Chapter 295: The Gates of Heaven (2)

A suffocating silence settled over Heaven’s Door, the concept cafe in Valhalla City. Julien, no, Jules, who had just met my eyes, froze stiff, his bright smile still plastered unnaturally on his face.

Albert blinked in confusion, glancing around at the sudden silence. “Huh? What’s wrong, Dale?”

I didn’t know how to respond. “Uh, well...”

Jules held out the menu with a radiant smile. “Hello, Masters! Have you decided what you’d like to order?”

I murmured. “You...”

“Oh my? Is there something bothering you, Master?” he asked.

Keeping his face turned away so that Albert couldn’t see, Jules mouthed at me: Don’t say anything.

I rubbed my aching temple and shook my head. “No.”

Albert looked at Jules. “Um, J-Julien!”

“Yes, Master Albert,” Jules replied.

“Hehe. Y-you look beautiful today too.”

“Oh my, really? Ehehe, you’re making me blush.”

I groaned. “Ugh.”

“Hm? What’s wrong?” Albert asked, unaware of my emotions.

“N-nothing. It’s nothing,” I replied.

Endure it. I have to endure it. Only then can I protect Albert’s pure heart. Wait a second! Didn’t someone say before that Heaven’s Door was a crossdressing cafe? No way! If that’s true, then all the staff here are crossdressing. Damn it! No wonder something felt off from the moment I walked in.

“Two omurice and two orange juices, please,” Albert said.

“Yes, Master! Please wait just a moment!” Jules winked playfully, delivering his line with practiced ease.

“Hehe.” Albert watched Jules’s retreating figure with a dreamy smile, looking like he was completely melting.

Judging by the honey-dripping look in his eyes, I could tell he had fallen head over heels for Jules, no, Julien. I said, “Hey, Albert.”

“Hm? What is it?” he asked.

“You do know what kind of place this is, right?”

“What do you mean? Oh, you said it’s your first time at a concept cafe, right? Haha. I guess it might feel a bit overwhelming,” he replied.

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

“Hehe. To be honest, it’s my first time at a place like this too.” Albert scratched his head shyly. “I just stopped by for a cup of coffee by chance, but the place was so nice, and more than anything...”

Glancing over, Albert swallowed dryly as he looked at cross-dressed Jules. “I-I saw Julien, and fell for her at first sight.”

He had a dazed expression on his face. It seemed Albert had no idea this was a crossdressing cafe. It was an easy mistake to make. I didn’t know where they found people like this, but honestly, if one didn’t know the concept, these people looked exactly like ordinary female staff. If I hadn’t seen Jules crossdressing before, even I would not have recognized him.

This wasn’t a normal disguise. Appearance aside, even the voice sounded completely feminine. Jules was definitely using some kind of specialized disguise magic tool, like the one Yurina used. However, those weren’t cheap enough for ordinary people. Even ranked heroes would struggle to get their hands on such items. Just where did he even manage to get it?

As I thought about it, Jules came up to us with our order. “Tada! Heaven’s Door’s pride and joy, Angel Omurice!”

My head throbbed. Come to think of it, Jules is the heir of a wealthy family, isn’t he? Just how serious is he about crossdressing?

“Now then, I’ll write your name in ketchup, Master Albert!” Jules added lovingly.

“O-okay. Thank you,” Albert replied.

“Hehe. By the way, you came with a friend today?” Jules asked.

“I wanted to ask for some advice,” Albert explained.

Jules stared at him. “Advice? Do you have something troubling you? If so, you can tell me.”

Albert shook his head frantically, his face flushing bright red like a ripe tomato. “N-no!”

What the hell am I even watching right now? I thought.

Jules turned to me. “Um, M-Master Dale, would you like me to write your name too?”

I replied, “No, I...”

Albert immediately asked, “Hm? How does Julien know your name, Dale?”

Shit!

“Ah, Master Albert, earlier, I overheard you calling him ‘Dale’!” Jules explained.

“Huh? Did I?” Albert replied, a little confused.

“O-of course!” Jules let out a dainty laugh and quickly turned away. “W-well then, I have something to take care of in the kitchen, so I’ll be going now!”

“Ah!”

Leaving behind Albert’s disappointed sigh, Jules practically fled toward the kitchen. Albert stared blankly at his retreating figure before slowly turning his gaze toward me. “S-so, what do you think, Dale?”

“About what?” I asked.

“Ahem. About Julien. She’s really pretty, right?”

“Uh, yeah. She is.”

Albert looked up. “Oh. D-do you, um, maybe have feelings for Julien too?”

“No.”

Absolutely not.

“Phew. Really? Well, I guess you’re surrounded by lots of other pretty girls anyway. Though to me, Julien is the prettiest!” Albert said.

“Y-yeah.”

Right. That’s... good to hear.

Albert stared at me. “So, Dale, h-how should I confess to Julien?”

“Confess?”

“Y-yeah! Normally, I’d be too scared to even think about confessing, but it’s different now.” Albert looked at me and smiled brightly. “It’s all thanks to you, Dale.”

“What?”

I was baffled. Because of me? What did I even do?

“Remember what you said during the final evaluation? That even someone like me, cowardly and timid, had a role to play. Thanks, Dale. Because of you, I learned what ‘courage’ means,” Albert explained.

No, that’s not what I meant by that, I said internally.

“Haha. I was going to ask you for advice. But now that I think about it, this isn’t something I should rely on others for.” Albert smiled faintly and clenched his fist. “I don’t need advice, Dale.”

No. I think you do need some advice.

“I’ll, um, confess my feelings to Julien... on my own,” he added,

Are you sure you don’t want to rethink that?

Albert continued, “Hehe. If things go well and Julien and I h-have a child someday, what should I name them?”

That’s probably not going to happen. Biologically speaking.

“Ah, am I getting ahead of myself? Ahem! Anyway, Julien looks pretty busy today, so I’ll confess next time!”

“Uh, yeah. Sure. Good luck, Albert,” I replied.

If you’re happy, that’s enough. May flowers, not something else, line your path.

* * *

After parting ways with Albert, I headed straight back to the dorm. I briefly considered stopping by the party house to check in on everyone, but after what I had just witnessed, all I wanted was to get back to my room and lie down as soon as possible. However, before I could even turn the handle, the door opened.

“Hm?”

Had I forgotten to lock it? Tilting my head in confusion, I stepped inside. What greeted me wasn’t an empty room but three women.

“Oh my, you’re back, Dale?” Iris said.

Yurina glared at me. “We’ve been waiting.”

“Ugh, Dale, you’re so mean,” Laneige muttered.

I glanced between the three of them, my shoulders tensing instinctively. “What’s going on?”

“Where have you been?” Iris asked.

“Huh? Oh, I just went out with Albert to Valhalla City for a bit,” I replied.

Iris approached me with a bright smile on her lips. “Where exactly in Valhalla City?”

What is this? Something about the atmosphere feels off, I thought.

“Dale, the cafe you went to with Albert was Heaven’s Door, right?” Yurina said. “Don’t bother denying it. We already know.”

“How?” I asked.

“I happened to run into Albert this morning and heard all about it,” Yurina explained.

Albert, you bastard!

“Dale, are we not enough for you?” Yurina said in a disappointing tone.

“No, it’s not like that...” I tried to explain.

Laneige pouted, her lips twitching as if trying to suppress a smile. “That’s so mean.”

“Huh?”

Wait. Her lips are twitching?

“If it’s Heaven’s Door, then that’s the cafe where crossdressing men work as staff, right?” Iris asked.

“Uh, yeah, that’s right,” I replied.

“Then going there means... It’s fair to assume you have at least some interest in crossdressing, correct?” Iris said teasingly.

“What?”

What kind of nonsense logic is that?

“On that note, we prepared something for you. What do you think? Interested?” With a playful smile, Iris pulled out a frilly, cute waitress outfit.

I had a premonition. “Wait!”

Don’t tell me they expect me to wear that?

“If you wear this, Dale, we might forgive you for going out without telling us today,” Iris said.

I quickly turned to look at Yurina and Laneige. Yurina burst into uncontrollable laughter, while Laneige bounced in place, her eyes sparkling like stars.

“Pff!Hahaha!”

“D-Dale! You’ll wear it, right?!”

You little brats? So, this was their plan all along, using my visit to the cafe as an excuse to make me crossdress. No wonder they’ve been grinning like idiots this whole time.

“No,” I resolutely said.

“Aww, come on, Dale! Just once! Please? Just once!”

“I said I’m not wearing it!”

Yurina pouted. “Dale, you secretly went to that kind of cafe without us, and you won’t even grant us this small request?”

“What does going to a concept cafe have to do with this?” I replied.

“Boo! Dale, you’re so mean!” Laneige exclaimed.

“Exactly! So mean! You can at least wear it once!” Iris followed after.

Complaints and accusations came at me from all directions.

Iris continued pestering me. “D-Dale! Just once! Just once, please!”

“I said no!”

“Why not! We wear outfits you like for events sometimes, don’t we?”

“That’s completely different!” I replied.

“D-Dale, if you wear this, I’ll crossdress as Yuren too!” Iris said.

I refused. “I don’t need that!”

I really don’t want to see that!

Iris let out a deep sigh and shook her head. “Haa! I suppose it can’t be helped.”

For a moment, I thought she had given up, and I was just about to sigh in relief.

However, she continued dejectedly, “I’ve granted every request you’ve ever made, Dale. Even when you started acting like a beast in heat and went from one lover to two, to three, no, all the way up to five, I still understood.”

I looked at her. “No. Wait...”

She continued, “I cook for you every day, help you with your training. When you were hospitalized, I stayed by your side every single day without fail.”

“That’s...” I didn’t know what to say to that.

“And yet you can’t even grant us this one small request?”

“I-it’s not that...”

“I see. Fine. I guess we’re just ‘caught fish’ now, so our requests don’t matter anymore, right?”

Damn it!

I relented in the end. “Fine, I’ll wear it.”

“Kyaa! Dale, you’re the best!” Iris rejoiced.

“Hehe. I knew you’d do it for us,” Yurina said in a happy tone.

“I-I’m going to take tons of pictures,” Laneige said excitedly.

As my lovers cheered and rushed toward me, I squeezed my eyes shut.

* * *

Late that night, at the dormitory, Camellia walked briskly toward the cadets’ residence, her steps light with anticipation. “Hehe. I can’t wait to see him.”

Ever since the victory ceremony, she had been overwhelmed with work, barely even able to contact Dale over the past few days. With a bright, excited expression, she reached for the door. The moment she opened it, what greeted her was the sight of her consort, dressed in women’s clothing, striking various poses.

“L-like this?” Dale asked.

“Kyaa! Dale, you’re so cute!” Iris exclaimed.

Yurina laughed. “Pfft! Ahahaha! I’m going to die laughing!”

“Haa, haa! D-Dale, I love it! Try a different pose this time!” Laneige said.

Without a word, Camellia quietly closed the door.