Chapter 183
Franz faced the barbarians.
However, there were so many of them that it felt like they were swarming.
It definitely hadn’t seemed like this many when they first met.
“There’s a bit more of you now?”
“We met on the way!”
“How many times do I have to tell you that you’re being too loud…”
Whether they wanted to show off their greatness or not, it felt like their voices had grown louder in proportion to their increased numbers. It was loud enough to cause ringing in the ears if one wasn’t careful.
“Anyway, seeing as they met on the way, does that mean the others were heading this way too?”
He knew how they had found their way here. The massive size of behemoth was visible from across Roman to the naked eye.
But there was one thing he couldn’t understand to save his life.
“Why did you come?”
The barbarians who faced behemoth had clearly used the expression 'god'.
That meant it was safe to assume they had some idea of the power behemoth possessed.
A normal person would have desperately tried to run away, but these guys came running towards it instead, which was simply baffling.
Hearing Franz’s question, Garu Pa opened his mouth without a hint of hesitation.
“We came to fight.”
“It’s obvious you can’t win.”
“Shaman, I will ask you one thing in return. Must a fight that cannot be won always be avoided? Is that how you have lived until now?”
Franz couldn’t easily give an answer to his question.
It was because the memories of those days when he had tried to save the world, prepared to die, flickered before his eyes.
In the end, everyone had a moment they didn’t want to give up on, even if it meant giving up their lives. For them, that moment was now.
Having organized his thoughts like that, Franz let out a chuckle, pfft-.
“That’s two questions. You said you’d only ask one.”
“Did I? Then just answer one of them.”
“Forget it. I know what you mean.”
“Now you’re acting like a warrior! You are a warrior, Shaman!”
Pick one, a warrior or a shaman…
Anyway, even if they were a bit foolish, they were guys he couldn’t hate.
Maybe it was because they had the exact opposite disposition of Mages.
Unlike those cold and calculating guys, these ones had hot heads and hot hearts.
'Should I tell the Mages it’s a training retreat and bring them here?'
He figured that if they stayed for exactly a week, no more and no less, they might be influenced to some extent.
It was then.
“All comrades, be quiet!”
A booming voice rang out from the group of barbarians.
Soon, someone stepped out of the group and approached Franz.
He was a man with a large scar over one eye and a much larger build than the other barbarians.
Furthermore, his attire was quite luxurious for a barbarian, making it easy to tell that he was the representative of the group.
“Though it is a glory of the past, I am Gro Man, who was the Leader of the Tribal Alliance. Shaman, what is your name?”
“It’s Franz Gilbert Esteban.”
“L-Long.”
“Just call me Franz. It’s not like I have a long name, nor is it because I particularly like one.”
“Good. Franz, I promise you as the Leader of the Tribal Alliance right here. From today on, you and your companions are the great heroes of the Roman Continent. Bards will sing of your tales, and warriors will inherit your will.”
This is driving me crazy…
He felt sorry for Gro Man, but that thought came to him naturally.
Being called the hero who subjugated the Demon Lord was already uncomfortable, but now the entirety of Roman was going to praise him as a great hero.
However…
“I am sorry we could not be of help in the battle. And thank you for saving our comrades and the continent.”
It was always nice to have someone recognize your efforts.
“It’s fine. It was something I was going to do anyway.”
“As expected, a great hero’s heart is as vast as the plains. But, if it were something you were going to do anyway, could I ask you for a favor regarding that too…?”
Gro Man pointed somewhere with his finger.
Franz followed the finger with his gaze and soon faced a giant pit.
“What do you want me to do with it?”
Franz readily accepted Gro Man’s request.
Praise makes even a stone move, and he was secretly feeling good.
“Could you perhaps fill it with water? The river was cut off when the pit formed, and at this rate, it will dry up in no time.”
Come to think of it, Garu Pa and Ru Deli had been about to go to war because they were both chased away from the vicinity of the river.
He didn’t even need to ask to know how great the significance of river water in Roman society was.
“That’s not difficult.”
Just as Franz, having answered coolly, was about to use magic.
Smack-.
Suddenly, leviathan smacked Franz on the back of his head with its tail.
[I will do it.]
“Go ahead then.”
Franz shrugged his shoulders and stepped back.
But when I thought about it carefully, wasn’t it annoying?
It could have just said it wanted to do it; there was no need to hit him.
Meanwhile, leviathan used magic.
A giant magic circle was drawn over the giant pit, and water began to pour down like a waterfall.
“What in the world…? Is this truly the subordinate of a great hero…?”
“It’s water…! Water…!”
Seeing leviathan’s magic, the barbarians each showed their reactions.
[Look up to me a little more! You foolish mortals!]
Leviathan was spinning around in the air, fully enjoying the joy.
“Anyway, what are these two doing…?”
Thinking that, Franz turned his head and immediately spotted Hera and Yuna.
“Oh my!, come this way.”
Snort-!
“Haha!, not that way.”
Snort-!
Hera and Yuna were playing bullfight with the shrunken behemoth.
They looked like they were having fun, so he didn’t particularly want to interfere, but seeing a calamity of the Mythical Era turned into a toy felt a bit pitiful.
When it was born, it must surely have shown off tremendous majesty as a servant of the Demon God.
While watching Hera and Yuna like that, Franz suddenly remembered a fact he had forgotten.
'Come to think of it, didn’t we come here to find the holy relic…?'
He had almost completely forgotten about it, which was a dizzying thought.
Franz immediately spread his magic power to the surroundings. Then, he felt the aura of the holy relic sleeping inside the giant, deep pit.
Swish-.
Upon his hand gesture, the holy relic slipped out of the pit and was soon grasped in Franz’s hand.
The axe blade, sparkling under the setting sun, was so radiant that the word brilliant wasn’t enough to describe it.
“It’s Gakuatos’s Axe Blade. Axe Blade.”
Gro Man muttered as he looked at the axe.
“Gakuatos?”
“That is a hero known to have opposed a god, and someone like an idol to us. But you are more than qualified to have it.”
“Then I will gratefully accept it.”
Of course, even if they hadn’t allowed it, he would have taken it somehow, not hesitating to use force if necessary.
But it was still better not to have unnecessary problems. So it was a fully satisfying result.
“Gro Man, we’ll be going now.”
“I am sorry I cannot treat you to anything because of this state. But my name is Gro Man.”
“Right, Gro Man.”
What’s the difference between that and that.
Thinking that, Franz turned his head.
“Yuna, Hera, let’s go back now.”
“Yeah, coming.”
“Understood.”
Yuna and Hera immediately moved to Franz’s side.
Behemoth was sleeping soundly in Yuna’s arms, making her wonder if it was really the same creature that had threatened their lives.
Well, the same went for leviathan.
Snap-.
As Franz snapped his fingers, a magic circle was drawn beneath their feet.
The great hero of the barbarians thus disappeared from the desolate land.
“I-It’s raining-!”
“It’s a gift from the Shaman!”
Right after he disappeared, rare rain began to fall from the sky.
The Roman land, freed from the calamity of the Mythical Era, would become fertile a little further in the future.
* * *
“Phew-.”
Returning to the Magic Tower, Franz let out a sigh and lay down on the sofa.
The aftermath of using 10th Circle Magic in the battle against behemoth still lingered, so his body was protesting, threatening to go on strike.
Even in the midst of that, his mind was perfectly fine, worrying about this and that.
'Behemoth won’t cause any trouble, right?'
For reference, Yuna had taken behemoth.
“I’ll take it. I think it’ll be fine if I let it loose in the yard and tell it to graze on grass.”
She had said that, so he had agreed for now, but he was worried whether the creature could really stay quiet.
If it were as smart as leviathan, it would have worried less, but its intelligence seemed to be exactly like a cow’s.
Well, if push comes to shove, Yuna would turn it into beef.
Having finished his thoughts, Franz raised his body. This was because he had something he needed to do right away.
'Once I unseal the axe blade, I’ll have gathered all the materials that damn hologram asked for.'
These are the 5 sealed armaments, the Red Witch’s Ring, and the World Tree Staff.
According to what was written on the hologram, the armament to oppose the Demon God would be completed.
His body was screaming at him to rest immediately, but he couldn’t hold back because he was curious about the result.
In the end, Franz was also a Mage to the bone.
'Alright, let’s begin.'
Franz immediately began to unseal the axe blade.
Having gone through the same process 4 times before, he acted swiftly and without any unnecessary movements.
Drip, drip… how much time had passed while he sweated?
Finally, the axe blade regained its brilliant past glory.
“W-Wait a minute, what is this…?”
The moment the axe blade was unsealed, the items written on the hologram began to emit light.
The staff and the 4 armaments he had put in his bag, the ring on his finger, and the axe blade were right in front of him.
Something was about to happen.