Chapter 48
Drip-.
A drop of water fell from the blue Magic Circle.
Starting with that single drop, water poured down like a torrential rain, and naturally, Arian, who was beneath it, became thoroughly soaked.
The water on the floor could be dealt with by magic, so that was fine. But what about Arian?
Why was Arian doing that in the first place?
If she were casting magic at him, he could understand. Such things weren't uncommon in the Magic Tower. When tempers flared, a fistfight was certainly a possibility.
But he had never expected her to use magic on herself, so he was simply bewildered.
Uh, um, ah?
Franz's brain stopped processing. Rather than trying to understand her actions, he decided to just accept them.
*She must be really angry*, he thought.
In fact, even with this, she was quite normal among Mages. Most Mages were lunatics, after all. Last time, the Water Attribute Magic Association even created a *clone* of itself to demonstrate the inferiority of Fire Magic. So, well, if it's water and not fire, it's somewhat....
Just as Franz was rationalizing it this way, the stream of water flowing from the Magic Circle stopped, and at the same time, Arian swept her wet hair back and spoke.
“I’ll use the shower room too.”
“Oh? Uh, yeah, go ahead.”
Arian strode towards Franz's room, and just as she was about to open the firmly closed door.
Thud-.
Yuna opened the door from inside and came out, and Arian ended up hitting her head on the door. It was truly adding insult to injury, one misfortune after another, fanning the flames of a burning house. It was almost as if the whole world was conspiring to torment Arian.
“Oh, oh?! I’m so sorry…!”
Yuna, who belatedly noticed Arian, bowed her head in apology.
“Arian, are you okay…?”
Franz, who had been observing the situation, asked Arian very cautiously.
Arian didn't answer, just stood there stiffly for a moment, then slowly entered the room. The door closed behind her, and silence fell upon the Magic Tower Lord's Office.
After a brief silence, Yuna's voice broke the quiet.
“Fr-Franz, do you think your Secretary is very angry?”
“She is pretty angry… But don’t worry too much about it. I’ll handle it.”
“B-But this happened because of me…”
Yuna’s voice was quite dejected.
He understood why she thought that, but
“It’s not your fault, so don’t worry.”
Her only fault was giving Arian a small bump on the head. Even that was an accident, so it wasn't something to make a big deal out of.
The rest was all Franz’s problem. It was Franz who brought in the soaking wet Yuna, and it was Franz who failed to convince Arian. Of course, there was an element of unfairness in calling it his problem, but still.
Regardless, all he could do was wait until Arian came out. After a shower, she would probably be calmer, and they could talk things through.
“Yuna, let’s sit down for now.”
“Okay.”
The two sat facing each other on the sofa.
And while waiting for Arian, they began to talk.
“Franz, you saved my mom and sister before, didn’t you?”
“That’s right.”
“I want to repay you. Is there anything you need?”
“It’s fine. I just happened to be there, so I helped.”
It was literally just a coincidence. The reason he attended the Cult meeting was because Yustia had asked him to, not to help Yuna.
And even if he were to receive a reward, there was nothing in particular he wanted. He didn't need money or fame; he just wanted to live a carefree life somewhere.
, fishing by a quiet lake, peeling and eating fruit.
Just as Franz was picturing such a dreamlike future in his mind, the firmly closed door opened, and Arian emerged.
Arian’s hair was damp, and the clothes she borrowed from Franz were quite loose. She took confident strides, then sat down right next to Franz.
Thus, the three finally faced each other, and at the same time, a subtle tension began to fill the Magic Tower Lord's Office.
It was Arian who first broke the silence.
“I’m sorry about earlier. I think I wasn’t very rational.”
She bowed her head and apologized to Yuna.
Yuna, in turn, also bowed her head.
“I-I’m sorry too.”
“Then let’s just say nothing happened between us.”
“Yes, that sounds good.”
After a few exchanges, the tangled ball of yarn seemed to unravel. It happened so quickly that one might suspect the parties involved had conspired together.
He wished it had been like this from the start, but that was impossible, so he decided not to dwell on it. It was a relief that they reconciled now, at least.
Just then, Arian, having reconciled with Yuna, suddenly turned her gaze to Franz.
“Magic Tower Master.”
“Hm?”
“I wasn’t rational. I apologize.”
Arian bowed her head in apology.
“It’s fine. If you think about it, I didn’t do anything particularly well either.”
Whether he had actually done anything wrong was also a bit ambiguous, but he decided not to bring it up. Saying something like that in the current situation would only stir up unnecessary trouble.
So, was that the end of it?
He didn't know if Arian's misunderstanding was completely cleared up, but they had at least reconciled. So there was no longer any reason for this group to continue talking.
Just as Franz, thinking this, was about to conclude the situation, Arian suddenly spoke.
“Yuna-ssi, I have just one question.”
“Oh, yes. Please ask.”
“Why were you soaking wet when you arrived at the Magic Tower?”
Franz had also been wondering about that. There was no way she could have gotten that wet without falling into water.
If she had traveled from the Ishtar Dukedom all the way here by carriage, she couldn't have fallen into water, so it was impossible from the start.
At that, Yuna awkwardly scratched her head, as if it were an embarrassing story to tell.
“I was running here, tripped, and fell into the river.”
“The river? There shouldn’t be a river near the Magic Tower, should there?”
“You know that big river before you enter the City? I fell in there.”
Arian tilted her head, utterly unable to comprehend.
And Franz was no different. He understood what Yuna was saying, but he couldn't fathom *why* she had fallen in.
While Franz continued to ponder, *hmm*, Arian opened her mouth.
“So, the carriage dropped you off near the City, and you were rushing here, tripped, and fell into the river?”
“Huh? No, I didn’t take a carriage.”
At Yuna’s answer, Arian wore a blank expression. Her mind was probably filled with question marks then.
Unlike her, Franz roughly understood what Yuna meant.
The distance from the Ishtar Dukedom to the Magic Tower was several days by carriage. Logically, one wouldn't think of running that distance.
However, it was also true that with Yuna's physical abilities, she could arrive several times faster than a carriage.
Add to that Yuna's *act first, think later* mentality….
“You… you didn’t *run* here, did you?”
“Yeah, it’s faster.”
Franz raised a hand to his forehead.
*Who on earth runs that kind of distance?*
“So, you’re saying you ran all the way here from the Ishtar Dukedom?”
Despite hearing Yuna’s answer, Arian still wore an expression of utter bewilderment. From the perspective of a normal person, it was utterly incomprehensible to run that distance just because she had something to discuss.
*Someone who runs from Busan to Seoul just to have a meal with a friend,* Yuna is exactly like that right now.
“Yes, I left after dinner last night.”
“Ah, all night, running to the Magic Tower…”
Arian muttered to herself, then abruptly stood up.
“Magic Tower Master, I’ll be returning to the Secretary’s Office now.”
With those words, she exited the Magic Tower Lord's Office. It seemed she had experienced too much confusion in a short time and chose to flee. Or perhaps she was embarrassed about her earlier petulance.
Anyway.
Although various things had happened, he was now alone with Yuna. Now, it was probably time to ask why she had come.
“Yuna, didn’t you say you had something to ask me earlier?”
“Oh, right. I almost forgot. It’s nothing big, but I’ve always said I wanted to live in a big house, remember?”
“You did. You said you’d live in a big house with your family. You’d farm, have a pond at home, and raise chickens.”
“D-Did I really say all that…?”
Yuna chuckled, looking embarrassed.
“Ah, anyway, you know? It’s a little embarrassing, but I only grew up in the countryside, so I don’t know much about things like that. So I was thinking of asking you for help.”
Franz let out a sigh of relief. It didn't seem to be a big deal, unlike what he had expected.
“I’ll help you. It’s not that difficult.”
Finding a house was a simple matter. He just needed to go to someone selling a house, check the market price, and buy it. *Anyone who tries to scam a Magic Tower Master and a Hero must want to die*, he thought.
At Franz’s words, Yuna smiled brightly.
“Franz, thank you so much. I’ll repay you somehow later!”
Repay, huh….
The thought of repayment inexplicably brought Hera to mind.
*Surely Yuna wouldn't offer to become a slave too, would she? Hmm, she has a family, so she definitely would.*
At that moment, a forgotten fact resurfaced in Franz’s mind.
“Yuna, can I ask you one thing?”
“Yeah, ask anything.”
“*When the sun rises in the Ishtar Dukedom, the sleeping dragon awakens.* Do you know this saying?”
“A dragon in the Ishtar Dukedom…? If what I’m thinking is correct, I might know it?”
Eureka.
Franz exclaimed that inwardly.