Chapter 131
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“I only did what I had to do.”
Franz handed the bandits over to the guards of a nearby city.
But as it turned out, there was a bounty on their heads.
He had thought they were just a ragtag group, but it seemed they had been quite a headache for the nearby villages.
He wasn’t exactly strapped for cash, so he hadn’t intended to accept the bounty, but…
“I should give it as a donation.”
He accepted it, remembering how the Clerics in the west were suffering due to the plague.
Of course, it was nowhere near enough to compensate for their labor, but wasn’t it human nature to find renewed strength when there was a reward?
This would surely give them a bit of strength as well.
Having finished all his tasks, Franz used spatial magic with a crisp snap.
Although it took a little longer than he had promised, he figured Yusti-ah would at least understand this much.
After all, it wasn’t like he had been out playing around.
However, when he actually faced her, Yusti-ah’s expression didn’t look so good.
“You’re here.”
“The thing is, I went to pick up the Clerics, but then some bandits just happened to…”
“I have already heard the story, so I know.”
If she heard the story, why was her expression like that?
Did something bad happen on this end?
Franz, who had been continuing his deductions, soon decided to stop.
If it were Yusti-ah, she wouldn’t hide her feelings and would just say them out loud.
Even now, her expression was just a little off, but wasn’t she speaking kindly? There was surely some personal matter she couldn’t talk about.
And prying into such personal matters was not the right thing to do.
“You said we were going to the next village, right? Let’s hurry and go.”
“Hold on, let me just hand this over.”
Franz headed toward Dran, with whom he had already exchanged names.
He could have just grabbed any nearby cleric and handed them over, but you never knew with people.
If he just handed over a wad of cash, they might pocket it.
“Brother Dran.”
As expected, it was a title he couldn’t get used to no matter how many times he said it.
Well, he’d have to get used to it eventually.
“Ah, saint.”
Dran, who had been treating a patient, stood up and wiped the sweat away with the back of his hand.
If it were someone as devout as he, there was no way he would pocket the money.
Franz took out a small pouch from the bag at his waist and held it out.
Receiving the coin pouch, he checked its contents and his eyes widened.
“W-Why are you giving this to me?”
“It’s not a large amount, but please use it for a good cause.”
“To receive money from the saint…? I cannot accept this…!”
He shook his head from side to side and tried to return the coin pouch.
It seemed being too devout was also a problem…
Well, it was still much better than being too wicked.
“It is better for everyone to live a slightly better life than for me to fill my own pockets. So please, accept it.”
In truth, he had just phrased it nicely; the meaning hadn’t really changed.
But did those words strike a chord?
Dran gripped the coin pouch with both hands, looking as if he might burst into tears at any moment.
“I am already grateful enough that you transported the other brothers for us, but to give us money as well… I, Dran, will live my life giving everything to others, just like you, saint.”
Was it really something to be that moved by…?
Franz had that question, but he didn’t bother voicing it.
He might have his own circumstances, and more than anything, Franz didn’t want to ruin the mood for no reason.
Anyway, with his business here concluded, all that was left was to move to the next city.
Thus, Franz returned to Yusti-ah’s side.
But as it turned out, she was kneeling on the floor, offering a prayer.
An incantation flowed from her lips as she kept her eyes closed, and a divine golden aura slowly emanated from her body.
‘It looks like she’s going to do something before we leave.’
Anyway, even though she always complained about hating being the saintess, she suited the role of saintess better than anyone else.
That must be why the followers sincerely followed her.
He felt like he could finally understand a little bit why the Goddess had made this choice.
At that moment, the incantation flowing from Yusti-ah’s lips stopped.
At the same time, the golden divine power emanating from her body spread widely out into the world.
A golden aurora rose in the sky, and he felt his body become a little lighter. Everyone here probably felt something similar.
It was truly nothing short of a miracle.
“Let’s get going now.”
Yusti-ah said that as she stood up.
But had she overexerted herself a bit by using a miracle?
Or perhaps she simply felt dizzy.
She lost her balance for a moment and stumbled.
Franz grabbed her shoulders and supported her.
“Be careful.”
“I never thought the day would come when I’d hear those words from you.”
“Anyway, if it were not for that mouth of yours…”
Franz let out a short sigh and snapped his fingers.
snap-.
With a crisp sound, the dirt and dust on the hem of Yusti-ah’s skirt completely vanished.
“Hmm. I’ll let you off the hook for being late because of this.”
“It’s not a matter of letting me off the hook; I couldn’t help it…”
“Yes, yes, I’m sure. Anyway, let’s just hurry and go to the next city.”
Yusti-ah said that and smiled playfully.
Of course, Franz was displeased with her reaction, but…
“Well, whatever works.”
He decided not to care about it.
If the villainess who was supposed to lead the world to ruin was smiling, then it was a good world.
snap-.
Once again, a crisp sound rang out, and a magic circle was drawn on the floor.
Soon, the magic circle began to glow, and the figures of the saint and saintess vanished without a trace.
After that, the two repeated the same actions.
They visited nearby villages and cities, resolving the plague.
Unfortunately, the donation he gave to Dran was the only one, but since it was a donation in the first place, no one would say anything about it.
Anyway, they wouldn’t even know he had given a donation to begin with.
Still, it was somewhat fortunate that the damage wasn’t too severe, except for the city where Dran was.
Thanks to that, it seemed they could manage to resolve it with just potions and Clerics, even without receiving support.
Just how many cities had they burned the bugs like that in?
“I will handle that, so please do not worry. Brothers, I ask that you only focus on treating the patients.”
Franz, without fail, explained the cause of the plague to the Clerics once again before setting out to resolve it in earnest.
Since it was a small city on the outskirts of the Western Region, there wouldn’t be that many people. There probably wouldn’t be any major issues, just like the villages they had passed through earlier.
snap-.
With a crisp sound, Franz’s mana spread out like ripples in a puddle.
One bug, two, three, four…
The mana detected the bugs and transported them in front of Franz.
It was then that a problem occurred.
“What the hell is that…?”
His mana captured a bizarre human.
If there were two or three bugs, it was at a level he could somewhat understand.
But this one wasn’t just at that level. It was as if its entire body was made of bugs.
Franz tried to transport those bugs in front of him, but his magic didn’t work, as if it were blocked by some bizarre power.
It seemed he had no choice but to check it with his own eyes.
“Now, the disposal of the bugs is finished, so brothers, please keep up the good work.”
Franz burned all the bugs in the city, except for the ones on that single individual.
The bugs turned into black ash in the blue flames.
Turning his gaze away from that, he soon approached Yusti-ah, who was hard at work treating patients.
“Yusti-ah.”
“What is it? I’m busy, so just say it.”
“I’m going to step away for a moment.”
“Don’t tell me you’re…”
Yusti-ah spat out her words in an annoyed tone and looked at Franz.
But she blinked a few times and turned her head back to the patient.
“…You haven’t forgotten the promise you made earlier, right?”
“What promise?”
“…The one about not overdoing it.”
Ah, that one.
Of course, he wanted to keep the promise if possible.
Because there was no human in the world who wanted to overdo things.
But if a situation arose where he had to overdo it.
‘Then I’ll have no choice but to do it.’
As he always had.
He would do the best he could from his position.
Even if it meant overdoing it.
Of course, Franz never voiced such thoughts.
“Yeah, I’ll do that.”
“As long as you know. Have a safe trip.”
With Yusti-ah’s farewell, Franz snapped his fingers.
The place he arrived at soon was none other than a path leading out of the city.
The one full of bugs and the one with bizarre magic power were there.
Blocking their path, Franz spoke.
“Let’s talk for a moment.”
The two were dressed in servant attire. It was a standard servant’s outfit with a long skirt and a headband.
The girl without bugs, the one with the bizarre magic power, spoke.
“Hmm, it’s a familiar face. Right? Zeni-ah.”
This time, the girl with the bugs tilted her head and spoke.
“Hmm, I suppose so? Seri-ah.”
A familiar face…
It was needlessly unpleasant that the Clerics didn’t know him, but these two did.
Soon, the two girls seemed to ponder something, then spoke at the same time.
“Let’s kill him.”
“Let’s kill him.”
Well, that’s quite bloodthirsty.
Of course, he had no intention of dying for them.