggle financially—sotis even failing to feed the children regularly—but that never happened at Sprout.
‘In my previous life, I was too busy adjusting to school to notice it had shut down.’
And after graduating, I dove straight into rcenary work, so I never really paid attention to whether the orphanage was still running.
“…Can you look into it for ? Like past operational records or anything like that?”
[Yeah, give a sec.]
I heard rustling again on the other side.
[Alright, I looked up as much as I could for now….]
After a few minutes of waiting, Albert’s voice ca through again.
[This place… It really was governnt-run, right?]
“Yeah. Why?”
[It’s just that… for a governnt-run institution, the facilities and finances were really good.]
“Well… it wasn’t a bad place.”
[Hmm… Looks like one of the benefactors donated a lot of money.]
One of the benefactors donated a lot of money, huh.
“Can you find out who that was?”
[That’s the thing….]
Albert hesitated for a mont.
[Since the place shut down quite a while ago, digging up benefactor info might take so ti.]
“That’s okay. It’s not urgent. Can you look into it for ?”
[Sure. I’ll send one of our guild mbers to investigate. Once the digging’s done, they’ll report back to you, okay?]
“Yeah.”
[Hehe. Shouldn’t take too long.]
I couldn’t rember the last ti Albert sounded this reliable.
I let out a quiet chuckle and nodded.
“Thanks.”
[Don’t ntion it. That’s what friends are for, right?]
“Still, with the last incident and all, I feel like I owe you too much lately.”
Between the video incident and everything else, I’d been relying on Albert more and more lately.
[Th-Then, Dale… I know it’s kinda random, but… could you do a favor too?]
“What kind of favor?”
[Well… I went to this cosplay café in Valhalla City not long ago….]
“…Cosplay café?”
What now?
[Yeah, you know, one of those places where the servers wear cute outfits and serve you?]
“Oh, right.”
Co to think of it, I’d heard Juliet ntion sothing like that before.
[I t this really cute girl there.]
“Oh ho.”
Looks like spring finally ca for Albert too?
[D-Dale, you’re popular with girls, right? So I thought maybe… you could give so advice….]
“I an, I don’t know if I’m the best person for that, but….”
[Please!]
Albert’s voice cracked with desperation.
“Uh… do you have a picture of her, at least?”
[N-No. Photography’s banned there, so I don’t have any pics. B-But she’s really pretty! Blonde hair… super slim… kind of like a noble lady type? Ehe.]
This guy….
He’s fallen, and he’s fallen hard.
“Well, I need to know more about her if I’m going to give you any advice.”
[Uh… Then, Dale, if you're free today, want to co to the cosplay café with ?]
“…You want to go there with you?”
[Y-Yeah! I think she should be working around this ti!]
“……”
At a ti like this, should I really be casually dropping by a cosplay café? It felt kind of out of place.
‘Then again, it’s not like I have anything else to do sitting around in the dorms.’
We didn’t know what the Cult of Eternity was planning or where their leader was, so it was hard to act first.
‘And training doesn’t do much for anymore anyway.’
Now that I’d absorbed the Demon God’s Fla, training was more like warm-up stretches to keep my senses sharp.
It didn’t really help progress further.
“Alright, let’s go.”
[F-For real?!]
“Yeah.”
Might as well return the favor to Albert after everything he’s done for lately.
[Then let’s et at the school gate in 30 minutes!]
“Got it.”
I ended the call and got up from my bed.
“Now then….”
Guess I’ll wash up first.
* * *
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
“Hey, Albert?”
On his way to the eting spot, Albert turned his head at the sound of soone calling him.
Golden hair that looked like it had been lted from sunlight, and a face so handso even other guys would be stunned.
It was Yuren Helios, a school celebrity known by everyone on campus.
“Yu-Yuren? What are you doing here?”
“I was just on my way back to my room.”
“Oh, right. You're in Dorm A too.”
Since the final exams last year, Albert hadn’t had much interaction with Yuren, but recently they had beco classmates and would exchange greetings when they passed each other.
“Co to think of it… I heard Albert helped Dale recently?”
“Huh? Are you talking about the orphanage stuff?”
“Orphanage? No, I ant the video incident.”
“Oh, that.”
Albert gave an awkward smile and nodded.
“But what’s this about the orphanage? Did Dale ask for another favor?”
“Uh, yeah. He asked to look into an orphanage in the Republic.”
“Hm. Is that so?”
“So I sent one of our guild mbers over there.”
“You’ve really helped Dale out a lot, huh?”
“Well, we’re friends after all. Oh, and today Dale’s going to help !”
“…Dale is going to help you?”
“Yep!”
Albert nodded with a bright smile.
“With what?”
“Ah… that is…”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to tell if it’s awkward.”
“Hehe. Sorry.”
He wasn’t close enough to Yuren yet to confess that he recently developed feelings for soone.
“So you’re going to et Dale now?”
“Yep! We’re going to a cosplay café in Valhalla City together.”
“…Cosplay café?”
In that mont—
Yuren’s gaze turned cold and sharp.
“A cosplay café…? Isn’t that the kind of place where the waitresses wear… those kinds of outfits to serve custors?”
“Ugh. When you say it like that, it sounds like so shady place! It’s not like that!”
“Then what is it?”
“It’s just, well… a place where you can escape the boring routine of everyday life and enjoy a bit of fantasy…?”
“Huh.”
His eyes grew even colder.
“A-anyway! You know how it is—you're a guy too!”
“…Yeah. I know exactly what you an.”
“R-right?”
Ahem.
Albert let out a nervous cough and hurried his pace.
“Anyway, I should get going now. I’m almost late for the eting!”
“Yeah. Have fun.”
Yuren watched Albert’s retreating back, clenching his fist tightly.
“Heh. So Dale… still has enough energy to hang out after spending ti with us, huh?”
He muttered with a chilling tone, then turned on his Hero Watch.
“Hey. Iris? Got a sec? I need to talk….”
* * *
“This is the café Albert ntioned?”
The entrance of the café Albert brought him to was plastered with photos of won in various costus, enough to make soone instinctively take a step back.
“Y-yeah. This is ‘Heaven’s Door.’”
“Heaven’s Door, huh…”
Huh?
Co to think of it, that na sounded familiar.
‘…Where did I hear it before?’
I couldn’t quite rember if I’d heard it in passing.
‘Well, I’ll find out once we’re inside.’
I followed Albert into the café.
“Welco, Masters~ Just the two of you?”
“Y-yes!”
“Fufu. No need to be nervous. Relax, relax! Heaven’s Door always welcos our Masters’ visits!”
“Hehe. Okay….”
“Please co this way and take a seat. Oh, would you like to request a specific staff mber?”
“Ah, um… M-Ms. Julian, please…”
“Sure thing~”
With practiced ease, the waitress bowed and walked away.
“Ahem. So? Pretty cute, huh?”
“Uh… yeah, I guess.”
I looked around at the bustling waitresses with narrowed eyes.
‘Sothing feels… off.’
How should I put this?
There was a strange, instinctive sense of discomfort creeping over .
‘Why am I feeling like this?’
While frowning at the inexplicable unease—
“Tada~! Nice to et you, Masters! Your very own angel, Julian….”
My eyes t the waitress who supposedly stole Albert’s heart.
And then.
“……”
“……”
Ti froze.
‘No way.’
What is Juliet doing here?
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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