Chapter 91
What on earth was she talking about?
They had definitely been talking about the sealed armaments, so he had no idea how that came up.
Even if one were to concede a hundred, nay, a thousand times, they could have been talking about different things.
Misunderstandings could happen at any time. And it would be fine to just correct them.
But apart from that, Yustia’s words were something he absolutely could not just gloss over.
Making a baby?
This was beyond just talking nonsense out of nowhere; it was on the level of receiving a sudden, inexplicable blow.
So there was no way Franz could react normally.
His mind had completely seized up from Yustia’s flying sidekick.
Of course, Yustia, who had no way of knowing Franz’s feelings, simply continued speaking.
“Are you feeling the seriousness of the situation now? Of course, I’m not saying I’m going to make a baby with you, but life is precious, isn’t it?”
Right, just as she said, life was precious.
And among those, one’s own child would probably be the most precious.
But the thing was.
“Sorry, this is the first time I’m hearing about this.”
There was no reason for him to hear such a thing in the first place.
“…Pardon?”
Yustia blinked her eyes as if pondering, then soon tilted her head and asked back.
To that, Franz calmly explained once more.
“You and I were talking about different things. And this is the first time I’m hearing what you just said.”
“Then what were you talking about…?”
“The Goddess asked me to gather the sealed armaments. She said it would be a disaster if they fell into the hands of the Demon God.”
“Then the part about how you’re the only one who can do it…”
“Yeah, that was also about the armaments. It seems the level of the seal is so high that no one but me can break it.”
As the conversation went back and forth, the misaligned gears began to interlock and turn.
Realizing the truth, Yustia’s pupils shook violently as if an earthquake had struck.
It would have been an embarrassing situation even if it were an ordinary topic, but what she had brought up was something incredibly awkward like making a baby.
And naturally, Franz wasn’t perfectly fine either.
Usually, an awkward story was bound to make both the speaker and the listener embarrassed.
It might be different for a little kid who believed babies were brought by storks, but an adult who knew everything there was to know couldn’t help but be flustered.
“…Forget it.”
“Isn’t it a bit much to tell me to forget it after you’re the one who said it?”
“If I say forget it, forget it!”
Yustia raised her voice and lifted her fist.
A radiant golden light was gathered in her fist, so while he didn’t know exactly what it was, it would probably amount to a knuckle-rap of penance.
But Franz wasn’t one to just take it.
He immediately reached out and grabbed Yustia’s wrist.
There was no reason to repent in the first place.
That was something only sinners did, and he was just feeling wronged here.
“Let’s calm down and talk for a bit. I’m just as confused as you are.”
Fortunately, Franz’s persuasion seemed to work, as the strength drained from Yustia’s hand went limp.
Soon, letting out a long sigh, she opened her mouth.
“…Last night while I was offering a prayer, I suddenly heard the Goddess’s voice. And she said she met you. I asked what she met you for, but she only told me to hear it from you.”
Was there really a reason to offer a prayer to the Goddess when they weren’t even in the Cathedral…?
As expected, despite everything, Yustia was fulfilling her role as the Saintess more faithfully than anyone else.
“After that, she suddenly changed the subject to another story, saying she had a conversation with the World Tree.”
“The Goddess and the World Tree? What did they talk about?”
“That’s…”
Yustia trailed off and avoided Franz’s gaze.
Because she couldn’t bring herself to say that they had fought between Hera and herself over who was Franz’s wife.
She felt pointlessly wronged, wondering why she had to feel embarrassed over a conversation between two foolish gods.
“A-anyway! The main point is this. The World Tree and the Goddess made a bet. About who would have your child first between me and Hera.”
“I see.”
Having learned the inside story of the misunderstanding, Franz nodded.
Hearing the story, it wasn’t strange for Yustia to have misunderstood.
Having heard such a story, naturally her attention would have been entirely focused on that.
That aside, why on earth did the gods make such a bet?
If he had that kind of relationship with both Hera and Yustia, he might understand.
If they were already married or in love, they could certainly consider having a child.
But he was just close friends with the two of them, and he had sufficiently explained to the World Tree and the Goddess that they weren’t in that kind of relationship, so he was only puzzled.
Soon, having finished his thoughts, Franz spoke.
“Let’s just pretend it never happened and move on.”
Omnipotent gods had made a bet among themselves, so what could a mere human do?
The most he could do was complain, so quietly moving on would be the wisest method.
“Yes, of course we should.”
Since Yustia also showed an agreeable attitude, he naturally thought the conversation would end here.
But surprisingly, it didn’t.
The cause was her saying something suddenly out of the blue.
“But you know. What were you planning to do if I said I wanted to make a baby…?”
“What…?”
“I-I’m saying what if! What if!”
Yustia raised her voice and added urgently to her words, but that didn’t completely change the meaning.
Naturally, Franz fell into confusion.
Because it was far too out of the blue.
It was even more so because Yustia, who had been denying the gods' bet, was the one who said it.
'A baby with Yustia…'
He couldn’t even bring himself to imagine the scene.
It was a given, since he had never seen Yustia as a woman in the first place.
“That’s enough of that now, so what did you say earlier? Sealed armaments? Tell me about that.”
When no answer returned from Franz, Yustia hastily changed the subject.
In truth, she herself didn’t really know why she had blurted out such a thing.
It had just popped into her head out of nowhere, and she had naturally voiced it.
“The thing is…”
Franz immediately began to explain the conversation he had shared with the Goddess.
He had been feeling confused as it was, so he was saved by Yustia changing the subject first.
And there were eyes watching the two of them as they began to converse in earnest…
* * *
It was a little before Franz and Yustia raised their voices.
Right after finishing her meal, Yuna began to wander around the mansion.
It wasn’t a particularly meaningful action; it was just to soothe her boredom.
Hera had gone out saying she had some business for a moment, she wasn’t very close with Arian, and Franz and Yustia had slipped away somewhere just the two of them, so there was no one to play with her.
Still, it was an enjoyable time in its own way.
She also had short conversations with the servants who came to greet her and thank her for saving the world.
Then, at a certain moment.
Far away at the end of the corridor, in a secluded spot, Franz and Yustia could be seen.
Yuna, who had been bored anyway, tried to approach the two of them immediately.
However, she ended up being pulled away by a hand that popped out from somewhere along the way.
The person who pulled Yuna was none other than Arian.
Arian raised her index finger to her lips, making a gesture to be quiet.
At that, Yuna spoke in a very low voice, as if whispering.
“Arian, why?”
“You were going to the Magic Tower Lord, right?”
“Yeah, because I’m bored. I was thinking of asking him to go to the village together?”
“This isn’t the time for that. Doesn’t something seem strange? The Saintess and the Magic Tower Lord having a conversation alone in a secluded place like this.”
Couldn’t they do at least that much?
Since everyone had stories they didn’t want others to hear.
Yuna thought so, but decided to play along with Arian for now.
Since she was going to soothe her boredom anyway, it didn’t really matter which way she did it.
Soon, Arian and Yuna peeked their heads out from beyond the corner of the corridor.
It was to observe the actions of the two.
However, unlike the amused Yuna, Arian was in a considerably uncomfortable state, to the point of biting her fingernails.
“Yuna.”
“H-huh?”
Since it was the first time Arian had called her so familiarly, Yuna answered with a flustered voice.
“Can you happen to hear what those two are talking about?”
“Well? It’s a bit far…”
Yuna and Arian were quite far away from the two over there.
To the point where they wouldn’t be able to hear unless the two were shouting quite loudly.
But who was Yuna?
Wasn’t she the Hero who had subjugated the Demon Lord and saved the world?
There was no such thing as impossible for the body of a Hero.
As Yuna focused and listened closely, the voices from over there began to be heard faintly.
“I can’t hear it perfectly, but I can hear it for now?”
“I-is that so? Then please listen and tell me.”
“Yeah, hold on a second…”
Yuna once again focused on the sounds coming from over there.
And she began to recite exactly what she heard.
“Hera… about who will have your child first between me and her…”
“W-what does that…?”
“Wait, there’s more. Precious child… they made a bet, a bet?”
At Yuna’s words, Arian became dazed.
Although it wasn’t a complete sentence, putting it together meant that they had made a bet on who between the elf and the Saintess would conceive Franz’s child first.
It was something completely incomprehensible, but let’s say she could understand up to the point of making a bet, even if she conceded a hundred times.
But what on earth was she thinking, telling that directly to the person involved?
Did a woman, and a Saintess at that, have no sense of shame?
'Could it be…?'
If she had directly asked Franz to make a baby with her, she had to stop it no matter what.
Because at the very least, the first child had to be her own, and no one else’s.
Arian admitted to herself that she had been acting half-heartedly, and made up her mind to step forward a bit more boldly.
And it was the same for Yuna.
She hadn’t been paying much attention until now, but seeing others make their move first, she began to feel anxious.
The problem was that the person involved, Franz, knew absolutely nothing.