Chapter 106
“Wait a minute. Is it okay for the saintess of the Goddess Church to attend a banquet putting such personal feelings first?!”
Arian opened her eyes wide and glared at Yusti-ah. She didn’t explicitly say it out loud, but it seemed she was displeased with Yusti-ah attending the banquet.
However, Yusti-ah was not one to just sit and listen to that.
“Personal feelings? Even from the standpoint of the Goddess Church, it is a big deal for the saint to attend a banquet, you know?”
“Goddess Church my foot, you’re obviously just coming to seduce the Magic Tower master!”
“S-seduce? How could you say such a vulgar thing?!”
Yusti-ah also opened her eyes wide and glared at Arian. She seemed relaxed at first, but it appeared she could no longer hold back.
Between the two who looked like they would grab each other by the hair and fight at any moment, Franz was merely sipping his tea.
He wanted to stop them, but it was hard to know where to intervene. If the timing was wrong, it might feel like he was taking someone’s side.
“Are you done talking?!”
“Are you the one who’s done talking, saintess?!”
Eventually, with their emotions running high, the two jumped up from their seats. It was a truly volatile situation.
However, the two did not continue their fight.
Clack-.
It was because Franz set his teacup down with a clatter.
The gazes of the two who had been glaring at each other turned in unison to Franz.
“Why don’t you sit down first?”
Franz said that and let out a long sigh.
He could understand them arguing to a certain extent, but anything beyond that was absolutely unacceptable. Throwing punches was already a matter unrelated to logic.
It was the same principle as how debates were allowed in the Magic Tower, but using physical force was forbidden. The moment physical force was involved, even the right words could be ignored.
Fortunately, as if they understood Franz’s feelings, the two sat down, though their expressions were still full of petulance.
Silence flowed in the Magic Tower master’s office for a moment, and soon the first to open her mouth was Yusti-ah.
“Who exactly knows that the banquet is being held tomorrow?”
“Among the Hero’s Party, everyone except Hera probably knows.”
“Then that means Yuna already knows too. But why did you leave Hera out?”
“Hey, if you say it like that, it sounds like I intentionally didn’t tell her.”
It’s not what you say but how you say it; he wasn’t trying to hide it; he just hadn’t found a reason to tell her.
It was a bit strange to suddenly invite someone who had been living with Elves in the Great Forest to a banquet in the Imperial Capital.
“Will she feel hurt…?”
Perhaps hearing those words from Yusti-ah, he started to feel bothered. Contrary to his intentions, she might think she was being left out.
Hmm-.
Eventually, Franz, who had been pondering, made a decision.
‘Whether it works out or not, let’s at least invite her.’
Of course, there was a possibility she would refuse. One way or another, she had once hated Humans. Maybe she didn’t really like crowded places either.
But that was entirely up to Hera to choose, so he had to at least give her the opportunity to choose.
Now that he had made that decision, all that was left was to move.
Franz tossed the remaining lukewarm tea from his teacup into his mouth in one gulp and stood up from his seat.
At his action, Arian and Yusti-ah asked in surprise.
“Where are you going?”
“Where will you be going?”
At the words spat out almost simultaneously, Franz let out a chuckle. Even though they bickered, seeing them like this, they were practically sisters. If only their minds aligned, they might become really close friends.
“Yusti-ah, you’re done with your business, right? You can go back now. Arian, you should go back to your work too. I’m going to take a quick trip to the Great Forest.”
When Franz said he was going to the Great Forest, the brains of the two began to spin rapidly.
And the conclusion was drawn soon after.
“Is he going to meet Hera?”
‘He’s going to meet that elf, isn’t he?’
The words telling them to go back had long been forgotten in their minds.
In any case, the two were not the type to just leave Franz alone to meet another woman.
“Magic Tower master, could I perhaps go with you…? I’m curious about what kind of place the Great Forest is.”
“Franz, could I go with you too? I want to say hello to Hera after a long time, and I also want to check if the World Tree is doing well.”
The two immediately tried to prevent Franz and Hera from being alone together.
If there was a problem, it was that they had both thought of the exact same thing.
Thus, the outbreak of the Second Concubine War occurred.
“Young lady, the Great Forest is not a place an ordinary person can just enter out of curiosity. I understand how you feel, but how about you do your work quietly?”
“Hah? How about you go back and take care of your Followers, saintess? Besides, after a long time? Didn’t you clearly meet her in the North?”
“I also have the role of checking on the World Tree, you know?”
“Then I am the person who has to look after the Magic Tower master’s safety, you know?”
The two growled at each other like a tiger and a lion… well, maybe not quite that, but like two cats. It seemed like they were fighting, but it didn’t feel very fatal.
Franz put on his robe and asked in a sigh-laced voice.
“So are you going or not? Tell me clearly.”
Arian and Yusti-ah spoke at the same time as if they had made a promise.
“I’m going!”
“I’m going!”
When he saw them at times like this, it really seemed like they had a good relationship.
Franz thought that and snapped his fingers.
A magic circle was drawn on the floor, and the figures of the three immediately disappeared from the Magic Tower master’s office.
Soon after, the place they appeared was none other than inside the Great Forest.
The surroundings were filled with giant trees, and the cool, fresh air lingering around gave off a perfectly pleasant feeling.
“Wow… So this is the Great Forest…”
Arian let out an exclamation of admiration and looked around as if fascinated.
Upon her reaction, Yusti-ah smiled relaxedly and said,
“This is your first time in the Great Forest, young lady. Hmm, that’s understandable. It’s a very difficult place to enter, after all. Of course, it’s not my first time.”
Of course, it was only the second time Yusti-ah was saying that, but Franz didn’t bother to mention that fact. He felt like he wouldn’t see anything good if he needlessly intervened.
“Yes, that must be really nice for you, since it’s not your first time.”
“Ah, for your information, my first time was also with the person you serve.”
“Ah-, is that so? I also have a lot of firsts with the Magic Tower master, should I tell you all about them?”
“Hah?! Why don’t you try telling me?!”
What on earth were these two so displeased about?
Letting it slide was fine once or twice, but it was starting to feel tiresome. He wished they would do it in moderation.
It was when Franz was genuinely about to intervene between the two.
[I wondered what the commotion was, and it turned out guests had arrived.]
An opponent even more bothersome than the two currently fighting had appeared.
At the voice of the World Tree that suddenly rang out, Franz narrowed his brow.
“I am just passing through for a moment.”
[There’s no need to avoid me so blatantly, is there?]
“Have you forgotten what kind of bet you made with the Goddess?”
[That was just done in a fit of anger… It’s true that I want our child to have a child first, but I don’t intend to force it like that.]
Devout Followers were so devoted that some would truly end their lives if a god told them to die, but the gods of this world seemed to lack the awareness that their words carried that much weight.
Well, it wasn’t like they would say such things in front of ordinary Followers anyway.
Regardless, he didn’t like it.
[More importantly, that child is still not yet pregnant. I am relieved.]
This was the intention behind the words the World Tree spat out.
It was relieved that there was still no child in Yusti-ah’s womb.
Franz was not unaware of that, so he was quite flustered, but he responded as calmly as possible.
“…Of course. I have no intention of doing so in the first place.”
With that thought, Franz ended his conversation with the World Tree and approached the two who were still bickering.
He was dying of a headache here, yet they were leisurely fighting; as expected, it was hard to just stand by and watch.
“Stop fighting, both of you. I might just leave you behind when I go back.”
At Franz’s threat, Arian and Yusti-ah immediately shut their mouths.
Furthermore, because they thought he was angry, even their actions became needlessly cautious.
“Let’s go.”
Franz took a step forward, and the two, who had become timid, followed behind him.
The place they headed to was, naturally, the Elves' habitation in the center of the Great Forest.
As they arrived near the habitation, an elf who was on guard, as always, lightly jumped down from a tree.
“Is it not the grand chieftain?!”
Grand chieftain…?
He was happy to be welcomed by an elf, but the word grand chieftain bothered him.
At that, Franz diligently traced back his memories, and soon recalled a forgotten memory.
Hera had definitely promised to create a new position for him, saying he could communicate with the World Tree.
‘But that’s grand chieftain…?’
He had somehow managed to talk her out of handing over the chieftain position and asked for a new title instead. No matter what, it made no sense for a human to take on the role of the Elves' Chieftain.
But the result was grand chieftain. If he had known it would be like this, he would rather have been the chieftain.
“Grand chieftain! Welcome! Our kin will definitely welcome you too!”
The elf, who had no way of knowing Franz’s feelings, merely smiled brightly and took the lead.
Well, what could he do? You can’t argue with a smiling face, so Franz sighed while following the elf.