Chapter 31
Franz's eyes scanned the translucent display.
『Save the world from the villainesses who would lead it to ruin!
Hero Yuna (33.00%)
Saint Yustia (30.00%)
Elven Archer Hera (20.00%)
Failure will result in the world's destruction!』
When I first saw this, everything had been at zero percent, which felt truly hopeless, but somehow, by resolving various incidents, I had managed to get this far.
A sigh escaped me seeing that I hadn't even reached the halfway mark yet, but it was true that things were better than at the start.
Moreover, through this recent turning point, Yuna's percentage had drawn a miraculous graph, jumping a whole 33 percent at once.
At this rate, even after breaking the ceiling, it had climbed another 3 percent, so rescuing her family had clearly been a huge deal.
Along with her, Yustia's percentage had also climbed by 10 percent from this incident, truly killing two birds with one stone.
It was still a mystery what exactly these percentages indicated, but I had grasped the general idea.
'It goes up when I do good deeds.'
It had gone down when I argued with Yustia, and it went up when I did something helpful for everyone.
So, I figured I could continue solving things that way going forward.
Help out if there were difficulties, resolve problems when they arose.
...Or so I thought, but one ambiguous point remained.
'Why did Yustia's go up?'
That single question threw Franz's mind into confusion.
All I had done regarding Yustia was hastily drag her out while she was sleeping in her pajamas and make her do something dreadful.
But no matter how I thought about it, from her perspective, that couldn't possibly have been received well.
Hmm—.
I didn't get it.
I really didn't get it.
Just as Franz was pondering this.
"...Hey guys, is it okay if I take care of that guy myself?"
Yuna asked, wiping tears with the back of her hand.
Her eyes, however, were filled with rage.
It seemed she intended to take revenge for the kidnapping of her family and the subsequent blackmail.
'It's probably best not to say anything.'
Truthfully, I hadn't told Yuna what happened in the basement.
She would surely suffer if she knew her family had endured such things.
Of course, her family might tell her themselves someday, but the Yuna of that time would surely be able to endure it rationally.
So, let's not say anything for now.
It might mean hiding an important fact, but even if I earned her resentment later, it felt like the right thing to do.
"Do as you please."
As Franz said this, Yustia and Arian also nodded.
Yuna bowed her head deeply in gratitude and then walked towards Duke Ishtar.
As the darkish liquid spilled on the floor met Yuna's golden aura, pssshh-, white smoke rose.
The power of a Hero was inherently given to oppose demons.
If the seal hadn't been there in the first place, Duke Ishtar wouldn't have stood a chance against her.
"D-don't come closer! I-I'm sorry. Please, please just spare my life!"
"When I begged you to return my family, did you listen?"
"Th-that... I-I was completely wrong. M-my fortune, no, if you need it, I'll give you anything you want, so please just spare my life...!"
"Well, even if you didn't beg like that, I wasn't planning on killing you easily."
Yuna lifted her foot high and deliberately stepped on Duke Ishtar's hand.
As if extinguishing a cigarette butt dropped on the ground.
"Guh, Kuaaaargh-!"
With a scream, the Duke's hand turned into a flattened piece of flesh.
He couldn't even struggle.
Franz's seal was still effectively holding him.
Thwack-!
Yuna swung her foot, and the Duke's face snapped sideways as teeth flew out, clatter clatter-.
It seemed her statement about not killing him easily was true.
If she had wanted to, killing the Duke would have been simple.
It was a bit cruel, but considering Yuna's feelings, it was entirely understandable.
Harming someone precious often invoked more anger than being harmed oneself.
Franz, watching Yuna's revenge play out, quietly shifted his gaze.
In the social hall, nobles lay collapsed on the floor, twitching.
Duke Ishtar's plan had been thwarted, but that didn't mean the entire situation was resolved.
"Yustia."
"...Yes?"
When Franz called her, Yustia clutched the front of her coat.
She was worried her thin pajamas might be see-through.
Of course, Franz wasn't interested in the slightest.
"Is it possible to purify those people too?"
"You mean the people collapsed on the floor right now?"
Franz nodded.
Yustia furrowed her brow.
It seemed she was deep in thought.
Honestly, asking this of her felt apologetic.
Especially since I had seen with my own eyes how much she had suffered in the basement.
"I'll try my best as far as my strength allows, but it probably won't be easy. Even if their exposure to the demonic energy was short, they absorbed it directly into their bodies, and there are so many of them. And above all, my stamina is a bit..."
Stamina, huh...
If that was the case, I had just the thing for this situation.
Franz reached his hand into the air and pulled out a large glass bottle.
It was the Elixir he had previously distributed to the villagers.
The only difference from last time was that the grape flavor had changed to cherry.
"What is that?"
"An Elixir. Drink this and get some strength."
"N-No, an Elixir isn't some kind of energy drink?! Besides, why are you carrying something so precious?"
Yustia asked, her eyes wide with disbelief.
Franz simply found her reaction lukewarm.
'It doesn't have any use, though...?'
An Elixir was, ultimately, a potion.
And the place where such a potion would be used was naturally in battle.
But now that the Demon King had been subjugated, there wouldn't be any more battles.
Even if there were, if a 10th Circle Archmage needed to use an Elixir, wouldn't the world already be doomed?
Selling it wasn't an option either, as I didn't particularly need money.
I had the reward from subjugating the Demon King, and as a Tower Master, money was still accumulating in real-time.
Unless it was for luxuries like jewelry or ornaments, I had no place to spend money, so what good was having lots of it?
So, well, it felt wasteful to just give it away, but I had no particular use for it either, turning the Elixir into a completely white elephant.
Should I store it carefully and pass it down to future generations?
Then the next generation would probably tremble calling it an Elixir, store it carefully, and pass it down to their future generations.
It was better to just have Yustia drink it instead.
Elixirs were made for drinking, not decoration, right?
"Just drink it."
"N-No matter what, an Elixir..."
"There's no use for it other than situations like this anyway. One bottle is enough for research. Besides, it's not like you're using it for anything bad; you're using it to save people."
"Th-Then I understand."
In the end, Yustia gave in to Franz's persuasion.
She couldn't refuse the statement that it was being used to save people.
Yustia received the Elixir, opened the lid, and carefully took a drink.
Had she drunk about half?
She handed the Elixir back to Franz.
"Why?"
"I-I'm full...?"
"Really? Well, can't be helped then. More importantly, how's your body feeling?"
"I feel completely fine now. I think I can save everyone at this point."
Yustia said with conviction.
"Then I'm counting on you."
"Yes, I have to earn my keep after drinking the Elixir."
A small smile touched Yustia's lips as she knelt on the spot.
Soon, prayers began to flow from her mouth, and simultaneously, brilliant golden holy power spread throughout the entire social hall.
Under its influence, the condition of the nobles collapsed on the floor gradually improved.
Those who had merely been groaning and twitching began to stir, and as time passed, they started getting up one by one.
'It's warm.'
Franz felt anew how truly warm the Saint's holy power was.
Though he had felt the same way that day when he used 10th Circle magic.
Amidst all this, Yuna was still carrying out her revenge on Duke Ishtar.
Though no more screams were heard, whether he had lost consciousness or died.
Anyway,
'How should I report this incident?'
The death of a noble, especially a Duke, was not a matter that could be easily overlooked.
Regardless of guilt, the Emperor would surely summon me.
Franz, who detested troublesome matters, wanted to avoid it somehow.
The problem was that there were quite a few witnesses, making that impossible.
'I'll think about it later...'
Franz decided not to dwell on it deeply.
It would work out somehow, probably.
Time flowed by, and Yustia finally finished her work.
The nobles who had regained their senses thanked Yustia, as if by prior agreement.
Yustia's eyes wavered under the flood of greetings.
"Ah, no, thanks aren't really necessary, donations can be made to the nearby cathedral if possible, no, really, it's alright...!"
Franz let out a small chuckle at Yustia's flustered state.
"F-Franz, this isn't the time to laugh...! Help me...!"
Yustia requested help, and just as Franz reluctantly prepared to step in.
Suddenly, the murmuring nobles fell silent.
Yuna.
It was because Yuna had appeared, covered head to toe in blood.
As Yuna walked forward, the nobles parted to the left and right.
Just like the miracle of Moses.
"Yustia, thank you so much."
Yuna bowed her head in gratitude.
Yustia offered a gentle smile in return.
"I'm a Saint, after all. I merely did what was natural."
"Still, thank you."
With those words, Yuna finished her greeting to Yustia.
Then, she approached Franz.
In the silent social hall, Franz's and Yuna's eyes met.