Chapter 101
Franz waved his hand with a familiar motion. Normally, doing this would make the status window disappear, so he naturally thought it would happen this time too.
However, the status window remained in the air as if to show off. To be exact, the existing status window had disappeared and a new one had appeared.
“Huh…?”
Franz couldn’t help but be flustered. It would have been one thing if there had been a warning, but there hadn’t been anything like that.
Well, if the status window did give a warning, that would be scary in its own way.
Anyway, since the status window had appeared, he had no choice but to pay attention to it. That it had gone out of its way to bring up a status window meant it was definitely something out of the ordinary.
“Another threat is coming to the world!”
Complete the legendary armaments and stand against the Demon God!
< World Tree Weapon 1/1 >
< Sealed Spearhead 1/1 >
< Sealed sword Blade 0/1 >
…Omitted…
< Sealed Arrowhead 0/1 >
< ??? 0/1 >
Completion Reward: ■■ ■■■■ ■■
Upon failure, the world will be destroyed!”
When he read the first line, a sigh popped out, and when he read the second line, he wanted to shove the status window away.
“Why is the world so strict only with me?”
When the Demon Lord appeared, he risked his life to subjugate him.
When they said villainesses would destroy the world, he somehow strained every fiber of his being to save it.
But this time, he had to stand against the Demon God?
Wasn’t it asking too much of a mere creation, not even a god?
“What are the Goddess and the World Tree even doing in the first place.”
A fight needs to be between equals, and with other gods openly standing by, what reason was there for him to step up?
Haa-.
Franz sighed in unfairness. Even if he wanted to pour his heart out to someone, there was no one suitable, which only made it more frustrating.
But to make matters worse, the problem didn’t end there.
First of all, he understood the part about making the legendary armaments. He was already gathering them at the Goddess’s request anyway, so it wouldn’t be particularly difficult.
However, at the very end, there was an item he couldn’t figure out no matter what he did.
“What the hell are the question marks…”
If this were the modern 21st century, it wouldn’t have been much of a problem. Game items could be found quickly through collective intelligence. It would probably just remain as an element that stimulated gamers' competitive spirit.
But where was this place? Wasn’t it an old era where the universal means of communication was letters, and the means of transportation were carriages? They could exercise collective intelligence, but it definitely wouldn’t be of much help.
“They have to tell me something for me to find it.”
It was a truly unreasonable condition, yet upon failure, the world would be destroyed. He didn’t know who made this status window, but he was definitely a truly wicked bastard.
But more than anything, the terrible thing about this damn status window was,
‘That there’s no such thing as a right to refuse.’
No matter how wicked the conditions were, or how terrible the consequences would be, he had to accept it unconditionally.
He was forced to carry out the quest, and if he couldn’t clear it within the time limit, it was game over?
If they released something like this as a game, they would definitely be ripped to shreds by the players.
Furthermore, this was reality here, not something that could be done lightly like a game.
Haa-.
No matter how much he thought about it, the road ahead was only bleak, so a sigh popped out of Franz’s mouth once again.
There was something written in the completion reward, but even that was covered and couldn’t be seen, so he had no motivation.
‘Let’s just sleep for now…’
Franz waved his hand in the air and erased the status window. Then he went straight into his room and jumped onto the bed.
As mentioned before, one way or another, it was a reality he had no choice but to accept in the end. So what was the point of holding a grievance? It would only make him upset all by himself for no reason.
He could just wake up tomorrow and think about it step by step.
* * *
The next morning, Franz, who opened his eyes on the bed as usual, stared blankly at the ceiling.
Soon, as he waved his hand in the air, a status window appeared like a translucent hologram. It was the familiar status window recording the percentages of the Hero’s Party.
“Please, let it be a dream.”
Franz hoped so as he waved his hand in the air once again, but what he faced was the status window with the terrible contents written on it. In the end, what he saw yesterday wasn’t a dream but the truth.
“Fuck…”
The curse word he had spat out when he first faced the status window once again escaped his lips. He tried not to curse if possible, but this was a situation where he couldn’t stand it without cursing.
Eventually, after finishing his preparations and going out to the Magic Tower master’s office, Arian greeted him as always.
“Good morning, Magic Tower master.”
“Yeah, good morning.”
Was it really a good morning?
Such a question arose, but he didn’t bother voicing it.
It was just a moderately formal greeting in the first place.
Afterwards, as he started drinking the tea Arian had brewed, she, who had been stealing glances at him, spoke.
“Magic Tower master, did something happen by any chance?”
“Why?”
“Because your expression doesn’t look very good.”
He had tried his best not to let it show, but it seemed that hadn’t worked out well.
Then again, it was a situation where it would be stranger if it didn’t show.
Franz, who organized his thoughts while sipping his tea, put down the teacup and said.
“Arian, how would you feel if you were suddenly told to fight the Demon God?”
“With the Demon God…?”
“Yeah, just curious.”
“I think it would be hopeless. That side is a god in the first place.”
Arian answered as if it were obvious, without a shred of hesitation. Not just her, but most people would think the same.
And that was no different for Franz. He was in the position of the Magic Tower master, but he was still a human. The only problem was that in his case, it didn’t end as a hypothetical.
But was it completely hopeless? Not necessarily.
“The World Tree was somewhat manageable, so…”
Even if the Goddess talked about it being a parasite on a plant or whatever, there was no doubt that the World Tree was a god.
It was hard to think that the Demon God was weaker than the World Tree, but wouldn’t his side also be quite strong if they equipped the legendary armaments?
Maybe it would really be enough to stand and fight. The status window wouldn’t have given a quest for something with zero possibility.
‘Let’s not give up.’
Didn’t they say there’s always a way out, even in the direst circumstances? There would definitely be a way out of this somehow too.
Having finished his positive thinking, Franz downed the lukewarm tea in one gulp and stood up from his seat.
“Arian, I’ll be stepping out for a bit today.”
“Today too? Where are you going?”
“I have some business, so I think I need to take a trip to the Western Region.”
“If it’s the Western Region… is it the Astria Dukedom?”
The Astria Dukedom was a land located in the western part of the empire. That would also be the west if one called it the west, but it wasn’t where Franz was heading.
Shaking his head, Franz said.
“Raham Kingdom.”
“Raham King… Wait, what?”
“Not the western part of the empire, I’m taking a trip to the Western Continent.”
The Raham Kingdom was a large country located in the western part of the continent.
Since Franz suddenly said he was leaving the empire and going to another country, Arian’s surprise was a natural reaction.
Gulp-.
Arian downed her tea in one breath as if to calm her surprised heart. And then she asked in a teasing voice.
“You’re going for work, right?”
“Huh? Of course I am.”
“Well, it’s not like you have another woman hidden away or something, right?”
It would have been a little more comfortable if it were something like that instead.
Franz inwardly swallowed those words and said.
“Of course not. What do you take me for?”
“Who knows? Anyway, if that’s the case, then fine. Have a safe trip.”
Franz felt that Arian’s reaction was strangely displeased, but he brushed it off, thinking it was just his imagination.
Afterwards, Franz left the Magic Tower, seen off by Arian.
Using teleport right away, the place he arrived at was not the Raham Kingdom in the Western Continent, but in front of the Saint Seraphia Cathedral.
It was because he had something he wanted to ask Yusti-ah before going to find the sealed armaments.
“There are still a lot of people today too.”
As expected of the largest religion on the continent. There were quite a lot of people inside and outside the cathedral. For Franz, who disliked crowded places, it was to the point where he wanted to avoid it.
Overcoming his displeasure and somehow making his way inside, he saw Yusti-ah, who was working today as well.
Her appearance, quietly closing her eyes and reading verses from the scripture in front of the followers, was truly the epitome of a pure and noble saintess.
Thinking about how she had been talking about having children until recently, a laugh escaped him for no reason.
Of course, the followers wouldn’t know anything, and they wouldn’t know either in the future.
How long will this take?
It was when Franz was thinking that and looking at his watch.
[Oh my, what brings you to the cathedral?]
A feeling of a voice entering straight into his head without passing through his ears.
At the voice that he had definitely heard somewhere before, Franz traced back his memories, and it wasn’t long before he realized its owner.
“Goddess…?”
[Wow-, you remembered me. I’m a little happy?]
It wasn’t a memory from that long ago, so recalling it wasn’t very difficult.
But apart from that, there was a question.
“Is it okay for me to hear your voice…?”
If it’s a man who can hear God’s voice, that’s a saint.