Chapter 55
Mana flowing from Franz's hand entered its body. The mana traveled along its Mana Circuit and soon reached its Mana Core. As Franz burned the mana in that state, its Mana Circuit and Mana Core began to burn along with it.
With this, it would never be able to use magic again.
For a Mage, it was akin to a death sentence, signaling their end.
Had it been conscious, it would have writhed in agony, so Yuna knocking it out could be considered a blessing in disguise.
“R-really? That’s a relief…”
Yuna’s shoulders slumped as she let out a sigh of relief.
Despite various incidents, they had ultimately succeeded in capturing Belphegor, so Franz’s original objective could be considered achieved. However, in the process, Yuna’s house had unfortunately been destroyed.
Well, since the house was destroyed, the contract with the real estate agent could probably be considered void.
He could probably discuss the details tomorrow.
At that moment, a strange thought popped into Franz’s head.
“Yuna, if you don’t mind, would you like to live in Duke Ishtar’s Castle?”
After all, wasn’t Duke Ishtar’s Title currently vacant? If he asked the Emperor, getting it a little earlier would be no trouble. However, even if he received Duke Ishtar’s Title, managing the Duke’s Castle directly would be quite difficult given his position as Magic Tower Lord.
That’s where Yuna came in. If she were to live in the Duke’s Castle and help look after the Territory and the castle with the other Vassals, the Duke wouldn’t have to worry about it at all.
Moreover, he wouldn’t need to find her a separate house. Since she was the Hero who saved the world, the other Vassals wouldn’t dare to say anything.
Letting a friend live in an empty house wasn’t that strange, after all. Especially if that friend’s house had been destroyed, the homeowner should definitely lend a hand.
At Franz’s words, Yuna seemed to ponder for a moment, then said in a voice full of hesitation,
“C-can I really?”
“Well, I’ll have to talk to His Majesty first, but it’ll probably be fine. I’ll explain the details later.”
“Ah, okay…! I’ll talk to my mom and sister too.”
Yuna’s mother and sister. If there was any concern, it was actually those two. They had been kidnapped by Ishtar and subjected to horrific experiments in the past. They might not want to live in a place where they had experienced such things.
Well, he’d have to leave that up to Yuna.
If she didn’t want to live in Duke Ishtar’s Castle, then he could just go house hunting with her again, so there was no real problem.
In any case, since all the problems were resolved, there was no longer any reason to remain here.
“Shall we go back now? There’s no reason to stay here anymore.”
“Yeah, that sounds good.”
Fortunately, Yuna’s expression wasn’t too bad. He had thought it was a huge disaster when Belphegor destroyed the house, but it was truly a relief that everything ended safely.
*Snap*.
Franz snapped his fingers, and Belphegor, who had been lying on the ground, bobbed lightly into the air. Then, with another snap of his fingers, light flickered, and the forms of the three disappeared.
Soon, they reappeared in front of Yuna’s house.
“Franz, thanks for today, for helping me look at houses and for helping with the Cultist Subjugation.”
Under the moonlight, Yuna gave a bright, shy smile.
It felt more like I was the one who received help with the Cultist Subjugation... Well, there was no need to point it out, so he decided to let it slide.
“Don’t mention it. If you ever need help again, just say the word. I’ll help you as much as I can.”
“Okay, thank you.”
“By the way, didn’t you like that dress? It’s torn. Are you okay with that?”
Today, Yuna wasn’t wearing her usual comfortable clothes but a dress. However, the dress was ripped and had holes all over.
Not only that, but Yuria’s carefully tied hair was sticking out everywhere, a complete mess.
She had made an effort to look pretty, but now she was in such a state, and he felt truly sorry.
But Yuna didn’t seem to mind at all.
“I did like it, but it’s fine. I can just buy another one.”
“It’s the first time I’ve seen you wear something like that. Well, it suited you. You should keep wearing clothes like that.”
“O-oh, really…? Well, if you say so, Franz…”
Yuna mumbled something to herself. He wondered if she had developed a new habit, or if that was just her original personality. She felt a little more human than when she was always just grinning brightly.
“Then I’ll head back now.”
“Ah, okay! I’ll come visit the Magic Tower again sometime!”
Yuna smiled brightly and waved her hand from side to side.
Watching her, Franz snapped his fingers.
*Snap*.
With a crisp sound, everything changed except for Franz and the Cultist. The flowing air, the sounds, even the surrounding scenery.
The place Franz arrived at was Saint Seraphia Cathedral. More precisely, it was in front of Yustia’s Room within it.
Feeling a presence inside, she seemed not to be asleep.
*Knock, knock*.
Franz immediately knocked on the door. Soon after, footsteps were heard from beyond the door, then,
*Creak*.
The door slowly opened, and Yustia poked her head out.
“What is it… Fr-Franz?!”
Yustia’s eyes widened, and she exclaimed loudly.
She seemed quite surprised.
In response, Franz raised his index finger to his lips. It was, of course, a sign to be quiet.
She always says we shouldn’t get caught, so why is she so loud? And if someone sees us, she’ll obviously blame me again, saying, ‘It’s all your fault!’
“P-please, come in first…!”
Yustia looked around, then pulled Franz by the wrist. Franz, taken by surprise, was led into the room by her.
Yustia’s Room was just as he had seen it before. It was so sparse that one wouldn’t think it was the room of a Saintess.
The only slight difference was the familiar coat lying on the bed. Needless to say, it was the coat Franz had lent her.
“Th-this, that, it’s not what you think it is!”
Noticing Franz’s gaze, Yustia said in a voice filled with embarrassment.
*I wasn’t thinking anything…?*
Franz literally wasn’t thinking anything. So, he couldn’t possibly know what she was talking about.
“So, when are you going to return that?”
“L-later…!”
“I’ll just take it today. It just needs to be washed anyway, right?”
He had promised Arian that he would attend the Ducal House of Phrygia’s party in a few days, so he needed to get the coat back before then, at the very least.
But he didn’t know when Yustia’s “later” would be, and constantly coming to urge her wasn’t his style. So, if there isn't any particular problem, it would be better to take it now.
“Ah, alright.”
Yustia hesitated, then handed the coat back to Franz.
*Should I just put it on?*
It was inconvenient to hold, so it seemed better to just wear it.
Thus, Franz took off the robe he was wearing and put on the coat he received from Yustia. As expected of an Order-made item, there was no discomfort in movement. He almost wanted to thank Arian again.
“Ah, please give that to me.”
Yustia reached out her hand, and Franz naturally handed her the robe, just as he would to Arian.
“So, what brings you here at this hour?”
“Ah, you know, Belphegor?”
“I was planning to deliver information about that tomorrow, so this works out perfectly. I asked the residents of the Ishtar Dukedom, and they said that when dawn breaks, the shadow cast by the Rocky Mountain looks like…”
Yustia began to explain the information she had deciphered and uncovered.
But unfortunately, that information was already useless.
“Yeah, so I caught him.”
He hadn’t expected her to figure it out this quickly, though. He might have to change his perception that this place was just full of religious fanatics.
At Franz’s words, Yustia blinked with a blank expression, then tilted her head.
“You… caught him?”
“Yes, I went all the way to the Rocky Mountain in the Ishtar Dukedom and caught him myself.”
“Th-the information? Where did you hear it from…?”
“I happened to get a chance to meet Yuna and asked her.”
Yustia laughed, a hollow sound.
Perhaps I should have told Yustia when I reported to the Emperor.
It seems I’ll have to do that from now on.
Otherwise, she might go on a wild goose chase for nothing.
“Anyway, I’ve captured him, right? I burned out his Mana Core, so he can’t use magic. There shouldn’t be any problem.”
“So, where is Belphegor…?”
“In the Corridor.”
“Wait, surely not again…”
Now that he thought about it, something similar had happened last time. When he and Yustia had hidden in the Confession Room, someone had screamed after seeing a Cultist…
It was at that moment Franz thought that.
A woman’s sharp scream echoed from outside.
“Fr-Franz! Let’s go to the Cathedral Entrance first! Quickly!”
“Huh, huh?!”
At Yustia’s urgent words, Franz immediately snapped his fingers and Teleported directly to the Cathedral Entrance.
Franz didn’t know that someone had secretly taken the robe he had taken off.