Chapter 93
Franz had definitely intended to leisurely sightsee around the village.
He would eat food sold at street stalls if any were available, and look at fascinating items if he found any.
He was hoping for nothing more than that, as anyone else would on a trip.
However, being ordinary was surprisingly difficult.
“Magic Tower master, how is this? Wouldn’t it look pretty if you decorated the Magic Tower Lord’s Office with it?”
Arian asked, holding a bizarre-looking ornament in her hand.
But it didn’t really appeal to Franz.
He was grateful for the effort she put into picking it out, but the ornament’s appearance was far too grotesque for him to appreciate.
He even wondered if it was some divine being worshipped in the North.
However, beside Arian stood someone holding an equally bizarre-looking ornament.
“If you’re going to decorate, isn’t this one better?”
Yusti-ah spoke with a heavy tone, as if competing with Arian.
But it was all the same, as it didn’t appeal to Franz either.
This one’s appearance was also grotesque, after all.
They say everyone has a different aesthetic sense, so he couldn’t say much, but at least he didn’t want to place it in the Magic Tower Lord’s Office.
If there was a problem, it was that both of them thought their own ornament was the most magnificent.
Hearing Yusti-ah’s words, Arian snapped back.
“Hmph-, you lack aesthetic sense.”
“Excuse me? Arian, are you in a position to say such a thing? What in the world is that? Looking at its twisted shape, if I were to give it a title, it would be something like the Twisted Demonic Beast of the Netherworld.”
“Hah? Then is the one you picked the Twisted Dead tree of the Netherworld?!”
The Twisted Demonic Beast and Dead tree of the Netherworld…
If nothing else, they seemed to have named the artworks perfectly.
Anyway, why they were criticizing each other’s choices after picking out similar things was truly a mystery.
Their bickering and criticism of the ornaments continued for a while.
Suddenly, Arian and Yusti-ah’s gazes turned toward Franz.
“Then let’s ask the Magic Tower master.”
“Sure. Let’s do that.”
Suddenly?
…Or so he would say, but from the moment they came to him with the ornaments, it was practically destined to end up like this.
Haa-.
Franz let out a short sigh and gave them his answer.
“I don’t like either of them. Stop fighting.”
He was thankful that they had put thought into picking out the ornaments for him.
He couldn’t deny their intentions, after all.
But that was exactly where it ended.
Rather than receiving a gift he didn’t even like and shoving it in the corner of his room, it was better to speak honestly.
“R-Right, the Magic Tower master wasn’t the type to like these kinds of things.”
“T-That’s right. Franz is far from liking ornaments like this.”
Was being rejected hurtful?
The two turned around, looking flustered.
He felt a bit sorry for them, but it couldn’t be helped.
If he had said he liked them, they definitely would have tried to buy them.
Franz was thinking that and watching the backs of the two women walking away.
Yuna approached, tilting her head.
“What’s up? Why are they drooping so much?”
“They brought weird ornaments and asked whose pick was better.”
“And? What did you say?”
“I said they were both not great?”
“I-I see?”
Yuna said that and hid her hand behind her back, swish-.
What’s more, her expression was full of panic, so it seemed something was definitely up.
“Then, I’ll go look around a bit more. There are a lot of fascinating things.”
But Yuna hurriedly left the spot before Franz could even ask anything.
Staring blankly at her retreating figure, Franz suddenly noticed the small ornament she had been holding in her hand.
A wooden ornament in the shape of a woman holding a sword.
And that ornament looked very much like Yuna from her Hero’s Party days. To the point where one might wonder if it was made with Yuna in mind.
Could it be that Yuna wanted to show him an ornament that looked like her?
If so, he might feel a bit sorry. He had needlessly crushed her spirit because of what happened with Yusti-ah and Arian.
But asking to see it now would be ridiculous, so Franz simply dwelled on his regret in silence.
“That one would have been fine to keep in my room.”
Hero, mage, archer, saintess.
He thought it would look pretty decent if he placed the ornaments of the four of them side by side in his room like that.
It wasn’t exactly a memory of the Hero’s Party… but it would still be something worth commemorating.
He should look for a craftsman and place an order later.
Whether Franz thought that or not, Hera was simply completely absorbed in looking at collars.
“Mmm, this one is a bit prettier. Franz, what are your thoughts?”
Looking at the collar she held out, Franz nodded slightly.
“Yeah, sure. It’s nice.”
“As expected, you think so too. It was worth coming all the way from the Western Region to the North.”
To think she would have such thoughts looking at a collar.
'Well, I suppose it’s possible.'
Franz stopped thinking about it.
Since it was better to just accept the things he couldn’t understand.
After spending a moderate amount of time inside the shop like that, Franz’s group headed outside without much to show for it.
Hera was the only one who purchased a collar, but no matter how Franz thought about it, that wasn’t a gain, so he didn’t count it.
Eventually, they were walking down the street, chatting leisurely.
“Hm? Don’t you smell something delicious?”
Suddenly, Yuna sniffed, then spoke with sparkling eyes.
It seemed the hero’s amazing sense of smell had caught onto something.
“Then let’s go.”
Franz wasn’t particularly hungry, but his appetite was stimulated.
When it came to sightseeing, visiting the local famous eateries could also be part of the fun.
Of course, the Northern food they had been served at the mansion was all delicious, but this was a separate matter.
“Let’s go-!”
Encouraged by Franz’s words, Yuna took the lead and started heading toward the source of the smell.
Since she loved eating anyway, her steps looked more excited than ever.
However, there was one problem: Yuna didn’t know the exact location of the smell’s source either.
It wasn’t like she could turn on a map app like in the modern 21st century, and since she was following it relying solely on her sense of smell, that was only natural.
“A-Are you sure this is the right way…?”
As Yuna entered a narrow alley, Arian voiced her doubt, looking anxious.
Franz was familiar with that feeling.
It was something that happened often during their Hero’s Party days, after all.
However,
“It’s probably right? Even though she looks like that, she finds her way well.”
Even back then, Yuna roman had never been wrong, not even once.
Although she might have taken a roundabout way, she always arrived at their destination.
Finding the way using only her sense of smell could be said to be like a puppy’s.
And sure enough, that trust did not betray him.
As soon as they exited the alley, an appetizing smell began to waft over, and soon Yuna pointed her finger somewhere and spoke.
“It’s here-!”
As he followed the direction she pointed, there was a street stall.
Compared to modern times, it was a place that gave off the strong vibe of a popular street food stall.
“Did you really smell this and come all the way from there…?”
When a street stall actually appeared, Arian asked in bewilderment.
It seemed she had been doubting Yuna’s abilities.
Well, they had walked quite a long distance, so it was a natural reaction.
In fact, Franz had also been quite surprised at first.
Usually, when you think of a hero, you just think of a strong person; you don’t expect them to have a good sense of smell too.
But even that was bound to become familiar after experiencing it several times, so he could say he had become somewhat numb to it now.
Of course, it was still fascinating all the same.
Soon, Franz followed Yuna and arrived at the street stall.
When Franz took a peek inside, it seemed they were selling skewered and grilled meat, like chicken skewers.
“Oh my, some noble folks have arrived. What can I get for you?”
“Five, please.”
When Franz ordered, the stall owner immediately started cooking.
He didn’t know if it was okay to consider this cooking, but anyway, he did.
Meanwhile, the owner, who was busily moving his hands, suddenly spoke.
“You must be happy, young master. You have four pretty ladies with you, after all.”
“Haha, I suppose so.”
Franz, who was completely unaccustomed to this kind of conversation, just gave a noncommittal reply.
However, after he heard the question, it was natural to think about it at least once.
'I don’t really have any particular thoughts about it.'
He knew they were pretty, to the point where there was nothing to criticize about their appearances.
But if he were asked whether that made him happy, it wasn’t exactly the case.
It wasn’t like he benefited from them being pretty, after all.
However, the four women, unaware of Franz’s inner thoughts, ended up attaching meaning to his casually tossed-out answer.
What else could his saying he was happy because they were pretty mean?
Wasn’t it any different from complimenting them on being pretty?
With a single assist from the street stall owner, the four women blushed simultaneously.
“Here you go.”
“Thank you.”
Franz paid for them and received the 5 skewers.
And as he was about to hand them out one by one to everyone, he noticed everyone’s reaction was subtly strange.
“What in the world is wrong with them…?”
Franz was simply confused by the situation.