Chapter 141
Facing Arian, who was sniffing like a puppy, Franz smiled awkwardly.
“Arian, did you develop a new magic spell or something? Your sense of smell seems to have been greatly enhanced.”
“Well, let’s just go with that. More importantly, I’m asking which bitch it is.”
He had hastily changed the subject to smoothly gloss over it, but he ended up failing.
Arian’s tone had become even more fierce, so it seemed she was definitely in a bad mood.
A rather perplexing situation.
“Should I just tell her honestly…?”
If he were given a little more time and Seri-ah’s body was completely healed, he could make up some excuse, but if he brought it up right now, he would have no choice but to reveal the truth.
And there was a high probability that Arian wouldn’t understand.
No, not just her, but anyone with a normal way of thinking wouldn’t understand.
Because he had saved an enemy who tried to kill him and a cultist who was an adversary of the Goddess Church.
Therefore, the best judgment he could make would be to hide the truth from her at this moment.
If he made up his mind and started making excuses, Arian might get sulky, but she wouldn’t necessarily pry further.
However, he didn’t want to do that.
It was a matter of mindset.
He didn’t want to show lies to her, who had believed in and followed him until then.
Phew-.
Erasing his thoughts with a short sigh, Franz carefully opened his mouth.
“Arian, the truth is…”
“D-don’t say it. I understand everything. As expected, you like young and pretty girls rather than an older woman like me…”
With an expression that looked like she would burst into tears at any moment, Arian slowly dropped her head.
Just how did she reach that conclusion?
Franz, who had been blinking his eyes in sheer bewilderment, let out a short sigh and continued speaking.
“It’s not what you’re thinking, so just listen for now.”
“Is that so…?”
Arian raised her head and met Franz’s eyes.
Her expression felt almost pitiful.
Anyway, where and how should he even begin to explain this…
“You know I went to the Western Region with Yusti-ah yesterday, right? The truth is, I met Cultists there.”
“And?”
“There were two young girls, and they begged me to save them, saying they would do anything. But one of them had a rather complicated situation. Her mana core was completely lost inside her body.”
“A mana core? Is such a thing possible?”
An ordinary person would show the same reaction as her.
Because there was no way a person without a mana core could be active.
Franz took out the item in question from the small bag at his waist.
It was a crystal so transparent that its inside was entirely visible, and within it was an arrowhead shining brilliantly in gold.
“It’s an item containing the Goddess’s power. It’s not complete because there’s a seal on it, but this was inside her body instead of a mana core.”
“I can tell it’s extraordinary just by looking at it. But to think such a thing is possible…”
Franz had also had a similar reaction to hers when he first saw it.
He had wondered how on earth such a thing was possible.
In the end, he couldn’t reach a magical conclusion and had no choice but to determine that it was a miracle achieved through divine power.
Arian, who had been looking at the crystal as if it were fascinating, soon tilted her head and turned her gaze to Franz.
“Wait a minute. If you took this out of that girl’s body, isn’t she as good as dead?”
“That part was resolved well. I made a mana core and transplanted it.”
“…Excuse me?!”
The reaction that popped out two beats late was quite intense.
Her already large eyes widened so much that it looked like her eyeballs would pop out.
The achievement Franz had accomplished was of that magnitude.
The realization of a miracle that no Mage had ever managed to achieve until now.
“W-wait a minute. I just heard such an incredible story that my brain isn’t working properly.”
Arian poked her own chest with her finger - poke, poke - and continued speaking.
“You mean this mana core, right? The one that every person has in their body? The one that failed no matter what methods were used until now?”
“Yeah, that.”
“I-it’s so amazing that I don’t know what to say. Anyway, to summarize, you heard young girls say they would do anything, and you, the Magic Tower master, saved them?”
If you summarize it, does it become like that…?
Come to think of it, it wasn’t exactly wrong, so Franz nodded.
“I’m asking for reference, but the girls' ages are…?”
“Wouldn’t they be around 15 years old? Well, I don’t know their exact ages.”
“…Please die.”
Arian smiled while sending him a contemptuous look.
It was obvious what her intention was in saying that.
She must have thought he was trying to lay a hand on them.
This one and that one, just what did they see him as?
“I absolutely didn’t have that intention.”
“Die! Die! Liking young girls and all!”
“No, wait, calm down a bit…”
“Ah, I guess I, the older one, should die! Right?!”
In the end, Franz had to spend a long time calming Arian down after that.
Of course, he had absolutely no such intentions in saving Zeni-ah and Seri-ah, so he felt incredibly wronged.
Still, what could he do?
Bringing up that story right now seemed like it would only backfire, so he had no choice but to just soothe her.
Franz spoke to Arian, who was sitting on the sofa and sipping tea.
“But you’re not saying anything about my saving Cultists?”
“Well, that’s the Magic Tower master’s choice. I figured there must be a good reason for it. Of course, given your position as a Saint, it makes no sense.”
So she trusts him for now.
He had assumed she naturally wouldn’t understand, but she didn’t even care.
Should he say he suffered a loss by worrying for nothing or he felt a little sorry because it seemed like he hadn’t trusted her.
“Ah, does the Saintess know about this, by any chance? She definitely wouldn’t have stayed quiet.”
“She doesn’t know. Not yet…”
Right, the real problem was Yusti-ah.
Hiding the truth made him feel uncomfortable, but revealing it also made him feel uncomfortable.
If she found out that the Saint had saved Cultists, just what would she say…
Well, there would be a little time in the future, so there is no need to worry about it right now.
“Hmm, so she doesn’t know? That’s quite…”
Arian’s expression looked strangely pleased as she spoke with a nasal hum.
He didn’t know for what reason she had suddenly gotten into a good mood, but he decided not to dig too deeply into it.
Good is good, right? That must be it.
Afterwards, Franz talked a little more with Arian about the two girls.
Things like how he had brought the sandwiches he bought in the morning to the two of them, or how Zeni-ah had an immense talent for magic so it might be good to have her work at the Magic Tower.
He had wondered what to do if Yusti-ah showed signs of disliking it, but fortunately, that didn’t happen.
Rather, hearing that they had lived a harsh life, she seemed to have developed a desire to help them.
“You said you were going down at lunch too, right?”
“Well, I can’t let them skip meals.”
“Then I’ll go with you. I think I should meet the two of them.”
Is there really a reason to do that…?
He had that thought, but he didn’t voice it.
It wasn’t like there was a proper reason she couldn’t go, either.
“Alright, let’s go together then.”
With that, their conversation moved on to work-related matters.
The reason she came to the Magic Tower Lord’s Office in the first place was to have a work-related conversation.
It was only after finally receiving a slightly larger amount of paperwork than usual from Arian that all the conversation came to an end.
Arian, who stood in front of the door to leave the Magic Tower Lord’s Office, suddenly turned her head and looked at Franz as she spoke.
“Don’t forget you have an appointment for lunch.”
“Yeah, come find me when it’s mealtime.”
“I’ll be going then.”
The door opened and closed soundlessly, and Arian’s figure disappeared.
Completely drained by her, who was like a storm, Franz let out a short sigh and entrusted his body to the chair.
The immediate work was work, but…
“I also have to unseal the artifacts…”
The artifacts gathered in Franz’s hands totaled three.
The spearhead obtained from the Ice Castle in the North, the sword blade that was in the lake in the Western Region, and the arrowhead torn from Seri-ah’s stomach were found.
There were two left, considering that there were five listed on the status window.
“I have to do this kind of thing two more times in the future.”
Even that was just to make a weapon to oppose the Demon God, so the final goal of subjugating the Demon God still remained.
Well, he would think about that later when the time came.
“Should I check the status window for the first time in a while?”
As Franz thought of the status window and waved his hand in the air, a hologram popped out as if by magic.
“Save the world from the villainesses who will lead the world to ruin!”
Hero Yuna (95.00%)
Saintess Yusti-ah (96.00%)
Elf archer Hera (94.00%)
If you fail, the world will be ruined!”
Perhaps because it was definitely nearing the final stage, the progress was slow.
Still, it seemed like it would naturally reach 100 percent by the time he subjugated the Demon God, so there seemed to be no need to pay it any mind.
Then, should he try unsealing the artifact now?
He did have work, but he could just do that in the afternoon.
Franz carefully brought his hand to the crystal placed on the desk.